talking with radman, member of the scene for the last 10 years about ACiD, life, his child and the scene in general...

Dangermouse:
Let me just say its pretty damned cool to be interviewing the dude that started that group.. err.. shit, wtf is the name of it?

Rad Man:
heh

Dangermouse:
Ok, lets get started with the boring questions.. Ready?

Rad Man:
Yeah might as well get those out of the way.

Dangermouse:
Name, Sex, Age, Height, Weight, Live, Car. Answer them in that order.

Rad Man:
Okay... This will be really easy. I hope you don't have a flood detect on.

Can not disclose.
Can not disclose.
Can not disclose.
Can not disclose.
Can not disclose.
Can not disclose.
Can not disclose.

Ahahaha. Next question?

Dangermouse:
What really makes me scared is that you actually pasted the right amount of "Can not disclose." retorts. That's scary shit man.

Rad Man:
Okay I guess I can admit that sex should be implied by my handle ;)

Dangermouse:
Anyways, we all know who the hell you are, and where you came from.. But, alas, there may be the odd newbie out there who does want to know the fabled beginnings of the great radballserr.. RaD Man themselves..

Where did it all begin?

Rad Man:
It all began in a small bedroom on a 50-pound Compaq "Portable" computer and two 360KB floppy drives. It had it's own built-in amber monitor and full-size keyboard. All self contained I might add. That was the first computer that I could call my own. Even though the monitor could only display in shades of amber (amber-scale?), it had a port in the back where I could attach a color CGA monitor...

Dangermouse:
I bet you still have it

Rad Man:
Yes I do -- it's an antique now which resides in one of my garages, tucked away somewhere...

Dangermouse:
Tell me about AAA -- when and where did it start.. ANd did you indeed use your 50 pound paperweight to draw ansi? :)

Rad Man:
To be honest I don't know the explicit details of how AAA began. I just accept the bragging rights for bringing it up from a national to an international group. Aces of ANSi Art was founded some time during the late nineteen eighties by two 408 residents, Zyphril and Chips Ahoy. In 1988 I submitted an application ANSI to them (drawn using my elite 50 lb system). It was a logo for one of our local h/p/a groups called HEaT, with a lower case 'a'.

HEaT of course was an acronym for something. Want to know what it stood for?

Dangermouse:
Herpes Endangering Another Trojan?

Rad Man:
Not quite... Hackers Enterprising across Telecommunications

Dangermouse:
I bet they made that up after the name "HEAT"

Rad Man:
Actually a rather depressing footnote to that is one of the founders of HEaT recently committed suicide.

Dangermouse:
Shit, sorry to hear it

Rad Man:
So -- I applied with this HEaT logo and was accepted on the spot. If I recall correctly the sysop broke into chat right after I uploaded it. Aha, "broke into chat"... I digress.

Dangermouse:
Many people believe that AAA in fact turned into ACiD, but this isn't the case is it?

Rad Man:
I believe this is covered by my former statement.

Let me paste from another interview...

<QUOTE>
<AAA> didn't turn into ACiD. Around the time just before the formation of ACiD, only three members were really putting a real effort into making the group (<AAA>) run smoothly. Those three artists were Grimm, Shadow Demon, and I. Communication amongst artists like you see in art groups today was totally nonexistent. The <AAA> WHQ at that time (Nuclear Wasteland, 408) was one of the first boards to lock out area codes, unfortunately, by doing this, they were locking out a majority of their AAA members.

Between the three of us, it was a unanimous decision that a more efficient and respectable group could be ran without the extra weight. As I was talking to Grimm one late-night, we were throwing names at each other, I thought of ACiD, ANSi Creators in Demand. Everyone that we wanted to bring over into the new group (ACiD) was interested and the transition was made."
</QUOTE>

Dangermouse:
So, you drew ansi in AAA, why didn't you keep it up?

Rad Man:
I continued to draw ANSI in ACiD for several years, but began to scale back the time spent drawing in an effort to stay on top of the million other responsibilities involved with running ACiD. I recently drew up a couple ANSI logos; one for bitchX IRC client and Power Rage BBS. That was about three months ago.

Dangermouse:
What did it feel like, running a group like ACiD around 94/95? I mean, it must have felt good running the single largest and best group within the scene?

Rad Man:
Indeed. In my eyes 1994 was the ANSI scene's golden year, above any other. While I'm sure ANSI as an art form will continue for many more decades to come, 1994 was just the best... for the big and the little fish.

Dangermouse:
Others seem to disagree.. 1997 saw the release of many "Will ansi live?" articles..

Rad Man:
I've been seeing those articles since the ANSI scene started. ;)

Dangermouse:
haha, and we'll continue seeing them..

Rad Man:
Some things just have to repeat themselves, don't they?

Dangermouse:
Take us back to April 1996.. Tell us about the controversial decision by Hornet to remove the /ansi dir from their archive..

Rad Man:
April is something all together different, let's go further back, to January 1996...

Without full unanimity several members of Hornet made a decision to eventually rid of the /pub/demos/incoming/ansi directory from their master site at Walnut Creek's ftp.cdrom.com.

Several weeks prior to this announcement ACiD was topping Hornet's DemoNews download charts every single issue, which lead alot of people to think there was no coincidence in the timing of the decision. Many thought it to be an animus attack on the ANSI scene as a result of the charts that were published. No real explanation was given, just a .message stating the directory would be going away and soon. One of them looked like this:

250- /demos/incoming/ansi - ANSI Packs and Utils
250-This directory will be removed at 12:00 PST on 9-Mar-96
250-*******************************************************
250-Questions can be sent to trixter@ftp.cdrom.com
250-*******************************************************

Needless to say, someone sure received alot of mail.

To better understand what was really going on, discussions took place between senior members of ACiD and Hornet council. Legitimate concerns were being voiced on Hornet's side -- the ansi directory had become a target of sorts for warez and pornographic materials, it had the greatest number of botched uploads and bogus file names such as "/incoming/ansi/ICE.RULES.YOU.SHALL.KNOW.OUR.POWER". In other words it had become a nuisance and the easiest solution seemed to be the death sentence.

Dangermouse:
Was ansi the only directory that had problems with uploads?

Rad Man:
All the incoming directories were susceptible to these sorts of issues. It just seemed that the ansi one was taking the bulk of the abuse. However this all changed after the ACiD Artpacks Archive came about -- we implemented illegal upload scripts which quickly dealt with any problem file. A true CYA measure on our part which paid off. But I'm jumping ahead here...

In retrospect, some very amusing proposals were made by both parties between the months of January and March. One was to limit the incoming/ansi directory to only ACiD and iCE packs. Another was to take on an official maintainer for the ansi directory, as there wasn't one. But something still wasn't quite right, and none of the proposals were panning out...

As March 9th drew closer, I had to place a few phone calls. First I contacted Pallbearer, founder of the original Hornet archive at ftp.eng.ufl.edu. He firmly opposed the removal of the ansi directory because of the important role it played in the make up of the underground art scene. But not everyone felt the same way. Trixter, one-time appointee of Hornet public relations for this special occasion was out of touch with the on goings in the ANSI scene. He tried to tell me (of all people) that the ANSI scene was just too closely knit with the warez scene, justification alone for the removal. Of course everyone knows that the demoscene is equally if not more deeply rooted in the pirate world, but times had changed and he stayed blind.

That April an in-person meeting was arranged. Snowman, Prisoner#1, his girlfriend at the time, and I gathered at a quaint Italian restaurant in downtown Concord. When she wasn't showing off her umm... tattoos... we shared our ideas about the scene, the current events, the state of things and where they were headed, and all that. More progress was made in that single day than in all of the others combined.

The impression was made and a few months later /pub/artpacks was a reality.

Dangermouse:
Artpacks Archive, the HTML front end in any case, must have been a shining glory?

Rad Man:
Oh definitely. Initially we borrowed alot of our ideas from the Hornet and the C|Net VSL. Then we started to be a little creative by adding features to the website that were familiar to a BBS user. File tagging and batch queues were added as well as compressed archive viewing on-line and the ability to view files within a compressed file. Before we knew it, the Hornet Archive began to borrow from us instead.

Dangermouse:
Yeah, there's definitely some fancy coding behind the site. Shivan Bastard definitely did a lot of work?

Rad Man:
Oh yeah. There are many many months of time and labor invested in the scripts that help automate artpacks.acid.org.

Dangermouse:
Just recently a thread on Acheron's discussion board was talking about The Knave and Tomppa1.. Would you care to elaborate more deeply just what happened with The Knave being expelled from ACID?

Rad Man:
It's quite simple really. The Knave was removed from ACiD because he took images belonging to Braid Media Arts (www.braid.com) and took sole credit for them. This shouldn't be confused with the discussion thread which disputes the similarities between The Knave's "new style" compared to Tomppa1's.

Dangermouse:
Indeed. That was a heated discussion. I only asked because The Knave's dismissal came up in that forum.

Rad Man:
We have a very clear policy in ACiD. If you intend to use someone else's material in your artwork you must directly credit the original author. Unfortunately The Knave failed to do this and he was dismissed on the grounds of plagiarism.

Dangermouse:
I guess he learnt his lesson..

Rad Man:
That's open for debate. :)

Dangermouse:
That's for another thread :)

Rad Man:
Yeah.

Dangermouse:
Whilst on the subject of ACiD, how hard was it making the decision to turn "hirez only".. Or did it just happen? Because the rest of the scene would and did label acid as turning its back on the scene so to speak.

Rad Man:
The choice made was a conscious one. At the time, the entire ANSI scene was in a slump and we were no exception. The time had come for ACiD to move on. I had originally planned to hand down the legacy of ACiD ANSI to White Trash. He would run a subsidiary group called Avenge similar to how Remorse is our ASCII counterpart. But things did not go as planned and I simply didn't have the time to keep our ANSI division going.

While this dramatic change was an internal one, it made waves which were felt throughout the entire scene. iCE got to be number one at ANSI for the first time.

But to say that we've turned our back on ANSI or the scene is pretty pathetic. Since day one we've been taking every step necessary to continue and preserve this scenes existence. Take into account that ACiD is operating the largest scene archive consisting primarily of ANSI art and you might find those sorts of remarks pretty ridiculous.

I respect my roots and I know how I got here. I know that it wasn't a terminal emulation or the pirate scene infamy that brought us where we're at today. It happened only through hard work and determination. Blood sweat and tears.

Dangermouse:
The ACiD site has been around for quite some time in its current design.. I heard a rumour a new site is on the way?

Rad Man:
You know what? I've also heard that an iCE site redesign was in the works.

Dangermouse:
So, are you denying or it or what? :)

Rad Man:
No, I'm not denying it. :)

Dangermouse:
Good, because its about time the damned thing was changed :)

Rad Man:
Monochrome rules.

Dangermouse:
I bet

So, what would you say would be the highlights for you over the last 10 years?

Rad Man:
In general?

Dangermouse:
Yep, just in general.. You must have some fond memories..

Rad Man:
I sure would if I had just said no to drugs in highschool.

Seriously, there are too many highlights to name them all. My brightest ones are my firsts. First computer, first free phone call, first group affiliation, et cetera.

One of my long term goals since the inception of ACiD were finally met this year. ACiD Productions in conjunction with Renegades released a full scale demo called "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" at the Spring Break '98 demo party. It took home first place and looked fucking awesome on the big screen. Their sound system was top dollar.

Other fond memories which are more personal include the old ACiD voice mail box. We've had our share of them, but the last one we had was never published anywhere but anyone who was anyone knew the number. We would get the strangest messages, I really wished I had recorded them. This chick used to call and leave these full-on ballads dedicated to me or ACiD. I would three way people in just so they could hear the shit. These songs sounded like they had been fucking rehearsed! They not only rhymed but also had different background music for each one. Somebody was getting a little too carried away with the karaoke machine or something. Whenever I would do an update to the greeting I would introduce an ACiD member or whoever was conferenced in on my phone at the time. ReDMaN did alot of the co-hosting of our ACiD updates.

ACiD alliance and meet-me conferences were the best. Blue Gravity, Rendered Useless, Typhus and I would make some pretty outrageous prank calls. Of course the best ones you just had to be there for, but Sinned Soul has alot of them stashed away in MP3 format. Tell him you're looking for some Spizzo.

So yeah, alot of firsts and alot of great memories with ACiD. I could probably write a book by now. I have just one accomplishment left...

Dangermouse:
First sex.. heh

Dangermouse:
Speaking of the fruits of sex, how is the child?

Rad Man:
He's doing great! His vocabulary has reached at least twenty different words now, and he's almost three feet tall!

Dangermouse:
He's a big man

Rad Man:
Not to mention he's the boss of our cat.

Dangermouse:
Does the cat know this?

Rad Man:
OH yeah. If the cat is anywhere it shouldn't be then he'll be chasing and pointing his finger while yelling "DOWN!" He means business!

Dangermouse:
The ACiDCon's must be a hoot? Tell us about the first one :)

Rad Man:
Yeah, they're a great excuse to get people together and have a few beers. ACiDCon 1... Sinned Soul was going to be in town so we decided to throw an official gathering with all the locals at our beloved Pizza & Pipes in San Jose. Back then you could get a large pepperoni and cheese pizza for only $5.99. And a decent selection of brews on tap.

Oh and that's not all... To top it off they had an organ grinder! What more could you ask for?

Dangermouse:
A what?

Rad Man:
An organ grinder!

Dangermouse:
You grind people's organs in it?

Rad Man:
Before electronic keyboard synthesizers there were organ grinders. :)

Dangermouse:
Oh. Haha

Rad Man:
They didn't have a monkey though. No monkey with little cymbals.

Dangermouse:
Do you have plans for another ACiDCon?

Rad Man:
Yes. We plan to do something next month for ACiDCon 1999. We were hoping to do something an outdoor BBQ party but due to the recent "flash freezes" and record low temperatures in the last 20 years we have decided to make it an indoors event.

Dangermouse:
How does the group work internally?

Rad Man:
ACiD is continuing to use the Advisor model. Each group within ACiD is coordinated and/or advised by a specific person. Wind Rider advises over Remorse/ACiD ASCII, Catbones over ACiD Hirez, and so on.

Dangermouse:
Many accuse you of being the sole person responsible of putting the packs together, therefore making them late?

Rad Man:
That was true in the past, but not since 1998. For over a year we've been rotating the responsibility of pack assemblage. Everyone in ACiD hirez is encouraged to package an Acquisition Update at least once. It gives the artist a better understanding of the process involved and helps to balance the load in the group a little more. Everyone has a greater respect now for the time that is put into putting one together.

Dangermouse:
Cool. ACiD is up to #75 now, going for the #100?

Rad Man:
Oh of course. Maybe then I'll quit.

Dangermouse:
heh.. NEVER :) maybe I will :)

Rad Man:
It's only about 2 and 1/2 years away.

Dangermouse:
Will there ever be another Product emag? In a previous interview you stated that they would be released yearly?

Rad Man:
That was a mistake. Look for Product 3 when the 100th update is released. :)

Dangermouse:
Well, let me ask this: Do you personally think the scene will live past 2000?

Rad Man:
Easily. The digital artscene will continue to exist as longer as there is a digital canvas to be painted.

Dangermouse:
Where do you see the artscene beyond 2000?

Rad Man:
Oh I got some good beyond 2000 predictions for you. Here goes...

1. Somebody some where will be upset that "lit" isn't being accepted as a
legitimate art form by pre-teenagers in the ANSI scene.
2. Someone will be writing about how the scene is on the decline/dying.
3. Someone else will complain about how much the scene sucks.
4. 95% of the people in the scene's greatest contribution will be idling in some chat forum.
5. After six months of tenure in the scene someone will write an article yearning for the good old days, sparking up some 6-month old nostalgia.

Okay maybe it doesn't take a clairvoyant to figure those out...

Beyond 2000 I see more artists moving towards three dimensional modeling of art. We will witness a more noticeable split between the "funboy hobbyist" and the more serious scene artist, stretching the spectrum even further. Who knows, some of us might even have their own DVD-ROMs featuring all of our own multimedia productions ever made.

Dangermouse:
Acheron is now 2 years old. Hard to believe. Do you think the scene has benefited from its presence?

Rad Man:
Yes. Acheron is a very important site for the scene right now, in that it has brought back some of that "community" that was really lost after the death of the dial up BBS. I know most people haven't a clue how much time and devotion you've put into it. You have my respect and take comfort in knowing that there are some who do know what it takes to make it all happen.

Rad Man:
That's a wrap?

Dangermouse:
Thanks for the interview dude

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