From 1981 to 1983, Science Patrol manipulated synthesizers, digital delay loops, drum machines, electric guitars, and the plastic toy equivalents of these same instruments, then layered on dispassionate (or reversed, or synthesized) vocals, and served up a cool blend of techno-dada-pop, avant-funk, electro-rap, DIY punk attitude, pop culture nonsense, dance-trance, and whatever else struck their fancy.
Their one record was “Bandit Ducks From Outer Space,” released in June of 1982 on their own Zero Risk Records label. “Bandit Ducks” was a nearly 8-minute opus that combined electronic rhythms and synthesizers with “clean” electric guitars, absurd lyrics, cold vocals, and the occasional toy pistol. Overall, the song’s effect was strangely soothing, and oddly compelling. It was released as a 33 rpm, 7-inch EP with cartoonish Bandit Duck From Outer Space cover art, and the B-side featured four eclectic tracks of about 2 minutes each strung together to form a suite of dada-pop songs named "Pop A, B, C, D."
"Pop A" merged dada lyrics (the band cut up early Tristan Tzara poems and put the lines of poetry in a bag, then pulled them out randomly to form the song lyrics) with e-bow guitars, synthesizers, an insistent Dr. Rhythm drum machine beat, and a digitally looped electro-funk bass; "Pop B" was a surrealist-ambient landscape of e-bow, DDL-bass, and synths; "Pop C" featured reverse-alien vocals and synth blips over a machine-gun-snare rhythm track and spy-theme bass lines; and "Pop D" combined a frenetic rock instrumental track with screaming synthesizer wails and family dinner table conversation in place of a vocal track. A repeating inner groove on the record played an endless loop of Spike's Mum moaning while pouring another glass of wine.
Science Patrol
Friend and independent filmmaker Steve Perkins heard the song and was inspired to make a short film named after it. The film "Virgil Wilson: Six Minutes of Suburban Disorder” aired on PBS and screened as a short before feature films at theaters and festivals, and of course at Science Patrol performances.
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Outside of the studio and stage, Science Patrol gathered once a week for "rock jams." Unlike ordinary band rehearsals, the band would get together to make all sorts of spontaneous improvised music and noise, trading instruments and having fun. Friends would stop by, sit in, join in, and occasionally take over (as when 15-year old Genie and Lisa and their girlfriends took over the instruments and got inspired to form their own band, "A Happy Death"). The rock jams inspired Science Patrol songs like "Dogs and Girls on Charity Posters," "Mannix Goes West (Pop E)," and "Dada Dub."
Science Patrol gained a following of quirky fans and international notoriety for their “Bandit Ducks” record, but ultimately the same volatile mix of random elements and personalities that made Science Patrol great inevitably led to its self-destruction in late 1983.
In recent years Science Patrol has been re-discovered by new generations of electronic music fans primarily in Europe, thanks to the timeless quality of “Bandit Ducks From Outer Space” (now regarded as a minimal-electronic post-punk classic). In 2003, Science Patrol contributed 2 previously unreleased tracks to “Reminiscent,” a limited edition 3-LP Box Set of 1980's international post-punk techno released by Genetics Records in Germany (now sold out). The included Science Patrol tracks, from 1981 recording sessions, were “Pop F” and “Dereks In The Desert.”
“Sleep-learning Dance Music”
Science Patrol was formed in 1981 in the Palo Alto/San Carlos region of the San Francisco peninsula by Christopher M. Pitman (aka Pity), Mark C. Bracewell (aka Spike), and Andrew L. Jackson (aka Our Hero). Soon after, two more members joined the band: Rick Cuevas (the other half of duo Zru Vogue with Andrew Jackson) and Michael Calder, known as “Dad” since he was a good ten years older than the rest of the band members.
The band played all around the Bay Area, notably at the Old Waldorf and On Broadway in San Francisco, The Berkeley Square, and midnight shows at Palo Alto’s New Varsity Theater. Science Patrol's live act included extended free-style raps on songs like Monkey God (inspired by the pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses) and Oriental Snack (about the ubiquitous snacking rice crackers, and heroin), with MC Pity free-styling to the band’s electro-funk groove.
Science Patrol fused funk and rap with rock and electronics years before the blend of genres became widely accepted. They paid tribute to Cab Calloway with a punked-up rap of “Minnie The Moocher” and the borrowed repetition of “Hep! Hep!” in the song “Bandit Ducks From Outer Space.” Their live set also included electro-lounge pop (a cover of Andy Williams' 60’s classic “Music To Watch Girls By”), the Spiderman theme, and a song based on British cult TV series “The Prisoner” in which all lines were from the show's dialog.
Electronic toys like a plastic Bee Gees Rhythm Machine fed through a synthesizer, the aforementioned Magical Musical Thing (which they later deconstructed and taped the toy’s music-making guts directly onto the synth), and tiny Casio mini-keyboards provided musical inspiration, while comic books and Japanese TV were the band’s cultural signposts. The name Science Patrol comes from the 60’s Japanese TV series "Ultraman."
Who is Virgil Wilson?
Science Patrol’s first recording was “Virgil Wilson,” a montage of electronic synthesized rhythm and noise topped off with a vocal track that wavered between garbled muttering and distorted screaming. The song “Virgil Wilson” was inspired by a real person, an old guy who’d had a tracheotomy. Pity, Spike, and Andrew ran every signal through a Korg synthesizer: vocals, guitars, and a Mattel Magical Musical Thing that served as the lead instrument on the track.
Science Patrol Band Members (pictured above left to right):
Rick “Magnum” Cuevas – electric lead guitars, bass, drum kit ; Christopher M. “Pity” Pitman synthesizers, vocals, magical musical thing, bee gees rhythm machine; Michael “Dad” Calder –electric rhythm guitar; Mark C. “Spike” Bracewell – bass, ebow, drum machine programming, and engineering (master of ddl loop); Andrew L. “Our Hero” Jackson – vocals, electric guitars, ebow, bass, drums, toy pistol.
