Anti Blog

Today, Boing Boing premiered their second video from N.A.S.A’s Spirit of Apollo (the first was “The People Tree” with commentary by the song’s guest vocalist David Byrne). “Way Down” features vocals from RZA and Barbie Hatch with guitars by The Chili Pepper’s John Frusciante, was directed by Syd Garon and illustrated by Los Angeles artist/smartass Sage Vaughn, who shared with us his unique perspective on working on the N.A.S.A project:

“Way Down Video
-redux, by Sage Vaughn

As Sam and I climbed out of the thorny undergrowth along side the railroad tracks in Chatsworth, he turned his head towards me and said “I have a feeling this video will be epic!” At that moment I was certain of two things: 1. My leg would heal, and 2. Sam was absolutely correct.
I’m getting way ahead of myself; every story needs a beginning, and this one is no different.

Sam and I met in 1994 at a Young MC book signing. We were discussing the merits of Bel Biv Devoe’s latest collaboration with Ike Turner and we knew right then we could be best of friends or mortal enemies. We opted for the first choice; neither of us needed another mortal enemy. Since then, he and I have been constant supportive forces in each other’s lives.

For example, when I was doing those large Iceberg Installation sculptures in the Faulkland Islands (we all remember those crazy days), Sam would come, and despite the grueling temperatures, long commute, and aggressive immigrant penguin protesters, he would DJ for up to 18 hours straight while I hacked away at those giant hunks of frozen foolishness. And when none of them sold, he came up with the idea to make the world largest Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. That year, every sailor and longshoreman from the Cape of Good Hope to the San Fransisco Bay talked about our Faulking Good Sno-Cones. Friendships like that are not created in a day; they take years of work and love. When Sam first approached me about working on a music video for his N.A.S.A. album I thought he was crazy. Then I realized the acid had kicked in. So I said I would do it under one condition: We have to kidnap Syd Garon and force him to do all the work. Syd was not only a famous animation director (the genius behind such great animated classics such as Not Everything Fits in Mommy and Thants: Grateful Ants), but also a world-renowned Pilate’s instructor, and Sam and I needed to get in shape.

To make a long story short, Syd escaped from the storage unit in Northridge after only two weeks of work on the video. Sam and I disagreed on the reasons for his departure: Sam reasoned it was the lack of proper facilities in the storage space, while I argued that the robot wolverine stuffed with Tom Jones records was definitely not working as a morale booster (I was still on acid). We tracked him through the northern hills of the San Fernando Valley, and found his trail near Stoney Point. He had been surviving on Luna Bars and discarded Capri Suns and had gone completely mad. We cornered him by the railroad tracks and told him there was no way in hell he was going to leave the project now. Not with a half finished music video, and Sam’s new addiction to performance enhancing sport gels. Right then, the far off sound of a train whistle blew through the tepid Valley air. We could see the approaching headlight of the Southern Pacific Manure line coming our way. Sam yelled, “Grab him!” The wild look in Syd’s eyes froze me in my tracks just long enough for him to stab me in the thigh with a drink box straw. As I fell to my knees, Syd lept and grabbed the passing boxcar door. He laughed and threw us a DVD with the words “Way Down, Directors Cut” scratched into the top. His laughter faded into the distance as Sam and I looked at each other and smiled.”