Severe Tire Damage in The New York Times

". . . But their moment in the limelight was tarnished by a little-known band called Severe Tire Damage. Knowing that the channel carrying the Stones was open to anyone,and wanting to take advantage of the worldwide audience the Stones would attract, the group broadcast an impromptu performance from the Xerox PARC offices in PaloAlto, Calif., directly before and after the Stones concert. "We didn't want to stamp on the Stones broadcast, but we did want to play before an appreciative audience."said Mark Weiser, who plays drums in Severe Tire Damage and works at Xerox PARC,the company that helped bring about the Internet service known as the Multicast Backbone,or M-Bone, which makes audiovisual broadcasting possible. The M-Bone, however, is not quite ready to replace television. The Stones show, for example, had low-quality sound and images and could be received by few computers. Though the Rolling Stones claimed to be performing the first major concert live on the Internet in their press releases, they weren't the first band ever. At least three other groups beat them. A Seattle rock group called Sky Cries Mary claimed that distinction when it sent a live performance over the M-Bone two weeks ago, although a little-known band called Deth Specula was on the M-Bone in August, and Severe Tire Damage performed an hour-and-a-halfshow in June 1993. . . .

". . . Mr. Jagger greeted the Internet audience and said he hoped the system didn't collapse. A spokesman for the group said the surprise opening act by Severe Tire Damage was a good reminder of the democratic nature of the Internet."

-- "Rolling Stones Live on Internet: Both a Big Deal and a Little Deal", by Neil Strauss, The New York Times, page C15, November 22, 1994.

Severe Tire Damage Editorial: "democratic"? ...try "anarchic".

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