The Damned / The Damned Inc., The Fall Guys, Alpha Flight 1970
Added on January 10th, 2004 (7992 views)
www.c64.com?type=3&id=99



Tell us something about yourself.
Frank Dase, age 33, born in Peine 1970-04-15, living in Düsseldorf, a web designer without job, interested in making music.

What handle(s) did you use and how did you come up with it/them?
The Damned.

What group(s) were you in?
The Damned Inc., The Fall Guys and Alpha Flight 1970 (the original crew).

What roles have you fulfilled?
Artist and coder.

How long were you active for?
From 1984 to 1986.

Tell us about those years and how you got into the scene in the first place.
I was shopping in the city with SevenUp (Christan Koch), and in a shop called Quelle we met a guy called Irata. We talked a while an swapped phone numbers. Irata was a member of a group called Light Circle and later Radwar.

Describe a typical day for you in front of the computer.
First thing after school was to look in the post box for disks with new games. I then turned on my C64 and had a look at the games and thought: "What music is interesting and could be used in the next demo?". :-) I played the coolest new games for about one hour then sorted the disks and copied them for the other guys. Hours later, I tried out new assembler techniques for split screens and other things. I did graphics with the Competition Pro joystick and Paint Magic (graphic program) and programmed new intro scenes for games cracked by Alpha Flight.

Did you personally invent any special techniques or tools to make things easier for you?
No, nothing special.

When you look at what you did back then, what are you most proud of?
There are different things I'm proud of. I always wanted to make computer animations and design computer programs and I had to learn a lot to do that, but then I got a good job as a web designer.

Who were your heroes on the scene and why?
*lol* I never met them, but Dynamic Duo were some of my heroes (I think the reason was the name). I had a love and hate feeling for Razor. I liked his demos, but he took our first year sign 1911 and after this we decided to take 1970 instead (the birth year of the AFL founders).

What, for you, was the coolest thing ever invented on the C64?
Split screens and border sprites. I really liked border sprites. :-)

Did you go to any copy-parties, meetings or tradeshows?
I visited one copy party in The Netherlands.

In your opinion, what was the scene all about?
I think that all the guys and girls who were a part of the scene were computer pioneers. We made things which paved the way for coming generations of computer animated graphics and sounds. 14 year old kids made better programs than adult programmers. We were a kind of rebels.

What were the particular highlights for you?
David Whittaker's music and what was the name of this really great graphic artist from Great Britain? Bob? I can't remember.

Any cool stories to share with us?
*smile* I like the time when we ran our demos at the Data Becker shop.

Are you still in contact with any old C64 people today?
Just with Xenox.

When did you get your C64 and do you still have it lying around somewhere?
I bought my first one in 1984.

Was the C64 really as special as we like to think it was?
Yes! It's nice to think about the good old C64 times.

When can we expect to see some new C64 output from you? :)
The C64 is like an old girlfriend. I used to like her a lot, but we will never get together again. :-)

Do you have a message for your old contacts and/or anyone reading this?
Two things: 1) the past is a part of your future. 2) you can do all you want, but you have to work for it.

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