Joe Cincotta: Thoughts and such…

Click here for pure C64 gold baby! Set of coding articles by some of the worlds best explaining in detail how to do some of the amazing effects on the Commie!

Some Background
This is a detail and photo of the C64 guys at the Illegal ‘89 Copy Party in Sydney.
http://noname.c64.org/csdb/event/?id=155

This is a link to a blog entry I wrote which has lots of intros for internet explorer heavily influenced by intros of the c64 days… http://www.pixolut.com/blog/2006/06/pixolut-experiments-pushing-dhtml-in.htm

This is a link to all of my converted demos. Some are not 100% converted, but all the same you can see them here: http://www.pixolut.com/blog/2006/05/my-latest-commodore-64-links.htm

This is a link to my old In Medias Res interview: http://zakalwe.fi/~shd/texts/imr/c169zigg.htm

My Story

I got involved in computers back in 1982. I started on a TRS80 learning BASIC. Then I got to use the Apple II for a short while writing more BASIC programs and learning more and more. I had (still have) ADHD and could not concentrate on anything – my school work was very very bad and the only thing that captured my attention was computers. Then I got to use my neighbour’s C64 and started seeing what it could do. Then in 1986 I got my first computer – a Commodore 128D! It kicked some serious ass. I still have this computer and its in need of a drive alignment when I get time, but I still love it.

I started on BASIC and then the next year I got a POWER CARTRIDGE and started to understand what was underneath the covers with the machine. I got the Commdore Programmers Reference Guide and got to work. I had fallen in love with the animation of the intros which I saw on games. Actually, I collected games just to see the intros. Who was this 1001 crew anyway?! and Dynamic Duo? or The Electronic Cracking Association? Then I started to see DEMOS! Oh yeah baby.. thats when things really took off.

I started going to the computer clubs in the small town where I lived and met some other nerdy people like myself who were interested in this demo thing. We started to play around a lot and mainly fooled around with programs and did a little coding. Then by my second year of high school we were completely absorbed by swapping disks with guys in Europe and Scndanavia. We started a group called The Excellence Crew and we got many demos and games (intros) and lots of inspiration. It was very different in Australia – we were very isolated and wished for a demo culture like there was on the other side of the world.

In 1988 I finally found out about the Australian demo scene – especially a guy called Deviet of Warriors Of Time. He was a very experienced coder – much older than most of us – and he organized the first Australian demo compo. Most of the demos were lame as hell but it did show us that there were guys out there in this country doing stuff and there was in fact a ’scene’.

So 1989 came along and I was in a little demo group with a few local guys called The Excellence Crew, and we decided to run a copy party for the Australian guys. The problem with a party in Oz is that it is such a big country. We had a lot of guys show up but many could not come all the same – especially guys from Queensland and Canberra and South Australia. Its more than 12 hours driving for some of these places so its tough. But we had fun and met the guys from Tera (called something else back then but the name I can’t remember) – and Matt was a very very good coder.

After the copy party I got to know Colwyn of The Force. In 1990 I joined The Force and started doing a few more intros and demos for them. I also joined a french group called Atom for a while. Probably the best intro I did was for them.

Time went on and I continued my love of the C64. I got sent to boarding school in Sydney due to my very bad school results, so it made spending time on the computer hard. Then I got in to DJing and nightclubs and dropped out of school in my final year. I got in to silly things like girls and drugs and parties and eventually got back on track and put myself back in to school in 1991 (I did manage to release Animated Artistry in 1990!). I also did my last demo then, but I did the stupid thing of converting the disk to use VORPAL fast load – the only problem is that very few nibblers can copy an Epyx Vorpal disk – so my last demo called Digital Psychosis never got spread. (I will copy it to a disk image soon when I get my Catweasel4 set up.) Anyway 1992 I finally finished Digital Psychosis – that was really the end of my involvement with the scene for a long time.

I still loved computers and especially the C64, and I would start up my 128D to listen to tunes when I had time or while I did study. I finally finished putting myself through highschool and got in to Computer Science at university. I was using an Amiga and eventually I bought an old Silicon Graphics workstation in 1994. From 94 to 96 I was sponsored by Silicon Graphics creating digital art and also joined up with some crazy swedes in a PC group called Paranormal. I wrote my one and only DOS 4GW demo… hey, it was cool – I got using XM and learnt about the new demoscene.

1997 came around and I was in my first job. I was in the interactive department at EuroRSCG. the 5th largest advertising agency in the world. We had unlimited internet and I was using it every day doing research and work for clients. Then I think in 1998 I found SIDPLUG! WOW! I could listen to all my favourite C64 tunes at work… HEY! Then I learnt about the HVSC! The internet community for the C64 was very strong and once again I had been isolated from it.

I embraced it and since 1999 Pixolut has run an HVSC mirror at http://hvsc.pixolut.net and I have also been a keen supporter of the scene globally where I can. Its great to catch up to the legends of the scene and see where they are today and chat about old times. I enjoy downloading issues of Commodore Hacking from the Fridge to my phone (!) so I can read them when I am on the bus or train. I still am passionate about the 64 scene – but obviously my involvement has fundamentally changed.

In 2003 I left EuroRSCG to start my own company called Pixolüt Industries. We invent software for start up companies. Some examples are http://www.itokhome.com http://www.ivisual.com.au http://www.mobux.com.au … I am still running it and its fun most of the time. Of course I dream of having time to write demos again since big systems can be boring sometimes too. I have also gotten in to motorbikes (I am between them since I wrote off my last bike and am saving for a new one, but all the same…) and children – since I got married in 1999, we have had three children and have another on the way. So as with all of us, life has moved on – but there is still time in my day for a commodore tune, or to check out http://remix.kwed.org or news on www.c64.org because the Commodore is a funamental part of my history and will always be.

A very special LIVE remix session with the (in)famous Jeroen Tel of Vibrants / Maniacs of Noise… Click here to get the podcast.

This set is really inspirational as it is a mix of real 8 bit sound and some modern backing beats, live effects and sample mixing. Its just so fresh but with Jeroen’s classic trademark musical style. He uses a broad crossection of beats and different sounds; from his famous tunes over the past 2 decades (true!) its worth listening to if you are a fan of retro synth or specifically a fan of the Commodore 64.

If you’re a keen listener you will notice that some of the classic tunes have been remixed with more modern multi-speed soundbanks making it that much more interesting for read SID fans.