Interviews
Interview with Jazzcat
Published in The Beergarden #6
Performed by Tomz
T)
Thanks for sparing some of your time David, so would you be kind enough to introduce yourself.
J)
I am on annual leave from work at the moment, so there is plenty of time :) As most would know, my handle is JAZZCAT and I am one of the leaders and founding members of the demo and cracking group known as Onslaught. Some of my former groups are Bodycount, Rebels, Alpha Flight 1970, Legend and a few more under different handles. :) (!) Some past jobs in the scene for me have been mega swapping, modem trading, Hacking*Phreaking, Original supplying, organization and of course magazine editing. My real name is David, I am 24 years of age and I work in one of the major telecommunication companies in Australia.
T)
We'll cut straight to the chase, what in your opinion keeps -Domination-, Dominating. Being the scenes number one mag for several years now, could it be the fact that you have been able to cater for both the 'net' sceners, as well as snail-sceners, or is there some other secret to it all? Tell us, please!
J)
I feel that a lot of other magazines do not have the "complete package" feel to them. With each issue of Domination the staff try and inject as much C64 material as possible into the magazine. At one point we were covering the boards, mail and internet - at the time when people were split between each (in today's scene it is more and more the internet which is the major communication medium, however the mail scene certainly still exists). Not to say that quantity is what matters, I think it is coverage of the scene, giving everything you can to make the magazine become more "polished" and when the edition is finished have confidence that everyone who reads it, finds something interesting, inspiring or even shocking! There is so many other smaller things that all have to do with making a magazine appeal. Exclusive music, pictures in the intros or even adding additional exclusively donated wares to fill up the remaining space on the disk. The magazine has also had a user-friendly outfit, which is my second priority after the actual text itself. People should concentrate more on the C64 only, meaning no non-C64 related chapters, another very important thing I try very hard to perform is an accurate and highly detailed news section. The news chapters, I believe can encourage a nation of sceners. There is so many things taking place in our little scene and we as magazine editors have a duty to inform the public, a lot of magazines neglect this. I feel Vandalism News is also the same as Domination in some aspects. Being a "complete package" also, it is always going to give something to the readers, instead of the user loading one or two chapters and turning off their C64, (or emulator, bah, use a C64) they load more. To all editors out there, your magazine is your child, raise it well, just because it is a magazine and not a demo, does not mean you should not work very hard to make it enjoyable entertainment :))
T)
You've been in several groups over the years, what is the one 'big' difference you can name between these early groups when compared with today's, newer groups, from your own observations.
J)
I would have to say it would be the level of commitment sceners have in today's scene. There is a lot of sleeping sceners out there, ones that have got time but no inspiration. In older times I have noticed people would do much more for the scene, they still function normally in their daily life - girlfriend, school, work etc... yet still find time to put a lot of energy into the C64 (for example, when the postal departments do not work on a weekend and you have a hot first release original game, get in your car and drive it to the "crackers" house which is around 5 hours away). There is still many enthusiastic sceners out there with wild dreams for future C64 scene and commercial productions (I am one of them), but there is a noticeable difference as time goes by.
T)
We've both had our own 'feuds' with out people in the past, but when looking back, would you say it was detrimental in someway, or is it just one of these things we humans do sometimes?
J)
It is not detrimental towards the scene at all. More than likely, wars and other scene turbulence has created activity, inspired people, even produce more wares. The C64 community is smaller than a nation of people, competition is more personal so arguments sometimes break out. Another thing is that because we know each other within our community more personally, we sometimes may notice changes in a scener or they change towards you only because they misinterpret you which can then lead into a debate, followed soon by an argument and then even a group versus group war. My opinion mainly derives from the BBS SCENE/CRACKING SCENE. Although certain demo sceners I have also had disagreements with in the past (Hi RRR). Hopefully we can all move on and look back at our past and smile at the fun we all had. I would love to get in touch with some oldies once again such as Deff, Westbam, Gene and maybe even Thor (the *real* elite ;))
T)
Onslaught are doing extremely well these days under your leadership whatever happened to Vengeance, did Matt get married, or something else?
J)
Well to explain to the readers a bit more about the organization. It is true, I am the main organizer, but together with other members also. Vengeance also is a leader, one of the three original founding members of the group (Vengeance, Majesty and myself). I often call him about new members or productions or to kick his ass about Vandalism News, which seems to have worked. He was away from the scene for quite a while, he would know what was going on with a few things in the scene through me, but he had time with other things, such as his work, basketball, cricket and of course boozing, smoking and playing PSX. It happens to all of us, time changes life and sometimes it changes what we like to do too. Recently we have had several weekends of boozing and going through C64 wares, thinking of new ideas and reliving the old times. Matt (Vengeance) has taken a great liking to the internet also and will soon be online again, inspiration for the scene is alive once again in him, read more in Vandalism News #31 and the upcoming special "Olympic" edition. Remember the scene years of 1995 and 1996? That was when Vengeance and I was active together, lots and lots of wares from us then. I am looking forward to the next few months. We want a steady flow of wares in both the demo and cracking scenes. There is some exciting wares coming from us in the future, I can guarantee this. Keep watching!
T)
I won't ask you who you'd like to greet, as our editor only allows for about 27 pages and we've only got 30 or so chapters, in this our 1st killer issue. However, who in your opinion are the groups today that are doing the most for our scene?
J)
Greetings to all the people I know! :) I think groups like Crest, Smash Designs and Laxity are helping the scene a lot. Crest leads the new scene into the direction I think it should follow, (and I don't mean imitate, I mean inspire and not by having 'entire' demos filled with effects emulated from a PC, this is a C64 remember :)) for me, Smash Designs are continuing like Reflex in a way. Which is good. As Reflex were a new group that surprised people and SD have certainly done the same. Laxity are doing a nice job together with my group (hehe) in the cracking department. I certainly must give a 'hats off' act of respect to groups like Remember and Nostalgia. They do some fine quality releases and put a lot of effort into what they do.
T)
Mega thanks for this 'quickie' mate, hopefully it gives our readers a better insight into what's behind the scenes at Domination HQ, and as is usual in my interviews I'll let you say the last word.
J)
Keep with the C64 scene it is the best ever on any platform. Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and boot up an old demo or game. If any one wishes to contact me for some serious 'productivity' and scene fun...
Published in The Beergarden #6
Performed by Tomz
T)
Thanks for sparing some of your time David, so would you be kind enough to introduce yourself.
J)
I am on annual leave from work at the moment, so there is plenty of time :) As most would know, my handle is JAZZCAT and I am one of the leaders and founding members of the demo and cracking group known as Onslaught. Some of my former groups are Bodycount, Rebels, Alpha Flight 1970, Legend and a few more under different handles. :) (!) Some past jobs in the scene for me have been mega swapping, modem trading, Hacking*Phreaking, Original supplying, organization and of course magazine editing. My real name is David, I am 24 years of age and I work in one of the major telecommunication companies in Australia.
T)
We'll cut straight to the chase, what in your opinion keeps -Domination-, Dominating. Being the scenes number one mag for several years now, could it be the fact that you have been able to cater for both the 'net' sceners, as well as snail-sceners, or is there some other secret to it all? Tell us, please!
J)
I feel that a lot of other magazines do not have the "complete package" feel to them. With each issue of Domination the staff try and inject as much C64 material as possible into the magazine. At one point we were covering the boards, mail and internet - at the time when people were split between each (in today's scene it is more and more the internet which is the major communication medium, however the mail scene certainly still exists). Not to say that quantity is what matters, I think it is coverage of the scene, giving everything you can to make the magazine become more "polished" and when the edition is finished have confidence that everyone who reads it, finds something interesting, inspiring or even shocking! There is so many other smaller things that all have to do with making a magazine appeal. Exclusive music, pictures in the intros or even adding additional exclusively donated wares to fill up the remaining space on the disk. The magazine has also had a user-friendly outfit, which is my second priority after the actual text itself. People should concentrate more on the C64 only, meaning no non-C64 related chapters, another very important thing I try very hard to perform is an accurate and highly detailed news section. The news chapters, I believe can encourage a nation of sceners. There is so many things taking place in our little scene and we as magazine editors have a duty to inform the public, a lot of magazines neglect this. I feel Vandalism News is also the same as Domination in some aspects. Being a "complete package" also, it is always going to give something to the readers, instead of the user loading one or two chapters and turning off their C64, (or emulator, bah, use a C64) they load more. To all editors out there, your magazine is your child, raise it well, just because it is a magazine and not a demo, does not mean you should not work very hard to make it enjoyable entertainment :))
T)
You've been in several groups over the years, what is the one 'big' difference you can name between these early groups when compared with today's, newer groups, from your own observations.
J)
I would have to say it would be the level of commitment sceners have in today's scene. There is a lot of sleeping sceners out there, ones that have got time but no inspiration. In older times I have noticed people would do much more for the scene, they still function normally in their daily life - girlfriend, school, work etc... yet still find time to put a lot of energy into the C64 (for example, when the postal departments do not work on a weekend and you have a hot first release original game, get in your car and drive it to the "crackers" house which is around 5 hours away). There is still many enthusiastic sceners out there with wild dreams for future C64 scene and commercial productions (I am one of them), but there is a noticeable difference as time goes by.
T)
We've both had our own 'feuds' with out people in the past, but when looking back, would you say it was detrimental in someway, or is it just one of these things we humans do sometimes?
J)
It is not detrimental towards the scene at all. More than likely, wars and other scene turbulence has created activity, inspired people, even produce more wares. The C64 community is smaller than a nation of people, competition is more personal so arguments sometimes break out. Another thing is that because we know each other within our community more personally, we sometimes may notice changes in a scener or they change towards you only because they misinterpret you which can then lead into a debate, followed soon by an argument and then even a group versus group war. My opinion mainly derives from the BBS SCENE/CRACKING SCENE. Although certain demo sceners I have also had disagreements with in the past (Hi RRR). Hopefully we can all move on and look back at our past and smile at the fun we all had. I would love to get in touch with some oldies once again such as Deff, Westbam, Gene and maybe even Thor (the *real* elite ;))
T)
Onslaught are doing extremely well these days under your leadership whatever happened to Vengeance, did Matt get married, or something else?
J)
Well to explain to the readers a bit more about the organization. It is true, I am the main organizer, but together with other members also. Vengeance also is a leader, one of the three original founding members of the group (Vengeance, Majesty and myself). I often call him about new members or productions or to kick his ass about Vandalism News, which seems to have worked. He was away from the scene for quite a while, he would know what was going on with a few things in the scene through me, but he had time with other things, such as his work, basketball, cricket and of course boozing, smoking and playing PSX. It happens to all of us, time changes life and sometimes it changes what we like to do too. Recently we have had several weekends of boozing and going through C64 wares, thinking of new ideas and reliving the old times. Matt (Vengeance) has taken a great liking to the internet also and will soon be online again, inspiration for the scene is alive once again in him, read more in Vandalism News #31 and the upcoming special "Olympic" edition. Remember the scene years of 1995 and 1996? That was when Vengeance and I was active together, lots and lots of wares from us then. I am looking forward to the next few months. We want a steady flow of wares in both the demo and cracking scenes. There is some exciting wares coming from us in the future, I can guarantee this. Keep watching!
T)
I won't ask you who you'd like to greet, as our editor only allows for about 27 pages and we've only got 30 or so chapters, in this our 1st killer issue. However, who in your opinion are the groups today that are doing the most for our scene?
J)
Greetings to all the people I know! :) I think groups like Crest, Smash Designs and Laxity are helping the scene a lot. Crest leads the new scene into the direction I think it should follow, (and I don't mean imitate, I mean inspire and not by having 'entire' demos filled with effects emulated from a PC, this is a C64 remember :)) for me, Smash Designs are continuing like Reflex in a way. Which is good. As Reflex were a new group that surprised people and SD have certainly done the same. Laxity are doing a nice job together with my group (hehe) in the cracking department. I certainly must give a 'hats off' act of respect to groups like Remember and Nostalgia. They do some fine quality releases and put a lot of effort into what they do.
T)
Mega thanks for this 'quickie' mate, hopefully it gives our readers a better insight into what's behind the scenes at Domination HQ, and as is usual in my interviews I'll let you say the last word.
J)
Keep with the C64 scene it is the best ever on any platform. Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and boot up an old demo or game. If any one wishes to contact me for some serious 'productivity' and scene fun...