GET CRAZY - NADA - "I Can't Take Take Take Take Take It No More" (1983)

It's Saturday night, and the last chance we have to party this Summer, and I can't take it no more, so it must be time to "Get Crazy!" So Welcome Aboard and Say Goodbye To Your Brain!

 "Get Crazy" is arguably one of the best music movies of all time on multiple levels! It's silly, and stupid, but I still love it! For some silly ass reason, to this day, "Get Crazy" is still not available as a DVD. You can find used VHS copies on Amazon for outrageous prices that range from $24.95 to $89.90, but that's about as good as it gets! I used to have one, but I sold it years ago, after I taped this off of the TV! Now since I just got a DVD recorder, I can finally share it with you!

Here's the set-up, a big blast of a New Year's Eve concert at The Saturn Theatre! Think Fillmore Auditorium! Fine actor Daniel (Home Alone) Stern is Neil Allen, the guy in charge of making this show work!

The Bill Graham character is Allen Garfield (Allen Goorwitz) as Max Wolfe! Allen has had an incredible career that has run from "Orgy Girls '69" in 1968 to "White Boy" in 2002 with all kinds of cool stops in between!

You'd be hard pressed to find a film with a wider spectrum of Pop Culture talent than "Get Crazy!"

F'rinstance, Here's Ed Begley Jr. flanked by 60's teen idol Fabian on the left, and 70's pop music icon Bobby Sherman on the right! Among a horde of other films, in "This Is Spinal Tap," Ed played drummer John "Stumpy" Pepys who died in a gardening accident shortly after the release of the band’s third album, "Silent But Deadly."

Here's Dungeon Queen Mary (Death Race 2000) Woronov in a small role as Violetta!

Paul (Eating Raoul) Bartel has the bit part of Dr. Carver!

Here's the lead singer of the "Happy Together" Turtles Howard Kaylan as Captain Cloud!

If you like Reggae music and good harmony, try and find a copy of "Rock Steady" by Howard and his buddy, the other singer in The Turtles, Mark Volman as recorded by Flo and Eddie, you won't be disappointed!

Without a doubt, my favourite character in "Get Crazy" is Lori Eastside as NADA! Lori has been casting extras in a buttload of films since 1998!

The lead singer of the cool-ass punk rock band Fear, Lee Ving plays the vocalist Piggy! Two other members of Fear appear in other small band roles, bass player Derf Scratch, and lead guitarist Philo Cramer!

This all made so much sense when I read a couple of years ago that the late Lou Reed idolized Bob Dylan in his youth! If you listen to some of Lou's pre-Velvet Underground work, you can really hear him emulating Bob in his phrasing! So here he is as the legendary spaced-out poet songwriter Auden!

I don't think it's necessary to point out the obvious!

Time to get this show on the road! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you.......

The Muddy Waters type character was Hoochie Coochie Man Bill Henderson as King Blues! Bill has been in all kinds of flicks like "Fletch," "White Men Can't Jump," and "Mother, Jugs, and Speed," etc.

Completely unlike her role as the manic NADA, Lori Eastside was a singer in the suave Latin disco big band Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and has performed with Coati Mundi! Her performance here, and this song are my favourite part of the movie, so get ready, here's "I'm Not Gonna Take It" by NADA!

Unfortunately, just like the movie, the soundtrack is also not available except on hard-to-find and expensive vinyl! You can find copies on Amazon ranging from $17.99 to $295.90!
 Here are the names of all the girls in the band besides Lori Eastside: Laurie Belle, Kim Burgemeyer, Michele Carpenter, Marleigh Clark, Shari Famous, Tahni Handal, Sunbie Harrell, Susan Justin, Marci Marks, Suzi Sidewinder, and Robin Stewart!!!

This is a great shot of Piggy just before he decides to do some crowd surfing! Lee Ving has had a varied musical career that included stints in bands besides Fear with names like Range War, and Easy Love!

In a great scene, Piggy entices members of the audience to dive off the balcony into the crowd below! In what appears to be a sure disaster, some how, nobody manages to get hurt!

The always excellent Malcolm McDowell performs as Reggie Wanker, an obvious Mick Jagger spoof! Talented as he is, Malcolm sung his own songs!

Man, I miss Lou Reed! As Auden, he spends the whole movie in the back of a cab cruising around New York working on a song. He ends up missing the concert, but shows up just in time to play the music for the ending credits, a sweet song titled "Little Sister!"

The drummer for The Doors, John Densmore, plays Toad, the outlandish drummer in Reggie Wanker's band!

The drug references are many and varied, and when this mysterious character named Electric Larry shows up with his briefcase full of fun and joy, NADA asks him if he's married! This guy is what I thought evil personified in Stephen King's "The Stand" should have looked like!

Did somebody say something about drugs?

Actually, I could have done this whole post just about NADA and her band, but I'll leave you with this cool portrait of the band on a German lobby card!

I'm sure I've left out some of your favourite actors or musicians, here's the names of a few more of the distinguished characters in this film: Gail Edwards, Miles Chapin, Stacey Nelkin, Anna Bjorn, Franklyn Ajaye, Barry Diamond, Clint Howard, Coati Mundi, Linnea Quigley, and  Dick Miller! Awesome cast, awesome film, catch it whenever and wherever you can, if you can!