Clip from Pat O’Neill’s 1968 promo film for The United States of America’s track “Coming Down,” and another clip with Pat talking about how it was made, followed by an excerpt from his 1967 film 5673, with audio by Joseph Byrd from The United States of America.
O’Neill was a Los Angeles photographer and sculptor who became one of the city’s most inventive experimental filmmakers. His signature tool was the optical printer, which let him rephotograph film frame by frame, combine separate images, and alter their color and contrast. The full version of his “Coming Down” film has had cinema screenings in recent years but is not currently findable online (believe me, I tried).
The United States of America was formed by avant-garde composer Joseph Byrd and singer Dorothy Moskowitz in 1967. They blended early electronic instruments like ring modulators, electronic violins and tape loops with traditional psychedelic rock structures. Byrd originally moved to New York to study with John Cage, and he did experimental performances with Yoko Ono and La Monte Young, so he wasn’t your average hippie with a psychedelic rock band. They released one landmark, visionary album on Columbia in 1968 and then split up.
