From the Archives #2: “Paradise” – Uphoria (video)
This video is a performance of the original song “Paradise” by a band I was in called Uphoria back in the late 80s. This was shot at one of your typically rigged battle-of-the-bands competitions. There was a great band before us which I believe was The Mudhens (or an early version thereof), then we played a half dozen songs, and we were followed by a 12-year-old girl –– alone on the stage lip-syncing to pre-recorded music.
The judges unanimously awarded the $2000 prize to the 12-year-old girl.
Well, the people in the club basically had a meltdown, but before the place could be burned to the ground, we graciously agreed to be “co-winners” in a “tie” as long as we publicly settled the crowd. I guess we figured a thousand bucks for 6 songs wasn’t a bad night.
This is probably one of the last shows we did together. Uphoria had gone through a number of personnel changes without me since its inception but I’d returned to the band in 1990 for a few shows. We affectionately called this lineup “Uphoria IV.” I don’t remember anything about the girls we had singing backups for us that night. It was a one-off thing.
The band lineup was:
Lead vocals: Paul Beaudoin
Guitar: Rob Kosinski
Bass: Mike Uganecz
Drums: Lee Calderon
Keyboards: John Tlusty