I am presenting this video in memory of William "Billy V" Vellutini, Harlin's sound man extraordinaire, who passed away on Friday, December 16, 2011. Billy V came into our lives as the sound man for the legendary Golden Bear nightclub in Huntington Beach in the summer of 1985, where Harlin got their start. When that venue was closed and torn down in early 1986, Bill became Harlin's permanent sound man (among many other, probably more notable gigs), mixing the sound for nearly every Harlin show from 1985 - 1990. It was not only his incredible sound mixing talent, but his enthusiasm, his mild manner, his kindness, and his level head in a crisis, not to mention his wonderful sense of humor, that made him such a great asset to the Harlin crew, and no doubt anyone else he worked with.

Recorded live at the Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA in 1988. The video is from a VHS tape that the club provided - the quality is pretty much terrible. However, the introduction for the band that Billy V gives in this video is pretty typical of the way he introduced Harlin at every show, and of the enthusiasm he brought. RIP Billy V, you are missed.

The song, "Stainless", was written by Whil Harlin, and features him on lead vocal and rhythm guitar, Brett Scott on bass, Drake Thompson on drums, and Gib Arciniega on lead guitar. This song was played as Harlin's opening number at many of their shows at Billy V's request - it was a great song to start with because each instrument came in one at a time, easing the job of setting the levels before the vocals came in.

Whil originally wrote and recorded "Stainless" with his previous band, Beringer Reef, and it was released on a promotional 6-song 12 inch vinyl EP titled "Pacific Illusions" by that band in 1982. In 1984, the song was featured on LA rock FM station 94.7 KMET's "Local Licks" program. It also appeared on the demo cassette Whil was shopping around when he met Brett, Drake and Gib in the summer of 1985.

The date displayed in the video, January 16, 1988, has been discovered to be incorrect (because I now have the video for that evening as well, and it's different). The actual date of this show is now believed to be (almost certainly!) January 28, 1988. Sorry for the confusion!

Video produced by Weird Old Uncle Kenny, from my own collection, for the Harlin archive. For many more Harlin videos, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. For pictures and stories, check out the Harlin page on Facebook. Please feel free to give a thumbs-up!

-Weird Old Uncle Kenny