OPIUM VALA

"Opium Vala" is a more exotic way of saying "opium den," if you didn't know. And it's supposedly the name of a fake drug made from tea leaves and crushed Dristan sold by a high school friend of Matt Pinfield. But in 1980s New Brunswick it meant Pinfield singing with whoever else felt like playing behind him. Which given his stature was everyone. Said Pinfield in retrospect, "Opium was kind of a rotating showcase for guys in Rockin' Bricks, Null Set, Spiral Jetty, The Blasés, and all these cool bands. Opium Vala was basically my forum, my outlet to literally cover over 300 of my favorite songs ever written." That's a pretty swell arrangement, and Pinfield seemed to have more fun than anyone else on the circuit. But that's because Opium Vala was for fun; Pinfield's main 1980s gigs were DJ and Music Director for WRSU, DJ for the Melody Bar, DJ for WHTG, and of course VJ for MTV's 120 Minutes. OV is probably the least known detail of his adult life resumé, unless you were in New Brunswick at the time. I most closely associated them with the Null Set, which provided the songwriting and backing for OV's Mental Floss contribution, "Last Night Dreaming." As to examples of Pinfield's favorite songs, you are directed to videos of his covering The Buzzcock's "Ever Fallen In Love?" and The Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction".

At this late date, it's anyone's guess what Pinfield thinks of this Opium Vala/TMA promotion (former TMA singer David Oldfield thinks it's hilarious), but I'm sure it seemed perfectly normal at the time.

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