Pixelon was an American

dot-com company A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com (alternatively rendered dot.com, dot com, dotcom or .com), is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website on the World Wide Web that uses the popular top-level domain ". ...

founded in 1998 that promised better distribution of high-quality video over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. It was based in San Juan Capistrano, California. It gained fame for its extravagant Las Vegas launch party, followed by its sudden and violent decline less than a year later as it became evident it was using technologies that were, in fact, fake or misrepresented. Its founder, "Michael Fenne", was actually David Kim Stanley, a convicted felon involved in stock scams who was "on the lam and living out of the back of his car" when he arrived in California two years earlier. In the year 2000, Pixelon began to fire employees and reduce its operations until its bankruptcy. Pixelon ousted their management team and filed for bankruptcy in June 2000.

iBash '99

The party event for Pixelon's product launch, called "iBASH '99", was held October 29, 1999, at the

MGM Grand Las Vegas The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the world with 6,852 rooms. It is also the third-largest hotel complex in the world by number of roo ...

, at a reported cost of US$16 million. The lineup featured performances by

Chely Wright Chely Wright (born Richell Rene Wright; October 25, 1970) is an American activist, author and country music artist. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the number one hit ...

, LeAnn Rimes,

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and ...

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single "Fly". The ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

the Brian Setzer Orchestra The Brian Setzer Orchestra (sometimes known by its initials BSO) is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. In 1998, for their breakout album '' The Dirty Boogie'', the group covered Louis Prima's " Jump, ...

, and a reunion of

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. Pixelon announced that iBash would be broadcast over the Internet as a technology demonstration. The live stream displayed error messages to thousands of people, and most of those watching the concert did so with Microsoft's streaming software instead of Pixelon's. Pixelon leased the large video screen on

One Times Square One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by ...

in New York City to show an eight-hour-plus live feed of the event. An edited 2-hour show aired on October 30, 1999 on Pax TV (now known as

Ion Television Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented en ...

). iBash was produced by Woody Fraser Productions and was hosted live by

David Spade David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...

and

Cindy Margolis Cynthia Dawn Margolis (born October 1, 1965) is an American glamour spokesmodel and actress. Personal life Margolis was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Karyn O. (née Cleere) and William C. Margolis. According to an intervi ...

. The Who later released their set as a DVD titled ''

The Vegas Job ''The Vegas Job'' is a concert film of The Who's performance on October 29, 1999, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the infamous Pixelon launch event. Pixelon claimed that the performance was streamed live over the Internet t ...

'', featuring two short pre-show interviews with

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...

and John Entwistle, and a short after-crash interview with David Kim Stanley admitting to embezzlement.

Aftermath

The history of the company has been the subject in 2019 National Geographic's docudrama miniseries ''

Valley of the Boom ''Valley of the Boom'' (stylized as ''Valley_of_the_BOOM'') is an American docudrama television miniseries created by Matthew Carnahan that premiered on January 13, 2019, on National Geographic (U.S. TV channel), National Geographic. The series c ...

''.

References

External links

* (website archive of 2000-06-14, just before bankruptcy filing)
David Kim Stanley's personal web site
archived]
David Kim Stanley's YouTube channel
Defunct online companies of the United States Fraud in the United States Internet properties disestablished in 2000 Internet properties established in 1998 1998 establishments in California 2000 disestablishments in California Corporate scandals {{ict-company-stub