Imagine if the Kinks, the Ventures, Stray Cats and Devo were galactic pioneers, and joined forces to defend earth’s right to “rocket roll”. Combine that with a fast driving blend of punk, pop, psychobilly, solid songwriting and a witty Sci-Fi theme, and you’ve got one of the east bay’s most celebrated bands, The Phenomenauts.
Conceived in the amazing year 2000 and hailing from “Earth’s capital” of Oakland, California, The Phenomenauts are true galactic pioneers on a mission to entertain with their unique brand of “Rocket-Roll.” The Phenomenauts gained early recognition as the east bay’s “craftiest and bravest band” (East Bay Express) for their now infamous commando-style performances in which they set up in front of large music venues, such as the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco, and perform rollicking sets powered by car batteries for unsuspecting crowds. These early “missions” landed them on the cover of multiple bay area publications, including The San Francisco Weekly, The East Bay Express and Independent Musician Magazine.
In 2003, The Phenomenauts pulled off their most impressive commando run-to-date where they literally scammed their way into the 2003 Warped Tour. The band won over the tour’s founder, Kevin Lyman, and was invited back officially the following year for the Vans Warped Tour 2004, during which they continued to impress fans and critics nationwide. Among others, The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that out of 98 bands, “The Phenomenauts and Flogging Molly were among the best of the tour….playing a swinging amalgam of dusty garage rock and new wave.”
A critical part of the Phenomenaut experience has always been their live show, during which the band proudly displays its evolving arsenal of homemade “Phenoma-gadgets.” The Theramatic Helmerator, or “top of JoeBot’s head,” contains a wireless theramin that creates Sci-Fi sounds reminiscent of old Star Trek episodes; the Streamerator 2000, manned by Professor Greg Arius, blasts rolls of toilet paper out into the crowd, bringing them in as part of the show; clouds of CO2 envelop the crowd while rockets launch from the Rocketerator, and inflatable models of Earth hover above the band as they play the crowd favorite “Earth is the Best.” These cleverly crafted devices immensely add to the mystique and cult appeal of the band and are just some of the gems one can expect in the live spectacle.
The Phenomenauts’ image would not be complete without their own set of sharp uniforms. Donning the official propaganda colors of their home planet Earth, our heroes have never gone on stage wearing civilian clothing. Many cadets are also joining the ranks and diligently arriving at shows wearing homemade uniforms modeled after the “official-ones” worn on stage by the band.
On their headlining tour across the US in Summer 2006, The Phenomenauts found themselves ready to hit the stage in Boston when they realized they had left two of their uniforms in Philadelphia the night before.
“We were supposed to go on in about one minute when we discovered that Professor Greg’s lab coat and my Commander Series uniform had been left in the Philadelphia system. I walked up to a few of our fans in the crowd and said, ‘The Phenomenauts need to commandeer your uniforms in the name of Science and Honor.’ The cadets gladly gave up their uniforms and we wore them until we could return to Philadelphia. They were so well-made, no one even noticed they weren’t our own,” said Commander Angel Nova.
Homemade uniforms are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cadet loyalty. The band has received items ranging from homemade ice cream cake to hanging porcelain mobiles, emblazoned with the official Phenomenauts “P” logo.
With a band name that means, “to pilot an unusual experience,” It’s no wonder that they travel in a mode of transportation true to that description. They have customized their own small fleet of Phenoma-vechicles, bringing their space age image to the streets.
The Phenoma-Bomber Beta, more space ship than Dodge Van, is sometimes accompanied by the Phenomenator Alpha, a smaller scout ship that features rocket fins and dual-quad thrusters. Littered with electronic gadgets from the late 20th Century such as remote controls, stereo components, and motherboards of defunct computers, they are easily mistaken for pieces of electrical equipment turned inside out, never failing to turn heads on the highway. Catching a glimpse of one of these ships is truly an unforgettable experience.
When the band isn’t on tour, they dock their ships and hang their shirts at the top-secret Command Center, located discreetly in the industrial heart of Earth’s Capitol, Western Oakland. It is the center of The Phenomenauts’ universe and serves as home, rehearsal studio, and think tank for all things related to the band. The Command Center was featured in a three-page spread in Fat Mike’s (NOFX) magazine Punk Rock Confidential, and it also appears in the independent Warped Tour related feature film, “Punk Rock Holocaust.”
In the spring of 2003, Springman Records (Big D and the Kids Table, Groovie Ghoulies, Jason Webley) provided the stepping-stone needed to launch their grand missions. The group’s first full length recording “Rockets and Robots” was received “phenomenautly” by radio stations and audiences surrounding the bay area including KALX (top ten albums 7/22/02), KUSF (regular rotation), KCSU, KTUH (Hawaii), KZSU, (college stations), and received plays as well on KROQ affiliate of Live 105 in San Francisco and Clear Channel’s “Channel 104.9” in San Jose.
The Phenomenauts second release on Springman Records released in November of 2004, “Re-Entry”, was recorded at Oakland’s 880 Studios and produced by Chris Dugan of The Network (Green Day side-project). “Re-Entry” stays true to the band’s vision and capture’s the high-energy chaotic fun of the act’s wildly popular live shows. “Re-Entry” charted on the CMJ top 25 in the spring of 2006. The Phenomenauts are also in regular rotation on XM and Sirius Satellite radio stations.
The Phenomenauts video for the song “Mission” (Directed by Anti-vision) from the “Re-Entry” album won Best Music Video in the 2006 Philadelphia Independent Film Festival. Part of the winning prize is to be featured as a” featured video” on the front page of Myspace.com. In Dec. 2006 Myspace.com featured the “Mission” video, earning it over where it was watched by over 140,000 people in five days. One week later, in December of 2006, YouTube.com also featured the “Mission” video on their front-page where it received over 330,000 plays.
The Sci-Fi Channel produced film “Dead and Deader” (2006) starring Dean Cain features The Phenomenauts song “Galactic Pioneers” as the credits roll. The Movie premiered on Dec 8, 2006 and is still in rotation.
The current line-up: Commander Angel Nova, vocals/guitar; Corporal JoeBot 2.0, vocals/guitar; Captain Chreehos, stand-up bass/vox; Major Jimmy Boom, drums/vox; Professor Greg Arius on Moog, keys, special effects/vox; and Orbit “The worlds most handsomest and talented Space Dog.”
Touring Credits include: 6 US Tours and 1 European Tour. Summer 2006 National Headline Tour (all major markets), Summer 2006 National tour w/ The Epoxies (Fat Wreck), Fall 2006 Far West w/The Toasters, New Years Eve 2005 w/Les Claypool at The Fillmore SF, 2005 National tour w/ The Aquabats (Nitro), Van’s Warped Tour 2003 and 2004 (all major U.S. cities); Seven country European Tour with Demented Are Go! 2004 (People Like You Records.) Filming for national full-length feature film to be released in May 2004 “Punk Rock Holocaust”. Main Support act for Reverend Horton Heat, The Epoxies (Fat Wreck), The Slackers (Epitaph/ HellCat), The Briefs (Interscope/BYO), Groovie Ghoulies (Springman), Big D and The Kids Table (Springman) The Matches (Epitaph), One Man Army (Adeline), Mr. T Experience (Lookout!), Three Bad Jacks and many more.
A cartoon/live action series based on the band is currently being pitched to major television networks by Emmy Award-winning writer Rich Fogel (Pinky and the Brain, Justice league, Batman cartoon.)
Smiley Crew Productions -- a digital production company specilizing in movies, cartoons, and video games -- created a video game in 2006 based on The Phenomenauts. The game, titled “Space Flight,” is named after one of the songs off their “Re-Entry” album and can be played by visiting smileycrew.com.
Discography:
Rockets And Robots (CD, 8-Track, 2000 Arlington Lab Records/2002 Springman Records)
Mission Transmission (7” 2003 Springman Records)
The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show (CD, 2003 Springman Records)
Pre-Entry (EP-CD, 2004 Springman Records)
Re-Entry (CD, 2004 Springman Records)
Punk Rock Holocaust (DVD, 2004 Springman Records)
Beyond Warped Live Music Series (Dual Disc, CD, DVD 2005 Immergent Records)
2005 Van’s Warped Tour Official Comp (CD, 2005 SideOne Dummy Records)
Backyard City Rockers Vol. 4 (CD, 2005 Smelvis Records)
Dog Train (CD, Book, 2005 Workman Publishing)
Go Cat Go! A Tribute To the Stray Cats (CD, 2006 Hairball 8)
And many more compilations…
Contact:
USA Booking: RockportAgency@aol.com
Label/Promo etc: Avi@SpringmanRecords.com
Interviews/Appearances: Phenomenauts@Earthlink.net
Legal: DrumLaw80@Hotmail.com
Online:
http://www.Phenomenauts.com
http://www.MySpace.com/ThePhenomenauts
Press Photos and logo downloads:
http://www.phenomenauts.com/