When the space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas in February of 2003, NBC turned to legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, for perspective on the tragedy. As part of his comments, Buzz began to read a poem, until, overcome with emotion, he could not continue. What Buzz was reading from was actually the lyrics to a song from the new CD from Prometheus Music, To Touch The Stars – A Musical Celebration of Space Exploration. The song was Fire In The Sky (by Dr. Jordin Kare), which includes the line: "As they passed from us to glory, riding fire in the sky". Buzz subsequently downloaded album tracks off the Internet, and was moved enough to offer his endorsement for the album, saying:
"As
someone who has actually set foot on the threshold of space and experienced
firsthand its majesty and the incredible potential it holds for the human race,
I am thrilled by this new collection of original songs celebrating the
beginnings of our great endeavor to reach for the stars."
Songs
range from the scientific ("If We Had No Moon") to the
historic ("Fire in the Sky") to the whimsical ("Dance
on the Ceiling", "Dog On
the Moon"). "These are exciting, well-crafted,
professionally-written songs in a variety of styles," says
multi-instrumentalist Mark Ungar, who lent his expertise on electric guitar and
sitar, vocals and guitar synthesizer to several of the tracks. "Everyone
who was involved turned in great performances. It'll appeal to anyone who enjoysappreciates
music
original songwriting and
is inspired by the exploration of space."
The
project grew out of a partnership between Prometheus,
the Mars Society, and the National
Space Society (NSS), which sponsored a "pro-space"
songwriting competition, inviting “spacebards” to submit entries. "If we
are to win the hearts and souls of humanity to the vision of a spacefaring
future, the space exploration movement must also develop its songs," says[Mu1] Dr. [Mu2]Robert Zubrin,
then-chairman of the NSS Executive
Committee and influential
author of the international best-seller The
Case For Mars. "A few people have realized this, and so a subculture
has emerged of space folk songs. But outside of performances at space and
science fiction conventions, few people have heard this wonderful music". Zubrin was so convinced of the importance of this endeavor that he held a
similar contest a couple of years later when he founded the Mars Society. The CD includes forewords
by NSS Executive Director Brian
Chase and Zubrin.
Co-producer
Eli Goldberg, owner of Prometheus, adds: "People in the sci-fi
community have been writing and singing songs about space for years, but this
project really raises the bar — we wanted to put out a really high-quality
album, not just in terms of the recording and musicianship but the writing as
well. We wanted it to be as good as anything you'd hear on the radio or in
movies or on TV, and I think we've succeeded in that."
The
17 album tracks include winning entries from the NSS and Mars Society
contests, along with new works from selected singer/songwriters. Elementary school
teacher Michael Penkava’s "Now’s The Time To Touch A Star" was the NSS contest’s 1st place winner. "Space isn't just
vocabulary words and data: it comes alive as we explore and discover, as we
analyze and synthesize, as we discuss and debate." Penkava
was encouraged to enter the contest by a student, and harbored no hopes of
winning. "I recorded it in the classroom on a cheap karaoke machine – the
sound quality was terrible. The child who wanted me to enter said, 'If your
song is good enough, it doesn’t matter how bad it sounds.' Out of the mouths of
babes…!”
A
majority of the tracks were recorded in Oakland, California at Flowinglass
Studio, home of progressive Celtic/Medieval rockers Avalon
Rising. Owner Kristoph Klover engineered and
co-produced, as well as contributed guitar, vocals and a song (Others Standing By), containing the refrain:
"Why would you go there?" they say.
"There's nothing up there anyway,
We could use the money here.
Don't you know that life's too dear?"
Dreamers never ask why.
Spend their money in the sky.
We'll send the best from Earth,
To find out what it's worth.
At a time when, more than ever, science without a clearly defined political or
commercial agenda is decried as a waste of taxpayers’ money, Zubrin
says: "It's an anthem that the country could use right now".
Tracks
were penned and performed by a variety of musical luminaries. The soaring
ballad Beyond the Sky was written by
renowned singer/songwriter Judy Collins to honor astronaut Eileen Collins, first woman to command
a space shuttle (here sung by Margaret Davis). Prolific
composer/writer/singer Christine Lavin makes an appearance
with her Nova-episode-in-8-minutes number
If We Had No Moon, inspired by the documentary film of the same name by Martin
Ives. Gunnar Madsen, a co-founder of the popular a capella group The
Bobs, rips through stunning performances of Surprise! (a "Russian folk-song" about Sputnik) and the ska rave-up Dance On The Ceiling.
The
album was
mastered by veteran engineer George Horn
at world-famous Fantasy
Studios in Berkeley, California, with an expected release date
during the 2003 holiday season.
Pre-release copies of the album provided the
soundtrack to numerous Yuri’s
Night parties, a "party
for space" held
simultaneously in 36 countries around the world every year on April 12th,
the anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first flight into space.
Formed in late 1997, Prometheus Music is a San
Francisco-based music label dedicated to producing high-quality space- and
science-fiction-themed CDs.
The
Mars Society is an international
organization with chapters in all 50 states, 40 countries, and every continent
of the globe, including Antarctica. We are activists, engaged in
education, outreach, and research to advance the exploration and eventual
settlement of the planet Mars. Board members include founder and
president, Dr. Robert Zubrin, best selling science fiction author Gregory
Benford, extremophile researcher Dr. Penelope Boston, and international space
law expert Declan O'Donnell among others. The Steering Committee membership
includes Buzz Aldrin, Dr. Chris McKay and Dr. Carol Stoker of NA
The National Space Society is a
25,000-member grassroots organization devoted to creating a spacefaring
civilization, understanding the benefits that accrue from space exploration,
and promoting further probing of the next frontier. Their website is located at www.nss.org. Founded
25 years ago by space pioneer Wernher von Braun, the NSS
is widely acknowledged as the preeminent citizen's voice on space. Its board
includes astronauts such as Buzz Aldrin and John Glenn, as well
as prominent space enthusiasts such as Hugh Downs, and Tom Hanks. The late
Bob
Hope was also a member.