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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Music General Discussion »

Permalink How Great Was Man Or Astro-Man?

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Here is a band that doesn't get talked about very much here. However, I would wager a large percentage in a certain age range got us got our start from Man or Astro-Man?

This will be kind of an open conversation. What do you think of their early albums compared to their later albums, how exciting were they live, were they blasphemous to surf? And of course are they a surf band.

For me the early albums are the best, especially Destroy All-Astro-Men. However, the later albums while not resembling surf music are still quite brilliant. They took some great leaps and grew as artists in my opinion. Who wants to make 10 strict surfy albums? Not me.

Starcrunch's tone. Simply awesome. I can safely make the assumption that there is no tank in the mix. Fender combo amps and mosrites and gretschs are my guess. Pretty good player as well. My props to him as having his own style of writing. Lots of chords and riffs that broke up the monotony of constant surf lead. My favorite guitar solo ever is in Bermuda Triangle Shorts. So beautiful. His playing on the Heavies(Surf the River of Blood) is also amazing.

Here is a cool live video. As they were getting out of their surf phase.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84rLXS6HQQA&feature=related

They dont' follow many of the rules of a surf band but in my opinion their albums that can possibly be considered in the realm of surf are up there with the best of them.

love all the early stuff too,

we used to talk about them alot on Cowabunga and the sg101 yahoo group.

the longer they are gone, the more they disappear into time.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

They were certainly one of the most incredible live experiences I've ever witnessed. Every time I saw them they added something wild to the act, and every single time, even though I knew what was coming, I would walk away completely floored all over again. They really broke ground in that way... a completely original show. I like to see bands pay that kind of attention to providing a full "experience". The best current example that I can think of that's going strong is DAIKAIJU. Sweet bejesus that's an amazing experience!!!

Man Or Astroman? will always be on heavy rotation for me. I most certainly DO consider them surf, but I'm not quite the purist that some of the other SG101ers, so I may have the minority opinion. If anything I think they nailed that whole "space-surf" or "sci-fi" sound. It's not beachy by any means... feels much more techy. I like that they push the genre, and they certainly did it with gusto.

I heard rumors of a DVD. Anyone else hear about this? How great would that be!?

Being across the state from them, we had the opportunity to see them very early when the surf influence was very prominent. They were always described as "Devo Meets the Ventures" back then which I think they hated. Eventually we shared the stage leading to one of Thrillby's flyer masterpieces:

http://www.penetrators.com/astro.html

I tend to lean more towards their early stuff. While they have some brilliant songs I always felt you got a lot of quantity over quality leading to the pet name Man or Introman?

I don't see how they set up that stage show all those thousands of times.

They had such a sweeping influence from releasing so much stuff and touring so much I believe they'll have a well deserved lasting influence on instromental.

Spanky

MoAM? got me here. I love their early stuff. I tend to like Project Infinity and Experiment Zero the best. These two albums, IMHO, is where they defined their own sound. The stuff before that was great also, but those 2 albums are it for me because it is truly "their" sound.

I even liked Made from Technetium, where they started moving away from the surf sound. After that, and after Star Crunch, they lost me.

In hindsight, they did have a quantity vs quality control problem, and probably released too much stuff. A few riffs don't make a song. Although this probably helped pay the bills and increase their legend by having so many singles and 45s.

I cannot believe how much touring they did, nor how much effort they put into their live shows. They were pretty ground breaking for that.

Star Crunch did indeed have an awesome sound. They were a really great band. I'm bummed I never got to see them live.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

JakeDobner
My favorite guitar solo ever is in Bermuda Triangle Shorts. So beautiful.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Destroy All Astro-Men is also my favorite. I was just mulling this over the other day; how discussion of MoAM has declined to almost nothing on this group but how we used to talk about them all the time. I popped "Experiment Zero" into my car's cd player the other day and listened to it for the first time in a while. While I did not get my start from them, they were the first "newer" surf band I heard. I was holding onto my dad's limited surf collection when I was told by a friend in a rockabilly band, "Y'know there are still surf bands out there, man." I was shocked. He immediately pulled out a MoAM mixed tape and I went from there.

The Mystery Men?
El Capitan and The Reluctant Sadists
SSS Agent #31

I think that they occupied a useful spot in the history of surf rock. Certainly unique for their time. A disappointing fraction of their later catalog has little in the way of melody, though, and causes me listener fatigue. But they did some neat things. They applied to surf that New Wave concept of adding "blips and bleeps" over the top of a tune in studio. Of course, it could be totally fun or annoying depending on the "bleeps" in question. Likewise, their covers (to my ears) often tended to be arranged to deconstruct the originals, in an almost Devo-like fashion; again, sometimes it was inspired genius, but sometimes it maybe was not. They were very cool, no matter what. Shame was, they probably discovered this fact.

SSIV

Brian
In hindsight, they did have a quantity vs quality control problem, and probably released too much stuff. A few riffs don't make a song.

MOAM is probably the second surf band I listened to, but this is kind of how I feel. They had some great songs, apparently a great live act and an aesthetic that I loved, but I think a lot of their popularity came from the fact that they were on Touch and Go and through that got to completely corner fans that had no greater exposure to surf.

So it follows that my favorite albums came later like EEVIAC when I think they really started making full-bodied songs.

I also hated the Steve Albini produced albums... until I listened to them on vinyl. If Albini were to read this post I bet he'd cackle

Storm Surge of Reverb: Surf & Instro Radio

MoAM definitely helped get me interested in high energy surf. I agree with Brian on Project Infinity. That's definitely my fav. Great album start to finish. Although I don't listen to them much anymore, I thought they definitely had a wide influence over the genre.

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

Loved their first few albums. Live they were one of the most entertaining surf bands of their time. Nice guys too. We (the Exotics) did a couple of short tours with them in the midwest as well as with one of the clone bands as well - the one with Jonny from Jonny and the Shamen and the Causey Way guy.

The Exotics 1994-Current
The Chickenshack - www.wmse.org
www.thedoghouseflowers.com
www.uptownsavages.com

Man or Astro-Man? was and is the greatest band of all time.Yes i said of all freakin' TIME! Their music moves me and inspires me like no other artist ever has or ever will I assume.My love for MOAM is probably more fanaticle than any other.
In the early days and even now ,I was in a steady frenzy to possess every record ,cd ,or everything they put out with there name on it .That list would include yo-yo's,switch plates,DNA specimen's,posters,everything i tell ya!
If i was on a desert island and only had one album to accompany me it would have to be the Birdstuff co-produced Project Infinity.I have had the pleasure of seeing the band perform about 14 times.I can only say that the only time the band wasn't in top notch form was when they first started touring with the new guitarist,and hell it wasn't half bad really.
I'll be the first to admit the material without the great Starcrunch had it's moments of lameness.I should say that 80 percent is awesome in my opinion.
MOAM put out a huge amount of material ,because they had the talent to,that's all.After several road trips to various states and a one time close friend i finally gathered up every song the band ever released and then some. Wink
I was even one of the very few who had the chance to witness the Clone Project Gamma (the one with the chicks)which were surprisingly pretty damn entertaining.I found the girl played Birdstuff's clone quit hot Drool The chick playing Starcrunch was very odd looking with her tattooed side burns and all.though she was really great at playing all of guitar parts .MOAM had more great ideas in there career,than anyone i can think of. Stir the Pot
I can proudly say that i've heard everyone of my MOAM? records over a hundred times and i never get tired or bored with any of them,though many of my friends do.I just never heard another band that brings me so much joy.

As for that Man Or Astroman? DVD that's been at one time titled "Technical Deficulties Abound" I have know idea when ,or if ever it will be released.I've asked Birdstuff once ,and he never responded.

Reverb, It's A Way Of Life!

I thought the DVD was out. Some members actually have it.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

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Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 18:24:46

Another thread of interest:

MoAM? Reunion

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

MoAM? Time Bomb DVD

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

I have the old VHS. It is a good one.

One of my all-time favorite instro-bands!!!

El Bluesky
El Ray
El Ray on Bandcamp
El Twang on YouTube

MoAM is definitely one of my favorite bands of all time. They were the first surf band I heard that ever made me want to pick up the guitar and give it a try myself. Without Starcrunch's amazing riffs and solos, I doubt I would have ever picked up a guitar.

I owe them quite a lot.

"Hope is a waking dream." - Aristotle

I like how they took old 60's songs and revved them up, sometimes double timing the drum beats and making them heavier than the originals, giving new life to the songs, and making it more accessible to the then young people that were prob into punk and Indie bands that wouldn't normally listen to "surf"

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Bravo to Brandonio!

I had a conversation with somebody once who said every song is somebody's favorite song (even if it's only one person) and any band that's been around for a while is somebody's favorite band. - that whole theory is a separate debate.

What a great post so clearly genuinely illustrating that emotion. That's what it's all about. (For the Record, I'm certainly not suggesting Brandonio is the only one that feels that way about MOAM)

Spanky
023

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