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.

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!?

• Jamie
  SSS Agent #181
  Cartoons drenched in reverb!
  The Mystery Men?
  El Capitan & The Reluctant Sadists

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

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

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

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.
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 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.
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!

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

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

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

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

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)