First Teaser Image From the Alphanaut "The Innocence of Time" Video

Here's my first teaser image for the upcoming Alphanaut music video "The Innocence of Time", which we shot last month with director Nils Timm.

Don't want to give away too much before the video gets released in July but I'll be putting out visual hints between now and the release day.

To purchase a copy of "The Innocence of Time" on iTunes


Or purchase the song on Amazon

"Sleep Spun Brown" - New Alphanaut 'B Side' for "Satellites Crashing" Single

Just wrapped our final rehearsal for a new Alphanaut tune titled "Sleep Spun Brown" which will be a bonus cut for the forthcoming single "Satellites Crashing".



The song actually is a piece I originally co-wrote with Cobban Barnett, my good friend and former keyboard player in my band November. We had gotten together at his place in Chicago with the intention of writing as much material as possible for a new project and this piece came into existence in less than 8 hours. Unfortunately due to a family tragedy that occurred the next day, I had to depart and we were never able to return to the project. The interpretation you hear for Alphanaut is much different than the original which I plan on posting once the single is released.

Joining me in studio are Ted Scarlett on keys, Chavo Villanueva on guitar, Alberto Campos on drums and Art Agunod on bass. Both Alberto and Art were in November with Cobban and I so this song in a round about way represents a virtual reunion of sorts.

The mood of "Sleep Spun Brown" is very different from the songs on "Out of Orbit" and in some ways hints at what's to come for the new songs I'm working on for album number two. I guess if you look at this song in literary terms, the song is more like an appendage in a book, supplementary material that doesn't really relate to the work ahead or behind it.

As an aside, this was the final take of the day and I must have bumped the camera to the right when I pushed record. I'm bobbing in and out on the left there making my typical 'cameo appearance' if you will.

"Never Been To Athens" Honored at the 2010 Los Angeles Cinema Festival

Just recivied word that the Alphanaut video for "Never Been To Athens" has been honored at the Los Angeles Cinema Festival. Both director Jimmy Ahlander and me are thrilled the video received some attention again for our animated tale of a lost spaceman in his flying potato (watch the clip and it will make sense).



This is the second time "Never Been To Athens" has been honored at a film festival. In 2009 the Alphanaut video was one of five selected out of hundreds to compete in the Bornshorts International Film Festival in Denmark including works by Radiohead, Alice in Chains and other big name acts.

My hats off to Jimmy for creating a truly unique visual piece for the song.

To purchase "Never Been to Athens" on Amazon CLICK HERE

To purchase "Never been to Athens" on iTunes

New Alphanaut Publicity Photos by William Thoren

Last weekend I had publicity photos taken by my friend William Thoren to tie in with the "Out of Orbit" album art direction. I worked with Will over a year ago to bring to life my ideas for "The Lunar Age" EP, "Spontaneity" and "The Innocence of Time" singles and knew he'd come up with some great images again. Included in this post are a handful of the photos I selected.

CLICK IMAGES FOR FULL SIZE VIEW

The idea was to work inside an abandoned water tower near his house, playing with the natural light beaming through rusted out holes in it's structure. We accented the sun light with a handful of remote strobes and played around with the idea of incorporating blurred motion with parts of my body while keeping others still. What you are seeing was all done in camera with no PhotoShop enhancement. Once again wanted to play around with being barefoot which was a potential hazard as there was glass and debris everywhere.

I'm really pleased with how the images turned out. William is a fantastic young photographer with a great imagination and unique use of light. You can check out his work at www.williamthoren.com

Alphanaut Top 10 Sci Fi Movie List

Thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite science fiction films, so I'm creating a 'Top 10 List' with a brief description for each one. I'm going to skip over all the obvious blockbuster films "Star Wars", "Alien", "Blade Runner", "Matrix", "Avatar", "Star Trek" (2009 version), etc., and instead touch on those that might be more obscure or easy to overlook.

Here they are starting with number 10 and working up to my all time favorite.

10. "A Boy and His Dog" (1975)
First of all, this is probably not the best film for feminists, and I admit it's recklessly sexist. Also the level of nihilism of this film will probably bother a lot of viewers, though it still remains an intriguing, surprisingly funny and wholly original film. It's centered around a young Don Johnson and his telepathic dog wander a harsh, violent post-apocalyptic world, doing their best to survive.

9. "Primer" (2004)
This is definitely what you'd call 'soft sci fi", and anyone who requires big budget sets and effects in their movies won't find what they are looking for here. Primer is a time travel film shot on a minuscule budget which relies more on it's sharp dialogue, excellent narative and characters to pull off it's story. Really a brilliant piece of film making for the genre.

8. "THX 1138" (1971)
George Lucas' directorial debut is certainly a tough nut to crack and pretty demanding on it's audience. It's story has been appropriated countless times in more recent movies. A futuristic society where love is forbidden and emotions and individuality are controlled through drugs. I've seen it several times over the years and I still struggle with some of it, though Lucas presented some of his most evocative concepts ever on screen with this one.

7. "Dark City" (1998)
When I first saw this film in the theaters I hated it so much that I nearly walked out on it. Before going in it seemed a 'no brainer' to be on my list of faves, but for some reason at that time it didn't click. I saw it ten years later and it was at that point that it's brilliance struck me. The film noir style, amazing sets, meticulous cinematography and bizarre visuals make it a must see for anyone looking for something truly unique.

6. "District 9" (2009)
I know this one isn't particularly obscure, though I had to include it on my list. The characters, apartheid inspired story, visual FX and pseudo-documentary style all add up to an amazing film. Even though I loved Avatar, I'm bummed that this much talked about film got shoved to the side once the behemoth blockbuster came around.

5. "Gattaca" (1997)
A beautifully told tale of a future earth where science and genetics have been allowed to control all aspects of humanity, weeding out what makes us all unique individuals. Some slam the film for it staid direction and acting, but to me it's representative of how people might behave in an entirely pre-programmed environment.

4. "Solaris" (2005)
The Soderbergh remake of the 1972 Russian film seems to evenly divide people. I have friends who, like me, really love it, and others who thought it was a painful snooze fest. To me it's really a beautiful, gently told story that doesn't insult the audience by spoon feeding the plot, holding our hands and pointing out the things not to be missed. I love it when a film maker asks us to use our imaginations and come to our own conclusions.

3. "Moon" (2009)
Another fantastic film from last year that I'm not sure if any one saw. I caught this one on Netflix as it seemed to vanish as quickly as it arrived at the theaters here in Los Angeles. It would be a crime to give much away with this film. You really need to add it to your rental list, sit back and enjoy the unique story.

2. "Donnie Darko" (2001)
Maybe this one really doesn't qualify as full on sci fi, though I really don't know what genre it might fall into. Donnie Darko is mind bending to say the least and often leaves much for the audience to figure out. I recommend seeing the directors cut as it includes extra footage that helps explain this strange universe.
1. "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968)
This one might seem obvious, though many people hate the film I love it. I remember seeing this film as a kid and being fascinated by it from beginning to end. To this day it's still one of my favorite films of all time and I marvel at what Kubrick and his team achieved in 1968.

Runners up:

"Brave New World", "Farenheit 451", "12 Monkeys", "The Iron Giant", "Brazil", "Metropolis", "Cloverfield", "Ghost in the Shell" and dozens more I'm forgetting.

"More Than I Do" - Alphanaut in Quiet Protest

"Holding back their swollen pride But they keep the hate inside It’s a gun in an innocent hand The baby boy playing the man. You understand this more than I do"

This is where "More than I Do" got it's start some 15 years ago. It was simply a small section of lyric that I jotted down one day, though I was never quite sure what the full story should be to support these lines. I visited the lyric from time to time over the years, searching for the right story to complete what I started but it wasn't until I began tying the words up against an untitled instrumental piece I had written that the song began to take shape.

At first I had discarded the original untitled song as a candidate for the album as it seemed a bit too mainstream stacked up against the other tunes. However after it became the catalyst for the rest of the lyric I knew the song had to make the cut.

Lyrically, I was venting my frustrations with the continuing conflict in Iraq. It was 2007 and we were four years in, with our former administration more obsessed with their own interests than those of the rest of the world. There was continuing issue with the US media being forbidden from showing certain 'controversial' footage on television, and I had just returned from a couple trips abroad in Australia and Turkey. I was shocked to say the least at the contrast in what the media showed in both places compared to ours at home. The blood of innocents, visceral images of destruction, bodies of US soldiers all inspired me to write.

The song starts with a calling out of our former President, moves into commentary about those who are left behind from the destruction of war, then moves to question authority to explain their actions.

I honestly didn't set out to write an anti-war song, though I'm extremely pleased with the results of "More Than I Do". In the end I feel it's more a peaceful protest piece rather than a rallying anthem and it by far my favorite song on the album.


"More Than I Do" Lyrics, by Alphanaut

You lit the fuse then you turned around
Running for glory from higher ground
With a smile doing as you please
To skew the world by a few degrees

Holding back their swollen pride
But they keep the hate inside
It’s a gun in an innocent hand
The baby boy playing the man

You say, you understand this more than I do
Comprehend this more than I do
So please explain to me
Why they are my enemy

And when your back is to the wall
When you live and give it all
The little girl fallen in her yard
Her father dealt the hardest card

You drop the bombs and start the war
Push the boys and ask for more
It’s the blood on some distant sand
Turns to black beneath the caravan

You say, you understand this more than I do
Comprehend this more than I do
So please explain to me
Why I am your enemy

You say, you understand this more than I do
Comprehend this more than I do
So please explain to me
Why I am your enemy

Purchase the Alphanaut song "More Than I Do" on iTunes

Alphanaut Social Networks

Still consumed with song writing so I haven't had much spare time to write lengthy blog entries. I'm honestly caught off guard by how much material is flowing out of me, and I really want to ride the currents of creativity while they are flowing. Promise to get back with another full entry tomorrow.

In the meantime I thought I'd post links to all the Alphanaut social networks out there. If you haven't done so already take a moment to friend me to stay tuned to the latest happenings.

Visit Alphanaut on:

Myspace - www.myspace.com/planetalphanaut
Facebook - www.facebook.com/AlphanautMusic
Twitter - www.twitter.com/alphanaut
ReverbNation - www.reverbnation.com/alphanaut
iLike - www.ilike.com/artist/Alphanaut

Firtile Song Writing Weekend for Alphanaut

Not much time to blog today. Just wrapped a 12 hour day behind my keyboard and computer. Wrote an intro piece of music for the follow up album to "Out of Orbit", solidified the structure for a few others and wrote 2 new sketches.

This collection of 12 new songs are the most personal I've ever written. Don't want to reveal too much right now but the way it's shaping up there should be lots of surprises in store.

Brothers of the Head

If you love movies that are a little more challenging and you haven't seen "Brothers of the Head", I recommend a look. How can you go wrong with Siamese twins punk rockers, in love with the same girl, struggling to keep their band alive?



Check "Brothers of the Head" out on IMDB

"Never Been To Athens" - Self Reflection and Looking Forward

So the next song on "Out of Orbit" to spy through the magnifying glass is "Never Been To Athens", the first single from the album.

"Never Been To Athens", like "Timid Creature", "Without You", "Mystery Loves Company" and "This Time", had existed in some other form in my back catalog of work before winding up on the album. "Athens" didn't deviate much from what I originally mapped out in my demo, the most radical change being the inclusion of live drums. Funny thing with the drums on that song is their inclusion was never planned on ahead of time.We just wanted to warm up Jorge on something before tackling the first tack and decided to pull up the song. During the rest of the recording process the live drums were crucial in inspiring the bass line on the chorus, electric guitar and organ. I don't think the song would have been the same had Jorge not contributed right up front.

The lyric was written when I was in my mid 20's, and even though it doesn't all relate to where my head is at now, I've always wanted to revive the song. The verses are very self reflective and represent me as a young man trying to break from the shyness that plagued my youth. The choruses are more metaphorical, hinting at the need for security and comfort in love.

As an aside, I find it very strange to see the comments from the public on "Athens" and "Rome" in various blogs and social networks after they listen to the song. People are often dissing both places, writing comments about how I'm not missing much by having not been there. I guess it's easy to assume the creator of the song hadn't visited, but let me lay it out here that when I wrote the song I had indeed been to both cities a couple years prior. Not really sure why the names made it to the lyric. It was just one of those moments, as a writer, when words pour out and you don't question why. Let it be said that I loved both cities, though Athens was one of the smoggiest places I had ever been. So much so my eyes burned most of the time. I understand they've cleaned up the city quite a bit and would love to return.


"Never Been To Athens" Lyrics

I'm a man of many words
Though few have been said
I viewed them all perspectively
But hid them away in my head

I've never been to Athens
I've never been to Rome
Never been anywhere that ever felt like home
I never had a compass to show me the way
To the safety of your arms

Tethered to the Earth
In the shadow of my fears
I may have smiled
But I never met their eyes in twenty years

I've never been to Athens…

The wind rises and carries me
To the places I'd dreamt I'd be
I close my eyes, strengthen ties
And see your eyes right in front of me

I've never been to Athens…

I've never been to Venus
I've never been to Mars
I've never been some place
With so many stars
I drift of towards them
And find my own way
Can you see me, can you see me

Purchase a copy of "Never Been To Athens" from "Out of Orbit" on iTunes

The 'Great Unknowns Presents' Reviews Alphanaut

Thanks to Michael J over at the music blog "The Great Unknowns" who took the time to write up a glowing review of everything Alphanaut as it exists thus far. Really appreciate him taking the time to listen to both "Out of Orbit" and "The Lunar Age" as well as giving the three music videos a look.

The Great Unknowns is a cool place to read about up and coming artists through reviews and interviews. I highly recommend checking it out.

CLICK HERE to read the Alphanaut review.

Rehearsals and New Alphanaut Tunes

Rehearsed a new song yesterday with Alberto Campos, Art Agunod and Ted Scarlett. Alberto and Art are two of my band mates from my previous project "November", and it was great to see them again. I forgot how much I miss working in rehearsals with other musicians, fine tuning a song before heading into the studio. With Alphanaut thus far, I've spent so much fine tuning every detail on my own before passing it off to my backing musicians, but I now want the new material to be a little less intellectually thought out.

The new tune is titled "Sleep Spun Brown" which was written right after my band broke up. This tune will definitely reflect much more of a live vibe compared to the "Out of Orbit" album. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Also, spending today working on tunes for the next full length album. In the process of working on song number eight. Keeping the ideas very sparse and small this time, like a quiet satellite.

Alphanaut "The Lunar Age" Available Through Yamwa App on Facebook

I'm pleased to announce that Alphanaut's debut EP "The Lunar Age" plus the singles "Spontaneity" and "Jennifer" can now be found thorugh the YAMWA app on Facebook.

YAWMA is a movement, a community of people brought together to discover independent artists, musicians and developers. Discover cool indie music, games and apps then share what you like with your YAWMA network of Friends!

You create a YAWMA by inviting your Facebook Friends to join you. They invite their Friends and before you know it you have created your own social discovery and sharing network for the latest music, games and apps. And, when downloads are purchased within your YAWMA, you profit upto 8%.

For example, if you add 25 Friends, who in turn do the same, and then each of those Friends of Friends add 25 Friends, you suddenly have a YAWMA of 16,275 members. If each Member of your YAWMA spent $10 on downloads in a given month, that would mean you would earn over $11,000 in YAWMA Cash Rewards! For just that month.... for spending only $10 yourself!

Discover YAMWA on Facebook CLICK HERE

Visit the main YAMWA site CLICK HERE