Erich Hubner

Man or Astro-man? is an American surf rock group that formed in Auburn, Alabama in the early 1990s and came to prominence over the following decade.

Primarily instrumental, Man or Astro-man? blended the surf rock style of the early 1960s like that of Dick Dale and The Spotnicks with the new wave and punk rock sounds of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Man or Astro-man? was known for their anachronistic dedication to science fiction themes, audio samples, obscure electronic devices (such as theremins and tesla coils), and high-energy live performances. Their earlier albums like '' Is It ... Man or Astroman?'' and ''Destroy All Astromen!'' were known for their traditional surf rock instrumentation and sci-fi sound bite song introductions, but their later albums like '' EEVIAC...'' and ''A Spectrum of Infinite Scale'' were known for their use of synthesizers, printers (like the Apple ImageWriter II), and their more abstract, experimental sound. Their recordings were often peppered with sound bites from obscure science fiction films and TV shows.

It's largely believed the group took its name from the poster of the U.S. release of the Japanese film ''The Human Vapor'', which includes the tagline ''"IS HE MAN OR ASTRO-MAN?"'', the line seemingly appropriated as the title of their first album, ''Is It ... Man or Astroman?''.

Members

The main members of the band are Star Crunch (aka Brian Causey) on guitar and sometimes vocals, Birdstuff (aka Brian Teasley) on drums, and Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard (Robert DelBueno) on bass guitar and electronics. The band included various other guitarists over the years, including Dr. Deleto (Jeff Goodwin), Cap'n Zeno (Jason Russell), and Dexter X (Hayden Thais). In 1998, Star Crunch left the band to run a record label (Athens, Georgia-based WARM Electronic Recordings), and was replaced by Trace Reading ( Erich Hubner) and Blazar the Probe Handler (Richie Edelson). Although the real names of the band members are known, the band members themselves have never publicly acknowledged their true identities, and steadfastly claim to be extraterrestrials sent to Earth to play surf music. Birdstuff also played drums in Servotron under the name Z4-OBX and in The Causey Way as Boy Causey. He has also played with St. Vincent, Sound of Humans, and The Polyphonic Spree. Before joining up with the Astromen, Dexter X had played in Supernova. He was also a member of Servotron under the name 00zX1. After leaving MOAM?, Dr. Deleto played with the Immortal Lee County Killers.

The original lineup of the band (Star Crunch, Birdstuff, and Coco) have reunited for shows that started in March 2010. 2nd guitar was handled by Victor Vector (Jonny Browning), who has played in Sound of Humans (also with Birdstuff), as well as Jonny and the Shamen and The Other Timelines, until early 2011 when he fell ill and became too sick to play. Since Victor Vector's departure, Avona Nova (Samantha Erin Paulsen, former guitarist/vocalist for We Versus The Shark), the first female member of the band, has been performing as 2nd guitarist. During their 2013 tour in Europe, Josh Lambert and Yvonne Lambert of The Octopus Project assisted them occasionally, as Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard was unavailable due to the recent birth of his child.

History

Man or Astro-man recorded ten albums between 1993 and 2001 (including the tour-only release ''A Spectrum of Finite Scale''), as well as two CD EPs, and a plethora of singles and contributions to various artists compilation albums. Many of the singles were available on multiple colors of vinyl, some with as many as six variations (see '' Inside the Head of... Mr. Atom''). Their 2001 release, ''Beyond the Black Hole'', was a remixed version of one of their earlier albums, ''What Remains Inside a Black Hole''.

When the band was not in the recording studio, they were usually on the road, gigging almost constantly. Their live shows were notable for their sci-fi theatrics: all members of the band dressed in space age jumpsuits, and often included elaborate sci-fi set pieces.

Although they often receive credit for the theme song to ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'', it was actually recorded by Sonny Sharrock. The confusion arises because they recorded the show's closing theme and some new interstitial music which all first appeared in the 1997 season, as well as an alternate opening theme that appeared once, but not the more familiar theme song. Also, after his departure from the band in 1998, guitarist/vocalist Star Crunch (aka Brian Causey) would go on to compose and perform the theme song for the popular Nickelodeon TV series, '' The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron''.

Eventually, the constant workload of recording and touring caught up with them, and, after the tour for ''A Spectrum of Infinite Scale'' ended in 2001, the band began a long hiatus. On June 12, 2006, the band's label Touch and Go Records announced that Man or Astro-man? would be performing for the first time since 2001 at the Touch and Go 25th Anniversary Celebration in Chicago, Illinois, on September 9. They took the stage during the time slot in between Scratch Acid and Big Black, on what was the second day of the three-day festival. The complete original line-up played, and the tesla coil was brought up on stage at the end of the set. The 45-minute show ended with Birdstuff giving away most of his drumset to stunned audience members. In preparation for the Touch and Go reunion show, the band played on September 6 at the Bottletree Café in Birmingham, Alabama. This show featured Birdstuff, Coco the Electric Monkey Wizard, Star Crunch and Dr. Deleto. Additionally, Captain Zeno performed on one song, resulting in a 5 piece Man or Astroman? performance. These were the first shows since 1998 to feature the original line-up of the band.

On January 20, 2010, it was announced that Man or Astro-man? would be performing at Whirly Ball in Atlanta, Georgia on March 5 and The Bottletree in Birmingham, Alabama on March 6, as well as multiple SXSW dates. In June 2010, Man or Astro-man? played the NXNE festival in Toronto, Canada, with performances at the Horseshoe Tavern (June 19, 2010) and Sneaky Dees (June 20, 2010).

Their ninth album ''Defcon 5...4...3...2...1'' came out, as digital download, on April 24, 2013, a 12 track LP with familiar sounds from ''1000X'' and ''EEVIAC''.

The Astro-man Genome Project

Alpha Clones

In 1998 Man or Astro-man? sent a group of "clones" out on the road to tour. The clones had names similar to their original counterparts: Birdstuff became Dorkstuff, Coco became Cocoid, Star Crunch became Chromo Crunch and Dexter X became Dexter Y. This new line-up toured under the name "Man or Astro-man Clone Tour Alpha" and maintained their clone identities while on stage.
Members of the Alpha clones were also in numerous other bands including Toenut, The Causey Way, Jonny and the Shamen, The Man Made Brain, Sound of Humans, Neutronic, Pilot Scott Tracy, The Plastic Plan, etc.

Gamma Clones

After the success of the Alpha Project, Man or Astro-man? "cloned" themselves a second time, in 1999, this time using females, who adopted the names Coco Active (Guitarist/Vocalist Shonali Bhowmik), Chromia Staria (Guitarist/Vocalist Deb Davis), Tweety-Tone (Drummer/Vocalist Ani Cordero), and Carol (Guitarist/Vocalist Shannon Wright), and toured nationally under the name "Man or Astro-man? Clone Project Gamma."

Man or Astro-man? and ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''

The band covered the ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' "love theme". It was released on ''Amazing Thrills! in 3-Dimension'' and later on the album ''Destroy All Astromen!'' and was also performed live. ''MST3K'' creator Joel Hodgson joined them on stage to sing the theme at a show in 1996, and Joel's character on ''MST3K'' later claimed to have toured in Australia with Man or Astro-man? doing pyrotechnics for the band.

Man or Astro-man? recordings regularly feature audio samples taken from films riffed on ''MST3K'' (ex. ''The Leech Woman'', ''It Conquered the World'' and ''Santa Claus'') and the albums often make allusions to common themes and running jokes (ex. album credits for John Agar in '' Is It ... Man or Astroman?'' and Peter Graves and Richard Basehart in ''Destroy All Astromen!'').

Man or Astro-man? guitarist Hayden Thais (Dexter X) and drummer Brian Teasley (Birdstuff) were also members of the "all-robot band" Servotron, which was named for ''MST3K'' robot character Tom Servo. A handbill for at least one concert has featured an image of the robot puppet.

Discography

Albums

*'' Is It ... Man or Astroman?'' LP/CD (Estrus Records – 1993)
*'' Project Infinity'' LP/CD (Estrus Records – 1995)
*''Experiment Zero'' LP/CD (Touch & Go Records – 1996)
*''Made from Technetium'' LP/CD (Touch & Go Records, One Louder, and Au-Go-Go Records, 1997)
*''EEVIAC Operational Index and Reference Guide, Including Other Modern Computational Devices'' LP/CD (Epitaph Europe and Touch & Go Records – 1999)
*''A Spectrum of Infinite Scale'' 2x10"/CD (Epitaph Europe and Touch & Go Records – 2000)
*''A Spectrum of Finite Scale'' Tour-Only CD (Zerotec – 2001)
* '' Defcon 5...4...3...2...1'' LP/CD (Warm Electronic Recordings/Chunklet Industries – 2013)
* ''Live at Third Man Records'' (Third Man Records – 2017)

EPs and singles

*'' Possession by Remote Control ''7-inch (Homo Habilis records – 1992)
*''Supersonic Toothbrush Helmet'' 7-inch (Lance Rock Records – 1993)
*''Amazing Thrills! in 3-Dimension'' 7-inch (Estrus Records – 1993)
*''Captain Holojoy's Space Diner'' 7-inch (Lucky Records – 1993)
*''Mission into Chaos!'' 7-inch (One Louder Records – 1993)
*'' Man or Astro-man? vs. Europa'' 7-inch (Homo Habilis Records – 1993)
*'' Astro Launch'' 7-inch (Estrus Records – 1994)
*''The Brains of the Cosmos'' 7-inch (Demolition Derby Records – 1994)
*'' Inside the Head of... Mr. Atom'' 7-inch (Estrus Records – 1994)
*''Creature Feature'' flexi 7-inch with Monster Magazine No. 4/Highball Magazine No. 2 ( Kronophonic Records – 1994)
*''Your Weight on the Moon'' 10-inch/CD EP (One Louder Records – 1994)
*''Return to Chaos'' 7-inch (Homo Habilis and One Louder – 1995)
*'' Man or Astro-man? in Orbit'' 7-inch (Shake It Records – 1995)
*''Postphonic Star Exploration'' 5" (Sympathy for the Record Industry – 1995)
*''Needles in the Cosmic Haystack'' 7-inch (East Side Records – 1995)
*''World Out of Mind!'' 7-inch (Estrus Records – 1995)
*''Espanto del Futuro'' 7-inch (Fear and Loathin Records – 1995)
*'' Welcome to the Sonic Space Age'' 7-inch (Clawfist Records – 1995)
*''Deluxe Men in Space'' 7-inch/CDS (Touch & Go Records and One Louder – 1996)
*''The Sounds of Tomorrow'' 7-inch (Estrus Records – 1996)
*''UFO's and the Men Who Fly Them!'' 7-inch (Drug Racer Records – 1996)
*''1000X'' 10-inch/CD EP (Touch & Go Records and One Louder – 1997)
*''Inside the Head of John Peel'' Bootleg 2×7″ (Astro-Fonic Records – 1997)
*'' Ex Machina'' 7-inch (Touch & Go Records – 1998)
*'' Cuts and Volts/Draining Their Batteries'' 1998
*'' Earth Station Radio/Updated Theme From Supercar ''7-inch with first 300 copies of the book "Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7-inch Records from the USA" (Soundscreen Design – 2010)
*'' Analog Series Vol. 1 ''7-inch Clear (limited edition first 200 copies), orange (limited edition Chunklet exclusive), red (first repress), gold (second repress) or black Vinyl ( Chunklet Magazine web site – 2012)
*'' Analog Series Vol. 2 ''7-inch Clear (limited edition first 200 copies), green (limited edition Chunklet exclusive), red (first repress) or black Vinyl ( Chunklet Magazine web site – 2012)
*'' Analog Series Vol. 3 ''7-inch Clear (limited edition first 200 copies), purple (limited edition Chunklet exclusive) or black Vinyl ( Chunklet Magazine web site – 2013)

Splits

*7" with Teenage Caveman ''Kill Geeksville'' (Worry Bird Records – 1994)
*7" with Huevos Rancheros ''The Various Boss Sounds from Beyond the Far Reaches... and Then Some!'' (Get Hip Records – 1994)
*7" with Girls Against Boys '' Cheap Sweaty Fun & TJ's Xmas'' (Unknown record label – 1994)
*7" with Anachronauts ''Disjointed Parallels'' (Eerie Materials – 1995)
*7" with Chrome'' Gearhead Magazine Insert ''(Gearhead – 1996)
*7" with Pavement ''Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks'' (Atlantic Records/Lava Records – 1996)
*7" with Jonny and the Shamen ''Two Blood-Soaked Space-Horror Hits!!'' (Loch Ness Records – 1999)

Live

*''Live Transmissions from Uranus'' LP-picture disc/CD (One Louder Records – 1995), LP/CD (Homo Habilis Records – 1995), CD (US reissue: Touch & Go Records – 1997)

Compilation

*''Destroy All Astromen!'' LP/CD (Estrus Records – 1994)
*''What Remains Inside a Black Hole'' LP/CD (Au-Go-Go Records – 1996)
*''Intravenous Television Continuum'' LP/CD (One Louder Records – 1996) CD (Australian reissue: Au-Go-Go Records – 1997)
*''Beyond the Black Hole'' CD (Estrus Records – 2001)

Compilation tracks

*"Reverb 1000" on ''Call of the Wild'' Flexi 7-inch (Call of the Wild – 1993)
*"Transmission from Venus" on ''Stock Footage: Music from the Films of Roger Corman'' CD (Worry Bird Records – 1994)
*"Deuces Wild" on ''Think Link!'' 10-inch (Drink 'n' Drive Records – 1994)
*"Everybody's Favourite Martian" on ''Hodge Podge & Barrage from Japan Vol.2'' CD (1+2 Records – 1994)
*"Nitrous Burnout 2112" on ''Beyond the Beach'' CD (Upstart Records – 1994)
*"Frosty the Snowman" on ''Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus Vol.2'' 10-inch (Sympathy for the Record Industry – 1994)
*"Frosty the Snowman" on ''Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus Vols.1&2'' CD (Sympathy for the Record Industry – 1994)
*"Mr. Goodchoices Meat Packing Accident" on ''Good Tyme Jamboree'' LP (Planet Pimp Records – 1994)
*"Eric Estrotica (live at Leadmill)" on ''Saturday Night Special'' 7-inch (Leadmill Records – 1995)
*"The Carbonated Comet" on ''The Estrus Cocktail Companion'' 3×7″/box CD (Estrus Records – 1995)
*"Goldfinger" on ''Secret Agent S.O.U.N.D.S.'' LP/CD (Mai Tai – 1995)
*"Earth Station Radio" on ''Jabberjaw No. 6 Pure Sweet Hell'' 4×7″/box CD (Mammoth Records – 1996)
*"Maximum Radiation Level" on ''For Discriminating Tastes'' (The Alternative Distribution Alliance – 1996)
*"Escape Velocity" on ''Five Ring Circus'' CD ( Flip Records – 1996)
*"Eisenhower & the Hippies" ( UJ3RK5 cover) on ''Oh Canaduh!'' LP/CD (Lance Rock – 1996)
*"Interplanet Janet" on ''Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks'' LP/CD/CS (WEA/Atlantic Records – 1996)
*"Touch of Evil" on ''Shots in the Dark'' 2×LP/CD (Del-Fi – 1996)
*"Reverb 1000 (live)" on ''Cowabunga! The Surf Box'' 4×CD (Rhino Records – 1996)
*"Intoxica" on ''Instrumental Fire, a Collection of Instros from Around the Planet and Beyond'' LP (MuSick – 1996)
*"----- (Classified) (live)" on ''Treble Revolution Vol.2'' CD (Kindercore Records- 1996)
*"Joker's Wild (live)" on ''Attaining the Supreme'' CD (Whirled Records – 1996)
*"Drumulator Is Boss" on ''Flaming Burnout! An Estrus Benefit Comp'' CD (Man's Ruin Records – 1997)
*"The Sound Waves Reversing" on ''Good Health, Good Fortune, Good Music'' CD (Au Go Go Records – 1997)
*"Lo-Bat" on ''Touch & Go and Quarterstick Records 1997 sampler'' CD ( Touch & Go/Quarterstick Records – 1997)
*"Planet Collision (Trans Hip-APhonic Post Acid Flip Trance Mega Blast Alterno-Universe Mass Marketing Schtick Mix)" on ''The Money Shot'' CD ( Chunklet Magazine insert – 1997)
*"24 Hrs." on ''Live at WREK. – 91.1fm 1997 Atlanta Radio Comp'' CD (1997)
*"Updated Theme to Supercar" on ''All Punk Rods!'' LP/CD (Gearhead/Lookout! Records – 1998)
*"Tazerguns Mean Big Fun" on ''Chairman of the Board Soundtrack'' CD (Virgin Records – 1998)
*"Synthesis of Previously Unknown Substances" on ''Hang 10, Volume One'' CD (American Pop Project Records – 2000)
*"Floatation Devices for Frequencies Yet to Be Detected" on ''Surf Monsters'' CD (Del-Fi Records – 1999)
*"Escape Velocity" on ''26 Spicey Sizzlers'' CD (Estrus Records – 1999)
*"Manta Ray" (Pixies cover) on ''Southern Edge Vol. 1'' CD (Beloved – 1999)
*"Yo Yo's Pad" on ''Delphonic Sounds Today'' CD (Del-Fi Records – 1999)
*"Theme from EEVIAC" on ''Cinema Beer Belly'' CD (Hopeless Records – 1999)
*"Lo-Bat" on ''Athfest '98'' CD (Ghostmeat – 1999)
*"400,000.37 Miles (Breaking The Sanity Barrier)" on ''Runnin' on Fumes'' CD (Gearhead – 2000)
*"Wayward Meteor" and "Electrostatic Brain Field" on ''The Estrus Double Dynomite Sampler Volume 3'' CD (Estrus Records – 2002)
*"War of the Satellites" on ''Their Sympathetic Majesties Request: Volume 2'' 2×CD (Sympathy for the Record Industry – 2003)
*"Jonathan Winter's Frankenstein" on "BBC Sessions Covers" (incorrectly identified on track listing as a cover of the "Edgar Winter Group"'s track "Frankenstein")

References

External links

Official Man or Astro-man? website

Band page at Touch and Go/Quarterstick Records

Man or Astro-man Peel Sessions site

Man or Astro Man? bootlegs
at the Internet Archive
*

eWire interview with Coco
(2000)

Chunklet Magazine, 2010 Reunion Tour interview with Birdstuff

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man Or Astro-Man?
Indie rock musical groups from Alabama
Bands with fictional stage personas
Garage punk groups
Science fiction music
Surf music groups
Sympathy for the Record Industry artists
Touch and Go Records artists
Musical groups established in the 1990s
American garage rock groups
Third Man Records artists
Warm Electronic Recordings artists