The Phenomenauts

Band formation and Rockets And Robots (2000–02) The Phenomenauts were formed in 2000 in Oakland, California, which the band refers to as "Earth's capital". They were formed from the band Space Patrol, a 1980s cover band that played on homemade instruments. ==Commando performances==

The Phenomenauts earned a reputation for "staging commando performances" at venues where they were not booked, and were often unwelcome. They played "on the sidewalk in front of the venue" after a show at The Fillmore, and had shows "cut short by security guards" after sneaking backstage at the 2003 California Music Awards. "Security couldn’t figure out how to unplug us cause we brought our own power source. ... Eventually, between songs they asked us to stop but they were kind of powerless". The band frequently staged performances in front of other venues, where crowds had already gathered: {{Blockquote Sneaking into the Warped Tour The band gained notoriety in 2002 and 2003 for sneaking onto the Warped Tour. In 2002 they "found an open gate in the back, hid behind a dumpster and then quickly set up in front of the stage and started playing". In San Francisco "a security guard told them to get a move on. However, while loading their gear—in full 'uniform'—into the group's 'space van', another security guard ... assumed they were supposed to be there ... [and] kindly directed them to the official artist entrance". In Portland 2003 they drove their tour van into the backstage area "and cooked breakfast for the technical crew", including "the people that actually make the passes". Once they had laminated all-access, photo-ID passes the Phenomenauts followed the tour from city to city in their own vehicle. They set up their own gear each time and played sets for another six full weeks. The Phenomenauts were officially invited back to play on the Warped Tour in 2004, with a press release that read "The Phenomenauts have been announced as the official Breakfast Band for this years Vans Warped Tour". A Philadelphia Inquirer review of the tour called The Phenomenauts "one of the best performances", saying they "played a swinging amalgam of dusty garage rock and new wave". The band declined an offer to join Warped Tour again in 2005. Instead they played with The Aquabats and the Epoxies on the "Teenage Pajamas from Outer Space Tour". The band noted that playing the Warped Tour led to many introductions and collaborations with other artists. Through contacts from the Warped Tour, they opened for Les Claypool of Primus at his 2005 New Year's Eve show, and worked with children's author Sandra Boynton on the album Dog Train. ==Theatrics and theme==

. The helmet is worn as part of the band's science and robot theme.The Phenomenauts perform under a space and science fiction persona, and are fully committed to their theme. Each band member uses a stage name. They wear uniforms. They call their shows "missions" and their fans "cadets". They even wear uniforms when not performing, considering themselves to be "always on duty". Each live show begins with the band's signature launch status check. Commander Nova instructs "Give me a go, no-go to Rock", and the band makes sure that all equipment (and the audience) are working. Once the show is declared "Cleared to rock" the band kicks off a 10-second launch countdown and leaps into the first song. Live shows . It is one of the gadgets used during live shows. The Phenomenauts gained praise for their stylized live shows and performances. The San Francisco Chronicle said "it is live where the Phenomenauts truly excel", and a Huffington Post reviewer noted they had "a live show that explodes on the stage". Thrasher Magazine said The Phenomenauts "put on one of the best live shows you'll ever see". Colonel Reehotch, the band's Mission Operations Specialist commented that "The Phenomenauts really are at their visual best on a big stage". During performances the band wears uniforms of their own design and uses custom-made "Phenoma-gadgets". This includes items such as the "Theramatic Helmerator" – a helmet with a wireless theremin that sounds like "old Star Trek episodes". The "Streamerator", created by Professor Greg Arius, blows rolls of toilet paper into the crowd. They blast clouds of carbon dioxide and use inflatable models of Earth. They have been known to use dry-ice blasts and set cymbals on fire. The band believes their special effects, act, and devices are an integral part of the show. "It’s important to us", explained Leftenant AR-7, "because we want to just blow the lid off of every place we play. We want to give the most entertaining show — visually and aurally — that we can". Drummer Jimmy Boom noted "[We're] trying to encompass it all. We're not just audio. We're not just visual. We try to say hi to the crowd. The best effects are the ones that actually touch the crowd – when they can feel the cold of the . We're trying to hit as many senses as possible". Ronen Kauffman from the Issue Oriented podcast commented that The Phenomenauts were "revisiting the rift between performer and audience, and helping to break that down". In 2008 Professor Arius' "Streamerator 2000" was featured in Issue 8 of Make magazine. The band Green Day borrowed the device for their 21st Century Breakdown tour in 2009. Phenomenaut vehicles The Phenomenauts have customized their own fleet of vehicles to match their science fiction theme. It started with a car, which the band nicknamed "The Phenomenator". The vehicles are covered with electronic gadgets such as remote controls, stereo components, and computer parts, all spray-painted silver. The trend continued with their first tour van, which they named "The Phenomabomber". Nova was inspired to create his own space-themed vehicle by watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. "I noticed one night ... [that] stuff was just glued on and painted the same color, and it just made it look spacey. So I ... did it [to my car] and it looked really cool. Everyone was driving around staring at the PhenomaBomber, and I realized if I had a band name on there it would be a moving billboard". The Phenomenaut vehicles even made impressions on interviewers, with Frank Meyer from G4 TV noting "It [isn't] everyday that a metallic space-van pulls up ... and five guys dressed in space suits pile out". Command Center When they are not touring the Phenomenauts hang out at their personal top-secret "Command Center". The Command Center is a large converted warehouse located in the industrial heart of Oakland. The Command Center serves as home, rehearsal den, and performance space. It has a musical stage for performing and sub-stage hot tub. The band also uses it to host regular parties. To create the Command Center the band "set up their own rehearsal studio, completely transforming a typical storage area [and decorating it] to look like outer space". Then they began hosting parties "to showcase their unusual music and worldview". Commander Nova explains: "it's not easy to break into San Francisco when you've never played anywhere. ... We didn't feel like starting from scratch, so we ... made the place all nice and had shows here. And before long, there were 200 people seeing us. And then we stepped out, and we already had a draw". JoeBot expands: "It’s one of the only venues in (the Bay Area) that can get an audience from San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, which is an odd thing. ... We must be on to something to have all these people show up". The Command Center was featured in a three-page spread in Punk Rock Confidential, and appears in the independent feature film Punk Rock Holocaust. == Musical style ==

{{Listen Reviewers have described the band as everything from "mixes the mantra-style punk of The Clash with the lovable lunacy of Devo" to combining "upbeat, happy, dance vibrations" with a thrash that "sound[s] like they brought it back ... from the future". A Zero Magazine reviewer called out the song "Mission" as "an excellent example of the Phenomenauts’ versatility". "Mission" covers several music styles, "with a big punk chorus of 'Oh, Oh,' the thumping stand-up bass..., keyboard and a ‘50s style guitar twang". But the reaction from the band is that they've created a style all their own. "We find it fascinating when people call us a punk band, or a rockabilly band, or a ska band. We fit into all categories and none of them. We have roots in punk and new wave and all the other things we listen to, but we're our own thing". Regardless of the tune, the Phenomenauts' songs deal with the subjects of science, outer space, and robots. "We’re trying to take smartness and nerdiness and jam it together with cool and sexy and have ... all of those things happening at the same time". The band truly believes in the topics both on and off the stage. The members are interested in science, astronomy, technology and humanity. The band believes that using a theme of space and the future allows them more freedom to write about present-day issues. The song "Earth Is The Best" calls for inspiration and caring about the planet. "The Tale Of Europa" considers how isolated cultures might react to new visitors and traditions. Corporal JoeBot attests that the Phenomenauts' music can help push forward ideas and make the world a better place. "A lot of bigger music industry corporations want a watered down, formulaic, non-confrontational musical direction. There’s no challenge. I believe that can change, and that we can make a difference". Creative process When creating their music The Phenomenauts consider themselves a working democracy: "All songs were communally written and arranged". In an interview Nova stated "different people come in with different song ideas, and then we all collaborate". For the album Escape Velocity, bassist Atom Bomb noted "For instance, one week we gave ourselves a homework assignment. We had to each bring in a new song to the next practice". ==Promoting science and learning==

The Phenomenauts' motto is "Science and Honor". The phrase was captured in the song "Science And Honor" on their 2008 album For All Mankind. But the words are "more than just a nifty catchphrase" says Commander Angel Nova. "'Science and Honor' has become a genuine way of life. Science is the search for truth, without any kind of agenda, ... and honor is honesty and integrity. ... So, honest search for truth and don't be a jerk, what more do you need to live by? It's something that I actually honestly believe in". The band has done several shows and releases promoting science and learning. Nova said "it is especially great when we can trick someone into learning something". In 2011 they played at the Sacramento Freethought Day, an event "encouraging ... science and the First Amendment". In 2014 they played the Bay Area Science Festival. In 2017 the Phenomenauts played at the March for Science in Las Vegas and an event at the Chabot Space and Science Center. In 2008 The Phenomenauts were invited on a tour of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. The visit included meetings with astronauts, scientists, and "hands-on experience with space station parts" and training facilities. They also ran a seven-stop "Large Hadron Collider" tour around the Western United States to celebrate the completion of the Large Hadron Collider. ''I'm With Neil'' video and album In 2012 the Phenomenauts released the music video "I'm With Neil", an homage to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The band said the video was "chock-full of the scientist’s best media appearances ... to encourage our fans to love him too". Tyson said he was "simultaneously flattered and weirded out". In 2015 the Phenomenauts released a new recording of "I'm with Neil" on a two-song album of the same name. The album was released as a collectable 7-inch EP, paying tribute to Tyson and the public radio program Science Friday for "science, education, exploration, and progress". The band decided to make the release because "We're all excited and inspired by science, [and] by the prospect of using that knowledge to make tomorrow better than today. ... It is one of the best ways to inspire everyone to work toward a better future". The band donates a portion of the proceeds to the Harlem Educational Activities Fund, an educational non-profit where Tyson is a member of the board of trustees. ==Tours==

The Phenomenauts have toured with many bands, including The Slackers, The Aquabats, and The Epoxies. They have travelled across the United States on several headlining tours with support from acts like The A.K.A.'s, Teenage Bottlerocket and Kepi Ghoulie. They have played at San Diego Comic-Con, San Francisco Comic-Con, several years at the Maker Faire in 2006 and 2010, as well as the KerPunk Music Festival in London, England. Bay Area Punk rated the Phenomenauts the "#3 most prolific Bay Area punk band" for performing at least 239 shows in the Bay Area alone from 2000 to 2014. ==Other works==

Comic books In 2011 Silver Sprocket published the Phenomenauts comic book Adventures in the Third Dimension!. The comic was written by Emmy winner Rich Fogel, with art by Eisner winner Erica Henderson, as well as Mitch Clem, Nation of Amanda, Nicholas Kole, Claire Hummel, Stephen R. Buell, and Chris Wisnia. The 48-page comic contains five short stories about the Phenomenauts' adventures. It also has articles such as a word search and "Get To Know Your Phenomenauts" biography. The comic was used to promote the mini-album Electric Sheep. Each comic was sold with a collectible colored vinyl EP containing two Electric Sheep songs, as well as a digital download code. In 2015 a six-page Phenomenauts mini-comic, Ghost Ship, was produced by Alice Hill and Johnny Dalton. Video game In 2006 the Phenomenauts video game Space Flight was released by Smiley Crew Productions. Space Flight is a 2D, horizontal scrolling shoot 'em up. It was written in Flash. Programming and voice acting were done by Noah Wilson, with art direction and design by Katie Horn. In Space Flight the player pilots the Phenomenauts' vehicle The Phenomenator. They move around the screen to collect power-ups and avoid explosive space mines. The player must shoot obstacles such as asteroids and enemy ships. Space Flight features a "Story Mode", where players navigate through 10 "missions" and defeat powerful boss characters. It also offers a "Marathon Mode" with endless play, where players work to attain a high score. While running Space Flight plays music from The Phenomenauts' album Re-Entry. The game was awarded "Daily 3rd Place" on Newgrounds on May 4, 2006. ==Discography==

• Rockets And Robots (2002, CD, 8-Track, Arlington Lab Recordings / 2003, CD, Springman Records) • Mission Transmission (2003, 7-inch, Springman Records) – two live songs, later re-released on Re-Entry and Electric Sheep • Pre-Entry (2004, EP-CD, Springman Records) – five songs, two live. All later re-released on Re-Entry • Re-Entry (2004, CD, Springman Records; LP, 2007) • Beyond Warped Live Music Series (2005, DualDisc/DVD-Audio, Immergent Records) • For All Mankind (2008, CD, Silver Sprocket) • Electric Sheep (2010, Electronic EP, Silver Sprocket) • Escape Velocity (2014, Vinyl, CD, Digital, Silver Sprocket) • ''I'm with Neil'' (2015, EP, Digital, Silver Sprocket) Compilations • The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show (2003, CD, Springman Records) – 8. "Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul)" • Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock and Roll Side (2005, book and audio CD) – 12. "(Don't Give Me That) Broccoli" • ''Vans Warped Tour '05 (2005 Tour Compilation)'' (2005, CD, SideOneDummy Records) – 24. "Mission" • Go Cat Go! A Tribute to the Stray Cats (2006, CD, Hairball 8) – 1. "Cry baby" • Hooligans United: A Tribute to Rancid (2015, CD & Vinyl, Smelvis Records) – 4. "Life Won't Wait" (feat. Vic Ruggiero) ==Filmography==

• Punk Rock Holocaust (2004), as themselves – Chapter 12, "Space Fight". Music video for "The Year 2000" appears in DVD Special Features • Dead And Deader (2006) – "Galactic Pioneers" plays during ending credits ==Band members==

Current and past band members are known only by their stage names, which fit their humorous science fiction theme. • Major Jimmy Boom — drums, backing vocals (founder) • Leftenant AR-7 — vocals, guitar, keys (joined 2009) • Chief Engineer Atom Bomb – bass, backing vocals, sanitation administrator (joined approx. 2012) • Lunar Captain Ripley Clipse – synthesizer, MOOG, backing vocals, guitar (joined 2015) Past members • Corporal JoeBot 1.0 — vocals, guitar, theremin (founder to approx. 2006) • Captain Chreehos – double bass, backing vocals (founder to 2009) • Professor Greg Arius – synthesizer, MOOG, backing vocals (joined 2002 to approx. 2014) • Corporal JoeBot 2.0 — vocals, guitar (joined approx. 2006 to 2009) • Angel Nova (Angel Mowbray)– vocals, guitar, bass (founder to 2020) • Fritz M. Static – vocals, guitar, keys (joined approx. 2008 to approx. 2014) • Deck Chief Nick Wayzar – double bass, backing vocals (joined 2009 to approx. 2011) • Agent Ion O'Clast – chaos engineering, keyboard (joined approx. 2012 to 2014) • Colonel Reehotch — talent manager ("mission operation specialist") (founder) Timeline == References ==