Halyx (pronounced ''HAY-licks'') was a short-lived

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

themed rock band developed by Disneyland Records that performed at Tomorrowland in

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

in 1981 at the Space Stage. They played only for one summer before the event was closed on September 11, 1981.

History

In the early 1980s, a team at Disneyland Records, which included executive Gary Krisel, Jymn Magon and Mike Post, wanted to experiment with creating a rock band. After the success of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' (1977) and its second installment '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), the team devised a concept of an intergalactic rock band that was a cross between

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

and ''Star Wars''. They decided that Tomorrowland would be an appropriate venue for their debut as the venue would also be a testing ground for potential music releases. The names Strike and Starfire were suggested, with Starfire making it into concept art for the band, but it was decided to go with Halyx instead, a play on the word helix, to the dismay of some of the members and the producers. The team eventually settled on the name Halyx, and got band members who would make the band a mixture of human and costumed non-human performers. In auditions, singer Lora Mumford was chosen to be the lead singer while her husband, Thom Miller, would be a robotic keyboardist. Bassist Roger Freeland was put inside a Wookie-like costume which he called the Baharnoth while Tony Coppola was made a percussionist in an amphibian costume. Drummer Brian Lucas, guitarist

Bruce Gowdy Bruce Gowdy is an American guitarist, best known for his work with World Trade, and Unruly Child. Biography Gowdy was a founding member of World Trade with Billy Sherwood and Guy Allison. He later formed Unruly Child with Allison. He was also a ...

, and backing singers

Jeanette Clinger Jeanette Clinger, is an American singer/vocalist who has toured and/or recorded with such artists as Kim Carnes, Bradley Joseph, Hiroshima (band), Sheena Easton, Julie Brown, Donovan, and Yanni for whom she is featured on the live concert vid ...

and Karen Tobin were hired as well. The band only performed for one season in 1981, with Disneyland management stopping the project and no music being officially released as a deal between Disneyland Records and

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had collapsed.

Members

* Lora Mumford - Lead vocals * Roger Freeland - Bassist * Thom Miller - Keyboardist * Tony Coppola - Percussionist and acrobatics *

- Guitarist * Brian Lucas - Drummer *

- Backing vocals * Karen Tobin - Backing vocals

Legacy

In 2008, audio recordings of Halyx songs from the live concerts found their way onto YouTube. On August 20, 2020,

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web series

Defunctland ''Defunctland'' is an ongoing YouTube web series that documents the history of discontinued amusement parks and amusement park attractions, created and hosted by Kevin Perjurer. The show presents the history and downfall of theme parks and attra ...

released the film ''Live from the Space Stage: A Halyx Story'', which was a documentary about the band. The film was produced and edited by Kevin Perjurer and directed by Matthew Serrano. On November 14, 2020, YouTube channel Themed Alternative, ran by Perjurer, uploaded a tribute music video named "HAIL HALYX," with the channel also premiering a video titled "HALYX: Reunited" where members and crew of the attraction met over a

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halyx American rock music groups Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Disneyland Science fiction music Space in amusement parks Tomorrowland