NASA Space Universe (or NSU) were an American punk rock band from

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

, United States, who originally formed in 2006.

History

2006–2007

After the collapse of controversial,

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

Santa Ana

Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

electropunk Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...

band

Zoophilia Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction b ...

, Kevin Hermes (

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), and Kevin Rhea (

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

) joined with John Cardwell (

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

), whom they had worked with prior in the SCHS (Santa Claus Hypnosis Show). NSU starting as a Pyramid Scheme system, Punk crime group, and

Socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

project. After a group viewing of

Videodrome ''Videodrome'' is a 1983 Canadian Science fiction film, science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Debbie Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO o ...

and all having a connection that particular viewing, they then later played to what videodrome had influenced them to play that particular night. Soon after the

project was transformed to the current Punk Rock incarnation of NASA Space Universe . In the summer of 2006 they met Paul Kubasek of

Noise Rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band

Ex Oblivione "Ex Oblivione" is a prose poem by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in late 1920 or early 1921 and first published in ''The United Amateur'' in March 1921, under the pseudonym Ward Phillips. Inspiration ''An H. P. Lovecra ...

during a Zoophilia show at

The Smell The Smell is an all-ages, alcohol and drug-free, punk rock and experimental music venue in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The Smell, notable for its DIY ethic, is home to many of the area's avant-garde performers and artists. The venue is m ...

Two months later they became a

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

and started playing shows in the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

Area.

2008–2010

After continuous touring, their first release was a

self titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

on Gradual Limbo Records. NSU started to play more notable shows including the Smell's 10th anniversary, and a concert on a boat. This followed with a tour of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

with Okie Dokie a

Cal Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

band featuring a then student

Mikal Cronin Michael "Mikal" Patrick Cronin (born 1985) is an American musician and songwriter. He has released four solo albums and several singles. Cronin was a member of the bands Okie Dokie, Epsilons, Party Fowl and Moonhearts, and is a regular and long ...

. For much of the year NSU played numerous shows for

Sean Carnage Sean Carnage, born Sean Carney, is an American director and producer living in Los Angeles. He is also a concert promoter, hosting "Sean Carnage Monday Nights" at Pehrspace in Echo Park, Carnage has also hosted his "Monday nights" in the past at Lo ...

Mondays,

Don Bolles Donald Fifield Bolles (July 10, 1928 – June 13, 1976) was an American investigative reporter for ''The Arizona Republic'' who was known for his coverage of organized crime in the area, especially by the Chicago Outfit. His murder in a car bom ...

' Club Ding-a-ling, as well as numerous warehouses, generator shows, and fringe venues. Despite the Reverb heavy punk movement of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

scene NSU, had continued their abstract punk sound and played with many bands such as

xbxrx XBXRX is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Mobile, Alabama, United States. Their early sound was no wave-influenced, but became more improvised and deconstructed, moving away from using the synthesizers that typify new wave. They are a co ...

White Lung White Lung were a Canadian punk rock band. The band consisted of Mish Barber-Way (vocals), Kenneth William (guitars) and Anne-Marie Vassiliou (drums). They have released two albums on Deranged Records and their latest two on Domino Recording ...

, Shearing Pinx,

Mika Miko Mika Miko was an American band formed in 2003 in Los Angeles, California. In 2004, they gained local popularity for their frenetic live performances. Featuring Victor Fandgore (Jennifer Clavin), Jet Blanca (Jenna Thornhill), Michelle Suarez, Jes ...

White Flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

, The Urinals, and

Saccharine Trust Saccharine Trust is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza. The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. However, Baiza descri ...

. NSU had also been played on several punk and independent radios as

Nardwuar John Ruskin (born July 5, 1968), better known as Nardwuar, or Nardwuar the Human Serviette, is a Canadian interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia.Doug Ward, "Trudeau rolled by Human Serviette", ''Vancouver Sun'', November 17, 1 ...

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, in ...

show,

Razorcake Razorcake is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that publishes the Razorcake fanzine, a DIY punk rock fanzine published bi-monthly out of Los Angeles, California. It was co-founded by Todd Taylor (former Flipside managing editor) and Sean Cars ...

, Maximumrockandroll, and

KXLU KXLU (88.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting out of Loyola Marymount University in southwest Los Angeles, California. It was first on the air in 1957, and in 2007, celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is a non-commercial college radio statio ...

's Demolisten, as well as performing live on air.
The Release and constant touring eventually caught the attention of many critics and fans including Kyle H. Mabson,

V. Vale V. "Valhalla" Vale (born February 4, 1944) is an American editor, writer, interviewer, musician and, as Vale Hamanaka, was keyboardist for the initial configuration of Blue Cheer, before it became famous as a power trio. He is the publisher and p ...

, and

. The Second EP Brainrailers would then be recorded by Vic Alfaro of

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized reli ...

Fame, and released by French label Shogun Records in April 2010.

2011–2012

Shortly after the release of ''Brainrailers'', NSU quickly went to recording work for their debut full-length release '' Across the Wounded Galaxies'' to be released on Shogun Records. A Nationwide Tour of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

was had for the release. By 2012 Through playing numerous shows, and with constant touring including another Winter Pacific Northwest Tour, NSU's whole catalog had sold out, and American represses were announced. Their debut album received positive reviews internationally, with

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

paper ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'' recommending the band, with the comment that "Musically, their high-pitched wall-of-jangle/atonal solo approach has earned them plenty of

Die Kreuzen Die Kreuzen (/ˈdiːˈkɹɔɪtsn̩/) is an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin formed in 1981. The name, which was taken from a German Bible, is grammatically incorrect German for "the crosses."Larkin, Colin (1995) "Die Kreuzen", in ''T ...

comparisons, which have merit, but I’m equally reminded of the collective mentality of those mid-Eighties

Ron Johnson Records Ron Johnson Records was a UK independent record label based in Long Eaton operating between 1983 and 1988.Robb, John (2009) ''Death To Trad Rock'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 19, 383 The label contributed five tracks to the NME's C86 compilation. R ...

bands, only with a hardcore upbringing." In June 2012, NSU along with Manager Alan S. Tofghi embarked on a second Nationwide Tour in support of the Ice EP, Treated Versions of Various songs in Various Speeds, and the Tour Documentary "Van Warped Tour Death Drive", Directed by Longtime NSU associate Vincent Catanho. With both items selling out prior to tours end, NSU had successfully completed the Bi-Coastal tour.

Musical and lyrical style

Drawing from

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 univers ...

, Philip K. Dick,

Cosmicism Cosmicism is the literary philosophy developed and used by the American writer H. P. Lovecraft in his fiction. Lovecraft was a writer of philosophically intense horror stories that involve occult phenomena like astral possession and alien mis ...

, after death preservation, and H.P. Lovecraft K- Rhea's lyrical delivery is often carried with a

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...

delivery, and has been described as "

speaking in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

". Musically influenced by

Japanese hardcore Japanese hardcore is the hardcore punk scene in Japan, which originated to protest the social and economic changes sweeping the country in the 1980s. The band SS is regarded as the first, forming in 1977. Bands such as The Stalin and GISM soon fo ...

, SST,

Funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

Noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

, and containing

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

drum beats,

Cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New wave music, new wave with country music, country, folk music, folk, and b ...

and

Free Jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

guitar licks, along with a constant start stop song aesthetic.

Live setting and performances

NASA Space Universe's unusual performance style drew comment from UK paper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', who remarked on the "chaotic shows in unusual locations and unusual clothes" in calling out the band to exemplify a wave of "interesting, uncompromising and just plain bonkers" punk bands. The latter praising NSU's credibility compared to other contemporary bands. Coming from a

DIY punk ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

, NSU rarely use a stage, even when one is provided. Constant audience participation has been a part of the NSU live show, which can include group reciting of

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

sacrificial Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

consumption, desecration of objects, handing out texts, and various topic based actions. Copious amounts of receipt tape and books have also been a part of the NSU aesthetic, often at times with the whole audience being covered in receipt tape, and the floor unseen. As of 2011 Video Projections have been an ever present force via a Self rigged projector. The subject usually containing various film collages nearly untraceable in obscurity. Apart from playing

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

shows,

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

, and

overpass An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and ''underpass'' together form ...

es, they have also played on a boat on the

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

coast, along with many often regarded unconventional settings. At

, a wall of

aluminum foil Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil in North American English; often informally called tin foil) is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than ; thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. Standard household foil is typ ...

was created, in which the back of the wall would be shined on by full stage lights. The options would be either to stay behind the wall and face a twelve-foot glare, or view the band who were positioned in a configuration facing the stage. as a result, those who wanted to avoid

slamming Slamming is the impact of the bottom structure of a ship onto the sea surface. It is mainly observed while sailing in waves, when the bow raises from the water and subsequently impacts on it. Slamming induces extremely high loads to ship structure ...

would stand on the stage while all others would be on the floor level with the band.

Members

* Kevin Rhea, Vocals (2006–2016) * John Cardwell,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2006–2016) * Kevin Hermes

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(2006–2016) * Paul Kubasek bass, backing vocals (2007–2016)

Discography

Albums

* '' Across the Wounded Galaxies'' (2011) * '' 70 AD'' (2016)

EPs

* ''NASA Space Universe'' (2008) * '' Brainrailers EP'' (2010) * '' Secret Sins'' (2011) * '' Ice EP'' (2012) * EGM EP (2013)

References

External links

NASA Space Universe
on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Interstellar overdrive: NASA Space Universe in words + soundsReverse Retro » Blog Archive » Kyle H. Mabson ((((((Interview Journey Part #2))))))
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