Since then Spacecraft has released four CDs and thrilled numerous planetarium audiences with their improvised electronic soundscapes accompanied by space visuals. The band is currently working on producing a sound and visual package for use in planetariums.

INTERVIEW WITH TONY GERBER

SPACE.com: For those unfamiliar with Spacecraft's live performances, can you (briefly) give us an idea what the audience experiences?

Tony Gerber: Ninety percent of our concerts have accompanying visuals. Projected computer animations, NASA footage, lasers, star machines and SFX lighting are all used. Many of our shows are in planetariums around the country, so an "under the dome" environment is generally the venue. The audiences, which we have found to be a broad cross-section of ages, from 2 to 80, witness creativity in action as the Spacecraft members each play their instruments "live," projecting the "band" vibe, performing mostly music of the moment. The audience and venue influence each of our performances differently. Each show is unique. One of the most remarkable things is the fact that the children under 10 years old are totally quiet. Even the babies! In all of our recordings from these concerts, I don't think I have ever heard a child cry out. It must be captivating.

SPACE.com: Do you find working with predetermined visuals restricts the generation of improvised soundscapes?

TG: Absolutely not. First of all, we rarely perform with predetermined visuals. The visual artists who work with us are generally creating "visual music" of the moment also. Or if they have predetermined visuals, we haven't seen them until we are performing. Many times we are reacting to the visuals, or the visuals are reacting to us. It all seems to magically work together. The element of chance is also a remarkable synchronicity.

SPACE.com: The emotional connections between outer space and ambient electronic music are pretty obvious, both evoking mysterious sensory realms. Do you perceive an applicable union between these elements once mankind begins sending manned missions to other worlds?

TG: Most definitely. I can imagine nothing more appropriate than traveling to Alpha Centauri with Spacecraft music playing over the starship's sound system! Ambient soundscapes as an audio environmental background in the International Space Station will be perfecto. In fact, traveling to the International Space Station and creating a live recorded concert from space, in the upcoming media lab module is something we would like to see happen. I think we are in the infancy of this style of music and it will grow far more appropriate as mankind aims for the stars.

SPACE.com: Besides the lure of space, what other factors inspire Spacecraft's music?

TG: The initial inspiration for the band was derived from NASA resources. The synthesizer technology we are using stems from NASA developments. We are of the "landing on the moon" generation and space was a part of our childhood. These are obvious space connections. However, we look at our music in a very spiritual light too. The recognition of the blessing or gift that we collectively have to create this music is also important. We are all very close, like family, and the growing relationship we have with each other is also very key. We travel with John and Diane's little girl, Claire, who is 3 years old. Claire is a never-ending catalyst to our work. We gain inspiration in the great times we have together as humans. We also find it very important to intertwine earthly energy into our music. Traveling in nature and reacting to the beautiful environments we encounter on the road are also very integral. We look at planet Earth as a living organism floating in space. The balance between the spiritual, technological, stellar and earthly planes are of utmost importance to us.

SPACE.com: What was the last scientific discovery that made you go "Wow!"?

TG: I would most definitely have to say "Wow!" to the recent tree ring studies and polar core samples that support the "Catastrophic Volcano of 539 AD" discovery. This recent historic event drastically changed our course of history. A volcanic eruption that mushroomed ash over the entire globe. Darkness, drought, and cold for a decade. Civilizations were toppled, and a new world scene was born. This concept is changing the way I look at ancient world history and culture.

SPACECRAFT: Spacecraft (CD on Lektronic Soundscapes)

Although possessing mildly melodic attributes, the music on this 64-minute CD is generally comprised of ambient tonalities, often almost abstract in their sonic structure.

Electronic sounds are the instrument of choice, although there is considerable use of electric sustaining koto. The synthesizers are tuned to pierce the outermost regions between earth and sky, where atmosphere gives way to cold vacuum. Leaving our planetary mass behind, Spacecraft's music heads into the void with full heart and astral sensibilities.

Often duplicating the peripheral, mechanical noises we all attribute to space travel, the band amalgamates these sounds of sci-fi subconsciousness with their own stylistic atmospheric sonics. Long synthi waves overlap each other, expanding without ever reaching an endpoint.

Inspired by the excitement shared by space enthusiasts, this music delves quite loyally into the cosmic moods and aural awe of everything beyond the atmosphere of our Earth. Never becoming too minimal, nor blustering into overt expression, the calm of the vastness of space is captured with clinical perfection, creating soundscapes of nebulous drifting which seethe with a controlled power, hinting at greatness just out of reach.

MP3 sample:

Destination Infinity

SPACECRAFT: Hummel (CD on Lektronic Soundscapes)

Recorded in the Hummel Planetarium at Eastern Kentucky University in 1998, this 69-minute CD captures the wonderful airs of Spacecraft's free-forming, flowing live performance. While the band played their atmospheric electronics, their music directed the movements of laser light refracting across the Planetarium's evocative dome.

These pleasantly languid auralscapes are tinged with delicate keyboards, comfortably paced to inject melody to the slowbuilding tonalities. Balanced between minimal and demonstrative, this music oozes in the air, like a benevolent swarm of electric bees.

The synthesizers are focused on generating an aura of placid tension with their purring growl. Ethereal textures are everywhere, like intangible windstorms seen in the distance. Fragile keyboard riffs manifest to stir the cosmic mists with their sonic guidance.

Guitar effects and heavenly choral vocals creep into the mix, adding depth to the liquid electronics. In fact, their presence in the music is often cleverly hidden by their otherworldly nature; the guitar in particular employing a very vaporous sound. Although the primary use of voice is restricted to choral pitches, one track does feature lyrical vocals (in Latin).

This music's sense of awe swells with an invigorating harmonic power. The mellow cosmic soundscape becomes enlivened with agreeable currents of euphony.

MP3 sample:

The Summon

SPACECRAFT: Earthtime Tapestry (CD on Lektronic Soundscapes)

This 57-minute CD from 1999 features a distinctly more melodic side of Spacecraft's music, as the band explores the link generated between earth and life by sonic resonance.

This time, the domain of synthesizers is visited by a guitar presence and choral vocals. While the soft electronics pulse and flow like energized mist, processed guitars flavor the blend with soaring tones, enhancing the music's ascendant quality.

After lulling the listener with ambient soundscapes, the guitars adopt a more traditional presence, and the synthesizers become more keyboard-like with cyclic sequences of sparkling rhythms. The long waves of sound build into dreamy passages, accompanied by heavenly non-lyrical female vocal pitches. There's even a sedate trace of synthetic percussion in a few pieces.

These compositions are touched with a glorious sunlight, charging each holistic tone with a shimmering quality. Spacecraft's fusion of melody with minimalism produces an ambience that is enthusiastic and inspirational.

Despite these earthier origins, this music still lives in outer space. The expansive qualities cannot be restrained to any atmospheric condition, needing the limitless void to unfurl and properly display its inherent spaciness.

MP3 sample:

Earthtime Tapestry

SPACECRAFT: Kaleida Dreams (CD on MP3.com)

Released in 1999, this CD sports 48 minutes of the band's delicate electronic melodies, a soundtrack for the award-winning computer animation of David Turner. Also included is a band history and pictures.

Rich with keyboard melodics and spacey guitars, this music stands nicely on its own, pulsating and cascading with ethereal qualities. The pieces alternate between atmospheric passages and lightly active tunes with synthetic rhythms ricocheting about in the electronic surf.

These soundscapes are evolutionary, involving the blossoming of cosmic textures that mature through each track's timespan. The general tone is a sedate one, generating a calming sense of wonder with their sparkling ambience.

Averaging four minutes in length, these songs display a more focused brand of Spacecraft's ambient style, featuring a higher degree of melodic content.

Quicktime movie:

Sense of Wonder