or more than 50 years now, humankind has been sending radio and TV signals from Earth out into space. Now imagine that some of those signals were drawn into a black hole somewhere and instantly spread through all ten (yes, ten!) dimensions of hyperspace. Who or what could have received them? What would they/it do with them? The answer is--Star People.
Star People is a group of super-intelligent beings who have come to Earth from roughly 4,000 galaxies away--by way of a hijacked hyperdrive--to do just one thing: rock 'n' roll. They are seeking immortality through music (their home world being devoid of show biz), emulating some of the musical stylings they've been exposed to through decades of Earth's entertainment broadcasts. They cite the likes of the Rat Pack (for fashion sense and attitude, mostly), George Clinton, Frank Zappa, Devo, The Residents, King Crimson, Vanilla Fudge and "any lounge act who's dropped acid and strapped on Stratocasters" as inspiration.
Fortunately, band members Bill "The Teacher" (vocals), "Golden Boy" Paul (vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar), "Dr. Scott" (keyboards, accordion, theremin, glockenspiel), "Ambassador Randy" (bass, harmonica), "Captain Bob" (guitar), "Helmsman Phil" (drums) and "Star Girl" (violin, vocals) are aliens who seek to relay messages of peace and harmony, not of war or invasion. In "The Signal," one of the tracks on this, their debut CD, they intone:
All roads lead to here, my friend
The cathode rays will never end
Life won't die and time will bend
The love you take is equal to the signal you send.
Other songs on the album have names such as "The Pan-Dimensional Universal Anthem," "Star Man Descending," "Science and Style," and a cover of Klaatu's "Calling Occupants (of Interplanetary Craft)," so it's not hard to imagine what most of Star People's "progressive heavy rock" music is about.
Way-out musical fun
With a majorly funked-up and rocked-out sound, and a rather smart and funny shtick (in both their recorded and live music as well as in interviews), Star People's music, if somewhat awkward and a bit too derivative at times, makes for a fun and sometimes even fascinating listen.
Aside from the inspirations the band themselves cite, listeners of this album may pick up on a bit of Pink Floyd, Radiohead and even, it's been said, some big Andrew Lloyd Webber sounds. Accordingly, the style and tone of the songs on the album are extremely diverse, often switching dramatically in midsong. Sometimes this feels like gliding through hyperspace; sometimes it feels like bouncing around an asteroid field.
"The Teacher," who provides most of the vocals on Star People ... Are Coming, possesses a deep, formidable voice that is reminiscent of Frank Sinatra, Jim Morrison and Neil Diamond all at once. His sound bolsters Star People's tone of seriously not taking themselves seriously. Occasionally, however, his voice gets lost in some of the album's musically heavier moments. Overall, the production quality of the CD (independently produced) isn't as good as it could be, which is a shame, given the complexity of the music and the skill of the individual musicians.
The lyrics muse on everything from hyperspace travel to the dark blue eyes of a woman on the street. Once again, this diversity is both a strength and a weakness--for, although they're uttered earnestly enough, the words seem to lack the holistic, emotional force potentially present in Star People's groovy, cosmic messages. It would seem there's a lot of space between super-intelligence and show biz.
