1.Growing Up
Like many, as a kid, I loved the old movies the TV stations would play on Friday nights and as ‘midday movies’ on the weekends. They were very often B-grade 1950s sci-fi flicks but to me they were a very real ‘alternate universe’. I don’t know why, but when I learned that these movies were fictional and made as entertainment often on a tight budget, well, for some reason I just liked them more. At that time, it never occurred to me that cool ’50s music and these movies could somehow be mated together.
2.Inspirations
Somewhere in the mid-’90s I travelled to Sydney to attend a gig. Restless were playing with The Space Cadets. I didn’t know The Space Cadets at the time, but that was the most fun I had ever had at a show to date.
3.Your Band
In 2006, Men Into Space were formed. We were a three-piece back then: myself, Dan Nosovich on guitar and Rupert Jenner, a fine guitarist, on drums. After a few years I decided to make the band a four-piece. Coojee Timms joined on drums and Rupert got onto guitar. Recently, Pat Capocci joined us. Pat is a huge figure in the rockabilly circuit, particularly in Europe. Costumes and instruments need to suit the theme. The helmets are toy space helmets from 1960. It took quite a few months of searching to acquire enough of them. I had to modify the inside of them considerably, as they were designed for children.
4.The Music You Make
I’ve always been focused on making sure the music is as good as it can be. A band is its music. It was and still is extremely important to me that the quality of the music comes first. Our bones are absolutely rockabilly but musically we venture a little further out than many trad bands might. The costumes and associated props and things are an added layer to what I think is a great band. Having all the instruments matching is very effective, I think. Rupert’s guitar was crafted from the bones of a death metal eBay item. I knew I wanted theremin in the band, so this guitar was constructed to also be a dual instrument – thero-guitar. And the Space Bass just needs to be seen!
5.Music, Right Here, Right Now
We’re doing our own thing with this space/rockabilly genre. It’s a genre that is represented by quite a few bands around the world. And more broadly, themed costume rock’n’roll is huge among our community. Examples are Man Or Astro-Man?, Los Straitjackets, The Neanderthals, The Go-Nuts, The Red Elvises… but The Space Cadets will always be king.
Sydney Rock ‘N’ Roll & Alternative Market takes placeSunday July 31 atManning Bar. The Porkers, Cruisin’ Deuces, The Hellcat III and Men Into Spaceall perform.
