Bio
- Glitter-soaked chainsaws
- Proselytizing honey bees
- Hallucinatory cartography of unconscious astronauts.
- Dysfunctional lullabies for orphans on the moon.
Space Team Electra formed in Denver but only one member was a Colorado native. Drummer Kit Peltzel and guitarist Bill Kunkel met in college. Original STE bassist Greg Fowkes and singer/guitarist Myshel Prasad met in a bar. A classified ad brought them and their amplifiers all together in a basement on Mariposa Street. Their first cd “Vortex Flower” (May 1998) was recorded with producer Keith Cleversley (aka The Mad Hatter) in Chicago at The Playground Studio. Keith is known for his live sound and studio work with bands we love: The Flaming Lips, Spiritualized, Drugstore, Mercury Rev, and HUM. The second STE release "Space Apple Deluxe," (Sept 1999) an EP containing some rare improvisational material, was recorded overnight in a few drunken hours with Keith when the band stopped over on their way to play a slot at NXNE in Toronto. Visit Keith's website at: http://www.playgroundstudio.com
Space Team Electra went in to the Alpha/Omega studio in San Rafael, CA in May of 1998 to begin what would become a four year long production collaboration between Space Team's singer/writer/guitarist Myshel Prasad and Sandy Pearlman. Pearlman is best known for his work as a founder and writer/producer of The Blue Oyster Cult., but he has produced The Clash, and the Dictators, and managed Black Sabbath, and recently wrote the liner-notes to the re-release of Patti Smith's "Horses," among other things! Prasad who recently played with the Glenn Branca guitorchestra, "Symphony #13, "Hallucination City," for 100 Guitars,"at LA's Disney Hall, also co-produced Space Team's first release, "The Vortex Flower" with Chicago producer Keith Cleversely, studied with acting teachers Uta Hagen and Anthony Meindl (www.metatheatre.org), and poets Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldeman, and Amiri Baraka. She has performed widely as a spoken word artist, including a mainstage performance with Lollapalooza, The Nuyorican in NYC, and at The Globe in Prague. Together Pearlman and Prasad formed an explosive production partnership and "Intergalactic" is the stunning result. Engineered by Bernd Burgdorf, Marc Senesac, Rob Beaton, and Justin Lieberman. Asst Engineer Noah Rabinowitz. Mixed by Rob Beaton and Marc Senesac. Mastered by Marc Senesac and Paul Stubblebine.
"The Intergalactic Torch Song," (Dec 2002), was recorded with producer Sandy Pearlman (aka The Red Queen), who first saw STE when they played a showcase slot at the SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas (with Keith on the sound board)! Sandy is best known for his work as a rock critic and as a lyricist and producer for The Blue Oyster Cult but he has also produced The Clash and The Dictators and managed Black Sabbath! Sandy claims that Space Team Electra, Philadelphia's Bardo Pond, and Portland's Helio Sequence, are the best three bands in the United States. He is also a poet and lecturer and the former head of 415 Records.
In addition to working with such gifted producers, STE has also collaborated with some amazing artists and musicians. Greg was replaced by Jeff Linnsenmeir on bass, the drummer for fellow Denverites The Czars, and later Antelope bassist Matt Deason. Todd Ayers of Antelope and Sonnenblume has stepped in for Bill on guitar. STE, a chronic bad influence, has also colluded in joint performances of bad cover songs with The Czars (on Bella Union in the UK, and Manifesto in the States , and multi-media shows with the very talented NYC photographer and animation artist Scott Petill. "Kill Apollo," was also recorded with Keith Cleversley in Chicago and guest stars Euphone (on Jade Tree Records, www.jadetree.com) and Blue Man Group bassist Nick Macri playing (beautifully) on the upright.
STE is currently signed to Myshel's label, Sonic Halo Records, has toured nationally, and opened for various artists such as: The Cranberries (at The Fillmore) - Sunny Day Real Estate - King Black Acid (amazing band) - Ween - Built to Spill - Live (who wouldn't let us use the offstage bathroom- what's up with that?!) - Man or Astroman - The Church - 16 Horsepower - Brian Jonestown Massacre (the night one of them was nearly beaten to death outside Detroit) - The Spinnanes - Sloan - The Mermen - Nick Turner of Hawkwind - Those Bastard Souls- The Grifters - and more... Myshel opened under a pseudonym for Nelly Furtado and was very unpopular with the crowd.
P.S. I got a few e-mails about this- if you're trying to play and sing STE songs, we tune half a step down! It loosens the strings for greater thickness and resonance (i.e. Mystery) and disorients the ear so that everything sounds just a little off-center. But of course an infinite universe has no center. Have fun!