Blastronauts

BLASTRONAUTS WILL BE PLAYING NEWPORT MUSIC HALL IN COLUMBUS ON JUNE 6 WITH KARATE COYOTE AND OSKEREI. CLICK BELOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS.Space, stars, planets, NASA, rockets…Blastronauts? Starting in the summer of 2007, Blastronauts is the brain child of duo James Allison and Jacob Halpern. After playing in many bands together, James and Jacob became disenchanted with the bullshit of too many ego’s getting in the way and, in pompous fashion, decided to make their ego’s the forefront and just do everything themselves. What evolved from this little idea? After spending every day of the summer of ’07 jamming, writing, honing their musical abilities, learning a mass amount of instruments, and generally being creative and spacey, the group organized all their ideas on a recording machine and immediately released the songs online. With an out-of-this-world indie rock sound that combines the classics like Jimi Hendrix, Television, and Dinosaur Jr. with contemporary bands such as Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, and Incubus, along with James and Jacob’s own “outer-space-psychedelic-jam-rock” influence, interest in the group gathered pace.
After a successful string of solo acoustic shows featuring James in England during the Fall of 07, Blastronauts reunited in December to go on their first string of live dates across the east coast and midwest along with their three piece backing band, “The Spacemen.” The group continues to play out live extensively and, after making it their primary focus, have become a mainstay on the Columbus, Ohio music scene.
James and Jacob completed their debut five track EP, "Interstellar Groove Machine," recorded at EP studios with legendary producer, Tony Stewart. The EP was released as part of the Blastronauts’ own “Outer Sounds Music Festival,” which garnered a lot of attention from local press and music enthusiasts alike, and has since been adopted as a weekly showcase of some of the best acts in indie, folk, psychedelic, and experimental rock in Ohio, which the Blastronauts continue to frequently perform at. Blastronauts are also currently forming a collective label with other Columbus, Ohio music acts. The duo are currently writing new material, as well as playing shows, and are planning their third tour for August and September, ’08. If anyone would like Blastronauts to play at their house for a show during this time, the band are willing to do any show for any amount of beer, money, or interesting things that can be offered to them to help them survive for the tour...literally anywhere in the US and Canada will do.
Things people are saying and accolades:
"" This American Duo Create Beautiful Acoustic Melancholic Epics... " - www.gigwise.com featured band
"A band called Blastronauts with Columbus tie-ins is the best live music option for the night. The band, with members based in New York, Boston and the UK, will convene in Columbus to present their contribution to the melancholy pop-rock canon, a set of songs that remain compact and catchy despite their space-rock leanings." - Chris Deville, Columbus Alive!
NYC Artist on the Rise, January '08 - The Deli Magazine
"James Allison and Jacob Halpern are Blastronauts, a two-person band that splits their time between Columbus and Boston. Their sound is a mix of trippy layered folk, alt-pop, and a touch of pop-punk. And throw in some garage rockabilly too, while you’re at it. In reality, the sound is less of a mix and more of a mutt -- you picture something really ugly, but when you actually meet it, you want to take it home." - Dave Schaefer, www.lifeonthecbus.com
Straight from Columbus, Ohio, home of Our Cat Philip and Erin Studer, come Blastronauts, an up and coming indie-pop-rock act...They sound good, and they sound funky...half rapped vocals play over a tight cymbal, riffy guitar, and intermittent “woo, woo hoo!’s”...funfunfun, look out for their debut EP, "Interstellar Groove Machine..." - Asher Kaplan, The Tape (www.thetapeisnotsticky.com)
"Blastronauts: Outer Sounds Fest" (Four of a kind featured show) - Uweekly
Outer Sounds Music Festival Article
The Lantern, 03/05/2008, by Pat Devers
"Local Music Fest To Rock Columbus" When the Scarlet & Grey Cafe called The Blastronauts and told them they could book a show March 13, the Columbus/Boston indie band had an interesting situation on its hands. They had already booked the Rumba Cafe, just more than a mile away, for March 12.
All this was to celebrate the release of their EP "Interstellar Groove Machine." But, could they really convince their fans to come out to two shows in two nights?
"We were put in charge of booking both those nights," said Jacob Halpern, a junior at Boston University and one of the two members of The Blastronauts. "So, we looked at our options and decided to call it a festival."
Thus an EP release party became the Outer Sounds Music Fest, a two-night extravaganza featuring Ohio State student bands, local bands from Columbus and Athens, DJs and comedians.
"I know all the acts are extremely excited about playing this thing and also getting the opportunity to see each other play," said James Allison, the Columbus half of The Blastronauts, the festival's main organizer and a junior at OSU.
"I would love to make this into an annual event," Allison said. "Hopefully the response this year will be large enough so that we can continue doing this."
The Blastronauts were formed in the summer of 2007 by high school friends Allison and Halpern. They had been in various projects together, but found themselves doing solo work prior to forming the band.
"If you're playing in a big band with four people it's kind of hard to get what you want musically," Halpern said. "(But) James and I have always been on the same page."
"I told myself I wouldn't form a band on force and would wait for the right people," Allison said.
The Blastronauts, an indie fuse of electronic pop and melodic rock, plan on shopping their EP to online outlets and the local media. They will also be doing small tours during breaks from school.
"We don't get to play live as much as we could as a band," Allison said. "But, Jacob and I can still get out and play and promote as much as we want when we're apart."
The other bands playing the festival with OSU ties are Aperture, Our Cat Philip and Allison's other band, an "instrumental super group" called The Existentialist Tea Party.
Nick Held, a sophomore in economics, plays drums and sings for Our Cat Philip. The band hopes to debut new material from its forthcoming album at the festival.
"We're really thrilled to play with (The Blastronauts)," Held said. "We think they're really awesome."
Held said the band members focus more on pushing themselves as musicians than on fitting into a specific genre.
"It's the music we grew up around. It's the music we listen to," Held said. "Every day we say 'what's something new we can learn?'"
The Outer Sounds Music Fest is March 12 at the Rumba Cafe and March 13 at the Scarlet & Grey Cafe. The Blastronauts will close both nights and Our Cat Philip will play the second day. Tickets are $5 for each day and a full lineup can be found by visiting myspace.com/outersoundsfest.
For Booking Enquiries please email [email protected]
View Blastronauts's EPKArtwork and posters by Alexandre Nguyen, Jacob Halpern,