ASTRONAUT

"I can't say I love you, but I want to stick it right in."This shot of verbal absinthe, written specifically for the chief nubian female dancer from Solid Gold, is how Astronaut cooed its way into the fledgling indie rock scene in November of 1989.No, it wasn't as lyrically smooth as "Across The Universe" or as sassy as "Loose," but it basically hit the nail on the head. It's what every teenage Christian Essex County suburbanite boy was screaming in their racing car sheet fantasies.Under the guidance of big-brother band Skunk, the Astronaut fellas had just about every perfect indie-rock opportunity handed to them on a flannel platter. Some bands have complete grace under pressure. Astronaut was not one of those bands.From horrible showcases to stolen equipment to bad relocations, Astronaut found just about every intricate way to sabotage ideal situations. Astronaut was all about loudness and cro-magnon-esqe brutalilty rather than grace, bravado, hype, greasy hair, cluelessness, and long overdue attention. It was fun while it lasted, or at least until Wallingford jumped into Tim's drum kit mid-song at CBGB around 3am in March of 1990.The inital 1989 "Sleazy Listening" demo kicked fucking ass and basically shocked all the hipster dorks into placing Wallingford & Tim into a stratosphere of glorified dork hipness.When Kyle Bennett joined the band on bass in December 1989, his instrumental skills didn't matter; it was simply how awesome he looked freaking the fuck out on stage. By the time Eric Halvorson and Matt Quigley joined the band in the summer of 1991, the party had already been crashed and formalized.Still, there were a few good tunes, shows, stories and contacts that were had. Some of the band went off to college, some became doctors, and some almost irremediably damaged deep friendships by forming Vaganza.Essentially, it was a fun ass ride. What a glorious time to be young and stupid. If that is the criteria for the greatest rock band at the time, then Astronaut should gladly put that trophy on their mantel.