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It's no super secret that my taste in music expands far and wide, from the most cookie-cutter raido friendly songs to the hardcore bellowing that would make a sailor blush, all the way through to those truly off-the-wall and seriously random bands that make all of my friends stare at me in an "are you freakin' kidding me" kind of way. Well friends, buckle up because I bring you yet another off-the-wall concept-y, totally weird band that I just couldn't live without! I am talking about none other than the one and only Phenomenauts! Deep breath, I'm about to hit you with brilliance.

The Phenomenauts are a band of Spacemen who have come to Earth to live in Earth's Capital (Oakland, California... duh) and teach the world about Science and Honor via Rockabilly music.

You can re-read that if you need to, it's a doozy.

The Phenomenauts were formed in 2000. Two years later the band released Rockets and Robots from their own Arlington Lab records. Later that same year they were signed to Springman Records and got local press by being named California's Best Live Band, and Best Lifestyle Music Artist in the East Bay Express and SF Weekly accordingly. The Phenomenauts have their rehearsal studio, transforming a storage area into what they refer to as "Command Center", decorated to look like outer space, and though the band remains tight lipped as to the exact location, they admit that it's in Oakland, California (Earth's Capital).

I first heard about this fantastic band in 2003 when the band really gained notoriety by repeatedly sneaking into the Warped Tour. The band bribed their way in with Warped officials with breakfast everyday for six weeks playing sets wherever they could get space, and when they finally caught the attention of Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman, he let them play. Not only that, but The Phenomenauts were asked to come back in 2004 and 2005, and were even given their own mini-stage dubbed the Space Station. The Phenomenauts turned down the offer in 2005 opting to tour with The Aquabats and The Epoxies instead.

How the band got away with it for so long without Lyman catching on is beyond me, they're not exactly a band that you could walk by and not notice. With space-age uniforms, gadgets, and a tour van that's more spaceship than '83 Dodge Van, The Phenomenauts don't exactly fly under the radar. In fact, the band was even filmed for the 2003 Warped Cult Classic "Punk Rock Holocaust" where the Space men dared to stand up to the masked murderer in an all-out fight scene (before their grisly and untimely death in a crushed Phenomabomber Alpha).

The band (consisting of Commander =Angel Nova= (guitar, vox), Leftenant =AR-7= (guitar, vox), Major =Jimmy Boom= (drums), Deck Chief =Nick Wayzar= (double bass) and Professor Greg Arius) put on a phenomenal show time and time again and have only raised the bar every time I've seen them play. With catchy songs in a style they've dubbed "Rocket Roll" (a mix of Rockabilly, Punk Rock and Surf) the band never fails to entertain no matter what. At the most recent show I saw, they played to less than 10 people and still put as much heart and soul into the performance as they did when I stumbled across them at a sneak-show in 2003 at Warped Tour.

The band's motto is =Science and Honor=, and Commander =Angel Nova= says: "We believe in science, which is the search for truth and is based on facts and things that can be proven. And honor, which is integrity and honesty." He goes on to explain that the purpose of the band's obsession with space and science is for a greater understanding of humanity, and not just for filling clubs and schticks.

Caity's Top 4 Phenoma-gadgets:

Leftenant =AR-7='s Theramatic Helmerator: A skateboard helmet retrofitted with a wireless Theramin for amazingly rad robotic sounds.

The Phenomabomber (Alpha and Beta [RIP]): Though no-more, the Phenomabomber was the band's tour van, a 83 Dodge Van with space-y scrap metal welded onto the outside.

The Streamerator 2000: A leaf-blower, modified to blow toilet paper at the audience, and gaurenteed to mummify the front row in seconds.

Earth: Inflatable models of Earth hover over the band as they play "Earth is the Best" with what can only be called vortex technology.

Caity's Top 10 Phenomenauts Songs to rock out to:
Man Alone
Make A Circuit With Me
Science and Honor
I Am Robot
Neptune City
Welcome Back/Space Girl
The Year 2000
Earth Is The Best
Phenomenator
DOA

I highly recommend getting your butt out and seeing the Phenomenauts live, sure the albums are fantastic, and so much fun to bop around to, but you in no way have experienced the Phenomenauts in all their glory until you've seen a live show!

Who's excited about the Phenomenaut's as Band of the Month? Oh yeah, that's me! The Phenomenauts are an amazing band, one of those bands you wish would be more well known, but realize if they start playing stadiums their live show would suffer. (how would the toilet paper guns shoot the paper to the bleeds of Madison Square Garden? Or how would people sitting on the lawn of the VA Beach Verizon Wireless Amphitheater be heard when they answer that they are robots?)

I haven't heard that much P-nauts since I saw the show in Richmond (check out the co-review with Caity in the Reviews section!), but I still remember how they lifted my spirits on that humid Monday night with their "caluclation" of the human to robot ratio, and the random lasers that shot out from the stage. Seriously, if you want a fun time, just pop some Phenomenauts on your Ipod, and boogie away to "I am Robot," "Science and Honor," and "Earth is the Best" (because Neptune has nothing on our green and blue planet.)

The Phenomenauts prove that concerts can be a true interactive experience, and that Bill Nye the Science Guy isn't the only way science can be entertaining. So, check them out while they're still out on tour. You will not be disappointed.

Sweet! I'm so stoked that the P-nauts are this months band! I, of course, heard about them through our lovely Caity (good taste, that one. Seems all the good bands I've heard of in the last few years I've heard of through her), and whereas I'm not a consistant listener, I can't help but grin whenever they pop up on my iTunes.

The first song I ever heard was I Am Robot, and that came along with the story about how the band snuck onto Warped Tour, weren't found out until a month or so in, were asked to leave... Then invited back the next year. Now come on, that's just ballsy! How can you not respect that?

Definitely check out the Phenominauts, guys. They're teaching us about science and honor via Rockabilly, after all. The least you can do is give them a listen!

I have to be honest I had never heard of the Phenomenauts before I met Caity. I didn't even know the band existed. However, like all good friends do they introduce you to new music that helps expand your mind and keep you fresh and alive. If anyone knows me, they know my music is based in Metal and Alternative. That is just who I am. I can give my opinion on those types of bands untill the sun doesn't shine anymore (trust me I can). However, since meeting the girls I have been open to this WHOLE other side of things. Like this Oakland, Cali band. As I sit here typing this I have their myspace playing in the background and I am finding myself jamming out on my bed. Of course this is just one of the numerous myspaces that they have (lets count, SEVEN in total).

I have a feeling that I might want to become a robot at some point or heck even date a robot maybe, but not really. I am really enjoying the 'space' theme that they have going on. I have to be honest with you all though, when I first heard of this band I honestly pictured a bunch of middle aged men in geeky glasses rocking out on instruments and trying to be young kids again. However, I was mistaken, like sometimes I usually am when it comes to bands of this nature. I am also semi upset with myself for missing their show recently when they were here in Toronto. I do believe that it would have been a super-fantastic-rad show that I would have rocked out to and maybe even woren an anti-gravity helmet in the process.

I don't like comparing bands to be honest because each band is their OWN, but this band puts me in the same mood that the Legends put me in when I am listening to them. Imagine that, happy music really truly does exisit (of course I kid I like happy music too... just don't ask about my pop band obsession from back in the day, you might get scared).

Seriously though, GO listen to them. If you can get out and catch a show, I think you should film it for me and show me what I am missing!

Just hearing about The Phenomenauts show from Caity was enough to make me want to listen to/see them. Caity and I share music on a regular basis and we always seem to have such a similar taste in music, which is how I knew she wouldn’t let me down when recommending The Phenomenauts. This wasn’t the first time she mentioned them, however it was the first time I listened to them.

When I listen to The Phenomenauts all I want to do it dance. Whatever is going on in life, you hear them and you just want to dance it out. And maybe invest in a robot.

I wasn’t able to make it to their show when they were in Toronto, as I was in Ottawa at the time. But I wish I would have been able to. No, okay honestly, I wish I could have gone to the show in Maine with Caity!! That sounded like such an amazing event!! Go read the review and you will definitely understand why!!

Strongly suggest checking out The Phenomenauts, right now. Listen to “Science and Honor” and “Mission” and just dance it out. Whatever it is, just dance it out!! Oh, and throw in some vocals (even if you’re not the best) because when you can dance/scream/sing it out, it’s even better!