This song is dedicated to the memory of Doug Walker (Dr. Synth) of Alien Planetscapes, who departed this earthly plane on April 4, 2006.... XXX --- >>> Phinney and I were on a two-month journey to Venus to chart and analyze greenhouse effects on that planet. It wasn't a long journey compared to many of our other space voyages, but still, eight weeks was a long time. Being the seasoned space travelers we were, we made liberal use of sound-making gear to pass the time and indulged heavily in our supply of sativa modules. We were getting really really zoned out on a fine jam, when all of a sudden there was a blinding flash of light and a deafening roar. And then all was silent. I whispered to Phinney in the pitch blackness, "Dude, are we dead or something?" "Yeah man, I think we might be", was his reply. The next thing we knew we were standing in a brightly-lit hall, and we could hear the sounds of music off in the distance. Icy chills passed up and down our spines. For some unexplained reason we felt compelled to run as fast as our legs could carry us in the direction of the music. We came to a large chamber spiked with glowing purple and green stalactites, and there, standing at a bank of what looked like analog synthesizers, stood a bald brown-skinned man, wearing an iridescent cloak. He turned around and smiled with a wide toothy grin and shouted "Welcome To Space Station Studio!".
Genre: Space Rock Album: Hal McGee Tapegerm Collection Volume Three Label: HalTapes Credits: Original performance and recording by Doug Walker and Hal McGee, Space Station Studio, St. Albans, New York, August 1990. Synthesizers and sequencer by Doug Walker; Mental Anguish Open Loops; Hal McGee Open Loops (Moog Voyager). Photograph by NASA.
Sal Robert "Homes" Pauciello said, "Nice tribute, Hal. Doug will be missed. One of the last times I spoke with Doug was in '03, extending sympathy for the loss of his wife Fran. In '04 he sent me some astounding A.P. boot tapes and I wrote back expressing my delight with his innovations. I haven't been on the net much (this past year has been artistically rough for me,)so I was shocked when I found out that Doug had passed on. R.I.P. Doug.
Sincerely, Sal Robert (Homes) Pauciello 07/20/07"
Dave Fuglewicz said, "This a very incredible tribute to Doug! It's a mutilayered voyage to a different space. Well done Hal."
Electro-Spike at Tapegerm said, "Very good, Hal! makes me want to read classic retro sci-fi or hunt down the old sci-fi movies from the 50s-60s! So - what old classics can you recomend? Your piece really reminds me of the old sci-fi flics I used to watch - on local tv stations in the early 70s on Fri and Sat nites - scared outta my wits! There's a great old space record I have on CD it reminds me of too - I have it on CD. btw - in Spain, no one can hear Ice Cream. Feel free to quote me on that. he-he"
