On top of fronting the melodic
pop-
punk quintet of
Lagwagon, vocalist and guitarist
Joey Cape also moonlights as the frontman for
Bad Astronaut. Accompanied by former
Nerf Herder and
Swingin' Utters bassist
Marko 72 (also of
Sugarcult) and
Lagwagon drummer
Derrick Plourde, this
indie rock three-piece debuted in their hometown of Santa Barbara in early 2000. With their polished but mature and complex presence that resembles
Cape's full-time gig,
Bad Astronaut released their first EP, Acrophobe, courtesy of Honest Don's Records in early 2001. A split with
Armchair Martian followed later in the year through Owned and Operated before the band released Houston: We Have a Drinking Problem in fall 2002. By that release,
Bad Astronaut had inflated to seven members, now including
Angus Cooke (cello, guitar, percussion),
Todd Capps (piano),
Thom Flowers (guitar), and
Jonathan Cox (programming). Work on the band's third album occurred off and on over the next several years, but when
Plourde sadly took his own life in March 2005, a devastated
Cape (whose grief first turned into the
Lagwagon album Resolve) considered scrapping the whole thing, not wanting to go on without him. However,
Cape ultimately felt he needed to finish what he and his friend had started, deciding the resulting record would also be the last for
Bad Astronaut. Finishing tracks for which
Plourde had already laid down drums,
Cape further called upon close friend and drummer
Jonathan Gorman to help him flesh out the remaining songs. The completed Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment -- titled ironically enough by
Plourde and
Cape before what would be one of their last recording sessions together -- appeared in November 2006 on Fat Wreck. ~ Mike DaRonco & Corey Apar, All Music Guide
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Red links represent a CD that is not currently available.
Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappoinment