"TO TOUCH THE STARS" is going to the duplicators! (National Space Society / Mars Society album) *** "TO TOUCH THE STARS" IS READY FOR YOUR PRE-ORDER! *** "As someone who has actually set foot on the threshold of space and experienced firsthand its majesty and the incredible potential it holds for the human race, I am thrilled by this new collection of original songs celebrating the beginnings of our great endeavor to reach for the stars." - -- Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11 astronaut) "I am confident that music and songs -- perhaps from this very album -- will make an impact on a future explorer and inspire him or her to reach for the stars." - -- Brian Chase (Executive Director, National Space Society) "If we are to win the hearts and souls of humanity to the vision of a spacefaring future, the space exploration movement must also develop its songs...it is my hope that this album will begin a tradition whereby our most powerful language -- music -- will help rally the souls of the present to the cause of the future." -- Dr. Robert Zubrin (President, Mars Society; Best-selling author of "The Case for Mars") Sometime in the past six years, you asked to be informed when the "To Touch the Stars" album -- featuring songs that celebrate our heritage and future in space exploration -- would be available for your music collection. I'm delighted to say that we are handing off this project to the duplicators within 14 days; we're just waiting for artists to provide any last-minute corrections to the album's 32-page, full-color glossy photo-booklet. HOW TO PRE-ORDER - ---------------- #1. Send $16 (*) per CD and your address to our new address: Eli Goldberg c/o Prometheus Music 333 Franklin Street #5 Mountain View, CA 94041 (*) = California residents: State sales tax makes it $17.32. If you live outside of the USA, drop an e-mail, and we'll make discounted shipping arrangements. If you'd prefer to pay electronically via Paypal, our account is "eli@prometheus-music.com". All orders are protected by our money-back guarantee (which has yet to be invoked after four years of shipping thousands of CDs. ;-) #2. Please provide your e-mail address so that we may inform you when your CD ships. Your pre-ordered CDs will be the first in the mail, with delivery expected in late December/early January. *** Please send your pre-order by December 1st, 2003. *** PREVIEW "TO TOUCH THE STARS" - ---------------------------- We've placed a third of the album on the Internet for your enjoyment. * To download MP3 album tracks: http://www.prometheus-music.com/space.html#M * To view the cover illustration: http://www.prometheus-music.com/images/stars-cover.jpg SPECIAL BONUS FOR PRE-ORDERERS - ------------------------------ Missed out on any Prometheus releases? As a pre-orderer of To Touch the Stars, just toss in another $14 each -----for any other CD(s) you'd like from our catalog. So, you'll get a few bucks off, and any tax and shipping is on us. These are: 1. Divine Intervention -- Julia Ecklar http://www.prometheus-music.com/divine.html Long-awaited CD edition of legendary science-fiction album by NYT best-selling science-fiction author Julia Ecklar, also a featured singer on "To Touch the Stars". Strongly recommended. 2. Roundworm -- Bob Kanefsky http://www.prometheus-music.com/roundworm.html A "filk" (science-fiction folk) parody lover's dream! Spotlight artists are Julia Ecklar and Heather Alexander. 3. My Favorite Sings -- Kathy Mar http://www.prometheus-music.com/mysings.html First new album in a decade by "filk" veteran Kathy Mar. Includes her spine-tingling performance of Merlin, as aired on folk radio programs worldwide. TRACK LIST - ---------- To Touch the Stars contains a packed 71 minutes of classic and new songs. If you want the details: Witnesses' Waltz (3:43) written by Leslie Fish; sung by Kristoph Klover 2. Big Blue Sky (3:58) written and sung by Stan Clardy 3. Fire in the Sky (4:37) written by Jordin Kare; sung by Kristoph Klover 4. Now's the Time to Touch a Star (3:48) written by Michael Penkava; sung by Karl Franzen 5. Hope Eyrie (4:14) written by Leslie Fish; sung by Julia Ecklar 6. Surprise! (3:07) written by Leslie Fish; sung by Gunnar Madsen 7. The Pioneers of Mars (3:03) written by Karen Linsley and Lloyd Landa; sung by Karen Linsley 8. If We Had No Moon (8:00) written and sung by Christine Lavin 9. I Want to Go to Mars (3:36) written and sung by The Birdwatchers 10. Star Fire (3:35) written by Cynthia McQuillin; sung by Julia Ecklar 11. Others Standing By (5:00) written and sung by Kristoph Klover 12. The Challenge (3:50) written by Karen Linsley and Lloyd Landa; sung by Karen Linsley 13. Dog on the Moon (5:22) written and sung by Garry Novikoff 14. Beyond the Sky (4:58) written by Judy Collins; sung by Margaret Davis 15. Queen Isabella (3:09) written by Leslie Fish; sung by Kristoph Klover 16. Legends (3:47) written by Bill Roper; sung by Julia Ecklar 17. Dance on the Ceiling (3:16) written by Leslie Fish; sung by Gunnar Madsen THE FULL SCOOP ON THE CD - ------------------------ When the space shuttle Columbia broke up over Texas in February of 2003, NBC turned to legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, for perspective on the tragedy. As part of his comments, Buzz began to read a poem, until, overcome with emotion, he could not continue. What Buzz was reading from was actually the lyrics to a song from the new CD from Prometheus Music, "To Touch The Stars -- A Musical Celebration of Space Exploration". The song was Fire In The Sky (by Dr. Jordin Kare), which includes the line: "As they passed from us to glory, riding fire in the sky". Buzz subsequently downloaded album tracks off the Internet, and was moved enough to offer his endorsement for the album. Songs range from the scientific ("If We Had No Moon") to the historic ("Fire in the Sky") to the whimsical ("Dance on the Ceiling", "Dog On the Moon"). "These are exciting, well-crafted, professionally-written songs in a variety of styles," says multi-instrumentalist Mark Ungar, who lent his expertise on electric guitar and sitar, vocals and guitar synthesizer to several of the tracks. "Everyone who was involved turned in great performances. It'll appeal to anyone who enjoys music and is inspired by the exploration of space." The project grew out of a partnership between Prometheus and the National Space Society (NSS), which sponsored a "pro-space" songwriting competition, inviting "spacebards" to submit entries. "If we are to win the hearts and souls of humanity to the vision of a spacefaring future, the space exploration movement must also develop its songs," says Dr. Robert Zubrin, then-chairman of the NSS and influential author of the international best-seller The Case For Mars. "A few people have realized this, and so a subculture has emerged of space folk songs. But outside of performances at space and science fiction conventions, few people have heard this wonderful music". Zubrin was so convinced of the importance of this endeavor that he held a similar contest a couple of years later when he founded the Mars Society. Co-producer Eli Goldberg, owner of Prometheus, adds: "People in the sci-fi community have been writing and singing songs about space for years, but this project really raises the bar -- we wanted to put out a really high-quality album, not just in terms of the recording and musicianship but the writing as well. We wanted it to be as good as anything you'd hear on the radio or in movies or on TV, and I think we've succeeded in that." The 17 album tracks include winning entries from the NSS and Mars Society contests, along with new works from selected singer/songwriters. Elementary school teacher Michael Penkava's "Now's The Time To Touch A Star" was the NSS contest's 1st place winner. "Space isn't just vocabulary words and data: it comes alive as we explore and discover, as we analyze and synthesize, as we discuss and debate." Penkava was encouraged to enter the contest by a student, and harbored no hopes of winning. "I recorded it in the classroom on a cheap karaoke machine - the sound quality was terrible. The child who wanted me to enter said, 'If your song is good enough, it doesn't matter how bad it sounds.' Out of the mouths of babes...!" A majority of the tracks were recorded in Oakland, California at Flowinglass Studio, home of progressive Celtic/Medieval rockers Avalon Rising. Owner Kristoph Klover engineered and co-produced, as well as contributed guitar, vocals and a song (Others Standing By), containing the refrain: "Why would you go there?" they say. "There's nothing up there anyway, We could use the money here. Don't you know that life's too dear?" Dreamers never ask why. Spend their money in the sky. We'll send the best from Earth, To find out what it's worth. At a time when, more than ever, science without a clearly defined political or commercial agenda is decried as a waste of taxpayers' money, Zubrin says: "It's an anthem that the country could use right now". Tracks were penned and performed by a variety of musical luminaries. The soaring ballad Beyond the Sky was written by renowned singer/songwriter Judy Collins to honor astronaut Eileen Collins, first woman to command a space shuttle (here sung by Margaret Davis). Prolific composer/writer/singer Christine Lavin makes an appearance with her Nova-episode-in-8-minutes number If We Had No Moon, inspired by the documentary film of the same name by Martin Ives. Gunnar Madsen, a co-founder of the popular a cappella group The Bobs, rips through stunning performances of Surprise! (a "Russian folk-song" about Sputnik) and the ska rave-up Dance On The Ceiling. The album was mastered by veteran engineer George Horn at world-famous Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, with an expected release date during the 2003 holiday season.