September Update

Show Tomorrow at the Warehouse

We will be playing at the Warehouse tomorrow night (Saturday night) with Bit Collector and Fantome. If you are in the area, you will not want to miss this show! We will have good sound as well as a great show planned out for all involved, all for only $5! Grab a beer (or other frosty beverage) from the room next door and sit down (or stand up, or dance) while your ears are lovingly caressed by the sweet sounds emanating from the speakers. If you come early (8ish) you can hang out with the bands in advance.

Limited contest

The first two people that can sound off lyrics from any Icarus Aquanaut original song will receive a free CD at the end of the show. (Lyrics must be more than indefinite articles or the title to a song.)

Debut of new material

We will be debuting two new songs at this show--one as our opener. If you like what you hear, tell us afterwards!

CD Sales: Pay What You Can

We've had our album out for a couple of years now. We'd like you to own it. Pay us what you think it's worth (but do pay something, at least). Feel free to burn a song for a friend, but tell them who we are.

How Icarus Aquanaut Writes A Song

I don't think we've officially documented our songwriting processes for the general public. We've had three years to grow as songwriters and arrangers of material, and almost nine or ten months to grow together in this configuration of the band. A curious person might begin to ask questions of his or herself about how this works for writing new material. "Self," you might inquire, "How do you think Icarus Aquanaut manages to do this, what with five people in the band with different musical tastes?" If you get an answer other than silence or "maybe you should be asking the band that question," perhaps you should skip the show to re-enact one of your own within the confines of your mind (and a strait jacket).

• Lyrics and concept: One of the band's lyrical writers (usually John Moss or Hananel Mavity) brings out one of their inventions for perusal. In almost every case, these songs are constructed with at least the full lyrical content of the song, as well as the general melodic bent of the piece.


• Drop in the parts: A lot of work goes into the construction of a vehicle--the same is true for the construction of a collaborative work in music. In most cases, the original songwriter gives leave for each band member to come up with their own part to the song. For my part, I usually add a bassline, tweak it, and adjust it again before I come away with my part's finished product. As for the singing, we've come up with unspoken and unwritten (and pretty much unofficial) rules: If it sounds good, add it. If it doesn't, don't sing it. Make sure the words are clear. Make sure the parts are defined. Project as much as necessary.


• Arrange the piece: This part takes the most time, as it affects parts and the concept of the song. Oftentimes, the songwriter brings in their work, and leaves with a piece that would not be possible without the rest of the band's input. A recent example would be "Drowning Tomorrow," one of our most complex pieces written yet. John Moss wrote the lyrics and the original concept. We all added our own parts. Then, through different band suggestions, we added a riff beneath the "solo" part of the song. (After all, you're not listening to an Icarus Aquanaut song unless there is some kind of instrumental solo in the song. This is basic science.) This part of the song is written in 6/8, with a riff that encompasses two measures of 6/8 followed by one of 3/8 (in improper notation I suppose it would be written as 15/8). Translation for the non-literate in music: It's hard to play, but fun to listen to. Chris and John later wrote an outro that transitions into an Irish/Celtic-influenced reprisal of the chorus.

There you have it: now you know the work that goes into an Icarus song.

Recording

I know, I know. We said we were going to start recording. Due to interference by this nagging little thing called "real life," we have all had difficulty meeting up in one place to begin recording. We'll make it up to you by blogging the recording process in more detail than we did last time.

Finally, an old picture of Icarus playing outdoors at Railroad Square before we got shut down by the cops:

-seth, IA

August Update

Old Business: Pilates Show

We had a lot of fun at this show a couple of weeks ago. Lots of people showed up to the opening, and we played a few new covers.

New Business: Japanese Theocracy

Your Question for Doctorus Iquanaut: When are you recording Japanese Theocracy?

Japanese Theocracy is the working title for Icarus Aquanaut's next album. If you don't get the joke, see http://www.gunsnroses.us/ and come back later. We plan to release this album this year, or at least record it this year. August is the month we plan to start. We have a couple of songs that are still unlearned, so our starting time will be dependent on how many practices we have this month that the entire band will be present for. However, we have all of the equipment necessary to begin the process (or will within the next week).

Music on Facebook?

Yeah, we tried to put it up on facebook. It's still having difficulty verifying us. However, all of our music is now available for you to stream FREE from our website at www.icarusaquanaut.com. Take a listen and enjoy the sounds from our last album! Just click on the logo for our album on the right side of the page.

And now for something completely different:

Icarus Aquanaut at their first and only acoustic show in Savannah, GA. Debut show with Penelope the classical bass.

Icarus Aquanaut Stretch time, plus Doctorus Iquanaut's Super Math/Physics Answers

Icarus Aquanaut Acoustic show: 7:00 PM on Monday, July 27 (beside Osaka's in Tallahassee)

Icarus Aquanaut is playing an acoustic show at a grand opening for a new pilates center in Tallahassee. That's right--we're not just rocking your face off, we're going to help you control the muscles that control your face. Keep your face on just a little bit longer with Icarus! We'll be playing outdoors near Osaka's in Tallahassee (the center is right beside it) at 7:00 PM on Monday, July 27th. Feel free to drop by--it's a free show, and Penelope will be there!

(Penelope is the bass.)

Doctorus Iquanaut answers your questions

Last week, we asked for questions from our fans to pass on to Doctorus Iquanaut. Here's the first one, from someone who likely expected to stump Doctorus Iquanaut:

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Question:
A bullet is fired through a board 5.0 cm thick in such a way that the bullet's line of motion is perpendicular to the face of the board. The initial speed of the bullet is 350 m/s and it emerges from the other side of the board with a speed of 250 m/s.

(a) Find the acceleration of the bullet as it passes through the board. in meters/ second squared

(b) Find the total time the bullet is in contact with the board.
in seconds

thanks for your help!

--------------

I was told there would be no math. However, we always have a backup plan.

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Answer (courtesy of Chall and Dr. Dan Warren, Ph.D)

This is kind of a tough problem, unless I'm missing an easy way to do
it. I'm guessing by the first question that you can assume the
acceleration is constant. That's a big assumption, but you'll need to
make an assumption about the nature of the acceleration to answer this
question, so it may as well be that one. It's probably reasonable to
do so; it's equivalent to assuming that friction is a constant force.
Now, acceleration is change in speed over time, so if the acceleration
is constant, then it must be the difference in the two speeds given,
over the time. You'll notice, however, that the time it takes to get
through the board is not given. So let's do some calculus.

If acceleration is constant, then velocity must be linear, as velocity
is the antiderivative of acceleration, and the antiderivative of a
constant function is a linear function. That is, v(t) = at + b, where
a and b are constants. We don't know what time it is when the bullet
leaves the board, so call it T. If we assume that the clock is at
zero when the bullet starts going through the board, we have

350 = a(0) + b,

so b = 350, and

250 = aT + b.

To find a we'll have to go up another step. The antiderivative of
velocity is position, i.e. the distance the bullet has traveled
through the board at time t, which is

x(t) = 1/2 a t^2 + bt + c

We assume the clock starts when the bullet hits the board, so c=0. We
already know b= 350, so

x(t) = 1/2 a t^2 + 350 t.

We know also that x(T) = .05, because the bullet goes .05 meters in T
seconds, that is,

.05 = 1/2 a T^2 + 350 T.

To find a and T, we now have two equations and two unknowns:

250 = aT + 350
.05 = 1/2 a T^2 + 350 T

Even this system is a pain to solve, because it's not linear in T, but
I get T = 1/6000 and a = -600000. So the acceleration is -600,000
m/s^2 (negative because it's slowing down, not speeding up), and it
takes 1/6000th of a second to get through the board.

----------------

Next question: Which is better for time travel, Quantum Tunelling or Gravitational Time Dilation?

Answer (courtesy of Gingerbread):
Quantum tunneling.

It is easier to produce results with gravitational time dilation, but the results (at least with current technology) cannot achieve much in the way of real time travel. To go off on a slight tangent from this into the expansion of Einstein's general theory of relativity (in which gravitational time dilation is predicted): in hypothetical scenarios, the closer one travels to the speed of light, the slower time will pass for that individual. This is Einstein's theory of special relativity, and it has been proven. To the individual, this seems like time travel, and to the rest of the universe, this likely seems like time travel as well. However, this method cannot send any individual into the past (at least not any farther back than the point that they leave), and technically, it only preserves the individual in a state until they emerge into normal time. If you're a stickler for definitions, this may as well be time travel since it looks like time travel and feels like time travel, but it is not the ideal method--and neither is gravitational time dilation.

Quantum tunneling is the ideal method to pursue this, but technology is not at any position to make it happen. Until then, we will have to rely on the trusty DeLorean DMC-12, a flux capacitor, and McFly.

-----------------

We've had more discussions about recording this summer/fall, so stay tuned for more. The Icarus music will be up on facebook as soon as facebook verifies our account.

July 2009 Update

July News:

Recording: We're still planning to record another full-length album this summer. Life has gotten in the way of making this easy, but we have approximately twelve songs and an enthusiasm to get this done! We will be working (once again) with Ric Hordinski!

Shows: We are going to make the effort to play approximately two shows per month in local areas, with another show each quarter farther away.

Website: I've updated some things on the website. You can contact us with the e-mail address or phone number on the right--but if you would like to book us, it'd be best to use the Contact Icarus Aquanaut link, and fill out that form. We'll respond within a couple of days!

Ask Doctorus Iquanaut: Doctorus Iquanaut is the collective mind behind everything Icarus Aquanaut plays, says, and does--the combined brain-trust of five people dedicated to giving you the answers you need for everything from music to physics. We will do our best to answer your questions once per week, whether in text or by video. Ask here.

June Recording

We'll start recording our next album in June, and we're all pretty excited about it.  We're doing all of the tracking locally at the Submarine.  After we're done tracking, we'll send the songs off to Ric Hordinski, our producer in Cincinnati.  

Right now, we have about ten or eleven songs (depending on who you ask).  This album definitely has a different flavor than the last album, and I don't have the words to describe what this difference is, yet.  We've responded to feedback from the last album and we're ready to make this thing the best musical experience that we can.

More after these messages.

Icarus Aquanaut with matt.james at the Sub

We're playing a show with matt.james opening at the Submarine.

Saturday, May 9, 8:00 PM, $3 at the door.

You should be there, because it'll be great.

Twitter? I just...

www.twitter.com/icarusaquanaut

 

New Pictures

Got new pictures on our website.

Informacion de Icarus Aquanaut

http://portalternativo.com/banda/Icarus-Aquanaut

Related videos section:  very appropriate for this group of people.

1.  Yngwie Malmsteen

2.  Kansas

3.  Iron Maiden

4.  Kid Icarus (the Nintendo game)

Similar artists:  A bunch of european bands.

Licorice Astronaut

...might be our new name...

Following our extended haitus.

This explains things:

Modular Aquanaut

Hey, Seth here.  Going to try to start updating this on a more regular basis, as well as the rest of our multiple websites.

What's in the news today?  We've got a new drummer:

On top of that, I have a new bass, Stella (most of you have already seen her):

And we've got a band logo:

Other things that are happening:

• Moss is moving back to Thomasville, bringing the Icarus lineup mostly back to its roots.
  
• Dave has been reliably showing up to both practices AND shows.
• We have some new music.
• Actually, we have more music than we have actually learned or practiced.
• The tentative title for our new album is "Japanese Theocracy."
• At this point, we're also looking forward to working on this album with the producer for our last album, Ric Hordinski.
• We've figured out that we can function as Icarus Aquanaut with as few as two members, but one of those two has to be Seth or Hananel, and the other of those two has to be Moss or Chris.  Hence the title of this blog post:  Modular Aquanaut.

So that's that.  What with technology and everything making leaps and bounds for the internet, who knows?  We might start doing video blogs or something.

-Seth