About Alexandra Heep

About Alexandra Heep: The internet has allowed allowed Alexandra to maintain a semblance of life when encountering an unexpected, lingering health crisis. The Internet is a lifeline which not only allows her to remain connected to friends, but also survive, via writing.While Alexandra Heep is her pen name, she does not hide behind it. Instead, she used it to brand herself on the Internet and to create opportunities.

Alexandra published her first book, a collection of her best poems, on July 11, 2012. You can buy it at Lulu.com

Support independent publishing: Buy this book on Lulu.


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

C is for Captain Beyond

Founded in the early 1970s, Captain Beyond is probably the best super group you've never heard of, initially featuring these members:

Rhino Rheinhardt. Founder of Captain Beyond and one-time member of Iron Butterfly. Sadly, he passed at the beginning of 2012 with hardly anyone noticing.
Lee Dorman. Bass player for Iron Butterfly.
Rod Evans. The mysterious original Deep Purple singer. One of his infamous accomplishments is putting together a fake Deep Purple and trying to get away with it in 1980. Shortly after, he vanished - literally.
Bobby Caldwell. Played with Johnny Winter and Rick Derringer.

Other members included Willy Daffern (played with Gary Moore), Jimi Interval, Reese Wymams (played with Stevie Ray Vaughan), Guille Garcia (played with Chicago and John Lennon), Marty Rodriguez (played with Tommy Bolin), Jason Cahune, Robb Hanshaw (played with Iron Butterfly), Dan Frye, Jeff Artabasy, Randy Skirvin, Kyle Rhoades, Steve Petre and Dave Muse (ex Firefall).

According to the unofficial Captain Beyond website, Captain Beyond played around 60 gigs initially, then another 60 or so between 1974 and 1979, with different lineups. They even supported such major names as the Doors and Alice Cooper. Captain Beyond has released three albums: Captain Beyond, Sufficiently Breathless and Dawn Explosion.

What is their music like? It's classified prog rock, but you'll just have to listen for yourself, it is hard to describe. Definitely give them a listen if any of the bands or artists mentioned appeal to you. I myself had never heard of them until a friend passed along a copy of their first album a few years ago.

Here is what they sounded live in 1972. While the video is over 9 minutes long, all you'll need is to listen for a little bit to see how good they were.

9 comments:

Mike W said...

Classic Early 70s. Nice pick Alex.

MJ

Alexandra Heep said...

Thanks, Mike.

Unknown said...

Cool selection...

Look forward to your challenge posts...
--Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012

Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge

Betty Alark said...

Music always makes for an inviting visit! Hope your enjoying the challenge!

Teresa Cypher said...

Good tunes! I had never before heard of them. Wow, vanished, literally. I was just today talking with my boss about our local classic rock station-- and how the afternoon ride DJ knows so much about the bands from the last 50 years. I wonder...with a name like "Heep", will Uriah Heep find its way onto your blog? Found my way here from the A to Z list. Good post :-)

SharleneT said...

Hello, Fellow Challenger. Thanks for sharing this great group. They are very good. I like the music idea, too. I'm #424 from Rockin' Chair Reflections. Come visit when you can.

Red said...

Somehow, I am just not getting progressive out of this, but I may be thinking in the wrong decade to get there from here. I like the music, though.

Good call, Alex.

Red.

Checking in from A to Z (#1702)

Alexandra Heep said...

Red, I agree, but I did not come up with the "label" - it's why I do not like labels!

Thanks for reading.

Elizabeth Twist said...

Nice! I hadn't heard of Captain Beyond. Dude's voice is awesome.

More cowbell!

A-Z @ Elizabeth Twist