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David Kneupper and the Music of Apollo/Saturn V Center

October 18, 2008 by 1 Comment


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These are the show notes to an audio episode. You can listen online right here by clicking: http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedKneupper.mp3.

If the music right after the Airspeed theme in this episode seems familiar, the chances are good that you’ve paid a visit to the Apollo/Saturn V Center at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I fell in love with the music in 2001 during my first visit to KSC and watching Atlantis go up on STS 101.

Airspeed is as much about the inspiration behind aviation and aerospace as anything, and it struck me as that I ought to try to get the composer of that music on the show to talk about the music and what’s behind it. It turns out that there’s a whole lot behind it – Like being present at several launches, being a pilot, and having strong family ties to the US space program.


David Kneupper [kuh-NIE-puhr] is an award-winning composer and sound designer currently living in Los Angeles, specializing in original music for museums, theme parks, film, and the concert stage.

David holds both a Master of Music Theory and a Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Texas Tech University, and has composed extensively for Universal Studios, the Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros., Six Flags, and many others. Recent projects include music for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, music for the US Pavilion at World Expo 2005 in Japan, and music and sound services for TimeRiders, a ride film starring John Cleese.

In addition to entertainment projects, David composes actively for the concert stage, and is the recipient of numerous commissions and awards for creative excellence. His Passacaglia and Fugue Rondo received its Carnegie Hall debut in 1993.

David is also an award-winning sound designer for both themed entertainment and feature film. His film credits as sound supervisor include What Dreams May Come, U-Turn, Sudden Death, Terminal Velocity, and Bad Company among many others. He is a member of the Motion Picture Sound Editors Guild, and former President of the Academy Award -winning Soundelux, the largest independent film sound company in Hollywood.

We caught up with David by phone at his office in Los Angeles.

[Interview]

David’s website: http://kneuppermusic.com/index.shtml

Want to buy a copy of the music? Try the KSC Space Shop at http://www.thespaceshop.com/ and/or call them at (321) 449-4444. I’ve had no luck in finding copies for sale at KSC since my first visit, but David says that he recently re-mastered the music and provided it for printing new CDs. If you want to buy a copy, call them up and let them know that you want one and, if you find out how they’re making it available, please e-mail me at steve@airspeedonline.com so that I can update the show notes!

Christopher Coleman’s review at TrackSounds: http://www.tracksounds.com/reviews/apollosaturn.htm

KSC’s web page featuring the center: http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/visitKSC/NASAtours/apolloSaturn.asp

Excerpts from The Music of Apollo Saturn V Center and The Star of Destiny used for comment and criticism as permitted by 17 USC 107 (fair use).

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Lunch and Techspeak with Rod Rakic in Chicago

October 18, 2008 by 1 Comment


This is a regular blog post. Show notes and links to audio appear in the other entries.

I had client meetings in Chicago this week, so I naturally called up fellow CAP captain Rod Rakic of myTransponder.com to head out to lunch.

I got a visiting office at my firm’s offices on LaSalle Street and met Rod. Some really good and authentic Mexican food, some really nasty Italian cigars, and some good conversation about how myTransponder is going to grow. I naturally gave my EUR 0.015 and I hope it was helpful.

It’s both odd and wonderful that most of my friends these days are those I rarely actually see in person and that I met through new media, particularly the podcasting community. That’s one of the benefits of the long tail. It connects you with folks who share passions that are parts of pieces of side tracks of the mainstream and who are really good at leveraging those things.

I’m back in Michigan now, putting together the Thunderbirds summary episode, extracting some music tracks for A Pilot’s Story, and getting ready to post the David Kneupper interview. Stay tuned!

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Khaki

October 14, 2008 by 1 Comment


This is a regular blog post. Please check out the other posts if you’re looking for show notes or other links to episode audio.

Ever wonder how Capt Force does it? Ratings, endorsements, CAP, day job, and podcast? I’ll tell you, folks. It’s all about khaki.

You don’t want to have to make decisions in the morning. You want to preserve your faculties for the challenges of the day. And that’s why Airspeed runs on Khaki. The all-purpose color and the all-purpose pants that make being male in a business-casual America just that much easier.

I picked up my laundry yesterday. Assuming three or four days for each pair before the coffee and food stains make them unpresentable and I’m looking at not having to worry about pants until December. Yeah, baby!

So here’s to 100LL and Jet-A and JP-8 and Leinenkugel’s. And to Khaki. Covering Airspeed’s butt for going on three years!

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A Pilot’s Story – Interview with Will Hawkins and Rico Sharqaui

October 12, 2008 by Leave a Comment


Subscribe to Airspeed through iTunes or your favorite other podcatcher. It’s all free!

These are the show notes to an audio episode. You can listen online right here by clicking: http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedAPilotsStory1.mp3.

Here’s an early look at the production of the new independent film, A Pilot’s Story. Many of you know Will Hawkins from The Pilot’s Flight PodLog, but not many of you know him as the extraordinary filmmaker that he is. He and Rico are working on the film with release scheduled for 2009 or 2010.

And you might be able to have a say about that release date. This is a labor of love. The aviation documentary is a largely untested genre, the success of One Six Right notwithstanding. And it’s not like there’s a lot of money around the economy for much of anything anyway.

But this is a film that needs to be made. Check out the interview with Will and Rico on this episode and then head to the film’s website and watch the trailer.

Then – and this is the important thing – scroll down and click the Donate button. Give what you can so that Will and Rico can complete this film.

I’m contributing music and other energies. Contribute what you can. Contributions that jingle help. But contributions that fold get the project made!


The story of flight is a sweeping saga that has exceeded the imaginations of even those who first dreamed it. And yet it unfolds (as all truly special stories do) in moments, places . . . and people. Always and ever in people.

Just above the heads of most of our brothers, sisters, coworkers, and neighbors there hang gossamer cathedrals of piled cotton below the cobalt dome of a perfect sky. But fewer than one in 500 will ever experience this through the front window of a flying machine. A Pilot’s Story seeks out the special few who have answered the call of the skies, those with the discipline, aptitude, and courage to become pilots.


Filmed in hangars and homes, at restaurants and on ramps, A Pilot’s Story tells the story of flight in the words of pilots themselves. What it means to fly an airplane all alone for the first time. What it means to fly an airplane for the last time. The easy rapport one can have with a person who is a complete stranger but for the shared experience of flying.

And the excitement that consumes pilots at the opportunity to share this world of aviation with non-pilots, airport communities, community leaders, and anyone else who will listen.


A Pilot’s Story is a film for anyone who has sat all alone in an aircraft, firewalled the throttle, charged down the runway, and rotated. And especially for those who might if given the chance.

For most people, the sky is the limit. For a pilot, the sky is home.

This is the story of the journey home. A Pilot’s Story.

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Airspeed Alfresco – Hour 11

October 11, 2008 by Leave a Comment

At it more or less continuously since 11:00 this morning. Got a lot of work stuff done. And just about done with the Thunderbirds summary episode script. Would love to get it recorded this week. Can’t wait to actually sit down and put it together. Really excited about this one, folks!

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