 |
|
Live from Antarctica, the coolest band on earth
Nunatak, the house band at a research station on the frozen continent, will play 'Live Earth.' Outside. In fingerless gloves.
By Judy Coleman | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the July 6, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 2
Saturday's series of "Live Earth" concerts features a marquee-bursting array of the music industry's megastars, but perhaps its most impressive headliner is a band that doesn't even have a recording contract. That group, Nunatak, will be performing from Antarctica, with a stage audience about the same size as Kanye West's entourage. And when all is said and done with Live Earth, the band's members will go back to their desks, computers, and ice-diving equipment for another day at the South Pole.
Nunatak's five members are scientists stationed at the Rothera Research Station, which is run by the British Antarctic Survey. They are an ad hoc "house band" who, at Al Gore's request, are frantically rehearsing for a live webcast for the July 7 show.
"There is quite a tradition of forming bands at Rothera," say band members Alison Massey and Rob Webster, via e-mail. Massey, the saxophonist, is a marine biologist who saws holes in antarctic ice so she can dive in the dark polar waters, even as her Live Earth compatriots in Hamburg and New York don bikinis and board shorts.
For the Live Earth show, which includes eight other concerts around the world, Nunatak will play at least part of its set outside – in fingerless gloves, with temperatures plummeting to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. No pressure, right?
The group's participation allows the Live Earth organizers to achieve a lofty goal: To stage concerts on every continent.
"We had envisioned Live Earth to be a seven-continent music event from the very beginning," says festival spokesman Matthew diGirolamo. "When we shared our plans with Al Gore's office, they connected us to [Nunatak.]"
RSS feed
