Max Q (astronaut band)

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Max Q
Guitarist Dan Burbank and former drummer Jim Wetherbee on stage in 2004.
Guitarist Dan Burbank and former drummer Jim Wetherbee on stage in 2004.
Background information
OriginHouston, Texas, U.S.
GenresRock
Years active1987–present
Members
Past members

Max Q is a Houston-based informal rock band whose members are all astronauts. It was formed in early 1987 by Brewster Shaw and Robert L. Gibson, recruiting George Nelson. Gibson has stated that he came up with the name "Max Q" (though recognizes that Shaw has also claimed having come up with the name himself) as a reference to the engineering term for the maximum dynamic pressure from the atmosphere experienced by an ascending spacecraft. He joked in a 2018 interview that, like a Space Shuttle, the band "makes lots of noise but no music".[1]

Max Q does not sell albums or have a manager, instead performing on a case-by-case scheduled basis. Band members share the arrangement of transport, venue and payment.[2] The band utilises a rotating line-up due to flight crew assignments, training, and the occasional retirement.[3] In 2009, active members included:[3]

Former members include:[3][1]

With the original members having been:

History

[edit]

The beginning of the band is connected to the Challenger disaster. In January 1987, Dan Brandenstein, Chief of the Astronaut Office, suggested that they hold a party to improve morale.[4] Brewster Shaw then approached Robert Gibson, whom he had previously performed with at NASA,[citation needed] with the idea of forming a four-piece group to play at the venue. George Nelson and Jim Wetherbee were both invited to rehearsals and joined soon after. The band was well-received, leading to the addition of Steven A. Hawley on the keyboard for the 'Fajita Fest' in February, an annual event thrown by NASA Mission Operations Directorate.[4] [better source needed] The band has played at weddings, hotels and general festivities such as Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.[citation needed] They also performed live on Good Morning America in December 1995.[citation needed] In 1994, Gibson's last year with the group and the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11, Max Q was the warm-up band for Cheap Trick on their tour through Houston.[1][5]

On May 1st 2009, the original Max Q band members reunited for the first time in twenty-one years to perform at the induction gala of members Wetherbee and Nelson into the U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame.[6][better source needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson Oral History, interviewed by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, Houston, TX – 10 April 2018, JSC Oral History Project (edited)
  2. ^ Cassutt, Michael. "Max Q Live". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Cassutt, Michael (March 1, 2009). "Max Q Live: In space no one can hear you sing". Air & Space Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b Baker, Herb (April 1, 2024). "How the All Astronaut Band 'Max Q' was Formed to Help Astronaut Morale after the Challenger…". Medium. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  5. ^ Cassutt, Michael. "Max Q Live". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  6. ^ collectSPACE (May 3, 2009). Original Max Q All-Astronaut Band, Part I. Retrieved September 15, 2025 – via YouTube.