User:Pyratep/F5M

Five Year Mission

Five Year Mission is the collaboration of five Star Trek fans who endeavor to write and record a song for each of the episodes of the original Star Trek series from the 1960s. They love the show, and wanted to create something that they could share with other fans and something they would have a blast doing.

The band members are Noah Butler – Guitar/Bass/Keys/Vocals/Songwriter, Andy Fark – Percussion, Patrick O’Connor – Guitar/Bass/Keys/Vocals/Songwriter, Mike Rittenhouse – Guitar/Bass/Keys/Vocals/Songwriter, Chris Spurgin – Guitar/Bass/Keys/Vocals/Songwriter

With the exception of drummer Andy Fark, everyone in Five Year Mission knew each other from playing in and around the local music scene. Rittenhouse approached Butler, a fellow hardcore Trekkie, about his idea. Originally it was only going to be an in-studio enterprise. They recruited O'Connor, Spurgin and Fark — all Star Trek fans but not nearly as zealous as Rittenhouse and Butler — and set to work on their first song cycle. Four of the members are songwriters, and each picked four episodes to write tracks for. How lyrics have come together has depended on the episode.

The original Star Trek series lasted three seasons on NBC in the 1960s. There were supposed to be five, but it kept getting cancelled. Five Year Mission plan five albums to cover all 80 of its episodes (including the never-aired pilot "The Cage") split into 16-song cycles.

Playing shows was never in the group's original plan, but Fark kept getting them gigs. Turnout turned out to be better than expected. They played their CD release show the Friday after Thanksgiving at the city's annual Starbase Indy Star Trek convention. It was the first time the event featured a live band. Aside from their opening-night performance, the band backed up Star Trek Voyager star Tim Russ for a dinner set the following day. They were listed as the favorite part of 2010's Starbase Indy by fans on the convention's Facebook page — along with astronaut David Wolf. They have already received invitations to play at other Star Trek conventions. But they also hope to have enough crossover appeal to play regular clubs throughout the Midwest.

Their first album is appropriately called "Year One". The 17 songs on the album: The Cage, Miri, The Man Trap, The Naked Time, Charlie X, Where No Man Has Gone Before, The Enemy Within, Mudd's Women, What Are Little Girls Made of?, Dagger of the Mind, The Corbomite Maneuver, The Menagerie, Part 1, The Menagerie, Part 2, The Conscience of the King, Balance of Terror, Shore Leave and a bonus track: Year Two Preview