For more than 50 years, Nektar won the hearts of a devoted following by taking legions of fans on audio-visual journeys to far reaches of the universe and the depths of the ocean with their immersive and innovative “Sound and Light Theatre” presentations.
Lady Luck has not always been as kind to Nektar as the music seemingly deserves, however in its many incarnations over the years that concept has always persevered despite it all.
2024 finds the band at crossroads that would have been hard to imagine with the sad recent loss of founding member and musical brother Ron Howden, and obstacles like the covid shut down and general malaise of the concert scene in recent memory, but incredibly, a new chapter is unfolding in a very positive way.
When the band reformed in 2019, founding member Derek “Mo” Moore talked about that Nektar situation as “Unfinished Business,” and it felt like that in many ways.
Back in 1978 when Nektar was being reformed after Roye Albrighton’s departure, Mo and Ryche Chlanda together wrote the new music that many years later would be recorded as “The Other Side” album. Ryche left the band to tour with his other projects before it could be recorded and performed live on tour. Jumping forward to 2020 during “The Other Side” sessions it felt like the band was picking up right where they left off back then, right down to the setlist, which would have fit in perfectly that way.
Nektar played well over 100 live shows over the course of the reunion, starting off with the debut at ProgStock 2019 and encompassing strongholds like the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville in Illinois and The Dunellen Theatre in New Jersey, so close to where Nektar had relocated to in 1975, and where Ron Howden’s next to last ever gig was recorded and filmed, just weeks before his untimely passing.
At no time in the reunion was there a desire for Nektar to fall into “nostalgia act” status. Mo and Ryche had recognized all along that new music would be the key to making this chapter worthy of the legacy and both had been storing up ideas in the hopes that the proper situation would present itself, and to that point it hadn’t, but it seemed that once the “Mission to Mars” concept was decided on, the project took on a life of its own.
Mo and Ryche attacked the skeletons of songs they had that would be chosen for the album with a vengeance, with both remote and in-person writing sessions.
Determined not to let the music die, they arranged for a GoFundMe to make studio time committing it to both Vinyl and Digital a reality and as usual our “Nektarines” were there for the band to make it possible with their support.
Nektar returned to Shorefire Studios in Long Branch New Jersey for these sessions, the same studio they had used for “The Other Side,” but this proved to be a different animal.
Whereas the majority of “The Other Side” material had been written in 1978 and was more being polished than completed, this would be quite a different experience as the songs were new and more of a reflection of where the band is today, with five years under their belt since reforming and a sense of urgency that was palpable.
Mo and Ryche proved to be an amazing team. Together they seemed to craft every note with a purpose, bounce ideas off each other, execute the idea and choose the best route. Every section was composed and refined with the utmost care and foresight.
Kendall Scott had been talking about ideas that he had for Nektar music both new and old for some time and it seemed he would now have the space to spread his wings a bit more given the opportunity, so we had a good idea of what to expect.
Maryann Castello had made her singing debut on the album, “The Other Side.” After several tours with the band, continuing to be our head cook and bottle washer helping to move the band forward, Maryann was written a much larger singing role bringing her out of the shadows on the latest album “Mission To Mars.”
Of course, how Jay Dittamo would fit in was an unknown. Jay knew Ron and had been given his blessing years prior but losing what was one of few remaining original rhythm sections in the rock world was new territory. Could he and Mo be the driving force needed to propel the music that was coming together nicely to the next level?
As it turned out, the chemistry would instantly be apparent and the week spent in the studio would be some of the most enjoyable and rewarding of the bands entire career, and the album would come to fruition just as envisioned – a record deeply rooted in rock just as it had been in the beginning, but with the complexity of the concept album one might expect to evolve from the bands past epic forays.
Truly magic, and an album each band member grew proud of very quickly and looked forward to taking on the road to perform live.
There were, however, questions to be answered on the live presentation from the visual perspective as well. Mick Brockett had stepped away from touring due to some health concerns and the lightshow needed to be brought up to a more modern standard.
The visual aspect of a Nektar concert had always been what separated Nektar from its peers, and the intention was to return to the shows being events, a true sound and light theatre experience as it once was.
Jay Petsko had been working with Mick since that first show at ProgStock and like the band had done with the new songs had been squirreling away his visual ideas on possibilities and visual concepts. He would now have the opportunity to try and bring those forward.
The concerts proved to an incredible return to form from both a sound and light perspective – the entire new album was played live and was so well received that the nightly ovations for the new songs met or exceeded those received for the classic material played, very gratifying for the band that had worked so hard to see it through.
The visuals just amazed everyone who saw them, and I think had the same effect as they did in the classic era and became as much a part of the show as the music.
2025 finds Nektar in a very exciting place, with the new album about to be released officially, and more new music to still be recorded. The lightshow continues to evolve, a living breathing part of the proceedings that will incorporate more 3-D effects as well as new projections, respecting the past while Remembering the Future…
To our brothers on the Other Side we love and miss you Ron Howden, Roye Albrighton, Taff Freeman and Vinnie Schmid.
