Space Rock Loses One of its Icons

[Jerry Kranitz]

It is with deep regret that I have to share with you all that Doug "Dr
Synth" Walker died in his home in Queens, New York on Tuesday April 4th. As
the driving force behind American underground Space Rock legends, Alien
Planetscapes, for over 2 decades, it is no exaggeration to say that Doug was
an icon of the global Space Rock scene. I had the opportunity to see the 
band perform live on a number of occasions and was always blown away by the
performances.

Doug was also a contributor to Aural Innovations, having submitted several
insightful articles and reviews. Talking to Doug about music always left me
in awe. His knowledge of music was encyclopedic, and it wasn't uncommon for
him to talk enthusiastically about such diverse bands as Hawkwind, Sun Ra,
Lard Free, Richard Pinhas, and Genesis... all in the same breath.

Only recently, another of Doug's friend's, Scott Heller, took the initiative
to register the domain AlienPlanetscapes.com. Scott and I had been
discussing his plans for the site before this sad news, wanting to document
Alien Planetscapes and Doug's work over the years. With Doug's passing this
week I think we'll be even more inspired to move forward with this project.

To that end, I would be grateful if anyone that has any photographs,
articles, reviews, interviews, even recorded interviews, or anything else
that you would be willing to share, to contact either Scott
(shll at hagedorn.dk) or myself (jkranitz at aural-innovations.com). We were 
also discussing conducting interviews with as many former members of Alien
Planetscapes as possible, of which there were MANY. We know several of them
but any contact info in general would be appreciated.

Jerry Kranitz (jkranitz at aural-innovations.com)
Aural Innovations Space Rock Mail Order, E-Zine & Radio
Aural-Innovations.com