Whales founder Don Stevens is writing a brief treatise on the saxophone to go in this space. Please stay tuned!

We Are the Nuclear Whales:

Kelley Hart Jenkins - sopranino, soprano, alto saxophones
Kelley, who was born relatively late in the twentieth century, is the newest member of The Nuclear Whales. She has an affinity for playing hip-hop bassoon at polka festivals and still retains an amazing amount of mental acuity. She has actually studied music with famous people at prestigious institutions and tells the rest of the Whales all about it late at night when swimming in hotel pools. Her secret ambition in life is to avoid too much exposure to ozone holes while skydiving.

Kristen Strom - soprano, alto saxophones and kazoo
This multitalented lady is famous for her heart-felt renditions of pop tunes at less than respectable taverns, as well as seedy and swanky jazz clubs. She sings and plays practically every instrument in the marching band and orchestra. Her recent concert band extravaganza: Teen-age-mutant-ninja-drummers, has been a big hit(!) in her school system, where the PTA is considering major cutbacks in music funding.

Don Stevens - soprano, alto, contrabass saxophones
Although the originator of the Nuclear Whales and its driving force, Don has refused to comment about how to reconcile his past pledge of "no new saxes" for the band with his acquisition of a contrabass and a C-melody sax in 1989, just a few short weeks before the great Santa Cruz Earthquake. He maintains that the saxophones were not "new" when he got them and that it was "no big deal" to carry some extras around, even though airport baggage handlers seem to be quitting all the time. His favorite food is brewer's yeast. We all hope he gets better soon.

Dale Mills - tenor, alto saxophones
Early in life, Dale wanted to become a pool shark. It took him a few years to realize he had no talent for it, so now he carries his soprano saxophone in a gig bag that often is mistaken for a pool cube. He frequently surfs the internet for long periods of time picking strawberries. and examining the esoteric vibrational frequencies of various harmonies. He was once a "Cool Jerk", which apparently is still a notorious pop group, but has very wisely chosen relative obscurity with an oddball New Wave group, The Nuclear Whales.

Kevin J. Stewart- baritone saxophone
The bond between boy and horn dates back to the mid-1800's, but for Kevin only back to 1976. During these many years, Kevin and his saxophone have had the great pleasure to play all over the world, and to date have only been banned from 12 states and 13 countries; of course this is prior to the break-up of the Soviet Union. Currently, this inseparable duo can be seen, and heard, all across the state of California, often in the vast array of zoological parks during feeding time.......Hey, a guy has to eat! Enjoy the music!

Art Springs - bass, tenor saxophones
Art is descended from a long line of country western singers in St. Joseph, Missouri. His failure to master the technique of yodeling and the lack of a twang in his voice prompted Art to find himself musically elsewhere. Having exhausted almost all instrumental possibilities, he discovered the bass saxophone, which, although causing a slight curvature of the spine, has provided him with an outlet to express his "deepest" feelings. Now that the legacies of Hank Williams, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autrey have been exorcised from his soul, Art has focused upon keeping the beat for his offbeat musical associates.

or countless eons a branch of our forebears roamed the lands of our planet before deciding to return to the mythical womb of life: our seas and oceans. Whence, therein, they prospered like never before and grew in stature and multiplied in numbers. And as they did so, they accumulated wisdom and knowledge and sang songs reflecting their history and spirit. And deep within the Cetacean memory, down to the very strands of DNA buried in the nucleus of every cell, yet still on the cusp of consciousness, was the awareness of the original progenitors: The Nuclear Whales.

hroughout the ages, this awareness, which resonated in the sacred songs, was passed on from generation to generation until it was heard once again by those dwelling on land. A pod of humans from the Eastern Edge of the Pacific Ocean, now known to their kind as the Nuclear Whales, are singing these sacred songs through their medium of air-powered brass tubes with blow-holes. In tribute to cetaceans everywhere and the great web of life constituting the All-One, the Nuclear Whales continue to blow and to further the cause of universal harmony.

hank you for your support.

The mother of all horns

When Don Stevens of the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra blows his horn, people just can't seem to ignore him. The horn, a rare Buffet (Evette-Shaefer) Eb contrabass saxophone, stands 6'8" tall, has a 17" diameter bell and is the newest member to join the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra. Its basso profundo tones are featured on the orchestra's newest album, which was released in September 1991. The album contains a unique variety of music- an all-sax version of Aaron Copland's "Fanfare For The Common Man," Duke Ellington's "Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me" and Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra."

For Stevens, a woodwind player since elementary school, the giant horn was a totally unexpected arrival. When he heard about a gentleman in Kentucky who had a contrabass, he became curious. He paid a visit to Louisville, met Mr. Bob Seaton, saw the contrabass, and couldn't resist the idea of using it with the Nuclear Whales. Three months later, he bought the horn.

Steven's flight home to California with the contrabass proved to be a novel and costly experience. He had to buy the horn its own ticket for a separate seat. To protect it from airborne
bumps, he wrapped it up in soft foam sheets and duct tape. However, at the airport suspicious officials requested that he remove the foam for inspection. He managed to dissuade them, but his troubles were not over. "The instrument was so large that it couldn't pass through the metal detector or the airport x-ray machines.- Security officers remained doubtful until Stevens blew through the mouthpiece, dispelling all doubts and fears of the security risk with a couple notes. He and his conspicuous seatmate, still swaddled in foam and tape, then departed for Santa Cruz.

When it came to playing the contrabass, Stevens had to rely on experimentation. Fortunately, the horn came with an old contrabass mouthpiece - the only one he had ever seen. I usually played alto in the Nuclear Whales, so it was quite a change," he said. The horn's lowest note (Bb on the horn) is a low concert Db, 3 octaves below middle C; the highest altissimo note is a high A (2 octaves above middle C), easily outdistancing the conventional bass saxophone, whose low range ends on Ab (1 1/2 octaves below middle C. However, the big horn made an appreciable difference in the orchestra's sound. "Now that we have the contrabass, the entire orchestra sounds different more full-voiced and balanced," he said. "On 'Midnight In Moscow,' one of our new album pieces, we got a terrific fun-bottom range sound by using the contrabass, bass and baritone together."

While searching for reeds in early 1990, Stevens contacted Rico International and asked for help. There probably never was an actual contrabass saxophone reed manufactured; however, he found that Rico contrabass clarinet #5 reeds worked well and fit his mouthpiece. He also discovered the 45 pound instrument's intriguing past.

Stevens knew that Seaton, the prior owner, obtained the horn from Dom & Kirschner Band Instrument Company in Union, New Jersey. When Rico International contacted store owner Dean Kirschner a mystery unfolded. "In the 1960's, the horn was apparently found abandoned in a downtown Newark, New Jersey building," he said. "When wreckers searched the building before demolishing it they found many old abandoned musical instruments, including the contrabass.

Stevens hopes someday to find out more about the horn's history. Who originally owned it? Who left it in a dusty room to be rescued by workmen only moments before destruction? How many other Buffet contrabass saxophones were there? What happened to them?

Now that the contrabass is once again alive, well and earning its keep, Stevens' months of hard work are being rewarded. He recently scored a technical triumph by having the original neck reconstructed from photographs and measurements of another contrabass. The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra roster is now complete, with seven different instrument sizes: sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass and contrabass. These individual voices blend into flamboyant unexpected combinations, such as the album's "Casbah Shuffle" duet for sopranino and contrabass: the long and short of saxophone. With such a range of size and sound, the Nuclear Whales had no trouble finding an appropriate title for their new album: the unanimous choice was "Thar They Blow."