Take a ride in the high-octane Dream-machine of HB3's debut CD, "Luminosity" -- quirky, aggressive alt-rock from the creator of Radio Enigma's "From the Laboratory." Who is HB3? He's the man, the man with the Midas touch! Beginning his life as a poor black child (like Steve Martin in "The Jerk"), he was soon an infrequently published critic for LA WEEKLY and SPIN magazine, as well as a "worst-selling" author of fiction, including a novel, AVALON, due in 2007. He has played in the bands Ack-Ack, Jirar, 3rd Story Blonde, Skippy's Hot Heaven, and Nature, which released one album on Zoo Entertainment before that misbegotten label imploded in a blaze of terrible hellfire. He plays bass and trumpet. He swings with the best of them down at Dino's Cafe and once fell backwards into a tuba while drinking a glass of bordeaux. Says HB3: "Zappa once asked, 'Does humor belong in music? At least more than we're typically getting. Soaring guitar solos are also important; however, I play them on a piccolo bass, which is not what one would normally expect." Regarding the songs: "Turkish Delight is a good example of my approach. The lyrics parody the 60s but revel in them at the same time. Bundewehr adapts music from a 70s German TV commercial and adds lyrics about an aging hippie accosted by interdimensional beings a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show." "Rom, Spaceknight" describes the life and times of the failed action figure robot from Kenner, "perhaps the most pathetic toy of all time." In the song, Rom raps triumphantly that he "rocks the house just like Kenny G," a notion as sad as it is, no doubt, undeniably true, culminating in an extended guitar solo. On the other hand, Songs like "Doggyville" strive for legitimate emotional impact: "Here we deal with the slow devolution of the American landscape into ticky-tacky crap, and the often painful discrepancy between an idealized memory and the present." And throwing all forms of restraint to the wind, "Another (I &II)" is a 12 minute neo-prog epic inviting comparisons to the extended classics on Jane's Addictions Ritual De Lo Habitual, "Three Days" and "Then She Did." The opening instrumental section is performed on piccolo bass, including the apparent pipe organ: "That's actually performed via a HOG effects pedal -- I'm able to fade in the chords and then play the melody line on top of it, an interesting effect." The second part of the song expresses hope in the face of devastation: "Look behind the veil, and they'll throw your a** in jail," but "the songs you learn to sing/Will amuse the ocean king."