The original band was formed in the Midwest in the late sixties while George was attending Michigan State University. He named the band Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen after a 1952 movie called “The Lost Planet Airmen”, in which the lead character was called Commando Cody.

After graduating he took a job as instructor of art at Wisconsin’s State University but his commitment to the band was more important to him and he was eventually fired.

The band had great success in the seventies with songs like “Hot Rod Lincoln”, “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke”, and “Lost in the Ozone”. In 1975 they won Billboard International’s award for “Best Live Band”. They shared the stage with such acts as The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, and the Eagles. Then in 1977, after a long European tour, the band members decided to go their separate ways.

There have been several reincarnations of the Lost Planet Airmen since then. The most recent includes original band member John Tichy, who is now head of Physics at RPI, on guitar. David Malachowski, who played with Shania Twain in ’95 and ’96, on guitar. Other members include Mark Emmerick on guitar, Steve Barbuto on drums, and Clyde Davies on bass. George “Commander Cody” Frayne leads the party on piano and vocals.

I e-mailed Mr. Frayne at his www.commandercody.com web site and he graciously agreed to answer a few questions. His music is a blend of western swing, rockabilly, country, and rock and roll. I told him his music makes people smile, tap their feet, and want to get up and dance. It’s good time, fun music. He said, “We like people to have fun and have written a lot of toe tapping stuff and it’s great when people dig it.” When asked who his musical influences were growing up he replied, “I liked Count Basie and Bob Wills - seemingly different outfits that were actually similar in approach.”

George has some very good artwork on his web site that he shows and sells. When I asked him about the paintings he said, “I got a MFA in painting at the University of Michigan - hence the artwork on my web site.”

Mr. Frayne moved to Saratoga in ’97 and I asked how he likes living in this area. He said, “It’s great living here and I intend to stay.”

I saw Commander Cody live for the first time in 1976 and I’ve seen his new band twice in the last few years. Each time I see them I am reminded why I fell in love with music in the first place. I always walk away feeling like my battery has been re-charged. Check out his web site for his tour schedule and artwork and definitely check him out live if you get the chance.

Here’s a little trick that can save a lot of time and calculations in determining bolt circle diameters, especially when measuring diameters with an odd number of holes.

Measure between a center hole and the bolt hole(A), add to it the measurement taken directly opposite the first measurement(B). The result will be the bolt circle diameter.

The nice thing about this method is that it works with tapped holes and the diameters of the features are not important. If there is no center hole you can use the outside diameter of the piece and subtract your measurements from each other.