BY REV. ADAM MCKINNEY for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 9/18/2026
In hindsight, it’s pretty remarkable how quickly humanity got used to, and then bored of, the notion that we can just go to space whenever we want.
Part of me suspects that many people immediately tuned out when it turned out the moon wasn’t really made of cheese, or that it wasn’t populated with little imps, as Georges Méliès (and the Smashing Pumpkins) promised. These days, carrying a torch for space exploration means you’re likely either a sociopathic plutocrat or a starry-eyed romantic. Or possibly a crackpot.
In the case of Dee Crane, the truth is somewhere in the combination of columns B and C. Those in the know may recognize Crane from his role in the bands BOAT and Unlikely Friends, both of which mastered a style of fizzy, ebullient indie rock. In 2024, Crane had amassed a number of songs that hadn’t found their place on earlier albums, when a chance meeting at Girl Trouble’s 40th anniversary show led to the formation of KRANE. Each of the four “volumes” of KRANE music that’s since been released comes with a cover that was designed to look like a forgotten NASA mission.
“I like the idea of releasing different volumes,” says Crane. “I’m obsessed with UFOs and space stuff, so I thought these releases would be like Apollo missions: like, KRANE 1, KRANE 2. It could go on forever. … And then I also thought I could bring in different astronauts; then I would add in other friends, and graphically, it made sense to show them as astronauts on different missions. Like ‘This guy was on KRANE 4, but not KRANE 2,’ or ‘We lost that guy on KRANE 3; he never came back.’”
Personnel on KRANE albums may shift with each song, but there remains a core group of explorers at the heart of the band: joining Crane on lead vocals and guitar, there’s Ethan Jones on keys, Heather Kuhta on vocals, Nic Kuhta on guitar and vocals, Rob Aruiza on bass, and Joseph Norton on drums. Each album, though, is suffused with a scrappiness that makes it feel as though Crane is transferring his thoughts directly to tape. The polish and sheen of BOAT and Unlikely Friends has been replaced with lo-fi urgency.
In terms of subject matter, KRANE songs strike a balance between whimsy and anxiety. This dichotomy is captured especially well on KRANE 4’s one-two punch of “The Cartoon News” and “Tonight, Tacoma Moves.” On the former, clips of noted Celebrity Jeopardy! loser Wolf Blitzer serve to illustrate the howling miasma of the 24-hour news cycle; on the latter, the cracking Tacoma Dome and shifting Earth act as warnings that the City of Destiny is finally experiencing the Big One.
“I feel like each mission has a little bit of a different feel, of maybe what emotions are behind it, but I try to keep it subconscious and see what comes out,” says Crane. “I don’t think about a theme, necessarily, until it’s over.”
Most KRANE albums feature three original songs and end with a cover: a little treat, Crane says, like getting a special baseball card in a pack of normal ones. Fittingly, KRANE 3 ends with a version of Nick Lowe’s “So It Goes.” Crane shares qualities with Lowe: namely, the ability to smuggle whip-smart lyrics into seemingly effortlessly compelling pop nuggets.
But enough about music. If Crane could leave this planet to go and colonize another, would he?
“I’m conflicted, because I find Elon Musk pretty repellent, and he’s the person talking about doing this, so it gets kind of caught up with that,” says Crane. “But I don’t know if you’ve heard about this thing called Project Serpo. Are you into the UFO stuff? There’s this thought that this nonhuman intelligence came here and we did an exchange, so some astronauts went to a planet called Serpo. I don’t think it’s real, I think it’s a story, but it was intriguing to me. They went, and then they came back 60 years later.
“So, I think I would [go to another planet] if I could return back at some point,” Crane continues. “I don’t know if I could just go stay there. The early pioneer days on a new planet will be brutal enough. Like, if you go somewhere and they already have the Star Wars cantina, where it’s almost a resort, then it’s easier to stay there.”
I’m with Crane on this one. My creature comforts are all I have, and something tells me those would be top priority on Earth 2.
While we’re still on this planet, though, go and check out KRANE at the New Frontier Lounge on Saturday, September 19. They’ll be joined by fellow Tacoma iconoclasts the Red Helens and Abby Roadkill. Tickets and more info are at newfrontierlounge.com.
