Their live shows often feature special effects like clouds of smoke or lasers, and they are known to shoot toilet paper into the crowd and set their drum cymbals on fire.

The trio added bass player Captain Chreehos and formed The Phenomenauts[1]—a name which means "to pilot an unusual experience".

[7][8] Rockets and Robots was also reviewed favorably in local music publications; for instance, Zero Magazine wrote, "What separates this East Bay foursome from all the other bands of this type is their sense of humor and songwriting craft".

They were chosen as California's Best Live Band by the East Bay Express,[11] and called the Best Lifestyle Music artist by SF Weekly.

[10] Shortly after releasing Re-Entry, the Phenomenauts were a finalist for the "Not So Silent Night" concert held by San Francisco radio station Live 105.

The band said the album was "inspired by new wave and 70's punk",[30] and "serves as a call to arms to defenders of science and honor across the galaxy".

At release the physical copies of the album were sold with extra items, including a die-cast metal pin, a 24-page color booklet, and a package that folded out to make a rocket ship.

[30] The band explained that they added these items to give fans an extra reason to purchase the album: "The biggest negative right now is that CDs just don't sell.

[45] A Huffington Post reviewer said that Escape Velocity stepped away from the "pure rockabilly music" of the band's previous albums.

[44] The band went on their third European tour at the end of 2014 to promote the album,[46] playing in the UK,[47] France,[48] Germany,[49] Italy,[50] and Switzerland.

We are thankful to the brave people who have come forward to tell their stories and we’ll continue to support survivors of sexual and emotional abuse."

[56] The band frequently staged performances in front of other venues, where crowds had already gathered: "When we first started, we used to take a car battery and an inverter and put it together and then plug a bunch of amplifiers into it and strap it all to a dolly.

In 2002 they "found an open gate in the back, hid behind a dumpster and then quickly set up in front of the stage and started playing".

However, while loading their gear—in full 'uniform'—into the group's 'space van', another security guard ... assumed they were supposed to be there ... [and] kindly directed them to the official artist entrance".

[59] In Portland 2003 they drove their tour van into the backstage area "and cooked breakfast for the technical crew",[23] including "the people that actually make the passes".

[60] A Philadelphia Inquirer review of the tour called The Phenomenauts "one of the best performances", saying they "played a swinging amalgam of dusty garage rock and new wave".

[63] Through contacts from the Warped Tour, they opened for Les Claypool of Primus at his 2005 New Year's Eve show,[64] and worked with children's author Sandra Boynton on the album Dog Train.

[31] Ronen Kauffman from the Issue Oriented podcast commented that The Phenomenauts were "revisiting the rift between performer and audience, and helping to break that down".

The vehicles are covered with electronic gadgets such as remote controls, stereo components, and computer parts, all spray-painted silver.

[68] The Phenomenaut vehicles even made impressions on interviewers, with Frank Meyer from G4 TV noting "It [isn't] everyday that a metallic space-van pulls up ... and five guys dressed in space suits pile out".

[71] To create the Command Center the band "set up their own rehearsal studio, completely transforming a typical storage area [and decorating it] to look like outer space".

[71] JoeBot expands: "It’s one of the only venues in (the Bay Area) that can get an audience from San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, which is an odd thing.

[73] The Phenomenauts combine the music styles of many genres, including punk, new wave, garage rock, psychobilly and doo-wop.

Their songs contain fast drum beats and guitar riffs, often combined with doo-wop style lyric repetition or callback.

[10] Reviewers have described the band as everything from "mixes the mantra-style punk of The Clash with the lovable lunacy of Devo"[56] to combining "upbeat, happy, dance vibrations" with a thrash that "sound[s] like they brought it back ... from the future".

[58] Corporal JoeBot attests that the Phenomenauts' music can help push forward ideas and make the world a better place.

[63] For the album Escape Velocity, bassist Atom Bomb noted "For instance, one week we gave ourselves a homework assignment.

[79] The visit included meetings with astronauts, scientists, and "hands-on experience with space station parts" and training facilities.

Each comic was sold with a collectible colored vinyl EP containing two Electric Sheep songs, as well as a digital download code.

Space Flight features a "Story Mode", where players navigate through 10 "missions" and defeat powerful boss characters.