Professor and Kirk Chair Brad Birzer doesn’t sing or play an instrument, but he will make his debut appearance on a progressive rock album called “The Man Left in Space” to be released early next year. In four narrative lines, Birzer acts as the voice of mission control checking on a spacecraft.
“It’s really only a minor part, but even if I’d just recorded, say, only a cough, I’d be excited,” Birzer said. “On my C.V., I can now state that I had the chance to be a progressive rock star!”
Birzer saw a request for a narrator put out on Facebook by Robin Armstrong, the producer of the album. Birzer sent in a recording of his voice and was chosen for one of two open spots out of several submissions.
“Robin and I have a couple of forums where we debate different things like who is a great bassist and who is not, so I was already familiar with him,” Birzer said. “My voice will be in the background, and he’ll do so many affects on my voice that it’ll probably be harder to recognize.”
Birzer’s love for music goes back to his high school days. He worked as a radio disk jockey in high school and while studying at the University of Notre Dame.
“The station at Notre Dame was classical music during the day, but our [Federal Communications Commission] license allowed us to play whatever we wanted at night,” Birzer said. “We’d have some beautiful Beethoven piece, and then I’d say ‘OK our FCC rules say we can now play whatever we want,’ and I’d just put on the hardest rock. I’m sure I jarred a lot of listeners.”
Birzer connected with junior Gabrielle D’Virgilio the first week of her freshman year because D’Virgilio’s uncle, Nick D’Virgilio, is considered one of the best drummers in the world and Birzer is among his fans.
When Gabrielle went into Birzer’s office hours, she had no idea that he was a “big fan” of her uncle and had listened to him for years. When he saw her last name on his roster, he had to confirm that they were related.
“How cool is it having one of your favorite professors ever coming up to you and saying ‘I know your uncle,’” D’Virgilio said. “I had an instant connection when I came to the school. It was sweet.”
Nick played for “Spock’s Beard” and toured with “Genesis” and “Tears for Fears.” He will be playing on “Lost in Space” along with Greg Spawton from “Big Big Train” and Matt Stevens from “The Fierce and the Dead.”
“Just that I’ll be on the same album with Nick, Greg, Matt, and Robin is really, really great,” Birzer said. “I’d love to do something like this again.”
charper@hillsdale.edu
