(Dodeka Records, Ltd. DR-10011 – cassette, and DR-10011D – CD)

Song List:

1. Monorail to Atomland (3:17)
2. If I Had A Rocket Launcher (4:50)
3. Small Designs (3:55)
4. Lightship Yarrow (3:32)
5. Lady Be Crazy (3:37)
6. Madman On the Watchtower (4:13)
7. Sailplane (3:23)
8. Comin’ Back to Me (6:00)
9. Moondance (4:32)
10. Harbors (4:13)
11. Hope Eyrie (3:35)
12. Lightsailor (4:42) *
13. The Way I Feel (4:58) *
14. Brown-Eyed Girl (3:04) *

* CD bonus tracks — not on cassette

From the CD liner notes:

Black is the color of night, mystery, and the cold depths of space. Books are travellers through time and infinity, keepers of the ideas and experiences of their creators. The black book invokes and evokes the secrets of the alchemist and priest, the passion of the lover and poet, the curiosity of the explorer and the scientist, the hard-won knowledge of the engineer. A band is an unsanctioned team of rogues, a gathering, a symbol of unity, a force binding together disparate elements. The Black Book Band is a fellowship, an exploration, an offering, an adventure, a celebration, a vision, a lot of work. We bring to it what we are, our ideas, our passions, our dreams, our joys, in the hope that our vessel will cross time and space to touch other hearts and minds–First Contact.

— Michael Kube-McDowell

Recorded live during the Brain Weasels tour at Marcon 29, Columbus OH, May 1994; InConJunction 14, Indianapolis IN, July 1994; and OVFF 10, Columbus OH, October 1994. As such FIRST CONTACT bears the indelible imprint of live music: there are occasional glitches and word flubs, but also wonderful moments of music and energy that only happen when playing for an audience. We have an abiding appreciation for the way our musical venture has been received, and will continue to focus our most disciplined and joyous efforts on communicating musically with kindred spirits.

–Barry Childs-Helton

Cassette release October 1995, debuting at Ohio Valley Filk Fest XI
CD release May 1996, debuting at Marcon 31