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Dave Bradley
Klaatu webmaster
Welcome To The Official KLAATU Home Page!
(p)& © 1996-2020 by Dave Bradley, klaatu.org, ALL rights reserved. (yes, EVEN THAT ONE!)
It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Terry Draper, Klaatu's drummer and co-writer of Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. Terry passed away on May 15th, 2025. My own words can't do this justice, so I'm going to quote Jaimie Vernon.
-Dave (Bob) Bradley
With heavy hearts, we share this message on behalf of our family. It is with great sadness that we post this eulogy, beautifully written by Jaimie Vernon in honour of Terry Draper - beloved husband to Anna Pelc-Draper, father to Alex Draper & Adam Draper and friend. Terry passed away May 15, 2025, surrounded by his family.
We will be sharing Terry's obituary and the details for his Celebration of Life in the coming days. Please note that the Celebration of Life will be by invitation only. Thank you to everyone for your love, support, and kind words during this difficult time.
#InLovingMemory
#TerryDraper
Terry Draper has packed his kit bag, his guitar, and his imagination, and headed off on his last great road trip. The man whose insatiable appetite for knowledge and adventure will surely meet all new travellers on his continued quest to find answers to the mysteries of the universe. And he'll do it all while smiling and singing. This has always been part of Terry's internal drive. Ever the student, absorbing the sights, the sounds, and the vibes of both the material and spiritual worlds. Though he never proclaimed to be a spiritual man, he recognized it as a strength within himself and others - especially his family and closest friends. There were no strangers to him - only friends and fans he had yet to meet. Terry never hesitated to generously give that friendship and his time. The ultimate gesture of his generosity came in the form of an invitation into his home, and as he liked to call it "break bread" with his family. Feeding the masses with a large feast was his specialty and joy. Hearing him regale attendees with stories of battles won and lost was a privilege - one you never soon forgot or took for granted. Terry never had a problem being himself. He occupied a room. He laughed fully, emoted frequently, and let you know when he thought something was "UNACCEPTABLE!"
The dining room court was the great equalizer and when, finally, the plates were clean and the table cleared, music became top of mind. For it was time to descend into the catacombs of Swamp Manor where the magic happened. Terry had built himself, over many years of trial and error, a safe haven for his creativity - one that had been fed and nurtured from the time of those four lads invading North America in 1964 until the final weeks of his life. He never stopped creating. Ever. He loved playing his newest compositions to anyone within earshot. Like adult show-and-tell, he wanted feedback. Music was always the beacon of his confidence, and he was damn proud of what he could produce single- handedly, and often in tandem with close musical allies in the studio. He wanted to let you into his heart, and show you how he interpreted the world through soundscapes so complex and immersive, it was overwhelmingly cinematic in scope.
Twenty-one solo albums bear his name - and soon a twenty-second album which is nearly complete. His trademark sound took us on a myriad of sonic adventures. Some were recounted trips he'd taken in real life - from Mexico to Greece to the great Pyramids of Egypt. Or places he'd wanted to experience but had yet to travel. He'd often tell Anna, "This is a road we've never been on before." The thrill was the great unknown. As a voracious reader, he longed to have been on the battlefield at Gettysburg or the trail of the Silk Road or the high seas with Admiral Nelson - though he often opined that being a pirate may have been his true calling in a previous life. Only through Terry's music could you enjoy five-minute, or eight-minute, or ten-minute travelogues through both time and space. Three minutes just wasn't long enough to tell the stories he had to tell. Unacceptable!
He also held a healthy, arms-length fascination in the notion that we were sharing this plane with the unknown. From his seminal work during his days with Klaatu entitled "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" to its direct sequel in 1997 called "We're Not Alone," Terry has revisited this theme frequently in his music. The space opera genre was one he proudly helped create, and continued to cultivate. And from those songs he metaphorically espoused his personal philosophy - that his love language was in sharing his art:
"Imagine all the painters, and the poets overlooked
If no one saw the showings, and no one read the books
Reception is the heart of art, it must be shared by two
No, it don't mean a thing without you."
Thank you, Terry, for wearing your heart on your sleeve and singing it to us in the form of ballads, and lullabies, and symphonic opuses. You've touched all of us in ways we can never repay, and will not soon forget. As a husband, as a father, as a troubadour to the world.
I received a letter from John Woloschuk today, June 10. 2020, about the songwriting credits of Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. Click here to read it.
The most active way to stay up to date with Klaatu information is currently through the Facebook group Klaatu-Rocks!
They can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/klaaturocks/
I know many people from the old Klaatu Mailing List do not want to join Facebook. You can create a personal account, NOT upload any personal information or photos, and simply join the Klaatu Rocks group to read posts and comment or create your own posts. There's no need to get any further involved in Facebook, but you can still keep up to date on Klaatu.
Changes come slowly on this page these days. Gone are the days where I could update it several times each week. It's now become one of those "I still need to find time to do that" things. At this time, the band does not have any CDs in print. The Klaatunes Records reissues of the first three albums are out of print. The Conveyor Records reissue of the first album also appears to be out of print. (The Conveyor Records of Canada website now has one entry for Klaatu and it's for an ambient music artist out of Detroit, Michigan that isn't connected to Klaatu).
There are no longer any digital downloads available for purchase here:
http://www.facebook.com/Klaatu.the.Band?v=app_96687436973
KlaatuTheBand.com no longer exists.
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