"Are there any Geeks in the house?"

Dr. Space clutches the microphone in one hand, peering over it into the audience. In his other, he holds a half-empty beer, momentarily forgotten as it rests against his hip. A chorus of cheers goes up from a crowded table at the back of the small, smoke-filled room. Dr. Space acknowledges the cheers with a wave.

"Let me tell you about the scientist…nobody suffers like the scientist." Space hisses into the microphone as the guitar and drum accompaniment begins. More cheers from the table at the back of the room, which is riddled with empty beer bottles and surrounded by researchers and graduate students. They have come here tonight to the bar Trolls (aptly located under a bridge) to see one of their professors perform in the rock-swing-blues fusion band, The Sleaze. Space is just about to belt into one of their favorites, the "SV-40 Laboratory Blues".

No, this is not your typical Saturday night for most professors of a major academic research institution, but it is for Dr. Space, also known as Dr. Jim Pipas, who performs in his brother Mark's band about three to four times a month. He does not consider the band a hobby, but a full-time job that he balances with his other one, that of a scientist. It is his relief and respite from the rigors of academic life.

"Running a research product involves a lot of reading, intensive thought, and careful work," says Lisa Engler, a post-doc student in Pipas's department who has seen him perform on several occasions. "His music allows him to go out and be creative in a fun and people-oriented way, which allows him to be a more balanced person. He's really out there as a regular guy, as a musician having fun. It gives him another life where it's not stressful - he's just out there to have a good time."

It is a rather daring to pursue anything very seriously while holding an academic faculty position, especially being a successful, nearly world-known musician. But Dr. Space does it, and he is an inspiration to many people in his department who yearn to devote their lives to science or medicine, but still want to pursue other passions.

"Growing up, I alternated between wanting to be a scientist, an adventurer, and a musician. It was those three things depending on the day and what time of the day you asked me," Space says with a chuckle. It is a conundrum that nibbles at him to this day. He is too in love with both jobs to abandon one for the other, and so he does both, heading home at night with a backpack slung over his shoulder and replacing it with a guitar when he hits the clubs. Well, it actually isn't anything that Batman-esqe, but he doesn't like to advertise the fact that he is a musician in a band to the scientific community, and vice versa. On one hand, he has his beatnik rock-star image to protect, and on the other hand he is sensitive about his image as a respectable, sensible, academic scientist. Dr. Space has been performing in the Sleaze since its inception in 1983, just a few years after his first and current faculty appointment. Over the years the band has known a great deal of success in the Pittsburgh area and attracted a cult following. They have taken part in several European tours and even a 17-country, four-and-a-half month, around-the-world tour that coincided with a sabbatical in which Space gave lectures along the way. It was a 26-lecture, 35-show extravaganza worthy of the greatest rock bands. You do not see Mick Jagger playing until one or two in the morning and then rolling out of bed the next day to give a lecture on cancer biology.

It was on one such trip that the "SV-40 Laboratory Blues" was written. Dr. Space was giving a lecture at Cambridge and was accompanied by his brother, who had never attended a scientific meeting before. Mark sat in the back of the conference room through a day of lectures, jotting down words and phrases. The result was "The SV-40 Laboratory Blues." It is one of the "Geek Rock" songs on the Sleaze's recently released second album. Another song, "I Got My Ions You," has lyrics written by Space and music composed by Mark. It too can be found on The Sleaze's latest studio album.

And how can someone run a research lab while helping his brother put out albums?

"He is a Renaissance man," says Chris Sullivan, Pipas's most recent Ph.D. student, who is currently conducting his post-doc in San Francisco. "He does excellent science and is well-reputed in the field. I learned a lot from him - not just as a scientific mentor but as a person."

Just as Pipas' interests vary, so too does the musical style of The Sleaze. The size of the band has varied from two to 17 pieces, depending on what they're doing. Tonight at Trolls, they are a rock band, with Mark playing the keyboard and guitar, Space on vocals, and a drummer and bass player as well. It is a relatively simple gig. They will cover songs that span several decades - perhaps playing The Who on one song and then launching into a classic Sinatra tune - along with a few originals before the night is through. (A request bottle intermittently circles its way through the crowd.)

A recent, more elaborate show included props, costume changes, and over half a dozen musicians crowded onto a stage. During a recent European tour, they played a rock-and-roll, swing, and Broadway set in Amsterdam. At a show in England, on the same tour, they were MC's to a collection of eight other entertainers, artists, musicians, and comedians, playing rock and roll between the separate acts.

Dr. Space enjoys it when members of the department come to see him play. They have even participated in his shows. Once, a graduate student of Pipas's ascended to the stage with a bra strapped to his head and proceeded to entertain the audience - and the band too, of course - with his "dancing skills". He was either inebriated or simply inspired by the music of The Sleaze and the tall form of Dr. Space, his boss, singing away, a living example that yes, you can have science and fun, too.

"He's a great singer and a great character," says Engler. "He really imparts a love of life and having fun. He and Mark are such a great show to go see. They have a really good time and make sure that the people in the audience have a good time. They play not to make money, but to make music. They really enjoy having fun with the crowd."

Dr. Roger Hendrix, a fellow professor in Pipas's department, feels that Pipas's work as a performer has certainly benefited him in the classroom. "He is really good at teaching. The certain stage presence he gets from his music carries over into his teaching. It's a lot easier for him to communicate with the class." Hendrix, who also has a passion for music - albeit of a more classical nature, though he has played alongside The Sleaze in the past - had this to say about combining science with other passions: "People who succeed in science often have other interests as well. Sometimes you have to give up some of those interests to get into science, but it's always a good idea to keep some of them. I think certainly in Jim's case, and in most people's cases, that sort of thing is an outlet, a different sort of creative energy. In terms of doing the science it's probably a benefit because it lets you look at things in different ways every once in awhile."

"I like to do what I like to do," Pipas states simply, a fine motto for anyone, especially those with an interest in science.