Bob Gately is back in town.

Those with long memories and a fondness for vintage rock music will remember Gately as the local promoter of concerts by Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull and the Beach Boys during the mid-60's and early 70's.

Later, he was involved with the development of Dr. Munchies Grocery and Gathering Place in Scottsdale.  After leaving Scottsdale, Gately went to New York, where he managed Maxwell's Plum - world-renowned restaurant - for owner, Warner LeRoy. Then he moved to Aspen, Colorado, where he ran a ski shop, and, later, to Hollywood, where he wrote for radio and television.

Gately, who's in the gold-mining business these days, has written a rock opera with composer, Bill Keck, whom he met in Aspen. The title of the work, which Gately's been working on since 1982, is "Cowboys on Mars? A Space Opery" and features such characters as, Alexander Greatly, a singer and guitarist; Ace the Oracle, "Cosmic Cowboy Boss Jock for YNOT, Mars' Insanivision station"; and The Aquanolds, the "too-hip denizens of Aquadome, Earth's Martian communication colony."

And if all that sounds a little "too-hip" for those who think "The Sound of Music" wa the last great American musical, think of what the producers must have thought when the writers gave them a synopsis of "Jesus Christ, Superstar."

"The title does throw them a bit, "Gately says, "but once they read the script, they're hooked."

Keck was no exception. Not only was he hooked but he also committed himself to writing the music. The two worked on it every morning after Keck finished playing for ballet rehearsals, Gately says.