By day, I'm a father of seven and husband of one. By night, I'm an author, a biographer, and a prog rocker. Interests: Rush, progressive rock, cultural criticisms, the Rocky Mountains, individual liberty, history, hiking, and science fiction.
Blodwyn Pig Compilation Of Rare Unreleased Recordings ‘Pigthology’ Now Available!
London, UK – British blues-rock legends Blodwyn Pig, featuring original Jethro Tull guitarist Mick Abrahams, have released a new compilation of rare unreleased recordings titled ‘Pigthology’ on Gonzo MultiMedia UK. Along with Abrahams (vocals, guitars), the band featured Jack Lancaster (saxes, flutes, violin, keys and wind controllers), Andy Pyle (bass), and Ron Berg (drums) and was later joined by Jethro Tull’s Clive Bunker on drums. Produced by Mick Abrahams and Jack Lancaster, ‘Pigthology’ features re-mastered recordings of Blodwyn Pig’s most beloved and successful songs “Dear Jill”, “See My Way” and “Drive Me”, along with unreleased live and studio material.
Blodwyn Pig in its first form was a legend in rock history hitting the top of the LP charts in Britain and elsewhere around the world. The band received new recognition and inspiration when the track “Dear Jill” was used in Cameron Crow’s movie ‘Almost Famous’. Many bands credit Blodwyn Pig with being a huge influence at the start of their careers, including rock legends Aerosmith. There are several fan sites across the internet which still attest to the group’s popularity. Through the years several bands have recorded covers of Blodwyn tunes, the most noted being Joey Ramone’s version of “See My Way”.
Blodwyn Pig played alongside Led Zeppelin, The Who, Procul Harem, BB King, Miles Davis, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd and Joe Cocker at the Isle Of Wight rock festivals, and the Reading rock festival. The “Pig” completed two successful American tours, playing venues like the Filmores, numerous universities and the LA Forum. Most of the recordings on ‘Pigthology’ are from this period.
A few notes from Jack Lancaster: “On ‘Baby Girl’ Mick played piano as an overdub, otherwise the track was played live in the studio. ‘Cosmogrification’, this was a reformed Blodwyn with Clive Bunker on drums. We only did a short tour. Clive joined because of Rin Berg’s illness. I play piano on ‘Monkinit’ – I mention this because normally we never used keyboard on tracks.”
Tracks include:
See My Way – recorded at Mick Abrahams studio (date unknown)
Baby Girl – recorded at BBC Maida Vale studios, John Peel show (1970)
Dear Jill – recorded at Mick Abrahams studio (date unknown)
Monkinit (A tribute to Thelonious Monk) – recorded at Verdant studios Hollywood, CA (date unknown)
Drive Me – recording location unknown (1970)
The Change Song – live at the Marquee Club Soho (1969)
Cosmogrification – live at Luton Town Hall (1973)
Same Old Story – recorded at BBC Maida Vale studios, John Peel show (1970)
Hound Dog – recorded at Mick Abrahams studio (date unknown)
Sly Bones – recorded at Mick Abrahams studio, Verdant studios Hollywood, CA (date unknown)
It’s Only Love – outtake, Morgan studios (1969)
Stormy Monday – Mick Abrahams studio (date unknown)
This is an anthology of the greatest moments of the original band’s career. Every track is a gem, and I cannot recommend it highly enough! – Jonathan Downes, The Gonzo Daily
An exclusive interview with Greg Spawton of Big Big Train. Interview by progarchy editor, Brad Birzer. [N.B. I was going to write a longish introduction, but I’ll do that with the review of EEFP I’ll have up in the next day or two.]
***
Progarchy: Hello, again, Greg. I’m so glad you continue to be so generous with your time, and I’m deeply honored to have you do yet another interview with me. The order of the songs, BBT EE+4, is now set. In stone! How did you arrive at this ordering? I would guess you agonized over this, individually and as a group?
Greg Spawton: Thanks, Brad. We had four new tracks to accommodate and a listening experience as a long double album (as opposed to two single albums) to create and so there was a lot of discussion and consideration of various options. I wanted to create mini-suites out of some of the tracks with linked themes and that helped a bit as it drew some of the songs together. So, we had the Edgelands sequence of Seen Better Days / Edgelands / Summoned By Bells and the love-songs sequence with Winchester From St Giles’ Hill / The Lovers / Leopards and Keeper of Abbeys. Once those two sets of songs were in place it became easier to work the other tracks around them.
Progarchy: Do you see EEFP as a fundamentally different release from EE1 or EE2, or is it a fulfillment of the first two releases? A sort of baptism or sanctification?
Spawton: It’s a bit of both. Completists are likely to buy EEFLP even if they already own EE1 and EE2 and so we felt an obligation to create something new and different rather than just stick four new tracks on the end. But it also seems to have drawn all the threads together and, for us, it’s the ultimate expression of our work in this period of the band.
Progarchy: A followup, considering track order. You start with the very 1950s and 1960s rockabilly-ish “Make Some Noise,” but you end the entire collection with the–as I interpret the lyrics–suicide of the curator. Is this intentional?
Spawton: We knew those two songs had to be the bookends. Curator of Butterflies is not a song about suicide, although I can see why many people interpret it that way. It’s actually about life from the perspective of growing older. Now I’ve reached middle-age, I have a much greater awareness of how fragile life is. With my family and my good friends I find that awareness very burdensome. At home, I’m surrounded by teenagers and their take on life is entirely different. It’s fearless, they feel indestructible, they feel they have all the time in the world, whereas I sit back and wonder: ‘where did all the time go’? In Make Some Noise David captures the feelings of being young and full of hope and of dreams so we felt that had to be the opening statement. And as we had song from the perspective of an older person in Curator of Butterflies, it seemed right to put that one at the other end of the album.
Big Big Train’s justly-deserved award, “Breakthrough Artist of 2013,” by Jerry Ewing and the readers of PROG.
Progarchy: Is the whole album, EEFP, still an album dealing with the dignity of labor, in all of its various forms?
Spawton: In old money, EEFLP is a triple album so there is room on there to explore a lot of different themes. One of the main themes of the album is about the dignity of labour. There have been major social changes in parts of Britain in the last 50 years and some communities in areas that used to rely almost solely on employment from the mines or docks or from heavy industry have lost their way because that employment has gone. I am not being nostalgic about this; I am well aware that those industries were very tough places to work. I spent a few minutes down a Victorian drift-mine recently and I cannot imagine what it would have been like to work a shift down there. However, what these industries did bring was a sense of pride in working hard and of the potential of communal endeavour. The loss of these things has been catastrophic for some communities.
A page from the new 96-page booklet accompanying EEFP. Used by courtesy of the band and the artist.
Progarchy: Now that you’re done with EE–really three releases overall–how do you see your work with EE? That is, where does it fit in the history of BBT (besides, being the most recent thing)? How do you see it in the history of prog?
Spawton: If the band carries on in its current trajectory, we’re likely to end up selling about 30,000 copies of all of the EE albums. In the context of the huge 70’s progressive bands that is a tiny amount and we are only too aware that it can never have the sort of impact that Selling England by the Pound or Close to the Edge had. Having said that, it’s been a sequence of releases which has, I think, shown us at our best and has helped us to reach a wider audience and to get played on national radio in the UK. We’ve also grown as a band during the making of the albums. We are closer together as a unit and know what we can achieve. Danny has come onboard as keyboard player and has added a considerable amount to our sound. We’ve been able to work with a string quartet as well as the brass band and have been able to collaborate with some fabulous musicians and arrangers. And we are very pleased that we have been able to put together a release of 19 songs without any of them being there just to fill some space. Some songs are better than others, inevitably, but all have something to say and will, we hope, offer something to listeners.
BBT even has its own beer. Really, now? Great writing, serious beer, depthless prog. Does it get better than this?
Progarchy: A number of the new tracks reflect some really interesting influences, at least as I hear them. “Make Some Noise” seems very innocent and joyful, perhaps a pre-Byrds type of rock, the rock my mother danced to in college. “Seen Better Days” seems very Mark Hollis/Talk Talkish and then very jazzy. “Edgelands” again has a Talk Talkish feel. But, so very jazzy–an impressionistic jazz of the second half of the 1950s. “The Lovers” is proggy in a Canterbury, dramatic kind of way. Am I reaching, or were these influences intentional?
Spawton: I wouldn’t argue with any of those. We’re all fans of Talk Talk and the Canterbury scene. Influences are not something we think about during the creative process, though. I’d be a bit resistant to the idea of deliberately writing a song in the style of another band. For us, it’s an organic process of writing, arranging and performing. Influences often operate in a subliminal way and the writer may be unaware of how the listener will experience the songs.
Progarchy: The blending of songs into one another harkens back to The Difference Machine, and you’ve mentioned in a recent interview that your next studio album will be a concept album. Are you and BBT making a statement about where prog should be going with any of these decisions, or are you just taking your art as you feel so moved at the moment of creation?
Spawton: Honestly? We just write. Sometimes that is with something in mind (for example, where we need a song with a particular sound to help make a balanced album) but often it’s just what comes into our heads and falls under our fingers.
Progarchy: You’ve put so much into the booklet that accompanies EEFP. How much of the total art do you see in the packaging, the graphics, the photography. That is, how important is it to peruse the booklet rather than simply download the four new songs? We all lament the loss of the album sleeve, but you seem to have found away to recapture that glory. Again, was the booklet a group project, or did you work on this individually?
Spawton: Andy and Matt Sefton must take most of the credit for the overall design. Once we’d found Matt’s remarkable photos and he’d agreed to work with us, Andy was able to develop the overall shape of things using Matt’s images as the basis. The design of the packaging which carries our music is very important to us. Music is, of course, our primary concern and I have no problem with downloads. However, many people still prefer to experience music by purchasing physical releases and we put a huge amount of thought into making those items things of beauty and interest. Luckily, we found, in Chris Topham, a chap with a similar attention to detail for our vinyl releases and so we have worked with Chris and Plane Groovy to try to recapture the glory of the gatefold album cover.
Progarchy: A followup to the above question: you spend a significant part of the book honoring those that/who came before. As a historian, I love this. Again, how did you decide to do this? From my perspective, you’re tying in your work (adding all of those who contribute to BBT directly) with a whole lineage of English history and art. Any thoughts on the necessity and importance of this?
Spawton: I have been fascinated by history since I was a young child. In the 70’s, we had these beautifully-produced children’s books called Ladybird books in Britain and they were a big part of my early childhood. Looking back, they had a particular view of the world which wasn’t very nuanced (for example, the Roundheads were the goodies and the Cavaliers were the baddies) but they were spellbinding books with lovely artwork and they seemed to be able to transport me into those historic periods. As the band was developing I started to experiment with telling historical stories in the songs. Really, I think I’m just a frustrated historian without the outlet to write books so I used the ‘voice’ that I did have. I also began to become more aware of folk-music and that stories can be smaller and close to home and be just as interesting for people. And it’s the fact that the listeners are interested in these stories that has spurred me on. We get suggestions of stories sent to us now and there are so many interesting tales.
A guest appearance on EEFP from Lord Cornelius Plum.
Progarchy: Again, somewhat related, it’s a stroke of genius to tie this release into the work–sadly, often forgotten or poorly remembered–of The Dukes of Stratosphear. Just how did you come to work with one of its members?
Spawton: When I got to know Dave Gregory I realised that he knew just about everybody in the music business. When we were working on The Lovers, David and Dave wanted the fusion section to be quite spacey and psychedelic and so we ended up asking Dave if he would mind giving Lord Cornelius Plum a call. Lord Plum hasn’t really been involved in music since The Dukes split up and we were delighted that he wanted to play a solo for us, albeit he insisted on playing the guitar backwards. I have to say, he’s still got the chops. He plays backwards guitar a lot better than I can play in the forward direction.
Progarchy: As you know, your fan base (getting larger, deservedly, by the moment!) craves knowledge about the future of BBT. Can you talk about how you plan to perform live? Where? With whom? When? What setlist (not exact, of course–no spoilers!)? Will Rob travel with you?
Spawton: Our live sound will be done by Rob, no question about that. We’re slowly gearing up for some live shows but we know that it requires careful planning. One of the things we are adamant about is that a live show will be an attempt to convey the whole BBT sound with brass and string sections. That is a complicated set-up and requires a fair bit of rehearsal. We’ve chosen Real World as a large studio environment which can accommodate us all and we are going to spend a week there next year working songs through and ironing out any live issues. The setlist will mainly feature songs from The Underfall Yard and English Electric, although we may also do some earlier songs. We’re going to film the rehearsals as that is a good way of recording a live set without the controlled chaos of being on stage. After Real World we’ll be looking to play a small number of shows and I think that we will then aim to play a handful of gigs every year. Just occasionally, progressive bands manage to crossover into a much broader audience (Steve Wilson being the best example) and, of course, if that happens then perhaps we can aim to tour more extensively. I think that is unlikely though and the main thing for us is not to try to put anything on that ends up losing a lot of money which could put the band’s finances out of kilter.
Another page from the booklet. Courtesy of the band and the artist, Matt Sefton.
Progarchy: A followup. What about your future albums? Station Masters is coming in 2014. What about the next studio album? Can you tell us anything about it?
Spawton: Most of the next studio album is written and recording is under way. Nick is in England in late September so we’ll get another couple of days of drum recording done then. We may also do some recording at Real World. As you mentioned, it is a concept album with a story which David has been developing. It is not English Electric Part Three and it will be a little different but we are very excited about it. In the meantime, Station Masters is slowly moving forward and we aim for that to be a beautiful release.
Progarchy: What are the members of BBT listening to right now? If you could praise some current music, what would you praise? Or, any recent discoveries of older music? What about books? Anything that’s really grabbed your attention recently?
Spawton: There is so much great progressive music about at the moment and we have heard a number of excellent new releases so far this year. The nice thing is that we don’t feel in competition with anybody. There is a good feeling in progressive rock of us all being in it together, the bands and the listeners. Recently, I’ve had some fun working my way back though some of the classic 70’s albums and in the last few weeks I’ve been listening to a lot of Van Der Graaf Generator and PFM. I am looking forward to new music from Mew, Elbow and I have just bought the new Sigur Ros album. As for books, at the moment, I’m reading The Norman Conquest by Marc Morris and Britain Begins by Barry Cunliffe. And I’ve been reading a very interesting biography of Pink Floyd by Mark Blake. The book that has made the most impact on me in the last year was Working Lives by David Hall.
Progarchy: Again, Greg, thank you so much for your time. It’s always a pleasure.
Spawton: Thank you, Brad.
Nick, Andy, Dave, David, Danny, Greg, and huge red warning sign. Photo by Dutch Master, Willem Klopper.
Progarchist Birzer doesn’t like doing ANY thing half way–his love for GH is tangible. He also owns the t-shirt.
Feel free to call me a “Glass Hammer Junkie.” Steve and Fred might not approve, but it is the truth. Ever since my great friend, Amy Sturgis, introduced me to their music, days or so before LEX REX appeared in 2002, I’ve been hooked. As you can see by the accompanying photograph, I’m pretty much a completist as well. After all, why like anything halfway? Besides, Glass Hammer isn’t a “half-way” kind of love. You either love them completely, or you don’t know them.
Some reviewers have–in an almost obligatory way–compared their music to that produced during the first decade of Yes. As Babb has joked, GH admires Jon Anderson and Yes deeply, but he’s merely acknowledging the debt in his own music, not mimicking it. And, frankly, from my perspective, GH has much more of a “Leftoverature” feel than a Yes one. Regardless, Babb and Schendel are artists, pure and simple, indebted and original all at once.
There is so much I could write about GH, a book really. But, for now, let me state that there will be more much about GH at progarchy, as well as an extensive analysis and history of the band over at Carl Olson’s brilliant, Catholic World Report. Additionally, we’ll have a long interview with GH co-founder, Steve Babb.
As many of you know, I’m not a huge fan of labels, as they tend to narrow the beauty of a thing. If you forced me to label Glass Hammer’s music, though, I’d probably claim it as “Ransom Prog,” the kind of music Elwin Ransom would’ve written while on Malacandra. For one (or three, really) of the things to love about GH is the “voice” of the band. And, I don’t mean the vocalists. There are lots of vocalists for GH, and there have been since the band’s beginning, the release of their first cd back in 1993, twenty years ago. There quite good. I’m especially fond of Susie Bogdanowicz. Phew, can she sing or what? Her rendition of Yes’s “South Side of the Sky” is simply breathtaking. The vocal equivalent would be Dawn Upshaw singing Gorecki’s Third Symphony. Yes, Bogdanowicz is THAT good.
The real voice of the band, however, can be found in three very different things. Second and third, the distinctiveness of the bass and keyboards, a profound mixture of the punctuated, the soaring, and the lush. But, first and foremost, are the lyrics. Glass Hammer contains some of the best lyrics in rock history. No exaggeration. Last year, just as 2012 was winding down, I was utterly blown away by Perilous. I even held up my “best of” because of the album. It went from not being on my radar in October to being one of the top releases of the year by early December. The music is, certainly, excellent. But, the lyrics are top notch–meaningful, imagist, and philosophical.
I think the lack of recognition of excellent lyric writing is one of the great faults in reviewing and assessing this third wave of prog (as our own Brian Watson labels it). After all, look at the lyrics of Spawton, Longdon, and Tillison, the lyrics of the Tin Spirits, of Gazpacho, or Ayreon (the plot of Ayreon is also mind boggling–but this is for another post), and others. The lyrics for GH are at this top. They are as good as the music, and the two–lyrics and music–serve one another. The lyrics are at once mythic and deeply moving. Here’s just one example from Inconsolable Secret:
This is where we draw the line
And here is where we make our stand
You’ll gather all our forces here for
Here we stand on hallowed ground
And here the foe will surely fall
We’ll send his army scattering for
This is where we draw the line
And here is where we make our stand
Now sound the trumpets, form the battle line
Hold the line
Babb’s lyrics reflect those of the Beowulf poet as well as the poet of the Battle of Maldon. Certainly, Babb is drawing upon these medieval sources, and, probably, a bit of Chesterton’ s Everlasting Man.
There’s a really nice review of the rereleased and remixed version of Glass Hammer’s masterful, Inconsolable Secret, over at http://www.progrocket.com. Sadly, I can’t figure out who the author is, or I’d give her or him explicit credit.
One of the quintessential modern-day symphonic progressive rock bands, Glass Hammer recently re-released their 2005 album The Inconsolable Secret. The new “deluxe edition” contains all the original material from the two-disc album, as well as a third disc featuring remixes of several of the songs, two with new vocal tracks from present lead singer Jon Davison, who is currently the lead singer for Yes. Glass Hammer is led by multi-instrumentalists Steve Babb and Fred Schendel.–Progrocket.
To keep reading this excellent review, click here.
In one of the oddest moments of my adult life, I awoke to the news of a brand new Flower Kings CD.
Why, weird?
Because I spent much of yesterday listening to TFK and thinking about the past and the future. I was reflecting on how critical TFK have been to my own creative (such as it is) and professional life. I wrote my first biography while listening repeatedly to Stardust We Are, Flowerpower, and Space Revolver. And, the music fit perfectly–my first book was an intellectual biography of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Last night, and my wife can confirm this, I couldn’t go to bed until I took and posted a photo of appreciation: the TFK surrounding my Tolkien book. I felt rather frantically obsessed (called?) to take the photo before heading to bed. Wild.
Additionally, I started planning a series in my head for Progarchy very similar to what Pete Blum has so brilliantly done with “20 Looks at The Lamb Lies Down.” I was thinking of a twenty looks type of feature on TFK. Anyway, much to my surprise and happiness, I awoke and saw–in fact, the very first thing I saw upon awaking–an announcement for the new TFK album, Desolation Rose.
So, for all kinds of reasons, I’m intrigued. For some reason, the album strikes me–at least from the description Stolt released–as a sequel of sorts to both Unfold the Future and Banks of Eden. Regardless, I’m already prepared to love the new album. Thank you, TFK. Long live progging Swedish hippies!!!
Official News Release, dated September 11, 2013
NEWS : THE FLOWER KINGS – reveal release of new studio album ‘Desolation Rose’ late October.Swedish progressive-rock royalty The Flower Kings have had a busy year since regrouping in 2012 for the ‘Banks Of Eden’ album, and with a new creative vigour the band are following that with the fantastic new album ‘Desolation Rose’ due out on 28th October 2013.
The artwork, once again created by Silas Toball, can be viewed above and the band had this to say about the forthcoming release:
“Being somewhat of a political statement, the epic theme of “Desolation Rose” is a logical step in a time where perpetual war, famine, environmental threats, religious conflicts dominate the media and our minds. This is a time to wake up and the music on this album takes you on a journey where you are forced to questions what the mainstream media feed us and to rethink your whole world view on all of the above. This is in many ways a typical Flower Kings album but we have also taken it into another realm where we do take chances and where you may struggle to get into the music – or the lyrics – but trust me when I say that you will be rewarded, as this may be our most involved, important and interesting album ever. “(Roine)
The track-listing for the album is as follows:
1 Tower ONE 13:39
2 Sleeping Bones 04:16
3 Desolation Road 04:00
4 White Tuxedos 06:30
5 The Resurrected Judas 08:24
6 Silent Masses 06:17
7 Last Carnivore 04:22
8 Dark Fascist Skies 06:05
9 Blood Of Eden 03:12
10 Silent Graveyards 02:52
Earlier this year, The Flower Kings embarked on a very special tour alongside Neal Morse & Mike Portnoy to celebrate InsideOutMusic’s 20th Anniversary, playing to sold out crowds across Europe and the US.
Look out for more information and videos in the coming weeks!
Pre Sale start soon at The Flower Kings web shop: www.flowerkings.se
(yes, we love Billy!–Thanks to Glass Onyon for keeping Progarchy so well informed).
YES founding member and former lead vocalist Jon Anderson joins Raiding The Rock Vault At The Las Vegas Hotel Casino for five shows 9/20-24
Las Vegas, NV – Jon Anderson, founding member and former lead vocalist of the definitive progressive rock band YES, will guest star in RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT, the Ultimate Classic Rock Concert Experience, Sept. 20 – 24. The co-writer and singer of cosmic classics, including “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “Roundabout,” “Going for the One,” and “Close to the Edge,” whose time with the band spanned five decades, will sing in the show for five special performances.
“Jon Anderson is an icon,” said RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT creator, director and producer John Payne. “He is one of the biggest names in the history of progressive rock and I’m really excited for him to lend his voice to the show.”
The story of classic rock comes to life in RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT, which takes audiences on a magical musical journey, traversing the genre’s history from the ‘60s through the ‘80s. The hard-rocking showfeatures classic anthems from The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, the Eagles, Queen, Van Halen, AC/DC, Journey, Free, Bryan Adams, Supertramp, Toto, Deep Purple, and more, truly boasting “The Greatest Set List Ever.”
The show’s all-star lineup includes Howard Leese [Guitar] (Heart), Tracii Guns [Guitar] (LA Guns, Guns n’ Roses), Robin McAuley [Lead Vocals] (MSG, Survivor), John Payne [Lead Vocals and Bass] (Asia), Paul Shortino [Lead Vocals] (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot), Jay Schellen [Drums] (Badfinger, Asia), Andrew Freeman [Lead Vocals and Guitars] (Lynch Mob, The Offspring), and Michael T. Ross [Keyboards] (Lita Ford, Hardline).
Ticket prices for RAIDING THE ROCK VAULT range from $49 to $125 (plus fees) for a special Rock Star Package (which includes tickets in first five rows, t-shirt, concert program, album, meet-and-greet and VIP pass). Special discount tickets for $39 are available for locals. For an up-to-date schedule or to purchase tickets, visit the LVH box office or log onto thelvh.com, vegas.com, or ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 702-732-5755 or 1-800-222-5361.
About LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino: LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, a world-class destination, offers a unique blend of amenities and excitement with all your favorite table games, hottest slots on the market, incredible restaurants, endless entertainment, more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space and the world’s largest race and sports SuperBook®. LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino provides a range of culinary adventures including exhibition-style Japanese cuisine at the world-famous Benihana, fine steaks at TJ’s Steakhouse, Pan-Asian dining at 888 Noodle Bar, authentic Japanese sushi at Teru Sushi, a traditional buffet that features tastes from around the world, and more. LVH boasts a strong entertainment schedule led by world-class headliners in the LVH Theater, as well as a variety of on-going production shows in the Shimmer Cabaret. Its proximity to the Las Vegas Convention Center and its designation as a Monorail station (connecting it to the Las Vegas Strip) makes it the ideal hotel for conventions and visitors alike. For more information or to book accommodations, call toll free at (800) 732-7117 or log on to www.thelvh.com or connect with us on our social pages www.thelvh.com/Hotel/stayconnected.
William Shatner To Perform His New Album ‘Ponder the Mystery’ With Prog Rock Group Circa: featuring Billy Sherwood and Tony Kaye formerly of YES
Los Angeles, CA – William Shatner will be performing his new record Ponder the Mystery in its entirety along with the progressive rock heroes Circa: featuring Billy Sherwood, who produced and co-wrote Ponder the Mystery with Shatner, and Tony Kaye both former members of the legendary prog rock band YES.
William Shatner is a film and TV icon with an intense passion for music which has yielded several solo records including the critically acclaimed Seeking Major Tom. This most recent solo record, Ponder the Mystery, which includesguest artists from the prog and fusion genres such as Rick Wakeman, Al DiMeola, Steve Vai, Robbie Krieger, Vince Gill, Edgar Winter, George Duke, Zoot Horn Rollo and Dave Koz to name a few), expands Shatner’s musical horizons due to the fact that all of the songs are original, written by Shatner and his musical partner in the project Billy Sherwood. The album will be released on both CD and vinyl on October 8, 2013.
This partnership of Shatner and Sherwood has created a vast and expansive artistic landscape for Shatner’s amazing gift of poetry while Sherwood composed the musical backdrop. The record is conceptual in nature: following a man in despair through the setting sun, twilight and finally darkness, and in the process, regains his joy of life.
Both Bills had a vision of taking the record to the stage and performing it live. When it came time to form the band for this event, Circa: was the obvious choice, Sherwood and Kaye have had a long running musical relationship playing on stage together with YES and forming Circa: in 2006. Circa: recently released a new album Live From Here There and Everywhere.
Performance dates and locations:
Wednesday, October 23, 2013: Saint Rocke, 142 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Hermosa, CA 90254 (310-372-0035)
Thursday, October 24, 2013: The Canyon Club, 289 12 Roadside Dr., Agoura, CA 91301 (818-879-5016)
Friday, October 25, 2013: The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 (949-496-8930)
The “red-headed” one. Stolen from Tillison’s FB page. Without permission but not with malice.
Andy posted this at his personal facebook page. Very well worth reading and yet another reminder as to why Andy is a sheer modern (well, maybe post-modern) genius.
Some thoughts on the Prog Awards that took place in KEW, London last week. First of all, I had a great time and as I have already shown off on another thread, I got to share a table with three quarters of Transatlantic, Arjen Lucassen and the people from Insideout music who’d invited me. This in itself was a bit of a “wow” thing.
Looking around at the famous faces was worrying. I kind of realised that some hanger-on-to-1979-NME “everything must die so that punk may live” journalist could probably have wiped the genre from the face of the earth with a dodgy batch of Salmon Mousse. Rick Wakeman was right behind me, Ian Anderson, Dave Brock, Steve Hillage, Steve Hackett, Robert John Godfrey – Jeez!!! – if anyone had told me when I was at school that I’d be at this thing I’d have not believed them.
Most of my friends know that this kind of shindig is not really my scene. I felt a bit awkward in all posh clothes, a bit nervous to be with all the great and good – and this is not something that applies just to awards ceremonies, it goes back as far as “terror of the sixth form disco” and those student parties where you really DID find me, always in the kitchen. I’m just a bit nervous of formal events. Can’t be myself and that’s as simple as I can put it.
The formalities of the awards kicked off after a meal. Some of you know that my personal relationship with the organisation (PROG magazine) did not start quite as well as it might. My relationship with the editor and big chief there, Jerry Ewing, was worse than frosty for more than a year. Actually my fault when all is said and done – I really think most of it was to do with a bit of Northern Cantankerousness mixed with sense of humour failure and a little bit too much pride. And the fact that the mag had said that The Tangent looked like a bunch of Sheep Farmers and Accountants. I SHOULD have had a right old laugh about that. Because at the time, my partner Sally was working in accounts and we DID live in the middle of a sheep farm. Maybe it was just too close to the bone.
Ewing kicked off the proceedings with what, to my surprise and delight, was the most motivational speech of the night. It focussed heavily on the new bands both “real new” and “established new” and far from being corporate gesturing which is so often evident at this type of event, I got a real feeling that he MEANT it all, and that he didn’t actually see the third and fourth waves of Prog as some kind of pro-active fan club of the first and second. That was more than refreshing. And to watch the Von Hertzen Brothers claim their award, Big Big Train and Steven Wilson etc was great, knowing that there is, was and will be a lot of life in the genre AFTER 1977.
I’m always gonna be happier in jeans and a t-shirt, wrestling with a monitor mix at The Peel, The CRS, Summer’s End or Celebr8 than at a posh three course meal. And of course I did note that there were more people at the awards than are at most of the gigs. If all the musicians were to support each other at each others events we could significantly audience sizes – (but NOT ask to be on the guest list!!). But what’s really really great about these awards is that we’re all HERE, the old heroes and legends, the guys who want to follow them and the people who want to make it happen. I’ve always felt as a Prog musician to be “part of something” – of course I have.. but where so many negative correspondents have portrayed Prog as a safe, middle class and system supporting genre, I have always seen it as sticking up two fingers to the classical music establishment and saying “we can do that too” After all the shit, lies, misrepresentations and misunderstandings we’re ALL STILL HERE. Bring on the Salmon Mousse!!! We’ll survive that too!–Andy Tillison, Facebook, September 8, 2013
1990 has always been a special year for me. Communism was on its last legs, the economy boomed, and the world seemed a rather friendly place. There were never lines at airports, and I could see a John Hughes movie about any time I so desired.
I also graduated from college in May, 1990, and I spent the next three months living with my great friend, Ron Strayer, in Lawrence, Kansas, sleeping on his couch.
In late August, I packed up my Mac Classic, some of my books, and my outdoor gear, and I moved out West to the Rockies. Once there, I began editing an academic journal with fellow progarchist Craig Breaden, and we became fast friends.
For two years, I wrote, edited, hiked, listened to music, and played lots of Canasta. My older brother lived in Boise, and we met at least once a month for a hike and some excellent fellowship. Usually, we talked about the natural order of things and our mutual love of science fiction.
1990 also introduced me to more music–and, perhaps more importantly, more types of music–than any year I can remember. I had been a rather straight-forward prog rock and New Wave/alternative rock kind of guy for most of my life. Ron and Craig,however, each introduced me to a rather wondrous variety new groups and genres.
Of the new material released some time during 1990, here are some my favorite songs and albums, in no particular order.
House of Love–“Hannah” and “Shine On.”
Cure–“Never Enough”
World Party, Good-bye Jumbo
Peter Murphy–“Cuts You Up”
Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
Charlatans, Some Friendly
The Sundays, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic
Echo and the Bunnymen, Reverberation [and, yes, I think this is fine Echo album, even without Ian]
The host of The Prog Magazine Radio Show on TeamRock Radio, Philip Wilding presented the Breakthrough award and he highlighted exactly why that honour has been bestowed on him with an hilarious intro based on schoolboy rivalry between Gavin Esler and Jeremy Paxman. The award was won by Big Big Train who were clearly very pleased with their achievement as three members of the band – Greg Spawton, David Longdon and Andy Poole – paused to thank everyone who had helped them. It’s important to remember who’s helped you get to where you are, of course!–Jerry Ewing
Andy Poole, Greg Spawton, and David Longdon at the Prog Awards. Photo taken from Prog’s website.
Blodwyn Pig Compilation Of Rare Unreleased Recordings ‘Pigthology’ Now Available!
Progarchy 