Author: bradbirzer

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.

Astra! Great News–A Third Album Forthcoming

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock2 Comments

Astra posted this seven hours ago on social media.  Excellent news!  The first two albums are simply outstanding.  Great psychedelic prog.  The “Prisoner” ending is a little spooky, however!

astra update

First off, I have to apologize for just dropping off the map for so long. You all deserve much more than that and since so many of you have been nice enough to write and ask “What’s going on with ASTRA?” I wanted to give you all a status update.

Back when our drummer David Hurley left ASTRA in 2013, no one could really foresee the difficulties ahead. We knew carrying on without Dave would be a hard road to travel but we had no idea just how much of an impact his departure would have on us. The 5 of us had an undeniable chemistry that just worked so well in every aspect, but especially when it came to songwriting. After Dave left, I think we were all pretty bummed out and while we were working on writing material for our 3rd album, our frustrations slowly started cropping up. We decided to take a short break which turned into a long break, which turned into a longer break, which happens to be where we’re at now. Because of this long hiatus some of the guys have become extremely busy with their own musical projects which, unfortunately, now leaves very little time for ASTRA.

However, I do have some good news! I just recently spoke with all of the original ASTRA members, including Dave, and everyone is down to record a 3rd ASTRA album if we can get enough material together. Another bit of good news is that Stuart and I have been playing and writing together and we’re hoping that we can eventually make this 3rd album a reality.

Now, none of this is a guarantee but I think it is a step in the right direction. ASTRA will always be my baby and my first love when it comes to music and I don’t want to give up on her so I’m going to do all that I can to make this happen. This will most likely take quite some time since everyone is so busy but I will try to keep you all updated as best I can. I will also try to be much more diligent in responding to your emails and messages in the future.

Lastly, a huge THANK YOU is long overdue, so, thank you all for sticking with ASTRA through the years and for being such amazing fans. I love you all more than words can say and I’m going to do my best to bring some new ASTRA music to your ears as soon as possible.

Be seeing you,
-Richard Vaughan

Administrative Note for July-August 2017

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock3 Comments
History_President_Andrew_Jackson_rev_SF_HD_1104x622-16x9
I’m Andrew Jackson, and I do NOT approve of this message.

Dear Progarchists, readers, reviewers, and creators,

Just FYI, I (Brad) will be only intermittently reviewing and writing about prog over the next two months.  I’ve contracted to write (and complete!–the private sector actually wants results, as Dr. Stantz reminded us in Ghostbusters) a book-length manuscript on President Andrew Jackson.  All to the good, of course, but it means that I will be living the next two months in the 1830s.  Sadly, this was a violent time, and a time without the benefit of progressive rock.

I’ll do my best to connect the Jacksonians with the proggers.

Progarchy should continue without a hitch, but I do want folks to know that if they submit anything to me (Brad), it might take a bit for a response.

Please make sure you also contact one of the other editors if you need anything–but especially Chris (Time Lord: progarchy@morec.com).  Thank you!

Yours, BB

JCHarris Music

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Some beautiful and fascinating music I’ve only encountered recently, the music of JCHarris.  Well worth checking out.

Here’s the official website: https://jchmusic.com

And, a great interview as well: https://jchmusic.com/progress-is-declared/

A Highly Rewarding Outing: SLOW RUST from The Tangent

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

The Tangent, SLOW RUST OF FORGOTTEN MACHINERY (Insideout Music, 2017).  Tracks: Two Swings; Doctor Livingstone; Slow Rust; The Story of Lead and Astatine; A Few Steps Down the Wrong Road; and Basildonxit.

tangent slow rust
The antithesis.

Andy Tillison is not a happy man.

From the art work, to the vocal work, to the lyrics of this latest The Tangent album, SLOW RUST, Tillison has embraced a critical response to the rapidly growing and evolving fascistic, fascist-lite, and insular movements of the western world over the last several years.  As artist, as man, and as thinker, Tillison hopes to stay the dark trajectory of the West or even, God willing, reverse it.  While the great red-headed man of prog mischief has never backed away from controversial viewpoints, he’s rarely been this explicit.

Even the album cover makes one pause.  Previously, Tillison has joked that he represents the dark side of prog, the antithesis, in particular, to Big Big Train, and the cover seems to project this rather profoundly, as a (presumably) single Muslim mother walks along dilapidated railroad tracks, holding the hands of her two daughters.  The once majestic train has derailed, and the crossing sign (the closest thing to the viewer of the album) reads “go.”  Clearly, several things have gone very, very wrong.  There’s no hedgerow in the distance, only a ruined, collapsed, and spent civilization.  There’s some blue sky showing, but it’s obscured by the ruddy reds of smoke and grit floating all too freely in a broken and war-torn world.

Continue reading “A Highly Rewarding Outing: SLOW RUST from The Tangent” →

Progressive Rock’s Novel: The Deep Pastoral Englishness of Big Big Train

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock4 Comments

By a curve of the river/at the end of the road/black waters rise again.–final lines of THE SECOND BRIGHTEST STAR

Tasteful.  Elegant.  These two words enter into my mind and soul, over and over again, at the beginning of every song on the new “companion” album by Big Big Train, THE SECOND BRIGHTEST STAR.  And, not just at the beginning, but in the middle of each, and at the end of each.

Tasteful.  Elegant.

bbt_second_brightest_star-624x624
Artwork by the extraordinary Sarah Ewing.

As I look back over the history of Big Big Train (despite the rather mechanical image of the band’s title), the band seems to have a radically organic life to it.  It’s not changed as much as it’s become.

It began as an oak sapling that struggled in intense competition for light and nourishment.  After a burst of growth, it faltered a bit, and its Entherds, Gregory Aurelius Spawton and Andrew Epictetus Poole, decided to prune it considerably.  In doing so, they allowed it to grow in ways known only to the creator of nature herself.  As with all great things in this world, the band was not invented.  It was discovered.

Tasteful.  Elegant.

Spawton and Poole discovered the necessary talents of D’Virgilio, Gregory, and Longdon, then Manners, and then Hall and Sjöblom, realizing they could not become until they became one.  These Endherds chose not to mix oaks, but rather to graft new chestnuts onto the oak.  Somewhere in the mind of nature, the band had always existed—this profound mix of oak and chestnut—but it’s only come into its own over the past eight years.

Continue reading “Progressive Rock’s Novel: The Deep Pastoral Englishness of Big Big Train” →

Straight from BBT: The Update

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment
bbt_second_brightest_star-624x624
Art by the amazing Sarah Ewing

Hi all

Following the April release of “Grimspound”, Big Big Train are releasing a companion album, “The Second Brightest Star”, on Friday (June 23rd).

The album features 40 minutes of new songs and instrumentals which explore landscapes, rivers and meeting places and take the listener on voyages of discovery across the world and to the stars.

Alongside the new tracks, there is a bonus selection of 30 minutes of music where songs from the “Folklore” and “Grimspound” albums are presented in extended format.

You can hear the title track at: https://soundcloud.com/big-big-train/the-second-brightest-star/s-q7qZY

“The Second Brightest Star” is available to order now for delivery commencing on 23rd June from our official stores:

* Burning Shed – https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain
CD and limited edition double gatefold 180g seafoam green vinyl. (All vinyl copies will include a code for a complimentary hi-res download.)

* The Merch Desk – http://themerchdesk.com/merchdesk/index.php?route=product/category&path=87_115
CD

* Bandcamp – https://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com/album/the-second-brightest-star
Hi-res download

The album will be released on Spotify and other download and streaming services in July.

Best wishes,
Andy, Danny, Dave, David, Greg, Nick, Rachel & Rikard

Big Big Train–What’s Next? I Have No Idea.

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

bbt_railway_logoI would assume that almost every reader of progarchy was surprised today by the announcement that Big Big Train would be releasing a new album in less than 48 hours. The band rightly offered PROG magazine an exclusive announcement as well as a link to one of the songs.

I’ve only criticized PROG once and that was when the magazine featured Steven Wilson on the cover rather than BBT. I think. In fact, I might have a few details mixed up in my head. This would’ve been back in 2013 when ENGLISH ELECTRIC FULL POWER came out. I was convinced then–and remain so–that EEFP was NOT just a “game changer” in the music world, but a defining point for all of rock. I thought that Ewing and PROG had lost a great opportunity to make history by placing BBT on the cover.

Well. . . I guess I was being a bit goofy at the time. After all, it’s Jerry’s magazine, not mine! After that criticism, I decided never to criticize the magazine publicly. After all, I’m writing for fun, not to keep afloat a magazine and a business. Hail, Jerry!

Continue reading “Big Big Train–What’s Next? I Have No Idea.” →

New Big Big Train Album–in 2 Days!

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock4 Comments

Big Big Train will release a brand new album on June 23 – only two months after our latest release ‘Grimspound’! The Second Brightest Star is a companion album to Folklore and Grimspoundand features seven new songs (about 40 minutes) which “explore landscapes, rivers and meeting places and take the listener on voyages of discovery across the world and to the stars.”

In addition, the record will come with a bonus selection of 30 minutes of music (named ‘Grimlore’) where songs from Folklore and Grimspound are presented in extended format.

Tracklist:

  1. The Second Brightest Star
  2. Haymaking
  3. Skylon
  4. London Stone
  5. The Passing Widow
  6. The Leaden Stour
  7. Terra Australis Incognita

Grimlore

  1. Brooklands Sequence
    (i) On The Racing Line
    (ii) Brooklands
  2. London Plane Sequence
    (i) Turner On The Thames
    (ii) London Plane
  3. The Gentlemen’s Reprise

The Second Brightest Star is the last album in a cycle of releases which started back in 2009 with The Underfall Yard album. Our writing over this period has focused on the English landscape, the people that work on the land and their folklore stories. The band will be moving on to different landscapes and subjects in future years as we play more shows outside of England. But we had a few more stories left to tell and wanted to bring them together on The Second Brightest Star.

You can listen to a stream of the new album’s title track on Soundcloud.

The album is available to order from Burning Shed and The Merch Desk. It’s available in limited edition double gatefold 180g seafoam green vinyl, CD and on hi-resolution 24/96 download. All vinyl copies will include a code for a complimentary hi-res download.

The Second Brightest Star will be released on Spotify and other download and streaming services at a later date in July.

An Important Note for Progarchy Readers

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock3 Comments

Dear Progarchy Readers,

Just FYI–because of changes in WordPress well beyond our control, nearly 5,000 of you lost your registration to this site about two weeks ago.  I’m terribly sorry.

If you’d like to sign back up as “followers,” we’d be grateful.  If you don’t, however, we certainly don’t blame you!  What a screwup.

Screen Shot 2017-06-20 at 4.09.53 PM

Anyway, I’ve received a number of emails asking me if, for some reason, this or that person was intentionally kicked off the site.  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Not a single person was kicked off or restricted.  Whatever else we are, we’re dedicated to free speech and free debate.  Keep your language PG-13, and you’re in!  Say what you want and what you will.

Progarchy.com is a free-speech, libertarian republic, bordering on anarchy.  Free minds, free markets, free will.

Yours, Brad (ed)