The latest media meme has Pope Francis saying that all dogs go to Heaven, but the story seems to be somewhat garbled.
In any case, it’s a good opportunity to revisit that instant classic, the Paper House song, “Lucky (In Memoriam),” which is also available in a clean version.
Surely these two tracks must be included on any prog Xmas playlist…
I think I have seen Bill Clinton tooting on a saxophone, but that’s about it.
Meanwhile, up in Canada, the land of Rush, our Prime Minister sings Guns N’ Roses as he is kickin’ out the jams:
OTTAWA – Stephen Harper channelled Axl Rose for his musical encore at the annual Conservative Christmas party on Tuesday night.
Harper was on keyboards and lead vocals with his new band the Van Cats (as in 24 in French, 24 Sussex), and played the Guns N’ Roses tune “Sweet Child O’ Mine” to round out the night.
Members of Parliament, party members from the region, and political staffers took phone photos and danced in front of the stage where Harper played several numbers.
Wearing black from head to toe, he spanned the musical decades with songs by Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and the French version of “Silent Night.”
Harper also sang John Denver’s “Country Roads,” changing some of the lyrics to refer to Alberta instead of West Virginia. The prime minister has played piano or keyboards for the cameras several times before, including at the National Arts Centre Gala in 2009.
Never mind what you think of his performance. I am simply impressed he knows all the words to “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and can reel them off while knocking out the chords on the keyboard.
Click on the link above if you want to watch.
I think this means that Canada has won the Battle of the Bands.
Where do we go now?
Dave Kerzner announces:
BIG NEWS! My debut solo album New World has just been released here and on iTunes. It features musicians who have played with Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, ELP, The Who, Porcupine Tree, Big Big Train, Tears for Fears, It Bites and more. It’s now streaming in full on my Sonic Elements Bandcamp page with high quality mp3 and FLAC download plus PDF art, lyrics and liner notes. Come check it out!
released 09 December 2014
Track 1: Stranded pt1-5 (10:32)
Track 2: Into The Sun (7:21)
Track 3: The Lie (5:04)
Track 4: Under Control (5:54)
Track 5: Crossing Of Fates (4:49)
Track 6: My Old Friend (5:27)
Track 7: Ocean Of Stars (5:36)
Track 8: Solitude (3:39)
Track 9: Nothing (6:17)
Track 10: New World (5:57)
Track 11: Redemption: Stranded pt. 6-10 (17:25)
The Cast:
Dave Kerzner – Vocals Tracks 1-11
Keyboards Tracks 1-11
Guitar Tracks 2,4,6,9
Drum Programming Tracks 4,6,8
Fernando Perdomo – Guitar Tracks 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11
Bass Tracks 1,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11
Nick D’Virgilio – Drums Tracks 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,10,11
Steve Hackett – Guitar Tracks 1,11
Francis Dunnery – Guitar Tracks 10,11
Russ Parish – Guitar Track 6
Colin Edwin – Bass Track 2
Billy Sherwood – Bass Track 5
Keith Emerson – Moog Modular Synth (via Sonic Reality) Track 5
Simon Phillips – Drums Track 5
Durga McBroom – Vocals Tracks 1,11
Lorelei McBroom – Vocals Tracks 7,8
Jason Scheff – Vocals Tracks 1,11
David Longdon – Vocals Track 10
Emily Lynn – Vocals Tracks 8,11
Lara Smiles – Vocals Track 8
Heather Findlay – Vocals Track 2
Maryem Tollar – Vocals Track 6
Christine Leakey – Vocals Track 7
Ana Cristina – Vocals Track 1
Produced by Dave Kerzner
Mixed by Dave Kerzner
except “Stranded” mixed by Tom Lord-Alge
Assistant Mix Engineering & Editing by Chris Holmes
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen and Reuben Cohen for Lurssen Mastering
Artwork and Graphic Design by Christine Leakey
Cover Art by Dave Kerzner
Dave Kerzner’s prog extravaganza — New World — is now available! Buy it today… and be blown away!
The album Coalesce has been two years in the making. And it sure does show. Skilled attention to detail and an intense musical intelligence shines forth on this album.
Nine tracks of ambient prog metal awesomeness are kicked off by “All in Now,” which is available here as a free download.
The band comments on the track:
Pummeling riffs and soaring ambient lines are complemented by clean melodies and harmonic backings, defining our signature sound.
Lyrically, “All in Now” delves into our current state of worldly affairs; how we connect through the intangible web of communication, watching our spiritual awareness expand with the overflow of information.
Here’s a guide to the lyrics:
Verse 1
Multiplying the social
Connectivity wires us together
Questioning all the doubtful
Intertwining the need for the censorChorus
Breathe in to allow
Impulsive pure presence
All in now
All in now
Emotive pure essenceVerse 2
Uncertain futuristic
Ideology, transient moments
All experience is cyclic
Periodically forced to tormentBridge
All In NowWritten by: Mark Weatherley and Marlain Angelides
Arranged by: Ascending Dawn
Ascending Dawn are: Constanze Hart, Mark Weatherley, Owen Rees, Marlain Angelides
Queen guitarist Brian May offers some thoughts on stereoscopy:
First, you heard “Stranded.”
Now, take a listen to this tantalizing sample of the epic album awesomeness that is soon to be released in its entirety:
Also, here’s 2 minutes of “Into The Sun”:
“Pull Me Under” is the single now pre-released from Adria’s forthcoming EP. She has a great voice and I have always loved her magnificent work with All Eyes on Saturn on their extremely hard-to-find but totally brilliant EP, “Where the Shadows Find Their Homes.” Check out her new music now on YouTube:
Progarchy 