“Every name is real. That’s the nature of names.” Jerry Spinelli,
Name your favourite bands of all time. Mine would be Yes, The Beatles, Big Big Train, Pink Floyd, Prefab Sprout, Genesis… and the list goes on. Those few are just off the top of my head and always at the tip of my tongue. Not only do the names of these bands conjure up what their respective music does for me as far as enjoyment and even enlightenment goes, it also enables us if connected to convey mood within the musical genre we follow. By that I mean these names help shape thought around their successes as bands. For someone who likes “Yes,” just being up the simple name in conversation to someone you know also loves the band and the sound of that syllable will transport that person’s thoughts and feeling back to a time where the music was so intrinsically and emotionally tied to them. Words have power. Names have symbolic baggage (in a good way and place) we carry around for the rest of our lives, and in the age we live in, just as in any other age, symbols and icons are everything. In music we can express such names in logos, and the visual impact can not be underestimated. It further binds us to the name.
Now what does such mad mutterings have to do with anything? Well, I’m glad you asked because right now there is a new Prog band who has relinquished their right to create a band name themselves, and have gladly offered such an important task to Prog fans on social media. They have a working name at the moment but with four or more other bands using the same name they now think it is the right time to go with a brand-spanking new name that will be there’s to own and use as they see fit. The challenge will be for members on the very popular Prog Magazine Readers page on Facebook to come up with the name the band agrees will suit their musical personae.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so although this is a bit of fun, it’s no laughing matter for the band. This will be the name they will rap (hopefully not rap in the literal sense) around their whole group existence, and dare I say it, make a name for themselves. So no pressure.
Who are they?
I asked Keys and Programming wiz, Dave Hilborne that very question. They formed purely by chance in an internet gaming chat room. Initially these musicians started talking (over three continents) and they haven’t looked back since! “Collaborations are achieved via file sharing. No member has any real idea what the other will bring to a particular project. This makes the writing process incredibly exciting and the dynamic of songs are shifting constantly!
We are :
Dave Hilborne – Keys/Vox/Programming (I started writing music in 1987 after I got my first acoustic guitar. Songs flowed fairly easily for me, but I soon found I was better suited to the piano. Over the years I recorded and gigged, gradually developing my own style. I formed a few bands and even managed to release a vinyl single at one point. My most ambitious project was an opera based on the short story ‘Masque of the Red Death’ by Poe. I love musical challenges, so a high point for me was performing a solo 14 minute song I wrote called ‘Box Man.’ In 2017 I was fortunate to meet Dave Fick and Alessio Proietti. We clicked as musicians and arguably more importantly as people. I look forward to our future projects together).
Alessio Proietti – Guitars/Vox(I learned to play the guitar at the age of 14, in 2004 I decided to form my first band called Raccoon Balls (Punk/Rock/Alternative). We did many gigs around Italy for about 6 years then we released an album. In the past years I have had many projects and collaborations. Recently I got involved in this brand new Alternative/Ambient/Progressive. We come from different backgrounds of music, but we have so many ideas to bring to the table as shown on our first single ‘Continuum’).
Dave Fick – Bass (Born July 30th 1980. I got my first Bass Christmas of 1993. I was 13. I’ve played in many different bands with many different genres of music. We got hooked up through a mutual friend, Lord Rage, and are doing something quite different from what I’m used to. I love a good challenge and we hope to bring you some great tunes).
Recently we were delighted to welcome Charlie Bramald Flute/Vox to our project.
We are an Ambient/Progressive Rock band taking their cues from many different influences. Our aim is to constantly surprise and to challenge, whilst staying melodic and above all memorable. The aim of the band is to produce what we like to call “Immediate Prog” This is possibly one of the trickiest things to get right in Progressive Rock, but we are always up for a challenge! Atmosphere and melody are two guiding principles that we have in the band. If there’s a future goal,then right now its to produce a full album and then? Well who knows. Prog is forever shifting and so are we!”
So this contest of sorts starts right now.
It really is in the hands of those who decide to put forward their original recommendations to giving this band a name. This is exclusive only to Facebook page members on PROG MAGAZINE READERS (see link to join below). Sometimes you can come up with more than one good name so members will have up to five of their nominations allowed. Just look for the post “NAME THAT PROG BAND!” and add your choices.
The contest starts today and will run two weeks where upon the band will select ten of their favourites for the final selection to choose one which will announce the following week. The band has indicated they will
There’s even an incentive provided by the band.
An exclusive signed copy of the CD, including work in progress demo’s of the tracks. A personal thank you written by each member of the band. Access to the band’s private chat server. Plus a video call with one or more band members.
I would also add there is also on offer “bragging rights” to actually giving a band its name. How often does that opportunity come about?
So in a nutshell you can enter this challenge by joining the Prog Magazine Reader page and find the thread NAME THAT PROG BAND and send through up to five posts with one original name you came up with for the chance of give the band a name. Good luck!
Join Prog Magazine Readers Page
Band Facebook page Continuum
Scored by S U R V I V E’s Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, the Netflix show Stranger Things can at times seem written around the music, such is the importance of its soundtrack. The duo’s band creates very similar music but in longer form, developed stories in contrast to Stranger Things’ vignette accompaniments. If they recall the European progressive synth work of Jean Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream, as instrumental narrative S U R V I V E’s tropes, fresh as they are, are the well-heeled scions of horror and suspense soundtracks of the 1970s and 80s — those coveted analog burblings so influencing rock archetypes that today a band like S U R V I V E can be embraced by a culture that may not have looked so warmly on the be-caped japes of synth lords in their keyboarded cathedrals of yore. This is a good thing, as is S U R V I V E’s 2016 album RR7349. The punky, catalog number-as-title approach is embedded in the band’s music, in its wordlessness plain spoken, symbolic of itself, its images so strong — or perhaps its ability to conjure notions and memories of images we’ve grown used to associating with such music — that there’s an enjoyable lack of heavy lifting here. As instrumental albums go, it’s a seamless ride through the horrorshow.
Progarchy 