I really want to go to this. And it’s free. Apart from flights, hotels, meals etc.

Not only are The Tangent and Karmakanic playing but also Glass Hammer and Frost* among others.

Anyone fancy a Progarchy trip to Italy?

 

This Morning I had the bright idea of posting some albums that I thought fellow Progarchy readers might never had heard of or had forgotten about. I was going to do it over a period of time. Say once a week. The first one I was going to do was by a group called Man. A Band from Wales in the UK that has been lead on and off for many years by a guy named Deke Leonard. The album is called Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day and was released in 1972. It is one of my all time favourite albums. All well and good so far.

With this idea in mind I went out to run a few errands. When we got back home my wife calls out to me that another musician has died. Have I heard of Deke Leonard.

Man were the first band I ever saw live.

R.I.P Deke. Thanks for the music and memories

Play the album. It’s worth a listen.

Next up will be Fruupp.

Iris interviewed Craig Blundell via Skype on 21 December 2016. They talk about Steven Wilson‘s critical fans, Frost* playing on Progdreams and more!

NOTE: Apologies for the bad video quality, and for things popping up all over the screen. My usual video recording software didn’t work so I had to use another recording program very quickly. Luckily the sound is good!

For part 1, click here: Video Interview Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Frost*) Part 2 — Permanent Music Damage

Many who follow prog and rock in general woke to the news that John Wetton, singer and bassist for such bands as King Crimson, UK and Asia, passed away after a long, courageous battle with colon cancer.

I know that many others here will write something far more in-depth and eloquent that I will at this time, but this is a heartbreaker for me.

I cut my teeth on prog in 1981 with Rush’s “Moving Pictures,” and a year later I heard Asia for the first time.  I was immediately taken with how these then-mysterious prog musicians – I hadn’t heard Yes, ELP or Crimson at that point – had managed to pack a ton of playing into a tight song format, and to this day, Asia’s debut album remains one of my four all-time favorite albums.

Of course, while Steve Howe, Geoff Downes and Carl Palmer supplied most of the busy playing in Asia, John Wetton anchored the group with his steady bass playing and, of course, that VOICE.

After following Asia for most of the 80’s, a friend and bandmate clued me in to what Wetton had been up to just before Asia, and that was my introduction to UK.  Just a stellar group of musicians who created a pair of fine albums and one exceptional live album, and I listen to their work often.

I’ll admit to not absorbing much of what Wetton did prior to UK, which we all know was Family, Uriah Heep, Crimson, Roxy Music, Eno, and others, but for me, Wetton’s presence in UK and Asia alone formed much of the soundtrack to my youth.

Since the 90’s, I’ve kept only a periphery eye on Wetton’s career as he returned to solo work, worked with Downes in Icon, reunited with Asia and UK, and worked with District 97, but I’ve always appreciated him and his career trajectory.

Like so many, I was saddened by the news that Wetton was being treated for cancer and closely followed him online during his battle.  I so hoped he would be healthy enough to perform at the 2017 Cruise to the Edge…not because I was attending, but it seemed that it was serving as inspiration for him during his recovery, and I was crushed for him when he recently announced that he couldn’t attend.

I spent much of my day going back through various Asia, UK, Crimson and solo tracks, and will no doubt spend more time in the future simultaneously mourning John, sending thoughts to his family, friends and bandmates, and celebrating the man’s “extraordinary life.”