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Thread: Progressive Rock At Work

  1. #1

    Progressive Rock At Work

    This pizza place I'm at now plays Italian music on a mp3 player to the outside. While smoking I hear some odd stuff as what's in there is all over the place - Italian punk, dance, whatever. Then this tune, which intrigued me. The vocal line went in places I didn't expect and was sort of catchy. It's not just a prog band, I'd go out on a small limb and say they are pretty unknown. Funny, I do think someone tried to turn me on to this band years ago and it didn't stick.



    I don't expect to go to work and hear anything remotely interesting. Now I have to listen and find out who the Italian Meatloaf, or more precisely, the Italian Jim Steinman is. Song sounds so much like his style.

    Sometimes I find music in the oddest of places. Anyway, I think I'll go check out a live version of that tune and see what the band looks like. Cheers!

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by TheLoony View Post
    It's not just a prog band, I'd go out on a small limb and say they are pretty unknown.
    Please don't fall off that limb, but actually New Trolls were a seminal rock band in Italy during the 70s, at times equalling PFM in sales and mostly outdoing acts like Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Le Orme in that department. Even today they enjoy a huge audience down there.

    Progressive was such a big deal in Italy during the first half of the 70s that many listeners would singlehandedly define rock/pop at large on those standards; even straight-ahead pop groups like I Pooh and I Nomadi (the best selling Italian artist) as well as singer-songwriters such as Angelo Branduardi, Lucio Battisti, Fabrizio de Andre and Claudio Rocchi were crucially influenced by the progressive rock movement.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  3. #3
    No no, you misunderstand. I meant here in Vegas, where Prog is unknown for the most part. Finding prog anywhere here is a tough chore, no concerts for the most part and the people here, well, this town ain't known for good music. Hell, it ain't even known for music even though it's billed as the Entertainment Capitol of the World or some crap like that.

    I figured that might happen as I worded that badly but really, how popular are/were they in the States? So my statement was half true, then? Anyway, that's nitpicking and I'm not trying to start a argument. It comes down to the only prog I hear around here, at all, is the stuff I play. Call Las Vegas a prog wasteland if you like, it's fitting.

    I just thought it was funny the one band played there that I singled out is a prog band. I know nothing of Italian music so how could I have known?

  4. #4
    Member BobM's Avatar
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    Ha ha - a Las Vegas prog band - definitely should be called "Scoo Be Doo Be Doo"
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  5. #5
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    New Trolls were/are one of the most important bands in Italy. But for most people outside of Italy, their discography doesn't really live up to that status, so it's a bit of a shock to see how revered they are in Italy, while bands of obvious proggy superiority like Museo Rosenbach or Maxophone or QVL are almost as unknown to general audiences as they are anywhere on the planet. I think the New Trolls benefited from getting an early start, "going prog" before most other bands, having quite a few charismatic members (guitarist/singer Nico di Palo, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Gianni Belleno) and probably some favorable distribution deals. Although some might say the squabbles between leader Vittorio de Scalzi and the others hurt them, I sort of suspect it helped, since I believe those feuds, lineup changes, and subsequent reunions generated a lot of press attention.

    I guess it's not too surprising some of their music would be played in an Italian restaurant in the US, but I would have been shocked to recognize it too.

    Anyway, their proggiest albums are probably UT and Atomic System.

  6. #6
    Member bill g's Avatar
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    Chase bank regularly plays a band called 'Life on Earth' a prog/psych band from Sweden that is a project of the bass player from the band 'Dungen'. A couple other odd things that I don't know are also played, not to mention Yes (Your Move).

    Applebee's restaurant plays 'The Lamb' on occasion.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by dnieper View Post
    New Trolls were/are one of the most important bands in Italy. But for most people outside of Italy, their discography doesn't really live up to that status, so it's a bit of a shock to see how revered they are in Italy, while bands of obvious proggy superiority like Museo Rosenbach or Maxophone or QVL are almost as unknown to general audiences as they are anywhere on the planet. I think the New Trolls benefited from getting an early start, "going prog" before most other bands, having quite a few charismatic members (guitarist/singer Nico di Palo, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Gianni Belleno) and probably some favorable distribution deals.
    All true, Dan. And the same goes for bands such as Nuova Idea, The Trip and Formula 3; they were all "early" in doing their thing - and coincidentally all had one particularly good album to their credit (you know which, of course ).

    I was never really big on New Trolls, except for the two titles you mention and the first Ibis release (although it gets a bit cheesy in places and doesn't really fit the RPI concept any more than NT did). And I never liked the Uno or the s/t Il Volo records that much either.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  8. #8
    Smoking is bad for you.
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  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by TheLoony View Post
    No no, you misunderstand. I meant here in Vegas, where Prog is unknown for the most part. Finding prog anywhere here is a tough chore, no concerts for the most part and the people here, well, this town ain't known for good music. [...] It comes down to the only prog I hear around here, at all, is the stuff I play. Call Las Vegas a prog wasteland if you like, it's fitting.
    What that town needs is its own prog festival!

    Not even a Clayderman/Wakeman apes-in-capes duet in some swinghall...
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  10. #10
    Maybe with the new Rock In Rio going up on the strip we can get a prog fest here. I don't know if we could get any people there. Which is probably the reason, and for good reason, that prog bands don't play here. If a gig happens and no one is there to hear it, then what good is it?

    I've been checking the local mags as of the last couple years. Yes is the only prog band that I've seen play here recently. Rush plays here most tours and DT every once in a while. Other than that, in the last two, maybe three years the only other prog bands I've known to play here have been Opeth/Mastodon and Big Elf at a cheesy Doom Fest, held at the Cheyenne Saloon, a real winner of a place. Oh, there's Asia also but I don't consider them prog.

    I didn't know Peter Gabriel had been in Genesis, and what kind of band they were when they started, until I left here and moved to Arizona. I saw Spock's Beard in 2000 open for DT. I had never heard of them and ignored them(I was drinking back then and didn't care about the opening act). They turned out to be a favorite of mine but I had never heard them, never heard of them and wasted a good show because of that. The one chance I'll ever have to see them and I wasted it. Figures. But the point is I've seen so many opening acts that sucked, bands thrown in that don't fit together and this band had a weird name so how was I supposed to know they were decent? I wasn't online back then and didn't even know the term progressive rock, that's how screwy it is in this town. I got lucky to have interest in music that's a little(or more) interesting than the crap pushed on the radio but it wasn't until I got online that I actually started to find bands that were the types of bands I wanted to hear.

    Half the time good bands do play here it's at the no good lousy House Of Blues. Which sounds marginally better than a transistor radio. KD is playing there and I don't know if I'd go if I had the money because it's the HOB. I'm no audiophile but that place sucks badly for sound. There's not even a outdoor place, it's all concrete buildings and basketball arenas. There was a good place - The Joint at the Hard Rock - but it's been rebuilt and I haven't been in there since to hear it.

    So yeah, I was shocked as hell to find out one of the tunes at work, in this crappy town, was from a prog band. I'll check into how that ended up in there but my bosses are idiots and probably wouldn't know.

    Sorry for the bitch fest. That wasn't my intention but if you lived here you would probably say much the same as me. This thread wasn't supposed to be about Las Vegas but what the hell, threads can take on lives of their own and I started it so it's my fault. Most of you live in areas NOT like here unless you live in the sticks and have to travel hours to see a show. Lucky buggers. I'll most likely never get to go to a prog fest ever. I see people on here trying to figure out which of multiple fests to go see and I've never been to one so I fart in your general direction while blowing raspberries.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Stickleback View Post
    Smoking is bad for you.
    So is living. A soon as you're born you're dying.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by TheLoony View Post
    So is living. A soon as you're born you're dying.
    During the early 90s, there was an African immigrant teen here in Norway by the name of Besigye who issued a quite heralded Collection of short prose and poetry called Death occurs so slowly that you think you're alive.

    Thx for the Las Vegas rant; I actually found it a most rewarding read! I wish more threads in here would contain that level of personal narrative and information - as opposed to lists of which "big six prog" musicians wore the finest argile socks.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  13. #13
    Death occurs so slowly that you think you're alive. Yeah, I like that. It's better than what I wrote.

    That Las Vegas angle wasn't my main concern with this thread but glad you liked it. Anyway, it's mostly the nature of this town and damned if I can't figure out the word I'm thinking of - it's almost a city of contradictions. Founded by Mormons, who don't even drink coffee(so how's THAT for sinning!) yet it's nicknamed Sin City. Still a large Mormon population here, yet it's Sin City.

    Anachronistic, is that the word? No? Hmmm, where's my dictionary.........

    Or you could say it's a town founded on bullshit, as it's founded by Mormons, still has a sizable Mormon population yet they make loads of money off of the casinos and others who "sin". Kind of sends mixed messages. This town has little sense of community unless it's a religious community and that leads to a fractured community as one side says "Repent!" and the other is saying "Dude, let's go get hammered and pick up some strippers!"

    People come here for a million reasons and leave here for a million reasons. It's a very transient town so that doesn't help in getting gigs from bands that already don't draw that well, for the most, part in America. Heck, my library card has to be reinstated every year. Bands have traditionally skipped this town as it's hard to draw here so why would they start now? There is as lot to do here, most of which I, personally, couldn't care less about but it's what it is. Cirque Du Soleil in every casino, Penn & Teller, Jabbawockeez, whatever, every night.

    So who here in Vegas wants to go see, say, King Crimson? I'm betting it's not many so it makes sense that prog has never made a big foothold here. In other words, I live in the wrong city. That's my fault and my problem.

    If I were a billionaire, I'd have the biggest prog fest ever here. Use every venue available, and there's plenty. Pay everyone and everyone who's anybody in the scene to be here, reform if necessary. Hell, just because I'm ignorant of Italian prog, I'd give them a couple of days in a good venue alone. Have it go for a week or so all over town. Use Rock In Rio for the big groups(outdoors, none of this basketball arena crap), The Joint, HOB, Huntridge and Brooklyn Bowl for the mid to smaller size acts and anything else around town I could find to fill the cracks.

    There's plenty of hotel rooms, so who's down? I've got the slush fund started with $8 donation( all I have). Tell me you guys would not want to come here for a fest like that. It would be the prog blowout of all prog blowouts. At least when I dream, I have big dreams.

    Now, we just have to define "prog" so we can figure out who to invite. Simple, right?

  14. #14
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    From my own experience, Yes doesn't go over well in the work place. One exception, Your Move got a nice remark. South Side of the Sky, on the other hand...

  15. #15
    My fave workplace-prog would definitely be:





    And while the other employees are out seeking shelter, I get lucky with the cleaning lady.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  16. #16
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheLoony View Post
    I saw Spock's Beard in 2000 open for DT. I had never heard of them and ignored them(I was drinking back then and didn't care about the opening act). They turned out to be a favorite of mine but I had never heard them, never heard of them and wasted a good show because of that.
    I did the same thing when I saw Marillion open for Rush (two nights in a row at Radio City Music Hall), and they ended up being pretty much my favorite band. Sigh.

  17. #17
    Yep, that's a pisser. Of course it's not like missing a band that comes around all the time. Rush/Marillion sounds like a good show, wish I had seen that one.

  18. #18
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    And while the other employees are out seeking shelter, I get lucky with the cleaning lady.
    But she's deaf and half blind!

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    But she's deaf and half blind!
    Actually she's a bonafide moron working without a green card.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

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