Weren't they supposed to appear at one of the US festivals? Did that happen?
If so, who exactly was in the band? I know the Beardfish dude was supposedly the main driver.
Weren't they supposed to appear at one of the US festivals? Did that happen?
If so, who exactly was in the band? I know the Beardfish dude was supposedly the main driver.
They were at ROSfest last year. No connection to Beardfish at all. I don't remember all the details, but I think most, if not all of the band had a connection to Berkley Music School. Personally I love the album and really enjoyed their performance as well.Originally Posted by JKL2000
Yes, one of the surprise highlights of the fest for me last year. Fantastic performance.
Scott
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Last edited by srtd4; 03-30-2015 at 12:35 AM.
I thought people were expecting them to be made up of known people from other bands. I guess that was just a rumor.
The front man is a session/studio musician in NY.
Another guy wrote all of the music, front man decided that it needed to be heard.
He recruited a band from current Berklee students.
'Kids' from all over the place. The lead guitar player,Alek Darson, a shredder from Croatia, drummer from ?Switzerland or Holland, at least one Canadian
They played at Rosfest.
They were active on Facebook for a while and popped up on the Rosfest FB group every once in a while.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
The original album was put together with a bunch of excellent studio musicians by Josh Kirsch. Josh wrote all of it and hired studio musicians to perform it on the album. When they were selected for RoSfest, the problem became that the studio musicians were unwilling to put the time and effort to do what was necessary to bring that intense music to life live....as well as the outrageous amount of money that would have had to be paid for their time. Josh got Lloyd Landesman involved and together, they recruited many of the best and brightest from Berklee....but the guys were from all over the world originally. This was a "band" that had never gigged, but the music really needed to be heard, so George took a big risk by signing them with the confidence that somehow, some way, Josh would make this happen....and he did. In Spades. The result will be heard soon via a live CD/DVD that was recorded at RoSfest. There is also the chance that Fright Pig may play again. Stay tuned. The pig is loose!
-Marty
Great news about a CD/DVD release! I loved their RoSfest show. It was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend. I will also be picking up the new album when it is available. Is the guitar player that played at RoSfsest on the new album? He was a monster and quite melodic when needed.The original album was put together with a bunch of excellent studio musicians by Josh Kirsch. Josh wrote all of it and hired studio musicians to perform it on the album. When they were selected for RoSfest, the problem became that the studio musicians were unwilling to put the time and effort to do what was necessary to bring that intense music to life live....as well as the outrageous amount of money that would have had to be paid for their time. Josh got Lloyd Landesman involved and together, they recruited many of the best and brightest from Berklee....but the guys were from all over the world originally. This was a "band" that had never gigged, but the music really needed to be heard, so George took a big risk by signing them with the confidence that somehow, some way, Josh would make this happen....and he did. In Spades. The result will be heard soon via a live CD/DVD that was recorded at RoSfest. There is also the chance that Fright Pig may play again. Stay tuned. The pig is loose!
-Marty
The CD/DVD coming out .....eventually as I don't think there is a definitive timeframe for it yet....will be the show recorded at RoSfest.
Alek Darson was the guitarist who played with Fright Pig at RoSfest and he has a damn good solo album out right now called Panopticon....available everywhere.
Lloyd Landesman has a band called Meridian Voice!
Yea, before the performance there were a lot of rumors as to just who these guys were, since there was no real information on the album or on their youtube stuff. One of the rumors was that it was a Beardfish side project, but that turned out not to be the case.
Also, someone, and I thought it was someone from the band or someone who knew them but I could be wrong, was hinting that there was some surprise in store as to who was in the band, on PE.
By request of Fright Pig, it's true that everything was kept very close to the vest.....but it really worked out very well, so who could blame them? I was kinda honored to be involved in all of the shenanigans. It really was a lot of fun. Truthfully....even WE didn't know what to expect. The only thing we were pretty sure of was that they were really going to tear the roof off of The Majestic.....and they certainly did that. I'm anxiously awaiting the DVD as well!!
Why though? To me that aspect of things seems like it might have been a disappointment, no matter how good the music or performance.
Actually....that aspect of it...the secrecy....kept people very curious and dialed-in to what was happening. On the other hand, there was a tremendous amount of humor and fun going on in the months leading up to RoSfest as there were a plethora of crazy pig references and tomfoolery going on at all times....with a barnyard theme. I will see if I can get Josh to come here to the forum to comment!
I was thinking of this band again recently; very odd that two of the big prog-hit albums of 2013 (this one and The Tale of the Golden King by the Psychedelic Ensemble) should come from anonymous projects. But it looks like this one’s not so anonymous anymore. And I fear I may have been the source of the Beardfish rumour. I remarked on the singer’s similarity to Rikard, it was pure speculation on my part. But it looks like it snowballed! In future, I’ll be more careful with my amateur hypotheses.
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
Yes...I can assure everyone that I have nothing to do with Beardfish. Sorry about the lack of a profile...I have just joined this forum.
OINK!!!!!!! Piggly Wiggly in the house...
Josh....maybe you can shed a little light on the Pig of Fright for these fine folks?
Never heard of Fright Pig prior to Rosfest, and now I can't stop listening. I sure hope there's going to be more where that came from.
Thanks, JG! I have been tossing some ideas around for the next album. But my approach is a bit different this time. I finally have access to a real piano, and I have found that writing is a much more fluid experience on the real deal. The piano I have been hammering away at is actually an old friend...it was in the main studio of the facility that I called home for over a decade. So now, my "muscle memory" is slowly seeping back and..well...I'm dancing with some unexpected approaches right now. Which is kinda what I was shooting for with Fright Pig all along. Reverence for the parameters of Prog, but twisting it up into something that still payed hommage but had a modern twist and excitement unto itself.
You have been instantly accorded "auto-buy" status in my book. Every time I listen to Barnyard I hear something new. Sounds like the same thing will happen with the next project. 'Scuse me while I wipe the drool off my lip.
Wow...thanks again, JG! So.....I'm Josh...the composer and creator of Fright Pig. It's true....I went through a pretty exhaustive list of NYC studio musicians when tracking the album. RoSFest was a different animal though. I needed guys who could read music fluently and were monsters at their respective axes. That's a much different requirement then tapping into the studio musician set. I have huge respect for Berklee...these guys have fantastic chops, an advanced skill set in regards to music performance and foundations, AND a great attitude. Just think of how many killer Prog guys have come from the school! So...it all came together with the help of Lloyd Landesman. Lloyd is an outrageous talent and gifted composer here in NYC. An engineer friend of mine, Kevin Halpin, hooked us up. Kevin engineered and mixed a couple of Phish and Lenny Kravitz albums so he knows a ton of composers and musicians. Lloyd had been playing live for many decades and really knew what needed to be done to make Fright Pig a living entity. And so...it all sprang to life in time for RoSFest! Oink!
Last edited by Fright Pig; 03-28-2015 at 07:32 AM.
Yeah, the band really has chops. Pork Chops!
Thanks, JKL. When I was writing the album....I swore myself off of listening to Prog...'cause I didn't want to have anything influencing my directions. After I released it, I started listening again...and....WOW! There are so many interesting approaches to Prog these days. I really like the Ayeron approach of using Prog figureheads to perform his music. I enjoy the operetta and carnival interludes of Haken...really adds peaks and valleys of excitement to the music. Henry Cow is a blast! I hadn't even heard Symphony X and Glass Hammer until recently...brilliant stuff! Man...I'm such a newbie!
I smell bacon frying.....
They really ham it up on stage
Wow...thanks again, JG! So.....I'm Josh...the composer and creator of Fright Pig. It's true....I went through a pretty exhaustive list of NYC studio musicians when tracking the album. RoSFest was a different animal though. I needed guys who could read music fluently and were monsters at their respective axes. That's a much different requirement then tapping into the studio musician set. I have huge respect for Berklee...these guys have fantastic chops, an advanced skill set in regards to music performance and foundations, AND a great attitude. Just think of how many killer Prog guys have come from the school! So...it all came together with the help of Lloyd Landesman. Lloyd is an outrageous talent and gifted composer here in NYC. An engineer friend of mine, Kevin Halpin, hooked us up. Kevin engineered and mixed a couple of Phish and Lenny Kravitz albums so he knows a ton of composers and musicians. Lloyd had been playing live for many decades and really knew what needed to be done to make Fright Pig a living entity. And so...it all sprang to life in time for RoSFest! Oink!
Thanks Josh, it's a pleasure. I hope you'll keep us informed as future Pig projects develop. I love to know how such things develop from an idea to actuality, especially when the end product just blows me away like this one.
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