The Sons of Apollo charted well in all the associated Rock Charts but have no idea what that means in terms of sales?Originally Posted by Progatron
The Sons of Apollo charted well in all the associated Rock Charts but have no idea what that means in terms of sales?
Although I really enjoyed the SOA record, the general consensus was that it sounds rushed and, in fact, it was.
The Prog Corner
Outside of a few "independent reviewers," I haven't seen anything positive about it. And the way Sherinian and Portnoy have handled the marketing of it is rather off-putting.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
I find it interesting that he is playing the Duck Room in St. Louis. It's a cool, small venue (my band actually headlines there Friday 11/24), but it is not where you would expect to see such a well known artist. Will be interesting to see how well ticket sales go for him. It sells out with much lesser known artists.
I haven't followed their marketing of this. Any details you can share?
Just Google "Derek Sherinian Sons of Apollo Dream Theater." Nothing specific, just a lot of macho boasting, veiled insults, etc. The kind of stuff that I thought Portnoy was putting behind him.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Ahhhh, now I understand. Thanks for that. It seems to come & go in waves.
Interesting. I checked out Sons Of Apollo and the players are great but much like The Winery Dogs it just did nothing for me. Oh well, can't love all six hundred of the bands Mike is in.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I notice he doesn't list Transatlantic as one of his bands.Mike Portnoy: "This is absolutely mine and Derek's band. We essentially put it together and produced the album and he and I are kinda doing this as partners, with the understanding that I am the leader, to be honest. I don't want to sound brash, but it's the truth. When Derek approached me about doing this last year [he said] 'Let's finally do it and get a singer and turn it into a real band.' I was like 'Look, I already have FLYING COLORS, METAL ALLEGIANCE, THE NEAL MORSE BAND, THE WINERY DOGS. I can't handle another band where I have to get a thousand e-mails every morning from everybody making a decision.' So I said to him, 'If I do another band, it has to be the way I ran DREAM THEATER. It has to be the same dynamic. I have to have creative control. I have to be able to call the shots, make decisions on my own and everybody's got to trust me and my direction as a leader.' And Derek was like 'Absolutely. We'll be partners in terms of business and in terms of producing the album,' but beyond that, it's the way it was in DREAM THEATER where I'm [calling] the shots and I'm in control. I just had to have that to be able to move forward with this band. Everybody is cool with it and understands it and supports that."
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/mik...d9Wr1ITvOVQ.99
If I want someone to preach to me I’ll go to church.
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Everybody sings and writes about what they believe, whether it's Cosmic Unity, True Love, Saving the Whales, or Jesus Christ. If agreeing with songwriters about their beliefs was a prerequisite for enjoying their music, mine would be a stark, joyless existence. Throughout history, much of the best of Western music has been religiously inspired, after all.
I've watched a lot of SB/NMB/Transatlantic etc. videos, but only seen Morse live once, with Flying Colors at the Keswick, so I haven't experienced much in the way of Morse's religiosity, although I'm quite aware of it, of course. I like his songwriting and I like his singing, and Sellersville is among my favorite venues, so I expect to enjoy the show. He can even talk about Jesus without annoying me, as long as he does it in an entertaining way, which is his job.
Hope he brings this to Europe!
Ray Lomas
He probably just forgot about Transatlantic. But I think it's not a regular thing. That whole quote is pretty entertaining.
I'm wondering if Morse is at all modeling this tour on Steve Hogarth's "h Natural" shows, where he accepts yelled out requests, chats with the audience for long periods of time, etc. It's probably a good format for Morse. Roy Harper kind of used this, except maybe not the requests. But he'd talk as long as he wanted, and was damned entertaining.
I think Morse knows his audience by now, so if the bills this as a secular outing, he's not going to be preaching.
I'm kinda hoping for this.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
I thought CalProg was dead, but then I get this in an email ...
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Also, the Musical Box are rolling into So Cal next year. Nice!
Why would you think that??
Exactly. People who gripe about his Christianity are absurd. Music is an expression of whatever is inside the artist. Why would an artist not express what's on their heart? People get a free ride for singing about their latest private sexual encounter, but if they sing about God then they get shot down? Makes no sense.
I agree here, and speaking as someone who does not share the same views as Neal, his singing about God does not bother me in the slightest. My only issue over the last fifteen years has been that he sings about God a lot. I mean, I love the song Return Of The Giant Hogweed, but if Genesis wrote forty or fifty songs about the giant hogweed, well, let's just say I'd think "C'mon guys, I've heard this already".
I give him a pass on it due to his incredible knack for melodies and the way great music flows from him like water. Not to mention the multitude of songs he's penned that have brought me joy over the years. But if given the choice, I'd just like to hear some different themes in his music going forward. I thought The Similitude Of A Dream was a right step in that direction.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Under consideration.
First song from 'Life and Times' has been released: "He Died At Home"
I actually have no problem with Morse, but religion, by it's very nature is "I'm right, your wrong". Everyone likes Love, Peace, and Sexual Encounters, it doesn't make someone else wrong when writing about them. To say "You can only go to heaven if you believe what I believe and the rest of you will burn in hell" is kind of why people get a little pissed off when God makes an appearance in entertainment.
Neal always tells the story about his daughter Jayda who had heart issues as a child and was "healed" by God (I'm glad she's OK of course), what he fails to mention was on that day 29,000 children 5 and under died worldwide so it wasn't good news for everyone, was it?
That's why it was a miracle, Barry!
It's certainly possible to create music about religion that doesn't say "I'm right, you're wrong." Popol Vuh's "Hosiannah Mantra" comes to mind. Or Leonard Bernstein's "Mass." You can't judge it all by albums by a Born-Again Christian.
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