You've Won the Billion Dollar Powerball - Now You Can Buy Your Own Prog Supergroup!

[lwpmedia]

What's your line-up and why?

[Koreabruce]

Just use the money to find a Mega Prog Festival that runs like Cirque du Soleil with all the groups that you can get to go along with it and for as long as they want or are able to do it. Money obviously won't be the problem; you could even make it a free show (or ask attendees to donate to a cause like, say, cancer research). The bands of course would be generously paid, the shows all filmed with many cameras, the stages could be as elaborate as you can imagine, the locales could be anywhere & everywhere you want...

It's great to dream, isn't it?

[No Pride]

What's your line-up and why?

If it's MY own group, I'm going to be the guitar player, of course. It'd be more like a fusion supergroup (though I don't know how much "super" I'll bring to it).

Alan Pasqua - keyboards
Simon Phillips - drums
Gary Willis - bass
Chris Potter - tenor sax

[lwpmedia]

I've wanted to see Portnoy, Keaggy, Levin and Neal Morse for some time...

I'd put that band together

[notallwhowander]

I'd just back some of my favorite current European bands to tour America.

[moecurlythanu]

No supergroup for me. But I might contact Greg Walker and see how much of the Farfest planning and infrastructure could be reconstituted for a one off concert. I'd underwrite the whole thing, so profitability wouldn't be a consideration.

[Baribrotzer]

At the risk of being thought too serious:

I'd start a foundation devoted to providing music education in the public schools - hiring full-time teachers, buying instruments, and starting programs. I'd also encourage further philanthropy from the Big Boys in the music industry, so I wasn't the only one contributing. Every schoolkid would get a music appreciation class, and the ones who wanted to play would get lessons and loaner instruments. There'd be theory and history courses offered, with plenty of attention paid to straight-up, old-school classical music and to more modern classical music, as well as to jazz and rock and pop, and to showing how it all ties together. Another branch of the foundation would give grants to interesting and deserving artists, including financing for rehearsals and performances, and budgets for recording and releasing what they produced.

Then I'd wait twenty years.

And when I died, I'd be listening to the radio and smiling.

[Rarebird]

Just hiring all musicians needed to play my music.

[at least 100 dead]

Bob Drake – vox, gtr, bass, drums, keys, spontaneously combusting trumpets, meerkat hyperbass, Stalinorgel.

[Poisoned Youth]

No supergroup for me. But I might contact Greg Walker and see how much of the Farfest planning and infrastructure could be reconstituted for a one off concert. I'd underwrite the whole thing, so profitability wouldn't be a consideration.

I like it.

[The Dark Elf]

Unfortunately, winning a billion ain't gonna reanimate dead musicians.

[Poisoned Youth]

Unfortunately, winning a billion ain't gonna reanimate dead musicians.

But if you pay me the money, I promise I'll research it.

[winkersnufs]

Happy Sunday from a windy and rainy Vermont!

Interesting...this thread. I just had to chime in on this one, although, from a wee bit different angle :

I have given a fair amount of thought as to what I would like to have done with my music collection when my gig is up. It came to me that we have quite a few places where music fans can go to enjoy whatever aspects of music that individual may be in to. R&RHOF, Graceland, festivals, la la la.... How about -

An LP/CD/DVD library of our beloved music and fringes.... with the possibility of checking the music(s) out, in some way, and expose others to the breadth of 'interesting' music that has been in our world! I really think that I might put some more thought into that possibility. Posters, T-shirts, programs, mugs and the like also?

Worthy of some conversation?

And Mr. Baribrotzer (John)... THAT is certainly a worthwhile possibility and I commend you on the 'bigger picture needed' ! Thank You

Carry On Folks
Chris Buckley

[Scrotum Scissor]

Neal Morse, Ed Morse, Fred Morse, Ted Morse, Ned Morse and Yoko Ono.

[Poisoned Youth]

Neal Morse, Ed Morse, Fred Morse, Ted Morse, Ned Morse and Yoko Ono.

Call it Remorseful.

[chalkpie]

Bob Drake – vox, gtr, bass, drums, keys, spontaneously combusting trumpets, meerkat hyperbass, Stalinorgel.

[chalkpie]

Earl Scruggs - mellotron
Scrotum Scissor - Eb clarinet
Tommy Lee - Congas
Diles Mavis - Corndog

[alanterrill]

Well I'd hire Glynebourne Opera House and put on a full performance of Peter Hammill's 'Fall of the House of Usher' using any musicians who would enjoy doing it.

[moecurlythanu]

Well I'd hire Glynebourne Opera House and put on a full performance of Peter Hammill's 'Fall of the House of Usher' using any musicians who would enjoy doing it.

Does the Opera House collapse at the end?

[Plasmatopia]

I'm not sure I'd have much interest in tinkering with the relationships between various musicians. It seems better if these things develop organically.

But I would definitely want to put on a big prog festival of some kind. Probably a weekend long free event with camping and such in some insanely beautiful surroundings. Maybe that would be enough to pull in some people who normally wouldn't be exposed to the "genre". And when I put that in quotes, well...I'd want this event to showcase some pretty radical extremes of what "prog rock" can mean.

Edit: But Baribrotzer's idea is a great one!

[KGHofSF]

Call it Remorseful.

Given the amount of Moolah on offer what I would want to do is try and organize a series of 2 days festivals focused on Space / Psych / Prog, / Rock in Opposition / Chamber Rock type bands and "Interesting" Jazz (think JOHN ZORN / Troyka / Nik Bartsch) and anybody in the orbit per year for Five Years. Each Festival would have an overiding theme and efforts would be made to pair bands I Like, with bands with bigger followings in the uS. For instance a Space / Psych festival would would work overtime to bring the European bands (Zone Six, Sula Bassana, My Sleeping Karma, Color haze, Sonar, Future Kings etc) and pair them up with band with followings in the US (Trail of Dead, Black Angels, Astra, Flaming Lips, Umphree's McGee etc). The RIO / avant / Jazz festivals - well I'd be open to suggestions as what sort of headliners might help bring in the masses. The concept would be do it for 5 years varying the locales from East Coast / West Coast / the forgotten middle. The point would be to try and introduce as many people as possible in the US to music with nothing in common with the current pop. All the bands would get super generous per-diems and travel expenses, Visa assistance, blah blah etc and would split the gate (before expenses) with moi. No risk to them, a chance for a significant upside too. I'd end up 20 - 30 million poorer (a guestimate) but I'd feel REALLY good about it.

Just Sayin
KGH

After all were talkin about REALLY BIG NUMBERS with this thing,

regards
KGH

[Supersonic Scientist]

At the risk of being thought too serious:

I'd start a foundation devoted to providing music education in the public schools - hiring full-time teachers, buying instruments, and starting programs. I'd also encourage further philanthropy from the Big Boys in the music industry, so I wasn't the only one contributing. Every schoolkid would get a music appreciation class, and the ones who wanted to play would get lessons and loaner instruments. There'd be theory and history courses offered, with plenty of attention paid to straight-up, old-school classical music and to more modern classical music, as well as to jazz and rock and pop, and to showing how it all ties together. Another branch of the foundation would give grants to interesting and deserving artists, including financing for rehearsals and performances, and budgets for recording and releasing what they produced.


Then I'd wait twenty years.

And when I died, I'd be listening to the radio and smiling.

Yeah. This...the best future-forward investment you could make....bringing a robust music education to our youth.

[DefinitiveGazer]

How about this:

Vox: David Bowie (appropriately)
Guitar: Robert Fripp
Keyboards: Bill Currie
Bass: Barry Adamson
Percussive: William Scott Bruford

[aith01]

If it's MY own group, I'm going to be the guitar player, of course. It'd be more like a fusion supergroup (though I don't know how much "super" I'll bring to it).

Alan Pasqua - keyboards
Simon Phillips - drums
Gary Willis - bass
Chris Potter - tenor sax

I'd go see that.

Earl Scruggs - mellotron
Scrotum Scissor - Eb clarinet
Tommy Lee - Congas
Diles Mavis - Corndog

I'd go see that too.

[Progbear]

I’d buy a mess of vintage analog equipment, build a studio and hold auditions. Any mention of N**l M*rs* or St*v*n W*ls*n would get people shown the door.