IZZ

[adap2it]

You have managed to keep things rolling pretty successfully (at least from an outsider's perspective), putting out amazing, complex and beautiful CDs and performing them live with an awe-inspiring tightness (while sounding loose and improvisatory)...you guys either rehearse your asses off, or you are just frighteningly good (or a mixture of the two).

It's hard for anyone besides the band members themselves (and their promotional teams) to know how much behind-the-scenes work goes into maintaining a band, booking/promoting/recording/rehearsing/touring etc. I feel you must have invested an incredible amount of time planning and booking a European tour, and I really admire you guys for going for it. I get the sense that you found it rewarding, and may have reached new fans in the process. That's something IZZ would like to do, but of course it involves time off from day jobs, a significant up-front investment with no guarantee of recouping costs, and all the work visas, venue negotiations, meal and lodging arrangements...the mind boggles. It's like planning a family vacation AND a business trip, times ten.

We'll have to chat at the May 19th DROM gig; I'd love to brainstorm a bit and learn about what 3RDegree does on the marketing side.

If someone told me in high school that being in a band was 75% business, 25% music, who knows what I'd be doing today!

Hey Brian, That May 19 gig needs to be up on your website. Doesn't help that it's on a Thursday (no weekend stuff for prog bands, what does that tell ya' )

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

Time for IZZ to come back to Progday, if you ask me.

[flatliner]

I have to chime in here, just to say that Everlasting Instant is one of my favorite releases of last year. (And I buy a lot of cd's). Starting with I Move, I own 6 Izz releases. And not only do I love their music, but also their recordings. It's so great to see groups that refuse to play the "loudness" wars in this day and age. So refreshing! I live in Atlanta, which used to be a great prog town for concerts. Wish that were true today! Only the classics seem to play here (looking forward to Steve Hackett again!). Wish more current groups would visit!

By the way, I also have both Mars Hollow releases....and Heliopolis, and both Advent releases. What a great time for progressive rock! Like I've said before: So much music, yet so little time!....... But I sure do enjoy it!

[infandous]

Brian, I ordered Everlasting Instant as soon as I heard about it (was there a pre-order? I can't remember). I was listening to it within a week of its release. It's a great album, like all of your albums. I actually think the first album of the trilogy is my favorite, and My River Flows is still my absolute favorite album by Izz. Again though, I think they are all pretty great.

I bought the first album about a year after it was released, on the advice of a good friend. I liked it okay, but wasn't blown away. I bought I Move around the time it was released, but for some reason didn't care for it. I didn't pay attention for a while, but in a year or so before The Darkened Room came out, I picked up My River Flows and was just completely blown away. I then re-listened to the first two albums and while my feeling about the debut didn't really change, I found I absolutely loved I Move. I bought Darkened Room on release and have done so with the following albums as well. I will buy whatever you guys release, as you have proven your talent and quality to me without doubt. I have seen you guys live only three times; Nearfest 2003 pre-show (which for some reason I didn't care for the performance all that much...possibly because Miriordor opened and just blew my mind, and I was pretty drunk by the time you guys came on), Nearfest 2007, and the last (still hoping not final) NJ Proghouse reunion weekend. Both of those last two performances were incredible and I will definitely see you guys again if I get the chance.

Kerry, Heliopolis is excellent and I can't wait to hear the next album.......you've really got me exited for it now!

As to the rest of the discussion, it's very interesting and as something of a musician myself I totally understand Kerry's feelings. I haven't released anything and haven't been in a band for several years, but I just don't feel like I want to add my stuff to the huge masses of music that are our there right now. I doubt it's of the quality of the bands we've talked about here anyway, but it gives me great pleasure to write and record it and play it for close friends, so I'm happy with that. Maybe if I was 20 years younger I might make more of an effort to get it out there and get something going, but now the market just seems so saturated and the rewards for doing this kind of music seem rather small, especially for a newcomer.

But the rest of you guys keep doing what you are doing and I'll keep buying and coming to shows!

[angelo]

What in the hell? Why didn't anyone tell me that IZZ came out with a new album in 2015? Come on, people.

lol, why weren't you paying attention? It's a great album, so you'd better get it (if you haven't already by now).

[angelo]

You aren't the only one. I think the release of this CD flew under the radar somehow, but I'm not sure why. We did the same things we have done in the past re. online promotion. I think the lack of supporting live gigs was partly to blame, but a lot of the festivals and concert series are going away. We also had a few cancelled shows last year.

We have some live appearances coming up, and we'll play some of the Everlasting Instant material at those shows. Paul Bremner also has a CD coming out this year, so we'll play some of his tracks at those shows.

Thanks for the kudos, folks. I'll confess to feeling a bit down that this CD was met with a "deafening silence," so to speak , as I am very proud of it. It's probably a bit more delicate and less sonically-dense than Crush of Night. I think of it as our Wind and Wuthering, with a bit of a fusion-y quality thrown in for good measure. I am hopeful that it will find its fans over time, and if not, so be it.

It did get airplay on a number of internet stations (including House of Prog, and my home station ISKC Rock Radio), so it wasn't completely under the radar.

[wilcox660]

Boundless love for IZZ.

[Neptune]

lol, why weren't you paying attention?

An interesting question. In all honesty, I relied a lot on Progression magazine to inform me of new bands or new albums from existing bands, but I recently decided to let my re-subscription pass (a decision I might have to reverse; I miss it). By no means a substitute for the magazine, I have an RSS feed to the DPRP news blog, but either they missed the IZZ release or somehow I missed their ...

Yep, I missed it. http://www.dprp.net/wp/?p=11305

I have no excuse. I would have to have seen that post come through, so the only explanation is that I saw it and got distracted from adding it to my buy list. Ugh.

It's a great album, so you'd better get it (if you haven't already by now).

Believe me, it is now solidly in my queue to purchase- along with the Heliopolis album and Mitchell's Lonely Robot!

I swear, I am getting too old and too busy with life's rat race; I knew about Heliopolis from way back and actually thought I HAD bought that album! I went looking it for it a while back and ... nope. What the hell? I'm the only one to blame. Forgive me, Kerry!

[Neptune]

Additionally- this thread has done me good, as it led me to the "discovery" of 3RDegree - which is another completely amazing thing to me. How can a band that good and that have been around for that long, completely escaped this progressive nut's radar? It makes no sense!

I'm very much liking what I'm hearing off their Bandcamp page though, so most likely they'll be in the purchase queue too.

The important point is that it makes me wonder what else I'm missing and how I can remedy it. My first thought is a Progression re-subscription.

Thoughts?

[3RDegree_Robert]

It takes various ways to find new music and I know Izz's Brian won't mind you found 3RDegree here. Lord knows I mention Izz in my various evangelizing about awesome American Prog when asked!


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[izz_brian]

It takes various ways to find new music and I know Izz's Brian won't mind you found 3RDegree here. Lord knows I mention Izz in my various evangelizing about awesome American Prog when asked!

Of course IZZ doesn't mind! Anything to get the word out about great bands. This is what has to happen: we all need to be very vocal about the talented bands and great new releases in our scene. No matter how hard someone works to promote himself / herself (or their band), there are always going to be interested parties who miss the announcements. It's just not possible to reach everyone, so any help is a good thing.

[3RDegree_Robert]

And it sure as hell don't hurt when we team up and play shows together....unless our open-minded musical friends only catch one band's set. That's totally missing the point. I find for the large part when 3RDegree puts together it's occasional "Prog Nights" (for lack of a better description) in NYC teaming up with other bands, that most attendees stay for the majority of the bands that are on the bill.

[JKL2000]

I have a hard time fathoming why IZZ aren't talked about more here (maybe I am just not seeing it?) and elsewhere, or at least considered, discussed or promoted on a level with the very best of melodic-progrock bands out there today. They are spectacular songwriters, musicians, recording and performing artists with a standard of excellence I find hard to criticize, yet this amazing band continues to fly under the radar, much to my astonishment.

It's kind of like Advent to me; their new album is jaw-dropping but I am not seeing it talked about all that much (again, maybe I am missing things?) when I was certainly expecting to be hearing more about it (and yes, I've seen the PE thread).

It makes one realize that quality is not at issue here, so what is the issue?

Probably too many goddamned bands (my own included).

Speaking for myself, but probably some others too, there's a bit of a delay in interest resulting in sales. I purchased a download of the latest Advent when it was released, hadn't listened to it much, then heard a track on a show on House of Prog a few days ago. So now both Advent and IZZ are on my "investigate further" list.

It can take a few years for each album to pay dividends is what I'm saying. I'm sure it's a long wait though.