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Thread: Heliopolis -- Los Angeles Progressive Rock Band

  1. #101
    Member AncientChord's Avatar
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    KerryKompost: also had a blast playing with the most excellent Phideaux for his song, "Tempest of Mutiny" (video here).

    Very cool videos of both Phideaux and Heliopolis Kerry! Thanks to Stephane Peter who did the filming right next to where I was sitting. So the video view is very close to the one I witnessed. Wow! A nice archival memory! Thanks again and looking forward to the Heliopolis CD.
    Day dawns dark...it now numbers infinity.

  2. #102
    According to DPRP, "The debut album “City of the Sun” ... is scheduled for release in early 2014."
    Anyone want to confirm this?

  3. #103
    Jefferson James
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    Jon, that is indeed the plan. Wrapping vocals up over the next few weeks and we're off to the races.

  4. #104
    The ONLY record that is guaranteed a spotlight on Greg Jones' Buried Treasure feature on the weekly Jawdy's Basement podcast (number 6 Rock podcast at iTunes! WhooHoo!) before it even comes out....

  5. #105
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KerryKompost View Post
    rapping vocals up over the next few weeks.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  6. #106
    Looking forward to this one.
    "Young man says you are what you eat, eat well."
    http://www.blissbomb.net/

  7. #107
    Jefferson James
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Bails View Post
    rapping
    I got really, really emotionally moved by a "rap" song yesterday; I'd heard about this song for years and years but never thought it would be something I would be interested in hearing -- I'm not real big on violence, especially men against women -- but this thing had me in tears. I couldn't stop thinking about it, the raw emotion, the conflict, the sense of losing it and turning into a horrible monster, goaded along no doubt by drugs, alcohol and infidelity. The pure rage, the anger, saying "fuck it, you're going to hear what I have to say so shut up and listen"; I'm not real proud to say this but the song touched a nerve in me, a dark place I don't usually allow myself to go. It brought forth feelings of abandonment, awakening that little kid inside of me and scaring the shit out of him.

    I thought, "You know what? This is art. This is the reason art exists -- nothing more than pure emotional expression, unfettered and honest and a little bit scary, created for it's own sake because some things just need to be said."

    I've always disregarded this particular artist, one of the most successful rappers in the business, and an anomaly at that. In the dark corners of that song, I connected with the dude, felt his pain and confusion and rage and remorse. I fucking cried, and I still cry thinking about it. I love it when that connection happens, even if it's a commentary on the frailties and failures of being a human being (you know I much prefer the sunshine and laughter and the clouds parting and everything is going to be fine).

    The artist?

    Fucking Eminem.

    The song?

    "Kim"

    I never wanted to hear the track because I thought, "The last thing I need to hear is some street punk boastfully rapping about killing his wife 'cause she cheated on him." Well, yeah, he kills her in the song but that's a foregone conclusion; it's about so, so much more than that.

    Let me put it this way -- this song has given me a new perception about self-expression and made me ask, "Just how far am I willing to go to expose myself."

    I've gotta hand it to the dude, this is some seriously heavy, heavy shit.

    Now -- back to "Pet Sounds".

  8. #108
    Member Boceephus's Avatar
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    Any updates?

  9. #109
    Jefferson James
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    Thread Alive!

    The thread lives! What a surprise, I thought I killed it with my Eminem post.

    Dan, thanks for axing.

    After a blast of a show up in San Mateo this past November -- Nor Cal Prog II -- I told the guys, "Guys, I'm taking the next six weeks off, let's chill and revitalize ourselves come January '14." Here's a pic courtesy of prog-rock fan and spectacular photographer Esa Ahola:

    HeliopolisNorCalProgEsaAholaPhotography.jpg

    I'd recently moved to a fantastic spread up in the foothills on the outskirts of Los Angeles and needed time to get things together at the new place. As of now, things are, frankly, kicking ass here, we love it. Wanna see some pics?

    Chickenhead.jpg140124_0010.jpg140124_0003.jpghomestead.jpg

    Apparently, I'm now a chicken farmer.

    So, yeah, 2013 was full of challenges; if Heliopolis were a super-carrier we'd be called the USS Fraughtwith Peril. To begin with, we played six gigs last year so that right there took up a good chunk of our time; then our vocalist Scott lost his beloved father, then our guitarist Mike lost his beloved mother, and finally our keyboardist Matt learned he's due for some pretty major surgery next month.

    We started recording our debut album, "City of the Sun", Memorial Day weekend 2013; between our various and sundry personal crises and gigs we managed to wrap up guitar and keyboard overdubs by late fall (drums and bass were finished on the first day -- oh, hells ya!). We recorded vocals for one song in November, then we slowed down a bit over the holidays and reconvened last week to finish off the singing. Last Sunday was incredible -- we nailed a bunch of vocal stuff and I've gotta say I am exceptionally happy with the way it's all coming together.

    This weekend is a second, hopefully final, vocal session; in yet another setback, Matt's got the flu this week -- and surgery to follow shortly thereafter -- so he is officially finished with his contributions to the album unless we delay this endeavor another 3-4 months (which, believe me, I do NOT want to see happen). Four of us sing so we've got a good bench to fall back on, and, while I am bummed Matt's not going to be able to record his harmony vocals on the last two songs, I'm looking forward to the challenge of stepping up and kicking some ass -- cords? -- this weekend. I love singing harmony and with Scott and Jerry at my side, I'm confident we'll walk away with some keepers.

    The plan is to finish all the vocals by January 31, do vocal comps and pre-mixes the first 2 weeks of Februay, then it's off to David Javu Morse for mixing (he also mixed and mastered Mars Hollow's "World in Front of Me"). We hope to be mastering the album at LA's Bernie Grund Mastering in early March and manufacturing a small run of physical CD's by the end of said month whilst simultaneously getting the artwork and credits together.

    Meanwhile, we're talking to some friends at a great label about signing a contract and ensuring a little press and distribution in North America.

    After all that, I'm planning on taking a nice nap.

    I've got all the most current tracks and I think the album -- about 45 minutes, 5 songs total -- is a damned fun ride. It's book-ended by a couple of mini-epics very much in the classic uppercase Progressive Rock vein, a "pop" song with a nice, blazing Hammond B3 twist in the middle, a slow-burning rocker and a weird-ass instrumental.

    I wish I could share some stuff but I've already leaked enough (that's what adult diapers are for) and if I share anything else I'll be fired from my own band with good reason. However, if, on the off chance, anyone hasn't heard a little 4-minute sample of the opening track, it's streaming on our website.

    Dan, you asked for an update. Thanks to anyone who checks any of this stuff out, we appreciate it! With that, I wish everyone a wonderful, adventure-filled weekend.

  10. #110
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Sounds awesome, Kerry! Thanks for the update!

    Sorry to hear about all of the personal tragedy within the band. I hope 2014 brings better fortune for all involved.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  11. #111
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    I happy to hear that the plague of locusts has, at least for now, left the chicken farmer (great pic, man!).

    In a macabre twist of fate, this thread was resurrected today on my 69th birthday. My last year of middle-age before I become "old & in the way".

    Stay well, dude!
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

    President Harry S. Truman

  12. #112
    Jefferson James
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    Thank you Scott, and Steve: happy birthday man! Sixty-nine, are you kidding me? Last time I saw you, you looked maybe, I dunno, somewhere between 12 and 57. Wishing you an exceptionally happy birthday my friend; it's 6:42PM PST now so I assume you and your better -- ok, way better -- half are out setting the town on fire (for warmth and survival) in Madison celebrating like it's 1999.

    For all I know you're in Hawaii. Happy birthday!

  13. #113
    Member Boceephus's Avatar
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    Thanks for the news! Marty & I had been dealing with a bit of our own crud, so I hope 2014 is mucho better for all & ever.
    I hope we can get out & catch some live Heliopolis later this year... Just not May, okay? We got two tickets to paradise (four actually) going to The Big Island of Hawaii.
    Cheers & Happy Fewbeers!

  14. #114
    Jefferson James
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boceephus View Post
    Thanks for the news! Marty & I had been dealing with a bit of our own crud, so I hope 2014 is mucho better for all & ever.
    Sorry to hear this, man; it was so cool meeting you and Marty last year up in Berkeley, we would love to see you guys again. Here's to a hassle-free 2014.


    Quote Originally Posted by Boceephus View Post
    I hope we can get out & catch some live Heliopolis later this year... Just not May, okay?
    I hope so, too; last year was great as far as gigs go and I'd like to think we achieved what we set out to achieve, which was proving ourselves capable of delivering the goods as a live band. With all due respect to my past bands and band-mates, Heliopolis has more of an improvisational thing happening and the more we play, the more confident we are in getting out of our comfort zones and just going for it.

    As of now, we have nothing on the horizon as far as live shows; I'm not booking anything until I'm holding the album in my hands. Plus Matt's upcoming surgery will put us out of commission until probably...May. Will keep you posted, we would love to go back to the Bay Area again, I'd really love to play San Francisco proper and make a holiday weekend out of it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Boceephus View Post
    We got two tickets to paradise (four actually) going to The Big Island of Hawaii. Cheers & Happy Fewbeers!
    I've got two ticks and they're parasites. Have a blast on The Big Island!

  15. #115
    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    Prog on, Kerry! Looking forward to hearing the album when it comes out!

    Oh, and happy birthday, Steve! And thanks for suggesting that at 60, I'm still middle-age.

  16. #116
    Postponing a suicide for this (not mine... ) so it'd better be WORTH it!

  17. #117
    I hope everything is proceeding apace for you guys, Kerry! Recording, yes? Make it happen, d00d

    Thanks for sharing the tracks here,

    Kim
    And the code is a play, a play is a song, a song is a film, a film is a dance...

  18. #118
    Jefferson James
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    Trumpet-bump (sharing from the "what's new" page):

    Quote Originally Posted by Amy View Post
    We are very excited to share the news that Heliopolis will be joining us for the second annual New Jersey Proghouse Homecoming Festival!

    Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, Project RnL will be unable to perform. Filling large shoes indeed, Heliopolis has agreed to grace our stage in their place.

    The full band lineup for the weekend is as follows:

    Saturday, October 11
    Pinnacle
    Out of the Beardspace
    The Travis Larson Band
    echolyn


    Sunday, October 12

    Schooltree
    Meridian Voice Project
    Heliopolis
    (special interlude performance by echolyn's Ray Weston and Brett Kull)
    Discipline


    Please see the following for ticket information and more festival details:

    http://www.njproghouse.com/homecoming-weekend-2014/


    Hope to see many friends and fans for what promises to be an outstanding weekend of music!
    Stoked! Thank you Amy!

    http://www.njproghouse.com/2014/06/1...-weekend-2014/


  19. #119
    When will the new album be released?
    "Young man says you are what you eat, eat well."
    http://www.blissbomb.net/

  20. #120
    Jefferson James
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    We're looking at an August release, my friend. I will be sure to get you a copy!

  21. #121
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Kerry - will you be doing a pre-order type of thing?

    Or, whatever - just let us know how to order it.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  22. #122
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KerryKompost View Post
    We're looking at an August release, my friend. I will be sure to get you a copy!
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

    President Harry S. Truman

  23. #123
    Jefferson James
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Bails View Post
    let us know how to order it.
    Will do Scott, thanks man. Mastering starts next week, really excited to hear this album in final form soon.

    Also, we've got an LA-area gig coming up, our official CD release party with a couple of excellent local bands, XNA and a re-formation of the much beloved Genesis tribute Gabble Ratchet; I'm pasting Matt Brown's Facebook post:

    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Brown
    Heliopolis are teaming up with XNA to do a gig on September 27, at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

    Also playing that night, the Brown/Hussey/Collins/Wilson/Connor lineup of Gabble Ratchet, for the first time in 4 or 5 years. I've lost count! A special guest will be there too, just don't call him Shirley.

    Will advise when tickets are available!
    Hi Steve!

  24. #124
    Jon Neudorf
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    Kerry, looking forward to the album.

    Jon

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