SOAL Night Live- New Episdoes

[Firth]

Most definitely in respect for Chris Squire too:

"I said, 'I want to thank you for your life, your music, without you and wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, and I’m so blessed to have had you in my life.'"

As Anderson went on to explain, though he and Squire were musical opposites, the combination worked in ways he's found it difficult to work without during life after the band. "We were the yin and yang of the band. Like we would joke: I was Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he was Darth Vader," he continued. "And the beauty of it was, I would be singing ideas, and his bass would reflect my song, my lyric, my everything. So when we do concerts with any Yes music, I always say, 'There’s certain things you have to play that Chris played because without those notes, the voice doesn’t sing correctly.'"

[Sean]

Had a chance to chat with Jon for a few minutes today...



We catch up on what he's been spending his days doing lately. Also, we discuss his new solo album 1000 Hands and how he came to have a star studded lineup of guests on it. We touch on the spiritual aspect of Yes music and performing, and how songs that are played 100s of times mature over the years, along with the players involved. How he feels about the split with Yes in 2005 comes up, all these years later, and if he thinks it all worked out for the best. We look back on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and performance. Also, we talk a bit about the creation of one of the greatest Yes epics, "Awaken" and ponder the future of Yes featuring Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman- ARW.

[Firth]

I liked the discussion of the spiritual feeling that a Yes live concert inspires. My best example was seeing them in the late 70’s in the round with Jon in the center of the rotating stage singing to the heavens. At the same time Chris was staring me in the eye with a friendly smile as I gazed from the second row.

[Sean]

I hoped he would go a bit deeper on that subject. He was like, "everybody does that...". But it's not the same. Jon is just plugged into the cosmos in a way that other performers aren't. Well, rock ones anyway, as a rule. A cosmic avatar.....

[Polypet]

Very cool, Sean!

[Firth]

I hoped he would go a bit deeper on that subject. He was like, "everybody does that...". But it's not the same. Jon is just plugged into the cosmos in a way that other performers aren't. Well, rock ones anyway, as a rule. A cosmic avatar.....

How about this deep

[Sean]

Well, to be fair. Jacob Collier is an alien. He's at a level few people are. Not even Yes in their prime.

[Sean]

Hot off the press... Rick returns to chat more in depth.



Topics include- The Red Planet, the evolution of his keyboard rig, future ARW music, the evolution of his keyboard rig in the 70s, keyboard endorsements, the Yes plane, his favorite of the Six Wives and much more.

Also, today I had a chat with the drummer from the legendary Alice Cooper Group (the original band before he went "solo"), Neal Smith.



We discuss their career along the way in the 70s and how their "shock rock" evolved. From the early albums produced by Frank Zappa to their golden era with Bib Ezrin. Also, we take a look at Neal's ever evolving drum kits over the years, and discuss his fave tracks from each of the ACG albums. Pretties For You through Muscle of Love. Fond remembrances of early influences like Keith Moon, Ginger Baker and Mitch Mitchell are included as well.



Busy day today! Here's my regular evening show. This week we chat with pro sideman Lyle Workman (Jellyfish, Bourgeois Tagg, Sting, Todd Rundgren, Kevin Gilbert, Beck). And film composer for movies like "Superbad". Check out the notes at the link. We went over a lot of interesting topics.

[Sean]

In case you missed my chat with Jakko from King Crimson today, here's the rebroadcast. His upcoming solo album, Secrets and Lies will be available on Inside Out records in October 2020. We discuss it's genesis and the inspirations for various pieces on it. Also, we talk about his tenure with Crimson since 2013- the possibilities of a new Crimson album, the ever changing setlist and the challenges of preparing classics for the stage, onstage mixing and amplification, the three drummer dynamic, and his custom PRS guitar featuring the artwork from the first KC album. A look back at his early years as a musician and his friendship/collaborations with various movers and shakers of the Canterbury progressive scene. A fond look back at his friendship with Allan Holdsworth is included as well. We take a look at the events leading up to his tenure with Crimson- from the 21st Century Schizoid Band to the Crimson ProjeKct "A Scarcity of Miracles" leading into Crimson proper.

[Firth]

[Sean]

Did a show this weekend looking back on the music, career and life of Kevin Gilbert...



For Episode #29 we take a fond look back at the life and career of one of the 90s brightest progressive talents- Kevin Gilbert. Our guests are three musicians from three phases of his career- Stan Cotey from Giraffe, Marc Bonilla from Toy Matinee and Dave Kerzner from Kevin's Thud band. For the first hour or so we get up to date on what Stan, Dave and Marc have been up to as of late, their early influences, vinyl buying and early concerts seen. Then we get into a chat about the best/fave albums from the likes of Yes, Genesis and ELP. After that, we delve into a chronological look at Kevin's career from starting with Stan. The early years with Giraffe, Toy Matinee, a reunited Giraffe performing The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway at Prog Day 1994, the Tuesday Night Music Club with Sheryl Crow, Kevin's solo album and band Thud and more. Also, the guys ponder what Kevin might have done had be had the chance to live a long life. Though through his music he does indeed live on...

[proggy_jazzer]

This was a really entertaining and informative listen. I appreciate that so much history was discussed and shared without ever veering into gossip/grudge land. It also gave me added appreciation for the skills of the three estimable gentlemen involved, and deepened my perceptions of Gilbert as a musician and a human being. Thank you and well done!

[Sean]

Just wrapped up another interview with Steve Hackett. It was a quick one by phone. We talk about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, his new live album, his autobiography, two-handed tapping, the legacy of GTR and more!

[Firth]

Seen this incredible video from his new studio album?:

[Sean]

Yeah. That's a cool tune too!

[Firth]

Yeah. That's a cool tune too!

Indeed

[Polypet]

I figured I would start a thread for my Saturday night "talk show"/podcast. I've done a few threads here asking for questions for it and alluded to it. I had some spare time on my hands since getting laid off (gee, thanks Covid) so to give me something to do on the weekends I decided to take a cue from guys like Rick Beato and do my own online show. Considerably more laid back and on the cheap than anything Rick does, but it really boils down to content and a lot of great info about these artists has come to light in the past few months doing these. It's one where I do a Zoom conference, stream it live on Facebook and then upload it to my YouTube page as an archive.

The first episode was just chatting with bandmates and local friends. Pretty quick it dawned on me it could be pretty cool if I reached out to various musical friends on my list, and some actors and entertainers too. It's not like I wanna talk prog all the time, this show is more than that, though that's the bulk of it. People have been encouraging me to do something like this for years and the Zoom era came along at the right time for a guy like me that hates to transcribe phone interviews. I consider it a podcast that you can watch, though I'd probably suggest you listen to it while you do something else! It's just a bunch of talking heads in boxes, but we're there if you want to watch.

Here's a link to past shows. Some prog related episodes you might like are with Mike Keneally, Nick D'Virgillio, Tom Brislin, Marco Minnemann & Randy McStine and Jake Livgren. The one with Jellyfish/Lickerish Quartet keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr is another prog folks might dig too....

https://www.youtube.com/c/SOALNightL...able_polymer=1

Coming up over the next month we've got interviews with musical renaissance man Fernando Perdomo, Yes bassist Billy Sherwood, NEARFest Memories with Rob & Chad + guests, Wings guitarist Laurence Juber and Vaylor Trucks discussing the Allman Brothers family tree and more. If you could subscribe to my YouTube page, I'd sure appreciate it.

So great, Sean. I'm happy to know about this

[mozo-pg]

I thought the Hackett interview was quite interesting. A humble man and good territory covered. I saw GTR and the two Steve's each did a solo set. I thought the band performance was excellent too.

[Sean]

Had an in-depth chat with Roger today about various subjects-



We discuss the re-release of his solo catalog on vinyl and digital formats. He tells us about the next Lickerish Quartet EP (#2) and gives a little bit of insight into what the next four tunes will be like and when they would be released. We get into a chat about prog rock and it's keyboard luminaries- Wakeman, Emerson, Banks, Jobson, etc and their influences on him. He lets us know his fave albums from those groups too. He also gives us a look at the cover art for the two Jellyfish albums. Taking the photos and the inspirations for the designs. Modulations and arranging are discussed too. And, of course, we talk about his three solo albums and discuss certain tunes from each- The Land of Pure Imagination, Catnip Dynamite and Glamping. A fourth solo EP is in the works now too. He talks about the different guitarists that played with Jellyfish and their styles and strengths as well.

[Firth]

I thought the Hackett interview was quite interesting. A humble man and good territory covered. I saw GTR and the two Steve's each did a solo set. I thought the band performance was excellent too.

When I saw them at the Beacon in NYC, the two Steve’s played alone on the stage, each with an acoustic guitar. The contrast in sound of those guitars was sublime. Howe had a steel string and Hackett had a nylon string. They played segments from each other’s works in Yes and Genesis, plus solo. The best and that alone was worth the price of admission, even though GTR’s music was poorly produced in the release.

[mozo-pg]

When I saw them at the Beacon in NYC, the two Steve’s played alone on the stage, each with an acoustic guitar. The contrast in sound of those guitars was sublime. Howe had a steel string and Hackett had a nylon string. They played segments from each other’s works in Yes and Genesis, plus solo. The best and that alone was worth the price of admission, even though GTR’s music was poorly produced in the release.

Cool.

[Sean]

For Episode #32 we chat with the founder of the original School of Rock. Long before the movie of the same name with Jack Black was a thing, Paul Green had a musical vision. We catch up on what he's been up to as of late. We discuss his creation of the original SoR, his moving on and focusing on law school and his eventual return to teaching via his new Paul Green's Rock Academy. We chat about fave prog moments/albums from the likes of Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Zappa and more. Also, what it takes to make the best cheesesteak!

[Sean]

This was a really entertaining and informative listen. I appreciate that so much history was discussed and shared without ever veering into gossip/grudge land. It also gave me added appreciation for the skills of the three estimable gentlemen involved, and deepened my perceptions of Gilbert as a musician and a human being. Thank you and well done!

Thanks! KG's past can be a bit of a hornet's nest even to this day so I liked the way we kept on track too. Stan, Marc and Dave made it easy.

[Sean]

Caught up with Trevor today...



For SOAL Night Live #33 Daytime Edition we had an in-depth chat about a wide variety of topics including- his new solo retrospective boxed set, "Changes", which includes all four of his pre-Jacaranda solo albums, the future of ARW/Yes, the unfinished ARW album, his soundtrack for the new Renny Harlin film "The Misfits", his new (vocal) solo album that is about halfway done and how he considers it a sort of follow up to Yes' Talk album, the shelved 20 minute 90125 era "epic" called "Time", thoughts on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame night and performance, feelings about another Union-style Yes reunion, scoring for films VS writing rock/pop originals, memorable ARW shows, details on the ARW original song "Fragile", a close look at "Owner of a Lonely Heart's genesis, thoughts on how to properly play "the Owner riff", how Jacaranda could have maybe been a Yes album and much more.

[mozo-pg]

I'm amazed by the ongoing quality of these interviews - high profile prog "stars". Will review with interest.