Progression Magazine issue No. 65 will be mailed Friday, May 3 to all domestic and international subscribers, and now is available for single-issue ordering. Featured in this information-packed 112-page issue:
* More than 130 CD and DVD reviews *
Tangerine Dream (cover story) — in-depth interview with founder Edgar Froese, including reflections on the band’s past, present and plans to end its touring career. Says Froese, “Every person attending a Tangerine Dream concert has a very subjective and special level of consciousness in the way he or she approaches life, music, literature, art, whatever. So because of that special subjective consciousness, he or she can or cannot relate to something. Some might be totally bored and leave after 10 minutes maybe, or at [intermission]. Which is totally OK, no problem. But the person who feels enlivened, or in some way deeply connected to the sound – not to someone onstage – will benefit most from the experience.”
Flying Colors – interview with all five members of this progressive-rock “supergroup” on plans to continue beyond its debut album. Says guitarist Steve Morse, “To do a tour, especially in Europe, they want things confirmed six months in advance. So say there are seven bands between us that we’re all working with. What are the odds of everyone being available at the same time?”
Yes vocalist Jon Davison — interview with the man who replaced the man who replaced the legendary Jon Anderson. Says Davison, “For me, it came down to this: I wanted to bring something to Yes of my own, while at the same time being respectful of ‘carrying the torch’ in an accurate way. I’m trying to live up to the quality of [Anderson] but do it with originality. I seem to be getting the balance down pretty well from what others are telling me.”
Trevor Rabin – interview with the former Yes member addressing his various collaborations and solo career. Says Rabin, “I’m pretty impulsive and restless. My head’s always looking this way, that way. I’m definitely going to do another jazz album. I’m in the middle of writing a guitar/dobro concerto and that’s going to take a long time. I know if I don’t do it now it’ll never get done. So I want to discipline myself and get started. And I do want to do a regular progressive rock/vocal album.”
Ian Anderson – interview with the erstwhile Jethro Tull front man on his solo career. Says Anderson, “I don’t enjoy being interrupted by bozos! So I find that whenever I use the name ‘Ian Anderson,’ it tends to keep the riff-raff at home. That’s good for them and good for me, because I’m not wasting their money and they’re not wasting my time or the audience’s time and patience by being intrusive in a context where they’re not really welcome.”
Big Big Train – interview with all six band members on two-part album, English Electric. Says multi-instrumentalist Greg Spawton, “Our focus in recent years has been on writing and recording. That is going to change at some point because we are very keen to play shows. The performance we are working on will feature a brass quartet and a string quartet and will be recorded for DVD release, so it will be a challenging show to produce.”
PFM – interview with drummer/vocalist Franz Di Cioccio on the classic Italian progressive band’s orchestral projects. Says Cioccio, “PFM chose classical pieces that we felt supported the band’s musical vocabulary. We also chose some of the most beautiful pieces throughout the history of PFM to develop new arrangements for with orchestra.”
Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius – interview with the electric violin maestro on his group and solo endeavors. Says Deninzon, “We are more of a rock band now. It started out being more of a jazz-fusion band -- me being surrounded by jazz and be-bop heads and just having that influence. I’ve always wanted to marry it with my love of songwriting, songs with hooks, hard rock and vocals. Figuring out how to do that has been a long journey for me.”
Soft Machine Legacy – interview with members of the band furthering Soft Machine’s legendary heritage. Says drummer John Marshall, “Since three of us are longstanding Soft Machine members and, in fact, the core of the mid-‘70s band, we could hardly be paying tribute to ourselves! Our type of music exists in the present, so I don’t like going over old ground.”
Phideaux – interview with Phideaux Xavier on his prolific recorded output and shift to a smaller solo ensemble. Says Xavier, “I’m lucky in that I don't have great popularity: I don't have people breathing down my neck to repeat a success or avoid a failure. The only person I have to answer to is myself. I can be whatever I want. It's a total labor of love. Truth is, I just make the kinds of albums I like to hear.”
Kamelot – interview with the theatrical American progressive-metal act that after 20 years and 10 albums, finally is enjoying success at home. Says guitarist Thomas Youngblood, “With each record we want to change. We didn’t want to continue writing particular types of choruses. We just can’t keep repeating the same thing, which is a true luxury when your fans have a really open mind about music.”
Lifesigns – interview with keyboardist/vocalist John Young on his new progressive band. Says Young, “I didn't really feel as if the legacy of Yes, Genesis, Camel, Caravan, King Crimson, U.K., etc., was being catered for. And so it began.”
Jay Tausig – interview with California space-rock solo artist on his ambitious 12 albums in12 months project. Says Tausig, “I’ve been writing songs with my own lyrics for years. It got to the point where the music I was doing had outweighed my lyrical output by 10 to 1. I write music just about every single day. Since 2007 I’ve been composing at least one complete idea a day, every day.”
Hidden Lands – interview with multi-instrumentalist/composer Hannes Ljunghall on the Swedish band’s formation and debut album. Says Ljunghall, “What matters is quality, and there are probably plenty of people out there who like strange music anyway. Having said that, these songs are probably quite easily digested for anybody used to prog in general.”
Kingcrow – interview with guitarist Diego Cafolla about the Italian band’s unique take on his country’s rich progressive tradition. Says Cafolla, “I find a lot of bands with skilled musicians are more focused on showing their chops instead of writing great music. We try to make complex things sound ‘simple.’”
3rDegree – interview with this veteran New Jersey band recently signed to the 10T Records label. Says multi-instrumentalist Robert James Pashman, “I’m not sure what prog labels actually do, but it seems every band I know that gets on a label doubles its sales!”
Syzygy – interview with guitarist/composer Carl Baldassarre on the Ohio band’s ambitious new three-disc release and future course. Says Baldassarre, “We’re getting more cunning, more clever as writers. There is so much care being taken to make things more memorable in terms of sheer grandeur and sophistication.”
Live review: Peter Gabriel – the So 25th anniversary tour in words and pictures.
Live review: Rush – report on the band’s lavish Clockwork Angels stage production.
Live review: Nightwish – account of the band’s recent U.S. tour and departure of lead singer Anette Olzon, with photos.
Progression is a full-size quarterly print publication that has been covering the progressive music scene since 1992. For more information including instructions on how to order a subscription or back issues, please peruse the web site, www.progressionmagazine.com. Inquiries also may be directed to Publisher John Collinge via progmagazine@aol.com, and by calling (toll-free) 800-545-7371, or +978-425-5295.
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