Reflections

This editorial started out as a divergent thought from listening to Riverside's ID.entity CD... and a review of that CD (among others) is forthcoming... but I'll push all that aside because I've got other thoughts that seem more pressing.

As I posted in the news page, two contributors to ProgressiveWorld have passed away, so it is with a heavy heart that I am writing these thoughts down. But also, that I have been so out of the loop, that I didn't know until today - July 21, 2024 - that Vitaly Menshikov passed away on July 7, 2017!

Vitaly was a music reviewer based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with his own website Progressor.net. But he also contributed a few reviews to ProgressiveWorld.net... and we reviewed two titles he was a part of, and two that he was a producer on.

Here is a list of the reviews Vitaly contributed:

• Altair - Fantasías & Danzas
• Antiqua - In Red Nights...
• Archetype - Hands Of Time
• Ezra Winston - a sampler
• French TV - The Violence Of Amateurs
• Hawkwind - Levitation
• Jeremy - Pilgrim's Journey
• Mongol - Doppler 444
• Musica D'Repuesto - aV abuC
• Versus X - Disturbance

And my reviews of Vitaly's work:

• Al- Bird - Sodom And Gomorrah XXI - performer
• X-Religion - Dances With Gobelins - performer
• Flight 09 - Rifflections - producer
• Flight 09 - Forbidden Lullabies - producer

Then today, already bothered by learning of Vitaly's death, I read that John "Bobo" Bollenberg had passed away in January of this year. I was just checking to see what he was currently up to. Bobo had been quite involved in the prog and music community -- reviewer, interviewer, journalist, radio show host (his program was On The Rocks), festival organizer... I'm sure there are roles I've forgotten. Aside from here at Progressiveworld.net, you can find Bobo's writings in many publications -- Mellotron (Argentina), Aloha (Holland), iO Pages (Holland), Stage (Belgium/Holland), and Euro Rock Press (Japan). You will have to dip into archives or order back issues, but...

The kernel of ProgressiveWorld began in 1997, but in late 1999/early 2000, I was introduced -- via email -- to Bobo as we sought permission to reprint some of his reviews and interviews. The "we" at the time being myself and John Gabbard. This soon turned into ProgressiveWorld being his primarily outlet for reviews (most interviews went to Progression or elsewhere). But more than just contributing CD and DVD reviews (more than 800 of them from 2000 to 2007), live reviews (23), and interviews (24), Bobo also helped shape what ProgressiveWorld.net became. And while we haven't reached the lofty goal of being the ultimate resource, for a time we were ... known. I like to think, at least in the progressive rock world, that Bobo played a huge part in our prominent profile.

I couldn't possibly list every review he contributed here, but I encourage you to flip through our pages (so to speak) and read -- or re-read -- his work. You can start here: CD/DVD Reviews.

Other passings I made note of -- not PW contributors: keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij (Artension, Ring Of Fire); Max Werner (Kayak), Mike Pinder (Moody Blues) (which I had been aware of); John Hawker (Strawbs, Renaissance); Peter Collins (producer, including four of Rush's albums).

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All this and other discoveries has put me in a very weird headspace. About how eras are ending. I was already there thinking how last weekend (July 12-15, 2024) was the last Night Of The Prog Festival. I'd never been but still the fact that there will be no more is rather sad. In fact, when I first saw that it was the last, I didn't really read it correctly, thinking the news item was announcing who was closing the weekend - the last day of the festival. But no... it meant the last day of the last festival.

My life has been getting increasingly complicated since... well, really since 2008. And while I won't put everyone to sleep with the whys, the short version is the nature of my "day job" changed when my employer technically changed. More responsibility... in that we just kept adding on tasks... and adding on tasks... and again and again... until and through Covid-19, which made us pivot so much... Ugh. I hope to never hear that word again -- except it's in my head again now. And I made some personal life changes in 2012... And then some other life changes happened that I didn't make choices in: My father took ill, then passed away in 2017; my mother then declined and passed away in 2022 -- in both cases I was caring for them.

Anyway, all that to say, my active involvement with ProgressiveWorld.net came in fits and starts. Updating content yeh -- releases, concert listings, festival focus pages. But a lot of what was going on in the prog world was in my periphery. Not totally unaware... those fits and starts weren't totally frivolous... but... not laser focused either.

But in that time what else has disappeared in the prog world? Well, NEARFest held their last festival in 2012. I was there, as the total chaos of my work life hadn't yet begun in full flower. I had been to every NF from 2001 to 2009; couldn't afford to go in 2010... 2011 was cancelled and so I was determined to go in 2012. I also was not able to attend RoSfest from about the same time -- darn if I didn't have work commitment the same gosh-darn weekend as RoSFest. And then for many reasons, but I think mostly Covid... it was even hard for them to put on a festival. I think the last one was 2023 (even after a gap before). The point is... no more RoSFest (though I hold out hope... even as I continue to have the same yearly work commitment.

That isn't to say there aren't prog festivals still happening -- ProgDay is set for Labor Day Weekend, for one. ProgStock in October is on the horizon. That's just the US. There are smaller festivals -- and by smaller, I mean fewer bands, fewer days -- in Europe/UK: MidSummer Prog comes to mind. A New Day Festival. ArcTanGent. HRH Prog. And for those with a taste of the harder edged, those massive European festivals are still kicking - Bloodstock, Wacken, Sweden Rock... sure, the lineup is diverse and not necessarily progressive rock... or even progressive metal. No, more traditional forms of metal and... hard rock/metal hybrids-- which was going to be part of my commentary... thought explosion... I'll save that for later. But hey, I think there are prog elements in Iron Maiden (and I think Adrian Harris is prog fan, or so I read).

But in reflecting that Progression ceased publication in 2018... my subscription had lapsed and... given where my life was at, didn't get renewed. Like Bobo, I was once a contributor to Progression. I had a column for a while... then the publication schedule was disrupted after the attacks on 9/11/2001... and then in... 2008, I think (2004? I forget now)... John Collinge wanted to go in a different direction, so my tenure concluded. But anyway, no Progression anymore. Supplanted by Prog? (I uh... well, my subscription to that hasn't lapsed.)

What else has gone? No, a better question is, what I am I happy to see is still kickin'? ProgArchives.com -- which is, to be honest, what I had hoped ProgressiveWorld.net would be. Oh well. And the ProgressiveEars messageboard is still active. It's how I noticed that Duncan Glenday -- another PW alum -- is still with us. And a version of Perpetual Motion messageboard is still active (recent postings by one time PW prog metal expert Larry "LarryD" Daglieri means he's still with us). But wither some of the other PW alum? Well, Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck still writes reviews, so that good to see; and Marcel Haster looks to be posting video reviews. But others I've not been able to find online beyond their reviews here - Joshua Turner, Clayton Walnum, Marcelo Silveyra, and perhaps Richard Zywotkiewicz (but I think he's in real estate now, so maybe I have...). Those are the names I've looked for today... How depressing though as to why I was checking for them, yeh? Not just the grim reason behind it, but that I had otherwise lost touch with all of them.

But I'm not so out of the loop that... wow, Mike Portnoy rejoined Dream Theater? Like I remember the whole ... whatever you want to call it... in picking a new drummer. In an editorial here or on my blog or both, I likened it to the whole LaBron James decision extravaganza... or the NFL draft. Something like that.

So, what started all this? Behind the scenes, I am prepping all the content to move to a different CMS. I'm taking the time to fix all the extraneous question marks that have appeared when I did an update a few years ago... So, I was validating links as well... discovering what doesn't exist anymore. Or, sadly, who doesn't exist anymore.

2020 Hindsight

In trying to reorganize my life and the various elements in it, I rediscovered (some months ago) my blog - this blog. I knew it existed, of course, but haven't posted here in almost a decade. Sheesh those 10 years have gone by fast.

In re-reading my posts again today, I see I opined, briefly, on the notion of Donald Trump becoming president, as he was running - and then not running - in the 2012 election cycle. And OMG, he did it again in 2016 and won!* I do not say this with joyful enthusiasm but in abject horror. I am still horrified 4 years later - and more so. I could not have predicted that a Trump win would lead to the deaths of so many - the failed military mission at the start of his term to the 130,000+ and growing deaths from delayed and failed action on Covid-19. And that inaction - amplified by the fact that I don't think he gives a f*** (asterisks mine) about anyone but himself (and I am not alone in that thought) - has meant so many job losses because business needed to close - temporarily or permenently.

How it relates to music - because this is primarily a music blog - is that our beloved artists can't tour, losing income. For lesser known artists, it is devestating. That is, a Madonna, a Beyonce, a Springsteen, a Rolling Stone or two (or more) may be able to weather the downtime and loss of income. But for many a musician, and many of our prog musicians... not so much.

I was mocking the idea of a Trump presidency... but I find the world can yield unexpected things, both good and evil. Sadly, this instance is evil.

This is a music blog, as I said, so I'll leave the politics here and move on. Though I have some more off-topic commentary, sort of.

While I have not been entirely silent since my last blog post in 2011, I haven't been prolific. A brief explanation:

In 2012 I moved from... well, one place to another, it doesn't matter from where to where, but still within California. At the same time, more and more of my job responsibilities took more and more of my time. But I managed a few reviews that year... and several over the last 8 years. Not many, but some. Listened to a lot more than I've written reviews for, so there are many notes and scribbles here in "the office" that will see the light of day. So, things chugged along through 2013, 2014, 2015... but 2016. Long before the nightmare began (see paragraph 2), my narrative arc took a detour. My father, aged 82 at the time, took a tumble down his driveway one January morning and was badly injured. So I was spending more time at the house, helping my mother care for him until his fractured wrist could mend (with the aid of an inserted metal support).

Within a few months, however, things would turn again. My dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While my sister more often took him for chemo, I was spending even more time at the house, helping, as again, my father was not able to drive, shop, etc. (my mother had stopped driving years before).

16 months later, he passed away. Here's where music comes in....

My dad liked music. He was not a musician, but has a rather eclectic record collection - Afro-Cuban jazz and classical mostly. But he also liked a smattering of "pop" music... one song he particularly liked was "Horse With No Name" by America. You know, "I've been through the desert on a horse with no name... felt good to be out of the rain..." and so forth. I think he found it whimsical, and it is, in a fashion. I, too, like America and this song. For a time we shared a home office so what I was listening to he heard, too, and would share his thoughts. Much of the more extreme metal he likened to Klingons singing (and didn't like it), other things (the more approachable proggy stuff), he might get closer to listen. He was an aeronautical engineer by trade, and I imagine he heard things more mathematically than I did, whereas I am more about emotion, feel, execution rather than mechanics. Going back a bit earlier, to 1985 or so, I'd play Marillion's Misplaced Childhood on the main stereo in the living room, loudish. My dad commented once that he thought it sounded like Duran Duran. I had to laugh, I didn't really hear it the same way, but it got me listening differently to Duran Duran. (I think I note elsewhere - here or on the main site - that I don't think of them as prog, so don't worry; some proggy/art rock elements, yes). He liked 50s rock - when you could hear what the singers were singing, he'd say. I listened a lot to the tracks on a 4LP (maybe 5LP) box set he had... lots of classics there. He liked Pink Floyd, especially The Wall, though I think more the movie's visuals than the music. He liked the Moody Blues, too. Lots of memories centered on music.

As I drove home with his urn, one of the songs that came on the radio - early in the trip - was "Horse With No Name." Almost 3 years later, that still makes me sad.

After his passing, I was at the house full-time caring for my mother, all but officially living there (and have since moved back in). We - my sister and I - also embarked on the already-planned-before-his-death remodel of the home to better accomodate my mother, who then went into hospital for a bit of time for heart surgery; she later stayed with me during part of the remodel... Still, I managed to post a review or two. And recently have posted a few more, so slowly getting back into it. Listened at lot, wrote very little.

Those are my non-musical "highlights" of the last 10 years or so. In a previous post below I mention prog aritsts who had passed - to that list we sadly have to add Keith Emerson and Greg Lake; John Wetton, Alan Holdsworth; Neil Peart; Andre Matos (Angra, Shaman), Hansi Cross, of his own band Cross, but also head of the Progress Records label; Piotr Grudzinski (Riverside); Lemmy (Motorhead, though they weren't prog)...

What's in rotation right now? Well... nothing at the moment, per se. I'm looking at some of the upcoming (as of 1:14pm July 11, 2020) festivals as a starting point, so we'll start with Art Rock Festival VIII (this link goes to our festival section on the main site, from there you can go to the page on this particular festival) which will allow us to catch up with Threshold, for one. But first, we'll finally polish up our review of Bent Knee's You Know What They Mean, which we didn't do last month. They were scheduled for the ArcTanGent festival, that has now been moved to 2021 (so far, only Opeth have committed to the new date). Sitting here, too, prominently, are RPWL's Tales From Outer Space and Live From Outer Space, which we pulled aside as they were slated for the Midsummer Prog Festival, that had since been postponed to 2021 (they are on the bill!), and for Night Of The Prog festival, that had also been posted to 2021 (they are on the bill!). Ah, and in checking those facts, we see more updates are necessary, as Summer's End has been postponed to 2021 due to continued Covid-19 concerns in the UK.

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One final musical note (ha!): In this new reality of social distancing, what keeps popping up in my head is "The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other" (the title to a 1970 - 50 years ago! - Van Der Graaf Generator album). For 2020, that is "The Most We Can Do..." (In double checking some facts, I see I should add Nic Potter of VDGG to the list of prog passings in the last decade (he passed in 2013)).

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*"won" is subjective in that we all know Hillary won the popular vote. Don't get me wrong, she was a flawed candidate with her own baggage that, without that, maybe more of the vote in certain states would have swung her way, despite any outside influence, giving her the delegates in the Electoral College. Where would the US be in that scenario? Where would world be?....

Why Aren't We More Festive?

I was asked recently what I thought about the state of Progressive Rock (or music) festivals today. Was interest waning? Was it a financial thing? I thought about it a bit, and replied thusly:

It's hard to say on the festival scene... NEARFest, as you may/may not know was cancelled due to low ticket sales. How much of that was the economy and how much a lineup that didn't have that... "gotta see" band on it... I don't know. I think more so the latter, as NF has for years been THE festival to go to. On the other hand... the "gotta see" bands are becoming fewer and fewer... well, at least the classic 70s prog artists. Some of the big big names tour anyway (Yes, for example). I guess a big "get" would be... Genesis w/Collins and Gabriel...

And factor in the mix, the number of festivals that crop up ... after NF and the "granddaddy" ProgDay... we had BajaProg, RoSFest, CalProg (not scheduled for this year, and that was purely an economic thing), 3RP, ... and now for 2012, OhioProg. It's almost a point where they pull attendance from each other. Too many festivals, not enough time/money/vacation.

Ironically, if you look at Europe, there's a festival of some sort every weekend - admittedly metal festivals - but there's Wacken, Summer Breeze, the traveling Sonisphere... just to name those that come to mind. And they sell out. Well, Wacken does; seems the "festival season" there is vibrant ...

But here in the US... perhaps because of our size... it's harder to bring folks in. I suspect most of those who attend RF and NF are from the East Coast, most of those that go to CalProg are from the West Coast. I know that RoSFest is struggling, but George finances it himself, and is now seeking sponsors. Well, patrons help by buying tickets in advance, but know he's seeking fan-backing. RF caters to a neo/modern prog crowd, and that's ok.

And so forth, as i went on to answer other prog related questions.

In working on converting our interviews from html files to data in a database (and updating them with addendums, etc.), there was one in particular where the interviewee mentioned his band's performance at a past NEARFest (www.nearfest.com) and it got me thinking about this question again. With NEARFest 2011 having been cancelled due to insufficient interest -- i.e., ticket sales -- and NEARFest 2012 still up in the air, at least as of the end of July (in writing this now, I've not got back to check to see if there's been movement in either direction), it occurred to me that if NEARFest is no more, it signals the end of an era. (Or does it?)

Why did ticket sales slump dramatically for NEARFest 2011? I must admit I was very shocked when I heard the news it was cancelled. One takes NF for granted… like the only things certain in life are death, taxes, and NEARFest. It wasn't the first progressive rock festival; I believe that honor belongs to ProgDay (www.progday.net), which itself is an institution that we take for granted. So why?, we have to ask. The economy? For sure that was one factor, perhaps more so for those where getting to Bethlehem is lengthy trip, whether flying in from California say, as I would have been, or from overseas, as I know some do. And because fuel costs were up, those nearer to the venue, but not exactly near, had to make some decisions. But, wouldn't those who view going to NEARFest on the same order as going to Mecca being saving up by cutting out… well, lattes and other discretionary spending? Maybe, but maybe their economic situation was a sudden shift in the balance of things.

Could it have been the lineup, as some have speculated? NEARFest's attractive feature is the lineup that appeals to the broad spectrum of progressive music fans. Even if 200 fans come to see some classic 70s prog band, and another are coming to see a RIO band and another 200 are coming to see a neo-prog band, etc. and that's multiplied by 8 bands… why, that's 1600 people (more than the venue will hold). I don't know really what the percentage draws are, by the way, so these numbers are, of course, made up. But really, were folks staying away just because the headliner was not some 70s era prog band? Or otherwise a band of broader marquee appeal? Or that there weren't any "popular" bands on the bill? How do they get popular if no one comes to see them? Or is it, as one ProgressiveEars,com (www.progressiveears.com) post notes, that said headliner tours regularly, at a ticket price less than the per-band ticket price at the festival, and so... going to see just that one band at the festival doesn't make economic sense?

I won't lie and pretend that I don't make my decisions based on who is on the lineup, but generally there's at least one band I'd like to see, and that's enough for me. Full disclosure, of course - I could not attend NEARFest 2009 and NEARFest 2010 because a work commitment was scheduled for the same weekend each of those two years. And for 2011, it was for me purely an economic decision, and RoSFest (www.rosfest.com) won out. And to be equally honest, I have not attended ProgDay, but it wasn't because of who was on the bill… or any particular bias against the festival, as I do support it with ad dollars and promote it by featuring our reviews of the bands... but I digress.

To be honest, I don't know the reason NEARFest didn't sell as well as expected. It could be all of the things I mentioned, or none of them. But, this commentary wasn't meant discuss the cancellation of NEARFest in and of itself, but more about progressive music festivals in general. Because we also had CalProg (www.calprog.com) going on hiatus for 2011. RoSFest happened and is scheduled for 2012, but has changed its funding model somewhat, asking for direct sponsorship - beyond the patron ticket program - to help offset costs. Those fuel costs, airfare costs and generally the cost of living, have pushed up the costs of putting on a festival, which wasn't cheap to do to start with. Things we expect to be a part of it get cut - no program, for instance. I know from my days as publications associate with my employer, that to put out a 15000 copy quarterly newsletter (about 10 times as many as for a festival, I know), it was about $4000. And that was 2 colour at 20 pages. Now, full color, as the programs usually are, for, say 1000 copies, would probably run about $2000 … maybe. I didn’t have advertising dollars to offset our costs (it's a non-profit and if we did accept advertising, we'd have to pay taxes because of the frequency of our publication, for which we gave away free to our members, donors, etc.*). Venues have to charge more for their rental as the cost of maintaining and running the facility has gone up. And those costs have gone up because… well, it's the economy.

So… with all this in mind, we have two new festivals entering the game - the first is OhioProg scheduled for September 2012, which boasts a lineup that includes Persephone's Dream (whose new CD is playing as I write this…), After The Fall, Arena, Cryptic Vision, FM, Gende's Giant, Going For The One, Nightingale, Orphan Project, RC2, and Script For A Jester's Tour. Find out more at http://www.ohioprog.com/.

The second newcomer is still really in the planning stages, even though a line up is established - FarFest, which is planned for October 2012. Its focus is 70s prog, mostly French and Italian bands, but not entirely, along with modern bands with a 70s sound. The bill? Alphataurus, Anekdoten, Anglagard, Arti E Mestieri, Atoll, Latte E Miele, Locanda Delle Fate, Maxophone, Pulsar, SBB, Shylock, and Wobbler. Wow - I can report that ProgressiveEars is abuzz with excitement about this festival - which still has not announced an exact date or location (as of August 2011 {and while proofing this for publication, I checked again and that is still true}).

With these additions, and presuming the continued life of our venerable prog festival institutions, we'd have a US prog calendar that looks like this: April/May - RoSFest; June - NEARFest; August/September - ProgDay; September - OhioProg; October - FarFest, CalProg. We could throw in ProgPower there, which adds another in the September category… and puts ProgDay, Ohio Prog and ProgPower on three consecutive weekends… And, it's been said that FarFest is planned as a one-off event…

Can 6 to 7 festivals be supported? I'm not sure; does that spread our prog dollars too thin? Or will we find these festivals attract smaller crowds and all them within a day's drive of the venue? That they become regional festivals rather than international?

It might be an interesting concept, though perhaps not a viable one, if they did think of themselves as regional. Imagine if they had a core lineup that was the same for each, and then supplemented it with local talent? That is, something where the headliners and the second bands on the bill appear at all festivals, maybe the third band is regional and the fourth is local -- regional being, like west, northeast, southeast, etc., and local being from that or a nearby city. The headliners would have a mini-tour built in… which is often a stumbling block to bringing "big names" from overseas. But why that wouldn't work is if you went to see "headliner Saturday" and "headliner Sunday" at RoSFest, would you go see them again a month later at NEARFest, as they're both in PA? And would you if they promised different sets? Oh sure, there are people who will see a band at various venues on a tour (hello Grateful Dead!), and a band often does play a series of dates geographically close to each other - San Diego isn't that far from Los Angeles, for example, and San Juan Capistrano is midway between… and, of course, there's touring festivals already - like Lallapalooza - so it does work, to some degree. So … there's plusses and minus either way. Especially as the current schedule weighs heavily on the Central and Eastern time zone - in as much as the prog community seems to be concentrated there. Add a fest in Washington state and maybe one in Colorado or Utah, and the continent is pretty well covered.

I think the reason Europe can host what seems like a hundred festivals of 60 bands each is because… well, it's more than geography, I'm sure. The different countries of Europe and the UK are considerably smaller than the US (and smaller than Canada… actually probably smaller than Mexico, too). But I suppose if we look at Europe as a whole, it is geographically the same as the US. And really, it's hard to judge, since most of those festivals are metal festivals with bands that run the gamut from extreme, thrash, hardcore, black, dark or doom, prog, and power metal (though I'm not sure if hardcore and extreme aren't the same thing). There's an eclectic mix for you… And maybe these festivals do so well because they do have huge line ups, multiple stages to support those big line ups, and lots of corporate sponsorship from magazines, beers, and… whomever else. Might not that be another way to go with our prog festivals? Now, I know the labels, prog review sites (this one included), general fans as patrons, provide funds to support the festivals, but I'm thinking bigger in addition. I do know that ProgPower has or has had corporate sponsorship from Guitar Center, for example. How much, I don't know. I mean, I don't know the dollar amount, or "gifts in kind" in terms of loaner drum kits, keyboards, and backline and other instruments that are a bit harder to load onto a commercial airliner (not impossible, but not cheap and easy either). So, that would be an example of a festival that does. Perhaps NEARFest and RoSFest, etc., have as well (not necessarily GC). If not, it's worth considering.

We have to remember also, I think, a sell-out crowd at these festivals is about 1000 people; fewer at RoSFest and CalProg as they are smaller venues. Well, RoSFest has been at a smaller venue, I don't recall the seating capacity at its new home in Gettysburg. And I don't know what ProgDay draws, but sadly I don't think it's 1000. I'm not dismissing that as nothing, as it's just not practical to expect these festivals to book Madison Square Gardens or Staples Center. I mean really, Kansas plays casinos and county fairs nowadays. Yes seems to play slightly bigger venues, but I don't think the order of MSG or Staples...

Have I, after all this, really come to some answer that truly paints the status of progressive music festivals in the US in 2011? Yes and no. Getting back to NEARFest, only because it was what launched this thoughtstream, I guess the question is: Who do you want to draw? Neo fans, classic prog fans, RIO fans, or... what? And maybe Umphrey's McGee, since they were one of the headliners for 2011, was pitched at the wrong audience. I mean sure, there are a few jam-band fans amongst the prog crowd (maybe more than a few, but proportionally fewer than, say, classic Italian prog fans...). Had NEARFest been promoted amongst the jam-band crowd (and I don't know that it wasn't; I'm just saying...), that fan base might have bought more tickets. Except, we get back to the comment on ProgressiveEars.com...

We'll have to see what 2012 brings...

* basically, if you have a one-time a year or less publication you can accept advertising and not be assessed taxes which is why, presumably, festivals don't have theirs taxed. I'm strictly speaking about US tax code, of course. It may be different elsewhere.

Marching To A New Drummer

ProgressiveWorld.net Presents:

Marching To A Different Drummer
I was going to post this as a straight news item -- "Dream Theater reveals their new drummer to be... " and then share that info. Oh, it's out there, to be sure. Not that their selection is "out there" as in unexpected. I mean, it isn't Justin Bieber or anything -- if you've seen his movie (I've not, but clips in the news) we know that Bieber plays/played drums. No, by out there I mean it's in the news and so my being ... vague here is just ... well, to make a point.

So, I got to thinking about all this and find I have more editorial opinions than a simple italicized and bracketed aside would accommodate.

Unless you've been living in a cave for -- what, the last six months? -- Mike Portnoy left Dream Theater. Not willingly but voluntarily, as we all know (except those living in caves, I guess). So, there were days and days of that "drama." Portnoy quoted, Petrucci, LaBrie, Rudess, Myung all quoted. Actually, so much so, I just stopped posted the news. It's out there, elsewhere. It was just the same thing over and over. We get it - Portnoy didn't want to leave, just take break; the other members wanted to dive right into working on their next album... so on and so forth.

Don't get me wrong, I like Dream Theater; though honestly, I've not listened to their last several albums, so I guess I'm still stuck at... oh, whichever one I last reviewed. Ergo, my fave still remains Images And Words, which I haven't reviewed. So, I'm not "hating on" Dream Theater, just all the ...theater surrounding them. (Oh, isn't "Surrounded" a song of theirs?)

Shortly after Portnoy's departure, they began auditioning new drummers. It all took place over a period of 3 days, in New York City, where "the band played, jammed and spoke candidly with seven of the world's greatest drummers, learning about them musically, personally and professionally, and assessing the fit of each drummer's incredible chops with the band's trademark prog-rock sound," so sayeth or repeateth Blabbermouth.net. Then, for whatever reason, the band left the reveal of their selection until this week. Well, it is NFL Draft week... ... ... Ok, maybe there were legal reasons - their selection had commitments to whichever band he was in (yeh, all the candidates were men), or a contract with a label or whatever. But, you know, it's not the delay that bothers me or that I have an opinion about... it's all the ... conceit about it.

The whole "reveal" has been presented with as much suspense - or pomp - as a major movie opening... or, well, the NFL Draft. How so... well, not really to LeBron James' proportions, but... near enough. They didn't call it "The Decision" but, taking a page from their own songbook, used "The Spirit Carries On" to title their reveal. It's apropos, of course; a subtle hint that Dream Theater post Portnoy will still be Dream Theater. Different, to be sure, but that the spirit will...uh, carry on. But, rather than just issue a press release, they set out a few breadcrumbs.

One first had to visit their Facebook page, signing for up the mailing list which shared more details about how to view the first video installment. It and the second, so far as I've been able to ascertain -- nope, haven't watched them myself -- shows each of the 7s auditions. My guess is, installment three included the final pick in this year's Dream Theater Drummer Draft.

"The members of Dream Theater have been extremely sensitive to the fact that this is not only a monumental decision in their own lives, but also a critical moment in the lives of their fans around the world," again, sourced from Blabbermouth.net, but I'm not sure if that's their editorializing or Roadrunner Records (which, of course, hosts Blabbermouth.net). "'The departure of our lifelong bandmate and friend was an unexpected and truly heartbreaking blow,' says guitarist John Petrucci. 'The fact that as a result of that event we'd be introduced to seven infinitely capable and uniquely talented drummers was heartening.'"

Well, of course, it is - a monumental decision - because you all know, the most monumental decision we've been waiting for isn't whether Donald Trump will run for President, or if Libya's Gaddafi will step down, or what Syria's Assad will do next, or the dozen or so other things that have a national or global impact. No, it's Who'll Be Dream Theater's Next Drummer?!

Ok, I get it being important to the band, as their decision could continue or end their career, but come on... do we really need to assign it monumental importance status? I mean, unless your fans are unhealthily obsessive about the band, I don't really think who you choose as drummer will impact their lives "monumentally." Alright, I'll admit maybe The Donald decision about running isn't monumental either, at least not to peoples and nations outside the US. Perhaps I was being deliberately pompous with that. Did you think of that? Huh?

Sorry, my argument's not with you. But if he does and he wins*, that would have global implications...

And, of course, it would be monumental for the drummer chosen -- to be thrust, perhaps, on a stage larger and brighter than he had heretofore ever stood upon. Dream Theater are big, hugely influential upon dozens of progressive metal bands that have come in their wake. How often do you read - heck maybe in my reviews even - that so and so sounds like Labrie for example? Or musically such and such band sounds like Dream Theater circa whenever. So yeh, Dream Theater are a big deal in the music world. But who they choose for drummer should not change the course of their fan's lives. They might lose fans, they might gain fans; some fans may never forgive them for letting Portnoy go; some may come back to them because they're glad Portnoy's gone. I figure most will just take it stride and wait for the next album to come out.

Who were the "lucky seven"? Aquiles Priester (Angra, Paul Di'Anno); Peter Wildoer (Darkane); Marco Minnemann (Kreator, Necrophagist, Ephel Duath, Joe Satriani) -- Marco was oft rumoured to have been DT's choice --, Virgil Donati (Planet X, Seven The Hardway), Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal, Nile, Today Is The Day), Mike Mangini (Steve Vai, Extreme, Annihilator), and Thomas Lang (John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Glenn Hughes)

And after all that build up, all the speculation, all the theater of this dream, who is the new Dream Theater drummer? ... Stay tuned for my next editorial to find out.

Just kidding. It's Mike Mangini.

May 1 -- Addendum: And the band will release a DVD about all this, too. Well, maybe. It's just supposition on the part of the director of the webisodes. But he further supposes it will be a bonus disc along with their new CD. Which otherwise to me would just be... milking it, really. Or perhaps I've just been overly cynical about all this. [This addendum was added May 1, but um... only at the main site, I'm now appending it here, to keep 'em in sync - SS 6/26]

Here's my potential anti-Trump bumper sticker: Trump Trump's Rump. I think I'll go copyright that right now.

[Note, I've also published this at the "parent site" as Ruminations: April 30, 2011]

It's The End Of The Year As We Know It

Yes, my dear reader(s), two posts in one day. I couldn't very well make the first one any longer than it was, now could I? Well, I could, but I wouldn't.

2009 is over and yet for me, it still feels like it's January 2009. I had such grand plans of keeping up with all the wonderful (hopefully wonderful) new releases from our favorite artists or labels. But life happened and pulled me away from the reviewing I so wanted to do. And yes, that's the story for the last few years.

But, I have been listening to CDs and so... here are some initial thoughts. Some may or may not have already been expressed in Blog 1... I'm not lookin' back at it.

EchoUs - The Tide Decides: my first thought when listening to this not very loud at work was of Genesis. Listening more, I'm not sure what I was thinking. If you were to take some slightly abstract electronic music and add vocals, then you'd have some idea of this release. Now admittedly, I still haven't listened to it loudly (my promo copy is a CDR that got trapped in my car CD player; I do my best listening on my drive into work as it's my "me time") so there may be much more to it than that.

Frost* - Experiments In Mass Appeal. Well, some parts do have elements of mass appeal... memorable choruses being foremost. Now... experimental it's not. It's quite dramatic at times, esp. the the opening, title track. I've not decided fully yet whether this has grabbed me as much as their debut.

Dominici - 03 A Trilogy Part 3. This former vocalist of Dream Theater, from before they were even a fraction of the mega stars they are now, has created a CD that... while good, also seems to me to be... routine. It's progressive metal. The track that stands out is the balladic "So Help Me God." The setting for this 3-album concept work, as I understand it to be, is rather dystopic. But dystopias and the end of the world scenarios play well (aren't there like 3 movies coming out in January with that as a theme?).

Demians - Building An Empire. This is a sometimes intense, dramatic CD. The style is progressive rock, not metal. I like this quite a bit, actually. But my full review will reveal more as to why. But it's appealing without being commercial.

Not all of these are 2009 releases, I know. Echo Us is; came out in July... the others... well, I've sneaking suspicion I've been listening to them for the last year, given their 2008 release date... as 2009 was the year I would catch up on 2008 and keep up with 2009. I didn't make a New Year's Resolution to that, but I did say that to Hansi Cross of Progress Records. I actually think I've said something along those lines to him each of the last 2 or 3 years.

Well, 2010 is the year to do it. If you've sent a CD for review, I will review it. Well, if you send me hip-hop, country, boy-band pop, or teen-pop, no. I won't review it. But thanks for the coaster. Prog rock, metal, avant-guard, electronic (as in Tangerine Dream, not House), yes. It may take a while, but I'm not the one to listen to something once and write a review.

2010 is also our 13th anniversary - well, come April 2010. So, I'm quite pleased by that. Not sure if we'll have any hoopla for it as we did... sorta... for our 10th, but we'll see. I've some ideas I'm mulling over.

In a brief look back at the decade, I want to note that back in 2000 is when this site (the main site) really took off, when I was joined by John "Bobo" Bollenberg and Larry "LarryD" Daglieri in crafting the content of this site; others soon joined us for the ride -- in no particular order: Clayton Walnum, Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck, Marcel Haster, Marcelo Silveyra, Richard Zywotkiewicz, Tom Karr, Joshua "Prawg Dawg" Turner, David Cisco, along with occassional contributions from John Morley, John Stout, Tony Emmerson, Tonny Larsen, among others. 2000 is also when my tenure at Progression Magazine began, with an article (iirc) on Napster, which was then a novelty and the subject of much controversy. Nowadays, of course, there dozens of places to download legally (or illegally, sadly - just say NO to the illegal download!!). My run at the mag ended in 2008, but it gave me chance to share some thoughts with a wider audience.

Hmm... what else about the last 10 years? (Yes, there are the obvious big milestones that you will see replayed endlessly on CNN, etc.). Oh, I know we've lost many a prog musician in those 10 years... I'm sure a list is out there, I can think of Pip Pyle, Pim Koopman, Paul Young (of Mike and the Mechanics), Shaun Geurin, Hugh Hopper ... oh, so many others. And, we have to add to that list, I see, Eric Woolfson (Alan Parsons Project) who passed away on December 3.

Here is the posting at Rolling Stone: "Eric Woolfson, the co-founder of the British prog rock band the Alan Parsons Project, died of cancer this week [December 3] in London at the age of 64, THR [The Hollywood Reporter] writes. Woolfson had a role in the band’s biggest songs, "Don’t Answer Me" and "Eye In The Sky,” a track which received even greater exposure as the intro music for the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan era." [I've posted a fuller news item at the main site here].

On that grim note, I would like to lighten the mood by wishing you (everyone... anyone?) a Happy New Year.

Don't Look Back (And Yet I Have To)

Well... this whole blog thing didn't get off to a fast start did it? 5 months go by and nothing beyond that first post. Things have been busy at ProgressiveWorld.net, mostly behind the scenes.

I have had a draft of the second post prepped for... weeks... months now. But not polished and ready for the world to read. As we look at 2009 stretched out behind us, and see 2010 looming in our headlights (the pain in our eyeballs... sorry... that lyric just popped into my head)... here are some thoughts I had since that first post....

While I was on my way to work this morning [that was July 31, 2009], listening to the radio, a song came on that prompted a stream of thoughts. The song in question was "How Soon Is Now" by The Smiths. Now, back in their heyday, they were a mere blip on my radar. I'd heard of them and my sister was a fan, especially of Morrissey. I was a rocker – more or less: Kansas, Eagles, Billy Joel, Journey, etc. I hadn't heard anything by the band and really knew nothing about them. I do recall a comment by Marillion's Steve Hogarth some years ago, that England hadn't gotten over The Smiths.

Anyway, returning to the present – or the near present as this really covers the past few months - "How Soon..." has been turning up in the rotation frequently. What I like about this track is the keening guitar and the whole sense of drama that it has, that the slightly industrial percussion and keyboards give it. Morrisey's vocal performance is only so-so, but I guess suitably moody. That is one comment I remember reading at or near the time of their popularity – moody.

All this led to me thinking about other non-prog songs that have caught my ear of late but are in no way new songs. Another is The Jam's "Town Like Malice." Not at all what I expected from The Jam, though maybe this is the aberation. I was expecting something like punk. And then there's Joy Division's [?, I think it was "Love Will Tear Us Apart"], another song that JackFM has been including in their rotation. Like the Jam, Joy Division is another group whose name I knew, but their music I did not. And a few songs by the The Cure. No, not "Love Cats" (though I do love cats); but "Close To Me" … and actually it's this little shimmery keyboard phrase that I like; it's a cheerful, almost laugh-like sound. And I never really thought of The Cure as cheerful ("Lovesong" actually fits more my impression). And while I can dig "Friday I'm In Love" uh, yeh, that squeal from Robert Smith is... well, makes me chuckle everytime... because my cat sometimes yawns that way.

Speaking of just some cool parts of songs that have caught my ear - the effervesance of "Steal My Sunshine." I mean, I'm not fond of the vocals, but that "inside a fizzy soda can" sound is neat. And a keyboard phrase in a track by Andre 3000, "Hey Ya."

Back in high school there was a girl I sorta knew. Wouldn't exactly say friends with, but that we were acquaintances. Well, maybe I only talked to her once, come to think of it because I can only remember one conversation – she told me her uncle (or some male relative) was the set designer on Star Trek. Cool, I remember thinking, being a Star Trek geek. However, I dredge up this anecdote because the other thing I remember was her jacket – she wore it daily. Okay, I don't remember everything because the more I think about it, it was either an old Army jacket or a black parka (or maybe she had two). What I do remember with clarity was it festooned with buttons/pins (or badges in the UK vernacular) for The Jam, Circle Jerks, and probably a dozen others. I wonder what it was about these bands that attracted her then that didn't me, that does for me now?

At least those songs. They could be the aberation as I said. I mean, take Blue Oyster Cult's classic "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." Does it really have the same vibe – production tone and feel – as anything else on Agents Of Fortune? I don't think so. It's like that song was recorded at one time, found to be a bit more … radio friendly (more so than maybe "Vera Gemini") and the rest of the LP built around it. Music used to be done that way, artists recording singles and then an album was what compilations are now. It wasn't until artists started recording a bunch of songs at one time and put together an album, and pulled a single from it. (Yeh, that's simplifying it a bit).

But I digress. So that BOC chestnut always seemed different from the rest of the album to me. But, that isn't such an anomaly since "Burning For You" is the same for the album it's on.

Another anecdote, from around the same time. My high school played the radio at lunch, blaring out across the quad. It was either KMET or KLOS, though I'm thinking more the latter. For some odd reason and for no special reason I recall a particular day walking across the quad, heading for my locker, while "Burning For You" was playing. Not so weird I suppose; I recall a day – though I don't recall the exact date, mind – having a conversation with a friend while Bob and Doug MacKenzie's music hit "Great White North" was playing…

Although my referencing KMET for my LA-area readers will surely date me, for the benefit (detriment) of others, given that KMET went fzzt in 1985 (became KTWV The Wave, about which I also have anecdotes for another time), this would put my high school years as 1981 - 1985. Yeh, I'm either oooold compared to you :-) or still a young pup.

My contention is that there may be music we dislike at one point in our lives, but come to like at another. I've several examples that I'll just… brush on. Classical. It was, eeewww, music my dad listened to. Then in college a prof. played Handel's "Water Music." I was hooked, finding I quite liked Handel and Mozart the most. Icehouse. Didn't care much for them really, a single here and there. But some time went by (some 15 years go now), I relistened to an album of theirs… became a fan. Duran Duran. Oh, Duran Duran. My sister was a big fan – posters festooned to her wall, she'd buy books, pins, whatever was Duran Duran related. Me, I was like "eh". But then Rio snuck up on me. Oh, not the hits, but some of the other tracks that had … in some fringe way a proggy feel. Certainly art rock.

There are other examples; I'll save that for another blog.

So, who knows. Some 20 years after their release, I may find myself a fan of The Smiths, The Jam. I don't think they'll knock my steadfast favourites of the top of the list, but even those favorites aren't necessarily about their latest works and may in fact be some 30 years old.

Incidentally, some of the songs that are getting (way too much) airplay I detest! "Blister In The Sun" by the Violent Femmes is one. There's another song, perhaps by them, too, as the vocalist is the same. It's ... oh, I don't even recall the title now; thankfully it's short. I mean… they just don't appeal to me.

So... yes, with a few nips and tucks here and there, that is what came spilling out on a July morning when I was um... supposed to be working.

Welcome

Being somewhat of a tech-geek and needing some way to easily share some of my initial thoughts about CDs - and other things - I've started this blog. It relates to the main website at www.progressiveworld.net.

It also, in a way, replaces the old Ruminations section from PW's initial site (now under Articles/Editorials). Which, if you are only visiting this blog, won't make much sense.

So, firstly, an introduction. Progressiveworld.net was started in 1997 as a review site for progressive music releases - rock, ambient, metal, etc. We've published more than 4500 hundred reviews in that time (although as of this posting, we're in the midst of an upgrade/transfer so not all 4500 show up - yet - on the main site). Plus you'll find an assortment of interviews, DVD reviews, a gallery, news, and more.

I, Stephanie, am the publisher/contributing editor and creator of the site; there are and have been as many as a dozen contributors over the years, so it's not a one person operation.

So, what is on the editor's CD player right now? And what does she/do I think of what I'm hearing? In a quick snapshot we have comments on a few:

Solstice Coil - A Prescription For Paper Cuts: Solstice Coil are from Israel. Here's a band that at one moment I think is a bit RIO-ish (Rock in Opposition) at others symphonic prog and at others neo-prog... all at the same time. Interesting, intense and at times... dramatic.

Presto Ballet - The Lost Art Of Time Travel: From the US, Presto Ballet are prog rock group with a definite 70s influence, leaning more towards the hard rock of the era rather than the prog. Shades of Rush and Styx in their sound, featuring Kurdt Vanderhoof on guitar (ex-Metal Church).

Rousseau - At The Cinema: Either my memory is faulty, but I don't recall that their earlier works were so soft-rock/AOR. There's even a bit of a country rock feel to one piece that seems so much like something from Don Henley. At another moment, it's of Fish that I think. I've been listening with out the tracklisting, so that's why I've not included track names here; of course, the full-on review that'll be posted shortly will. It's not a bad CD, but it's very...bland.

Well, that should do it for this first blog. More to come.