Episode 129 : Matt Stevens Gets Verbose; and When the Squad Was New

Guitarist Matt Stevens should be no stranger to fans of up-and-coming prog and post-rock music, as the band he's part of -- The Fierce and the Dead -- are on quite the tear in the past couple of years. Securing some key opening slot and festival gigs, the band is riding the wave to greater success, the latest chapter of which is the release of their new album The Euphoric on Bad Elephant Music. Stevens chats with host Mark Ashby about how they're controlling the tempo of their increase in stature, how much of the recorded output is live-to-tape or otherwise, and some tales of playing RoSfest in the USA in 2017. For the second half of the show, we set the wayback machine to August 2014 for a listen in on the very first episode of The Prog Squad, just when you thought those shows might be lost forever. Hear what David Elliott, Jason Spencer, and Cliff Pearson were like before they got to know each other better -- it's like a blind date! Visit The Fierce and the Dead online at www.fierceandthedead.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"Dancing Robots" (The Fierce and the Dead)

"Truck" (The Fierce and the Dead)

"Parts 7 & 8" (The Fierce and the Dead)

"Verbose" (The Fierce and the Dead)

"Step Beyond" (Yes)

"Lonely People" (Styx)

"I've Seen All Good People" (Yes)

"Time Flies" (Porcupine Tree)

"Hitchhiking to Byzantium" (Anubis)

"The Euphoric" (The Fierce and the Dead)

"Like" Progtopia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Progtopia and www.facebook.com/groups/1380357308874546/) and follow Progtopia on Twitter (@Progtopia) to send a message about the show and to receive news about current and upcoming interviews. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 23 May 2018