Progtopia Archives

Who says the bass player gets no respect? Certainly not Julie Slick and Marco Machera, otherwise known as J + M, who will be releasing their first album - Fourth Dementia - within the next month or so. Slick, member of the Adrian Belew Power Trio and the Crimson ProjecKt, has teamed up with Machera (previously featured on a Progtopia Friday Finds show) to create eight instrumental tracks that span progressive, jazz, and experimental styles that often remind a listener of King Crimson but also contain much that is unique to this talented pairing. Host Mark Ashby talked with both bassists about how their long-distance partnership came to be, what it's like to be a part of the Crimson family tree, and if there's a glass ceiling in the rock music business or not. Their websites are www.julieslick.com and www.marcomachera.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:
"Esteem"
"Infinity x 1"
"Feck You Op"
"1986"
"Krush"

"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. Please also visit our partner stations IAAM Radio at www.itsallaboutmusic.net and PRM Radio at www.progrockandmetal.net, where you can listen to and request songs hundreds of bands in the genre. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 10 June 2014

Direct download: Progtopia_052_Krushing_Grooves_with_J__M.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:16pm EDT

Flutes and yodels don't find a home in many genres, but luckily for fans of those musical expressions, prog rock is open to them, perhaps never exemplified better than in the music of Dutch quartet Focus. Having been around for over 40 years with some breaks in between, the current lineup consists of Menno Gootjes (guitar), Bobby Jacobs (bass), Pierre van der Linden (drums), and Thijs van Leer (keyboards, flute, vocals). They've just released an album of reimagined takes of past songs called Golden Oldies (though some aren't so old), and they're touring this year in support of it. Host Mark Ashby talked with original member van Leer about the making of their iconic song "Hocus Pocus," influences from classical and classic rock musicians, and why only one band really counts as progressive rock in his view -- and it's not his own. Find them on the web at www.focustheband.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:
"House of the King"
"Focus 1"
"Hocus Pocus"
"Sylvia"
"Aya Yippie Hippie Yee"
"Brother"

"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. Please also visit our partner stations IAAM Radio at www.itsallaboutmusic.net and PRM Radio at www.progrockandmetal.net, where you can listen to and request songs hundreds of bands in the genre. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 6 May 2014

Direct download: Progtopia_050_Forty_Years_in_Focus.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:59pm EDT

Many classic bands, prog and otherwise, got their start in the late '60s; very few have made a continuously successful run from then until now. Among those fortunate and talented few are the UK quartet Wishbone Ash, whose latest studio album Blue Horizon has recently been released. The foursome (Joe Crabtree [drums], Muddy Manninen [guitar], Bob Skeat [bass], and founding member Andy Powell [guitar]) are mounting a tour of parts of the US beginning on the 15th of April in support of the album. In advance of that, host Mark Ashby spoke with drummer Crabtree about his arrival in the band several years ago as someone who had been alive less time than the band had been active, the diverse styles exhibited through their catalog and even within one album, and the recently-decided lawsuit against former member Martin Turner, among many other topics. Find the band online at www.wishboneash.com and Crabtree at www.joecrabtree.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:
"All There Is to Say"
"American Century"
"Warrior"
"Take It Back"
"Being One"

"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. Please also visit our partner stations IAAM Radio at www.itsallaboutmusic.net and PRM Radio at www.progrockandmetal.net, where you can listen to and request songs hundreds of bands in the genre. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 10 April 2014

Direct download: Progtopia_049_Wishbone_Ash_Takes_It_Back.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:51pm EDT

Singer, label CEO, even coffeemaker. Nightmare Records' head honcho Lance King fits all these labels and more, but despite that, he's not easily labeled at all. Vocalist for Pyramaze, Balance of Power, and others, since 1990 he's been at the helm of his own company, signing more awesome bands than you can shake a microphone at. Along with members of Anubis Gate (Episode 001), King released his first (and so far only) solo album A Moment in Chiros in 2011, a conceptual work that leans heavily on numerology and spiritual enlightenment yet still rocks hard. Host Mark Ashby talked with King about the sequence of events that led him to start Nightmare Records, the thought process that went into his solo album (and when there might be another one), and how he progressed from a New Age-type of upbringing to a brand of Christianity that, while perhaps not mainstream, is no less deeply felt. The websites to visit are www.nightmarerecords.com and www.lancekingvox.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:
"Infinity Divine"
"Sacred Systems"
"A Moment in Chiros"
"Awakening"
"Joy Everlasting"

"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. Please also visit our partner stations IAAM Radio at www.itsallaboutmusic.net and PRM Radio at www.progrockandmetal.net, where you can listen to and request songs hundreds of bands in the genre including Lance King and many other Nightmare Records artists. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 5 March 2014

Direct download: Progtopia_048_Lance_King_Living_on_Chiros_Time.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:30pm EDT

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