Steven Wilson interview

here




okay, I want to address a couple of points.

For one thing, the whole "Camera-Phone" issue the girl brings up, of course I follow and respect Steven's take on it. But this goes back to the bs that many of these advanced-screenings of movies where they make people go back to their car and leave their cellphones inside.

Okay, most of the cellphones that have camera's and can shoot video:

a) the quality is rubbish

b) the amount of space that can fit in like 75% or more of them, wouldn't be able to record even 10% of the movie, or in this case, the concert.

c) he doesn't stress actual *live recordings* or AUDIO to be more specific.

I've somehow in the past managed to get in an undesired argument with some folks over Porcupine Tree's approach to bootlegs. While I have said in the past, and will continue to believe; they may not be 100% promoting the practice; places like this and this exist for a reason.

Ya know, they aren't like The Grateful Dead, Phish, String Cheese Incident or Umphrey's McGee in that level of taping and trading isn't like that of a jamband. But it's silly to say the band feel so strongly about taping that they make a big deal out of trying to stop it. And that is why it was made such a big deal, back in the fall of 2006, they specifically tried to police it. And the reason behind that was because they were playing their entire upcoming/unreleased album live; something I don't believe they had ever done before. They wanted the 1st experience of people hearing to be the studio version.

At any case, that won't exactly be the case after September 21st, but perhaps before then, the camera-phone (and other audio-recording) restrictions will happen. But it's not primarily based on their or Steven's view of it. Because the fact is, taping their shows has gone on really since they started gigging in the 90's, that if they did have such a problem with it, why did it just take until 2006 for them to say anything about it?

Another point that I'd like to stress from this interview. The part about King Crimson and the remastering. There's many Porcupine Tree fans who have absolutely no clue who Robert Fripp or King Crimson are. It may not matter, but it would be nice to notice some of these people now checking out their music. And perhaps many of the other early progressive rock. Genesis for example.

The ole Porcupine Tree sound alternative and recently Metal; prog rock? huh? It's people like this that piss me off. It's like to say prog rock to those people..let's be honest, kids, or people 35 and younger. A lot of them in their teens-to-early-20's. To them, prog rock is The Mars Volta and Coheed and Cambria. Not Genesis, Yes, or King Crimson. And why is that? it's because places like SHITFORK and myspazz forces their brains to think that.

There's too many kids who don't trace back the roots of the music they listen to enough. And way too many magazines and music journalists who scoff at the P-word. To them, it's like a crime to mention interest in ELP or Dream Theater. They stereotype and decide that something's bad before they've even heard it.

That's where I fall into No-Man's Land. And it seems to be a never-ending life's struggle. Enjoying different related, but not-the-same, styles. Retro and modern. Poppy and technical. Simple and complex. And in some cases, all at the same time.

Why can't these kids that like Porcupine Tree, also like Marillion or Gentle Giant? Seriously? maybe it's just a matter of them finally getting old enough to realize the errors of their earlier/naive ways. And at the same time, why can't old fogeys who attend Nearfest and however many other prog rock festivals (RosFest, Three Rivers Prog Fest, CalProg, ProgDay, Summer's End) also start branching out and realize there's a ton of OTHER music out there that has what they enjoyed about prog rock, but it doesn't sound exactly like it. And within both camps, the Metal side as well. As I've said, some of the best younger songwriters are doing different kinds of Extreme Metal. And then within that group, those folks should not overlook both the classic progressive music and the *new prog* stuff as well. Also the better *post-rock* but that style is closely related to the *new/alt/indie* prog that separating it doesn't really add much.

But the fact is, there really aren't a lot of people who find appeal in all of these areas. In moderation I suppose, but I happen to be one of the only music fans who seeks a ton of this stuff out. Mind you, I will never mean to make myself out to be the most schooled in all of these (save for the *new prog* perhaps which is probably my favorite of them all anyway). I'm not a Savant in older progressive rock or Extreme Metal. Nor Post Rock for that matter compared to many others. But I have enough knowledge, and a constant desire to experience more from each of them.

So with Steven Wilson producing the 5.1 King Crimson mixes, will it cause some of the PT fanbase to go out and discover the band? Probably not many; perhaps a few, but not nearly enough in my mind. I'd love that to be wrong.

However, I can't forget to add the fact the one album I have from the 80's King Crimson, "Three of a Perfect Pair," other than the title track, the music bored the fuck out of me. Also the 90's-present King Crimson is nothing compared to the classic period ('69-74). The people who constantly kiss the ass of the modern Crimson baffle me. Is it horrible? no, but it's a bit like Yes. There really is no comparison.