With The Moody Blues, Dire Straits, Judas Priest and some others nominated for the Rock Hall for the 1st time this year, I have thought of (and seen on other sites) making a list of Artists who have yet to even be nominated that are exceptionally HARD TO BELIEVE.
I suppose with the long delayed nominations of the likes of Rush, Yes, Genesis, Kiss, Deep Purple, Chicago, Journey, Peter Gabriel and some others that per how popular and historically influential, it's really baffling they haven't even been nominated yet, let alone voted in.
Also the likes of Bon Jovi, The Cure or Janet Jackson, it is hard to believe they are not in, but also have at least been nominated once or twice.
Boston
Carpenters, The
Def Leppard
Doobie Brothers, The
Duran Duran
Blue Oyster Cult
Faith No More
Guess Who, The
Huey Lewis and the News
INXS
Iron Maiden
Jethro Tull
King Crimson
Megadeth
Monkees, The
Motorhead
Osbourne, Ozzy
Roxy Music
Rundgren, Todd
Styx
Three Dog Night
Toto
Huge Pop Artists:
Collins, Phil
Houston, Whitney
Loggins, Kenny
Michael, George
Newton-John, Olivia
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Thursday, October 5, 2017
2018 ROCK HALL Nominees: THE MOODIES and....(not) The Monkees?????????????
edit 2:
https://www.rockhall.com/fan-vote/2018-fan-vote
Fan Vote is up fwiw. 1 per email per day.
Flooding can still happen, people can just use as many different email addresses as they wish.
https://wtam.iheart.com/content/2017-10-04-rock-hall-announces-2018-nominees/
edit: Rolling Stone just chimed in with some good points about reunions/live appearances (Kate Bush, Dire Straits) which might be nice
(CLEVELAND) - Nineteen artists and bands are on the 2018 list of nominees to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - nine of them for the first time - including the Eurythmics, Dire Straits, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, The Moody Blues, Nina Simone, Radiohead, Rage Against Machine and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. There is also at least one major Cleveland tie-in - Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek of the Cars met each other in Cleveland before relocating to Boston to form the Cars.
The full list is below:
Bon Jovi
Kate Bush
The Cars
Depeche Mode
Dire Straits
Eurythmics
J. Geils Band
Judas Priest
LL Cool J
MC5
The Meters
Moody Blues
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Nina Simone
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Link Wray
The Zombies
Ballots will be sent to an international voting body of more than 900 artists, historians and members of the music industry. Factors such as an artist’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique are taken into consideration.
Beginning Oct. 5 and continuing through 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 5, 2017, fans can visit rockhall.com/vote to cast votes for who they believe to be most deserving of induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The top five artists, as selected by the public, will comprise a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2018 inductees.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2018 Inductees will be announced in December 2017. HBO will once again broadcast the ceremony. Broadcast details will be announced later.
The inductions will be held at Public Auditorium in Cleveland on April 14, 2018. Details and ticket on-sale information will also be announced later.
MY PREDICTIONS (not wishlist):
If they only induct 5 (which it self is 1 of the biggest problems with this Rock Hall process).
Radiohead
Bon Jovi
The Cars
The Moody Blues
Rage Against the Machine
Also the FAN VOTE doesn't seem all the more improved per that write-up, to prevent FLOODING. But then again 1 out 900 / 1/900th seems so unrepresentative of the amount of people who given the other 899+ voters get the same say as the Millions of fans/votes for that 1 Ballot.
The Fans VOTE SHOULD BE WORTH 1/3 or 33% of the RESULT. I.e. LIKE THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME, broken record... broken record...broken record
My Wishlist among those:
The Moody Blues
Judas Priest
Nina Simone
Dire Straits
Kate Bush
I wouldn't mind seeing The Zombies, or even Depeche Mode or even Link Wray or The Eurythmics get in I suppose.
19 nominees is more than the 10 or 12 or even 15 in past years, but it's still not enough. More so, inducting only 5-6. But maybe BABY STEPS.
I just think Radiohead is a lock, Bon Jovi is too big and basically this years version of Journey, and The Cars have been very close the last 2 or 3 years, like Yes and Deep Purple, I think this very likely could be their year to finally get in.
Among the Omissions:
The Monkees
Jethro Tull
Emerson Lake and Palmer
King Crimson
Iron Maiden
Motorhead
Duran Duran
George Michael
The Monkees, year after year don't show up, and I think their fans should try and get involved more directly. Specifically, there's a Podcast called "Ziltch!" which passionate fans interview people occasionally. And if they could, they should try and talk to Joel Peresman whose 1 of the chairman and very involved in the Rock Hall process. And ask him just what they can do to try and even just get The Monkees on the Ballot.
The fact that The Moody Blues are finally on there after being eligible for nearly 30 years, might help The Monkees and some other overlooked artists.
I may writeup and/or make a video again about this and this year's nominees. But for now/tonight, that's of course more than enough ranting.
I do hope The Moodies make it, although if they don't I won't be shocked.
https://www.rockhall.com/fan-vote/2018-fan-vote
Fan Vote is up fwiw. 1 per email per day.
Flooding can still happen, people can just use as many different email addresses as they wish.
https://wtam.iheart.com/content/2017-10-04-rock-hall-announces-2018-nominees/
edit: Rolling Stone just chimed in with some good points about reunions/live appearances (Kate Bush, Dire Straits) which might be nice
(CLEVELAND) - Nineteen artists and bands are on the 2018 list of nominees to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - nine of them for the first time - including the Eurythmics, Dire Straits, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, The Moody Blues, Nina Simone, Radiohead, Rage Against Machine and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. There is also at least one major Cleveland tie-in - Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek of the Cars met each other in Cleveland before relocating to Boston to form the Cars.
The full list is below:
Bon Jovi
Kate Bush
The Cars
Depeche Mode
Dire Straits
Eurythmics
J. Geils Band
Judas Priest
LL Cool J
MC5
The Meters
Moody Blues
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Nina Simone
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Link Wray
The Zombies
Ballots will be sent to an international voting body of more than 900 artists, historians and members of the music industry. Factors such as an artist’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique are taken into consideration.
Beginning Oct. 5 and continuing through 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 5, 2017, fans can visit rockhall.com/vote to cast votes for who they believe to be most deserving of induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The top five artists, as selected by the public, will comprise a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2018 inductees.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2018 Inductees will be announced in December 2017. HBO will once again broadcast the ceremony. Broadcast details will be announced later.
The inductions will be held at Public Auditorium in Cleveland on April 14, 2018. Details and ticket on-sale information will also be announced later.
MY PREDICTIONS (not wishlist):
If they only induct 5 (which it self is 1 of the biggest problems with this Rock Hall process).
Radiohead
Bon Jovi
The Cars
The Moody Blues
Rage Against the Machine
Also the FAN VOTE doesn't seem all the more improved per that write-up, to prevent FLOODING. But then again 1 out 900 / 1/900th seems so unrepresentative of the amount of people who given the other 899+ voters get the same say as the Millions of fans/votes for that 1 Ballot.
The Fans VOTE SHOULD BE WORTH 1/3 or 33% of the RESULT. I.e. LIKE THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAME, broken record... broken record...broken record
My Wishlist among those:
The Moody Blues
Judas Priest
Nina Simone
Dire Straits
Kate Bush
I wouldn't mind seeing The Zombies, or even Depeche Mode or even Link Wray or The Eurythmics get in I suppose.
19 nominees is more than the 10 or 12 or even 15 in past years, but it's still not enough. More so, inducting only 5-6. But maybe BABY STEPS.
I just think Radiohead is a lock, Bon Jovi is too big and basically this years version of Journey, and The Cars have been very close the last 2 or 3 years, like Yes and Deep Purple, I think this very likely could be their year to finally get in.
Among the Omissions:
The Monkees
Jethro Tull
Emerson Lake and Palmer
King Crimson
Iron Maiden
Motorhead
Duran Duran
George Michael
The Monkees, year after year don't show up, and I think their fans should try and get involved more directly. Specifically, there's a Podcast called "Ziltch!" which passionate fans interview people occasionally. And if they could, they should try and talk to Joel Peresman whose 1 of the chairman and very involved in the Rock Hall process. And ask him just what they can do to try and even just get The Monkees on the Ballot.
The fact that The Moody Blues are finally on there after being eligible for nearly 30 years, might help The Monkees and some other overlooked artists.
I may writeup and/or make a video again about this and this year's nominees. But for now/tonight, that's of course more than enough ranting.
I do hope The Moodies make it, although if they don't I won't be shocked.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Kevin Gilbert BOOK (English Version)
Some people may know Lorenzo from Italy who keeps a similar blog to mine, altprogcore.
Lorenzo has published some progressive rock books previously per links on his blog
but they are all in Italian.
So Lorenzo wants to try and get an English version of his Kevin Gilbert book published and he just launched a Kickstarter for it.
And while I would love to write something like this myself, I would hardly expect it to happen anytime soon. And more or less ANYTHING published about Kevin Gilbert is gold to me, even if it's just from a passionate fan like myself.
So, some may be up for reading a published book about Kevin Gilbert, checkout out the Campaign:
Kickstarter
Last year I've published Independently a book about Kevin Gilbert written in italian. Obviously some not italian Kevin fans have expressed their interest on this book, but I'm not a good translator so, since then, I've tried to find someone who did a proper job of translation. At last I've found the guy, but I can't afford the fee without being sure to sell at least a certain amount of copies. So, here I am on Kickstarter if you want to help me out to fund this project and want your English version of the book. I've set the final goal adding only the print and shipping costs, I am not interested in earning money from the book, but only in the translation.
With this book I've tried to give a chronological shape to Kevin's career collecting all the facts I've found in interviews and web resources, plus I have added my thoughts about his music and every album from his early days with NRG and Giraffe until his last masterpiece "The Shaming of the True" and the band Kaviar. A full discography with his collaborations and productions is also included.
Useful informations:
122 pages
Dimesions: 10,8cm x 17,48cm
Original cover artwork (back and front) by longtime Kevin Gilbert fan Lennart Fagerman You can find the italian version HERE
Lorenzo has published some progressive rock books previously per links on his blog
but they are all in Italian.
So Lorenzo wants to try and get an English version of his Kevin Gilbert book published and he just launched a Kickstarter for it.
And while I would love to write something like this myself, I would hardly expect it to happen anytime soon. And more or less ANYTHING published about Kevin Gilbert is gold to me, even if it's just from a passionate fan like myself.
So, some may be up for reading a published book about Kevin Gilbert, checkout out the Campaign:
Kickstarter
Last year I've published Independently a book about Kevin Gilbert written in italian. Obviously some not italian Kevin fans have expressed their interest on this book, but I'm not a good translator so, since then, I've tried to find someone who did a proper job of translation. At last I've found the guy, but I can't afford the fee without being sure to sell at least a certain amount of copies. So, here I am on Kickstarter if you want to help me out to fund this project and want your English version of the book. I've set the final goal adding only the print and shipping costs, I am not interested in earning money from the book, but only in the translation.
With this book I've tried to give a chronological shape to Kevin's career collecting all the facts I've found in interviews and web resources, plus I have added my thoughts about his music and every album from his early days with NRG and Giraffe until his last masterpiece "The Shaming of the True" and the band Kaviar. A full discography with his collaborations and productions is also included.
Useful informations:
122 pages
Dimesions: 10,8cm x 17,48cm
Original cover artwork (back and front) by longtime Kevin Gilbert fan Lennart Fagerman You can find the italian version HERE
OT: October Update/Projected Schedule
Colonoscopy: done.
Weekend in Duluth for the Anniversary: done.
Move/Storage: done
Bills/Budget: close to done?
The Colonoscopy I just had yesterday went good I think. I need to see my doctor though per they found no Hemorrhoids; i.e. for the last 6 months I've been totally wrong? They said I need to drink more water and take in more fiber like Metamucil, lol.
I swear it's a broken fucking record with More water/more fiber, etc In other words, I can't win (the water part goes back to this Neverending battle with Kidney Stones I've had since 2015). \
But I'm now scheduled to see my Primary doctor on Tuesday the 10th.
I just can't take lightly delaying/dealing with something for 6 months, and of course going through the crap of 3 days of Prep more less, for the 2nd time in less than 4 years (I had one at the end of 2013), and then the answer I get is not close to what I expected. They did remove 3 polyps, but even that is/was the source of my issue since March, that actually may require I get another Colonscopy within a year or 2.
And I'm 41 years old.
Most people don't have even 1 Colonoscopy until they're 50, yet I've now had 2, and may have to have 1 or more?
I may be overly paranoid, and I guess I'll find out more when I talk to my doctor next week.
During the prep, to kill time, I did finally watch/finish
Mew: and the Glass Handed Kites documentary
Victoria (per Netflix)
good stuff. The Mew thing in particular, learning about that album, the producer, and just reading a little more about the in-s and out's of the band. Visuals is a good record, but I have come to grips with it is not at the level of their others, including Plus/Minus.
I think Bo Madsen's presence is missing, but he may never return, so I'm kind of reevaluating how I look at their future music. I hope they come back with a classic album next, but I'm not sure if that will occur.
Upcoming concerts:
Michael McDonald (October)
Ne Obliviscaris (November)
Cloud Cult (April)
Maybe:
Robert Plant (February)
unlikely:
The Dear Hunter+The Family Crest in Chicago (December)
Marillion in Atlanta (February)
2016-2017 End of Year Albums:
the hope is to get going on it and finish it in the coming weeks.
Lots of albums to revisit and some of course coming in late (Small Leaks Sink Ships namely).
And of course 2017-2018 is looking to start out quite well with Galactic Cowboys and Kimbra albums already confirmed. The Reign of Kindo and some of the unclears looking more like 2017-2018 rather than 2016-2017 (Sculptured, Soundscape, In Vain and some others better make an announcement soon per Halloween is what? now 4 weeks away).
Videos?..almost made 1 this weekend but Colonoscopy prep doesn't really allow it. I wasn't even able to spent 30 minutes to watch the premiere of Ghosted on the FOX network.
Tonight though: missing the Black-ish Season premiere, and The Mayor premiere for Dean Magraw finally again at Black Dog. I'm going to also try and Stream the Twins/Yankees Wildcard game.
I expect them to lose, but looking at this, I think it may be their best chance to beat the Yankess per it is only 1 game/sudden-death, etc.
Weekend in Duluth for the Anniversary: done.
Move/Storage: done
Bills/Budget: close to done?
The Colonoscopy I just had yesterday went good I think. I need to see my doctor though per they found no Hemorrhoids; i.e. for the last 6 months I've been totally wrong? They said I need to drink more water and take in more fiber like Metamucil, lol.
I swear it's a broken fucking record with More water/more fiber, etc In other words, I can't win (the water part goes back to this Neverending battle with Kidney Stones I've had since 2015). \
But I'm now scheduled to see my Primary doctor on Tuesday the 10th.
I just can't take lightly delaying/dealing with something for 6 months, and of course going through the crap of 3 days of Prep more less, for the 2nd time in less than 4 years (I had one at the end of 2013), and then the answer I get is not close to what I expected. They did remove 3 polyps, but even that is/was the source of my issue since March, that actually may require I get another Colonscopy within a year or 2.
And I'm 41 years old.
Most people don't have even 1 Colonoscopy until they're 50, yet I've now had 2, and may have to have 1 or more?
I may be overly paranoid, and I guess I'll find out more when I talk to my doctor next week.
During the prep, to kill time, I did finally watch/finish
Mew: and the Glass Handed Kites documentary
Victoria (per Netflix)
good stuff. The Mew thing in particular, learning about that album, the producer, and just reading a little more about the in-s and out's of the band. Visuals is a good record, but I have come to grips with it is not at the level of their others, including Plus/Minus.
I think Bo Madsen's presence is missing, but he may never return, so I'm kind of reevaluating how I look at their future music. I hope they come back with a classic album next, but I'm not sure if that will occur.
Upcoming concerts:
Michael McDonald (October)
Ne Obliviscaris (November)
Cloud Cult (April)
Maybe:
Robert Plant (February)
unlikely:
The Dear Hunter+The Family Crest in Chicago (December)
Marillion in Atlanta (February)
2016-2017 End of Year Albums:
the hope is to get going on it and finish it in the coming weeks.
Lots of albums to revisit and some of course coming in late (Small Leaks Sink Ships namely).
And of course 2017-2018 is looking to start out quite well with Galactic Cowboys and Kimbra albums already confirmed. The Reign of Kindo and some of the unclears looking more like 2017-2018 rather than 2016-2017 (Sculptured, Soundscape, In Vain and some others better make an announcement soon per Halloween is what? now 4 weeks away).
Videos?..almost made 1 this weekend but Colonoscopy prep doesn't really allow it. I wasn't even able to spent 30 minutes to watch the premiere of Ghosted on the FOX network.
Tonight though: missing the Black-ish Season premiere, and The Mayor premiere for Dean Magraw finally again at Black Dog. I'm going to also try and Stream the Twins/Yankees Wildcard game.
I expect them to lose, but looking at this, I think it may be their best chance to beat the Yankess per it is only 1 game/sudden-death, etc.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Marillion: February 2018 American Tour
http://marillion.com/tour
FEBRUARY
3rd-8th Cruise to the Edge
9th Orlando, FL
10th: Atlanta, GA
12th: Durham, NC
13th: Greensburg, PA
15th: Buffalo, NY
16th: Royal Oak, MI
18th: Grand Rapids, MI
19th: St.Charles, IL
21st: Dallas, TX
FB Link
Unsure what I may do here.
1) I don't go to any of these shows. The most likely scenario. Robert Plant and some other shows just were announced in February already (G3 with Petrucci), with I'm sure more to come.
2) St.Charles, IL. I just looked it up on Google Maps. It's like an hour West of Chicago. I suppose that doesn't seem terrible except this is also in the middle of February. Driving to an area I'm unfamiliar with, etc. The directions may not be impossible, but at a min. it's more time required.
3) Atlanta, GA. I'm not sure, but I suspect where The Variety Playhouse is, is relatively close if not more or less off the MARTA route. And just in searching, it's only a 15 minute (drive) from Center Stage where ProgPower USA is held.
Of course no Minnesota date, but I would guess I have a better chance of playing in a Marillion tribute band in Minnesota than they ever coming back here sadly. But so be it. I'm glad they are coming back to the States, even with a limited tour schedule.
Also of course the biggest reason they are playing these additional dates are the fact they were on CTTE anyway. But, another thought is the members and the crew from Marillion obviously have Work Visas they received to come here again, and if I am not mistaken, I thought most Work Visas last 1-year, where upon they can be renewed, etc.
Given that, they may try and book another tour of the States (and Canada+Mexico) within the next year.
Not sure if they need Work Visas for CTTE though per if they are not spending much if any time actually on American Land for that gig. Per why they may not have had them for the other CTTE's they played at the last few years, etc.
So I suppose I will anticipate the chance of another tour sometime in 2018. Especially looking at the agenda, they are not hitting the West Coast nor all that much of the Northeast either (not even Boston, or NYC).
FEBRUARY
3rd-8th Cruise to the Edge
9th Orlando, FL
10th: Atlanta, GA
12th: Durham, NC
13th: Greensburg, PA
15th: Buffalo, NY
16th: Royal Oak, MI
18th: Grand Rapids, MI
19th: St.Charles, IL
21st: Dallas, TX
FB Link
Unsure what I may do here.
1) I don't go to any of these shows. The most likely scenario. Robert Plant and some other shows just were announced in February already (G3 with Petrucci), with I'm sure more to come.
2) St.Charles, IL. I just looked it up on Google Maps. It's like an hour West of Chicago. I suppose that doesn't seem terrible except this is also in the middle of February. Driving to an area I'm unfamiliar with, etc. The directions may not be impossible, but at a min. it's more time required.
3) Atlanta, GA. I'm not sure, but I suspect where The Variety Playhouse is, is relatively close if not more or less off the MARTA route. And just in searching, it's only a 15 minute (drive) from Center Stage where ProgPower USA is held.
Of course no Minnesota date, but I would guess I have a better chance of playing in a Marillion tribute band in Minnesota than they ever coming back here sadly. But so be it. I'm glad they are coming back to the States, even with a limited tour schedule.
Also of course the biggest reason they are playing these additional dates are the fact they were on CTTE anyway. But, another thought is the members and the crew from Marillion obviously have Work Visas they received to come here again, and if I am not mistaken, I thought most Work Visas last 1-year, where upon they can be renewed, etc.
Given that, they may try and book another tour of the States (and Canada+Mexico) within the next year.
Not sure if they need Work Visas for CTTE though per if they are not spending much if any time actually on American Land for that gig. Per why they may not have had them for the other CTTE's they played at the last few years, etc.
So I suppose I will anticipate the chance of another tour sometime in 2018. Especially looking at the agenda, they are not hitting the West Coast nor all that much of the Northeast either (not even Boston, or NYC).
Friday, September 29, 2017
Kimbra - Everybody Knows [1B] (2017)
Great new tune! Love the mystical element and the ending very cool and trippy.
It starts out kind of slow, and chill, but like many of her tunes, it is very rewarding by the end.
I am assuming this will be included on Primal Heart, which is expected in early 2018.
It just hit me, of knowing the song of the same name from Leonard Cohen. I doubt the title has anything to with the Leonard Cohen tune, but I also wouldn't be surprised if Kimbra liked that tune.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Bend Sinister - The Other Way [EP] (2016-2017)
9/27/17 6:15AM
http://smarturl.it/theotherway
YT
CD
Really great EP!
maybe their best EP actually. Great energy, catchy as hell, and pristine production!
Move A Little Slower is a banger. Keyboard led, it builds slowly but gets so uplifting by the end.
Walk the Other Way is catchy as hell!
Get Along has this incredibly guitar solo.
Run is ballsy as hell and filled with energy
Can't wait for the full-length.
1. Move A Little Slower
2. Get Along
3. Walk The Other Way
4. Run
5. Rock N Roll
6. Be Alright
7/27/17 10:21PM
I'm presuming this is a Full Length album. The announcements were a bit confusing with what the video showed and then the Cordova Bay Records post on Twitter about "Walk the Other Way" coming August 18th.
edit: The Other Way is an EP, and a full-length is coming later this year!
Bend Sinister's reply to me on twitter
The Other Way will be an EP of 6 songs, followed up with a full length later this year!
The Other Way release date per the video below is September 22nd.
"Walk the Other Way" the 1st single comes out on August 18th.
Single link (Presave) here
Songs on the full length?
Walk the Other Way
12 Years?
Get Along?
Rock N Roll?
Stoked of course.
"Get Along" is awesome regardless if it makes the album. I'm a fanboy and loved Animals (2014) and basically every record they've made.
More details and a link to the new single (YouTube) will give this entry a bump.
Very excited.
Also I am awfully curious to see if they end up on a tour with a band I enjoy (The Dear Hunter?..like TDH with Coheed, the 2 bands together would be such a good pairing, but of course the stars may usually have to align for these things to happen.).
edit: well given it's an EP, I may be even more pumped for the full-length that will follow soon after.
http://smarturl.it/theotherway
YT
CD
Really great EP!
maybe their best EP actually. Great energy, catchy as hell, and pristine production!
Move A Little Slower is a banger. Keyboard led, it builds slowly but gets so uplifting by the end.
Walk the Other Way is catchy as hell!
Get Along has this incredibly guitar solo.
Run is ballsy as hell and filled with energy
Can't wait for the full-length.
1. Move A Little Slower
2. Get Along
3. Walk The Other Way
4. Run
5. Rock N Roll
6. Be Alright
7/27/17 10:21PM
I'm presuming this is a Full Length album. The announcements were a bit confusing with what the video showed and then the Cordova Bay Records post on Twitter about "Walk the Other Way" coming August 18th.
edit: The Other Way is an EP, and a full-length is coming later this year!
Bend Sinister's reply to me on twitter
The Other Way will be an EP of 6 songs, followed up with a full length later this year!
The Other Way release date per the video below is September 22nd.
"Walk the Other Way" the 1st single comes out on August 18th.
Single link (Presave) here
Songs on the full length?
Walk the Other Way
12 Years?
Get Along?
Rock N Roll?
Stoked of course.
"Get Along" is awesome regardless if it makes the album. I'm a fanboy and loved Animals (2014) and basically every record they've made.
More details and a link to the new single (YouTube) will give this entry a bump.
Very excited.
Also I am awfully curious to see if they end up on a tour with a band I enjoy (The Dear Hunter?..like TDH with Coheed, the 2 bands together would be such a good pairing, but of course the stars may usually have to align for these things to happen.).
edit: well given it's an EP, I may be even more pumped for the full-length that will follow soon after.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Mike Portnoy's Forum Retrospective (Part 2)
#mikechat
Digital Dementia
Forum Meetups
Roseland Ballroom
The Six Degrees Leak
So there's a ton of anecdotes and memories from the earliest times I was on "The Forum"
First off, I probably did, at least on the forum, explain my username, "angra1." But likely never in here, so I'll go ahead and do it now again.
So 1 of the things I noticed early on hanging out on the Forum and MP.com was there were a lot of other features besides the General Chat.
The Chatroom #mikechat which I'll try and add more later to.
Mike's "Hero of the Day" which in the early days, was 1 of the coolest parts of the forum. A featured band/album/movie/director/tv show or something else he would give a THUMBS UP to. Honestly, I really began to miss this feature once he stopped, long before Social Media even. And even with the Forum posting gone now for everyone else but Portnoy and the Admins, I would LOVE to see him do these again ON THERE (along with or instead of Social Media) besides his End of the Year Lists, etc.
Because I can trace maybe a dozen, or 2 or 3 dozen Bands and Movies especially that I got into just from that 1 feature.
Tourography including all the SETLISTS
But getting back to the username, there were pictures of maybe 50 or 100 or more users on there. "Userpics" or something. And this was long before the days of even Avatars mind you. In the year 2000, pictures could take a lot of memory/load time, depending on your connection and the website.
So I wondered what username to pick obviously, and 1 of the things I thought of was, lol, WOMEN somehow. A band like Dream Theater and a progressive rock community, well, didn't have many. But my naive 23 y/o self, single, wondering if I'd ever meet someone, even long distance.
If you were female and a fan of this stuff on an online community, you would have your pick of the litter potentially. So, I somehow came up with the silly idea to PICK A NAME STARTING WITH THE LETTER "A."
Like AAA or AAAA-Painting, etc, it might be the 1st name some woman (or anyone) would see if they look through the userpics part of the forum/website.
And with it being Angra, well I was especially at the time a pretty big fan of the band Angra, and they were maybe the 1st band I could think of alphabetically, so like Kevin Moore said, I thought of a user name and had to register something so I just thought what the fuck?
The "1" was just to sort of add a numeric part and 1 of course. Not necessarily claiming to be their biggest fan there or anywhere, although I came to sort of think of myself as 1 of them. Although ironically, my interest in them dwindled once the split happened and Andre Matos formed Shaman and then went solo, etc.
---------------------------------------------------------
1st Era 1999-2002 (Part 1...?)
I guess the thing to do is just think about the ERAS so to speak. When I joined, the place had been up and running for almost 9 months I guess, although it was very much still in its infancy. DaveH aka Dave Hatlee had created it/set it up, etc both the website and forum with some pretty modern software for the time I want to think.
But the 1st ERA I guess I see being from that point of inception. Many regulars from other places previously, largely the Ytsejam Email list "The Jam" as it was known signed up.
Many for news and to discuss the new album Scenes from a Memory which was released the previous October I recall. And there was a long, epic topic discussing the story largely that I'll be honest I maybe read once or twice, but never got around to reading all the way through. Hence, why the site was intimidating to me. It may have been 50 or more pages long, I dunno.
Many came there to talk about the live shows, and of course trading bootlegs (which I learned way back in 1995, was a very big part of being a Dream Theater fan, like many bands).
But this ERA I guess may be easiest to look at from the launch point of the site in June or July of 1999 all the way through the last "Crash" per say on 5/18/2002. If you registered before that date, your Registration date was 5/18/2002. And I was 1 of I dunno, 3000? maybe more who had that.
Why I guess that is when the 1st ERA ended, is partially per eventually many people left or posted less. And it was clear many regulars didn't come back after that Crash. Mind you, there were maybe 2 or 3 previous "Crashes" but the 1 in May 2002 always stood out as like the final Big Crash where everyone had to re-register, etc.
But I can say this, like many bands, tv shows, etc (even Cheers, which the Forum it has donned on me, was sort my real-life Cheers in some ways. And Cheers is an all-time favorite show of mine. Also Gary Portnoy wrote/recorded the theme..lots of connections/nuggets, i know :p), I have a FONDNESS for this period of time on the Forum.
I'm not sure if the activity level was the highest, but I guess it just felt NEW and was a time and a place that always had things to read about. I was probably my most active then too, I think. I guess from a Forum/Forum-related and social-with-forumers largely online (and some in-person, both in Minnesota at concerts (DT and prog related) and at Festivals like Nearfest and especially ProgPowerUSA.
But when I went to the forum, and it was often at night/late at night. I would check the General Chat and would very often go to the #mikechat chatroom. I actually think I and many others used to use the Chat more than read or at least post in the General Chat Forum.
Why? well it was instant, and there would be regulars hanging out in there. Weymolith, Esucarys, DaveH, Tabs, mandaX, mabrown, Vampy, Kirby, KorgX3, DTF, Evilgerbil,, Jared Chrisallen, Pellaz....many many others. I do recall both Chrisallen and Jared came along a little later, but they were definitely both regulars in there.
And part of the #mikechat or later on their own chatroom was DaveH's "Digital Dementia" radio show. Which happened spontaneously it seemed. I recall hearing it maybe half a dozen times. And I don't remember if it was the 1st time, or 2nd and on, I recorded a lot of it. On a Mini-disc in fact, so the quality was not great. But I do still have many of those recordings, now packed away in my storage space (although I know where).
Digital Dementia was like Howard Stern, but for Prog and Metal nerds in some ways. Dave was the man on the Mic and in some was a Mac-Daddy, lol. It seemed the limited women who were in the chatroom or who would call in, and would address things adult-related.
Edit: now thinking more about it, it was more Dave coerced them to talking about their sex life, but they always seemed willing/consenting conversations.
So maybe it was more like Dr.Drew. Dave did it well though.
Digital Dementia would go on sometimes 3, 4, 5 or more hours.
Shit, I don't remember how many times I tuned in, and recorded (which I will admit, I probably stopped after 3 or 4 times since those recordings went rather long).
But I can remember 3 shows especially:
1 featured at least 3 callers/calls. 1 being LTE Tabs playing live guitar on the phone. He played some Dokken (calling them "Butt Rock" but not bad "Butt Rock"), and then him playing the guitar solo for "The Spirit Carries On" and also for "Under a Glass Moon" which after he did,
Dave was like "Okay I'm gonna hang up on you now.
LTETabs: "No no no no no. Why?"
Dave: "That pisses me off that you can play that!"
which had me rolling on the floor laughing my ass off (roflmao). I loved it when Dave gave him and others a hard time. It was comedy gold.
But the very same show, was an absolute CLASSIC. The 1 and only DTF called in. Brian from Eastern Canada (Toronto?).
Dave to DTF:"This is like a bad episode of Beavis and Butthead man"
DTF likely was drunk, but even if so, some of the shit he was saying like
"you're a boot" and Dave was like "I'm a Boot?"
and DTF says "Yeah, you're a boot. I always call people a boot, because they don't know what it means."
part of this is you'd have to hear it, which I wouldn't share it publicly, but I was in TEARS laughing so fucking hard.
Dave: "Who the fuck is Mike Patton?"
DTF: "You don't know Mike Patton is? You're a moron. I'm not going to grace you with his name."
Dave: "Hey, before you go, you have to request a song"
DTF: "Do You have any Winger?"
Dave: "Winger? Do I Have any Winger? C'mon, do I look like a guy who never wore hairspray?"
I guess at some point, I may try and revisit this recording, and transcribe more of it, if not the whole thing. In TEXT like this, the humor may not come across like it did in audio.
But to add to that, I remember that same show Kirby called in. Aka Nicole. And among her stories, she mentioned being in a movie "The Chase" when she did some acting or "stage work" as I recall "The Hitman" who was on the mic as a co-host with Dave at that time.
But maybe the best line was
Dave: What do you do?
Kirby: I do work creating Project Management Software for a company
Dave: Is anyone at your work having sex?
Kirby: Not currently, no.,
Dave: Really? Wow, What a shitty place to work.
And the last memorable portion of this particular show had 2 callers.
KorgX3 (or just Korg? aka Chuck who was from either Idaho or Montana, I forget) and EvilGerbil who was from somewhere in California I think.
There was talk about crushes and sexual exploits, and eventually some stuff about toothbrush and someone's dad using hair follicles and a magazine. AKA Some weird, OUT THERE SHIT, although for 2000 or 2001 or whatever maybe it was, but maybe today, it may not seem so much.
But my favorite line was probably
Dave: He totally stole your thunder Gerbil. He took the Golden Dementia Award right from under your brow.
So to wrap up (for now) the Digital Dementia portion, there were a few other memorable shows, namely with JKasper and Esucarys and some of the Partys. Also the dude from Pope's Pizza. I guess Dave received a complementary Pizza from them on 1 or more occations.
Digital Dementia eventually became DementiaRadio.com and Dave along with Weymolith and some others migrated it over to that site. It was an online radio station/network for many years. Sometimes having interviews with the likes of Portnoy of course and even Kevin Moore.
I wasn't able to follow it/listen etc as much once it migrated over there, but I did sometimes and was on the forum there. That was maybe 2003 2004, 2005. I'm not sure when it ended. Maybe around 10 years ago I thought I saw Weymolith mention on Facebook.
per the time tonight. This Era or Chapter will try and resume sometime tomorrow. The 1st ERA though, is likely not DONE with just a whole schpeel about DD, because like I said up above, this was a HUGE time to be on the Forum. But per length and timing (and I often hate writing a whole shit ton of stuff out and then just have to leave it in Draft Form), I'm gonna put this up and see what I can get to tomorrow and/or over the next few days. Somewhow this weekend though being my 1st Wedding Anniversary and a Trip to Duluth, I dunno how far I will get with this.
But, this is already a NOVEL of course. But we're talking a long 17+ years of my life telling about the time I wasted. It was never going to be SHORT, lol.
Digital Dementia
Forum Meetups
Roseland Ballroom
The Six Degrees Leak
So there's a ton of anecdotes and memories from the earliest times I was on "The Forum"
First off, I probably did, at least on the forum, explain my username, "angra1." But likely never in here, so I'll go ahead and do it now again.
So 1 of the things I noticed early on hanging out on the Forum and MP.com was there were a lot of other features besides the General Chat.
The Chatroom #mikechat which I'll try and add more later to.
Mike's "Hero of the Day" which in the early days, was 1 of the coolest parts of the forum. A featured band/album/movie/director/tv show or something else he would give a THUMBS UP to. Honestly, I really began to miss this feature once he stopped, long before Social Media even. And even with the Forum posting gone now for everyone else but Portnoy and the Admins, I would LOVE to see him do these again ON THERE (along with or instead of Social Media) besides his End of the Year Lists, etc.
Because I can trace maybe a dozen, or 2 or 3 dozen Bands and Movies especially that I got into just from that 1 feature.
Tourography including all the SETLISTS
But getting back to the username, there were pictures of maybe 50 or 100 or more users on there. "Userpics" or something. And this was long before the days of even Avatars mind you. In the year 2000, pictures could take a lot of memory/load time, depending on your connection and the website.
So I wondered what username to pick obviously, and 1 of the things I thought of was, lol, WOMEN somehow. A band like Dream Theater and a progressive rock community, well, didn't have many. But my naive 23 y/o self, single, wondering if I'd ever meet someone, even long distance.
If you were female and a fan of this stuff on an online community, you would have your pick of the litter potentially. So, I somehow came up with the silly idea to PICK A NAME STARTING WITH THE LETTER "A."
Like AAA or AAAA-Painting, etc, it might be the 1st name some woman (or anyone) would see if they look through the userpics part of the forum/website.
And with it being Angra, well I was especially at the time a pretty big fan of the band Angra, and they were maybe the 1st band I could think of alphabetically, so like Kevin Moore said, I thought of a user name and had to register something so I just thought what the fuck?
The "1" was just to sort of add a numeric part and 1 of course. Not necessarily claiming to be their biggest fan there or anywhere, although I came to sort of think of myself as 1 of them. Although ironically, my interest in them dwindled once the split happened and Andre Matos formed Shaman and then went solo, etc.
---------------------------------------------------------
1st Era 1999-2002 (Part 1...?)
I guess the thing to do is just think about the ERAS so to speak. When I joined, the place had been up and running for almost 9 months I guess, although it was very much still in its infancy. DaveH aka Dave Hatlee had created it/set it up, etc both the website and forum with some pretty modern software for the time I want to think.
But the 1st ERA I guess I see being from that point of inception. Many regulars from other places previously, largely the Ytsejam Email list "The Jam" as it was known signed up.
Many for news and to discuss the new album Scenes from a Memory which was released the previous October I recall. And there was a long, epic topic discussing the story largely that I'll be honest I maybe read once or twice, but never got around to reading all the way through. Hence, why the site was intimidating to me. It may have been 50 or more pages long, I dunno.
Many came there to talk about the live shows, and of course trading bootlegs (which I learned way back in 1995, was a very big part of being a Dream Theater fan, like many bands).
But this ERA I guess may be easiest to look at from the launch point of the site in June or July of 1999 all the way through the last "Crash" per say on 5/18/2002. If you registered before that date, your Registration date was 5/18/2002. And I was 1 of I dunno, 3000? maybe more who had that.
Why I guess that is when the 1st ERA ended, is partially per eventually many people left or posted less. And it was clear many regulars didn't come back after that Crash. Mind you, there were maybe 2 or 3 previous "Crashes" but the 1 in May 2002 always stood out as like the final Big Crash where everyone had to re-register, etc.
But I can say this, like many bands, tv shows, etc (even Cheers, which the Forum it has donned on me, was sort my real-life Cheers in some ways. And Cheers is an all-time favorite show of mine. Also Gary Portnoy wrote/recorded the theme..lots of connections/nuggets, i know :p), I have a FONDNESS for this period of time on the Forum.
I'm not sure if the activity level was the highest, but I guess it just felt NEW and was a time and a place that always had things to read about. I was probably my most active then too, I think. I guess from a Forum/Forum-related and social-with-forumers largely online (and some in-person, both in Minnesota at concerts (DT and prog related) and at Festivals like Nearfest and especially ProgPowerUSA.
But when I went to the forum, and it was often at night/late at night. I would check the General Chat and would very often go to the #mikechat chatroom. I actually think I and many others used to use the Chat more than read or at least post in the General Chat Forum.
Why? well it was instant, and there would be regulars hanging out in there. Weymolith, Esucarys, DaveH, Tabs, mandaX, mabrown, Vampy, Kirby, KorgX3, DTF, Evilgerbil,, Jared Chrisallen, Pellaz....many many others. I do recall both Chrisallen and Jared came along a little later, but they were definitely both regulars in there.
And part of the #mikechat or later on their own chatroom was DaveH's "Digital Dementia" radio show. Which happened spontaneously it seemed. I recall hearing it maybe half a dozen times. And I don't remember if it was the 1st time, or 2nd and on, I recorded a lot of it. On a Mini-disc in fact, so the quality was not great. But I do still have many of those recordings, now packed away in my storage space (although I know where).
Digital Dementia was like Howard Stern, but for Prog and Metal nerds in some ways. Dave was the man on the Mic and in some was a Mac-Daddy, lol. It seemed the limited women who were in the chatroom or who would call in, and would address things adult-related.
Edit: now thinking more about it, it was more Dave coerced them to talking about their sex life, but they always seemed willing/consenting conversations.
So maybe it was more like Dr.Drew. Dave did it well though.
Digital Dementia would go on sometimes 3, 4, 5 or more hours.
Shit, I don't remember how many times I tuned in, and recorded (which I will admit, I probably stopped after 3 or 4 times since those recordings went rather long).
But I can remember 3 shows especially:
1 featured at least 3 callers/calls. 1 being LTE Tabs playing live guitar on the phone. He played some Dokken (calling them "Butt Rock" but not bad "Butt Rock"), and then him playing the guitar solo for "The Spirit Carries On" and also for "Under a Glass Moon" which after he did,
Dave was like "Okay I'm gonna hang up on you now.
LTETabs: "No no no no no. Why?"
Dave: "That pisses me off that you can play that!"
which had me rolling on the floor laughing my ass off (roflmao). I loved it when Dave gave him and others a hard time. It was comedy gold.
But the very same show, was an absolute CLASSIC. The 1 and only DTF called in. Brian from Eastern Canada (Toronto?).
Dave to DTF:"This is like a bad episode of Beavis and Butthead man"
DTF likely was drunk, but even if so, some of the shit he was saying like
"you're a boot" and Dave was like "I'm a Boot?"
and DTF says "Yeah, you're a boot. I always call people a boot, because they don't know what it means."
part of this is you'd have to hear it, which I wouldn't share it publicly, but I was in TEARS laughing so fucking hard.
Dave: "Who the fuck is Mike Patton?"
DTF: "You don't know Mike Patton is? You're a moron. I'm not going to grace you with his name."
Dave: "Hey, before you go, you have to request a song"
DTF: "Do You have any Winger?"
Dave: "Winger? Do I Have any Winger? C'mon, do I look like a guy who never wore hairspray?"
I guess at some point, I may try and revisit this recording, and transcribe more of it, if not the whole thing. In TEXT like this, the humor may not come across like it did in audio.
But to add to that, I remember that same show Kirby called in. Aka Nicole. And among her stories, she mentioned being in a movie "The Chase" when she did some acting or "stage work" as I recall "The Hitman" who was on the mic as a co-host with Dave at that time.
But maybe the best line was
Dave: What do you do?
Kirby: I do work creating Project Management Software for a company
Dave: Is anyone at your work having sex?
Kirby: Not currently, no.,
Dave: Really? Wow, What a shitty place to work.
And the last memorable portion of this particular show had 2 callers.
KorgX3 (or just Korg? aka Chuck who was from either Idaho or Montana, I forget) and EvilGerbil who was from somewhere in California I think.
There was talk about crushes and sexual exploits, and eventually some stuff about toothbrush and someone's dad using hair follicles and a magazine. AKA Some weird, OUT THERE SHIT, although for 2000 or 2001 or whatever maybe it was, but maybe today, it may not seem so much.
But my favorite line was probably
Dave: He totally stole your thunder Gerbil. He took the Golden Dementia Award right from under your brow.
So to wrap up (for now) the Digital Dementia portion, there were a few other memorable shows, namely with JKasper and Esucarys and some of the Partys. Also the dude from Pope's Pizza. I guess Dave received a complementary Pizza from them on 1 or more occations.
Digital Dementia eventually became DementiaRadio.com and Dave along with Weymolith and some others migrated it over to that site. It was an online radio station/network for many years. Sometimes having interviews with the likes of Portnoy of course and even Kevin Moore.
I wasn't able to follow it/listen etc as much once it migrated over there, but I did sometimes and was on the forum there. That was maybe 2003 2004, 2005. I'm not sure when it ended. Maybe around 10 years ago I thought I saw Weymolith mention on Facebook.
per the time tonight. This Era or Chapter will try and resume sometime tomorrow. The 1st ERA though, is likely not DONE with just a whole schpeel about DD, because like I said up above, this was a HUGE time to be on the Forum. But per length and timing (and I often hate writing a whole shit ton of stuff out and then just have to leave it in Draft Form), I'm gonna put this up and see what I can get to tomorrow and/or over the next few days. Somewhow this weekend though being my 1st Wedding Anniversary and a Trip to Duluth, I dunno how far I will get with this.
But, this is already a NOVEL of course. But we're talking a long 17+ years of my life telling about the time I wasted. It was never going to be SHORT, lol.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Mike Portnoy's Forum: A Retrospective (Part 1)
If/when I actually do have the allowed amount of time, which sadly again, isn't now, which probably means this entry will be written as various times.
And it may not be this week. Although next weekend might work per Colonscopy Prep, etc.
But to start, when I like many others started using the Internet, probably post my 1st year of College, or even 2nd Year of college I suppose around 1995 or 1996 (my 1st year was 1994-1995), I was getting into new music per I had done a radio show in college (WRFW in River Falls, WI), and my love of Rush and discovery of more of Pink Floyd's catalog (among others..Led Zeppelin I consider of course my 1st favorite Rock Band), I got into the habit of seeking out and sharing names of new bands.
Dream Theater and Marillion May of 1995 were 2 biggies for me. Both I found from the Rush DejaNews Group.
And even more than Marillion, Dream Theater's music and their influences and FANS I found were going to lead me to doing this more and more. And Mike Portnoy, while being an incredible drummer and involved in so much of Dream Theater Songs and Albums, I was drawn to for his TASTE IN MUSIC and entertainment (Movies and Televsion).
So from around 1996 I want to say through nearly the end of the decade, I was following Dream Theater's activities as much as I could at music stores, in magazines (Metal Edge namely), and of course the new Internet (Mozilla, Netscape..and other browsers I'm forgetting now).
I never understood why there wasn't a dreamtheater.com, or rather why the band or even label couldn't gain the rights to own it, because it was owned by some guy who bought that url. Not sure what it is today.
So there was "Under a Cyber Moon" which was like a tribute site? I forget. It had a lot of information about the history, lyrics, images. And this was in the days of dialup, so the websites took a lot time to load, lol.
But then there was eventually, dreamtheater.net. Which I don't know if it had a message board initially. I kind of think it didn't, but it may have had a Chatroom, which were popular back then, in the big days of Text-based chatting. IRC and all that was easy and not as slow as actual websites, etc.
So I found myself going there and Mike's site. And of course "The Ytsejam" email list. I specifically remember going there, and being intimidated by the fans obsession with Dream Theater and feeling like a "newbie."
I don't recall what website I found it on, it may have just had the name ytsejam.com or something, but I tried to sign up, but never was able to get it to work with my email. I forget.
So I kind of gave up on that, and that was maybe around 1998 or early 1999.
And mind you I was doing this largely at the Library, occasionally at my work (in 1996 I had a job that allowed it), and also frequently on my parents PC.
Pretty sure then in 1999, I setup a Yahoo Email and joined a bunch of "Yahoo Clubs" as they came to be known. I think they were named something else originally. 1 or 2 for Dream Theater. Rush, Marillion and others. They were not identical to the Yahoo email lists.
Anyway, I met some people in 1 of the Dream Theater related Clubs on Yahoo that eventually setup their own smaller, more intimate club, which I cannot recall the name of sadly. Their names, and I typically don't do this, but just for the sake of nostalgia, I'll throw out a few. Anna Lee, Masikus, Scarred2112 (or maybe just Scarred), Rhonda[some numbers], and myself, I can't recall if I went by my email angra_651 or Soundscape (unlikely), or mnprog something.
Okay, so that club was easy to chat with, although I came to learn a little clique-ish. It was right around the time Scenes from a Memory came out. And some of them met eachother, but I didn't of course.
Just to avoid too much of the drama again, I'll just say I left that Club with mixed feelings at best.
Where I migrated to? of course Mikeportnoy.com's "Forum" or "The Forum" or "General Chat"
And as it turned out, most if not all that same group were there, but I didn't mind so much per it being a MUCH LARGER place.
Now, I had gone to Mike's site for a year or 2 previously, and read some of the topics, but honestly not too many. I recall the biggest reason being I was also INTIMIDATED by so many people there, competition in some sense. And feeling like I might be exposing myself by posting there. And maybe also per not being able to KEEP UP with all the topics that were posted and replied to not every day, every hour, lol.
But in February 2000, around the time of the Dream Theater concert in Minneapolis at The State Theatre I did sign up. Under the user name "angra1."
stay tuned for part 2, hopefully sooner than later....
And it may not be this week. Although next weekend might work per Colonscopy Prep, etc.
But to start, when I like many others started using the Internet, probably post my 1st year of College, or even 2nd Year of college I suppose around 1995 or 1996 (my 1st year was 1994-1995), I was getting into new music per I had done a radio show in college (WRFW in River Falls, WI), and my love of Rush and discovery of more of Pink Floyd's catalog (among others..Led Zeppelin I consider of course my 1st favorite Rock Band), I got into the habit of seeking out and sharing names of new bands.
Dream Theater and Marillion May of 1995 were 2 biggies for me. Both I found from the Rush DejaNews Group.
And even more than Marillion, Dream Theater's music and their influences and FANS I found were going to lead me to doing this more and more. And Mike Portnoy, while being an incredible drummer and involved in so much of Dream Theater Songs and Albums, I was drawn to for his TASTE IN MUSIC and entertainment (Movies and Televsion).
So from around 1996 I want to say through nearly the end of the decade, I was following Dream Theater's activities as much as I could at music stores, in magazines (Metal Edge namely), and of course the new Internet (Mozilla, Netscape..and other browsers I'm forgetting now).
I never understood why there wasn't a dreamtheater.com, or rather why the band or even label couldn't gain the rights to own it, because it was owned by some guy who bought that url. Not sure what it is today.
So there was "Under a Cyber Moon" which was like a tribute site? I forget. It had a lot of information about the history, lyrics, images. And this was in the days of dialup, so the websites took a lot time to load, lol.
But then there was eventually, dreamtheater.net. Which I don't know if it had a message board initially. I kind of think it didn't, but it may have had a Chatroom, which were popular back then, in the big days of Text-based chatting. IRC and all that was easy and not as slow as actual websites, etc.
So I found myself going there and Mike's site. And of course "The Ytsejam" email list. I specifically remember going there, and being intimidated by the fans obsession with Dream Theater and feeling like a "newbie."
I don't recall what website I found it on, it may have just had the name ytsejam.com or something, but I tried to sign up, but never was able to get it to work with my email. I forget.
So I kind of gave up on that, and that was maybe around 1998 or early 1999.
And mind you I was doing this largely at the Library, occasionally at my work (in 1996 I had a job that allowed it), and also frequently on my parents PC.
Pretty sure then in 1999, I setup a Yahoo Email and joined a bunch of "Yahoo Clubs" as they came to be known. I think they were named something else originally. 1 or 2 for Dream Theater. Rush, Marillion and others. They were not identical to the Yahoo email lists.
Anyway, I met some people in 1 of the Dream Theater related Clubs on Yahoo that eventually setup their own smaller, more intimate club, which I cannot recall the name of sadly. Their names, and I typically don't do this, but just for the sake of nostalgia, I'll throw out a few. Anna Lee, Masikus, Scarred2112 (or maybe just Scarred), Rhonda[some numbers], and myself, I can't recall if I went by my email angra_651 or Soundscape (unlikely), or mnprog something.
Okay, so that club was easy to chat with, although I came to learn a little clique-ish. It was right around the time Scenes from a Memory came out. And some of them met eachother, but I didn't of course.
Just to avoid too much of the drama again, I'll just say I left that Club with mixed feelings at best.
Where I migrated to? of course Mikeportnoy.com's "Forum" or "The Forum" or "General Chat"
And as it turned out, most if not all that same group were there, but I didn't mind so much per it being a MUCH LARGER place.
Now, I had gone to Mike's site for a year or 2 previously, and read some of the topics, but honestly not too many. I recall the biggest reason being I was also INTIMIDATED by so many people there, competition in some sense. And feeling like I might be exposing myself by posting there. And maybe also per not being able to KEEP UP with all the topics that were posted and replied to not every day, every hour, lol.
But in February 2000, around the time of the Dream Theater concert in Minneapolis at The State Theatre I did sign up. Under the user name "angra1."
stay tuned for part 2, hopefully sooner than later....
Monday, September 18, 2017
RIP Mike Portnoy's FORUM
http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/f3.aspx
Well, the time has finally come...
I have been contemplating this for a while now and feel it's time to finally move on.
In this age of interactive social media outlets, there are plenty of other platforms for us to all gather info and have discussions and I will always be around watching and participating there. (Facebook & Twitter)
The Forum will remain read-only and all threads will remain archived (including my Prog Blog and all of my Hero Of The Day posts from the late 90's and early 00's)
I will continue to post tour dates and release dates as they come in as well as keeping the tourography up to date.
Thanks MaBrown, Weymolith, Nippett, Painted Skies and all of YOU who were a part of The Forum for almost 20 years!
Luv, MP
I don't of course have the time to post even a fraction of my thoughts about this right now as I only have about 13 minutes left in my break.
So I guess the best thing to do is either plan a lengthly EDIT later, or just write another, more appropriate entry tonight or maybe not until tomorrow.
The reason Mike Portnoy's Forum is being Shutdown or more accurately, LOCKED i.e. No More New Posts will be made, but still all the available history is READABLE and SEARCHABLE I believe. Largely per the topic about Sons of Apollo having too many negative comments. And as stated at the top
Well, the time has finally come...
I have been contemplating this for a while now and feel it's time to finally move on.
In this age of interactive social media outlets, there are plenty of other platforms for us to all gather info and have discussions and I will always be around watching and participating there. (Facebook & Twitter)
The Forum will remain read-only and all threads will remain archived (including my Prog Blog and all of my Hero Of The Day posts from the late 90's and early 00's)
I will continue to post tour dates and release dates as they come in as well as keeping the tourography up to date.
Thanks MaBrown, Weymolith, Nippett, Painted Skies and all of YOU who were a part of The Forum for almost 20 years!
Luv, MP
I don't of course have the time to post even a fraction of my thoughts about this right now as I only have about 13 minutes left in my break.
So I guess the best thing to do is either plan a lengthly EDIT later, or just write another, more appropriate entry tonight or maybe not until tomorrow.
The reason Mike Portnoy's Forum is being Shutdown or more accurately, LOCKED i.e. No More New Posts will be made, but still all the available history is READABLE and SEARCHABLE I believe. Largely per the topic about Sons of Apollo having too many negative comments. And as stated at the top
The Forum is now read-only 14 hrs. ago
Due to the rise of social media all updates can now be found by following Mike on FaceBook or Twitter.
But I guess the only thing to add for now is what I posted on the dtf
I was on there (angra1) as a poster since February of 2000 (Rane among others, joined the same month).
It has been shutdown before, but for some reason this feels different.
Will have to give a more detailed commentary in allmediareviews later today.
End of an era I guess. The history still exists at least.
And like some other forums that RIP, there is a FB group for it for those interested.
It has been shutdown before, but for some reason this feels different.
Will have to give a more detailed commentary in allmediareviews later today.
End of an era I guess. The history still exists at least.
And like some other forums that RIP, there is a FB group for it for those interested.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
The Gritty Gals of Rock'n Blues (WDGY Radio)
The Gritty Gals of Rock'n Blues On Facebook
So I wanted to post something about this show/podcast? that WDGY ("WEDGE-Y" to me, even though they say it "WEE-JEE" like a "OUIJA Board"), airs every Sunday morning at 9:30AM.
I've been tuning into their show since late June (25th I think, as I had it on when I was moving)
These 2 ladies, Cindy Mack and Leslie McKee aka The EFFENHEIMER SISTERS make a neat little 25-30 minute show each week telling the history/story about 1 female musician.
From memory the episodes I've heard
Blondie
Miss Piggy (from The Muppets)
Patsy Cline
Karen Carpenter
Carly Simon
Linda Ronstadt
Heart (2-Parts)
Dolly Parton
edit: Lydia Pence (of Cold Blood)
I want to guess they also featured maybe some if not all of:
Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin.
And I know they mentioned a couple of weeks back at the end of the Linda Ronstadt episode, they have 1 coming up featuring Carole Kaye (of The Wrecking Crew).
This kind of got me thinking about
the Entry I posted with NPR 150 Female Musician Albums and MY OWN HERE
and their show now, which I suppose it was purely coincidence the 2 female-music aficionados started a show around the time of that NPR list (actually their show began before it was published in fact per the NPR list came out on July 24th, 2017).
But as far as specialty shows and podcasts of late, this has been 1 of my favorites, and I could see more people enjoying their shows. It's just at 9:30AM every Sunday morning, both in the Twin Cities (multiple frequencies: 92.1, 103.7, 740AM and 107.1 in HD) and on WDGY's Website which streams live.
I'm not clear if their shows are podcasted/stream or downloadable at this point (although they should, maybe even just on archive.org).
And in fact I am likely to call-in to their hotline 855-851-2440 (a440 studios) and leave them a message. Maybe a request or 2 (Annie Haslam of Renaissance namely among others).
What I'm not certain is, are they strictly only featuring women whose music careers go back to the 50's, 60's and 70's? or might they include some from the 80's and even 90's?
I guess partially per it seems there are a lot of women who have flourished in the last couple of decades compared to previous times..Lilith Fair?
So I wanted to post something about this show/podcast? that WDGY ("WEDGE-Y" to me, even though they say it "WEE-JEE" like a "OUIJA Board"), airs every Sunday morning at 9:30AM.
I've been tuning into their show since late June (25th I think, as I had it on when I was moving)
These 2 ladies, Cindy Mack and Leslie McKee aka The EFFENHEIMER SISTERS make a neat little 25-30 minute show each week telling the history/story about 1 female musician.
From memory the episodes I've heard
Blondie
Miss Piggy (from The Muppets)
Patsy Cline
Karen Carpenter
Carly Simon
Linda Ronstadt
Heart (2-Parts)
Dolly Parton
edit: Lydia Pence (of Cold Blood)
I want to guess they also featured maybe some if not all of:
Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin.
And I know they mentioned a couple of weeks back at the end of the Linda Ronstadt episode, they have 1 coming up featuring Carole Kaye (of The Wrecking Crew).
This kind of got me thinking about
the Entry I posted with NPR 150 Female Musician Albums and MY OWN HERE
and their show now, which I suppose it was purely coincidence the 2 female-music aficionados started a show around the time of that NPR list (actually their show began before it was published in fact per the NPR list came out on July 24th, 2017).
But as far as specialty shows and podcasts of late, this has been 1 of my favorites, and I could see more people enjoying their shows. It's just at 9:30AM every Sunday morning, both in the Twin Cities (multiple frequencies: 92.1, 103.7, 740AM and 107.1 in HD) and on WDGY's Website which streams live.
I'm not clear if their shows are podcasted/stream or downloadable at this point (although they should, maybe even just on archive.org).
And in fact I am likely to call-in to their hotline 855-851-2440 (a440 studios) and leave them a message. Maybe a request or 2 (Annie Haslam of Renaissance namely among others).
What I'm not certain is, are they strictly only featuring women whose music careers go back to the 50's, 60's and 70's? or might they include some from the 80's and even 90's?
I guess partially per it seems there are a lot of women who have flourished in the last couple of decades compared to previous times..Lilith Fair?
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
The Dear Hunter late Autumn 2017 tour with THE FAMILY CREST!
https://twitter.com/therealTDH/status/907637226036649984
We will be heading out on the road this winter with
Would LUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHVVVVVVVV to see this tour of course, and there is a Chicago date on December 8th. More dates? a little skeptical based on the free days in that calendar and required travel days.
I dunno if it'll be do-able both from a budget standpoint and more importantly, the wife not making issue (like we would have to plan another trip or 2 as well).
But regardless if I am able to see this tour, I am SUPER EXCITED for The Family Crest to get on a tour with The Dear Hunter. When I saw them a couple of months ago, I mentioned The Dear Hunter and I know some of the band know them, but not sure if they all do.
But the 2 touring together makes a shit-ton of sense musically and fan-appeal. I gotta believe a lot of The Dear Hunter fans have never heard TFC and could go for them. So at least I am curious to see online what kind of reaction the fans get about both bands.
VAVA? I've never heard of, but will have to check out as well.
Esperanza Spalding - Exposure (Making of 77-Hour Stream 9/12/17)
9/12/17 11:46AM
unfortunately i can't check out all that much of it right now per I'm at work, but will try to off and on in the next few days.
Facebook Live Stream Link
9/3/17 2:11PM
I may have to check some of this out next week if time allows.
I have become a fan of hers over the last year or a bit less. She's progressive certainly, including jazz, funk, soul, pop among her styles.
I like many 1st saw her name pop-up a few years back when she won the grammy for best new artist, over people like Justin Bieber I recall.
She also guested previously on Janelle Monae's 2nd record, Electric Lady.
2016's Emily's D+Evolution saw her appeal more than ever to many, including me, because it was more diverse and featured more vocals.
It was frankly, her doing Prog.
At any case, I am looking forward to this, as many are. At a min. it's forward thinking and an adventurous way of making an album. Kind of Imogen Heap-like in a way.
And it'll be on Facebook as that pic says.
unfortunately i can't check out all that much of it right now per I'm at work, but will try to off and on in the next few days.
Facebook Live Stream Link
9/3/17 2:11PM
I may have to check some of this out next week if time allows.
I have become a fan of hers over the last year or a bit less. She's progressive certainly, including jazz, funk, soul, pop among her styles.
I like many 1st saw her name pop-up a few years back when she won the grammy for best new artist, over people like Justin Bieber I recall.
She also guested previously on Janelle Monae's 2nd record, Electric Lady.
2016's Emily's D+Evolution saw her appeal more than ever to many, including me, because it was more diverse and featured more vocals.
It was frankly, her doing Prog.
At any case, I am looking forward to this, as many are. At a min. it's forward thinking and an adventurous way of making an album. Kind of Imogen Heap-like in a way.
And it'll be on Facebook as that pic says.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Raphael Weinroth-Browne - Hand.Cannot.Erase (9 Cellos, Steven Wilson)
This is lovely. Kind of reminds me of some of the String Quartet tributes.
I may have to check out some more of this guy Raphael Weinroth-Browne's stuff, per the a Cello-Rock band like Judgement Day's absence of late.
George Michael News
Facebook Link to Clip w/ Nile Rodgers
https://www.georgemichael.com/
Preorder the Album
Listen Without Prejudice / MTV Unplugged Album George Michael
Per being married to a woman whose pretty obsessed with George and especially since him dying last Christmas, this is great news to finally see some activity from his estate.
Nile Rodgers was supposed to work with him not long after he died per he had been to dinner? or at least seen him like 2 days before he died in London.
The album they were meaning to make may have demos that with some work, would be worth releasing.
The documentary? can't find anything yet on it, but with some activity, I wonder if that won't be too far away (maybe around X-Mas?).
The Listen Without Prejudice Deluxe version my wife really wants is finally up to preorder there.
CD, Vinyl, Digital, etc. Amazon CD link here
October 20th it shows as a release date.
https://www.georgemichael.com/
Preorder the Album
Listen Without Prejudice / MTV Unplugged Album George Michael
Per being married to a woman whose pretty obsessed with George and especially since him dying last Christmas, this is great news to finally see some activity from his estate.
Nile Rodgers was supposed to work with him not long after he died per he had been to dinner? or at least seen him like 2 days before he died in London.
The album they were meaning to make may have demos that with some work, would be worth releasing.
The documentary? can't find anything yet on it, but with some activity, I wonder if that won't be too far away (maybe around X-Mas?).
The Listen Without Prejudice Deluxe version my wife really wants is finally up to preorder there.
CD, Vinyl, Digital, etc. Amazon CD link here
October 20th it shows as a release date.
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