Prog-Watch

So what do you get when you combine the talents of two of the most famous Morses in rock (Neal of Spock's Beard & Transatlantic and Steve of Dixie Dregs, Kansas, & Deep Purple) and mix in some Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) on drums, Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs) on bass, and Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev) on guitar and vocals? A Prog super-group know as Flying Colors, of course! The first half of this week's show is dedicated to examining the two albums from said super-group. In part two, Tony and Dave give you a taste of a very interesting and different kind of project called Looking-Glass Lantern. The brain child of Graham Dunnington, a multi-instrumentalist with a PhD in Victorian Popular Music, LGL's specialty is Victorian/Prog adaptations of the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes! Prog fans who also have an interest in classic literature will not want to miss this! Plus, we finally get to hear Dave's famous Steve Howe story!

For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:

http://www.flyingcolorsmusic.com/

http://lookingglasslantern.com/


As always, send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page.

The first of a new type of show that the boys will be tossing at you every other week or so---a variety show! In this kind of episode, the guys will (try to) talk less and play more music! The first show they've lined up with this format is a doozy, with no less than five great artists represented: Dave Kerzner, Grand Tour, Mystery, Sound Of Contact and Armed Cloud! That's a lot of great PROG!

For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:

http://www.davekerzner.com/

http://grandtourmusic.org/

http://www.therealmystery.com/

http://www.soundofcontact.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ArmedCloud

As always, send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. If you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

Another great show! First, Tony and Dave start out with a taste of Nick Magnus! A former member of the Enid and long-time Steve Hackett sideman, Nick has produced a handful of interesting albums over the years, with notable guests such as Steve and John Hackett, Geoff Whitehorn (Procol Harum, Whitesnake), Pete Hicks (Steve Hackett Band) and Anthony Patterson (ReGenesis), to name a few! Then the guys look at a few more great albums from the Spock's Beard catalog, featuring a few of the last couple that featured Neal Morse! (The great double concept album “Snow” still awaits, along with a wealth of post-Neal material.) And on the Watch List: a great band from the Seattle area called Autumn Electric, who are currently touring in support of their great debut album “Star Being Earth Child”! (Check out their album for FREE on bandcamp, and if they are coming to your town, help support them! They're really good, but we all know how tough the music biz is these days!)

For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:

http://www.magnus-music.com/

http://www.spocksbeard.com/

and

https://autumnelectric.bandcamp.com/

As always, send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. If you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

This week's show comes out swinging with Tony and Dave sounding a little punchy, and then hitting you with the Heavy Prog stylings of Anekdoten! Hailing from Sweden, these guys (and gal) play a heavy, syncopated, dynamic, eclectic kind of music that may remind you of some of the heavier mid period King Crimson! To finish things off, the boys get into something they have been hinting at for weeks---coverage of the great Prog icon, Steve Hackett! His first three albums are examined and sampled, in what is only one of many installments to come! (The guy only has 30+ albums!)

For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:

http://www.anekdoten.se/

and

http://www.hackettsongs.com/

As always, send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. If you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

This week's show kicks off with the remainder of the interview with Abel Ganz's vocalist and guitarist, Stuart “Mick” MacFarlane. Mick even breaks out his acoustic and sings a snippet of one of the first tunes he ever wrote---and again, you can only hear it here on Prog-Watch! Following the interview, the guys play one of Mick's favorites from the latest Abel Ganz album released last year, an epic entitled “Unconditional”. In part two of the show, Tony and Dave look at a relatively new group from the Netherlands, called Sky Architect. These guys blend Symphonic and Heavy Prog elements in a manner which is sure to please fans of either sub-genre!

For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:

www.abelganz.com/content/

and

http://www.skyarchitect.com/

As always send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. Also, if you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

This week Tony and Dave start things off with Karmakanic! This is a project from the Flower Kings family, with Jonas Reingold of the Kings at the helm. The guys cover the first two albums “Entering The Spectra” and “Wheel Of Life”, both of which featured lots of guest appearances by fellow Flower Kings alumni. If you like the Kings, you are going to like Karmakanic! In the second part of the show the boys begin coverage on the last couple of albums by Abel Ganz, and boy are they some good albums! Plus, they have some great interview material from current vocalist and guitarist, Stuart “Mick” MacFarlane!

For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:

www.reingoldmusic.com/

and

www.abelganz.com/content/

As always send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. Also, if you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

This week's episode kicks off with a few more fascinating tunes and the remainder of the interview material from the enigmatic Hugh Bonar (HB3)! Then Tony and Dave give you a little taste of a fresh American Prog act called District 97! These guys blend heavy, intricate instrumental sections (a la Liquid Tension Experiment and the like) with the brilliant, at times jazz-tinged vocals of an American Idol finalist, Leslie Hunt! A truly interesting blend! Finally, they leave you with the awesome stylings of guitar and studio wizard Alek Darson on the Watch List! And you definitely want to watch for this guy!


For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:


www.reverbnation.com/hb3;


www.district97.net;


www.alekdarson.com;



As always send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. Also, if you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

In the first half of this week's episode, Tony and Dave go back to the first band that was ever featured on Prog-Watch---Overhead, from Finland! They play a brand-new cut from the band and also a song by their spectacular guitarist (and all around nice guy) Jaakko Kettunen! In part two, they look at an enigmatic performer, America's own Hugh Bonar! Hugh is pretty much the epitome of Prog, with a body of work that runs the gamut from full-blown Prog albums to solo piccolo bass excursions! The guys also gain a little more insight into the varied career of Hugh, through some exclusive interview material!

For more information on this week's artists, you can visit:

www.overhead-band.com

www.jkettunen.bandcamp.com

www.reverbnation.com/hb3

As always send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. Also, if you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

To kick things off this week, the Squatch and Diamond Dave re-visit a band which was featured on Prog-Watch last summer---the spectacular UK group Big Big Train! The guys play and discuss a couple of great, longer pieces from their albums “The Difference Machine” and “The Underfall Yard”. Then, in the second half of the show, buckle up for a wicked ride with Dutch guitarist Mark Bogert! Mark was formerly with Penny's Twisted Flavour and is the current lead guitarist in a band we featured a few months back called Knight Area. He has just released his first solo album of guitar-driven instrumental music, “A Story In Parts”, which is the focus of our feature.

For more information on Big Big Train you can visit bigbigtrain.com

For more information on Mark Bogert you can visit knightarea.com/mark-bogert

As always send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. Also, if you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)

In the first part of this week's episode the Squatch and Diamond Dave continue their coverage of the great Rocket Scientists, culminating in a track from their latest album, Refuel! In the second half of the show, they shift gears and move on to the folky Prog sounds of U.S. Band Cirrus Bay! (Fans of Gandalf's Fist should love these guys!)

For more information on Rocket Scientists you can visit myspace.com/rocketscientistsband or thetank.com

For more information on Cirrus Bay you can go to cirrusbay.com

As always send questions, suggestions or comments to [email protected]. You can also follow the Squatch on Twitter (@ProgSquatch) or visit our Prog-Watch Facebook page. Also, if you have a Prog band and are looking to maybe break into “the big league”, contact us to get on our Watch List! (We just might play you on the show, and who knows, it might lead to your big break!)