PRARIE HAWK
Prairie Hawk is an American Roots band that plays a mixture of Folk, Country, Bluegrass and Blues, on a foundation of good old Rock and Roll.
FINAL SIGN
FINAL SIGN is a North Carolina based Heavy Metal band. Incorporating elements of Thrash Metal, US Power Metal and Traditional Heavy Metal, FINAL SIGN delivers the goods. Made up of veterans from the Metal scene, FINAL SIGN is a band ready to charge headlong into the swirling masses of Metal fans around the world!
LEGENDRY
Legendry is an epic heavy metal band. Their music is heavily influenced equally by early 80s heavy metal and the works of Robert E. Howard.
DEVIL LAND
Pure Metal Brutality…..
Shawn Jaxx, David Shankle, Mick Lucid, John Bravo III, Jason Caruana
CEREBUS
Legions of Metal Festival are very excited to announce the re-union of US Metal act CEREBUS. We also really want to thank Jeremy Golden of Heaven and Hell Records for putting us in contact with this band and helping make this happen. This classic North Carolina act from the 80’s is back and will be playing the main stage at the festival this year. We are very excited to hear the songs from the “Too Late Too Pray” album. To quote one of the song titles….I think they are going to “Rock The House Down” for sure. Please let us know what you think of this great addition to the festival.
HELION PRIME
Helion Prime was formed in 2014 based out of Sacramento, CA by guitarist/songwriter Jason Ashcraft. Blending heavier metal genres with his first love power metal Helion Prime brings a different attitude to power metal. While keeping with the big bombastic vocals you love in power metal they also drag into the mix heavy guitar riffs and even a taste of American metalcore.
MAGGIE ALIOTTA & THE MIGHTY FINES
THE SHADOWS OF KNIGHT
Who knew that those three legendary chords could create such a long, interesting history for The Shadows of Knight. The band was formed in 1964, originally as The Shadows. They became The Shadows of Knight in 1965 featuring Jim Sohns, Warren Rogers, Wayne Pursell, Tom Schiffour, and Norm Gotsch. Right as they were hitting it big, Pursell and Gotsch left the band, recruiting Jerry McGeorge and Joe Kelley. This is the lineup that recorded the two most well known Shadows of Knight albums, “Gloria” and “Backdoor Men”. David “Hawk” Wolinski was recruited as the Organ Player, and later replaced Rogers on bass after he was drafted into the US Military. This lineup lasted about 18 months before Sohns fired the entire band. After 4 billboard charting hits, the “classic” lineup of SOK was no more. Sohns performed as the SOK with many different lineups, and in 1969, the Shadows of Knight released one last million seller, “Shake”. This was with a Jimy Sohns and a totally different Super K lineup. Sohns has never stopped touring as The Shadows of Knight. After 37 years of no new albums, The Shadows of Knight released “A Knight to Remember” in 2006, to critical acclaim. In August of 2016, The ORIGINAL Shadows of Knight got back together for one last show in Arlington Heights for the first time since 1967. But the history doesn’t end there…Sohns continues to rock festivals, arenas, casinos, clubs, and anywhere that he feels like to this very day. 51 years later and you can still hear the crowd scream “G L O R I A!!!!”
GIRLS OF THE GOLDEN WEST
The Girls of the Golden West is Marydee Reynolds Amalea Tshilds and Elyse Bergman re creating the music of Marydee’s great aunt Millie Good.
LITTLE SIMZ
She may have Mercury and Mobo nominations, Ivor Novello and NME Awards, a critically garlanded music career and a starring role in Top Boy, one of the most talked about Netflix reboots, but you best believe when we say that 27-year old Simbiatu Ajikawo, aka Little Simz, is just getting started. Three wildly praised studio albums in, Simz is at a critical crossroads – her wild ambition, fierce talent and furiously diligent work ethic has won her devoted fans with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Damon Albarn and Jay-Z, and seen praise heaped upon her from publications on both sides of the Atlantic, but what’s next? Luckily, she has risen to the challenge tenfold with Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, her most important and ambitious record yet, a coruscating journey into the heart of what it means to be alive in these tumultuous times, and one which looks set to handily cement her position as one of the most potent and vital young talents around today.
BADWATER SOUND
Badwater Sound is a Chicago based Americana Rock’n’Roll and Punk’n’Soul band for misfits, givers, takers, leaners, and shakers, for dancing, deliberating, fornicating, and burning things down.
GALEN WESTON BAND
About Galen Weston:
Plugged In: Contemporary guitar music in the tradition of excellence
Guitarist and composer Galen Weston unleashes a lifetime of music on his ambitious debut album, Plugged In. After laying down his guitar for more than a decade, Weston breathes life into 10 original tracks and two covers with fine craftsmanship and intense focus, while showcasing an unwavering dedication to tonal quality and nuance.
Fueled by jazz and rock guitarists such as Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Wes Montgomery, Mark Knopfler, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai, the record showcases his formidable guitar talents in the company of some of finest cross-genre musicians in Canada: David Woodhead (fretless bass), Al Cross (drums), Matt Horner (piano & keyboards), Richard Underhill (alto sax) and Rick Shadrach Lazar (percussion); as well as a guest appearance by Prague-born vocalist Lenka Lichtenberg. It was produced in Weston’s own Rose Room Recording Studio by Jim Zolis.
“Plugged In represents a two-year journey of writing and recording across a vast musical territory. It’s a sonic and personal exploration with my Yellow Stratocaster, ES-335 and other instruments. The album is the culmination of many hours spent taming the howling of vintage Big Muffs, cleaning tape heads on old echo machines, and tweaking the tone knobs on classic Marshall and Fender amps in the simple yet enduring search of great tones,” says Weston.
Galen’s story: A coda of success
Galen’s guitar story began in his hometown of Freelton, Ontario (pop. 500), clandestinely listening to and playing rock guitar at home, and at backyard parties. His musical journey turned toward jazz when an older musician friend introduced him to the art form, gifting him with two boxes of records by Mike Stern, Weather Report, and Pat Metheny as well as other great musicians. The newly-minted jazz enthusiast attended Humber College’s prestigious jazz education program, where his musical tastes and abilities matured. After four years in school, completely on his own and needing to earn a living, Galen laid down his guitars to pursue more typical jobs.
This 15-year coda to his music career came full circle in 2011 when Galen was on a trip to Greece with his wife and their newborn daughter, Rose, and his wife made a passing remark to a musician in a local bar. The musician, despite Galen’s protests, compelled Galen to join him around the table and play with him. Hours passed, and Galen knew his guitarist fire had been rekindled. When he returned to Toronto, he entrusted his thriving online marketing business to his partner and wife and began building The Rose Room Recording Studio. It’s been three years since that serendipitous night in a beachfront bar. And, just as he did when he was 13 years old, he’s once again spending 10 hours a day making music with his beloved collection of guitars and vintage gear; and putting his head for business into bringing those creations to connoisseurs who appreciate the visceral experience of instrumental guitar music.
Plugged In is available now as a free download at http://music.galenweston.org/ and www.galenweston.bandcamp.com, or for physical and digital purchase on iTunes, CDBaby and various digital retailers.
THE SONICS
Since the beginning of the Northwest Sound, the Sonics set the precedence and the pace that gave to every musician and band that followed the inalienable right to take rock to the edge of the universe, to explore the possibilities, to get out of the rut, experiment, and to scream your guts out, that you have arrived, and to continue that thought.
The Sonics have remained the most recognized sounds ever listened to by aspiring musicians and multitudes of fans around the world.
Originally from Tacoma, WA, The Sonics are claimed worldwide to be the first punk band, or garage, or hard rock, or alternative, setting the stage for all that would follow. The Sonics are still based in the Northwest USA.
Following their early retirement from being the SONICS they left a legacy and decades of fans who continued to spread the word and the music. Still revered, in late 2007 the Sonics regrouped and reignited on the scene in Brooklyn, New York headlining two sold out shows at the Warsaw.
The Sonics return has sparked international promoters, journalists, reviewers, festival organizers and hordes of dedicated and new fans to embrace the group whose music has thrilled and inspired so many for so many years.
Original members of the Sonics included Bob Bennett, Drums; Larry Parypa, Guitar; Jerry Roslie, keys and lead vocals; Rob Lind, sax, harp and vocals; Andy Parypa, bass;
The Sonics today includes: Jerry Roslie keys, lead vocals, Rob Lind, sax, harp and vocals; Larry Parypa, guitar bkg vocals; Dusty Watson, drums, and; Freddie Dennis, bass and vocals.
BLOOD MONEY
Milwaukee Hardcore
Shawn- Guitar
Dylan- Drums
Matt- Vocals
Connor-Guitar
AARON BRANCH
BAD MOTHER
Chicago Rock N Roll – Est. 2010
Jerry Murad – Vocals/Guitar
Matt Dudzik – Guitar
Chris Farnesi – Bass
Tyler Capone – Drums
MASON JILLER
COMPOSER / GUITARIST
Sold Music to Leo Burnett, Weds at Green Mill Jazz Club w/ Alfonso Ponticelli2004-2016… Performed with Robin Nolan & Arnold van den Berg… Opened for Bodeans… Some Venues: Jazz Showcase, Andy’s Jazz Club, Martyr’s, Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, Hot House, The Thirsty Whale, Double Door, Schuba’s Tavern, California Clipper, Fitzgerald’s, MCA, Whistler…
Ēōs
Maybe it is something in the water in that portion of the country, but Olympia-based band Ēōs has the discipline to craft long and overpowering compositions.
Tempo shifts move between Death Doom and Dirge seamlessly as the new progenitors of American Funeral Doom.
THE BELLRAYS
If music is food for the soul, then The BellRays are Thanksgiving. At a BellRays show they know how to cook.
Lisa Kekaula and Bob Vennum dish up plate after plate, hot and ready to eat.
Each song gives you flavors that both taste good going down and make you wonder what’s in it. Yes, the ingredients are important, blues, punk, rock, R&B…But even the best ingredients, used too much or too little, can ruin the experience and tire out the senses.
The BellRays have been perfecting this recipe for years now and may not win awards but if you are in earshot no one leaves hungry.
The BellRays give you not only what you crave, but what you need in every bite.
BLACK DA DON
STOP SIGN ENT ARTIST BLACK THA DON
ZONA MAN
“Mean to Me” is off Zona Man’s ‘No Advance’ mixtape
VOICES OF RUIN
Voices of Ruin have come to give melodic death metal the shot in the arm it so desperately needs. Harkening back to the genre’s glory days while pushing the envelope one step further, Voices of Ruin eviscerate their audience with brutally catchy guitar riffs, soaring melodies, devastating percussion, and the ferocious blackened death growl of their charismatic frontman. Their music can be described as an epically crafted blend of classic heavy metal and modern death metal, that also pays homage to the traditional Scandinavian melodic death metal sound.
Voices of Ruin have received violent praise opening for high profile metal acts like Dark Tranquillity, Insomnium, Watain, Finntroll, Ensiferum, The Devin Townsend Project, Skeletonwitch, and many other international bands.
Voices of Ruin can be seen scorching stages all over Southern California and the western half of the US!!!
TURBOVAMPS
TurboVamps is a punk band from Chicago, IL that combines various influences to develop a unique hardcore/street punk sound.
BOWL KING
YOUNG TEE TEE
BIGBODYFIJI
DJ MIKE P
DJMikeP is a chicago based international traveling dj, who has djed for many celebrities, institutions, communities and corporations.
DJ MODISE
DJ JUST ONE
MIRROR OF NATURE
WVRM
Grinding Self-Hatred
THE GRINDMOTHER
Grindcore band fronted by 68 year-old Grindmother!
ZELIENOPLE
Hailing from Chicago, Zelienople have been etching out a place for themselves in the Windy City for the past five years. Constant collaborators with Souled American’s Scott Tuma, this band mixes ghostly song structures with ambient drones.
CAST
La banda de rock progresivo mexicana, nace en 1978 por inquietud del actual miembro y fundador Alfonso Vidales; inspirado por la idea de crear música mezclando pasajes sinfónicos con el rock progresivo.
MIEMBROS ACTUALES: ALFONSO VIDALES (teclado), ANTONIO BRINGAS (batería), CLAUDIO CORDERO (guitarra), BOBBY VIDALES (voz), LUPITA ACUÑA (voz), ROBERTO IZZO (violín), CARLOS HUMARAN (bajo).
FROGG CAFE
Frogg Cafe is a 5 piece band from the New York metropolitan area making music that incorporates elements of Zappa-esque progressive rock, pop melodicism and fusion jazz. Frogg Café’s music is also peppered with an appealing variety of other flavors including latin music, bluegrass, modern chamber music and avant-garde/experimental. Their energetic live shows feature extended flights of group improvisation that would draw grins from any hardcore jam-band fan.
The members of this unique group are Nick Lieto (lead vocals, keyboards, trumpet, flugelhorn), Steve Uh (guitars, violin, vocals), Bill Ayasse (electric violin, mandolin, vocals), Andrew Sussman (bass, cello, vocals), John Lieto (trombone) and James Guarnieri (drums). Frogg Café studio albums also exploit the considerable talents of a regular supporting cast of guest musicians, who supply trombone, marimba, flute, and additional percussion to their colorful and highly textured arrangements.
All of the members of Frogg Cafe are university trained in music composition and performance and this education and experience is quite evident in their mature compositions, prowess on multiple instruments and wildly entertaining live performances. Frogg Cafe started out life in 1998 as band called Lumpy Gravy, performing the music of their hero, Frank Zappa. In 2000, the band changed its name to Frogg Cafe and started to write and perform original music.
PROGGER
Progger lays beautiful, sophisticated melody and harmony over visceral grooves and beats from funk, soul, world, and electronicdance music. Combining the experience of five in-demand touring and session musicians from the vibrant Texas music scene, Progger quickly built a reputation as one of the most skilled, tight, and captivating live bands in Austin.
DECLINE
Decline is a Chicago sxe hc band featuring members of Expired Youth and Noose.
GREG REKUS
Greg Rekus first hit the road as a solo artist in March 2011. Since then, he has played some of the greatest punk music festivals around, including The Fest, Pouzza Fest, and Groezrock Music Festival. He has toured Europe three years in a row from London to Ukraine. He has toured the United States and Canada over ten times. Finally, he has released two full length albums and a 7 inch in several different countries through a network of indie labels.
After teaming up with sound wiz John Paul Peters (Royal Canoe, Comback Kid, Propagandhi) for a month of tracking and mixing, Greg released his sophomore album “Punkoustic”. Wanting this to be a step up from his debut album “The Dude Abides”, he enlisted the grooves of bassist Nick Kouremenos (This Is A Standoff) and drumming of Jaime Carraso (Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers). The end product is a new sonic alloy combining a punk band with Stomping Tom Connors. Blowing minds since it’s release on January 8th 2014, the album broke the top 30s on college charts across Canada and the USA and boasted a number 10 spot on Vancouver CITR. In addition, the album climbed all the way to number 1 on CKUW Winnipeg!
Live, Greg’s act can be described as punk inspired riot folk that engages crowds of all styles and configurations around the world. The lyrical content stretches from drinking in your favorite bar, to relationships, political jousting, life in general, and more. His energy level is rivaled by few solo artists, and he is most known for strumming the hell out of an acoustic guitar and stomping the beat out on his custom built stomp box.
Greg’s Passion for music is bursting at the seams. It is the driving force that keeps him on the road 6 – 7 months a year and cranking out album after album of punk rock goodness. Greg Rekus will stick to his rigorous tour schedule and loves to do every radio, newspaper, and website interview that passes by. His hard work has already gotten him to places he never thought attainable and the only way from here is up.
DYLAN WALSHE
International touring & recording artist, Dylan Walshe, was born & raised in Dublin, Ireland. Dylan went on to hone his craft, as a solo acoustic performer, in London, then Europe, before eventually moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Currently residing in the southern highlands of Black Mountain, in western North Carolina, Dylan has headlined tours around much of the US, Europe & the UK & has been billed alongside many pioneers in music, as well as touring as the opener for artists as diverse as Flogging Molly, The White Buffalo & Avatar. This year, AVLFest invited Dylan to close out Saturday night at the Wortham Theatre, for their inaugural festival event in Asheville, North Carolina. Primarily a singer-songwriter, Dylan also sings traditional songs of the working classes & reinterprets a wide spectrum of songs in his own authentic inimitable style. Dylan has received plaudits from such greats as Christy Moore, who nominated Dylan’s work for the Irish Folk Music Awards saying, “Dylan’s a wordsmith & a fair chanter, it does my heart good to hear him sing, I love his voice & the way he’s using it, he is a true Irish ballad singer & I admire his work”. While Dylan mostly identifies as a Folk & Roots Singer-Songwriter, his solo acoustic performances have also been brought to Punk, Ska, Celtic & Heavy Metal audiences throughout his 27 years of being a performer. With his most recent album of original compositions, All Manner Of Ways (featuring James Fearnley of The Pogues, Andy Gibson of Hank III, Micah Hulscher of Emmylou Harris, John Mailander of Bruce Hornsby), there is a depth & a timelessness in his writing & voice, which is rare to find in contemporary art & music. The Irish Edition had this to say on the album, “Dylan Walshe has taken up the reins from the likes of Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt, with poignant, poetic lyrics and memorable tunes..”, while No Depression said “His voice is so strong and expressive, at once so holy and damned it can shake heaven and hell simultaneously. This suggests the old soul of a true roots artist, to be sure..”. In a world of imitation, image & revivalism, Dylan has lived what he sings. It’s music that you will feel first & foremost, then think on it later..
TURNSPIT
Thoughtful, melodic punk jams with a lot of heart.
MICKEY RICKSHAW
Spawning from the musically vibrant city of Boston, Mickey Rickshaw is a high energy Celtic Punk band that plays fast and loud. Heavily influenced by the New England Punk and Hardcore and Ska scenes, the band also incorporates sounds from Mediterranean folk music, Australian drinking songs, and traditional Irish melodies. Their high tempo songs range in topics from travel and wanderlust, to crumbling long time friendships, to general celebration of life and death.
In June 2015, they released their debut full length album, “No Heaven for Heroes.” The album pays tribute to great Celtic punk outfits that precede them, however it takes on its own original, youthful sound. After playing on Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise with Rancid, The Street Dogs and many other great bands, Mickey Rickshaw is making moves fast.
Their new release, “Behind the Eight Ball” has quickly been gaining recognition within the community, and has earned the band an invitation to play on the Salty Dog Cruise for a second year.
EIKTHYRNIR
Formed in the early months of 2014, Eikthyrnir is a six-piece Chicago-based band with music that intertwines folk, 70’s rock, and progressive metal. With such a vast range of influence, the band crosses genres at a moment’s notice without any warning.
Eikthyrnir’s lyrics encompass a longing for a time before urban sprawl and corporate greed. With a fantasy theme, they transport listeners to a realm of magic, trolls, crystals, and endless landscapes.
Inspired by Norse mythology, the band gets its name from “Eikþyrnir”, a stag that sits on top of Odin the Allfather’s throne in Valhalla. His antlers are a channel for the mead poured by Odin, which then flows to form the rivers of Midgard (Earth).
Eikthyrnir has produced two full-length albums and completed two international tours, playing throughout the United States as well as Canada.
The band is currently writing and recording their third full-length album, with plans to release and tour internationally in the near future.
JOE DENINZON & STRATOSPHEERIUS
Led by electric violinist/vocalist Joe Deninzon , who has been called The Jimi Hendrix of the electric violin, Stratospheerius has showcased their “frenzied melange of progressive rock, jazz fusion and funkabilly” throughout the world. The New York-based group has opened for Martin Barre, Alex Skolnick, Mike Stern, Tim Reynolds, Mickey Hart, and John Scofield, among many others. The group’s influences include Yes, Spock’s Beard, Muse, Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and King Crimson. Stratospheerius was a winner of the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition the Musicians Atlas Independent Music Awards. They have been featured in Progression, Relix, Downbeat, and Jazziz, among other publications. The band released their fifth CD, The Next World, on Steve Vai’s Digital Nations label. Their next release, Guilty of Innocence, is due out in Summer 2017.
ECHOES OF GIANTS
Echoes of Giants began in Columbia, Missouri in 2004 with a simple idea: Wes Bolton and Tracy Thomas decided to make the album they’d always wanted to make.
Or maybe Echoes of Giants started much earlier . . .
Wes and Tracy grew up in the same neighborhood and were both freshman in their high school band in 1994. They found similar musical interests and became fast friends. Throughout high school, they played together in Marching Band, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Band (Wes on trumpet and Tracy on all manner of drums and percussion).
Picture the scene in Tracy’s basement in 1996: Tracy’s grey Tama Swingstar in the corner, Wes’s Strat copy leaning up against a metal folding chair that held a Fender 15 watt practice amp with a channel selector made out of a coat hanger. Nearby, another metal folding chair holding up an old Hoover vacuum cleaner with a karaoke mic taped to the handle. A built-in mic cassette tape recorder in the corner with a pillow on top (to keep the mic from peaking). Early recordings of Foo Fighters and Rage Against the Machine covers probably still occupy a shelf in Tracy’s parents’ basement.
After high school, Wes and Tracy went their separate ways to college but kept in touch. Tracy pursued a degree in Music Education and Performance while Wes studied Civil Engineering, playing in bands on the side. In 2001, Wes’s band was in need of a drummer and Tracy got the call, commuting 3 hours in each direction for several months before relocating to Columbia. The band ended a year later and Tracy moved away to pursue his masters and doctorate in Music. Almost immediately, and despite being 3 hours apart, Wes and Tracy began writing what would become “At the End of Myself.”
“At the End of Myself” was written over a period of several years, under the guise of making an album Wes and Tracy would want to listen to over and over again. Drawing from eclectic influences including 70s Progressive Rock, 80s Pop, 90s Alternative Rock, and many modern bands, Wes and Tracy got together several times a year to work on “At the End of Myself.”
Nearing the end of the writing process, Wes met Rick Kaufmann. As an accomplished bass player with a love for progressive rock, he was a perfect fit and added new life to the sound of Echoes of Giants. With the writing complete, the recording began.
Echoes of Giants enlisted Joey Myers, a very experienced vocalist and former lead singer of Wes and Tracy’s college band, to handle vocal duties. The album was recorded at Wes’s home studio, The Redwing Room. From Tracy’s basement tape recorder to a Tascam 4 Track, Mackie mixer, Aardvark 8 track, and on, Wes had honed his recording skills and upgraded equipment over the years. With the help of close friend and accomplished recording engineer, Brad Jenkins, “At the End of Myself” was recorded, mixed and mastered.
“At the End of Myself” tells a story that almost everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. The main character is someone who has always done what he was supposed to do. He’s valued the things he was taught to value, and that has led him to become a very successful individual in the eyes of the world. However, inside he feels empty and without purpose. His relationships are broken and he feels lost. “At the End of Myself” tells of his journey to find out who he is and what is really important to him.
We all come to the end of ourselves in one way or another. Many people deal with this end by running away. But the hope is that instead, we will find the strength to discover who we are and who we were meant to be.
EYE
The edge of space, where it is the place.
AN ENDLESS SPORADIC
An Endless Sporadic is a progressive rock band founded by Zach Kamins and Andy Gentile in 2004. The progressive duo gained instant success with their first recording Sun of Pearl in 2004, which was featured on the video game, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. In November 2007, the track, Impulse, was placed in the video game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock . In 2008, the track, Anything, was featured on Guitar Hero World Tour and the band won a place in video game history.
An Endless Sporadic gained worldwide success with their 2008 EP release, Ameliorate. During the spring of 2009, An Endlesss Sporadic recorded their first full length CD of original music in Lund, Sweden. Roine Stolt, lead guitarist and vocalist of The Flower Kings, produced the record and Jonas Reingold, bassist for The Flower Kings, played the bass for this endeavor. Three songs from the CD, From the Blue, Point of No Return, and The Triangular Race Through Space are downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5.
The band has played at many landmark Los Angeles venues, including the Viper Room, The Roxy, The Mint and Troubadour. Dream Theater keyboardist, Jordan Rudess, calls An Endless Sporadic, “a wild progressive sonic ride.”
The band took a brief hiatus so that Zach could return to Berklee College of Music where he received his Bachelors in Music with a major in film scoring. An Endless Sporadic has begun to release new music as well as play shows again in the Los Angeles area.
IN THE PRESENCE OF WOLVES
In The Presence Of Wolves is a progressive rock/metal band from the South Jersey/Philly area. Established in 2009 and fully realized in 2012, the 4-piece quickly became a staple in the local prog scene and has performed at such esteemed venues as the TLA, Trocadero, Kung Fu Necktie, and The Legendary Dobbs. Musically, the band combines the composition of classic prog rock with the intensity of modern metal and the finesse of jazz, resulting in a sound that is both music fans of many genres and unique amongst the progressive scene.
LOST WORLD BAND
The way they play classical rock is unlike anyone else, and some of it is outstanding. LOST WORLD was formed by 3 conservatory-trained students in 1990, but their debut album, “Trajectories”, was only released in 2003 by Boheme Music. The trio ( Vassily Soloviev- flute, vocal, guitar; Andy Didorenko – acoustic and electric violin, guitar, bass guitar ; Alexander Akimov – keyboards, programming, sound engineering ) wrote short yet complex and skillfully arranged (featuring flute, violins, acoustic guitar) songs and instrumental tracks.
Their second album, the completely instrumental “Awakening of the Elements”, was released in 2006 by MUSEA. This is classical progressive rock of the highest order, with flute and violin featured prominently. Probably because they are Russian, they sound unlike any of the other prog bands with heavy classical influences, so ther music sounds quite original. These guys can definitely play and write great music.
LOST WORLD cover a variety of styles, with moods ranging from dark and frenetic to gentle, romantic and pastoral. Because the pieces are generally of modest length, it never gets boring. Soft soundscapes change into riffy moments, violin interplays with flute, complex signatures and shifting moods abound. Very good for those who about to be introduced to Russian Prog!
BRUCE SOORD OF THE PINEAPPLE THIEF
Bruce Soord is perhaps best known for writing, producing and mixing The Pineapple Thief albums. He also recorded, produced and mixed the 2013 release, Wisdom of Crowds.
Recently he has worked on the new Katatonia live release ‘Sanctitude’, providing a stereo and a high resolution 5.1 surround mix. Since then Bruce has been working on more 4 more major 5.1 releases as well as producing and mixing new projects scheduled for release later this year and early 2016. Watch this space for more news.
ABACAB- THE MUSIC OF GENESIS
Formed in July 2015 by five well-seasoned musicians in the Charlotte NC metro area, ABACAB is comprised of vocalist/multi instrumentalist Pete Lents, bassist/rhythm guitarist Cliff Stankiewicz, keyboardist Patrick Raymaker, lead guitarist/bassist Ryan Richard and drummer Jefferson Nunnery. We came together with a common goal…Pay loving tribute to one of the most iconic bands of the 20th century, and bring their music back to the stage where it belongs… From progressive rock pioneers of the 70’s, to pop stadium rock icons of the 80’s, to the multi platinum solo careers…This is the music of GENESIS.
LUZ DE RIADA
Luz de Riada (Flood’s light), fusion contemporary music band (jazz-rock-folk) founded in july 2010 by Ramses Luna , multi-instrumentalist musician, former member of Cabezas de Cera (Wax Heads – 1997-2011) and since 2013, creator and musical director of Experimental Music Orchestra Taller from Autonomous University of Ciudad de Mexico.
Currently,the band is comprised by two experienced musicians with outstanding career, as bass player Alonso Arreola (Arreola + Carballo, Monocordio and 3Below with Trey Gunn and Michael Manring) y Ramses Luna (Cabezas de Cera and Pascal Gutman Trio), the other members of LdR is conformed by young talented musicians, drummer Abraham Velasco and Emmanuel Pina multi-instrumentalist too
With 7 years of professional experience, LdR has three cd releases called ‘’Tales and Fables, Vol. I, II and III’’, issued in 2011,2013 and 2016 respectively. The band has performed in various concert halls and festivals throughout Mexico, USA, Chile and Argentina, such as CENART’S Blas Galindo Concert Hall (Mexico City), Zocalo (Mexico City), Esperanza Iris City Hall (Mexico City), ICBC’s Amphitheatre (Tijuana), Festival of the Desert (Real de Catorce, S.L.P.), 5th of May International Festival (Puebla), Aguascalientes 439th Anniversary Cultural Festival (Aguascalientes). In 2014, as a IBERMUSICAS’s grant holder presents some shows in Chile and Argentina’s Mexican Embassy (Mexico’s Independence Day). LdR offered some shows in 2016 in USA at Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Orion Studios (Baltimore), XXII ProgDay Festival (North Carolina) and University of Columbia’s Concert Hall(Chicago).
KARMAKANIC
Karmakanic kicked off their career in 2002, and now, 14 years, four studio albums and two live albums later, they are back with their fifth full-length album, DOT.
The band’s founder, bassist Jonas Reingold says: “I got my inspiration to start writing DOT when I stumbled upon a text by the famous American author and astronomer Carl Sagan. He was talking about how small and insignificant we are in this vast universe.
Of course that can sound like a cliché and a lot of things have been said about our existence, universe, why are we here, where are we going, when will it end, when did it start, whats the purpose of it all? And so on. But he put it really elegantly in this rather short text, so I never looked at it as a cliché. The inspiration for him was actually a picture of the earth that Voyager 1 took 1990 from the outer areas of our solar system. The earth appeared in the picture as a small pixel, like a pale blue dot suspended in a sunbeam.”
“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every ‘superstar,’ every ‘supreme leader,’ every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” – Carl Sagan
“It´s fascinating to think that this little dot is all we are and all we´ll ever be,” says Reingold. “It gives us perspective. And I think perspective is a great tool for making good choices. Honestly, is it worth fighting over country borders, go to war, choose hate instead of love when you look at life from this perspective? So I decided to write a song about it: ‘God – the universe and everything else no one really cares about’.”
This song, presented in two parts, forms the centerpiece of DOT and clocks in just shy of 30 minutes’ total playing time. Other songs are the short rocker “Steer by the Stars,” co-written with Jonas’s old buddy and colleague from The Tangent, Andy Tillison. Andy also contributes with some roaring Hammond organ on the aforementioned 30-minute epic.
Also featured on the album is “Higher Ground,” a “mini epic” where Jonas writes about his upbringing and the good and bad off growing up in a small Swedish town; and “Traveling Minds,” a majestic symphonic piece that brings us back to the vibe of the Yes classic “And You and I.”
Karmakanic 2016 includes prominent members such as Morgan Ågren, a Grammy-winning musician on both sides of the Atlantic and known from his work with Frank Zappa, Kaipa, Steve Vai, Tony Iommy, Terry Bozzio, and was voted No. 1 in Modern Drummer’s Readers Poll in 2010.
Göran Edman worked with Swedish stringbender Yngwie Malmsteen between 1990-1992, touring the world and recorded the album Fire and Ice and Eclipse.
Lalle Larsson is a leading star on the Progressive Rock scene, having recorded with artists such as Agents of Mercy, Jon Anderson, Gary Willis, and Randy Brecker. He has also released three albums with his own Lalle Larsson´s Weaveworld.
Binding together this fine cast of performers is the artwork of the legendary Hugh Syme, known best for his work on so many of those classic Rush album layouts. With Syme’s unique approach, the current Karmakanic circle is complete.
DOT was mixed and produced by Jonas Reingold, guaranteeing a solid and extremely detailed sonic picture.
As a treat for the fans who pick up the limited edition, there will be over 2 hours and 20 minutes of DVD material, including The Making Of Dot, Karmakanic Live in the US and Interviews with various band members.
THE TANGENT
The Tangent is a Progressive Rock Band from Northern England. based around keyboards player, composer and idiosyncratic vocalist Andy Tillison Diskdrive. Their music is cinematic and lyrical, full of narrative, often telling stories or making observations about the world we live in – often choosing subject matter more associated with Anarcho-Punk bands than with the genre in which the band choose to base themselves. “No Hobbits or Orcs in our songs” The band have, for 12 years now, released a steady output of well regarded albums through their record label Insideout Music At the time of writing, the band’s eighth studio album “A Spark In The Aether” is just weeks away from release…..
KILLER
Killer is a Belgian heavy metal band founded in 1980. The lead guitarist is Paul Shorty Van Camp.