The Reign Of Kindo has become one of the most unlikely phenomenons to infiltrate the modern music world. Almost ten years since their debut EP hit #5 on the Billboard Middle Atlantic Heatseekers chart in 2007 , this band has only just begun to emerge from their decade long journey from rags to… better rags…with resumes. In an industry where big money and privilege can buy you radio play, TV appearances and audience, TROK managed to rack up over 3 million views on youtube, over 2.5 Million Spotify plays, & Sell over 30,000 records across the globe, all without the help of any major label. It has become evident, theirs is the sort of sound that so many music lovers are eager to discover and enjoy.

General Zod is a Chicago-based fusion band with the core members being Katherine Andrick (violin), Zoey Witz (guitar), Chris Clemente (bass), Paul Mutzabaugh (keys), and Frank Alongi (drums). Having violin as a lead instrument, General Zod is able to give their unique take on the compositions of the likes of Jean Luc Ponty and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. They also are known to throw down on everything from Tony Williams to John Patitucci, as well as originals from the band members. With such a stellar cast of musicians, General Zod does not disappoint when throwing down on a set of face melting fusion!

Sci-fi fusion trio Consider the Source defy easy categorization. If intergalactic energy beings, upon their initiation into an order of whirling dervishes, built a pan-dimensional booty-shaking engine powered by psychedelic math…it would sound like a cut-rate CTS cover band. With their blend of progressive rock and improvisatory jazz, soaked in Indian and Middle Eastern styles, CTS blends disparate elements into an utterly original whole. A relentless touring schedule has earned them a fervent following around the world, with fans ranging from jam-band hippies to corpse-painted headbangers.

Their latest album, You Are Literally a Metaphor, is the culmination of a fifteen-year musical journey. Packed with the same fury and dazzling virtuosity of their previous work, Metaphor is also a portrait of three musicians reaching new levels of maturity.

From the bluesy swing of “When You’ve Loved and Lost Like Frankie Has” to the ethereal electro-synths of “Sketches From a Blind Man”, CTS’s minimalist pop instincts stand shoulder-to-shoulder with progressive metal and freewheeling improvisation in a true expression of their omnivorous musicality. Three of Metaphor’s nine songs are Eastern European traditionals, but could easily be mistaken for the band’s original tunes, so singular has their sound become. CTS retain their signature fiery maximalism while pushing the hooky, anthemic songwriting to the forefront. Bassist John Ferrara’s new Taurus bass pedals and guitarist Gabriel Marin’s new custom Vigier double-neck guitar add new dimensions to the band’s already diverse sound.

This is an album born of comfort and growth. In the five years since World War Trio, the band has toured extensively, Marin and Ferrara have released side projects, and drummer/percussionist Jeff Mann has gone from a relative newcomer to a road-hardened veteran. After all this time, CTS knows how to create space for each other, how to finish each other’s musical thoughts and sentences, how to think as three individuals but speak with one voice. You Are Literally a Metaphor is a statement of confidence, an assertion of identity from a band with no reservations and nothing to prove.

CTS have performed in a half-dozen countries across three continents. They have shared the stage with a wide variety of artists, including: Victor Wooten, King Crimson Projekt, Wyclef Jean, Ozric Tentacles, Soulive, The Disco Biscuits, Papadosio, Turkuaz, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Wayne Krantz and many others. They have performed at festivals and events including: Electric Forest, Peach Fest, Gathering of the Vibes, Resonance, Summercamp, Shakori Hills, ProgDay, and Progtober. You Are Literally a Metaphor is available at considerthesourcemusic.bandcamp.com

Eight years ago, a couple of arrangers-for-hire decided, for a change, to hire themselves instead. Refreshingly freed from the constraints of client expectations, but now dauntingly faced with an endless spectrum of possibilities, they whittled it all down and focused on revisiting, as jazz arrangements, some of their favorites from the genre known as “Progressive Rock.” They felt an abiding affinity with the bold, adventurous pioneers of the 60’s and 70’s – musicians who eschewed boundaries and wanted to cut loose and show the world what was possible on their instruments when social dancing was no longer the driving imperative.

As arrangers, this fledgling cabal wanted the same thrill – to express ideas and techniques, accumulated over the years, that they’d rarely had the opportunity to exploit in the course of their work.

They invited some monstrously talented, like-minded friends to share in the creation/performance/recording of said artifacts, and Wave Mechanics Union was born. 

Along the way, the nascent collective mutated and grew to embrace a wider palette of sounds, styles, and songs – as much as they loved Prog and Classic rock, there was more stuff out there calling to them and their creative impulses. So the paradigm evolved, as paradigms do. Perhaps it would be best described, now, as “we think these tunes are cool. How ’bout you?” 

When you let your mind roam freely, the pigeon-hole genre labels get harder to apply. Is this “jazz?” Well, that depends how you define it, if defining it is even necessary. It’s music, rendered with love. let’s leave it at that. 

The men and women of Wave Mechanics Union invite you to peruse and enjoy Volume II, “Further to Fly”, and hope you’ll find the same joy in listening that we felt working with some great music – arranging, playing, singing, and recording as our OWN clients. 

September 2012. RF, RVJ, LM, & JFK

Riddle House is an instrumental progressive rock trio started by brothers Ben & Rob Lerner. Their debut album was released in 2012 followed up by their 2015 concept EP, “Nature of the Story.” Guitarist, Ben Lerner moved to LA in 2016 where he recorded and/or performed with Dug Pinnick of King’s X, Marco Minnemann, George Lynch, Gregg Bissonette, Joe Travers and many more. After a few years on hiatus, the boys are back and preparing to release a 10 year anniversary edition of their debut album as well as a new single featuring bassist, Dug Pinnick and Daniel Jakubovic in early 2023!