TEE: THE EARTH EXPLORER

TEE is a five piece flute front progressive rock band from Tokyo, Japan. Their so-called 'European' sound is unique considering their far-east origin. The imaginative tunes with complex ensembles and rhythms will definitely catch the attention of prog lovers all over the world. Their sound will remind you bands like Camel, King Crimson, Asia Minor or even Frank Zappa on some parts... more

NICK BARRETT

Our current interview guest is Nick Barrett of Pendragon. He took the time out from his busy schedule to answer our questions...more

MIKE KENEALLY / BRYAN BELLER

On May 18, 2009 we had lunch at the Flat Top Grill with Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller and his wife Kira Small in Peoria, IL right before their guitar clinic. The duo was on the road again for Taylor Guitars, after a 3 year break...more

FRIGHT PIG Barque At The Lune *** REVERSAL OF GRAVITY Scuba Gear ***

UMPHREY'S MCGEE / LIVE AT THE MURAT

Umphrey’s McGee is a Chicago based six-piece band. Their music reflects a wide range of different progressive approaches like Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons; and jazz touches from Miles Davis and Spyro Gyra. The band has been around for over ten years now with 4 studio albums. Band members are: Brendan Bayliss (guitar, vocals), Jake Cinninger (guitar, vocals), Joel Cummins (keyboards, vocals), Andy Farag (percussion), Kris Myers (drums, vocals) and Ryan Stasik (bass).

Live at the Murat was recorded on two consecutive nights: April 6th and 7th of 2007 in Indianapolis, IN. All songs are handpicked by the band, and put on a two CD set that runs over 2 hours. The sound quality of the recording is very good and the participation of the audience is remarkable. The first disc has 11 songs. First 4 are especially interesting: “In The Kitchen” with an acoustic structure for the opening, followed by two improvisational songs, first one is acoustic and the second one is electric. “In The Kitchen” then comes back with its electric structure to end this fiesta.

"Higgins" is a very interesting song where the band shows their experimental side with sudden moves from one genre to another: The intro reminds me of The Police with jazzy reggae sound mixed with rock, but it only lasts for a short time when they switch to a more psychedelic almost Pink Floyd kind of sound. And this again becomes later a crazier Zappa like music.

There are two other outstanding songs on this CD: "Nothing Too Fancy", with its interesting time changes and "Eat", with the King Crimson taste. The second CD is more like a jazz rock fusion. Especially "The Triple Wide" and "Angular Momentum". “Push The Pig” is yet another great song. Although this is a first official live release of the band, they have various live albums you can find, (check their website). These guys obviously love live performances because they love to improvise and they know how to draw the audience in, which is a very important detail to keep the energy up in order to interact. Each song is a puzzle with totally different pieces, and it all comes together to create a beautiful picture

HANDE BURDG