DAYS BETWEEN STATIONS

Days Between Stations is the creative partnership between guitarist Sepand Samzadeh and keyboardist Oscar Fuentes. The duo came together in Los Angeles in November 2003, and named the band after the 1985 novel by Steve Erickson. The band’s sound – Samzadeh calls it “art-rock,” Fuentes labels it “post-prog” – reflects their varied influences, as well as a shared disregard for stylistic boundaries... more

BILLY SHERWOOD

We are much honored this month to have Billy Sherwood (CIRCA:, former YES) as our interview guest. He just released his new CD titled "At The Speed Of Life". Currently, beside his solo projects he is one of the members of the band CIRCA:, formed by ex-YES members Tony Kaye and Alan White, along with Jimmy Haun. They released their first solo album in 2007, followed in 2008 by a live DVD. They are currently in the studio working on their second solo CD...more

Kate BUSH / Never For Ever

1980‘s “Never For Ever” is Kate’s 3rd album. The album was co-produced by Jon Kelly & Kate herself. One of the most interesting things about this album is that it is the first record by a British female artist to top the UK album charts. (Wikipedia). Kate’s progressive approach to music reaches its peak with Never For Ever. She tastefully blends different genres including folk, oriental, rock, classical and jazz. Unlike her first two albums which she wrote on piano, this one was written on synths... more

VELVET RAZOR / THE RAZOR’S EDGE (The Garden Studio Sessions) EP

Velvet Razor is a rock band from England. They have a new EP titled “The Razor’s Edge”. The band is formed by 4 musicians: Dave Kent (Vocals and Lyrics; Lead Guitar; Rhythm Guitar, Additional Keyboards; Additional Bass, Mandolin, Programming); Martin Wise (Bass; Additional Guitar, Backing Vocals); Ian Pickering (Piano/Keyboards; Samples and Effects; Additional Guitar, Backing Vocals; Programming); Ian King (Acoustic Drums, Electronic drums and Percussion).

I would not categorize this EP as prog rock, because their style is more like alternative rock, closer to classic rock. The first song on the CD is the Beatles like “Tears Me Apart”. However the vocals carry it to a punk rock arena. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but think “Love Me Do”.

The second song is “You Don’t Care”. It sounds like The Doors, and the musicianship is good, but the vocal lines are a little simple, and the reason for this is because the lyrics don’t really fit. Also the vocals on these two first songs are not as good as the last two songs on the CD. The vocalist has more like a punk or post-punk type of voice, and actually he sounds pretty good on the third song “The Castle”, kind of like Nick Cave style vocals, and I think he should keep in that direction, in my opinion. And finally the last song “Cherry Red” is more like a classic rock song with 80’s style lyrics. Over all, the musicians in Velvet Razor are pretty good, and most of them are multi instrumentalists, but I believe the lyrics and the vocals could have been better.

You can visit their website at: www.velvetrazor.com

STEPHANIE BUTLER