'zdrowie

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No, I don't speak Polish, it's just a hold over from my Polish heritage...

Oh yeah...Hi there.

I figured I'd let my first post be an intro post...it's kind of the expected thing.

First off, I was born in '72  in Pittsburgh, PA  (for the international set read medium sized industrial city in the eastern / central US).  I grew up listening to the standard what ever was on the radio, in Pittsburgh there was a lot of Lenard Skynard and Eagles on the radio which got really old really quick.

My Dad was a musician and had fairly eclectic tastes in music ranging from funk to progressive.  I latched on to the progressive side of music, especially Genesis (and ELP to a lesser extent) at a young age.  I'm proud to say that the first album that I ever spent my own money was the eponymous Genesis album.  

In my high school and college years, I saw quite a few great concerts, Genesis twice (Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance), Rush three times (Hold Your Fire, Presto and Roll the Bones), Emerson, Lake and Powell, Three, King's X (Dogman), Dream Theater (Images and Words) and finally Pink Floyd (Division Belle).  

Then, I kind of lost track of good music for some time.  I think it was around 95 when I started listening to electronica.  Why, probably because seven or so years of smoking (just cigarettes) killed my voice and electronica doesn't have a lot of lyrics.  It was easier to ignore what I was doing to my lungs.

I finally quit smoking in early 2006 and by the beginning of 2007, I was finally able to carry a tune again.  While randomly playing with my computer, I heard part of Metropolis II and remembered a fondness for Dream Theater.  I happily discovered that they had indeed recovered from Falling from Infinity (which is where I had lost track of them) and quickly picked up Metropolis and Six Degrees.  I then ordered Train of Thought and Octavarium by mail.  I got impatient and ended up getting Score from iTunes...WOW.  I fell in love with the symphonic version of Octovarium and never looked back.

The other driving factor at this point was the imminent Genesis tour re-energizing my love for them.  At age 36, I was giddy about a concert again.

Since then, I've been buying CD's at a monster pace, trying to catch up on many years of missing progressive music.

With that being said, here are some of my vital stats...

All time favorite band - Genesis
Other favorites - Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, The Flower Kings, Riverside, Frost
Newest Discovery - Ayreon

Favorite albums

Honorable Mention 
V, The Light -  Spock's Beard
Space Revolver - The Flower Kings
Involver - Sasha (an electronica holdover)
Genesis - Genesis (It was really a toss up at #10 between Genesis and Foxtrot)
Octovarium - Dream Theater

10) Foxtrot - Genesis
9) Awake - Dream Theater
8) Into the Electric Castle - Ayreon
7) Stardust We Are - The Flower Kings
6) Duke - Genesis
5) Milliontown - Frost*
4) Score - Dream Theater
3) Snow - Spock's Beard
2) Selling England by the Pound - 
1) A Trick of the Tail - Genesis (yes, I know I'll get a lot of grief on this one, but it's my favorite)

Favorite Internet Radio Station - The Dividing Line
Favorite Podcasts - The Rogues Gallery, The Babylon Podcast, Mur Lafferty's Heaven Series
Favorite Team - The Pittsburgh Penguins

I could list my favorite songs, but I've probably prattled on for quite enough.

Anyways, hello, glad to join the community and look forward to... umm...being part of the community (sorry, I couldn't come up with anything more eloquent to close with).

Roland113 (aka, Tom)

Edited by Roland113 - April 02 2008 at 22:29

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Roland113 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 30 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 3843	Topic: 'zdrowie Posted: April 02 2008 at 22:04
	No, I don't speak Polish, it's just a hold over from my Polish heritage... Oh yeah...Hi there. I figured I'd let my first post be an intro post...it's kind of the expected thing. First off, I was born in '72 in Pittsburgh, PA (for the international set read medium sized industrial city in the eastern / central US). I grew up listening to the standard what ever was on the radio, in Pittsburgh there was a lot of Lenard Skynard and Eagles on the radio which got really old really quick. My Dad was a musician and had fairly eclectic tastes in music ranging from funk to progressive. I latched on to the progressive side of music, especially Genesis (and ELP to a lesser extent) at a young age. I'm proud to say that the first album that I ever spent my own money was the eponymous Genesis album. In my high school and college years, I saw quite a few great concerts, Genesis twice (Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance), Rush three times (Hold Your Fire, Presto and Roll the Bones), Emerson, Lake and Powell, Three, King's X (Dogman), Dream Theater (Images and Words) and finally Pink Floyd (Division Belle). Then, I kind of lost track of good music for some time. I think it was around 95 when I started listening to electronica. Why, probably because seven or so years of smoking (just cigarettes) killed my voice and electronica doesn't have a lot of lyrics. It was easier to ignore what I was doing to my lungs. I finally quit smoking in early 2006 and by the beginning of 2007, I was finally able to carry a tune again. While randomly playing with my computer, I heard part of Metropolis II and remembered a fondness for Dream Theater. I happily discovered that they had indeed recovered from Falling from Infinity (which is where I had lost track of them) and quickly picked up Metropolis and Six Degrees. I then ordered Train of Thought and Octavarium by mail. I got impatient and ended up getting Score from iTunes...WOW. I fell in love with the symphonic version of Octovarium and never looked back. The other driving factor at this point was the imminent Genesis tour re-energizing my love for them. At age 36, I was giddy about a concert again. Since then, I've been buying CD's at a monster pace, trying to catch up on many years of missing progressive music. With that being said, here are some of my vital stats... All time favorite band - Genesis Other favorites - Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, The Flower Kings, Riverside, Frost Newest Discovery - Ayreon Favorite albums Honorable Mention V, The Light - Spock's Beard Space Revolver - The Flower Kings Involver - Sasha (an electronica holdover) Genesis - Genesis (It was really a toss up at #10 between Genesis and Foxtrot) Octovarium - Dream Theater 10) Foxtrot - Genesis 9) Awake - Dream Theater 8) Into the Electric Castle - Ayreon 7) Stardust We Are - The Flower Kings 6) Duke - Genesis 5) Milliontown - Frost* 4) Score - Dream Theater 3) Snow - Spock's Beard 2) Selling England by the Pound - 1) A Trick of the Tail - Genesis (yes, I know I'll get a lot of grief on this one, but it's my favorite) Favorite Internet Radio Station - The Dividing Line Favorite Podcasts - The Rogues Gallery, The Babylon Podcast, Mur Lafferty's Heaven Series Favorite Team - The Pittsburgh Penguins I could list my favorite songs, but I've probably prattled on for quite enough. Anyways, hello, glad to join the community and look forward to... umm...being part of the community (sorry, I couldn't come up with anything more eloquent to close with). Roland113 (aka, Tom) Edited by Roland113 - April 02 2008 at 22:29

Petrovsk Mizinski Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: December 24 2007 Location: Ukraine Status: Offline Points: 25210	Posted: April 02 2008 at 22:24
	Welcome to the forum That was a good introduction post too


Roland113 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 30 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 3843	Posted: April 05 2008 at 16:49
	Hughes, Thank you for the warm welcome, though I must admit, I'm a little disheartened by the lack of response additional responses. I didn't even get the obligatory 'Welcome from Texas'. Is it because everyone else hates 'A Trick of the Tail' or because I set the initial subject in a foreign language. Ahh well, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, truly, thank you for the welcome Hughes. Roland

rushfan4 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 22 2007 Location: Michigan, U.S. Status: Online Points: 66261	Posted: April 05 2008 at 17:00
	I'll second Hughes welcome to the site. It was a very good introduction although seeing Rush 3 times, but not having any of their albums in your top 15???? No ELP there either. What's up with that? No grief from me on A Trick of the Tail. It is one of my favorites from Genesis also. I actually really like all of the albums that you listed, except for the electronica one (not that I don't like it, I just don't know it).


Tuzvihar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 18 2005 Location: C. Schinesghe Status: Offline Points: 13536	Posted: April 05 2008 at 17:12
	A warm welcome from Poland. Zdrowie!
	"Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski

Roland113 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 30 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 3843	Posted: April 06 2008 at 11:23
	Thank you both Rush and Tuz, Rushfan, I'm not certain why Rush isn't in the top 15 for me, none of their albums come to mind as great front to back. If I would have to choose my favorite Rush album, it would probably be 'Roll the Bones' or 'Grace Under Pressure', again I know the purists will give me large amounts of grief for not choosing Hemispheres or something older. I think Rush at times falls into the 'Classic Rock' bin on my radio station meaning that I heard Tom Sawyer and Freewill waaay too many times growing up. Either song still makes me change the radio station. As such, I've probably not explored much of their older music to it's fullest extent. I love their albums from the 80's, just not more than the albums on my list. ELP can be a bit too discordant for my tastes. I Love their music, but once again, give me the melodies of Genesis or Spock's Beard over the chaos of ELP. Even Dream Theater can combine their musical virtuosity with a better ear for maintaining the melody. Don't get me wrong, I love both bands and were I to do a top 100, you'd see both bands in there. Tuz - Thank you as well, I've watched the internet grow from nothing to what it is today, and I take great amounts of joy not only in getting greetings from Poland, but being exposed to great polish bands like Riverside, who I never would have known of if not for the advances of the net. Zdrowie, Roland

Roland113 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 30 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 3843	Posted: April 06 2008 at 12:07
	Oh, one more thought. I would love to get recommendations on other bands I would enjoy based on my favorites. Thank you, Roland