Hi!  I'm more or less new here, but I have posted a few polls, one regarding Roger Dean vs. Hipgnosis, one regarding whether or not Close to the Edge is the best prog album, and one about the best movement of Tarkus, which I messed up, and had to make another one.

I'm glad of the opporitunity to formally introduce myself.  I am a Canadian high school student, and essentially the only student in my school who listens avidly (obsessively?) to prog rock.  My desktop contains the logos for my top ten prog bands (two of which are not in the archives).  They are as follows:

1. Yes

2. Genesis

3. Pink Floyd

4. ELP

5. Supertramp

6. Jethro Tull

7. King Crimson

8. The Moody Blues

9. The Beatles

10. Queen

Samples of all of the solo and side projects associated with these bands are in my collection somewhere, too.  I am currently working on completing my Peter Gabriel collection, but I've got a long way to go, as I only have 1, 4, and So.  I also like Dream Theater, but not a lot.  Most of this is too heavy for me, and good as they are, I just can't stomach it.  I'm open minded regarding today's prog bands, but bitterly hateful towards today's popular music.  My favorite music is what has come to be under the label of "classical".  My favorite composers are the Romantic period Russian composers Mussorsky, Shostakovich, Rachmanninov, and Prokoviev. I also love Chopin and Lizst.  I frequently listen to jazz, and Thelonious Monk is one of my favorite artists.

I'm trying to get into Magma, but they aren't a big thing in Canada, and it is difficult to get your hands on an album.  I also want to try Marillion, Aprodite's Child, Spock's Beard, Gentle Giant, Van Der Graff Generator, Camel, The Soft Machine and Caravan, but money is a factor!

I play two instruments, piano and trumpet.  I also sing.  I have gone to the Alberta provincial Music Festival for Musical Theater, as I also love acting.  I was in my high school's production of Chicago, but it is beyond me how I got in, because I can't dance to save my soul.  I am currently learning the basics of synthesis.  I have Arturia's Minimoog V soft synth and the Korg MicroKontrol MIDI controller.  I am in the process of learning how to use them. 

I have written a couple of reviews under the name Illusion, before I came up with "Syntharachnid".  I wrote one of Close to the Edge, one of Train of Thought, one of Heavy Horses, one of Nursery Cryme, and a few others.

Just thought I'd introduce myself, and make clear what group of prog fans I belong to (ie: not a metalhead!).  Talk to you soon!

Syntharachnid

Welcome to the site and enjoy your music experience! 

I understand what it is like to be the only one in your class to like prog, and have no money to expand your collection.. when I was at school, I was the only one who liked Rush, Yes & Marillion; the rest were clones for such dreadful bands like Echo & the Bunnymen, the Smiths & Simple Minds, so I had no-one to swap music with, and had to expand my own collection slowly!

I might suggest you shop on ebay, and expand your collection by bidding wisely... patience and good timing will usually pay off on the site.

Best Wishes

The one thing i can really say about frequenting this site is that it opened me up to every genre of music. Prog is so varied that you get hints of all sorts of genres and styles, in the end it either teaches you to love all music or hate all of it but prog. Good luck syntharachnid