Intro to Prog. for 12 year old

German krautrock band: Can is a very good starter also, weird lyrics (also about drugs in some places so maybe you should have a listen first).

Albums with Can worth trying with your kid:

1. Monster Movie

2. Tago Mago

3. Ege Bamyasi

And skip all their other albums, I love some of them but this ain't for me

Can is like a progressive punk band with psychedelic overtones... hard to describe right now because I've been awake "a couple of hours" 

If he (I guess it's a boy, else pardon me) don't like "Monster Movie" skip this band or maybe let him find his own path... because if he don't like that album you could prolly have a good chance getting him into Progressive Metal (but that genre I can't help you with since I simply hate it!) 

I would start with bands like Rush, the harder side of Jethro Tull...then Dream Theater moving into Yes...then from then on...eternety

my God did that sound cheesy

Wandering Days wrote: I'd like to introduce a 12 year old guy to the progressive genre and would like some suggestions on bands. The guy currently listens to Punk (Dead Kennedys/Clash/Ramones/etc) but is bright for his age and reads stuff like Tolkien/Hitckhiker's Guide/Dracula etc.  He does not appreciate what he calls "emotional music", by which I think he means love ballads and overly sentimental stuff. Any suggestions?

* Bo Hansson - Lord Of The Rings (Finest organ player in Sweden, very good debut... this will surelly fit since he's inte that Tolkien stuff).

If he likes that album you can try his follow-up album to that one: Magician's Hat.

Hmmm... since he's not into sentimetal stuff try 'Rush - 2112' good guitar stuff.

A friend of my punk and he's deeply in love with Frank Zappa and his music especially the late sixties and early seventies albums.

Hawkwind is also worth trying, space psychedelic progressive rock loaded with solid guitar work and some very minor punk elements in some tunes... maybe not but some songs have similar feel to it though...

Judas Priest, their early albums have some great stuff... maybe he likes it...

Rainbow - Rising (a kid in that age would atleast say that he finds it interresting) 

Well, good luck mate! 

Considering the attention span of 2-3 minutes, and the basic of Punk its hard to throw in the middel of Prog and hope he knows how to get to the shore and say he enjoyed it.

We have to be prudent, he said already he does not like emotional stuff so Pink Floyd would be a mistake, as would be Yes.

What style music followed Punk....Ah it was New Wave....they used Keyboards a lot, often were melodic, yet had an Punk edgy side.....Coul be that New Wave may be the transition point to some other prog. Gentle Giant may be too much, but I would suggest some progmetal...because its cool.

I also would suggest only to play a cut here or there or excerpts just enough to grab his attention then go all over from one band to the next from one style to the other...no more than a cut from an album or band...

If he asks for more of a cut, or band feed him more, then follow similar bands...

GOOD LUCK

Shwoa!  This is great. Thanks for the responses!

I haven't had time to look through them all yet. In a major hurry just now.

This kid is a non-conformist, and has respect for older music.  I deffinite plus!

About Gentle Giant though.  My own 12 year old has thankfully learned to tolerate my YES obsession without comment and has even gone to concerts with me, but isn't a fan.  Imagine my surprise when she pronounce GG awesome!  I had almost given up hope!

If your friend likes the aggression and raw power of the Dead Kennedys (who I've always liked!), then maybe the link could be via Metallica's early material (pre 1991), which has aggression in bucketloads. It also has many long and relatively complex tracks.

Metallica are a good link, because they were inspired by the more progressive metal bands (Budgie and Diamond Head), and punk bands (Fear, Crass, etc) - although obviously their more recent material leaves a lot to be desired.

You could then introduce him to Dream Theater (who use Metallica riffs in some of their most acclaimed work), and onwards to Gentle Giant. "The Wreck" on "Acquiring The Taste" should be suitably heavy and dark, and any of GG's early albums are fantastic - but may require slightly more attention than the DKs.

If he likes the Clash, then Here and Now's albums are a more direct entry point - you can go from there to Gong in one fell swoop, and bingo - you're in the heart of Canterbury. I'd recommend "Give And Take".

The other band who I think are a link between Prog and Punk are the Stranglers. Once you're hooked on those fat bass lines, rich keyboards and well thought out song constructions, there's no going back!

If he currently listens to punk, then he's used to 2 to 3 minute songs.  It might be difficult for prog to hold his attention in a genre where short songs are 6 minutes.

That said, might I suggest trying something more modern with prog touches.  If he's more into crunchy guitars and driving drum beat, try Coheed and Cambria.  They're not here in the archives, but I believe they should be.  They are definitely prog influenced, if not quite prog.  Co & Ca is something kids can listen to and still be current and their albums have an ongoing storyline that would challenge any sci-fi fan.  From there, it would be an easy step back to lead him into Rush, and from there, wherever his heart may roam, be it back to the present to the current prog-metal scene or back to the 70's to Yes/Genesis/et al.

If he's more into spacey atmospheric music (less likely due to the punk influence, but still), he might get into Radiohead, another modern prog-influenced band.  From there it would be an easy step back to Pink Floyd.

Your call.  It will be a tough sell, but I applaud you for trying.  Ultimately, though, sometimes the harder you push the less someone else will take to it.  They have to find their own thing.  Hopefully it's prog, in one respect or another.