to the old folks

how did all of you old farts on this board learn of many of the prog bands not played on the radio, some of the more underground bands, krautrock bands and what not, or italian bands, you know what i am getting at

you see, i have the intertron, what did you have?

Aaron

Velvetclown wrote:

Great one,Velvet! When I saw the picture of Rob Halford with PAIN tattooed across his stomach I was thinking how much he'll enjoy that when he's 80. It's true what they say: Having a tattoo is the best way of telling the world you're an idiot without having to open your mouth.

Reed Lover wrote: Pixel Pirate wrote: My best friend's older sister. We're talking about introduction to sweet music here Pixie,oh..so are you!

I actually had a big crush on her and wished she would introduce me to all sorts of things,but alas,such was not to be.

Reed Lover wrote: Yeah,us proggers have to make do with... ahem...ploughing a lone furrow..

I've never been farmer material anyway.

Aaron wrote: how did all of you old farts on this board learn of many of the prog bands not played on the radio, some of the more underground bands, krautrock bands and what not, or italian bands, you know what i am getting at you see, i have the intertron, what did you have? Aaron

I prefer Holdsworth's Atavachron...............

To answer you question, by having DJs who were rarely personalities caring for themselves, rather aiming to put good music out on the air, without seeing/hearing boundaries. For all the late John peel's declaration all prog was bollocks before he died,  for 10 years his 2 or 3 hour shows kept me fed with a  wild variety of eclectic music. And then magazines like Melody Maker and the underground magazines like International Times and Oz - subsequent the excellent Zig Zag (which Mojo 20 years ater try to fashion itself on). Then being near colleges or unis or clubs who put on some very obscure bands (they were cheap). They also played headliners cheap as well!!  The (now) boring Kid Jansen (a Canadian in the Uk) playing 3 hours of anything after  midnight on Saturday on R Luxembourg. And it helped working on and off in a record shop through the end of the psychedlic period into the ealry 70's - and seeing the press releases and record trade literature...................... Then working in ENTS Committee when I went to University - one of the first to put on Be Bop Deluxe!.

Vibrationbaby wrote: I got into this crazy music just by being adventurous. I would go into record stores and just buy anything that looked wierd. After a while I noticed that I couldn`t go wrong if it was German. Roger Dean covers were also a good indicator and this is how I got into Greenslade, Midnight Sun, Babe Ruth and Budgie to name a few. I feel sorry for all the young guys who have been spoiled by the internet. Back then it was a challenge to discover the next "new" band.

Couldn't agree more. But I also had friends and acquaintances who enjoyed the same type of music, and I discovered a lot that way too, as we'd borrow LPs from each other or sit around together listneing to the latest on-spec purchase.

Also, the record department of the local department store had a lot of Prog LPs - they were big sellers at the time and available in mainstream stores in Rio and Níteroi - and the buyer could listen to LPs before buying, which I often did (that's where I discovered Greenslade, Triumvirat and Iron Butterfly and Mahavishnu Orchestra amongst others). As VB says, the Roger Dean covers were often a good indicator. I also used to pass a small record shop in Praça XV at the ferry station on the way home from school every day and would often browse through the LPs there and could also ask the attendant to give them a spin. We never seemed to find it difficult to discover new Prog and other rock - the stores seemed to have plenty of it in stock.

And later when I went to the UK to study, Melody Maker, NME and Sounds were, as plodder says, indeed a good source of information on all things Prog.

Vibrationbaby wrote: I got into this crazy music just by being adventurous. I would go into record stores and just buy anything that looked wierd. After a while I noticed that I couldn`t go wrong if it was German. Roger Dean covers were also a good indicator and this is how I got into Greenslade, Midnight Sun, Babe Ruth and Budgie to name a few. I feel sorry for all the young guys who have been spoiled by the internet. Back then it was a challenge to discover the next "new" band.

Agreed ... there's really something to be said for having absolutely no idea what you're in for ... when I bought Selling England By The Pound, I was expecting a (more organic sounding) cross between Invisible Touch and So ... can you imagine that?!? ...

You also had to decipher the lyrics yourself ... and make judgements based on the cover art, track titles and track lengths ... a band photo showing four or five grubby, nerdy long-haired guys usually helped too

It's been a few years since I bought a CD without having even heard of the band ... the last three I can recall were Renaissance, Quintessence and Fotomaker (70's pop/rock) ... oh well two out of three ain't bad ...