My friend and I are a two-piece death metal parody band called Death After Life.  We have recorded one EP (Life After Death), which contains 6 tracks at a length of 5 minutes.  I play guitar and he sings, aside from on one track on which it is the other way around.  If anyone really wants to hear it, I could set it up for download.  However, I should warn that it's good for little more than novelty.

No band, 'cause nobody down here even knows what progressive rock IS, let alone play it. I also play bass, and have been doing so for a half-year, but already am better than most of my peers. I can play the entire first half of "Thick as a Brick" almost flawlessly (that bridge jam section between the "pen and sword" sections always gets me) and can play the first 5 minutes of "Gates of Delirium" very well considering it's CHRIS SQUIRE we're talking about here. I can play some of the 2112 Overture from Rush's album, and a lot of other bits and pieces of songs and chords and such.

Where do you live and how did you manage to convince someone to play prog? You in college? How old are you? I'm 15, in Oklahoma, and I'm trying to get as much info as I can on the prog "hot spots" so I can choose a good college in one of those areas. (actually, my main problem is probably that nobody in my school CARES about serious musicianship yet--that's why I'm trying out for jazz band and music theory class to see if I can find anyone proficient and proggish enough for a band)

I also play some piano and a very small amount of guitar (i'm getting the guitar primer book for X-mas...maybe I can be a one-man band if I learn drums???) and I also jot down lyrics and ideas from time to time (my favorite so far is "Gated Community", which I think would make a great 20 minute epic song)

If I have a band, I'd be like this: Chris Squire-esque bassist (me), an interesting (note: not a "time keeper", but one who actually contributes to musical fusion), drummer, a technically proficient and prog-minded guitarist (like Fripp or Hackett) and a keyboardist. Heck, maybe even an electric violinist would be great!

Yeah, anyone who can give me some tips on putting a band together, please post. And also, prog bassist, how did you get your band together?

Tips for putting a band together;

1. Your friends, or people you work with. It's quite amazing how even people that say "I can't play a note" can turn out to have really great musical ideas, and can become very good very quickly with practice. As Radiohead said "Anyone can play guitar" - and keyboards and computers are even eaiser!

2. Advertise in music shops, newspapers, internet forums, cafes, bars - anywhere that musicians are likely to frequent and that will allow you to advertise.

3. Practice for short periods but often, record as much as you can and analyse it, play lots of gigs and chat to the people who listen to your music.

4. You may be the only person you know who likes prog - but don't let that put you off. I tend to find I'm in the same position when I start a new musical project (either join or form a "group"), but after you've had a few jam sessions on more simple material, most people like to explore new territory. Just don't tell them it's "prog", and most people will be happy to play your ideas, if they like them.

5. Have fun! (the most important item).

I've been in bands on and off for 24 years or so - and there's no guarantee of hitting the big time; just about all of that is luck - right place, right time. The main thing is that I cannot not write or play music. It's an indelible part of my life. Part of my obsession is fuelled by the initial tutorial I had with one music professor, a chap named Stephen Deutsch (who did the music for Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, among others...). He said "If you are a composer, then compose. If you are a musician, play music.". Patronising git, but absolutely on the money

I'm currently working with a work colleague who has a recording studio, the basics of which are pretty cheap; PC running Sony Acid 4.0, Echo external sound card, basic mixer, microphones, Line 6 Pod for the guitars and an assortment of keyboards. With a few drum sample CDs you can whip up ideas in a jiffy - but the best ones are always team efforts!

In our little setup, I play all guitars via Pods (the Bass Pod has just arrived - w00t!!!), we share keyboard, writing and mixing/arranging duties, and kinda share the vox - being as self-critical as I am I'm reluctant to let anyone hear me make a fool of myself by trying to sing rock, as I'm classically trained.

We also share lyric-writing duties - I posted some lyrics a while back to a recent song of ours called "Grey". The initial music style varies as I particularly enjoy listening to a very wide assortment of music, but we try to make the arrangements as homogenous as possible to create "our sound". Trouble is, as we keep adding kit, like the Pods, "our sound" is evolving, and the old stuff gets re-written...

One day I'll stick some of our stuff onto a website. For now, I can email mp3/wma files to those interested - but it's not very proggy, in fact, it's quite simple music, as I enjoy the challenge of writing music that concentrates more on expressing the lyrical ideas through simple melody, atmospheric layers and dramatic structures than delving into technical complexity. I'm a big fan of Fish-era Marillion (although we sound nothing like them!).

I'm just glad I've got the day job

HaroldTheBarrel wrote: I guess I'm in something of an imaginary band.  I play with a guitarist at times (I play bass) and another of my friends wants half-heartedly to sing. So no, I'm not really in a band.

It sound's great. I'd go see you guys

Useful_Idiot wrote: My friend and I are a two-piece death metal parody band called Death After Life.  We have recorded one EP (Life After Death), which contains 6 tracks at a length of 5 minutes.  I play guitar and he sings, aside from on one track on which it is the other way around.  If anyone really wants to hear it, I could set it up for download.  However, I should warn that it's good for little more than novelty.

If you like death metal you must check out HATEBEAK. A death metal band who's lead singer is a parrot!

http://www.reptilianrecords.com/reptilian/hatebeek.html - http://www.reptilianrecords.com/reptilian/hatebeek.html

I participate in a Eletronica-Prog outfit called THE SOUNDCHASER PROJECT, writing lyrics and doing the vocals. I was aslo intimidated to help with some chords at keyboards. We recorded a 49 minutes suite Called INTERGALACTIC RADIO STATION, that was 4 years ago. If anybody is interested follow the link ; http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/The_Soundchaser_Project/ - http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/The_Soundchaser_Project/  There are even some mp3 samples and samples from the album we are trying to put together.

________

Lunar 

Haha, I like that! A ProgArchives soundtrack. That would be very cool.

I occasionally read Homerecording.com's forum as well, and they do a similar thing, since they obviously have an abundance of people with recorded music (duh). Although there are fewer people here who are into that, there are some and it seems like we could put a few songs together.

I played keyboards in a band with my cousin on drums (he was into U2) and his mate on Bass and another on Guitar, but I can only do basic stuff and chords so I mainly was just used as a sort of upright moog taurus bass pedal who wore white and looked really cool on stage !

I really loved my Moog Rogue though......

I play in a small band composed with friends. I play vintage keyboards and grand piano. One of my collegue plays acoustic & electric guitars, the other play percussions (tablas, congas). Musically it sounds really ethereal, sometimes psychedelic with a lot of ethnic influences (flamenco guitars meet atmospheric keyboards parts and indian, turkish percussions)

In a certain way its nearer to american minimalist music  than real prog music

along with the above mentioned, by useful_idiot, life after death. (album coming SOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!!!!!!!!!!1)

i play the keys in a ska band called acquired taste ( http://www.acquiredtaste.tk - www.acquiredtaste.tk ). so far we don't have much of a prog taste, but i can tell you that we actually have some depth in our songs. i think we only have one saong that has the same tempo, and/or chord pattern all the way through. i would say our "progiest" sounding song is called funk-o-dub as it contains 3 very different parts, but still carry the same melody. it has the first ska, off-beat part, along with a swing tempo as the chorus, after 3 lines of verse chorus, ect. it goes into a full on swing instrumental part. then we're ending it with a funk part. we also have a song that would apeal to the punk rockers, has a juicy hardcore breakdown, and a circle-pit, drum line at the end. yyyyup. hope to blend ska with prog, or atleast have ska with prog elements.

http://www.acquiredtaste.tk - www.acquiredtaste.tk

Vibrationcrybaby wrote: I'm sick and tired of repeating myself on this forum when is someone going to come up with an original thread? Seriously. At least nobody has started another Mariah thread. To put it bluntly, I am starting to get bored with this site. (Boo hooo! Whine, snivel...)

Ta Daaaaaa!

Rideout to the Rescue!

Just started one, big guy!

  Don't leave me all alone with the crazy Clown and the splinter-toed, sore-fingered Dutch boy!

"Do you remember Vibrator Baby?"

"Yeah -- he used to be good for a laugh. Nowadays he just stares at the Ikea catologue and sighs...."

Hi all!

I am new to the board. I am a drummer in a Prog band called Prole. We are currently recording our first CD, a concept album. We have been working on it for about a year and a half, and it should be out in Early Feb. I also played drums on the first Hermetic Science Album.

Greetings from Tennessee!

Michael

 ^Tenessessessee! Hot DAMN!

Get yer best coon dawg -- there's a-gonna be fun ta-nat! Hoo-Whee!

Howdy Mikesatanworshipper! Velcome to Progsylvannia!

Just joshin.'

"Yes, and you are ugly -- but I shall be sober in the morning!"

Shh! You'll scare him away, you candlelight message board poster! When I joined, I was real uncomfortable, and someone like you could put me off pretty easily. Just remember this guy isn't familiar with everyone here yet.

'specially since it's a guy from Tennessee...the one place in the world (besides the Mideast, Africa, and various places like Siberia and Pittsburg) that's worse off than Oklahoma in terms of prog (then again, maybe not. they DO have Nashville, music capital of the world...or maybe that's just bluegrass and Elvis. who knows, i've never been there meself...)

welcome!

Hey, Pingu: unlike thou, callow youth, I am of legal age to drink and post! (X44!)

Ah yes, Ttennennessessee. Home of...!

Poly-vinyl-chloride? (SORRY! COUNTRY MUSIC?)

: "Free Bird!"

Hello. This is Mrs Rideout -- don't worry, I have sent my troublesome husband to bed.

Carry on, please....

penguindf12 wrote: Shh! You'll scare him away, you candlelight message board poster! When I joined, I was real uncomfortable, and someone like you could put me off pretty easily. Just remember this guy isn't familiar with everyone here yet. 'specially since it's a guy from Tennessee...the one place in the world (besides the Mideast, Africa, and various places like Siberia and Pittsburg) that's worse off than Oklahoma in terms of prog (then again, maybe not. they DO have Nashville, music capital of the world...or maybe that's just bluegrass and Elvis. who knows, i've never been there meself...) welcome!

Thanks!

Actually you guys are wrong on a bunch of accounts. Nashville has a lot going on- Glass Hammer, Neal Morse, Spocks Beard and a few others are in Nashville, which is about 20 minutes from where I live.

I'm not from here. I am originally from Cincinnati, I am just down her pursuing my PhD in English from MTSU--and playing prog music of course!

Thanks for the welcome,

Michael

www.prole.us

^ Welcome Mike.

Sorry if I came on a little "strong" -- glad I didn't scare you away.

 I'll be alright in the morning -- maybe write a review....

I'd love to see Nashville some day... new bike soon... ssssnooore....

I'm playing bass in a progband called Legacy. They are playing together for over ten years now, but I'm just in for one and a half. Our singer joined us this year.

If you like to listen to some stuff (actually only one of three songs avaiable is with me and our new singe) just go here:

http://www.legacymusic.info - http://www.legacymusic.info

(it's not ready yet, but I guess you'll get the idea behind it)

Vibrationbaby wrote: This topic has been beaten to death on this site I play, but hate repeating myself.

I repeat myself when under stress,

I repeat myself when under stress,

I repeat myself when under stress,

I repeat...

What is it about proggers and the bass guitar? Most instrumentalists on here are bassists. Let's see if I can figure out why:

Drummers are usually not that bright (cliche joke), and prog is "intelligent" music, so prog drummers are less likely; guitarists are most often egotistical and bossy, and prog music has all instruments work together, so overinflated egos aren't welcome; keyboardists...well, personally I'm surprised most proggers aren't keyboardists...it seems like the type of rock instrument proggers WOULD play, but...; and the bass, dull and monotonous in other types of music...But! In prog, it is allowed to take up the front and solo and be as complex as can be! Plus it's fairly easy to learn. That must be why.

Peter Rideout wrote: Nope.

Same about me.

penguindf12 wrote: what, exactly, is ska?

Ska is essentially Jamaica's interpretation of R'n'B, which in turn gave birth to the more mellow form, known as Reggae. Famous exponents of ska include Prince Buster, the Skatellites and Desmond Dekker. "2nd generation" ska bands in the late 1970s (mainly the "Two-Tone" record label collective), included Bad Manners and the Beat, with Madness having a go every now an den with their Prince Buster covers.

There have been many re-incarnations, and many would attribute the term to the music of No Doubt and the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, among others.

But then there are many here who would say that Destiny's Child do not play R'n'B music, that Swing is a form of music from the 1940s popularised by Glenn Miller, that Radiohead aren't prog, and that oranges are like apples, only, like, different - y'know?

^

Definitions of Geek on the Web:

Reed Lover wrote: ^ Definitions of Reed Lover on the Web: a person who lacks social graces and has no life. A Reed Lover is also known as a pink oboe player, and is someone that pays far too much time polishing the shiny round bit at the end of his instrument. OR: Derogatory term for a person with no skills at all.  See also : Troll A post that is intentionally inflammatory and which is typically an attempt to start a flamewar. One who posts trolls. An annoyance usually on Messageboards who posts for the purpose of causing a disturbance. Often by making comments of a slanderous nature, accusatory, or just general pain-in-the-assness.

Couldn't have put it better myself

Vibrationbaby wrote: This topic has been beaten to death on this site I play, but hate repeating myself.

You're a drummer, aren't you?

I remember you said you could wipe the floor with Neil Peart. Sure about that?? I guess you must be a full time proffesional musician. That kind of skill would be wasted in day job right

Anyway, I'm just coming out of 'retirement' as a drummer, having been puruaded by my girlfrind to get back into playing after about 8 years. My last project imploded. I'm working, not hard enough, with her and her brother to get a kind of prog metal band together. I wanted to play prog, her brother was quite up for that too, but she is a bit of a metalhead, and doesn't want to sing prog.

My fist band was an awful metal cover band called Dominion. My second band which ran for about 5 years was an Indie rock bandcalled klang4 Yeah I know!

We separted due to a clash of egos, between our guitarist and our singer.

Besides I wanted to record a collection of my acoustic numbers with the London Philharmonic, and work on a musical based on the life of Jack the Ripper

Certif1ed wrote: Reed Lover wrote: ^ Definitions of Reed Lover on the Web: a person who lacks social graces and has no life. A Reed Lover is also known as a pink oboe player, and is someone that pays far too much time polishing the shiny round bit at the end of his instrument. OR: Derogatory term for a person with no skills at all.  See also : Troll A post that is intentionally inflammatory and which is typically an attempt to start a flamewar. One who posts trolls. An annoyance usually on Messageboards who posts for the purpose of causing a disturbance. Often by making comments of a slanderous nature, accusatory, or just general pain-in-the-assness. Couldn't have put it better myself

I am so glad you think that highly of me!

Certif1ed wrote: penguindf12 wrote: what, exactly, is ska? Ska is essentially Jamaica's interpretation of R'n'B, which in turn gave birth to the more mellow form, known as Reggae. Famous exponents of ska include Prince Buster, the Skatellites and Desmond Dekker. "2nd generation" ska bands in the late 1970s (mainly the "Two-Tone" record label collective), included Bad Manners and the Beat, with Madness having a go every now an den with their Prince Buster covers. There have been many re-incarnations, and many would attribute the term to the music of No Doubt and the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, among others. But then there are many here who would say that Destiny's Child do not play R'n'B music, that Swing is a form of music from the 1940s popularised by Glenn Miller, that Radiohead aren't prog, and that oranges are like apples, only, like, different - y'know?

wow! thank god you said ska came first. i get really annoyed by people who say reggea was first, BECAUSE IT WASN'T.

Prog_Bassist wrote: asuma wrote: along with the above mentioned, by useful_idiot, life after death. (album coming SOOOOOOOOOOONNNN!!!!!!!!!!1) i play the keys in a ska band called acquired taste ( http://www.acquiredtaste.tk - www.acquiredtaste.tk ). so far we don't have much of a prog taste, but i can tell you that we actually have some depth in our songs. i think we only have one saong that has the same tempo, and/or chord pattern all the way through. i would say our "progiest" sounding song is called funk-o-dub as it contains 3 very different parts, but still carry the same melody. it has the first ska, off-beat part, along with a swing tempo as the chorus, after 3 lines of verse chorus, ect. it goes into a full on swing instrumental part. then we're ending it with a funk part. we also have a song that would apeal to the punk rockers, has a juicy hardcore breakdown, and a circle-pit, drum line at the end. yyyyup. hope to blend ska with prog, or atleast have ska with prog elements.   http://www.acquiredtaste.tk - www.acquiredtaste.tk   It says on the site your playing with Immaculate Machine, where are you from? I saw Immaculate Machine... I'm in Sydney Ns, where r u?

For the record, he and I are both in Victoria, B.C.

I play bass in a band, yes, the problem being that the rest of the band exists only in my head.

DallasBryan wrote: played in a band in Dallas club scene in the 70's and toured the southwest occasionally. The band was called Southern Cross and I played keyboards. My brother plays bass and guitar hes 3 years older. He was a member of a local blues rock band called Kenny and the Casuals. We played mostly covers as a 5 man band and a few originals. Found it to unsettling with all the problems that go with band BS. I played part time thru the 80s in a 3 keyboardist band called Brainiac. We recorded and released a few decent CDs but were never picked up, wasnt the kind of music to promote in the 80s. During the 90s me and my brother played local pubs as a 2 man act, as weekend act. mostly Bob Marley, Billy Idol and other covers as well as our collaborations.

Very Prog

Shouldnt you be trying the Justin Timberlake site?

http://www.justin-timberlake.org/ - http://www.justin-timberlake.org/

hhehe, i was in a dum band, but i quit, or rather, they kicked me out because

1. im a horrible, horrible singer 2.i can't remember shat for crap. 3.i argued all the time what kind of music to play and make, all they wanted to do was punk sh*t, they called my music stupid and annoying. eventually they just got rid of me. were still friends !

Eddy wrote: hhehe, i was in a dum band, but i quit, or rather, they kicked me out because 1. im a horrible, horrible singer 2.i can't remember shat for crap. 3.i argued all the time what kind of music to play and make, all they wanted to do was punk sh*t, they called my music stupid and annoying. eventually they just got rid of me. were still friends !

you're better off without them if all they're interested in doing is punk. Seriously I cannot figure out why this very limited style of music has thrived as long as it has.

DEATH TO PUNK!

Punk is starting to fade....it's just a matter of time and tastes. When prog got too big in the 70's, punk came and everyone openly hated prog. Punk'll last forever, as long as there are bands who can't play too well. But as punk bands and other rock bands continue, they'll start experimenting, and eventually re-inventing prog. Most people now don't know prog exists, and the punks don't really know either, so inevitably it will regain some sort of hold (as it already has begun to, somewhat). Also, with the rise of XM satellite radio, prog will be played more and people will get chances to hear it. "Studio Lab" and "Deep Tracks" on XM already play a lot of prog (esp. Studio Lab), and if XM becomes mainstream and people discover stations like those, prog will be easier to find. Right now, the only way to get into it is thru Pink Floyd or some of the more open bands. But that should soon change...

....maybe.

Anyway, I play bass and can play all of part one of "Thick as a Brick" and the first 6 minutes of "Gates of Delirium". I also played piano for 2 years when I was 7 or so and can read music fairly well. If I relearn the piano (not that hard) and learn electric guitar (harder, but not too hard given I already have calusses), then I could easily be a one-man band! (not that I'd want to, it'd just be useful for conveying ideas if I can play all instruments)

Yes in a band. Were called Flammable Titan.

Band Members:
 Me- Drums, percussion, and vocals
 Jason- Keyboards, Piano and vocals
 Ryan- Guitar and vocals
 Paul- Trumpet, flute, acustic guitar(what he can play of it) and sax
 Tom- Violin, sax, and percussion
 Chris- Bass, bassoon, percussion, and vocals

We play prog, swing, and occasionly jazz. We've written several pieces all of which we can play pretty good. Really musch more of a prog band though. We have also done a few covers of KC, JT, and (attempted) GG.

I wrote some lyrics for my cousin's thrash band, does that count?

Please don't laugh at me 

I, unfortunately, do not have a band at all. I don't have an instrument to play anymore. I did play the guitar, although I'm nothing near Steve Howe or Steve Hackett or Al DiMeola or any other great guitarist. I used to have a beautiful cherry sunburst Les Paul and a Marshall amp and a person who I thought was my best friend, stole them from me and sold them for drugs 4 years ago. Someone had already bought my amp but I got my guitar back and it's pretty much dead. Very sad. I'm trying to invest in a new one shortly. I play left handed and also play drums left-handed as well, like Phil Collins does. I do not own a drumkit, but I have played on one before. My vocals are nowhere near perfect but I sing a hell of a lot better then William Hung. If you don't who he is, you don't want to know anyway. I've been getting fascinated by the technology of collaborating with musicians online. I can see it as being the future of music. I have an mp3 of a guitar instrumental called "Sun" on the IUMA site. http://jcreasey.iuma.com - http://jcreasey.iuma.com

It's not the greatest, but it was an idea at the time. I recorded it using a microphone and CREATIVE recorder on my old computer back in June of 2000. Check it out if you want.

Prog_Bassist wrote: And Bass may be somewhat easy to learn, if you play easy, simple rock or punk music, but it's really really hard to get good at.

funk bass is maddening. And i personally cant accomplish much other than rhythm and some wierd makeshift distortion. it depends on where you want to take your bass.

I'm in a prog metal called Valarius. We play music similar to (you guessed it), Dream Theater.

We're halfway through recording an album, and our achivements so far include winning a Battle Of The Bands.

We also cover Mike Oldfields "Crises" and Metallica's "Master Of Puppets". Both songs seem to go over with the crowd, especially the oldie rockers.