33 now, got into Floyd at age 16. Began discovering most of the rest of the prog pantheon at around 19-20. Just recently have been really getting into some bands for the first time (since joining this site ). First and foremost of these has been Gentle Giant.

Now = 17

Got into prog about age 14 or 15 with King Crimson and Gentle Giant.

i am 23, here is my music history

pre 16- nothing, i actually never listened to music, i honestly didnt own an album before then

16-18 - punk rock, early 80s mostly, like Adolescents, Circle Jerks, TS, also a huge fan of The Offspring

18-22 - Metal, I picked up Manowar's Battle Hymns  LP at a garage sale for 50 cents as a joke, changed my life, quite possibly the most important moment of life

22-23 (now, look like only one year, but really has been two, just about) - Prog, I am in love with this music, ever since I picked up the Yes Relayer album, just looking at the artwork, I later bought Fragile (didnt buy Relayer, the picture just got me interested) I still listen to quite a bit of metal, but i cant stand, let me repeat, I cant f**king stand punk rock

Aaron

I'm sixteen now and have been a Beatle's fan since about 6 years old.  I got into prog when I was 14 when my Aunt gave me the Best of Zappa for Christmas.  I then bought the Division Bell which I thought and still think is crap, so I tried out Darkside of the Moon and I got Aqualung after that  and the rest is history.  I'm basically into most kinds of music now

I don't think music would be part of my life if I didn't get that album.  I think abstractly so I think that is why Zappa made sense to me immediately

Got into prog: 15

Age: 16 (was a big Alt. Rock fan, still am, but prog is tied with it as fav. genre).

Hierophant wrote: aqualung28 wrote: I'm sixteen now and have been a Beatle's fan since about 6 years old.  I got into prog when I was 14 when my Aunt gave me the Best of Zappa for Christmas.  I then bought the Division Bell which I thought and still think is crap, so I tried out Darkside of the Moon and I got Aqualung after that  and the rest is history.  I'm basically into most kinds of music now Your aunt gave you best of zappa?? wow kicka**

Yeah really! The only music-related thing I ever got from an aunt was a Rick Springfield T-shirt. I had asked her for a concert t-shirt and I got that. Bad thing was, my brother asked her for the same thing and got an Asia T-shirt with the first album cover on the front. The bastige!!

I'm 36.

Got into prog when I was about 14. Started with Rush, Marillion & Floyd.

Twenty-four and have had the prog disease for some six years now. Got into it thanks to recommendations of DT, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson and Pink Floyd. Also thanks to prog I started appreciating jazz, jazz-rock, fusion and some weirder genres.

Before that it was heavy music of all shapes and sizes. I remember listening to Black Sabbath at the age of five and absolutely loving it. Then I got into classic heavy metal and bands like Europe. I expanded my metal taste during the next few years, but then I dropped almost all of it and started flirting with punk and NYHC. At about sixteen I rediscovered metal in a huge way, and focused on its extreme forms that time around. And while the prog/jazz revolution showed many of my metal favs the door, I've found myself unable to kick the death- and doom metal habit completely... 

Age: 18

Into prog since: 16, starting with Zappa, among others (Yes, Supersister, Soft Machine)

43 (,some round here think I'm 16-well I act that age)

First prog album I bought was:

Wait for it.........

This is the absolute truth,ok!

Tarkus-ELP

42 years young and have been a fan of ELP since 1977.My appreciation for other prog bands has been a gradual process over the years.

Happy to be inducted into progoholics anonymous

Jim Garten wrote: Got my first prog album when about 10 ('Best Of' Uriah Heep) - now 42 (and I still have the album)

You have been about 13 Jim.

43 (,some round here think I'm 16-well I act that age)

First prog album I bought was:

Wait for it.........

This is the absolute truth,ok!

Tarkus-ELP

Uhm... *cough* Aside from Zappa and Beefheart, Dark Side of the Moon was probably my first taste of the prog scene at the age of around 15. And yes, I thought it was the single greatest musical statement to grace all of rock music...

Oh, come on, it's not like you didn't too, at some point!!

MY GOD! I'm almost scared to tell my age in this kid-circle here. If it's still tolerated to join over 40, well I'm 40+4. But I'm still listening to almost anything, if it's not commercial pop, especially hip-hop,rap or techno, or even worse: country music. And "music" which is defined more by its loudness and evilness, rather than its musical qualities like extreme Death and Black and most of the Thrash Metal. My favourites are Pain Of Salvation, Threshold, Spastic Ink, Sieges Even and Ark in the Metal genre, Isildurs Bane, After Crying, Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Citizen Cain in the symph.Prog and Alamaailman Vasarat, Hellborg/Lane/Sipe, 7 For 4, Brand X, Kenso, Discus, Iceberg and Nathan Mahl in the Fusion sub-genre. These are the three fields of my main interest, apart of this some Art Rock, some RIO (not all) and very little NeoProg (if it's something like Thieves' Kitchen).

When did I get into Prog? Well, I've got to think long way back, must have been 30 years ago or so with stuff like Jethro Tull, Floyd, Wishbone Ash and so on. Later on in my 20's and 30's I listened a lot of Indie, Punk and Alternative. Only recently after discovering this site Prog became my absolute top favourite and I found more and more interesting bands I never heard of before and learnt to love more intricate and demanding kind of music.

I was really positively surprised to find that many very young people here listening to prog music. Honestly the younger ones I usually know personally listen only to the  well-known commercial radio-crap.That's giving some hope for the future.

KEEP ON PROGGING!!!!

FuzzyDude wrote: Uhm... *cough* Aside from Zappa and Beefheart, Dark Side of the Moon was probably my first taste of the prog scene at the age of around 15. And yes, I thought it was the single greatest musical statement to grace all of rock music...     Oh, come on, it's not like you didn't too, at some point!!

No, as a matter of fact, I have NEVER thought that.

43. First got into prog as a mere, still wet behind the ears, 9-10 years old ('70-'71). I have two older brothers who played KC, Yes, ELP and Zappa. I may have even been a bit younger, but I never really went through that little kids age of listening to pop music. I was weened on the Beatles and the Stones, straight into the hard stuff. I remember laying in the back of the old station wagon with my brother cranking Roundabout on the cheap little speakers while we cruised across Michigan highways to a lake for a day at the beach.

Diary of a Former Freak

First concert: Genesis (sometime before The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was released)

First prog band I started: Bitter Squash Junkies (we were what you would describe as RIO today, though most people thought we were punk)

First time I set my guitar on fire onstage: maybe when I was 19

First time I urinated on a flaming guitar onstage: My 20th birthday

First time I was kicked out of a band: 20 and I think the band was called Melon Collie (no relation to the Smashing Pumpkins album)

First time I made out to 'Nights in White Satin' by the Moody Blues: 16

First time I heard the Wall and freaked out: Oh, boy... sometime in 1981.

First time I burned a picture of Ronald Reagan onstage and got arrested for it: I was 25, I think.

Only time I was in a band that got a record deal: I forget how old I was, but the band was called Stravinsky's Wet Dream (we were symphonic prog) and I was the bassist. We were dropped from the label though, once someone saw our live show. Our music had a sort of classical feel, and I think they dug it, but after we played 'Even Dopefiends like Debussy,' they sort of lost their taste for our work.

One and only time I ever asked Robert Fripp for his autograph and and was leered at and told 'No, thank you...' before his bodygaurds hustled me away from him: March 4th, 1982

Number of times I saw Frank Zappa perform: 6

Last album I ever heard and was overwhelmed by: Radiohead's Kid A

Being labeled a traitor by my prog fanatic friends for going to a Sex Pistols show and saying I loved it: Priceless

Im 16 now and have been listening to Rush since I was 13, my first album was All the Worlds a Stage, but sadly I cant make those special associations to progressive music...yet. (I and five other friends are going to Germany WC 2006, and man there is gonna be memories.)

(Actually my first contact with progressive were SX and DT, but I dont count them as they doesnt put me in the mood as real progressive rock does..) 

FuzzyDude wrote: after we played 'Even Dopefiends like Debussy,' they sort of lost their taste for our work.

I don't suppose you have any recordings?

MY GOD! I'm almost scared to tell my age in this kid-circle here.

Yeh there's a lot of kids,can't you tell with the crap they post about.Jeus.

Afraid not. After we broke up, I'm afraid someone else had all the demotapes. I believe the tune resembled something by Procol Harum and part of it went, "My dopefiend baby, that needle's sure looking fine, and with some Debussy, I would do the time" We ripped off one of Debussy's piano pieces for the song, but I forget which one. The song was sort of an homage to Procol Harum and the Rolling Stones.

Metropolis wrote: Im 19, most of the way through my second year at uni, got into prog right at the start of first year, a little over a year and a half ago

Did you get into prog or some of this new sh*t pawned off as Prog?

Metropolis wrote: Well, my first purchase was Dream Theater's A Change of Seasons, but the downward spiral was sharp and swift starting with progmetal (for i was previoulsy a metal head) I bought up loads of DT, PoS, Devin Townsend, Ayreon, Ark, Threshold, Symphony X, Opeth, Dead Soul Tribe, Evergrey as well as much Porcupine Tree. Then i started getting hooked on more symphonic stuff, once again starting with the more recent stuff, Arena, IQ, Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, The Flower Kings, Sigur Ros et al And anyway this all culminated in me discovering and getting hooked on the classics, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, VDGG, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Camel, Caravan etc, and EVEN some people known as ELP

Well you certainly got off to a bad start.No wonder you did'nt have nightmares..But i guess you've now seen the light.

43, or 3 14 and a bit year olds (which gives a better impression of my level of emotional maturity). Been into prog for 30 years now, next year will be the 30th anniversary of my first Genesis concert. My first prog purchase was Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which I now find unlistenable - DSOTM, Tubular Bells, SEBTP and Ommadawn all followed quickly, along with many more.

Prog wasn't my first musical love - I was buying solo Beatles records before that - and I've enjoyed a lot of other styles since (though relatively little mainstream pop since the late 70s) but it was the first musical style I discovered for myself

Fragile wrote: Actually I think your Zorro, Don de luego 50 years old; started off in prog via Deep Purple,Uriah Heep,Wishbone Ash, Spooky Tooth,Caravan then exploded when I heard the Yes album and the rest is history.No tnt jokes Reed

Fragile gets on his bike following explosive reaction after he'd got The Clap from the girl at his local record store....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/reedlover/fragilenews.jpg -

44. But I am young for my age (honestly) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vibrationbaby wrote: Age is a state of mind.

Yep...

Birthdays tell how long you've been on the road...they don't tell how far you've travelled

Sure is and mine is 17, first listened to prog as a 9 year old when Jon Anderson's voice caught my attention and I've never looked back since.Faves are too many but Yes and KC are neck and neck but there is so much great music but my absoloute fave is the magical Todd Rundgren.

                                                                         Jen

I love you, VB

you're so funny!

Got into prog when I was 14, after a Rush concert.

I'm 17 now.

I'm 43 and have been into prog since 1975, but I didn't know it was prog then. I rather called my favourite genres symphonic rock (Genesis and Yes) and German underground rock (Amon Düül 2).

Im 45 and got into Prog in about 73-74 when I was 13-14 cant remeber exactly slong time ago. I was into Sweet, Wings , Bowie and stuff and a friend said"come around my house and listen to some real music". He played loads of ELP, next time it was Genesis , hackett, Hawkwind , PFM etc. I discovered Yes on my own by buying Relayer.It had long songs you see, and a good cover.

I still like listening to new stuff and I'm into Spocks Beard, Dream Theater and many others . I mention those two because they reintroduced me to modern prog.Never did like Marillion much though and I kinda missed out on 80s prog, by being unaware that it existed apart from Marillion. Into Rush as well of course since about 1978 or something. Sorry the old brain is failing

plodder wrote: What part of Wales are you from Snow Dog? I'm from Cardiff. I have a bjillion ways I can be contacted in my profile.

Llanrumney

25

I don't know exactly when my history with prog began but there used to be a time when I listened to alot of thrash and death metal bands like Death, Atheist and Sepultura. I remember the only thing that caught my attention in this type of music was the intense drumming and it helped me jump to another type of music, namely jazz-fusion. But most of the jazz-fusion I listened to at that time lacked vocals, so prog was welcome and it started with Marillion and then followed the classic bands (that I couldn't understand in my earlier years, circa 9-10 years) Genesis, Yes, ELP... My brother found on the net a diagram depicting the various subgenres of prog and it helped me discover new bands. I began to appreciate other styles besides neo and symphonic prog, like electronic (TD, Synergy, Mike Oldfield...), Canterbury (National health, Caravan...), hard-prog (KC mainly), metal prog (the first time I heard 'Images and words' it didn't came to mind that it was prog...) and now I am particularly attracted by non-english speaking bands (first and foremost the italian scene, but also Sagrado, Pablo el Enterrador, Sintesis, Los Jaivas, some polish musical icons like Marek grechuta, Czeslaw Niemen, Skaldowie and Jozef Skrzek, the spanish prog scene : I just like the way these bands compile the musical roots of their country and traditional prog rock) and folk-prog bands (Jethro Tull, Renaissance, Iona, Maddy Prior, vermilion Sands, Harmonium...). However, I tried to enter the most weird sides of prog : Zappa, the RIO scene but it didn't click with me. 

lucas wrote: 25 I don't know exactly when my history with prog began but there used to be a time when I listened to alot of thrash and death metal bands like Death, Atheist and Sepultura.

Je pensais vraiment pas ca de toi...changement d'orientation hyper radical

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle here. I'm 35 and first got into prog at age 15 with Yes and then Rush and Genesis in the mid 80's. I've been into this stuff ever since(off and on but mostly on....in the mid 90's I took a short break from it then rediscovered it and got on the internet soon after and there's no looking back). I'm amazed at the fact that most of you are younger than me! Usually I'm one of the younger people at prog festivals and concerts. You guys should all come out to the shows!

PS Sorry for resurrecting this thread

im 16 now and have really only been into prog for about half a year, although im not counting the time that i liked pink floyd and jethro tull since i didnt even know what prog was then.

Well, well... I read all posts and probably I'm the second oldest of the people who posted.

I'm 49 (made today, 27th November - same day of Jimi Hendrix ).

I started with prog long time ago, in 1971 when I started hearing some Floyd and Moody Blues tunes. I never give up! Prog forever!!!

P.S.: according to the age poll we have 5 people here with more than 65. I would like to know them! Do they fear the presence of so many young people here?

I'm 15.

Got into some Yes when I was 14, but got everything else and became obsessed about five or six months ago

I was obsessed with the Beatles apparently when i was as young as 2 i thought ringo was funny

7 i heard Elephant Talk was soon obsessed with this weird music

8 - 12 - conformed to what was popular

12 - rediscovered Yes And King Crimson got more deep into progresive rock

13 - became a snob and closing my mind to the genre everything else was garbage

15 - got into jazz,metal,grunge,hard rock other experimental music

16 - got into krautrock and Can which soon led me to get into Public Image Ltd which then led me to other post punk The Pop Group,Gang Of Four,Mission Of Burma which soon led me to listen to Black Flag and The Dead Kennedys now punk is one of my fav genres but prog is still at number 1

Hierophant wrote: aqualung28 wrote: I'm sixteen now and have been a Beatle's fan since about 6 years old.  I got into prog when I was 14 when my Aunt gave me the Best of Zappa for Christmas.  I then bought the Division Bell which I thought and still think is crap, so I tried out Darkside of the Moon and I got Aqualung after that  and the rest is history.  I'm basically into most kinds of music now Your aunt gave you best of zappa?? wow kicka**

My Aunt yelled at me for playing Zappa when my cousins were around!

39 here

Have been into prog since hearing Yes-Fragile in 1976 when I was 10

Got introduced to Supertramp at 4, got into the prog giants (Genesis, King Crimson etc.) at 10-11.

Im 15 years old.

Now 41 years 2 months and 25 days, proghead since 13 years old, fanatic since I was 15 and discovered Genesis.

Iván

Now 17

Started at the age of 14 by purchasing DSOTM (very original)

Then got into classics like Led Zep and Purple, along with some metal greats(Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth) Then came classic symphonic prog, followed by all prog subgenres. Now I almost don't listen to anything non prog, prog is so varied, you can never have too much of it.

Until I was 11, I didn't listen to anything. Then I started to listen to pop (*NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, etc.). After all my friends stopped listening to that stuff (around 13 years old) I started to listen to their favorite bands. I got into blink-182, Matchbox 20, Three Doors Down, Lifehouse, and pretty much every alternative band there was.

By my freshman year of high school, I started to dig around my dad's cd collection and I found some Yes. I knew they were his favorite band but I had never really listened to them. I took his copy of Keys to Ascension and gave it a listen. It was awesome! For the rest of my freshman and sophomore years, Yes was almost all I listened to.

By my junior/senior years, I started to get into Queen, Van Halen, Rush (now my favorite band), Pink Floyd, Triumph, Dream Theater, and just about every prog band. I'm a freshman in college now and I'm always on the lookout for new prog. My favorite new prog bands are the Mars Volta, Tool, and Coheed and Cambria. I don't like Radiohead though. They suck.

I am 42.

My first Album was 'Bachman Turner Overdrive - Not Fragile' in 74 or 75.

This is actually a pretty good album....but not prog.

Got into Yes, Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull shortly thereafter.

Always thought that I didn't like Genesis until about 5 years ago. The old stuff is awseome!

Don't know how I missed it all those years.

Also like newer rock like Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, etc.

Finding all kinds of great new bands through this site.

Porcupine Tree, Dredg, etc.

And also great old bands that I missed before like

Gentle Giant and Gryphon.

It is really cool to find all of this great music that you will never hear on the radio.

Prog On!

TheProgtologist wrote: 39 here Have been into prog since hearing Yes-Fragile in 1976 when I was 10

You must have been seen as pretty uncool at that time lol did u get beat up by the punks