Monday, June 28, 2010

Sunday on My Mind

On Sunday the 27 of June was our last "live" radio show before the summer vacations. On this show the playlist was a mix of our favorite songs and some new songs I received or acquired during these last weeks. Download the radio show here (Link no longer available). The play list is as follows:

1. Fighter Command, by Big Big Train (Gathering Speed, 2004)
2. Reality Slips, by David Rhodes (Bittersuite, 2009/2010) - NEW
3. Young God, by Pallas (Reel & Raw, 2010) - NEW
4. Misunderstood, by Dream Theater (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, 2002)
5. The Doorway, by Nick D'Virgilio (Live at the Montreal CD launch - Unavailable as a release)
6. The River, by The Tea Party (Splendor Solis, 1993)
7. I Buried Paul, by Madame Blavatsky Overdrive (The 23 Enigma, 2010) - NEW
8. Tall Tale, by Beardfish (The Sane Day, 2005)
9. Question Mark Medley - Live, by Neal Morse (So Many Roads, 2010) - NEW
10. Beyond the Eyelids, by Riverside (Rapid Eye Movement, 2007)
11. Illusion of Progress, by Quandary (Ready to Fail, 2010) - NEW
12. Lightbulb Sun - Live, by Porcupine Tree (Warszawa Live 2001, 2003)
13. Cribcaged, by Pain of Salvation (Scarsick, 2007)
14. House, by Marillion (marillion.com, 1999)
15. Awaken - Live, by Yes (Live in Montreaux, 2003)

And fear not, dear listeners: for the next 8 weeks I will be posting special download-only radio shows, a kind of "Best of" of the International Prog Rock Show. There will also be a special radio show, download-only again, with reviews and songs from the High Voltage Festival in London in July. Three shows are already in the can, and I'm working on the other 5 as I write this (a NDV special, a High Voltage Special, a blooper special, and others). These shows will be made available for download every Sunday at 3PM Eastern Standard time.

Have a great summer, Rick and I surely will, and Prog-On people!!! I would like to thank all the artists that made this first year possible, those we interviewed and those who sent us the music that we play on the air... you know who you are and we thank you very, very much! A special thank you to Mickey Simmonds, the genius who wrote our theme music, and to Ken Jacquess, for being the first and for believing in this little show of ours. We'll see you all at live shows during the summer, I'm sure, and we'll be back live on the air August 29th.

Frank!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Last Sunday's Show

Just came back from a great record launch of X with Spock's Beard's Nick D'Virgilio. A great and personnable guy who graced us with a little acoustic set. I was flabergasted when he played "Thoughts" alone with his guitar...! A great performance!

Still, on with the show! Last Sunday, on the 20th of June, the International Prog Rock Show played more music from 2010. It's getting to be a great year in prog and you can listen to the show here (Link no longer available). The playlist was the following:

1. Live on Air, by The Tangent (A Place on the Shelf, 2010) - NEW

2. Margaretha, by Conqueror (Madame Zelle, 2010) - NEW
3. Fino All'aurora, by La Maschera di Cera (Petali di Fuoco, 2010) - NEW
4. Skellig, by Mr. Gil (Skellig, 2010) - NEW
5. Raw Dog, by Dream Theater (God of War Soundrack, 2010) - NEW
6. The Reunion, by Edensong (The Fruit Fallen, 2008)
7. Caravan, by Rush (Caravan CDS, 2010) - NEW
8. A Draconian Tale, by Seti (Discoveries, 2010) - NEW
9. Le massacre du printemps, Part 2, by The Tangent (A Place on the Shelf, 2010) - NEW
10. L'infanzia di Maria, by PFM (A.D. 2010: La Buona Novella, 2010) - NEW
11. Beautiful Illusion, by Lisa LaRue Project (World Class, 2009)
12. Pearl of the Stars, by Coheed & Cambria (Year of the Black Rainbow, 2010) - NEW
13. Shiva, by The Enid (Journey's End, 2010) - NEW

Enjoy! And please, encourage the artists you like to write and record new music by buying their CDs.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

New Music from 2010

We at the International Prog Rock Show buy a lot of new music. 2010 is fast becoming another 2009, that is to say a bumper crop year for prog. Already we've had great concerts in the first half of the year, with many more to come.

Since we've had many interviews in the past few weeks, we didn't get the chance to play a lot of what we got in the new year... well here was our chance! New music by Anathema, Porcupine Tree, and The Windmill, among others. The radio show is available for download (Link no longer available) and the playlist is as follows:

1. Herculean, by Khatsaturjan (Disconcerto Grosso, Finland, 2010) - NEW
2. A Simple Mistake, by Anathema (We're Here Because We're Here, UK, 2010) - NEW
3. In the Mirror of Dreams, by Gall (Anonym, Poland, 2010) - NEW
4. Reflections of a Dying World, by Disperse (Journey Through the Hidden Gardens, Poland, 2010) - NEW
5. Cryptomnesia, by El Grupo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (Cryptomnesia, Puerto Rico, 2009)
6. Fear of a Blank Planet (Live), by Porcupine Tree (Anesthetize, UK, 2010) - NEW
7. Cheating the Polygraph (Live), by Porcupine Tree (Anesthetize, UK, 2010) - NEW
8. A Gathering of Crows, by Dead Heroes Club (A Time of Shadow Ireland 2009)
9. A Day in a Hero's Life, by The Windmill (To Be Continued..., Norway, 2010) - NEW
10. Breathe In, Breath Out, by RPWL (Acoustic) (The Gentle Art of Music, Germany, 2010) - NEW
11. Celestial Elixir, by Haken (Aquarius, UK, 2010) - NEW
12. Lines on the Horizon, by Argos (Circles, Germany, 2010) - NEW
13. Don't Ask Me, by Division By Zero (Independent Harmony, Poland, 2010) - NEW
14. The Very Last Number, by Areknamés (In Case of Loss, Italy, 2010) - NEW

Hope you enjoy the show, and -as always - encourage the artists you like by purchasing their music!!

Frank

Monday, June 7, 2010

Mindgames on the International Prog Rock Show

Last Friday I had the pleasure of talking to Bart Schram, lead signer of the Belgian prog band Mindgames. Formed in 1997, the band has three albums under their belt and plan a fourth one in the not too distant future. Their latest, MMX, came out in January of this year, and I named it my album of the month.
Over the course of the interview, done through Skype, you'll find out about the band's early days, the inspiration for some of the songs, and much more.

Last Sunday's show was entirely dedicated to Mindgames and Bart Schram's interview. You will hear great music and a very likeable man. I would like to thank Bart for the interview, which he did at midnight in Belgium.

During the interview I mispoke twice. Once when Bart mentioned Musea Records (I couldn't understand the name). I do know about Musea Records, though not about most of their artists. The second time is when I mention Hamadryad; I was thinking about Galahad!
The playlist was as follows:

1. Factory of Illness, by Mindgames (International Daylight, 2003)
2. An Approach to Mankind, by Mindgames (International Daylight, 2003)
3. Selling the Moon, by Mindgames (International Daylight, 2003)
4. The Statue, by Mindgames (Actors in a Play, 2006)
5. Sagittarius, by Mindgames (Actors in a Play, 2006)
6. The Benefit of Anxiety, by Mindgames (Actors in a Play, 2006)
7. Dramatis Persona, by Mindgames (Actors in a Play, 2006)
8. The Source, by Mindgames (MMX, 2010)
9. Destination Sky, by Mindgames (MMX, 2010)
10. The Pendulum, by Mindgames (MMX, 2010)
11. In My Humble Opinion..., by Mindgames (MMX, 2010)
12. Travels, by Mindgames (MMX, 2010)

I hope you discovered a great band, and if you like their music, go to their website and buy their CDs, there's even more to like on them.

Frank