Progressive Arts

Ramakant's Bells - My Artified Version

2011-11-10T23:54:00.001-05:00

Ramakant's Bells (Astral Distortion Edit) Here is my artified version of Ramakant's Bells photo. You can view the original at Tryst with the Shutter Bug.

Are many of the most talented musicians and artists autistic?

2011-10-06T22:19:00.000-04:00

I am discussing this topic with the utmost of respect for the musicians and artists that I mention. I am in no way attempting to defame or insult them. This is merely an observation that I have been formulating over many years now. Furthermore, I feel that I am qualified to discuss this topic as I am a high functioning autistic. I was officially diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in 2008.

Sintel - A Movie Short Created with Blender

2011-09-18T00:28:00.000-04:00

I originally found this movie short about a year ago. This is a great example of what 100% free open-source software can do. The folks at the Durian Open Movie Project have some serious talent!

And Now . . . A Little Bit of Humor

2011-09-17T21:27:00.002-04:00

Yes, I'd like my snow cone with the topping of the day please. U's can has the cheezburger. Groun' kintrol, do ya copee? Groun' kintrol, dis be co co co . . . waz dat agin? nermine. Dis be John Billy Joe Bob Cyrus Paul Smith. Can ya her me? Cappin! Y dat lite jus . . .

Benisyoga - A Japanese Band Covers King Crimson's Cat Food

2011-09-17T21:18:00.000-04:00

This is an awesome cover of King Crimson's Cat Food! Can't understand the vocals? Don't blame it on the Japanese vocalist! The studio version as sung by Greg Lake and subsequent live versions sung by John Wetton are almost as unintelligable.

Heavy Metal Workshop Tokyo Plays Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part 2

2011-09-17T21:12:00.000-04:00

This is a cool rendition of the classic King Crimson tune. HMWT has other videos where there are just the 2 people playing piano that are quite good as well.

Basslines - Was Asia Inspired by Simple Minds?

2011-09-17T21:04:00.000-04:00

I tried to get David Gallant (former webmaster of the Official Asia site before the reunion) to hear a similarity in the bass lines between Asia's Cutting It Fine and Simple Minds' Changeling 8 years ago and failed. Gallant also wrote and published a biography of Asia. Well, let's see if you're more perceptive than Gallant in hearing the similarity between these 2 songs. Listen to Cutting It

Black Moon - An ELP Fan's Video Montage

2011-09-17T20:39:00.000-04:00

The stills provide excellent imagery for this song. I just wish she hadn't slowed the song down a touch. To me, it's not annoying, but it just wasn't necessary.

The Fixx - Live at Busch Gardens Williamsburg 07/31/10

2010-08-08T01:07:00.003-04:00

While The Fixx might not be a progressive rock band, I like them. Besides, it's my blog. ;^) Also, I realize that it's been a week since the concert. Life happens. Now that the unpleasantries are out of the way, let's move forward . . . .I've liked this band since my high school days in the mid-to-late 80's. However, I was but a lurker (casual listener) until much later. I first saw them

Endeavour - All Songs From 1995 Are Now Available

2010-07-29T12:04:00.006-04:00

SoundClick has now fixed the error that occurred when clicking on some of my songs in their player. You should not have any problems once you clear your browser cache.All 9 of the songs that I recorded in 1995 are now available in the sidebar. I added the following tracks to the playlist:1) Improv 2 - Keep It SimpleThis song has an improvised intro that leads into a simple chord progression

Is it Genesis Rewired? Is it Garden Wall? No! It's The Watch!!

2010-07-26T23:28:00.001-04:00

I first introduced The Watch early in the year when I "accidentally" discovered them. I more recently promoted their upcoming US tour hoping to start a "grass roots", word-of-mouth publicity campaign. Now, I'd like to take it to the next level by offering you a chance to hear this incredible band.Before you scroll to the goodies below, I'd like to say that, aside from a few supergroups formed

Is the Current Yes Really Yes? A Yes-East and Yes-West Fan's Perspective

2010-07-18T00:58:00.000-04:00

As many Yes fans know, the last tour date featuring Jon Anderson was September 22, 2004. It was the close of the 35th Anniversary tour. They were supposed to tour again in 2008, but Jon took ill and the tour was cancelled. After giving Jon more than the doctor recommended 6 months to recover, the gang decided to tour without him in November 2008. At some point, Chris Squire had gone to Canada

Ladies and Gentle, I'd like to welcome you all to see . . . The Watch!!

2010-07-14T23:43:00.005-04:00

Please give this amazing prog rock band a warm welcome to the US! With 3 confirmed dates and venues, 1 pending performance in or near Washington DC (venue TBD), and 2 more planned performances (cities and venues TBD), this will be The Watch's most extensive tour of the US. They've come here twice before. They performed in Lowell, MA and Albany, NY in 2007 and in Phoenixville, PA in 2006. This

New Releases and Albums "In the Works"

2010-02-15T01:43:00.003-05:00

There are a few new releases for which I only just recently discovered. First, there's Steve Hackett's Out of the Tunnel's Mouth. Watch a video of Fire on the Moon from that album on YouTube. On a related note, Kim Poor recently launched a blog. It was interesting to find out that Kim was Steve's wife. I knew they had been friends for a long time, but never knew they were married.Peter

Going Out on a LIMB

2009-06-30T10:26:00.003-04:00

Do you remember when huge conglomerates like Clear Channel controlled the music that you heard on the radio and what venues in which bands could and could not perform? How about the days where the big 4 record label conglomerates, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group, "manufactured" talent by hiring people who could sing and having session musicians write

A Diamond in the Rough: Who is Endeavour?

2009-06-18T14:32:00.001-04:00

Image: Angel of Siloam by Scott McMahan Play my songs from the player in the side bar! Endeavour is a one man band that was born in late 1994. It's sole member is me. I had started serious work on a few compositions in the early 90's. The earliest of these songs is Chinatown Jam which, in it's earliest incarnations, dates back to the late 80's (circa 1988). Chinatown Jam began as a

Life After Triumph: What happened to Rik Emmett?

2009-06-17T01:28:00.000-04:00

Remember the second famous Canadian rock trio called Triumph? They formed in 1975; about a year after Rush. Triumph reached their peak in popularity with the 1984 release of Thunder Seven. Due to artistic differences, Rik Emmett (guitarist extraordinaire) was kicked out of the band. Shortly thereafter, the two remaining members, Gil Moore and Mike Levine made sure that Triumph was quite literally

Landscape Renders

2009-06-10T01:14:00.000-04:00

This is fractal mathematics at its most complex. Yes, folks, all of the images below are completely computer generated. Although some are darn near photorealistic, they were all created with Terragen 0.9x.I welcome comments on these. However, please keep in mind that not all of them were meant to look real. Some, Solem River on Mars especially, were meant to appear more as a painting than a

New Releases: June 2009

2009-06-09T23:48:00.004-04:00

Saga is revamped and, to use a Crimso term, "highly thrakked" on their new release, The Human Condition. You can hear 4 tracks in their entirety on the Official Saga site. Great stuff! Whether you're a veteran Saga fan or just like intelligent, melodic rock, you'll love The Human Condition. As some of you know, this is Saga's first album to feature the new lead singer, Rob Moratti. While his

King Crimson Hits 40!

2009-06-02T14:21:00.006-04:00

"Born" in 1969, King Crimson turned 40 this year!Bassist extraordinaire, Tony Levin, is back in the current incarnation of the band as is Pat Mastelotto (Drummer). King Crimson is a dual drummer beast again with the addition of new recruit, Gavin Harrison (from Porcupine Tree). An excellent (and legal) live recording of the line-up can be found here. It is a complete concert and includes a very

Dark As The Grave - Eerie digital art

2008-06-17T23:15:00.000-04:00

My participation in the Artify threads in the dslreports.com Digital Imaging forum has occasionally inspired me to show my darker side. Here are some examples.Georgetown Steps (Bloody Edit)Park Bench (Eyes In The Dark Edit)Greenhouse (Horror Film Edit)Children On Beach (Creepshow Edit)Wasp (Alien Edit)I did not take the original photos from which these were made. However, all "artification" was

This is how I earned the name Fractalman - Part 4

2008-06-17T22:10:00.001-04:00

I am working on gathering some music news. In the meantime, I thought everyone might enjoy a few more of my fractals. These were done with Iterations in 2006.I've Got My Eye On YouFracture 2Time To FlyAll of these were enhanced with PhotoShop. To my knowledge, Stephen Ferguson abandoned Iterations several years ago. Thus, I'd be happy to e-mail a copy to anyone who leaves there e-mail address in

This is how I earned the name Fractalman - Part 3

2008-06-13T16:30:00.002-04:00

Today, I thought I'd share another handful of fractals with you. These were all done with Iterations back in 2000 and 2001.Alien SportTo me, this looks like an alien kicking something. Hence, the name Alien Sport.ObsidianGamers out there might be familiar with the PC game called Obsidian. Unfortunately, it came out just after Myst and did not receive the attention that it should have received.

Frank Zappa alumnus forms the next supergroup!

2008-06-09T01:44:00.001-04:00

Wow! A Frank Zappa alumnus! Who could it be? Warren Cuccurullo? No. Terry Bozzio? No. Steve Vai? No.Need a hint?He played with Roxy Music and Jethro Tull.Still not sure?Well, it's keyboard and electric violin extraordinaire Eddie Jobson!The new band is called UKZ. The band also includes bassist, Warr guitarist, and Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn!More to come . . .

The Bravery - Euro Rock from an American band!

2008-06-05T23:59:00.001-04:00

The Bravery, like many "naturally" formed bands, was born in 2003 by combining musicians from 3 different sources. The 2 founding members, Sam Endicott and John Conway, had played with several different bands through college. While they were living in New York, they placed an advertisement for a guitarist in the newspaper. They got a 2 for 1 deal when Michael Zakarin answered the advertisement