Steve Howe Oct 4th 2008 (The Drummer)

Here is a shot of Dylan Howe. Their style was mostly Jazz improv.


Check out Jazz albums here.
http://jazz.mp3tree.com

Steve Howe Oct 4th 2008, group shot.

A great group shot of the Steve Howe trio. His Son is on the right side.

http://progalbums.com

Steve Howe Oct 4th 2008 (His keyboard player)

His Keyboard player had a nice Hammond (digital) organ, with a real Leslie speaker.

See more prog at http://progalbums.com

The Steve Howe Trio

Here is a Photo I took at the October 4th show. I was lucky enough to get an autograph from Steve howe after the show.


Steve Howe Trio Concert in Toronto, Ontario
Saturday, October 4, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
The Mod Club Theatre - 722 College St.

Don't forget to read more at http://progalbums.com

Voltage controlled oscillators, how many do we need?

Here is a rundown of some of the most important synthesizers of the 1970s and how many voltage controlled oscillators each of these keyboards used. One can see that perhaps the optimum number for a monophonic synthesizer would be three voltage controlled oscillators. But it is interesting to see how this number varies by model and manufacturer.

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Fave prog rock band

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Kanye West and Daft Punk

This was a matching I would have never expected, but it works. A very cleaver idea whoever thought it up.

Very cool album cover, Daft Punk.

When I first saw this Daft Punk Album cover, I thought, wow, how cool is that. It reminds me of a cheesy early eighties Atari 2600 cartridge design. Cheesy in a good way.

Daft Punks gear. Moogs and more.

Here is a great image showing Daft Punks gear. I think those are Moog Voyagers. Very cool stuff indeed.

These are the moog cookbook guys

They look like Daft Punk, but they are not. Nice vintage moog gear in the background. I got this image from http://www.idmforums.com This is a forum for electronic music. I will have to check this out in greater detail latter.

Daft Punk meets Led Zepplin

These guys were actual rock musicians before they moved into Techno. So they know their way around real instruments as well as computers.

Daft Punk

Not exactly prog, but I really like these guys. They have a fresh approach to music and a great image to boot. So if progressive music is truly progressive, perhaps these guys are prog.

Very cool little piece of sequencing.

EMS synth in action.

I just joined cirip

This is a Romanian site similar to Twitter. 

New Prog Album site

Be sure to check out my new prog album site chalk full of great deals on vintage prog records. http://progalbums.com/

Prog band list

Here is a extended list of some of the greatest prog bands ever. If you don't know exactly what prog is, here is a quote I a made on KVRaudio that might help you understand.....

"Well, my viewpoint is that Prog's roots come from Jazz, folk and Classical mixed together, so I would think that "prog" as a genre of music is one of the most open-minded (for a lack of a better phrase) out there."

And without further a due, here is the list...

Rush (without a doubt)

Here is part of a quote I wrote on KVRaudio

"I personally only recommend Rush albums from 1976 until 1982. Then newer stuff sounds a bit dry to me, and Getty can't really hit the notes anymore. I guess the same thing happened to Robert Plant."

Genesis (need I say more)

ELP when the P was palmer (Great in the beginning, but lost it latter on)

Gong (I don't know much about these guys, but I think they are from the early days of prog)
jethro tull (not one of my favs, but defiantly prog)

Aphrodites Child (again, I don't know much about these guys, but I will look into them)

Pink Floyd (more psychedelic/mello stuff, but defiantly on the fringes of what is considered prog)

strawbs (Rick Wakemans early band)

Queen (Some may disagree with this one, but they definitely have some proggy stuff) Here is another quote of mine from kvraudio. " Yes, many people forget that Queen and Led Zepplin are basically prog." Thinking about this more, I would say this only applies to half of their discography. These two bands are only part prog.

Here is another quotable statement I made.

"You are telling me that "Stairway to heaven" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" aren't basic prog song structures?"

You can see that I was getting into quite the debate.

Marillion (Great prog from the eighties. Mood and feel simialr to early genesis)

Frank Zappa (I never got into him, but I would like to give a closer listen some day. But what I have heard is a bit too whimsical for my tastes)

Yes (A great staple of progressive rock, nobody can deny)

Gentle Giant (A lesser known name, but definitely a staple of prog)

Here is a selection of great prog albums on ebay.

Love prog?

Here are some quotes from a forum post I started on KVRaudio. Be sure to check out the actual posts and links. This debate good hot!

I started some pretty vibrant forum posts. Here is a link to some of them. I have also included some quotes I made in the posts. I know it may sound odd because it is out of context, but bare with me. I would like to include some of my writing in this forum.

Do you have a fav prog band, or do you hate prog?



"I personally only recommend Rush albums from 1976 until 1982. Then newer stuff sounds a bit dry to me, and Getty can't really hit the notes anymore. I guess the same thing happened to Robert Plant."



"Yes, many people forget that Queen and Led Zepplin are basically prog."



"You are telling me that "Stairway to heaven" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" aren't basic prog song structures?" Some guy disagrees with me.



"Well, my viewpoint is that the Prog's roots come from Jazz, folk and Classical mixed together, so I would think that "prog" as a genre of music is one of the most open-minded (for a lack of a better phrase) out there."



"Well, the difference is that Led Zepplin and Queen have that blues thing going, whereas Yes and Genesis are more English Folk Rock, but their prog sensibilities come from the same place."



"Good points. I have to admit that prog stagnated after the 1970's, however Marillan is one exception of a bright spot in the eighties. And Radiohead is a bright spot for the nineties."



But what was that "preformed on ice" period Rick Wakeman went through after Yes. That was so cheesy. A low point for prog. Rick was a bit too full of himself. And Emerson too. These guys really damaged prog's reputation.

Here is a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXlZ0x0Ghrk&feature =related

Pure mid evil cheese.....



I would never have known that this topic I started would be so heated. After reading all the posts, I now remember one other point I wanted to make. One guy mentioned this in this topic too. Why has modern prog morphed into metal/thrash territory (ie, Dream Theater).



What ever happened to Fuzz guitars(ie Steve Hackett, early genesis), 12 sting guitars (again, Genesis-esque), buzzy imperfect mellotrons, and frantic jazz-esque solos like Steve Howe.



All I have to say to modern prog acts is, go easy on the generic metal distortion sounds. If I want to hear that, I would just listen to early Metallica.



PS, that first Genesis album isn't all that bad. There are some nice melodies there. Nothing on that album is as bad as Invisible Touch yah!



"I agree with you. It is a bit silly that the whole world has decided on the word "prog" rock. Symphonic rock and Art rock are good terms, but I guess the general public got confused.



So whether we like it or not, the term "prog" is here to stay because people always have the need to label things, and I guess I can live with that. The good thing is that when I say "Prog" at least people know exactly the era and bands I am refering to."









Who is your favourite Keyboard player from the 1970's?



This was a hot topic. Seems everybody has an opinion.



"Mine would have to be Tony Banks. How about you?"



"ELP had some bright spots in the early days, but latter they got so boring. Rick Wright is a good choice. He is very under ratted."

"Roger Hodgson."

Is he the guy from Supertramp? If so, they are good.



"Gentle giant had great potential. I am trying to remember that really melodic slow song they had, I can't remember the title. I loved that song.

Oh, here it is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN6ZK1TvtBI

Think of me with kindness"






Do all guitar Synths suck?



One guy recommends I take a look at "axon".




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<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UMugCUNW-9o&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></object>

Is Korean built better than Chinese for guitars?



Best bass player ever, and best looking bass?

I will be unoriginal here and say Chris Squire. Duhhh. And another point. I think the 4001 is the best looking bass ever. Looks matter too.



Best Synth solo ever?!?



I am not sure, but I think it was Heart. They had a song called Magic man. I think that is the one with the killer synth solo.

Guitars & Guitar parts in Toronto

I have built a new website devoted to Guitars and guitar parts for sale in the Toronto area in Southern Ontario. It's always important to view a guitar before you buy one so that is why you should find listings in your local neighborhood. For residents of Southern Ontario you should check out my listings because some of the most popular items are listed here.
visit....
http://aliveguitar.com/
for pictures and info.

the world's first sampling keyboard. The Mellotron.

Back in the day before digital sampling technology the Mellotron was your only choice if you want it to artificially stimulate other instruments or sounds. The technology was quite simple. It used magnetic tapes that would be triggered when a key is pushed.These keyboards were used by a number of famous groups including Led Zeppelin.

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The ARP 2600. A classic amongst analog synthesizers.

No discussion of classic synthesizers is complete without discussing the Arp 2600. After the minimoog, this is just about the most famous analog keyboards out the 1970s. It was produced between 1970 and 1981. The list of famous people who have played this keyboard is long and varied. I have never seen one of these in the flesh but I hope to.

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Korg and Yamaha analog synthesizers of the past.

Both Korg and Yamaha produced a number of classic synthesizers of note. Along with Moog, these Japanese manufacturers creatived synthesizers with rich sounds and relatively reliable electronics. Today some of these keyboards are very collectible and desirable. Both their polyphonic and monophonic keyboards were well-built.

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A complete history of Moog Synthesizers.

Here is yet another history of Moog synthesizers. This article covers all the various models moot produced in the 1960s until today. it also talks about some of the music artists who helped make the synthesizers famous. Whether it's the Moog Taurus pedals your interested or the minimoog its all here in this article. Enjoy reading about moog today.

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Moog prodigy and other great Synth deals for sale here.

The Moog prodigy was a great low-priced synthesizer built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Not as famous as its bigger brother the Minimoog, the Prodigy is still a very collectible synthesizer today. See my website for many moog related products for sale. You may even be able to find a prodigy or MiniMoog for sale here. Check it out today.

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Moog prodigy, the promotional video out now.

Here is a simple video I put together in order to promote my website moogprodigy.com. It's simply two clips that I found interesting and I also made sure to credit the clips owners. The first clip is of somebody playing the moog Taurus pedals. The other clip is a catchy little Mini Moog solo. Very cool stuff indeed. Analog synths are the best

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Songspace

hello everybody how have you been. It's been a long long time since I added to this blog, however I decided to get back into it. The reason being is that I have something new to promote. I really want people to check out my new network. It's got a lot of really cool content on it and there are a ton of new members joining every day. Here is a link to that network I have created. http://songspace.ning.comI see that there are new members joining every day, and if I had more time I would go into everybody's profile and check out their music. However there are only so many hours in the day to do this. There are so many great musicians out there it's depressing yet inspirational at the same time. I like many other people wish I had more time to write some of my own original music like I used to in the old days.but unfortunately I haven't found the time. That is why I created this network. In the little time I do have two right some of my own original music I sometimes come across writer's block. In that time when I cannot find the inspiration I turned to other members on this network in order to look for original ideas. I think that is one thing we are lacking in today's society. Because there is so much content out there and so much music and so many lyrics it can be hard to find something totally fresh and original. Anyway perhaps there is no such thing as an original idea, or perhaps there is such a thing. Either way if you're a musician you can't go wrong by joining as a member of my social network.

Well I think you get the idea. I'd better get going now but check it out when you do have time.cheers and thanks for reading my new post. Keep the Prog alive.

Dylan Howe subscribed to my youtube videos

Dylan Howe subscribed to my youtube videos. He is the son of Steve Howe. Pretty cool.

Oops, Actually, I got it wrong. I subscribed to his videos.