With the full backing of music cruise producer On The Blue (OTB), Cruise To The Edge’s Late Night LIVE Prog Experience may be the largest live Prog pro-am stage project on earth. Organizers are unaware of anything that resembles it, especially since it is hosted on the second-largest indoor stage on a cruise liner.
“Indeed, all music cruises have passenger singalong bars, which is great,” says OTB’s Larry Morand. “We recognized, though, that CTTE’s Late Night LIVE Prog Experience deserved our production company’s resources to give it sea legs. Late Night LIVE’s 11:30 p.m.-3 a.m. stage operates like any other pro stage on the ship, replete with a full backline, engineers and ample space, but it’s up to the passengers to organize, plan and coordinate the eventual five-night showcase. Replicating something like this anywhere else would be daunting. Today, safe to say, Late Night LIVE has earned its onboard motor,” added Morand.
“This year, more than 60 auditioned passengers will gather from far-away places like South Africa, Central America, England, Iceland, Canada and across the United States,” said Rob Rutz, the project’s emcee-coordinator and liaison with Morand’s OTB team. In all, passengers suggested about 120 songs, which was narrowed to 73 final selections. The 2018 song list includes ‘Supper’s Ready’ and an album side of ‘Close To Edge’, but also features deep cuts including Steve Lukather’s ‘Party In Simon’s Pants’ and Tool’s ’46 & 2′. “This is the perfect storm that combines a passionate talent pool, a dedicated Late Night LIVE volunteer production team and the seamless guidance, gear and assistance of OTB’s executive producers, staff and crew. We don’t know how many collective hours everyone contributes, but many volunteers work year-round to ensure we have a solid program,” added Rutz.
Among the volunteer coordinators are Floridians Bill and Devora Goldman, who also host a pre-cruise “Prog On The Ranch” festival at their home prior to CTTE. “We gathered prior to disembarkation from 2017’s CTTE vacation to form 2018’s Late Night LIVE project plan,” said Bill. “Everyone is focused on continuous improvement each year, never taking for granted what everyone contributes along the way. The song list, player profiles and player instructions all come together through a dedicated website www.ctte-grid.com and an active Facebook page (CTTE-Grid),” said Goldman, who also serves as a co-keyboard advisor for Late Night LIVE. “It’s about open collaboration and keeping things as simple as possible.” Communication systems are important. This year, passengers will be able to view a continuously-projected “ribbon board” on the ship to convey song schedules each evening.
Other production team personalities include prog band Circuline’s bassist, Joel Simches, who serves as Late Night LIVE’s volunteer stage manager with assistance from his wife Carolyn. Suzanne Mulhall of Florida, along with UK residents Ken and Kate Slater, work closely with the Goldmans on scheduling and project details. Samy Salib, a Canada resident, provides onboarding guidance for new players. Instrument advisors include veteran keyboardist Bob Harris and South Africa’s ‘Prog Nick’ drummer and music industry attorney Nick Matzukis. Additional instrument and stage advisors include Tim Palsson, Dennis Mahon and Greg Bennett, all of whom are long-time musicians in local bands.
Among the professional headliner talent joining passengers on songs? Dave Kerzner, Durga McBroom and Fernando Perdomo of Dave Kerzner Band, Paul Bielatowicz and Simon Fitzpatrick of Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy, Jonas Reingold of Karmakanic and Steve Hackett’s current touring band, Steve Babb, Fred Schendel and Aaron Raulston of Glass Hammer, Jez King of IO Earth, John Young of Lifesigns, Jorge Tenesini of Bad Dreams, Mike Thorne and Dean Meehan of Saga and, likely, many other headliner musicians. Last year, Jon Davison stepped up to sing The Musical Box, which marked the first time the Yes frontman ever sang a Genesis song in public.
Michael Colter Photography
CTTE will kick off with a Pre-Cruise party at Ferg’s LIVE in Tampa on Friday, February 2, followed by the five-day Yes-Steve Hackett-Marillion-headlined cruise that includes stops in Belize and Costa Maya. Feb 3-8.
We are in a new era of guitar virtuosity with some incredible players making names for themselves. Add Al Joseph to ths list. The Berklee grad is getting ready to release the debut album from his band Hymine and it showcases not only his insane guitar chops but also his powerful voice.
Formed in the heart of Los Angeles, HYVMINE is the brain child of world-renown progressive-metal guitarist and virtuoso, Al Joseph. After nearly five full years of flooding the scene with guitar mayhem Al sets out in efforts to make yet another mark on the metal scene by not only chopping trees with his axe, but now blowing down houses as the lead vocalist and front-man of this new guerrilla army.
HYVMINE is now set to release its debut album ‘Earthquake’ on Jan 19th.
AJ says, ”This new music is not only about bringing the house down but about uplifting the soul. Now with the collective and creative efforts of his newest members he hopes to express a completely raw side to his music for years to come. Choose your weapons wisely and get ready for war!”
The album’s first single “Shogun” combines a barrage of thunderous double bass drums with prog metal guitar rhythms accompanied by Al Joseph’s soulful voice and out of this world solos.
Ayreon Universe is the Best of Ayreon Live – A unique performance featuring 16 singers, 28 songs, 2+ hour performance, 9000+ fans and a special appearance by Arjen Lucassen. All of this captured by 30 cameras!
It’s proof that you should never say ‘never’. After creating rock operas in the studio for more than 20 years, prog mastermind Arjen Lucassen, aka Ayreon, finally took his Universe to the stage in September 2017. Three shows sold out within hours after announcing. 9000+ Fans from all corners of the world flocked to the 013 venue in Tilburg, the Netherlands to see this long-awaited show live.
This unique performance features 16 singers, 28 songs, an 8 piece band and a special appearance by Arjen. The duration of the show was more than 2 hours. It was filmed with 30 cameras and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray with 5.1 surround audio, with an extensive list of extras, including a behind-the-scenes documentary with interviews with every singer and musician, and a compilation of the try-out show performed a few weeks earlier.
Two years in the making, Ayreon Universe is a full on rock extravaganza, featuring songs from all Ayreon albums, including 2017’s The Source, plus a few fan favorites from Star One. An amazing array of singers appeared on stage to bring the Ayreon Universe to life: Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Damian Wilson (Headspace), Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot), Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gentle Storm), Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), Mike Mills (Toehider), Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion), Irene Jansen, Robert Soeterboek (Star One), John Jaycee Cuijpers (Praying Mantis), Edward Reekers (ex-Kayak), Jay van Feggelen, Maggy Luyten (Nightmare) and Lisette van den Berg (Scarlet Stories).
This is the show every Ayreon fan wants to see and hear!
Out on March 30 via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group Pre-order date: January 30
AYREON UNIVERSE will be released on the following formats:
5-Disc Earbook with 2CD, 2DVD and Blu-ray Blu-ray 2DVD 2CD 3LP (Black vinyl) 3LP (Gold vinyl – Ayreon webstore exclusive – Limited to 500 copies) Digital download / streaming Full specs will be announced in the coming weeks.
Legendary Dutch progressive rock band KAYAK will release their seventeenth studio album entitled “Seventeen” next Friday on January 12th, 2018. Today they have launched an animated video for the track ‘La Peregrina’, the second single to be taken from the album, and you can watch that here:
Founding member Ton Scherpenzeel comments: “‘La Peregrina’ is the story about the merciless passing of time and the vanity of man, as observed by the legendary pearl that represents eternal beauty. It watches the rise and fall of kings and serves to enhance the status of queens who wear it, and knows all their secrets. An intriguing idea that inspired me to write this longest epic – the album version is almost 12 minutes long – on the new KAYAK album.”
Ton comments on the upcoming new record: “Who would have thought that the quirky Dutch prog band that began its journey in 1973 (the year “See See The Sun” came out) would still have a future some 45 years later. Yes, we have had our share of ups and downs. Often it seemed the band would either break up for good or fade into oblivion. But we didn’t. So here we are, a new line up, but as dedicated to the music as we were in the beginning. If there is a secret to KAYAK’s longevity, it must be that. Writing this, I realize that the album title does not only mark the number of studio albums KAYAK has made up until now. It also represents that exciting feeling of being 17 all over again, embarking on a musical journey, full of expectations. And just like in 1973, I don’t know where it will lead us, but we’re on our way. Here’s to new horizons.”
“Seventeen” is now available to pre-order on 2CD Digipak (featuring an extra disc with 36 minutes of demo material), gatefold 2LP + CD & digital download at www.insideoutmusicshop.com.
Digital pre-orders through iTunes & Amazon receive the track ‘Feathers & Tar’ immediately and you can also stream the track on Spotify, Apple Music & other services: http://smarturl.it/KAYAKSeventeen
The full track-listing is as follows: Disc 1 1. Somebody (3:04) 2. La Peregrina (11:42) 3. Falling (3:08) 4. Feathers And Tar (3:14) 5. Walk Through Fire (10:23) 6. Ripples On The Water (3:40) 7. All That I Want (3:47) 8. X Marks The Spot (1:58) 9. God On Our Side (3:30) 10. Love, Sail Away (3:12) 11. Cracks (8:50) 12. To An End (3:32)
Disc 2 1. Cracks (Demo 2016) (10:16) 2. La Peregrina (Demo 2016) (12:21) 3. Falling (Demo 2016) (3:00) 4. Walk Through Fire (Demo 2016) (10:41)
Another great year for prog! We continue our approach from last year by listing our best albums of the year as a group rather than a ranking but we did pick our Album of the Year. It was especially difficult this year with so many albums to choose from from some incredible artists, ranging from some classic bands who returned with amazing albums, to brand new groups who released impressive debuts. This list of 15 albums represents our favorites 2017 in alphabetical order.
Album of the Year – Big Big Train – Grimspound: Big Big Train have been on a mad tear since releasing both English Electric albums 5 years ago. Since then they released the Wassail EP, Folklore, The Second Brightest Star, the recently released Merry Christmas single, multiple live albums and our choice for 2017 Album of the Year, Grimspound. A perfect mix of everything BBT is, the grand epics, stupendous instrumentality, glorious vocal harmonies and engaging storytelling are all present here. This was the album that, despite coming out back in April, we kept coming back to again and again. The tracks “Brave Captain” and “A Mead Hall in Winter” are among their best, along with the adventurous instrumental “On the Racing Line.”
Australia’s progressive metal powerhouse group Caligula’s Horse scored mammoth praise for their first release with InsideOut Music, Bloom, a couple of years ago. With their latest album, In Contact, the band have laid down the hammer and staked claim to being one of the premier new era prog bands around. In Contact is memorable, powerful, and takes risks where few bands of this ilk do. The single “Songs for No One” is a catchy arena-sized track, while the epic “Graves” is one of the best songs of 2017.
The Dear Hunter are as prolific as any band around but this year only teased fans with this EP of 6 songs. Despite the brevity of the collection, it proves that sometimes less is more. Each of the 6 songs is its own unique story and there is not a second wasted. From rockers to haunting ballads to acoustic Beach Boys influenced hooks, the EP has it all and is another reminder that this band is the most under-appreciated gem in music.
Norway’s Leprous use every album release as a chance to try out new things and their 2017 masterwork, Malina, continues this methodology. Leaving behind the precision metal-sounds of their last album The Congregation, Malina instead has more lush keyboards, sonic experimentation, and more emotion infused into the songs making Leprous another band that continues to surprise and therefore expands their audience with each release.
Lifesigns founder and main member John Young took a long time to record this follow up to the band’s debut album from 2013, but the wait was worth it. Cardington is a wonderful Neo-Prog collection of wonderful songs from the long epics like “N” and “Cardington” to the radio friendly “Impossible” and “Chasing Rainbows.” The musicianship is top notch and the hooks are plenty. Joining Young is a collection of great musicians that bring life to this solid group of tracks.
The Mute Gods – tardigrades will inherit the earth
Bassist extraordinaire Nick Beggs wrote the follow up to the bands debut album just a year later, but you wouldn’t know it. The sophomore release had even more depth and creativity to it and barrage of great singles from the intense “Animal Army” to the quirky new wavey title track which was also the video of the year. Great performance by Marco Minnemann and Roger King along with Beggs, who seems to have really found his footing as a frontman and lead vocalist.
The enigmatic vocalist for Steve Hackett’s live band delivered one of the best albums of the year with The Bride Said No, a surprisingly spirited mix of classic prog and modern rock. One of the highlights of the year was the ballad “What Have You Done” which finds Sylvan delivering his most powerful vocal performance alongside other-wordly guitar solos from Hackett and Guthrie Govan. Sylvan has proven to be a brilliant artist in his own right, one that can step out of the shadow of Genesis with supreme confidence.
This surprise instrumental supergroup from Haken, Between the Buried and Me, and Cynic members came out of nowhere and blew us all away. The songs on their 6 song debut The Further Side are complicated and technical but also highly melodic and brilliantly written. The opening track “Dancing Machines” perhaps perfectly encompasses what the album is about, a mix of metal, prog, jazz, fusion, and everything in between.
Gather in the ProgRock.com chat room and make your requests! Just go to the “requests” page on www.progrock.com to put in your request. 3 out of 4 songs will be requests during this 2-hour period[...]
Featuring My Album Of The Week, The First 3 & so much more. So a 3 hour show with great new progressive rock music, great features and you can join The Friday Family in chat[...]
AYREON UNIVERSE will be released on the following formats:
Caligula’s Horse – In Contact
The Dear Hunter – All Is As All Should Be
Lifesigns – Cardington
The Mute Gods – tardigrades will inherit the earth
Nad Sylvan – The Bride Said No
Nova Collective – The Further Side
