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Monday, December 19, 2016

Keep Progressive Rock Alive

(The first issue of Prog Magazine, 2009)

Today’s news can’t be any good. I received a bit of surprise when I read online that TeamRock which was home to publications such as Classic Rock Magazine, Metal Hammer, and one of my favorites Prog Magazine, the people who worked their butts off on their articles, reviews, and interviews with these amazing bands, artists, and some who were up-and-coming, were laid-off. To me, it’s a hard blow, because for me these were the magazines I would sometimes pick up either at Barnes and Noble or on eBay at times. And they showed what was happening both old and new.

I became a writer/blogger back eight years ago thanks to reading the magazines such as Classic Rock Magazine and Commerical Music Forum when I was taking back at Houston Community College in my degree in Jazz Studies. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. The course I took which was I have to write five concert reviews and I had a great time and that was where I knew where I would build up.

The blog site wouldn’t have gotten started if it wasn’t not just Houston Community College, but magazines such as Classic Rock Magazine and Prog Magazine which launched back in 2009. I admired writers including Geoff Barton, Malcolm Dome, Natasha Scharf, Jerry Ewing, Dave Ling, Jo Kendall, and my favorite Sid Smith. Who I consider the mastermind expert of King Crimson. I was originally going to consider him, the Sherlock Holmes of King Crimson, but that would be too much.

Prog Magazine was the magazine that introduced me to bands such as; Panic Room, Magenta, Blood Ceremony, ASTRA, Iamthemorning, Within Temptation, Purson, Pure Reason Revolution, and Crippled Black Phoenix to name a few. Not to mention Steven Wilson's debut as a solo artist with Insurgentes. And with the Progressive Music Awards and labels including MoonJune Records, Rise Above Records, and of course opening more of my eyes to the Cherry Red label, Esoteric Recordings which has been my favorite reissue label, it pushed opened the doors to Esoteric Antenna and Reactive.

I appeared in the magazine where I did a few things including asking a question for Carl Palmer, my top ten albums of 1974 in which I picked Gentle Giant's The Power and the Glory, and one of my top Kate Bush songs including the song Kite. It wasn't until I was asked by the magazine on Facebook to pick one of my favorite albums and I was spellbound at first. but I had to keep my fanboy distance away and it was hard to pick a favorite album, I picked one of my favorites from the Rock Progressivo Italiano scene of the 1970s which was Metamorfosi's second album based on Dante's The Divine Comedy or The Seven Deadly Sins of Hell, Inferno.

We need this music to keep the wheels and machine going to come and inspire newer generations who are going through their parents collection and delving into early Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, Yes, Rush, and Pink Floyd that showed it will opened their eyes of real good music.  I still support up-and-coming bands and newer bands now. With admires of the Aaron Clift Experiment, Proud Peasant, Bent Knee, Knifeworld, Worhol, Sanguine Hum, The Fierce and the Dead, and La Coscienza Di Zeno. I still support the music whether people like it or not.

Progressive Rock still makes the lava flow when a volcano erupts at the right moments from the synthesizers, mellotrons, mind-blowing drums, bass, and guitar work. The music industry is sometimes cruel. It’s hard for them to make it and not make it to the big time. But I’m a little off-topic. Let me close it up.

Prog has been inside me for 11 years. Please show your massive support and buying the magazines as I’ve mentioned from Classic Rock Magazine, The Blues, and Metal Hammer to name a few. I will keep the music alive and show my support to the genre until the day I die. As Stan “The Man” Lee said, With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility.

Here’s this website to show your support with crowd-funding done by Orange Goblin's Ben Ward.

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