ABOUT

Hello!

Glad you’re here! I’m a progressive rock/progressive metal bassist in the northern burbs of Chicago. I’ve been playing for more than 4 decades, and I am looking for a band or musicians who want to play some amazing prog music.

What is PROG? It’s difficult to describe, but you know it when hyou hear it (kinda like the response given by the politician when asked to define pornography, “I can’t describe it, but I know it when I see it.” Same with prog.

Prog is a mid- to late 60’s reaction among (initially) some British musicians and groups to the substantial and inestimable gift of R&B to rock n roll (rock n roll is largely an offshoot of R&B) by looking towards more European musical traditions – rather than the usual blues type rock and roll.

The first prog recording is arguably Sgt Peppers, but a more fitting first example is the Moody Blues “Days of Future Passed.” From the opening “The Day Begins” until the poetry in “Late Lament” we have classical music and rock complimenting each other (the Beatles and others before had done it to be sure [Yesterday, for instance]), but this was on a grand scale. Like prog.

I find prog to be the only music I want to play because it is so unlimited in so many ways. Prog is a bassists dream come true. Prog allows bassists to be as out front (Billy Sheehan, etc.) or as in the back (Colin Edward, etc.) as you choose. The music is often challenging, and its great for us ADD types as it is never dull, always changing, consciously avoiding convention (sometimes to the point of artifice and overreaching)… I love it. I love playing it.

I am back to searching for a prog rock/prog metal band to make some insanely technical hyper-prog stuff, so please contact me if you are a prog musician in the Chicago area wanting to start a great project!