Author Archives: glassonyonpr

2013/12/28

MWE3.com Interview with Jon Anderson

By glassonyonpr

JonPerdomo2

TALES FROM YESTERDAY… AND TODAY
an interview with JON ANDERSON

interview written and produced by Robert Silverstein for mwe3.com

Watching Jon Anderson perform his solo act on November 10th, 2013 was a sonic revelation. The concert venue that night was the famous art deco Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Just another steamy night in South Beach, the streets were swarming with a mix of exotic looking, Latin speaking people. In fact, standing in front of the Colony before the concert, I met several Anderson devotees, including media and industry types from South America. So revered is Anderson in those exotic corners of the world, but that’s nothing new. Another bizarre twist that night was the opening act—a pop singer named Fernando Perdomo (pictured right in top hat with Jon)—who delilvered a low key but respectable solo set. The Cuban connection is never far away in Miami Beach.

Flashback—40 years ago, Christmas 1973, Jon Anderson and YES had just released their all time compositional masterpiece Tales From Topographic Oceans. In the following interview with mwe3.com, it was meaningful to hear Jon remember that fabled Winter 1974 Tales tour and especially the historic Madison Square Garden YES concert of February 18, 1974. It was great to tell him what a masterpiece Tales was then…and that it’s still great today.

Much has been written about Jon Anderson leaving YES in 2008. “It’s an honor just to be alive” is something you’d expect Jon to say about that. I’m sure Chris, Alan and Steve miss those days too, but approaching 2014, at 70 years young, Anderson is clearly steering his own musical ship and he’s no less an icon for it.

YES fans still pining for Anderson’s one of a kind voice and vision, can relive some Jon greatness from his days of future passed with a batch of 2013 CD reissues on England’s esteemed Esoteric Records label. Two late 2013 Esoteric remasters include Anderson’s 1994 album Change We Must and Page Of Life, the 1991 and final album by Jon & Vangelis—each featuring new remastering and detailed booklets with photos and historic liner notes. Also on Esoteric Records worth rechecking is a 2011 reissue CD of Anderson’s underrated 1988 album,In The City Of Angels.

As we approach the 40th anniversary of the Tales winter tour of 1974, it’s a spiritual experience to watch Anderson doing what he loves to do in a live setting—retelling tales of yesterday and keeping alive the musical vision of one of rock’s greatest pioneering artists.

{Jon Anderson spoke to mwe3.com on November 7, 2013 about coming to Miami Beach, the state of YES, recent collaborators and much more.}

mwe3: Jon, it’s great to speak to you again. It’s been a really crazy 5 years! Wow, who knew. What do you make of the global economy and all the problems of the world these days?

JON ANDERSON: That’s a big question. Nothing changes, the world is always a constant adventure for everybody. It’s just one of those things. People expect it to be perfect but we don’t live in a perfect world. Eventually we will. But for now there’s a lot of corruption and that entails a lot of the serious malfunction of the human experience. That’s life! We’re growing slowly to understand stuff…and it just takes time.

For the rest of the interview, please visit the MWE3.com website!

Leave a comment | posted in Interview, Jon Anderson

2013/12/26

Missing Persons Featuring Dale Bozzio Return To The Stage For Two Exclusive SoCal Engagements!

By glassonyonpr

Missing Persons med

For Immediate Release

Missing Persons Featuring Dale Bozzio Return To The Stage
For Two Exclusive SoCal Engagements!

Los Angeles, CA – After a long absence from the music scene, Missing Persons featuring original vocalist Dale Bozzio will return to the Southern California stage for two special concerts at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach on January 10 and at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on January 19. Such memorable hits as “Words,” “Destination Unknown,” and “Walking In L.A.” made Missing Persons a household name in the ‘80s and a staple of early MTV thanks in part to the cutting edge fashion statements of Bozzio. With her unforgettable pink streaked hair, fishbowl bra and bubblewrap jacket, Bozzio would become an iconic figure of rock fashion, the original glam diva, inspiring the likes of Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Lady GaGa, and others! Her vocal style too became a unique signifier of the band’s music, and her voice remains as strong today as it was then!

These two exclusive performances are an exciting prelude to the release of the first studio album of new material to bear the Missing Persons name in over 25 years! The album, titled appropriately enough Missing In Action, was produced by Billy Sherwood and will be released on Cleopatra Records, March 4. Sherwood, whose recent work on the solo album of Star Trek actor William Shatner thrust Sherwood into the national spotlight, composed the album alongside Bozzio and brought a modern twist to the classic Missing Persons’s sound for what is sure to be one of the most talked about comeback records of the year. A record release party is planned and a nationwide tour will launch later in March!

TRACKS
1. Do Or Die
2. Hello, Hello
3. Walk Into The Sun
4. Covert Operation
5. The More We Love
6. The Speed Of Light
7. All The Way
8. If I Gave You My Mind
9. Siren Song
10. Crisis In Overdrive

BONUS TRACKS
11. Walking In L.A. (Acoustic Version)
12. Hello, Hello (Radio Remix)

Press inquiries:
Glass Onyon PR
Billy James
PH: 828-350-8158
glassonyonpr@gmail.com

CLEOPATRA RECORDS, Inc.
11041 Santa Monica Blvd #703
Los Angeles CA 90025
http://www.CleopatraRecords.com

Leave a comment | posted in Missing Persons, Press Release

2013/12/16

New Re-Issue of Rare Fankhauser Cassidy Band CD ‘On The Blue Road’ Featuring Guitar Icon Merrell Fankhauser and Spirit Drum Legend Ed Cassidy Now Available!

By glassonyonpr

Fankhauser Cassidy

For Immediate Release

New Re-Issue of Rare Fankhauser Cassidy Band CD ‘On The Blue Road’ Featuring Guitar Icon Merrell Fankhauser and Spirit Drum Legend Ed Cassidy Now Available!

London, UK – Merrell Fankhauser is considered one of the main innovators of surf music and psychedelic folk rock, and is widely known as the leader of the instrumental surf group The Impacts who had the international hit “Wipeout”. His travels from Hollywood to his 15 year jungle experience on the island of Maui have been documented in numerous music books and magazines in the US and Europe. Merrell has gained legendary international status throughout the field of rock music; his credits include over 300 songs published and released. Merrell Fankhauser has presented a number of television programs over the years including ‘California Music’, ‘Route 66 TV Live’, and in 2001 he began hosting a music show called ‘Tiki Lounge’ that airs on the California Central Coast, Southern California, Hawaii and parts of the East Coast. In the early ’90s Merrell teamed up with Spirit drum legend Ed Cassidy, which eventually led to the Fankhuaser Cassidy Band.

Says Merrell about Ed Cassidy, “We started on the first one I think in 1994 and he and I were friends for years. We met back in 1969 in passing back stage at a concert but never really had a conversation. Then we bumped into each other again around 1990 and the band Spirit was kind of in a lull then, and he said, “Hey we ought to do some recording together.” At the time I was doing a national satellite TV show called California Music and so I had him on that show and then Randy said, ‘Oh I’d like to be on that show’, so I interviewed Randy and then I ended up jamming with them all. And then Cass decided he wanted to move further out of the Los Angeles area and he moved up here to the central coast, and I helped find him a house not even a mile from my house, so it was perfect and he wanted to do something blues oriented. So I started writing a bunch of tunes and then we did some classic covers of songs like ‘High Heel Sneakers’ and the Muddy Waters song ‘Going Down To Louisiana’ and ‘Walking The Dog’, and then I wrote a bunch of songs that were in a similar vein that was perfect for me to play slide on. I loved it.

I think in about four-and-a-half/five months we cranked out the first album, ‘On the Blue Road’ and my son Tim was singing and playing on a few tunes and we had a regular bass player Leroy Richards at the time who did all of the bass. So we finished that first album and I sent it to Alligator Records in Chicago and they loved it, but they were full up with releases and I made a deal with D-Town Records from Detroit at the time, and they put out groups like the Ohio Players and Lee Rogers, and even one on the football player Rosey Greer. And they loved it and released the CD and and it started getting a lot of airplay all over the place, even in Australia. Then it was nominated for a Memphis Blues Award which surprised me. We didn’t win but it was just great to do the nomination!”

In closing Merrell had this to say about Ed Cassidy, “Cass was my musical guru, to be able to play drums the way he did into his late ’80s was amazing! I miss his drumming and also his wit and wisdom…we were close friends for nearly 25 years until his passing a year ago. I think this release is a fine tribute to him.”

Tracks: Disc 1-1. Further On Up The Road 2. 32/20 Blues 3. Bright Lights Big City 4. Excited (M. Fankhauser) 5. Walking The Dog 6. Louisana Blues 7. High Heel Sneakers 8. Tale Of Misty Mountain (M. Fankhauser) 9. Possession over Judgment Day 10. On The Blue Road (M.Fankhauser)11. Nickys Song (M.Fankhauser) 12. Psychedelic Dreams((M. Fankhauser) , , Disc 2- 1. Hot Night In Louisville (M.Fankhauser) 2. Milk Cow Blues 3. Who Shout The Lightnin (M.Fankhauser) 4.Goin Back To Delta(M. Fankhauser) 5.Stolen Guitar Blues (M.Fankhauser & E.Cassidy) 6. Brian Berry Blues (M.Fankhauser & E.Cassidy) 7. Cosmic Lady (M.Fankhauser & T. Fankhauser) 8. Voodoo In The Jungle (M.Fankhauser) 9. Cassidys Big Beat (E.Cassidy) 10. Long Rifle ( T. Fankhauser) 11. Papa Told Me (Larry Willey) 12.Ed Cassidy Interview.

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15609

Other recent releases by Merrell Fankhauser on Gonzo Multimedia:

Rainbow Bridge Revisited: ‘Rainbow Bridge’ was a peculiar 1972 film featuring Jimi Hendrix (who had died two years before) and a cast of local eccentrics using Hendrix’s music and a whole slew of UFO sightings to explore their spirituality. 41 years later, musician and filmmaker Merrell Fankhauser revisits the film to explore its message more fully. The ‘Rainbow Bridge Revisited’ documentary was really Maui journalist Steve Omar’s idea, and Merrell and Steve produced it together. The two had fun looking up and interviewing the original cast of the 1972 Jimi Hendrix movie ‘Rainbow Bridge’ that was filmed on Maui. It was interesting to hear what they had to say about hanging out with Hendrix making the movie. The one-hour DVD documentary also features some great surfing and music by Merrell Fankhauser, The Space Patrol and Omar and The Wavespies. The package includes a 12-song soundtrack.

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15544/MERRELL_FANKHAUSER-Rainbow_Bridge_Revisited.html

Area 51: Now for 2013 comes a new project – Area 51. This is a collection of exquisitely produced and finely played instrumentals inspired by the UFO mythos. The title track, which features a fine video by yours truly, and which nearly got me arrested for filming outside GCHQ at Morwenstow in North Devon, is inspired by the legendary Area 51 in Nevada; a (not very) secret American military installation where – it is rumoured – alien artifacts and even bodies, including the craft and occupants from the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico incident are kept. One of the most amazing things about this collection of songs is that although it is an exercise in a genre which is popularly thought to have its heyday over half a century ago, it doesn’t sound dated, and is full of rich, vibrant and exciting music for the 21st Century and a new millennium. Merrell has done it again, and produced the latest exciting gem in a long and satisfying career full of them.

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15182/MERRELL_FANKHAUSER-The_Return_To_Mu.html

Return To MU: Return To Mu is a seven years in the making album featuring a cast of famous guest artists including with Jay Ferguson and Ed Cassidy of Spirit, Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean, John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Nicky Hopkins, John Cipolinna both of whom played for Quicksilver Messenger Service and many others. The album is considered a masterpiece amongst friend’s critics and fans and was produced by award winning movie and record producer, William E. McEuen. Originally released in 2003 to many good reviews this album has had limited availability until now.

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15182/MERRELL_FANKHAUSER-The_Return_To_Mu.html

The Best of Merrell Fankhauser: The Best of Merrell Fankhauser is just that the best tracks selected from Merrell’s entire career and across a two CD set and more than thirty tracks you can track the progress of Merrell Fankhauser’s career. All the tracks have been selected personally by Merrell and the album covers the period from 1964 right through to the present and covers all the bands Merrell was involved with including his early band Merrell and The Exiles. Tracks include: Too Many Heartbreaks, She’s Gone, I’m Flyin’ Home, Goin’ South and also a number of previously unreleased tracks. Merrell Fankhauser has a long and varied career and also a proven sales track record and this double Best Of compilation will act as not only a primer for new fans but also a good cross section of tracks from his career for long term fans.

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15291/MERRELL_FANKHAUSER-The_Best_Of.html

Recently, Merrell has mastered some unreleased songs from 1964 to 1967 from reel-to-reel tape. He visited the high desert area of Lancaster, CA and acquired the tapes from Glen MacArthur Jr, son of Glenn Records owner, Glenn MacArthur senior, who passed away in 1999. The tapes sat in storage for nearly 50 years! The recordings feature several pre-members of HMS Bounty, MU and Captain Beefheart playing on them. Also included are tracks from the instrumental surf group The Velvetones, who Merrell produced in 1965. Scheduled for release in 2014, ‘The Lost Desert Tapes’ featuring Merrell And The Exiles, Fapardokly and The Velvetones, will be a must for all fans of Merrell Fankhauser!

For more information: http://www.merrellfankhauser.com/

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Leave a comment | posted in Merrell Fankhauser, Press Release

2013/12/15

Front Row Features Interview with Joey Molland

By glassonyonpr

Joey Molland Return To Memphis

By ANGELA DAWSON

Front Row Features

HOLLYWOOD—Joey Molland, best known for his work with the legendary English band Badfinger, has released his fourth solo album “Return To Memphis” on UK’s Gonzo Multimedia! The CD features 10 new tracks the singer-songwriter recorded at the world famous Royal Studios in Memphis.

Signed to the Beatles’ Apple label in the late ’60s, Badfinger went on to score four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: “Come And Get It” (written and produced by Paul McCartney), “No Matter What,” “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue,” which recently became top downloaded song when it was used in the final scene of the finale of AMC’s “Breaking Bad.” The song’s resurgence has put Molland, the last surviving member of the Badfinger, back in the spotlight.

Other acts have scored success with Badfinger songs over the years. In 1971, a cover of the Badfinger song “Without You” by Harry Nilsson, became a number one hit on the Billboard charts. Molland, now 66, widowed and living in Minnesota, has continued to keep the Badfinger flame alight through concerts and recordings over the past 30 years. “Return To Memphis,” a mix of rock, blues, country and progressive rock was produced by Carl “Blue” Wise.

For the rest of the article and the interview, please visit the Front Row Features website!

Leave a comment | posted in Interview, Joey Molland

2013/12/14

TRANSATLANTIC TO RELEASE NEW STUDIO ALBUM KALEIDOSCOPE ON JAN 28, 2014 ANNOUNCES WORLD TOUR JAN 31 – MAR 15, 2014

By glassonyonpr

Transatlantic CD cover

For Immediate Release

TRANSATLANTIC TO RELEASE NEW STUDIO ALBUM KALEIDOSCOPE ON JAN 28, 2014
ANNOUNCES WORLD TOUR JAN 31 – MAR 15, 2014

Good things come to those who wait. Transatlantic fans are accustomed to playing the waiting game, and their patience has been rewarded with the band’s fourth official studio album, Kaleidoscope. Steeped in vibrant prog rock organics, it’s a triumphant return to the band’s original creative style.

The beloved prog rock project featuring Neal Morse (ex-Spock’s Beard), Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, ex-Dream Theater), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) and Pete Trewavas (Marillion), Transatlantic’s foundation was built in 1999 with the release of their debut album, SMPT:e, in 2000. A second studio album, Bridge Across Forever, solidified their position as prog’s definitive supergroup. It would be nine years before Transatlantic’s fans were rewarded with a new studio album: 2009’s The Whirlwind, the band’s most popular release to date. Following the subsequent tour, spawning two live DVDs, the band decided to record a new studio album as soon as they could.

“There was talk about a year ago about doing an album before we actually did it,” reveals Morse. “I was feeling it for a while. Some of the music that ended up on my Momentum album (2012) seemed like good material for Transatlantic. Roine and my schedules have a little more space in them, and Pete and Mike’s schedules finally aligned, so we were able to put this together. I’m just glad we got to do it again and I’m really happy with the way the album came out.”

Morse, Portnoy, Stolt and Trewavas shared equally in the songwriting, with Portnoy ultimately sifting through the material and picking out what he felt was best. For the most part, the music that fans hear on Kaleidoscope (and all of their previous albums) was created for Transatlantic. There are, of course, exceptions. “I wrote the second song on Kaleidoscope, “Shine,” before my Momentum album came out,” says Morse. “I thought about recording it for myself, but it just smelled of Transatlantic. I presented it with two other acoustic songs, and that’s the one the other guys chose, as well.”

The band convened at Neal’s studio in Tennessee; writing, arranging, and laying down the final drums and bass. Morse offers, “At this stage, we sketch out the house and build the foundation. Then Roine and I go off to our respective studios and do what we need to. We send those parts, including vocals, back and forth via the internet; but the writing is done together in Tennessee. We just go from the gut, and I think it’s an amazing process of trusting each other. There’s no shortage of ideas; it’s more like which ideas do we want to use?”

As the fans have come to expect, Kaleidoscope is also available as a Special Edition featuring eight uniquely Transatlantic cover songs. “I don’t know how it started,” Morse says of the cover song tradition. “But we’ve done it for every album. It’s a lot of fun because most of the time it’s simpler music than what we’re mainly involved with.”

There are points during the journey through Kaleidoscope where the listener will be reminded of artists like Yes, early Genesis, and even Styx. But in the end, the album is distinctly Transatlantic before it can be compared to anyone else.

“I think that comes from the different ingredients,” says Morse. “It’s the four of us from all over the world—with our different backgrounds, cultures and musical history—that makes this band totally unique.”

The band will embark on a six-week world tour January 31 – March 15, with an additional performance at the Sweden Rock festival June 4-7. They will be joined by Pain of Salvation’s Daniel Gildenlöw as a 5th touring member. The tour will include headlining the Progressive Nation At Sea 2014 Cruise,February 18-22, alongside 22 other leading prog acts including Adrian Belew Power Trio, Devin Townsend Project, King’s X, Anathema and Spock’s Beard. The event will also feature a special performance of Yes material by Transatlantic with legendary singer Jon Anderson on vocals.

Transatlantic – Kaleidoscope (75:50)

1. Into The Blue (25:13)
I. Overture (Instrumental)
II. The Dreamer And The Healer
III. A New Beginning
IV. Written In Your Heart
V. The Dreamer And The Healer (Reprise)
2. Shine (07:28)
3. Black As The Sky (06:45)
4. Beyond The Sun (04:31)
5. Kaleidoscope (31:53)
I. Overture (Instrumental)
II. Ride The Lightning
III. Black Gold
IV. Walking The Road
V. Desolation Days
VI. Lemon Looking Glass (Instrumental) VII. Feel The Lightning (Reprise)

Bonus CD:

1. And You And I (Yes)
2. Can’t Get It Out Of My Head (ELO)
3. Conquistador (ProcolHarum)
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John)
5. Tin Soldier (Small Faces)
6. Sylvia (Focus)
7. Indiscipline (King Crimson)
8. Nights In White Satin (The Moody Blues)

Line-Up:
RoineStolt – Electric guitars, vocals
Pete Trewavas – Bass, Vocals
Neal Morse – Keys, Guitars, Vocals
Mike Portnoy – Drums,Vocals

An Evening With Transatlantic 2014 World Tour

Jan 31st – Los Angeles, CA – El Segundo Performing Arts Center
Feb 1st – San Francisco, CA
Feb 2nd – Seattle, WA
Feb 4th – Chicago, IL – The Arcada Theater
Feb 5th – Quebec City, Canada – Theatre Du Capitole
Feb 6th – Montreal, Canada – L’Olympia
Feb 7th – Boston, MA
Feb 8th – Philadelphia, PA – Keswick Theater
Feb 9th – New York City, NY – Highline Ballroom
Feb 11th – Mexico City, Mexico – Teatro Metropolitan
Feb 13th – São Paulo, Brazil
Feb 14th – Buenos Aires, Argentina
Feb 15th – Santiago, Chile
Feb 18th to 22nd – Progressive Nation At Sea
Feb 27th – Madrid, Spain – La Rivera
Feb 28th – Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz 2
March 2nd – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
March 3rd – Rome, Italy – Orion
March 5th – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7
March 6th – Karlsruhe, Germany – Substage
March 7th – Munich, Germany – Muffathalle
March 8th – Berlin, Germany – Astra
March 9th – Cologne, Germany – E Werk
March 11th – Antwerp, Belgium – Trix
March 12th – London, England – The Forum
March 13th – Tilburg, Holland – 013
March 14th – Tilburg, Holland – 013
March 15th – Paris, France – Le Bataclan
June 4th-7th – Sweden Rock Festival

Studio Album Discography
SMPT:e (2000)
Bridge Across Forever (2001)
The Whirlwind (2009)
Kaleidoscope (2014)

Press Contact
Glass Onyon PR
828-350-8158
glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Transatlantic Online:
http://www.transatlanticweb.com
http://www.facebook.com/transatlanticmusic

Progressive Nation Cruise
http://www.progressivenationatsea.com

Radiant Records
http://www.radiantrecords.com

Leave a comment | posted in Press Release, Transatlantic

2013/12/13

‘Thy Will Be Done’ Original Gospel Soundtrack To Be Released Dec. 31, 2013

By glassonyonpr

ThyWillBeDone final cover med

For Immediate Release

‘Thy Will Be Done’ Original Gospel Soundtrack To Be Released Dec. 31, 2013

Studio City, CA – Lightyear Entertainment has announced the release of a new gospel musical film, Thy Will Be Done, an inspirational and uplifting film for the whole family, with an extraordinary original gospel soundtrack.

The film stars Kathy Bowman, Darcel Blue, and Al Garrison, along with a talented group of quickly rising gospel recording artists. In the film, an ex-pastor, whose church was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, loses his faith and becomes a homeless wanderer.

After surviving a near death experience, he mysteriously awakens in a church that is in desperate need of a pastor.

The DVD will be available on DVD at Walmart, Amazon, iTunes, and other physical and digital accounts on December 31. It is also available on Video on Demand on Comcast, Time Warner, and most other cable outlets. In a holiday marketing move, VOD went live December 1.

The DVD will be released in the U.S. and Canada through Entertainment One Distribution. The film was produced and directed by Albert Johnson for Parable Entertainment.

View trailer at: http://www.lightyear.com/movies/thywill.htm

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Lightyear Entertainment, a distributor of independent films and music, was founded in 1987. Lightyear has now released 40 films by African-American filmmakers.
http://www.lightyear.com

Leave a comment | posted in Press Release, Thy Will Be Done

2013/12/11

Brazilian Prog Ensemble IMAGERY Release Debut CD ‘The Inner Journey’

By glassonyonpr

1136 imagery med

For Immediate Release

Brazilian Prog Ensemble IMAGERY Release Debut CD ‘The Inner Journey’

Los Angeles, CA – From the earliest days of human thought, the theme of Duality has been widely debated among philosophers, scientists and spiritual seekers. The ambiguity of the concept still serves as inspiration for endless artistic musings about love and hate, life and death, happiness and sadness. The Brazilian progressive rock/metal band IMAGERY follows these endless seas of intellectual thought to trace their musical identity, personified by the debut album, ‘The Inner Journey’ released in the U.S. by powerhouse metal label Deadline Music.

Formed in 2008 by Joceir Bertoni (vocal/guitar), Ricardo Fanucchi (bass) and Luciano Neves (drums), IMAGERY was born from the ashes of the bands G.A.F. and Revolt, two groups from the city of Londrina, Parana state. From its inception, IMAGERY had a dual character, combining classic prog rock and metal. The uniting of these two disparate genres was no easy feat. After all, if progressive rock is emotional, heavy metal is visceral; if prog rock is technique, heavy metal is attitude; if prog rock is sensibility, heavy metal is aggressiveness.

And it was in transmuting these opposites – sometimes conflicting, sometimes complementary – that IMAGERY came upon their unique sound. Recorded at PlayRecPause Studios in Londrina under the experienced production talent of Julio Anizelli (Mamaquilla, Terra Celta, Lixo Extraordinário), ‘The Inner Journey’ brings eight tracks that not only extol the technical ability of the musicians, but, above all, the quality of the band’s compositions.

“Fourth Secret” is a perfect prelude and shows the different faces of this dynamic album. The second song, “Imagery,” doesn’t take the name of the band in vain; it is the band’s fingerprint and shows some of their core characteristics, like the absence of compositional patterns. Over the course of nearly six minutes, the song almost doesn’t repeat itself, marking an unreturnable journey through different environments and sonic textures.

Carl Gustav Jung might say that “Perception” is the archetype of progressive metal. However, when IMAGERY play prog metal, they sound like no other band from this style. In this same track it’s possible to notice the strong influence of jazz, classical and even Brazilian bossa nova.

Musically, “Start The War” offers a stunning deconstruction of its titular theme, passing from thrash metal riffs to an atonal style. “The Rain” keeps the heaviness in evidence, but never in a minimalist or cheap way. In the musical universe of IMAGERY, nothing is predictable. “Show Me” is an invitation to see the beauty of introspection. Indeed, this song synthesizes the title and the central concept of the album’s lyrics that are all based on personal reflections of the musicians.

Joceir Bertoni also shows that he is a consummate vocalist. His unique timbre has an important impact on the musical personality of IMAGERY as a whole. With “Stranger” IMAGERY shows how it’s possible to build a heavy metal composition using the main characteristics of this musical genre without sounding cliché. Strategically, “Last” closes the album, and just like “Imagery”, the song embodies the main characteristics of IMAGERY. It doesn’t repeat, but even so it sticks in the mind for hours. “Last” was released as a digital single before the physical release of ‘The Inner Journey’ – along with the other digital single “Perception”.

The pre-release party of ‘The Inner Journey’ happened during a historical gig in March of 2012 at Pedreira do Icatu in Votorantim, Sao Paulo state, aside the worldwide progressive legend, FOCUS. More than 3 thousand people attended the event, making it one of the biggest shows of the band’s career – up there with the “Prog Union Tour” that IMAGERY did in 2009 with the veteran progressive band Apocalypse.

FORMAT: CD
TRACKLIST:
1- Fourth Secret
2- Imagery
3- Perception
4- Start The War
5- The Rain
6- Show Me
7- Stranger
8- Last

LINE-UP:
Joceir Bertoni (Vocal/Guitar)
Ricardo Fanucchi (Bass)
Bruno Pamplona (Drums/Vocal)
Henrique Loureiro (Keyboards)

DISCOGRAPHY:
The Inner Journey (2013)

OFFICIAL ADDRESSES ON INTERNET:
http://www.imageryprog.com.br
http://www.facebook.com/imageryprog
http://www.youtube.com/imageryprog
http://www.twitter.com/imageryprog
http://www.myspace.com/imageryprog
http://www.orkut.com.br/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=37004372

To purchase IMAGERY – ‘The Inner Journey’ CD: http://georiot.co/3c9m

MANAGEMENT, BOOKING, PRESS & PROMOTION: Eliton Tomasi (Som do Darma): eliton@somdodarma.com.br / +55 (15) 3211-1621

Press inquiries:
Glass Onyon PR
Billy James
PH: 828-350-8158
glassonyonpr@gmail.com

CLEOPATRA RECORDS, INC.
11041 Santa Monica Blvd #703
Los Angeles CA 90025
http://www.CleopatraRecords.com

Leave a comment | posted in Press Release

2013/12/10

UK Prog Legends Nektar To Tour Europe In January 2014

By glassonyonpr

Nektar tour 2014 poster

For Immediate Release

UK Prog Legends Nektar To Tour Europe In January 2014

London, UK – Hot on the heels of a successful US tour and the release of their critically acclaimed new album ‘Time Machine’, UK prog legends Nektar are preparing to tour Europe in early 2014! After a bit of an absence from European stages, Nektar is sure to be a treat for concert-goers who will be fortunate enough to catch one of the shows!

Nektar founding member Roye Albrighton (guitars/lead vocals) says, “We can promise you high quality performances wherever we play. I know I speak on behalf of the band when I say we are all looking forward to it.”

Nektar, featuring Albrighton, founding drummer Ron Howden, keyboardist Klaus Hentasch and bassist Lux Vibratus, although mostly British were formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1970. Their early albums featured a heady, exhilarating mix of progressive, experimental rock sounds that soon caught on worldwide at the height of the international prog-rock boom. Touring the world behind numerous album releases throughout the ‘70s & ‘80s helped to cement the band’s reputation as an influential prog-rock legend. Having undergone a variety of personnel changes over the past decade or so, the band now boasts its strongest lineup in years and is ready to prove so yet again to its many fans throughout Europe.

Nektar’s new album, ‘Time Machine’, featuring the band’s first album of new original material in several years, was released on Cleopatra Records in the USA on June 18, 2013.

Nektar Tour Dates:
Jan 8 – UK, London – Borderline http://www.seetickets.com/event/nektar/borderline/747392
Jan 9 – Germany, Dortmund – Piano Bar http://musiktheater-piano.de/wordpress/tickets-bestellen/
Jan 10 – Germany, Bonn – Harmony http://www.bonnticket.de/suchergebnisse/seo/NEKTAR%20Konzert%202014_679324_details.html?eventid=679324&pkey=1002.679324.0&eventtitle=NEKTAR%20Konzert%202014&cHash=5cfe47f448f3103aff8bb1971b84f8b5
Jan 11 – Germany, Frankfurt – Das Bett http://www.rangeins.de/frankfurt/nektar-2014-01-11-20-30-frankfurt-das-bett/
Jan 12 – Germany, Berlin – White Trash
Jan 13 – Germany, Hamburg – Marxx
Jan 14 – Denmark, Copenhagen – tbc
Jan 16 – Austria
Jan 17 – Austria, Ried Kik
Jan 18 – Austria, Greifenburg Kultursaal

For Further Information:
Nektar facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nektar/198355536955655
Nektar website: http://nektarsmusic.com/nn/home/home_new.asp

Nektar Press Inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

CLEOPATRA RECORDS, Inc.
11041 Santa Monica Blvd #703
Los Angeles CA 90025
http://www.CleopatraRecords.com

Leave a comment | posted in Nektar, Press Release

2013/12/09

Washington Post Carlos Santana Article Featuring Interviews with Narada Michael Walden and Bill Ortiz

By glassonyonpr

Carlos Santana031385167633

Carlos Santana finds Kennedy Center Honors after a lifelong search for the ‘universal tone’

By David Montgomery, Friday, December 6, 2:05 PM

LAS VEGAS — Carlos Santana frowns. The look is so uncharacteristic, because this whole afternoon his expression runs consistently from beatific to boyish and back. He riffs amiably about receiving inspiration from angels and discloses secrets about his quest for the “universal tone,” about how he learned to distill longing and joy in a single note — that pristine, piercing Santana sound that’s instantly recognizable from San Francisco to Singapore.

But now he’s standing on a hotel balcony 43 stories up, where a photographer has just asked him to climb onto a table, the better to pose against the neon skyline.

The guitar player balks: “Why do I have to be put on a pedestal?”

Awkward pause.

Santana winks. He’ll do it, on the promise that the effect will not be pedestal-like.

At 66, he has an uneasy relationship with the pedestal — the one that he at once covets, disdains and sometimes doubts he deserves. The one that people want to place him upon — except when they don’t, during those dispiriting droughts when the music-buying public all but forgets him.

For the rest of the article and the interviews, please visit the Washington Post website!

Leave a comment | posted in Article, Bill Ortiz, Interview, Narada Michael Walden

2013/12/08

Gonzo Multimedia To Release Rare CDs By UK Prog-Fusion Legends Brand X and Bass Icon Percy Jones

By glassonyonpr

Brand X releases

For Immediate Release

Gonzo Multimedia To Release Rare CDs By UK Prog-Fusion Legends Brand X and Bass Icon Percy Jones

London, UK – Although typically considered an off-shoot band for Genesis legend Phil Collins, UK prog-fusion group Brand X was much more than that. Featuring several virtuosic musicians (as well as Collins), Brand X took the genre of fusion to a whole new level of expertise. Along with Collins on drums, the band featured Percy Jones (bass), John Goodsall (guitar) Robin Lumley (keyboards), and Morris Pert (percussion), with sometimes Mike Clark, Kenward Dennard (drums), and John Giblin (bass). Active from 1975-1980, Brand X was another one of those bands who were beloved by other musicians, and the more discerning critics, but despite everything never had the commercial success they deserved. The band released several critically acclaimed albums on the Charisma label in the UK and Passport label in the US, including ‘Unorthodox Behaviour’, ‘Moroccan Roll’, ‘Livestock’ and ‘Product’. Now much to the excitement of Brand X fans and fusion music fans worldwide, Gonzo Multimedia is releasing 3 rare Brand X titles on CD (Missing Period, Live At The Roxy LA 1979, Is There Anything About?), as well as bassist Percy Jones’ hard to find solo offering from 1989 ‘Cape Catastrophe’.

Says Percy Jones, “I’m really happy that Gonzo is releasing this stuff. It was recorded over 25 years ago, so it’s great that it’s still available to anyone who is interested.”

Brand X – “Missing Period’: This album represents the earliest known recordings of Brand X circa 1975-76. Recorded shortly before the group’s debut album ‘Unorthodox Behaviour’, the source tapes for this material were recently recovered by John Goodsall from family members in England, who presented John with a box containing all sorts of Brand X memorabilia. At the bottom of the box were some old reels of tape of unknown origin. Upon review John and Percy realized that they had uncovered a long lost treasure – excellent quality recordings of Brand X’s classic lineup performing previously unreleased material. This documents a period of the band’s history which has been missing for over 20 years.

Tracks: 1. Dead Pretty, 2. Kugelblitz, 3. Ancient Mysteries, 4. Why Won’t You Lend Me Yours?. 5. Miserable Virgin, 6. Tito’s Leg

To purchase Brand X – ‘Missing Period’ CD: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/search/product_details/15589/Brand_X-Missing_Period.html

Brand X – ‘Live At The Roxy LA 1979’: Recorded at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, September 23, 1979 shortly after the release of ‘Product’. This is a previously unreleased soundboard recording of Brand X captured live at the peak of the band’s career.

Tracks: 1. Disco Suicide (intro) Algon, 2. Dance Of The Illegal Aliens, 3. Don’t Make Waves, 4. Malaga Vergen, 5. …And So To F…, 6. Nuclear Burn

To purchase Brand X ‘Live At The Roxy LA 1979’ CD: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/search/product_details/15593/Brand_X-Live_at_the_Roxy,_LA_1979.html

Brand X – ‘Is There Anything About?’: Not long after Brand X released their 1980 album ‘Do They Hurt?’, the band members went their separate ways (until their comeback in 1992 which only featured Goodsall and Jones). However, they still owed their record label one more album. The solution? Release a rarities album! The problem was that there was very little unreleased material in the vaults – about three or four tracks at the most. But with a little doctoring and remixing of tapes, keyboardist Robin Lumley extended that number to six tracks and the label released Brand X’s appropriately-titled collection ‘Is There Anything About?’ in 1982.

Says Gonzo Magazine’s Jon Downes, “It is the last album to feature Phil Collins on drums and includes some absolutely gorgeous slices of Brand X at their very best. This is a peculiar album; at the time many critics panned it, often because it didn’t sound anything like the anodyne pop music that Phil Collins was making elsewhere in his career. However, in my opinion and that of thousands of fans worldwide it acts as a satisfying coda to a body of work which has very few parallels in the world of jazz fusion.”

Tracks: 1. Ipanaemia, 2. A Longer April, 3. Modern, Noisy and Effective, 4. Swan Song, 5. Is There Anything About?, 6. Tmiu-Atga

To purchase Brand X ‘Is There Anything About’ CD: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/search/product_details/15616/Brand_X-Is_There_Anything_About?.html

Percy Jones – ‘Cape Catastrophe’: Several years after the release of Brand X’s final album ‘Is There Anything About?’, bassist Percy Jones moved to New York City and began infiltrating the music scene there. He recorded ‘Cape Catastrophe’ in 1988/89 at a studio in East Harlem. Using an array of hardware and instruments available at the time, including a Casio synthesizer, Roland sequencer. Yamaha drum machine and Korg digital delay, Percy recorded a several tracks ranging in length from 2-and-a half minute to 23minutes.

Says music writer Dave Lynch, “There is certainly a lot here for electric bass-aholics to enjoy: Jones’ burbles, pops, and plonks are all here, and his tone on sustained notes is rich with harmonic overtones as expected. But the music through which the bass slips and slides is often more like twisted instrumental techno-funk than fusion, along with ominous electronic textures that sometimes sound like an ethereal chorus or gruff, agitated shouts distorted beyond recognition.” Gonzo Magazine’s Jon Downes adds, “Jones composed everything on the album himself, except for the closing number. The album is a peculiar, though satisfying mix of jazz fusion and electronica, and is another one of those classic albums that slipped through the cracks at the time, which is just unfair.”

Tracks: 1. The Lie, 2. Cape Catastrophe, 3. Slick, 4. Hex, 5. Barrio, 6. Tunnels, 7. Thin Line, 8. Symphony In F Major

To purchase Percy Jones ‘Cape Catastrophe’ CD: http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/search/product_details/15606/Percy_Jones-Cape_Catastrophe.html

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Leave a comment | posted in Brand X, Press Release