cygnify

I missed this thread when it was active. And also when it was re-activated.... and it's taken a while for news to filter down to the US, eh? A friend recently tipped me off on this band and I've been checking out their stuff. Very cool! Obvious Rush influence; though I think they make it uniquely their own. The singer/drummer's voice definitely reminds me of Cedric's (The Mars Volta) and that dude from Greta Van Fleet (The song "Sun Dance" is an overt Zeppelin reference...) It's a strange thing with young bands that so overtly wear their influences - but I feel ok with the Rush-yness of this one. Because it's a duo, they can't try to reproduce a Freewill-like whole band solo - so, they almost have to be more creative. Also, they are not "Shredders" so they can't fall into the trap that so many Rush "Tribute" type bands do - with excessive wanketry. This gives their songs a more organic feel - not a Berklee grad tying to create the most insane 11/8 band solo wank-off - but capture the classiness of Rush songs. (contrary to what some may think, Rush was never about excessive shredding!) As for the drum sound, I'm not that bothered by it - in fact, it better captures Neil's early concert tom sound than Neil did with his "El Darko" kit! I will always prefer the sharp attack of the Tamas on "Moving Pictures" to the overly-resonant round sound of the DW's in the later works... to me, his drum sound is somewhere in-between but definitely more attack with the higher pitched toms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_electronic_drum_performers though this list is quite limited; if they counted those that are using electronic sounds / triggers from their acoustic drums, it would include a majority of touring drummers today. One interesting, and unexpected, case - several years ago a regional death-metal band was using a rehearsal space next to my band's. I listened to them for a bit and talked with their drummer - he could play these incredibly fast double bass grooves, blast beats, etc. I asked him about it - it turns out, many death/speed metal drummers use a whole different technique to get that level of speed. Their kick technique is very light, barely letting the beater off the drum head - makes sense less motion, quicker roll (whereas, I'm hitting the kick fairly heavy to get a full Bonham effect!) The thing is, they can't get the needed volume, nor the sound, with that technique - they rely on electronic triggers to get the volume and clarity that is needed for those machine gun kick drum riffs.

For live music, there are - though, not necessarily full electronic kits, especially in the Rock world. Drum n bass or EDM make extensive use of e-drum kits - almost universally. As noted above, Danny Carey (TOOL) also makes extensive use of e-drums in his kit. Also, a vast number of drummers use triggering and/or hybrid kits. An acoustic drum kit will always have that visual appeal - this is a reason that Roland has introduced their hybrid kits (look like acoustic kits, but the mesh heads / trigger / drum brain are the very same as an electric kit.) But for live sound (and indeed very often studio sound), in the professional touring setting, electronic drum sounds are fairly standard. As a drummer, I would disagree with you that "electronic kits are not a viable musical instrument". During the pandemic, I took masterclass lessons (nearly every week over a 16 month period!) with Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Steve Hackett). Craig has done extensive work for Roland (kit and sound development) - he recorded a couple dozen albums over the pandemic. While he uses both electric and acoustic kits in his recording work - and would be very quick to point out that E-kits are just another tool in the toolbox. Just as for some situations a jazz kit, or latin kit might make more sense, E-kits and the absolute sound versatility make sense (see Drum and Bass, as noted above.) The advances in the instrument since the "Simmons E-kit" days (Like Neil's first kit or Alex Van Halen's) have been significant, in every way. Personally, I do play both - certainly for my live gigs, I use my acoustic kit. But in recent years, I have used my Electric kit more for recording - which I can now do at home and trigger some quality sounds (typically, not the native Roland sounds - more often sounds tailored from Logic.) So, most definitely a "viable instrument" I guess I've always seen the e-kit as something that has mostly been adopted by people who want to practice but don't have the luxury of using a live kit because it's too loud or cumbersome. But are there any other drummers who tour with a full electronic kit, not just a few trigger pads? Electronic drums certainly have those benefits, as they can be quieter and have a smaller footprint, but they are a unique instrument that can provide sonic possibilities that acoustic drums cannot. Think of it like a synthesizer vs. a piano. As I mentioned, many drummers are actually using electronic triggers on an acoustic kit (you see an acoustic set on stage, but they are in fact using electronic triggers for the sounds) - the acoustic kit will always offer the natural response and visual appeal, but the lines are really getting blurred today. Roland has a whole line of popular hybrid kits: https://www.roland.com/us/categories/drums_percussion/v-drums_acoustic_design/ and guides for live implementation of electronics in various genres: https://www.roland.com/us/promos/hybrid_drums/

For live music, there are - though, not necessarily full electronic kits, especially in the Rock world. Drum n bass or EDM make extensive use of e-drum kits - almost universally. As noted above, Danny Carey (TOOL) also makes extensive use of e-drums in his kit. Also, a vast number of drummers use triggering and/or hybrid kits. An acoustic drum kit will always have that visual appeal - this is a reason that Roland has introduced their hybrid kits (look like acoustic kits, but the mesh heads / trigger / drum brain are the very same as an electric kit.) But for live sound (and indeed very often studio sound), in the professional touring setting, electronic drum sounds are fairly standard. As a drummer, I would disagree with you that "electronic kits are not a viable musical instrument". During the pandemic, I took masterclass lessons (nearly every week over a 16 month period!) with Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Steve Hackett). Craig has done extensive work for Roland (kit and sound development) - he recorded a couple dozen albums over the pandemic. While he uses both electric and acoustic kits in his recording work - and would be very quick to point out that E-kits are just another tool in the toolbox. Just as for some situations a jazz kit, or latin kit might make more sense, E-kits and the absolute sound versatility make sense (see Drum and Bass, as noted above.) The advances in the instrument since the "Simmons E-kit" days (Like Neil's first kit or Alex Van Halen's) have been significant, in every way. Personally, I do play both - certainly for my live gigs, I use my acoustic kit. But in recent years, I have used my Electric kit more for recording - which I can now do at home and trigger some quality sounds (typically, not the native Roland sounds - more often sounds tailored from Logic.) So, most definitely a "viable instrument"

I saw it here in Orlando with a Rush buddy; it was fun! I have to ask though - you mention "fantastic sound system" - were you able to hear the drums? lol. I do recall not being happy with the drum mix on the R40 blu-ray (I hardly ever watch it; probably not in 3-4 years) but in our theater yesterday, the sound was an abomination! It literally sounded like the drums were in the theater next door! The kick had no definition at all. The opening flourish of The Spirit of Radio and the drums were like a weak echo from a car driving by... that, and the cymbals were basically not in the mix at all.... We could see Neil's arms moving, and cymbals flopping away, but no sound! I believe the theater might have had the mids and/or front center speakers cranked - whenever Alex was not playing, you could hear this (quiet) drumming, but the minute Alex's part came in, it would rip your head off and the drums were basically completely obscured. It was fun to catch up with an old friend and the interludes, etc. but I was pretty disappointed in the sound.

well, I know things have been quite different in the UK than here in the States - especially compared to the backwards state in which I live. At the local level, shows here never really stopped (big touring concerts did stop; I had to refund tickets I had for Tool. Local band gigs only paused for a month or two.) I had to turn down gigs for my band starting in May 2020; personally, I was not comfortable playing indoors at all; I did play a several outdoor shows over the rest of 2020. Once I was vaccinated in early 2021, I had some confidence to play indoor shows. Then, the virus picked up again (raging worse than ever here), but the cat was already out of the bag. Basically, I'm left with the choice of either taking some risk and play indoor gigs or I leave my band. Considering the big picture risk profile of my household and in regards to jobs, school, etc. I've accepted that risk and ventured out to see some shows: I've gone to see King Crimson 3 times in the last 6 weeks - 2 dates local to me here in Florida (outdoor shows), and I flew up to New York for a show at my "hometown venue" in Saratoga. In Florida, the opener was California Guitar Trio (excellent!) and in New York, it was the Zappa Band (really excellent!!) Krimson was fantastic; one of my all-time favorites! On Monday, I went to see Primus with The Sword supporting in Orlando. Primus was great; and they are covering "A Farewell to Kings" in it's entirety. Though I will say, I was not entirely comfortable with the density of the crowd at this show and I would probably not do that again. I've had tickets for Steve Hackett (with my drum teacher on drums!) since ~ November 2019. Show was originally April 2020, then April 2021, now April 2022. I just recently got tickets for The Pineapple Thief (with Gavin Harrison on drums!) here in Orlando April 2022, one week after Hackett. Oh yeah, and Gojira is coming in October. I'm debating that one.

Floyd for me because.... David Gilmour solo!

So many... but one in particular that resonates strongly for me

I’ve been trying to figure out why they sounded like shit. Was Neil’s drum tech just like “f**k this”? Putting together and tuning 2 kits a night is a lot of frickin work. Or were the toms purposely tuned lower so Neil wouldn’t abuse his joints so badly? Totally agree with you guys. Those El Darko concert toms just did not sound right. You might be on to something with his joints; he really avoided going up there as much as possible on R40... I get it; you get older, the tally on the body is cumulative. But man, I will never forget my first show - seeing him lay into those concert toms in 1984 (P/G) and just fly around them. The timbale/concert tom section of his solo was just fantastic (with the little added mimic of the Horse Race trumpet fanfare...)

1.) It's not Tull without Martin Barre 2.) Anyone who has seen Ian Anderson's "Jethro Tull" in the past several years knows that "silent singing" would be a vast improvement.

What, no ANVIL?!??!? Their comeback tour was momentous! http://en.wikipedia...._Story_of_Anvil

Shocked and saddened to learn of this yesterday.... I feel fortunate to have seen him in concert twice with Return to Forever. Huge fusion influence. RIP Chick

I guess you're referring to a bit from Fish on Fridays? It's during work for me, so I can only join sporadically. It's really cool of him to do that and be so open - you really get a feel for the guy. btw, I absolutely love this album. Faced some stiff competition, but probably my favorite album of the last year. It doesn't hurt that my drum teacher plays on it! :-) yes, fof. You can see on his fb page and he’s starting to post them on his fishscot page too, and maybe YT? But yeah, it’s amazing, the stuff he shares with us, and I have a good laugh at least once during every show. wait, your DRUM TEACHER??? Yes indeed! Mr. Craig Blundell does all-sorts of online teaching work. Once all of his touring was axed by the pandemic (still waiting for the Hackett tour to come back!) he started giving weekly masterclasses online. Basically, they're 2 1/2 hour lessons full of great exercises and challenge tracks which he demos and sends us the audio tracks and charts for after the class. He always performs a track or two for us as well (including Steven Wilson, Hackett, Lonely Robot, Frost, The Backstage, etc among his great work.) It's been quite a challenge for me; my last previous lessons were 33 years ago! (lol!) but I have noticeably improved various aspects of my playing. I think we're up to masterclass #38 now? (I've lost count; since last April with a couple weeks off here and there.) We've developed an online community made up of his students around the world - with skill levels ranging from beginners to pros. Anyway, he talked to us a bit about his experience working with Fish and is ecstatic to have played on such an artistically rewarding project.

Pariah is out of this world good. Agree. Another example of something that grew on me and wasn't immediately a favorite. Now I can't imagine not liking it. Yeah, I was thinking about the reasons that I don't really like "The Future Bites", I made the mistake of listening back to my favorites - In Absentia, Deadwing, FoaBP, Raven, HCE; there's really no competition there. I wrote up a big analysis of my thoughts, coming to terms with why I don't like it (focusing on some key elements for me: drums/guitar/song arrangement/lyrics/emotional connection) - considered posting it, realizing that it's just my personal opinion, surely somebody would peg me as a whining prog-snob. Anyway, one of the things I came down to was a more reasonable comparison might be for an album I didn't really care for as much at first, but came to love - and that would be "To the Bone." Even on that album, songs like Pariah or Permanating, I didn't dig much at first - but eventually came to like - reasons being there was still a dramatic dynamic and they still felt like a band playing; interacting. I came to really like the dramatic climax in Pariah and the falsetto of Permanating was catchy and easy on the ears. Frankly, I just don't really experience those hooks at all on Future Bites. There is a sterile lack of musical interaction (mostly computers on the drums...), dynamics are relatively flat and the thought I had was on to the Bone there were some musical hooks that I came to like and would look forward to coming up again in the repetitive arrangements, but on TFB, I was always waiting for such a hook to appear...and they never did (that, and the falsetto hook wore out it's welcome with Permanating!)

I guess you're referring to a bit from Fish on Fridays? It's during work for me, so I can only join sporadically. It's really cool of him to do that and be so open - you really get a feel for the guy. btw, I absolutely love this album. Faced some stiff competition, but probably my favorite album of the last year. It doesn't hurt that my drum teacher plays on it! :-)

I haven't heard anything for the trio, are those tracks online somewhere?? Future Bites might grow on you, but not if you're looking for drumming. Its absence is still my single biggest complaint, next to Steven's choices in shrill vocal performances, and some shoe-horned lyrics here and there. But as I set that aside, and listen as if to an electronic based set of music, it's actually quite good for that style of music. Not "OK Computer for the Amazon age" good as one reviewer put it, but solid enough I can find some level of enjoyment. I mean, OK computer was still largely a guitar driven album with a live drummer on most of it. It's not even a valid comparison musically. The reviewer was probably thinking of Kid A, and not a very good reviewer as a result of not even getting their BS straight. lol Unrelated, I've returned to Fear Inoculum in the past weeks after shelving it for a year or so. As I'm sure you recall, I was less than lukewarm on it. :P While my opinion about repeated elements from prior recordings dragging it down still holds, I've managed to find a head space where the album and select songs (like 7empest) are working. The drumming is still the single standout element and Maynard phoned it in a few too many times (lyrically and vocally). So as an example, there's always hope in finding enjoyment in a recording from an artist you usually enjoy that may have lost you for a moment. Regarding the trio - that music is not out there, yet. Craig Blundell has been sampling a handful of these tracks during his drum masterclasses that I participate in. It's instrumental insanity with very tasty playing! If you liked Truth Decay, you should love it - it's next level! As far as "coming around" to TFB, while anything is possible, and there are many albums that took a while for me to appreciate, I also don't have any PetShopBoys or Depeche Mode in my collection because I don't really like that kind of music. Steven does write good songs, and his production is always a step above everything else - but the all-electronic approach doesn't give me the spark that I look for, especially when used for predictable song structures. There are too many other great bands, with humans playing instruments in a creative manner, to choose from. (I will say there are some bands that I like that have predicable song structures, but they still play with personality; and on the other side, there are some shredder bands that I don't care for because their songs suck.) Ultimately, for me, SW's new approach is just not how I relate to music. I read somebody on a SW forum state that they like the new SW album in the same way that they liked newer Rush. They changed direction, but it was still great. That analogy fails for me - while I did like (love) newer Rush, and clearly it changed direction over the years, it was still MFN' Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson playing interesting parts on instruments. You could still hear their personality in the playing, the arrangement, while more accessible, wasn't designed to be a popular success, was always detailed and had some interesting twists. SW went from some of the top players in the world, to, well, machines and programs. The songs remind me of the more dull 80's UK pop stuff that I never liked. Perhaps an interesting experiment, and some people really dig that approach, but it's not something I can really relate to.

This would be the first Steven Wilson album that I did not purchase on release-day since.... In Absentia? I'm all for musical growth, exploration, challenging conventions, artistic expression and all that. I knew Steven was headed in a more accessible direction since "To The Bone". I got worried when I found out he wasn't having Craig Blundell back.... or any dedicated drummer for that matter. It was also so ironic how on the TTB tour he always had this talking bit about lamenting the loss of electric guitar in modern music.... Someone pointed out the need for a producer - well, he did have a producer for this album and, according to one interview, they apparently really pushed him to challenge his normal approaches. I didn't really like any of the preview songs that I heard; which didn't completely turn me off, as I felt "Perfect Life" was the least representative song of everything I came to love about Hand.Cannot.Erase. (One of my top 5 favorite discs of the last 25 years; probably top 10 all-time.) So, now I've gone and sampled the whole disc and I remain unenthused. Just meh. I can appreciate the direction he was going for - I might even have been able to feel some nostalgia for the 80's synth, but I didn't even get that. Part of what it comes down to for me is this: I'm a drummer. I've spent most of my life honing my craft on the instrument and absorbing all sorts of different drum styles. I understand "playing for the song" and all that. But when you go from Gavin Harrison, Marco Minnemann, Craig Blundell (some of the best drummers on the planet) who would all play all sorts of interesting parts within the music to a drum machine (or at least someone playing that is emulating the feel of a drum machine) it's just a big let down for me. I can appreciate a good song or a creative/unique approach, even when there are no drums. But I didn't get that feeling on this disc. It was just all really flat for me. It's just not how I relate to music. At least not music that I listen to all the time. What I am super excited for this year is the trio prog-fusion disc that Adam Holtzman, Nick Beggs, and Craig Blundell (basically Steven's old band) will soon release. I've heard a few tracks.... it's much more in the direction of music that I appreciate and relate to.

I was at a work outing, just about to be seated, when received a text from the singer in my band. Once I verified that the text was true, I had to leave. I returned to my car and sat and cried. Once I pulled myself together, I drove home listening to Rush (and continued to cry...) Once I reached home, my wife and kids had by then heard the news and were quite consoling with hugs and words. I spent the night writing to friends, calling friends in various cities, posting here, posting to my FB, and listening to music. To this day I still have some aversion to the area I was at when I heard the news - which is difficult because it's a place that is personally significant to me for other reasons.

Alright, I'll adhere to 1 per band (not easy; when I get into a band or musician, I look for everything...), but no way I can stick to just 30 - hard enough to limit to this list. I probably already missed some of my favorites... Rush - Moving Pictures Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King Yes - Close to the Edge Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. Tool - Lateralus Frank Zappa - Roxy & Elsewhere King's X - Dogman Genesis - Selling England by the Pound Alice in Chains - Dirt Jethro Tull - Songs from the Wood The Who - Quadrophenia The Pineapple Thief - Dissolution Peter Gabriel - Melt The Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are you Experienced? Opeth - In Cauda Venenum Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magic Van Halen - II Marillion - Misplaced Childhood The Beatles - Rubber Soul Anathema - Weather Systems Kansas - Leftoverture Queen - News of the World Dixie Dregs - Industry Standard Bruford - One of Kind Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream Boston - Boston The Doors - LA Woman Santana - Abraxas Dream Theater - Awake Stone Temple Pilots - Purple Steely Dan - Aja Metallica - Master of Puppets The Aristocrats - Culture Clash Queensryche - Empire Iron Maiden - Powerslave Roger Waters - Amused to Death Living Colour - Vivid

This was part of Modern Drummer's virtual festival / Neil tribute this year (September 12.) Thanks for sharing!

and finally, Jonas Reingold, Craig Blundell and Rob Townsend made "The Backstage"; fun jazz fusion project with lots of guests: http://youtu.be/xQjUp6P85fw Fish recaptured some of the magic of early Marillion (IMO), and released the saddest song... perhaps ever (gets me every time.) http://youtu.be/-RwwU8Nvs1g http://youtu.be/0MGDh6qh-0k

and, it was a grower, but I ended up liking the new The Pineapple Thief as much, if not more, than their previous 2 discs with Gavin Harrison: http://youtu.be/O32DMyXN-mI http://youtu.be/7nooe94rQ2Q http://youtu.be/fVNjhKLF1Pg http://youtu.be/eV_i6Y_6KVY

My favorites released in 2020: McStine & Minnemann I McStine & Minnemann II The Backstage - Isolation Versions of the Truth - The Pineapple Thief Fish - Weltschmerz Antoine Fafard & Gavin Harrison - Chemical Reactions Drum playthrough of one of my favorite songs of the year: http://youtu.be/MN1aPTlobOw And funny moments from their second album (they have "real" songs too! lol): http://youtu.be/4U3MtNU2hoI http://youtu.be/7pldcKlQf54 I like weird shit like this too: http://youtu.be/DKrY4Rdtrko

This was part of the virtual Modern Drummer festival back in September. Todd is awesome; very nice tribute!

I saw this in the theater on Monday - Loved it! I had heard some die-hards complaining that it didn't highlight enough about certain eras or albums - but they're missing that the director had stated this movie wasn't intended to be a wikipedia run-down of Frank's career. I think it did an excellent job of showing that Frank was a complex person and had some major character flaws. The kids were shown in home film that sort-of set-up making some points about Frank. Many of the guest interviews were very insightful. I had previously read FZ's autobiography, so I was familiar with alot of the various events of his life - this was more about his persona and provided from the perspective of many people that were close to Frank.