Autumn Electric is a Seattle-based psychedelic folk-rock band with a tendency to produce epic rambling tracks full of differing sections and unexpected turns. Songwriter Michael Trew has been gathering like-minded musicians since the band's debut release in 2010. Their most recent collection, Flowers for Ambrosia, catapults them into the realm of progressive rock, and features the addition of multi-instrumentalist Johnny Unicorn as a full-time member.
Badwater Fire Company redefines what can be done with the classic guitar trio format. Their complex music brings to mind the elaborate constructions of The Mars Volta, though with a directness that would be lost in a band with a higher population.
Baribrotzer Solo is, what else, a solo project, by John Hagelbarger. John currently plays keyboards, writes songs, and does other things with Dissonati. Although he has been in a number of bands over the years, he has never before presented himself as a solo performer.
Breaking with the Seaprog tradition of all-original music, we're happy to be presenting Being John McLaughlin, a tribute to John McLaughlin and the music of the early Mahavishnu Orchestra albums formed by keyboardist Ryan Burns and a supremely talented crew of like-minded cohorts. But seriously, this is so good, you won't care it's "covers" — and how often do you have the chance to hear this music played live?
Corima was formed in 2005 in El Paso, Texas by high school friends Erik Martinez, Jaime Silva, Juan Tarin, and Sergio Sánchez. Initially inspired by The Mars Volta, they were through a series of changes in style and personnel, the pulsating rhythms of African and Latin music, the poignancy of 60s and 70s classic rock, and taking as a concept the philosophy of Mayan and Aztec spirituality, especially with the mysteries of the feathered-serpent illumined seer Quetzalcoatl. Their interest in unconventional progressive rock bands grew considerably and became very influenced in a wide variety of them such as Gong, King Crimson, ELP, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Soft Machine, to name a few. Finding the lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums insufficient for their growing ambition, they recruited keyboard player Francisco Casanova, a high school friend of Juan's.
Then they discovered Magma, and immediately knew they had found their true inspiration. After losing the two guitarists and touring North America as a trio, the decision was made to relocate to Los Angeles. In the process, they were reduced to a duo as the original bassist decided not to move. They soon started meeting musicians in LA and connected with new bassist Ryan Kamiyamazaki and violinist Andrea Calderón, who was also from El Paso. With the addition of saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi, the band took its current form.
With a set of new compositions ready to be recorded they teamed up with LA musician and recording artist Christopher Votek and in late 2011 recorded their second album entitled Quetzalcóatl. When the album was almost finished, Alain Lebon, the owner of the legendary French label Soleil Zeuhl, contacted them and asked them if they were interested in having their album distributed by his label. It was released in late 2012.
Fang Chia is an experimental jazz-rock group from Tacoma, WA and the culmination of four friends playing music together for six years. After studying music at university, Coby, Kyle, Kevin, and Matt decided to form this band, combining jazz, African, electronic, classical, and rock styles.
Jim Bartz is a guitarist and inventor who will be presenting a set of music played on a 1939 Rickenbacker lap steel guitar, but something that could never have been imagined in 1939. He takes this antique instrument to the farthest reaches of inner and outer space.
Midday Veil began in 2008 as a collaboration between Emily Pothast, a vocalist and songwriter who earned an MFA in visual art before devoting her attentions to music and David Golightly, an analog synth-head who was deeply influenced by courses led by Karlheinz Stockhausen during his studies in composition and electronic music in Germany. In early 2009, Midday Veil's sound was catalyzed by the addition of guitarist Timm Mason, a prolific multi-instrumentalist obsessed with modular synthesis, musique concrète and Middle Eastern guitar tones. In 2011, the band added Jayson Kochan on bass and Sam Yoder on percussion. Rhythmic duties are currently on the shoulders of Garrett Moore, who replaced original drummer Chris Pollina in 2012.
Midday Veil's appealing brand of spacey psychedelia is getting them a lot of attention around the world, and we're thrilled to be presenting them on our festival stage.
Miriodor was formed in 1980 (in Québec City) by the meeting of François Émond and Pascal Globensky. Different musicians came and went until the band settled as a sextet, in 1983. The line-up was comprised of François Émond (violin, flute, keyboards, clarinet), Pascal Globensky (keyboards, acoustic guitar), Rémi Leclerc (drums), Sabin Hudon (saxophones), Denis Robitaille (electric guitar, bass, singing) and Marc Petitclerc (keyboards). This was the crew of the 1st album, Rencontres. This LP, self-produced and now out of print, has since then been released in CD format by Cuneiform Records, Miriodor’s record company since 1988. Over the years since that time, personnel has changed numerous times and released seven more albums.
After a hiatus in 2011, year 2012 and part of 2013 were devoted to the work on Cobra Fakir, the band’s eighth studio album. Nicolas Lessard (bass guitar/keyboards) happily joins the band, in order to replace Nicolas Masino, and will help the band with the live rendition of the new material. The album was released Sept. 24th, 2013 on Cuneiform Records.
Miriodor's appearance is possible with the help of Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
Spacebag (the band, not that thing you use to organize your closets, which is two words) is a Seattle trio playing something sort of like prog-metal. The lineup of guitar, keys, and drums is a bit unusual, but has all the power you look for in this kind of music, but always with a twist of originality. They take their influences from the 70s onward, from Rush and Deep Purple to Today Is the Day and Carcass.
Spontaneous Rex is an experimental jazz and avant-rock band based in Seattle. The band focuses on originals and covers that range from modern jazz to fusion; from electronic music to progressive rock, creating their own signature style. The band is a quartet of piano/keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums. The four met while studying music at Cornish College.
Super Z Attack Team started as a spin-off from the band Zhongyu, a studio-oriented project formed by multi-instrumentalist and composer Jon Davis. With the unusual instrumentation of Stick, bari sax, and drums, the trio incorporates electronics into music that straddles rock energy and the jazzy spirit of improvisation. They relish the intersection of planning and chance, always focussing on maintaining a groove, regardless of what meter they use.
Tempered Steel features Ffej, Frank Junk, and Dennis Rea playing amplified, electronically processed thumb pianos. The trio's seamless improvisations conjure everything from phantom harpsichords and subterranean percussion to as yet uninvented stringed instruments and vintage musique concrète. Recommended to partisans of Harry Partch, John Cage's prepared piano music, and Konono No. 1. And if you watch closely, you might catch one of the rare uses of an electric toothbrush in music.
This experimental Portland trio, formed in 2006, specialize in creative overuse of their effect pedals. Their latest material includes extensive live looping work, creating huge enveloping layers of sound. At best, they fuse the oddball rhythms and technicality of progressive music with a genuine sense of melody and emotion.
A lot has changed with The Mercury Tree since they played Seaprog 2014. They’ve released an album called Permutations, toured extensively around North America, and morphed into a marvelously cohesive trio. They’ve also been exploring the world of microtonal tuning, utilizing custom instruments built for 17 notes per octave. And they’ve done it without losing sight of what it means to write good tunes.
The Pornadoes is one of guitarist Jason Goessl's other projects — quite different from Trimtab, which blew away the Seaprog 2013 audience. This band starts out with instrumental surf guitar music, and takes it several steps beyond, into realms both impressive and just plain fun.
The Zubatto Syndicate is a new 12-piece ensemble under the direction of composer and guitarist Andrew Boscardin. This exciting new group – a highly original take on the Big Band and jazz orchestra traditions – made its debut on November 5, 2009 at Town Hall Seattle. Featuring a unique synthesis of reed instruments and electric sounds, brass and stand up bass, Zubatto targets the musical place where Maria Schneider meets the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the Roots meet Radiohead by way of Mingus. The music combines detailed arrangements and inventive harmonic ideas with rhythmic settings and idioms atypical of the jazz orchestra, as realized by the some of the top improvising musicians in Seattle.
Seaprog is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike.
About Shunpike
Shunpike is the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington State
with the services, resources, and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success.
