The excellent Mike Pollack will be broadcasting a SeaProg 2013 recap show on Progressive Tracks (KPTZ 91.9 FM, Port Townsend WA) this Monday night at 9 PM (Pacific). Live streaming is available at KPTZ.org. Thinking Plague, miRthkon, Moraine, Monkey Bat, Bone Cave Ballet, Bill Horist, Tone Dogs, Operation ID, Trimtab, and Dissonati… all stuffed into an hour!
Seaprog 2013 is history!
Coming up for air after a festival that exceeded all expectations — by every meaningful measure, Seaprog was a smashing success. The music was truly world class and frequently astonishing, the venue was ideal and its staff were a marvel, and the community turned out big-time to demonstrate once and for all that there is indeed strong support for this type of adventurous music in Seattle. And they said it couldn’t be done 😉 Boundless thanks to all the musicians, volunteers, staff, and especially the audience, many of whom are so passionate about this music that they traveled from as far as the East Coast to attend. We’ll be glowing for months, and the success of this nutty experiment bodes very well for the future…
Artist profile: Zhongyu
Although Zhongyu, the band, is relatively new to the world, its seeds stretch back several decades. It started as a recording project for the compositions of Jon Davis, which defy categorization by combining qualities of progressive rock, jazz, space rock, chamber music, and Asian traditional music. These compositions are the result of years of listening to challenging music, and strive to present balance: between complexity and simplicity, noise and silence, beauty and terror, energy and calm.
Personnel:
- Jon Davis — Stick, guzheng, theremin
- Dennis Rea — guitar
- Alicia DeJoie — violin
- James DeJoie — woodwinds
- Randy Doak — drums
Sample:
Links to artist websites:
- Zhongyu on Facebook
- Zhongyu on Soundcloud
- Zhongyu official site
- Zhongyu on Bandcamp (Moonjune Records)
- Zhongyu on Bandcamp (Right Brain Records)
Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.
Performances:
- Seaprog 2013 — Day Zero
Artist profile: Trimtab
Trimtab formed in 2001 in Minneapolis, MN under the concept of Jason Goessl, who, inspired by the work and philosophy of R. Buckminster Fuller, realized a link between Fuller’s architecture and musical form and meter. The original band was comprised of Jim Anton on bass, Tim Glenn on drums, and Goessl on guitar. Their first full length album The Car, the House, and the Map was released in 2008 (Conduit Records).
With Goessl’s move west to Seattle, WA, the second and current incarnation of Trimtab features Phil Cali on bass and Brian Oppel on drums. Trimtab’s latest compilation New Model is slated for release later in 2013 (Parlour Trick).
The music of Trimtab is difficult to sum up in a simple phrase or genre. The band’s compositions are sonic portmanteaus that meld philosophical and architectural concepts with classical, jazz, Eastern Indian, African, and rock music styles. The unpredictability and complexity of their compositions is magnetic, generating a seemingly new listening experience with each performance. Varied meters create hypnotic tensions. Abrasive chordal and percussive expression mixed with gentler melodies and intense dynamic changes creates a unique gravitational pull. Whether listening to the arc of a Trimtab album or just a single composition, a development from compression, to tension, to visual, to abstract, to the electrical is evidenced.
Goessl, Cali, and Oppel sustain a synergy that reveals an exhibition of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic transformation. Refreshingly, the unexpected is the only thing the listener can expect from Trimtab.
Personnel:
- Jason Goessl — guitar
- Phil Cali — bass
- Brian Oppel — drums
Sample:
Links to artist websites:
Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.
Performances:
- Seaprog 2013 — Day One
Artist profile: Tone Dogs
Tone Dogs began in 1987 as a studio experiment between musical alchemists Fred Chalenor and Amy Denio, under the creative technological guidance of audio engineer Drew Canulette at Dog Fish Studio up in the hills above Newburg, OR. Fresh pie was served, Fred and Amy played their basses and guitars and drums and whatnot, and luminary guests (Frith/Reichel/von Drehle/Bain) were invited to contribute. They recorded Ankety Low Day (orig. C/Z Records, Matt Cameron on drums) and Early Middle Years (orig. Soleilmoon, Will Dowd on drums), and toured the US and Europe through 1991. Now Fred and Amy are back, playing some golden oldies and venturing as always into uncharted territory, on basses, guitars and other whatnots.
Personnel:
- Amy Denio — Guitar, bass, whatnot
- Fred Chalenor — Guitar, bass, whatnot
Sample:
Links to artist websites:
Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.
Performances:
- Seaprog 2013 — Day One