Tag: Seaprog 2013

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Artist profile: Thinking Plague

Thinking Plague promotional photo
Thinking Plague promotional photo

Thinking Plague explores the frontiers where rock, folk, jazz and modern symphonic music meet. Through these explorations, the band has created “a genre of music unto itself, eclectically derivative in a bold way and spectacularly innovative in the old-fashioned sense of genuine originality” (Andy Watson – Journal Wired Summer/Fall 1990). Founded in 1982 by guitarist and composer Mike Johnson, and bassist, drummer and producer Bob Drake, the band has undergone numerous personnel changes, while members have performed with some of the leading avant-progressive artists in the world, including Présent, 5UUs, the Science Group, Hamster Theatre, Hughscore, Caveman Shoestore, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Peter Blegvad, Amy Denio, Janet Feder, Underground Railroad, Claudia Quintet, and others. Thinking Plague has released eight albums, including a live CD and a re-mastered re-release of their first two LPs on one CD, as well as contributions to various compilations. They were featured in the recent documentary Romantic Warriors II: Rock in Opposition, and they have performed at various major avant-progressive festivals in North America and Europe, including Rock In Opposition (France 2012), Gouveia Art Rock (Portugal 2008), MIMI (France 2000), NEARFest (USA 2000), ProgDay (USA, 1999) and others. Legendary Henry Cow drummer Chris Cutler said of Thinking Plague: “Every now and then a landmark group emerges. Thinking Plague in my opinion belongs in that category. Being an interesting group isn’t a matter of learning to imitate some favourite bands’ style, it’s having an original musical vision and the skills to bring it into being; it’s breaking new ground. That’s why Thinking Plague qualifies in my book.”

Personnel:

  • Mike Johnson — guitar
  • Mark Harris — woodwinds
  • Dave Willey — bass
  • Elaine Di Falco — keyboards, vocals
  • Robin Chestnut — drums
  • Bill Pohl — guitar
  • Kimara Sajn — keyboards

Sample:

Links to artist websites:

Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.

Performances:

 

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Artist profile: Operation ID

Operation ID promotional photo
Operation ID promotional photo

Operation ID has been variedly called anything from “jazz” to “progressive rock” to “man rock” to “thought-rock” to the self-christened “bionic synth-pop.” What began as duets between members Ivan Arteaga (saxophone/clarinet) and Jared Borkowski (guitar) in a University of Washington basement quickly expanded to include Evan Woodle on drums and David Balatero on bass, playing improvisation-heavy, free jazz-influenced compositions. Rob Hanlon soon joined on keyboards. With their current lineup complete, Operation ID oriented themselves toward a more through-composed musical landscape, transitioning from a purely instrumental outfit into one that more and more incorporates solo and group vocals by all five members of the band. Their first album, Legs, released on Table & Chairs, reflects the changes that have occurred throughout the entirety of Operation ID’s first two years of existence. The album more than hints at the band’s current direction. As Operation ID continues to compose and rehearse new music to play in their frequent Seattle-area shows, their fanbase and music horizons both continue to grow.

Personnel:

  • Jared Borkowski — Guitar, vocals
  • Ivan Arteaga — Woodwinds, keyboards, vocals
  • David Balatero — Bass, vocals
  • Evan Woodle — Drums
  • Rob Hanlon — Keyboards, EWI, vocals

Sample:

Links to artist websites:

Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.

Performances:

  • Seaprog 2013 — Day One
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Artist profile: Moraine

Moraine promotional photo
Moraine promotional photo

Moraine is an omnivorous Seattle-based instrumental quintet led by guitarist Dennis Rea and featuring violinist Alicia DeJoie, woodwind player James DeJoie, bassist Kevin Millard, and drummer Tom Zgonc. With its several writers and full complement of ace instrumentalists arrayed in striking combination, Moraine has built a reputation as one of the most electrifying and original instrumental rock bands anywhere, winning over listeners around the globe with its unique amalgam of art rock, forward-thinking jazz, world music, and more. Moraine has been enthusiastically received by audiences ranging from jazz aficionados to metalheads to partisans of progressive rock and has appeared alongside such renowned artists as Three Friends (Gentle Giant), Steve Hackett, Eddie Jobson, and Richard Pinhas. The band’s 2009 release on NYC-based MoonJune Records, manifest deNsity, garnered more than 100 enthusiastic reviews worldwide, and its set at NEARfest 2010, the world’s preeminent showcase for progressive rock, was considered by many to be a highlight of the festival. Moraine created a buzz on its spring 2011 tour of major East Coast cities and in late 2011 released its second CD, Metamorphic Rock: Live at NEARfest, co-produced and mixed by legendary Pacific Northwest producer Steve Fisk.

Personnel:

  • Dennis Rea — guitar
  • Alicia DeJoie — violin
  • Kevin Millard — bass (2013 — 2019)
  • Phil Cali — bass (2020 — )
  • James DeJoie — woodwinds (2009 — )
  • Ruth Davidson — cello (2006 — 2009, 2020 — )
  • Jay Jaskot (2006 — 2009)
  • Stephen Cavit — drums (2009 — 2011)
  • Tom Zgonc — drums (2013)
  • Brian Oppel — drums (2018 — )

Sample:

Links to artist websites:

Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.

Performances:

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Artist profile: MonkeyBat

MonkeyBat promotional photo
MonkeyBat promotional photo

“Monkey” and “Bat” are two unrelated species that would not naturally be found inhabiting the same body. In the same way, the band Monkey Bat combines acoustic and electric, intense and beautiful, complex and simple into a kind of music that is all their own. With their first album, Springtime Love, in the can and expected to be released in the spring of 2013, they’re already at work on their second album.

Personnel:

  • Scott Lewis — acoustic guitar
  • Brian Todd — bass
  • Vern Lawton — drums

Sample:

Links to artist websites:

Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.

Performances:

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Artist profile: miRthkon

Mirthkon promotional photo
Mirthkon promotional photo

miRthkon is an amplified chamber ensemble masquerading as a rock band. This illusion is well maintained by the fact that from time to time they do, indeed, rock. Consisting of a core rock instrumentation of two guitars, bass, and drums, their unique sound is enhanced by the inclusion of two adept woodwind players covering a wide array of instruments including piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Maintaining a passionate aesthetic stance that they are (quite happily) ‘beneath everything,’ their music — whether evoking the direct or indirect influence of progressive rock, contemporary classical abstraction, avant-garde jazz, catchy hook-laden pop, or thrash metal — is held to a simple but firm standard: Does it sound good?

Personnel:

  • Matt Guggemos — drums
  • Travis Andrews — guitar
  • Carolyn Walter — woodwinds, vocals
  • Wally Scharold — guitar, vocals
  • Jamison Smeltz — woodwinds, percussion, vocals
  • Matt Lebofsky — bass, keyboards, vocals

Sample:

Links to artist websites:

Links were good as of when the artist performed. Some may no longer work.

Performances: