Gigur

Fin Del Tiempo

One of the benefits of reviewing for the DPRP is the opportunity to check out new music that can be a little out of the ordinary whilst remaining totally accessible. Such is the case with Fin Del Tiempo, meaning ‘Time End’ in English, the debut release from Gigur. The album was apparently funded by a cash award received following a competition held in November 2004 by CONARTE, the Mexican governments institution for art. A not inconsiderable sum of this money was obviously put to one side for the album packaging. The unusually shaped digipack uses a striking combination of photography and artwork designed by local artist Ricardo López.

The credits in the booklet are in Spanish which required some translation on my part to figure out who was doing what! The band hails from Monterrey in northern Mexico and was formed as recently as 2003 by Ivan Taméz. In addition to Taméz who provides electric and acoustic guitars, synth and vocals, the line-up includes Jorge Bringas on guitar and keyboards, Carlos Gonzalez on drums, and Ricardo Vilchez on bass. The quartet are joined by “special guests” Emilio Delgado and Arturo Aguirre on drums and bass respectively.

With the exception of one track this is an all-instrumental album with the guitar talents of Ivan Taméz providing the focal point. Guitars are utilised to create a variety of textures and moods, often in the space of a single track. Keyboards are used sparingly and almost solely to create electronic effects. I must confess I had my misgivings when I first heard the opening piece Bebiendo De La Crátera. A cacophony of sounds, rather like an orchestra tuning up is followed by polite applause giving the impression that it is a live recording. Delicate but warm guitar picking in the style of the California Guitar Trio is let down by a constant electronic humming noise. This eventually submerges the guitar until loud sustained guitar chords take over. Not the most auspicious of starts, and I was already prepared to file under ‘interesting’ and ‘arty’. I was caught off guard by the glorious title track, which opens with intricate Beach Boys inspired harmonies before building a solid wall of sound reminiscent of early 80’s Siouxsie & The Banshees and The Cocteau Twins. A melodic mid section includes proggy guitar and beautiful Spanish vocals followed by a dramatic Porcupine Tree style sequence full of guitar distortion.

The almost lightweight Flotandoenti is a fusion of sunny jazz playing and the edgier tone of Bill Nelson. The folk tinged rippling acoustic guitar of Resonancias Atemporales provides a backdrop for a basic but haunting melody first heard in the previous track, this time played on what sounds like synth. The shrill electronics in the opening 1½ minutes of Quintaesencia is an uncomfortable experience akin to sitting in a dentist’s chair. Things improve when the drums kick in, setting up a lengthy Robert Fripp experimental sequence with subdued but discordant guitar tones. Crater opens with a blast of lightning fast Gentle Giant style lines, before settling into a mid tempo jazz groove with melodic ringing guitar and crisp bass punctuations. Stylish drumming heralds Pasajero the albums longest and possibly most successful track. The guitar creates a reflective and relaxed mood throughout combining fast but mellow jazz noodlings with longer sustained notes that add breathing space to the sound. It floats effortlessly between jazz and proggy moments without breaking its stride save for a lengthy and fluid bass solo at the half way mark. The guitar builds into a spirited blues solo towards the end.

In contrast, Sueño Estelar is a blaze of early 70’s Sabbath and Purple style hard rock that incorporates screaming metal guitar and a memorable tune with melodic prog overtones. Diferentes Pero Iguales moves things forward a decade with a crunching 80’s metal sound and a persistent Metallica style riff. Without warning it develops into an awesome proggy soundscape with scorching electric guitar and a hint of acoustic guitar. A forgettable moment is provided by synth, which mimics the sound of a Theremin, before making amends with great slide guitar effects that echo the work of Steve Howe. Para Tí Qué Es Más Fácil? provides another change of pace with meditative acoustic guitar, swirling electronic effects, and lyrical electric guitar that has a bright tone similar to that of Mark Knopfler. Curiously the final two minutes are completely silent except for a short and sharp electronic blast of sound. The final track Mundos Paralelos (No Existe El Tiempo) Parte 1 consists entirely of ambient electronic sounds with excessive cross channel phasing, providing a disappointing ending to an otherwise excellent album.

Coming to a decision over the rating of this album has been a difficult compromise. It contains some remarkable music, but unfortunately the all important opening and closing tracks are something of a let down. Had the high standards of the better material been maintained throughout then it could have easily earned a DPRP recommendation. My suggestion for the future would be to ditch the annoying electronic and synth noises and concentrate on what the band does best. The guitar work is some of the best I’ve heard in a long time, sometimes flashy and experimental, but always inventive and tasteful. There is nothing wrong with the bands mostly instrumental approach, but the vocals sound so good they might want to consider including more in the future. Full marks go to the production team of Iván Tamez, Emilio Delgado and Jorge Diaz for providing the album with a clear and sharp sound. Tamez is also responsible for composing the strong material, with the exception of Quintaesencia, which was co-written with Delgado, Bringas and Aguirre.

To their credit, Gigur prove that there are young bands out there that are still willing to break down the staid musical barriers, making them worthy of your attention. Moreover, if you have a penchant for guitar instrumentals that combine power with grace in equal measures then you would do well to check them out.

Tracklist: Bebiendo De La Crátera: a. Falla Tridimensional b. La Gnosis (6:22), Fin Del Tiempo (En Mis Manos) (5:25), Flotandoenti (3:58), Resonancias Atemporales (4:11), Quintaesencia (6:25), Crater (4:44), Pasajero (12:07), Sueño Estelar (4:54), Diferentes Pero Iguales (8:16), Para Tí Qué Es Más Fácil? (Abrir O Cerrar Algo) (7:25), Mundos Paralelos (No Existe El Tiempo) Parte 1 (2:35)

George Hrab

Interrobang

George Hrab...Even though Interrobang is the fifth album by George, this is the first time I have come across his name. Well, George is a drummer by default, but here he is actually the man in a one-man band, so he plays guitars, bass, keyboards, drums and...sings. George also performs on several occasions (like for The White House !?) with "The Geologic Orchestra" but also with some jazz-funk shapes covering Zappa among others.

Well, trying to describe his music, I would mention three names: Phish, Frank Zappa and Talking Heads. Phish was a popular American rock band most noted for jamming and improvisation, with elements of many many genres, including mainstream rock, hard rock, jazz, country, reggae, folk, even prog rock. To me Interrobang is the closest thing I ever heard to the sound and philosophy of Phish (funny lyrics and photos, humour and a big mix of musical influences). The presence of Zappa's spirit is also more than evident, not only in the spirit of the lyrics but also in the music which at some points really follows his zany steps. The Talking Heads influence is seen in some vocal lines, a bit in the singing and in the overall witty song-writing. I could even add Dave Matthews and "soft" Faith No More as pointers. George himself says that for the first time, the music is guitar driven and this album is less funk and more rock than his previous ones.

Blue Genes, The Assumption and 'Ya Famous deal with the artist's image, serve as George's way of introducing himself, and are quite mainstream acoustic tracks, the latter being also a bit too mainstream for my taste, sounds like those songs that play in the background of American juvenile soap operas, the first two though are really pleasant and get you in the groove. "I hate myself, I hate my voice, but I've no choice", but "Don't you assume you really know me", because "I won't be famous anytime soon, but I can play a pretty fine tune". Once again the condition that a person with a good sense of humour must first be able to make fun of himself is satisfied!

More complex song writing with a more moody feeling can be found in songs like Disappointed or She Suffers from Superlatives with the quite prog quirky spastic riffs towards the end of the track, a very cute refrain and Zappa influenced vocals (maybe my favourite track). Prog rock references are much more obvious in the very clever, excellent Who Dogs The Outlet (some mix of King Crimson-like guitar riff with Faith No More's Star AD). Funkier tunes are Out of My Mind and Sciurus Carolinensis, with the last one being actually THE Zappa track, talking about an imaginary attack by... squirrels!?! The albums contains also the two "title" tracks ? and ! and We're Looking For Something More Ethnic which are actually jamming tracks (drums and/or electric guitar). Barney's In The Vent is the heaviest rock tune of the album, although the refrain somewhere reminds me of the magnificent Talking Heads song Found a Job. Lyrics are as said above of a humoristic nature but there often are insinuations or pointers to "serious" subjects. Indeed, in the booklet George complements track ?'s lyrics with political / social comments on hot subjects (American politics, the Muslim world etc.). By the way, there are even two pages on the Theory of Relativity, opening for a note by George talking about the making of the record! Pretty nuts huh!?!

Ok, the progressive elements of this album are numbered, but I think it would surely appeal to some fans of funkier music, or simply Zappa fans. The production is very good, the sound is crystal-clean, material is well worked on, drum-work is really interesting. George Hrab has a talent for sure, and it would sure be interesting to see him perform his music, especially accompanied by a sax or a trumpet. Worth mentioning that the CD comes in an amazing DVD case, with a HUGE booklet containing much more than just the lyrics, and also pictures of George with... more clothes than the one of the cover. Even though it has little to do with prog, Interrobang is pleasant, amusing, interesting, and smart, making a pretty good alternative choice for this Spring.

Tracklist: Blue Genes (3:58), Barney's In The Vent (4:07), The Assumption (3:08), 'Ya Famous? (4:37), Disappointed (part III of Skeptic) (6:40), Out of My Mind (5:18), ? (3:24), She Suffers from Superlatives (5:50), ! (3:50), We're Looking for Something More Ethnic (2:21), Done Talking (5:05), Who Dogs The Outlet (5:02), Sciurus Carolinensis (6:24)

Galahad

Empires Never Last

Since performing their first gig almost exactly twenty two years ago Galahad have had a chequered history which I’m not going to attempt to cover in a single paragraph. Suffice to say that they have seen more musicians pass through their ranks than even Yes and this is only their seventh CD of original material. In fact a considerable five years has passed since the release of their last studio offering, the highly rated Year Zero. Since then there has been only one visible change in the line-up with Lee Abraham replacing Neil Pepper on bass. Otherwise Stuart Nicholson vocals, Roy Keyworth guitars, Dean Baker keyboards and Spencer Luckman drums all remain. Part of the initial wave of neo-prog bands, like many of their peers Galahad wore their Genesis influences firmly on their sleeves. With the release of Empires Never Last you could say that those early influences have been firmly laid to rest. Well almost.

Making a significant contribution to this release is Karl Groom, guitarist with prog rockers Threshold. He is credited with co-production and engineering and the overall sound here display his trademark styles contributing to the bands harder edge sound. Crunching guitar riffs are ever present as are soaring solo flights normally towards the end of each track. Strident vocals are well to the fore and all manner of studio enhanced vocal effects are employed. Although there are no synth solos as such, in addition to providing a symphonic backdrop, synths are often used to provide a rhythmic pulse. The drum sound is especially crisp and sharp, and bass is given ample exposure in the mix. The end result is a fresh, clean, cutting and dare I say it commercial sound from the band.

Album opener De-Fi-Ance is split into two distinct parts, with the first half coming as something of a surprise. Angelic a cappella harmonies from guest voices Tina Groom (wife of Karl), Sarah Quilter (no stranger to Galahad) and Tina Booth (of Magenta fame) deliver an evocative melody that’s almost hymn like in structure. The mood is broken by an angry male voice that shouts out the songs title heralding thunderous power chords and gothic organ that repeats the opening melody. A convincing dulcimer sound courtesy of guest keys man Clive Nolan adds to the overall effect that’s reminiscent of a modern David Arnold Bond theme. A dazzling start to the album, which has many more surprises up its sleeve. Termination provides the first real opportunity to hear Nicholson’s impressive vocal range joined by superb backing from Tina Booth. Bombastic guitar, swirling keys and energetic drumming heighten the songs dramatic impact.

By virtue of its length I guess I Could Be God could be described as the albums centrepiece. Opening with uncharacteristic Vangelis style rhythmic synth ripples it features a strong performance from Nicholson throughout although at times he does indulge in macho vocal posturing which doesn’t entirely work for me. This is especially apparent during the vitriolic delivery of the songs title line. Better in my opinion is his sensitive singing during the tranquil mid section, with lush keys, Floydian atmospherics and a sample of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The songs real hook however is the compelling statacco riff that follows joined by a soaring guitar break to close. Sidewinder is a more mid tempo affair, which combines atmospheric synth effects, sampled tubular bells, and a cutting drum sound. It also benefits from a monumental guitar riff and possibly the albums strongest chorus with stirring vocals and swathes of symphonic keys. Karl Groom adds a scorching guitar solo, which makes for a stunning close.

These two songs both include extracts from well-known American speechmakers, ranging from the sublime of M.L. King to the ridiculous with the rhetoric of George Bush in Sidewinder. Although the album title is suitably illustrated by the cover artwork showing the fall of Berlin during the Second World War, it would seem that the concepts intended target is the USA rather than Nazi Germany. Although often ambiguous, Nicholson delivers some very dark and bitter lyrics. Despite the subject matter however the band display their lighter side by representing themselves on the Russian flag replacing the hammer and sickle with a large letter ‘G’.

Back to the music and the curiously titled Memories From An African Twin, which displays a disparate array of sounds. Groom is featured again, this time providing the classical acoustic guitar intro. It’s mostly instrumental save for the 1960’s pop flavoured wordless harmonies. The stately melody is embellished by authentic sounding pipe organ and harpsichord keys underpinned by a nimble but articulate drum and bass pattern. Appropriately the title song that follows is one of the albums finest. Empires Never Last opens with an edgy bass solo joined by weighty guitar and keys. It builds to a dramatic chorus with an excellent vocal underscored by epic guitar and keys. It contains one of the albums most infectious and powerful riffs with a stunning guitar break to play out.

With This Life Could Be My Last the band opt for a majestic conclusion. An evocative piano and vocal melody lays the path for the anthemic chorus with bubbling synth effects and a stupendous bouncing guitar riff. Following a superb tumbling piano bridge section with excellent guitar support the song and album go out in style with a melodic Hackett flavoured guitar coda. Ironically this final part bears closer comparisons to Galahad’s previous work than anything else on the album.

Although this release is a departure for the band their fans will be familiar with many of the songs, which featured prominently on the recent Resonance ~ Live In Poland DVD. With little time for rehearsals, the new songs were familiar to the band, which they were in the process of recording at the time. I say departure because this is by far their heaviest collection of songs to date. In addition to Galahad fans it should also appeal to followers of Arena, Pallas, Threshold and anyone else with a penchant for prog that combines muscle with melody. Call it symphonic rock with a large dose of prog-metal, or if you prefer, prog-metal with a liberal measure of symphonic rock. Either way, it’s a compelling slab of accessible, hard hitting and tuneful sounds that deserves a very wide audience for sure.

Tracklist: De-Fi-Ance (5:46), Termination (7:15), I Could Be God (14:01), Sidewinder (11:04), Memories From An African Twin (4:07), Empires Never Last (9:07), This Life Could Be My Last (10:23)

Glasshammer

Culture Of Acsent

Glasshammer kommer med ny skive i oktober 2007, ” Culture Of Acsent”, med Jon Andersom fra Yes som gjestevokalist.

Coverart er ved Michał Karcz, som snart vil få sin velfortjente plass under linken COVER ART.

Ryktene går ellers på at denne skiva har materiale til å bli en skikkelig prog-klassiker.

Mp3 filer og mer info finner du på disse sidene:

http://www.myspace.com/glasshammer11

http://www.glasshammer.com/pages/news.html

GulliPod

Det var vel bare et tidsspørsmål før den første Gull-iPoden kom. iPoden fra Amosu har 24-karat herdet gull, og samtidig en speilblank overflate så du virkelig kan nyte deg selv i gull-glansen. Det er dessverre bare baksiden som er forgylt, så det er viktig å vise baksiden når du går nedover gata. Prisen er faktisk ikke så høye som man skulle tro.Man må ut med «skuffende» 3600 kroner for 30GB, mens 80 GB-versjonen koster 4800 norske kroner. Alt omregnet fra amerikanske priser.Både iPod Nano og Video fåes med gull.

"Godnatt Merlin"

Her er tanken at det fra tid til annen skal være plass til en skjevt blikk på musikkverdenen.

Mick og Trevor

9 juni er det dobbel ”bursda” i Uriah Heep, Mick Box er 60, og Trevor Bolder er unge 57. Vi stiller oss i rekken av gratulanter, og håper det blir både kake, myke og harde presanger.  Vi håper også at de depressive musikantene i det kommende året opplever å bli superstjerner og selge millioner av langspillplater.

Tenk om de også kunne få lov til å menge seg med musikkfiffen. Ja, bare en viss nærkontakt med Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent og Britney Spears – og hva nå disse fantastiske musikerne(?) måtte hete - ville jo gjøre underverker for en frynsete selvtillit, som er opparbeidet gjennom lang tid fordi Mick og Trevor ikke kommer inn på de hitlistene, og i mange år har grått seg i søvn.

Redaksjonen i "Godnatt Merlin" har med viten å vilje laget et stort bilde av Mick, og et lite av Trevor. Dette er for å unngå at de tar helt av og tror de noen gang kan bli like store som 50 Cent og gjengen, og vi vil med jevne mellomrom bytte størrelse, slik at for eksempel Mick har lite bilde, og Trevor stort.

De som vil ha litt mer seriøs info om Uriah Heep finner det her: http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/index.php

Heaterfish

Det er ingen overhengende fare for at disse sidene skal gå Godkveld Norge i næring, men litt humoristisk sladder og lignende hører med under samleparaplyen ”Godnatt Merlin”

Som de uforbederlige romantikerne (hehe) vi er, kan vi annonsere at Fish (soloartist, og tidligere vokalist i Marillion) og Heather Findlay (vokalist i Mostly Autumn) skal gifte seg!

I god Godkveld Norge stil, må vi få med at Fish gikk ned på kne og fridde (romantikeren) på – ja hold dere fast – Valentinsdagen!

Turtelduene skal gifte seg i Heddington tidlig i august, og det er jo kjempegodt nytt da de jo i fjor høst hadde et dramatisk ”break-up” som lamslo redaksjonen her i ”Godnatt Merlin”

Genesis

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE! Again! Speculation has been rife for years about a Reunion tour but at last it's looking more solid. On November 7th Genesis will hold a press-conference where all plans for a 2007 Turn It On Again tour will be unveiled.

Not much information is provided on the Official Genesis website iteself:

An official announcement about the band's plans for 2007 will be made on Tuesday, 7th November. Full details will be made available FIRST on this site at a time to be confirmed.

No further information will be supplied until that date and we respectfully ask that people desist from sending emails, letters and making phone calls for advance information - this will NOT be provided until the official date. Thank you for your patience until then.

But elsewhere news and rumours are buzzing like never before. The BBC, the first to report about the reunion plans on Wednesday (read article here) were also the first to come with news from Peter Gabriel that he would not take part of this reunion, without ruling out joining his former bandmates at a later stage:

"There were conversations and I decided not to be a part of it," Gabriel told BBC News.

His replacement, former drummer Phil Collins, has confirmed he will take part in the reunion tour, which was announced earlier this week.

"I'm very happy for them," said Gabriel.

"It's not that I've ruled it out, but I've got some new material that I'll be working on."

The full story can be read here.

Furthermore, Gabriel elaborated in a video message on his website:

"I'm not involved in this round, or this year, so (I) just wanted to make that clear. I haven't ruled out the possibility of, of doing something in the future, but right now I'm gonna focus on, on my own work."

Looking at above tour flyer it seems unlikely that Steve Hackett will be participating in the reunion tour either, although the Genesis Reunion website does claim the reunion tour will feature a fourth member, either Gabriel or Hackett. However, there is no source or anything quoted, so we feel it is more likely the fourth member will be Chester Thompson or Daryl Stuermer.

Whatever the outcome of the press conference on November 7, DPRP will be sure to give you a full run-down of the tour plans in the update of week 46. In the meantime keep an eye on our forum, where such news is likely to pop up first

Gryphon

Gryphon was an English band which fused medieval folk music and progressive rock into a very interesting and unique sound. The main members included Richard Harvey on various keyboards and recorders, Graeme Taylor on guitar, Brian Gulland on bassoon and recorders, and David Oberle on percussion and vocals. The first album is primarily folk based; they were just getting started. A major leap in their sound was presented on Midnight Mushrumps, with the 18-minute title track infusing a much more progressive ethic into their sound. Around this time the band opened concerts for Yes and others, and this influence would work its way more into their music. Their magnum opus presented itself next with the album Red Queen to Gryphon Three. Based around the concept of a chess game, the four masterful compositions are engaging and spectacular.

Raindance went back to a similar approach done with Midnight Mushrumps, where there are a series of shorter tunes capped by a side-long track. Their final album, Treason, saw Taylor leave and some new members enter the band. While the folk influence was still there, the tracks became more vocal-oriented and reminiscent of Yes. The ten- minute "Spring Song" is an excellent progressive rock epic, with the remainder of the album comprising shorter tunes. Start with Red Queen and work your way from there. Their music infuses progressive rock structures and various electric and acoustic instruments in a way I haven't heard from other bands. Most others that attempt this take a more straight-ahead folk approach, but Gryphon churned out some truly progressive music.

The Quiet Offspring

 With their third album in my top 10 for 2003 and their second album in my all time favourite top 10, I was really anxious to hear their latest offering. Although it took them a long time to release a first album, but since then a more steady flow of releases forms into shape. For this fourth album the spot behind the drum kit has been taken by: Tommy Jackson, he replaces Anders Kobro. In my review of Light of Day, Day of Darkness I made clear my appreciation for Mr. Kobro so it is a pity to see him leave.

 It's hard to define Green Carnation's musical genre but a prog metal audience would probably be the most interested in this new release. But no specific genre really fits them. In the previous two reviews a number of genres are mentioned. This time they seem to venture along the borders of nu-metal, but mind you, none of the tracks is an outspoken nu-metal track. What is striking for this release is the large diversity of styles: it ranges from dark piano with gloomy atmosphere to up tempo heavier guitars.

The Quiet Offspring is the track most deserving the "at the border of nu-metal" predicate but with a Green Carnation twist to it. Although it seems an uncomplicated song because of the heavy guitar yanks, the breaks and chorus keep it interesting. This can not be said of Between The Gentle Small And The Standing Tall, a track of Metallica-like straightforwardness, luckily there's a very nice part in between breaks that make it a little more acceptable, but all in all it is not the best track on the album. The lyrics: " Come on down, bring it on, come on down" say it all.

 Luckily Just When You Think It's Safe is a real Green Carnation tune pumping guitars, smart loops on top of that, a wall of sound but decorated with good melodies, with the lyrics typically Green Carnation and with a sort of uncomfortable darkness. The guitar loops at the end really got stuck in my head for days. A Place For Me starts off quietly and from then builds up to some heavier guitars soon to be followed by keyboards taking the lead, the build up of this song is super, albeit a bit too fast. From this highlight it is on to next: The Everlasting Moment again a typical Green Carnation track, pumping guitars supported by excellent keyboards. In my opinion the best track on the album especially because of the excellent guitar solos .

 The next track also a very good : Purple Door, Pitch Black lead by keyboards sounding like Ayreon and long stretched guitar tones. Child's Play - Part I is a typical Tchort song, like Boy In The Attic from Blessing In Disguise. No heavy guitar sound or anything but a mellow song with strings and a very gloomy atmosphere. Dead But Dreaming is a more up tempo song and really catchy. Pile Of Doubt is close to the tracks on Blessing in Disguise and because of that also one of the better tracks. When I Was You is a quiet track with, again, a gloomy atmosphere. Child's Play - Part II is a vocal and piano only track and is the odd one out on this album, with only the piano, some other keyboards and violin sounds, but no guitar or drums at all.

 Green Carnation have done it again! There are two lesser tracks on this album: Between The Gentle Small And The Standing Tall and Child's Play - Part II but these are easily forgotten once you hear the three songs in the middle of the album, these are absolutely among the best ever committed to CD. The rest of the album is not too bad either. In fact they are also very good. The tracks are like prog metal but when the guitars are silent it is a lot like death metal mixed into progressive rock, meaning the songs all have a very good build up and a dark atmosphere.

 If you liked the previous Green Carnation album you can safely go out and buy this one. I would dare to say Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness and Blessing In Disguise are slightly better than this album, but still Green Carnation have no reason to be ashamed of their latest release. If you do not yet know them, use any of these three albums to get acquainted with Green Carnation and probably you'll end up buying them all. Not many bands are able to uphold such a high quality of work, Green Carnation is amongst those few!

 Tracklist: The Quiet Offspring (3:59), Between The Gentle Small And The Standing Tall (4:09), Just When You Think It's Safe (5:09), A Place For Me (5:20), The Everlasting Moment (5:01), Purple Door, Pitch Black (4:05), Child's Play - Part I (4:38), Dead But Dreaming (5:18), Pile Of Doubt (5:49), When I Was You (7:14), Child's Play - Part II (4:16)

Gathering

THE GATHERING: have asked their fans to make the next promo video for their upcoming single. In a contest people are invited to create a video for one of the songs off the new album Home, the best of which will be used as official promo video for the song.

Just like 2 years ago [Gathering of Roots project] we'd like to invite you to make a videoclip, this time for our album Home. You can choose between the songs Alone or Your Troubles Are Over.
We hope you will get inspired by these two songs and make something very nice out of it!! Today a lot of people can make professional clips. A clay animation? Low fi industry slight show? Do whatever you want, as long as it's original [the copyright is yours] and it's tasteful [no sex, racism]. You know what we mean...

Please deliver your videoclip on DV-tape or Mini DV tape + CDR/DVD and send it in before September 15th to:
The Gathering
Postbus 1366
6501 BJ Nijmegen
the Netherlands
 

What's the main price to win?
The winning video clip will be offered to TV and Online Music Channels for broadcasting and will get a place on our new -yet to be released- DVD A Noise Severe. But there is more! We also have a 30GB IPod for the winning video clip director!

For the 2nd and 3rd best video clips directors we have a "The Gathering surprise pack" available with nice the Gathering goodies, our original Nijmegen Beer and much, much more.

So pick up those cameras and ACTION!

Grand Canyon

Musikk som så å si ligger på kanten av stupet (fritt å tolke hva som ligger heri!) kan ofte være svært pirrende, og mange dras jo ofte mot der det kan oppnås adrenalinkick, eller i det minste mot utfordringer både musikalsk og ellers i livet. At det er sunt året rundt med musikk som utfordreren er for meg en vedtatt sannhet, men denne saken fra Grand Canyon er litt ”svett” for en med høydeskrekk:

Har du noen gang ligget på kanten av et stup og sett ned? En ganske guffen følelse, synes mange. Vi har også hørt de som synes det er trøblete fordi de føler at de blir dratt ned mot bunnen av stupet ... Snart kan du våge deg utfor stupet ved Grand Canyon, men uten å risikere å treffe bunnen. Det bygges en uthengende glassbro drøye 4.000 amerikanske fot - eller 1.220 meter - over Grand Canyon og elven Colorado River.

Gå på glass
Broen blir formet som en sirkel, og skal strekke seg cirka 22 meter utfor klippekanten. Gangbanen på broen vil bli 3 meter bred, og både gulvet og rekkverket skal bygges i glass. Besøkende som ønsker å ta turen utpå broen, vi få utdelt skobeskyttere, som skal beskytte glasset mot riper som kan hindre sikten nedover. Så du er nok ganske garantert en god sikt mot dalføret 1.220 meter under føttene dine, om du våger deg utpå.

Den spesielle utsiktsbroen skal bygges i forbindelse med et besøkssenter på kanten av revet. I senteret vil det bli musum, restauranter, barer, kino, gavebutikk, VIP-salong og ikke minst: en luksusrestaurant med utendørsservering helt på kanten ...


Nyttår på klippekanten?
Broen skulle egentlig åpnet i januar 2006, men planene er utvidet og byggingen dermed forsinket. Ifølge de foreløpige planene, skal broen stå ferdig i løpet av sommeren, og senteret og broen er planlagt å åpne for publikum mot slutten av året.

I oktober 2005 åpnet Sydney Tower Skywalk. Der kan du gå på glassbro 260 meter over bakken. Her må alle som våger seg utpå, iføre seg beskyttelsesdrakt og sikkerhetskabler.

 Hvor høyt er egentlig 1.220 meter? Du kan sammenlikne med disse høye bygningene, som er noen av verdens høyeste:

Taipei 101: 509 meter
Petronastårnene: 452 meter
Sears Tower: 442 meter

Grateful Dead

Legender stopper gratismusikk, og at det er forskjell på liv og lære aktualiseres.

Fans oppfordrer til boikott

Hippie-legendene Grateful Dead har alltid heiet på piratene. Men da lommeboka var tom, fikk pipen en annen lyd.

Siden gitaristen, sangeren og låtskriveren Jerry Garcia døde i 1995, har de gjenlevende medlemmene i gruppa prøvd å opprettholde et levebrød ved å spille konserter.

Må sikre pensjonen
Nå begynner imidlertid de gamle rockerne å dra såpass mye på åra at turnelivet ikke frister lenger. Dermed er de avhengig av platesalget for å sikre pensjonen.

Problemet er imidlertid at store deler av gruppas materiale ligger gratis tilgjengelig på nettet. Fullt lovlig, for i sann hippie-ånd har gruppa i mange år oppfordret til uautorisert distribusjon av konsertopptak.

Gruppas talsmann Dennis McNally sier at Archive.org og andre nettsteder fortsatt vil kunne distribuere gratis konsertopptak. Men det gjelder bare opptak som folk har gjort selv. Opptak tatt fra bandets miksepult vil derimot snart bli fjernet.

Disse vil komme ut som vanlig CD, og eventuelt bli solgt gjennom iTunes og andre nettmusikkbutikker.

Rasende fans
Meldingen kommer naturlig nok som et sjokk for fansen, som er vant til at Grateful Dead har stått på barrikadene for retten til fri distribusjon av musikk.

Hele 4200 har skrevet under på et opprop der det oppfordres til full boikott av gruppa. Med andre ord: Dette ville aldri ha hendt om Jerry fortsatt var i live...

Gressplen

Linken mellom gressplen og denne musikksiden er i utgangspunktet ikke så stor. For å øke båndene må vi fabulere litt, og gjerne drømme oss bort for et øyeblikk. Bildet over viser er rimelig velstelt hage, som nok har fått ekstern hagehjelp.  Her er det jammen ikke mye ugress. Tenk deg å ligge her, og slappe av. Mange vil nok bare ligge der, og lytte til naturen, mens vi musikkgale vil selvsagt lytte til noe spenstig musikk, mens vi ligger i sypressens skygge, eneste feilen er at dette er nok ikke en sypress. Men pytt sann, vi er musikkelskere og ikke hagespesialister, så dette ser vi stort på. Uansett så er det vakkert her, og helt klart en fin arena for å lytte til godmusikk. Kanskje kan vi spille noe av Ivory, for eksempel Sad Cypress for å få en autentisk stemning?

Hagehjelp

Musikk hadde under hippietiden nære bånd til blomster. Rett nok var det vel mye "gress" som ble brukt, men i skal ikke se bort fra at enkelte blomsterbarn gledet seg over blomsten som bildet over viser. For de som ikke vet det kan jeg avsløre at det er snakk om lupiner. Lupiner hører hjemme i enhver hagehjelpers repertoar. Må jo vedgå at de er et godt alternativ til ugess som jeg har spisskompetanse i å dyrke frem. For mange vil Arghoslent - Arsenal Of Glory bli opfattet som ugress, men det er jo selvsagt avhengig av konteksten.

Hagetips

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Dette er et såkalt pizzabed. Dette er et hagetips som enhver oppegående hagehjelper vil foreslå ganske kjapt. Artig sak unektelig, men viktigst er det kanskje at her er et assortert utvalg til å lage en suveren pizza. Min erfaring er at Pain Of Salvation`s - Be er det optimale musikalske skaperverk når en herlig pizza skal nytes.

Bildet er ment å vise en såkalt kornsirkel. Her er det vel mer en slags sirkel av gress. Med litt tålmodighet og vilje kan vi vel klare å lage noe som har en fjern likhet i hagen vår. Uansett så er dette rimelige kunstnerisk, spennende og kreativt, og  det er i høy  grad også Ayreon`s - Human Equation som vi kan lytte til mens vi lager våre gress-sirkler.

Ugress

Til slutt har vi en gressplen med en noe pjuskete manke. Mye ugress her, og kanskje litt hjelp er påkrevd . Et hagetips er at det finnes en profesjonell hagehjelper som nok kunne ha gjort underverker med dette objektet. Henne finner du her: www.hagehjelp.no . Hun er svært energisk og rask, men anbefalt musikk mens hun fikser og ordne for deg er Garden Shed med England.