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May 27, 2003 USA TOUR: We are pleased to report that Camel keys man, Guy LeBlanc’s wife, Dawn, is slowly recovering from her heart attack. Although the European tour has been postponed, the USA portion of the tour is on schedule. As soon as it was certain Guy LeBlanc could not do the tour, Andrew Latimer shifted into high gear to find a replacement keyboard player. Andrew immediately contacted old friends Kit Watkins, Mickey Simmonds and Ton Scherpenzeel but all were previously engaged and Ton Scherpenzeel, like many people, has a mortal fear of flying. June is one of the busiest times for touring musicians. The short notice made the task that much more intense as it grew ever shorter. The role of Camel's keyboardist must be filled by a player with a wide range of ability and confidence. It is not an easy job. When Andrew Latimer telephoned Keyboard Player Magazine's New York editor for possible players, he promptly and strongly recommended Tom Brislin.
Oft referred to as a 'Whiz Kid', Tom Brislin, filled in for Rick Wakeman on the YES Symphonic tour and has also played with Meat Loaf since 1998. Young, but clearly wise beyond his years, Tom says "I was raised on bombastic '70's rock. My older brother and sisters would blast their Meat Loaf, Yes, ELP, Foreigner, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, etc. I was a 4-year old prog-kid". Tom's busy schedule initially precluded him from doing the tour. But he is no stranger to 'challenges of the musical sort' and ultimately accepted, much to the delight of CP. His confident, easy-going manner has already created an atmosphere of sweet anticipation. On two dates, The Birchmere and the Atlanta Playhouse, Tom's own band 'Spiraling' will do a half-hour opening set so fans will have a special opportunity to see Tom in his multi-role capacity. You can also check Tom's web site at www.spiraling.net and do a search on www.google.com for some interesting pages on him. Aside from his obvious musical talent, Tom writes for Keyboard Player magazine. Tom will not be able to tour with Camel beyond the previously scheduled dates for the USA. Thus, there will be no west coast dates in July as CP had hoped, but Tom may be able to return after the European tour to end the Farewell Tour on a high note with some solid west coast dates. Though not yet scheduled, CP will do all humanly possible to bring this about. EUROPEAN TOUR: Alas, that brings us to the postponed European tour. We ended our last eBeast saying this could be a 'blessing in disguise'. At the time, this was little more than a feeble attempt to stay positive. Ticket sales were strong, and postponing dates is not just an inconvenience. The Orthez Festival could not be rescheduled due to it being just that, a festival. There are advertisements which must be changed. Rescheduling dates requires a magician's talent to avoid stressful and expensive routing problems if the venue availability (the "avails" as they call it in the booking industry) is poor and dates can't be cohesively scheduled as they were originally, e.g., playing two dates in Holland, then off to Spain, then back to Holland, etc. Worst of all, CP knew that many fans had made travel commitments that were non-refundable. But we concluded our last eBeast with determined optimism. Little did we know at the time that Andrew Latimer would eventually inform us that Ton Scherpenzeel will join Camel for the European portion of this Farewell Tour! Ton has been extremely busy with his band 'Kayak' but it so happens that he has a long gap in October and so Ton will return to Camel for this tour. CP is energized with a current of almost tangible voltage. With no flying involved, the obstacle is removed. Andrew Latimer is looking forward to working with Ton again, telling CP "Ton is a great player and composer whom I've always respected and admired. It's great to have a chance to work with Tonnie again". This Farewell Tour will indeed be a special tour.
No specific dates are yet available but we will, of course, notify you as soon as they are. At present, the timeframe is looking like early October. CP cannot say if any new dates will be added nor if we will lose some of the original dates scheduled. We must all wait and see. May 20, 2003 Porcupine Tree on tour with Opeth PT are pleased to announce that their next tour of North America will take place this Summer as a co-headline with Opeth. There will also be a short run of warm up dates by Porcupine Tree alone. Opeth have recently been touring North America extensively to promote their 2002 album Deliverance, but on their tour with PT they will be focusing on their non-metal material for the first time, in particular songs from the recently issued Damnation album which was produced by Steven Wilson. A European tour is also in preparation for the autumn and the London show has already been announced.
Jul
08 2003 Tampa, USA: Club Twilight Nov 30 2003 London, UK: Astoria ( www.ticketmaster.co.uk / www.meanfiddler.com) NEW ALBUM The recordings for Anekdoten's new album are now completed. The album will be called "Gravity" and they will do their very best to have both the CD and vinyl versions ready in time for their upcoming gigs in Europe in the beginning of June.
Tracklist:
"Seljak" and "Gravity" are the oldest songs of the bunch, and they are the only ones that have been performed in front of an audience. The album has been recorded in Studio Atlantis and their rehearsal studio and it has been mixed in Toytown and Atlantis by Simon Nordberg and Janne Hansson. The album is even more than the previous ones made in true Anekdoten D.I.Y.-fashion. they have produced it, all instruments are played by the band and much of the recordings have been made without outside intervention. Anna Sofi has done the cover design and the front cover photo is shot by Jan Erik Liljeström. Both CD and vinyl-editions will be released by the band through their label Virta. Jan Erik: “We've had a great time doing the album and (what else would you expect... :o)) we think it is our best work up to date. We've uploaded audiosamples of three of the songs on www.anekdoten.se.” Information regarding availability for "Gravity" will be given in the near future. GIGS Two more dates have been added to their mini-tour in June. These are the confirmed summer dates so far:
There will probably be more things happening on the live front this
summer. Check out the homepage for updates. Jan Erik Liljeström”
anekdoten@anekdoten.se
Message from Plackband: the band without singer in England!! Saturday, May 17, should have been the highlight of the long carreer of Plackband. They had to play a gig for The Classic Rock Society in Rotherham (just above Sheffield) in England. After a long and thorough preparation, they were finally ready. The day before, the roadies and the truck left on a ship from Hoek van Holland and the band had to follow with the Easy Jet from Schiphol, on the day of the gig. So far, so good, until Kees (vocals) had to check in and discovered that his Passport was stolen Nothing helped: talking to the police, a visit to the town hall (Saturday morning!), the constabulary, there was no way to get Kees on the plane. And what can you do as a band? Do you or don’t you leave? The band decided to go and accept the ultimate challenge, a gig without leadvocalist! They went through the lyrics on the plane, they wrote the words on big paper sheets, they changed the setlist during meals, they had a rehearsal in the dressing room and just wait and see! Michel (keyboards) took the biggest part of the vocals, Ronald (guitar) changed into the new frontman and Tom (drums) and Albert (bass) were concentrated as never before. And what happens? The band plays a extraordinary, or better legendary gig and has the whole venue at their feet. The public understood the band’s problem and they were in total adoration. They applauded for minutes and asked for 2 encores. Never in their carreer (26 years), they went through something absurd like this. And they will never forget this weekend. And Kees? He will certainly better watch his belongings. And the women and others who stayed at home? They all said: how typical for Plackband!! Kind Regards,
Ronald Brautigam (soon: www.plackband.com ) The Contagion Tour 2003 Well, that was the tour! The band are extremely happy with the results, and a big 'thank you' to all who managed to get along to see the shows. Arena do plan on returning in November for 'Part Two' of the Contagion tour, so all is not lost if you haven't seen them yet. There's even a rumour (Unconfirmed!) that they may play Moviedrome again. We shall see! EP - "Contagious" The first of the special EPs is now available, and can be purchased from the Verglas shop. It features four new songs, a remix, as well as some interesting multimedia extras, so don't miss out on that. You can either remove the CD and slip it into your Contagion Limited Edition Digipack, or simply leave it complete and add it to your Arena collection.... perhaps both!
Clive Nolan - "Skeletons in a Cupboard" Archive Album
Yes
indeed... this very collectable album is now available on line.
Mr Robert Sowden Recording has finished on Rob's solo album. It's been quite a marathon, because he has recorded a whole bunch of new material and changed the tracks listing a few times. All the better for Sowden fans, we suspect! Verglas will be announcing the release date very soon. The following message was signed by some of our best known musicians.
May 11, 2003 Notes From The Studio by Nick D'Virgilio What an adventure this has been. I'm not done yet either. Now there is a whole bunch of different work to take care of, but at least there won't be any more 15 hour days in the studio for a while. So let me get you a little up to date on what is happening: The new record is going to be called "Feel Euphoria" (release date June 30, 2003 ) The song titles go like this:
Onomatopoeia
- written by Alan Morse, Nick D'Virgilio & John Boegehold Now I know it only looks like 8 songs, but "A Guy Named Sid" is in 6 parts :) Yes, we have an epic on this record too. As you can see, everyone in the band has written for this record. There are also a couple of names there you might not recognize, but you can read all about them on www.spocksbeard.com/photos_press/studioreport_050503.html
Alright everybody, a lot more info to come soon. We can't wait to see you all on the road. All the best, NDV Gigs: We are very pleased to announce that IQ will be headlining the Whitchurch Festival in Hampshire (UK) again this year on Friday August 1st. For ticket news try the Whitchurch website. Because of work on the new studio album, there will not be a full IQ tour in the autumn, but selected dates in the UK and Europe are a definite possibility. A more extensive tour is planned in 2004 when the new album has been released.
CD / new release news: News hot off the press is that due to an increasing demand for live recordings, IQ are intending to issue a series of “official bootlegs” made up of some of the best archive recordings from the band’s personal collections. The working title of this series is “Archive Collection” and work is well advanced on the first of these, which will be of the great gig in Aschaffenburg, Germany from the “Seventh House” tour. Release date for this double CD is planned for June, and there will be a strictly limited edition of 2,000 copies with no promos issued. The money generated by this project is likely to be used for a considerably enhanced future stage show. We are already taking advance orders for this very collectable CD and the price will be £15.00 including p&p for the UK, £16.00 Europe, £17.50 for the Rest of the world. Cheques should be payable to “IQ Fan-Club”, though we can take credit card orders too (use the GEP order form on the website and we’ll deal with it) Work on writing the follow-up to “The Seventh House” has currently been suspended while Martin and John are on tour with Jadis, but work is likely to really start in earnest over the summer months. We are hoping to have some new material to unveil at Whitchurch. No release date has yet been set, but it’s probably looking like early 2004 now. The proposed re-recording of “Tales From The Lush Attic” has been suspended until the new studio album is completed. However we do intend to have the project up and running for a 2004 release. Likewise the “IQ 20” DVD” project is also “on ice” at present, though Mike Holmes and Dene Wilby intend to do some work on it over the summer, and a release in late 2003 is not impossible
www.gep.co.uk Upcoming gigs for the John Young Band, featuring John Jowitt are:
Thu 10th July Birkenhead Iron Door, UK
John Jowitt about the recent John Young Band gigs: "JY
was a good experience, particularly as it gave me the chance to do a
lot of singing, and really helped my confidence. Usually I'm third
choice vocalist behind Martin or John Mitchell, so that was great. The
gigs were good fun, and great musicians to play with. Dave Stewart,
previously drummer with Fish and Camel in particular, was phenomenal.
For more information about John Young, please visit his website
The
alternative rockband Poetica In Silentio from Amersfoort (NL) already
exists 10 years and forms a tight unity. Not only strong guitars,
intensive vocals and a tight rhythm section but also the violin, the
flute and some samples give them a sound of their own.
You can listen to a
track on
Latest news
What is Genesis Project about
Musicians
If
you wanna know where Genesis Project is going to perform look in
here.
History
The Rick Wakeman Celebrity Golf Classic will be held for the eighth year running! This year they have moved the venue to Burhill Golf Club in Walton on Thames. It is all in aid of SPARKS, SPort Aiding medical Research for KidS, which is one of the foremost children’s charities. SPARKS is supported by hundreds of celebrities from the world of sport, stage and screen and is dedicated to improving the lives of sick children. Last year we raised over £27,000 for SPARKS and, of course, we would very much like to exceed that amount this year.
May 02, 2003 Spock’s Beard feel euphoria The new Spock´s Beard album is entitled "Feel Euphoria". Street date is the 30th June and it will be the first statement of the band, since Neal Morse left. New vocalist is drummer Nick D´Virgilio. "Feel Euphoria" will be also available as Special Edition. Spock´s Beard are coming to Europe in Autumn.
NICK According to a post by Jim Matheos on the Fates Warning message board, Nick will be filling Mark Zonder's shoes for the upcoming summer tour with Dream Theater and Queensryche. Dream Theater / Queensryche / Fates Warning
The
tour package that progressive metal fans have dreamed about for over
10 years has finally come together for a US tour in July/August!
Mon
6/23/03 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless A message from Ian E Smith: I have just completed a new work, Apsilene. It was developed with the assistance of David Toop and Paul Schütze. Without meaning to, I seem to have created music that has, at its core, a prog rock sensibility and approach! I think you and your audience may enjoy it, and I look forward to any comments you may have on the music. I'm rather keen to see how my music stands up against your other contributors.
It is available, as a free download, in its entirety from http://www.ianesmith.com/work.asp?workID=1 The new Conspiracy out on InsideOut Music in June! Conspiracy are Yes bass player Chris Squire and ex-Yes and World Trade guitarist Billy Sherwood. Their new album "The Unknown" is going to be released on the 30th June. The initial pressing is going to be released as a stylish digipack with slipcase and the bonustrack "I Could".
The Unknown (2003) King´s X on InsideOut Music Europe!
KING'S X are back with their new studio album "Black Like Sunday"!
Black Like Sunday (2003)
Tracklist:
“Before First Light” Live Video - DVD ONLY
A world first and world record, this DVD was recorded on the Friday
night of the Marillion Weekend 2003, mixed live, and available on the
following Sunday, less than 2 days later! NOW OFFICIALLY A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD!
Confirmed in April 2003, the entry in the Guinness Book of World
Records reads: NEW ALBUM The new Marillion album will be their thirteenth. Once again they are expecting the fans to finance the whole thing. A regular CD costs 15£ if you pre-order it, the double limited with bonus tracks will be 30£. They need 500,000 £ to record and promote the album. For suggestions you can mail to newalbum@marillion.com
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