This year, there were only two acts on the bill for Friday, with the first not going on until 6:00, so I had plenty of time to get there. In fact, Friday is my usual day to do the weekly grocery shopping, so I was still able to fit that in without interfering with my music plans. Got home with the grub and put it all away by midmorning, which left ( Read more... )

Has it truly been over a year since my last post? Yes, yes it has.

Wasn’t the pandemic supposed to be over by now? I seem to remember around this time last year, everyone was saying that if we could just muddle through until we had a vaccine, everything would get better then. What I don’t remember is any prediction or speculation that millions of ( Read more... )

Well, September 26th is shaping up to be a very busy day for me this time around.

Aside from the usual connotations and associations with this date in regards to my LJ, today marks the first year anniversary of completing “Latura of Redwall.” (Not to mention the 9th anniversary of starting it.) And speaking of such endeavors, earlier today I posted ( Read more... )

Back in 2015, when I posted here about the passing of Yes bassist Chris Squire, I wrote, "There are only a handful of other musicians whose passing would affect me as much as Squire's - Neil Peart of Rush, perhaps, who informed my own drumming style more than any other drummer's ... or Paul McCartney, since I've been listening to the Beatles since ( Read more... )

Could the third day of ProgStock 2019 possibly live up to the high bar set by the first and second days? John and I were about to find out!

Another 9:45 pickup, another quick drive down to Rahway, and we were in our seats for the day’s 11:00 opener, the Cyberiam! This was one of the first bands announced for this year’s festival, that announcement ( Read more... )

Another ProgStock Saturday, another rendezvous with The Other John (TOJ).

Saturday’s lineup this year was originally slated to include five bands, but Britain’s IO Earth were forced to cancel due to visa issues, leaving insufficient time to find a replacement act. I’d let TOJ know about this cancellation as soon as I learned of it, but fortunately ( Read more... )

This year, for the first time ever, I was able to catch every single act at ProgStock.

A number of this year’s bands had me excited going in, but perhaps none moreso than the weekend’s very first act, slated for 2:30 on Friday afternoon. And since that was traditionally the day that John and I have had the most trouble getting down there on time, I ( Read more... )

Well, it's been over two years, but this Saturday past, the Shadowmakers rose from the ashes to once more strike musical shadows into the hearts of our listeners!

This time it was a private party down in Central-West NJ, in a town called Asbury which is no relation whatsoever to Asbury Park. Mark knew a homeowner there in farm country who wanted to ( Read more... )

Normally, on this date most years since 2003, I have traditionally posted about one subject in particular.

This year, however, something else pulls me back to my old LJ haunts as well. Eight years ago today I sat down on a bench in downtown Paterson while waiting for my train home to arrive, pulled out a large spiral-bound notebook, and wrote at ( Read more... )

Well, I’ve talked about the drive out to Pittsburgh, and the drive back, and most of the highlights of what happened there this year. So, guess all that remains is to run down my annual List o’ Loot.

First, the Supersponsor Swag:

1. A spiffy over-the-shoulder carry bag with two large zipper side pouches and an even larger central clasp-flap ( Read more... )