Exposé issue #35 Summary
Features in this issue include:
LARRY CORYELL:
Larry Coryell has long been a guitarists’ favorite. His wide-ranging career goes back to the 1960s, and includes pioneering stints with his own band The Eleventh House (with Alphonse Mouzon), as well as adventures into classical and rock, on over three dozen solo recordings and nearly as many collaborations spanning four decades. He is now working within a new trio called CBW, with drummer Lenny White (ex-Return to Forever) and bassist Victor Bailey (ex-Weather Report). Exposé caught up with Larry by phone as CBW prepared for one of their first west coast appearances at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. (Interview by Jeff Melton)
RITUAL:
Swedish quartet Ritual have been around now for over 10 years and in that time have released four albums of muscular and dynamic progressive rock. They’ve been steadily picking up fans, though almost at a stealthy, slow-burning pace. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Patrik Lundstrom (who is also lead singer of the reformed Kaipa) the band have been gaining notoriety for their multi-faceted sound that has drawn comparisons to Rush and Gentle Giant. Invitations to overseas festivals are a testament to their growing popularity with the band making their North American debut at 2006’s BajaProg, and a return trip across the pond planned for 2008’s ROSfest. Expose thought it high time to find out what the fuss was all about and hooked up via iChat with Patrik and bassist Fredrik Lindqvist. (Interview by Paul Hightower).
LA MASCHERA DI CERA:
Earlier this year Exposé had the opportunity to pick the brain of Fabio Zuffanti, bassist in La Maschera di Cera, but also a man involved in projects as diverse as Finisterre, La Zona, Aries, Hostsonaten, Quadraphonic, and now his own solo work. (Interview by Sean McFee)
ROCK IN OPPOSITION EVENT 2007:
Carmaux, France, April 13-15 2007. Ok, so let’s say you’re an avant-progressive music fan. What if you were given the opportunity to travel to one of the most beautiful places on the planet and spend three days and nights listening to 10 bands you hold in very high regard? Furthermore, you get the chance to mix and mingle with like-minded folks from all over the globe who are all there for the same reason you are. What if this all happens during mid April, a time when said location is basking in its perfect springtime splendor? The venue it’s being held in has perfect sight lines, extremely comfortable stadium-like seating and pristine sound. If its’ within your ways and means, would you support such an animal? Well, for Exposé, the answer is of course a resounding, table pounding yes! (Feature and photos by Mike Eisenberg)
CRAIG PADILLA:
North American Space composer Craig Padilla lives in Northern California with his wife and two children. With over 35 releases (solo and collaborations) to his credit, spanning nearly twenty years, wee are very grateful that he took time off from his busy schedule to update Exposé on his many musical endeavors and talk about his future plans. (Interview by Roel Steverink)
SECRET OYSTER:
Secret Oyster founding members Karsten Vogel and Claus Bøhling have been friends for a few decades. Their paths have crossed several times over the last few years, as members of Burning Red Ivanhoe and Elektrum respectively. With the reissue of the Secret Oyster back catalog on The Laser’s Edge, we were pleased to hear that three of the five original members would reunite to perform at NEARFest 2007. After only a few weeks of rehearsal, the quintet was good to go for their debut US performance. Exposé had a chance to catch up with Karsten Vogel and Claus Bøhling in New York City prior to their performance at NEARFest. (Interview by Jeff Melton & Peter Thelen)
PAUL SEARS:
Paul Sears is probably best known for his many years and numerous recordings with east coast jazz-rock mainstays The Muffins. But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as multitasking is a way of life for Sears, and throughout the years he has been involved in numerous different bands and projects in a variety of roles. During the summer of 2007, Exposé had a chance to talk with Paul, and recap some of the highlights of the drummer’s long, diverse, and continuing career. (Interview by Peter Thelen)
MURAT SES:
If you are an aficionado of Turkish progressive music, you will recognize Murat Ses as one of its pioneers. And if you are a long time Expose reader, you may recall reading reviews of his solo work. Over the past 12 months, Murat has released two more solo albums of his East meets West fusion: Binfen 2005 Remix and Electric Levantine. Now Expose readers have an opportunity to get to know Murat Ses better and perhaps sample some of his rich musical heritage. (Interview by Henry Schneider)
KEN GOLDEN:
Before the internet fulfilled the prog fans’ fundamental need to remain in our chairs pressing a bunch of buttons to do all of our music research and shopping, our lives were horrifyingly labor intensive. For one thing, we used to have to carry our bodies all the way to mailbox, no matter the weather; in the rain even! Then we had to break into sealed envelopes with our bare hands and lift entire pieces of paper up to read them, manually overturning each sheet just to read the other side, no matter how many words weighed it down. Shocking stuff to be sure, but the catalogs from the few progressive music dealers around at the time made it worth the slog, as they were as much manna for the eyes as the music was for the ears. This was certainly true in the case of The Laser’s Edge catalog, which quickly became a dependable source for music, candor, and humor: if a disc was terrible, Ken Golden was likely to tell us so with his acerbic wit and sarcasm, leading many people to hang on to their old catalogs to this day. Increasing competition hasn’t quelled the growth of The Laser’s Edge, as it still remains one of the hottest suppliers for listeners worldwide. (Interview by Mac Beaulieu)
JOHN HACKETT:
Although he started as a guitarist, John Hackett is known as an accomplished flautist, melding playing techniques to achieve his own distinctive style. He’s also the younger brother of guitarist Steve Hackett, and has been a key member of his brother’s bands since the mid-1970s. Exposé caught up with John on the West Coast leg of the recent Acoustic Trio tour when they played the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. (Interview by Jeff Melton)
IAN BRUCE-DOUGLAS:
For over forty years Ian Bruce-Douglas has been a working professional musician as well as the leader of several bands, including the Boston based psychedelic band Ultimate Spinach from 1967-68, with whom he produced two high charting albums for the MGM label, both regarded highly to this day. Through most of the years since, he has managed to stay out of the spotlight and eschew the negative aspects of the music industry, while remaining active as a guitarist, keyboardist and bandleader. Today he runs a pre-mastering business and lives a quiet life on “The Cat Farm”, 10 acres in rural north-central Florida, where he cares for his crops, shares his space with all the wild critters that come by to visit, and takes care of the numerous cats he has rescued from animal control and the streets, giving them a loving home. In addition, he writes reviews of music-related hardware and software for www.audiomidi.com, an online resource, and is currently writing a 3-volume series on digital recording, mixing and premastering. (Interview by Peter Thelen)
TONY HARN:
Guitarist Tony Harn has been working almost entirely independently for the past 10 years or so, and in that time has been gaining renown in the progressive rock world for his multi-layered compositions and tasty electric guitar playing that has earned comparisons to names such as Andy Summers and Robert Fripp. His four solo albums are strictly DIY affairs and recently he’s begun to explore the world of looping with examples posted on his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/tonyharn). Expose has been following his progress and decided to learn more about this “Northwestern” Englishman. (Interview by Paul Hightower)
Also included in issue 35: Plenty of reading in the 36 pages of our regular reviews sections -- Roundtables, New Releases, Books, Archives and Reissues. 92 Pages total.