Why progressive rock?
The term, “progressive rock” was coined in the late 60's and early 70's to describe bands that were trying to expand the limits of music by incorporating rock with symphonic, jazz, blues, and pretty much anything else you can think of to mix in. Essentially, they were trying to eliminate limitations they saw in “popular” music. This lead itself to complexities beyond what you would typically find on top 40 radio. The traditional 4/4 time signature wasn’t necessarily the norm with such groups. Artists would compose utilizing unconventional times signatures, tempos, and song structures. It was much more akin to Tchaikovsky than the Rolling Stones.
This was something that greatly appealed to me. I loved the power of rock, but I also loved the intricacies, passion, beauty, tension/resolve, and freedom found in classical compositions .
For me, it started with the group Kansas. Mostly because that's what was played in my household (along with a huge range of other awesome artists). Kansas would combine grand, and even bombastic, symphonic elements with rock music. This reminded me of the days under the piano listening to Rachmaninoff...and I loved it! I was so young when I first heard the song, “Carry On Wayward Son” that I don’t even remember the first time or how young I was. It came out when I was only one year old. Then I heard other Kansas compositions included, “Song For America”. The Wagnerian elements of that piece were so inspiring that it made me realize that I wanted to try to do the same. All I knew at that point was that I really liked it, and I didn’t even know what that type of music was called. In fact, I remember calling it “classical rock”. Later finding out from my brother that it’s called “progressive rock”. This sent me on a journey into other bands that produce similar music. Bands like Yes, Genesis, Rush, ELP, and others, we’re on regular rotation for me. This was in the early 90's when new progressive rock bands were suddenly emerging. How exciting that was! There was an online CD store called, “CD Now” that took most of the money I earned at the time. This is way before Spotify. Everything was on CD and you actually had to pay for it (what a concept)! I found new bands like Spock's Beard, Magellan, Enchant, etc. Since then, the genre has exploded and it's really a privilege for me to even be a part of the community of amazing musicians! The genre also has the best fans! So committed and passionate about music…and yet very particular. I relate with that.
It’s music that I’ve always related to. Even though it’s pretty nerdy, I love hearing musicians that are really good at playing their instruments, and composing music with no boundaries.
Thanks for reading!
-Jonathan (Elevenwire- Vocals, Keyboards)