Who came up with this horrible stuff?
Hello again!
My name is Mike. I’m a recent NYC transplant with too much time on my hands. I’ve been a fan of progressive rock since high school, when I decided all of the music everyone else was making me listen to sucked. Since then I’ve devoted far too much time listening to, researching, and worshiping progressive rock. My friends mostly laugh at this (and this blog), but I’m ok with living off on my own little prog planet.
I also love playing music (I play drums), baseball (the Mets) pro wrestling (RoH is amazing while WWE sucks), video games (I will be a Nintendo fan boy for life) , beer (mostly IPAs because I’m only a semi-beer snob) and parentheses (I also think I’m funny!).
Follow me on twitter here.
E-mail me at(remove line-breaks, replace ‘dot’ with ‘.’):
prog
blog
nyc
at
gmail
dot
com
A Progressive Rock Blog 
Hello Mike
Was just reading about your site – great to see someone supporting decent progressive music. I appreciate you must get a lot of music submissions.
I’m Matt Stevens and and I have a new album out on the 1st June. I do instrumental acoustic guitar prog/post rock stuff. I wondered if you would consider having a listen and maybe doing a review. I also play in a band called the Fierce and the Dead. I make all my music available as a pay what you want download.
This is the link to download my album which includes artwork.(free)
http://www.4shared.com/file/9E0FI4we/Ghost.html
Other people have said:
“A solo album that I can only describe as magnificent. So inspired, anything thus guy touches is genius, from guitar to bass to… mellotron? Oh yes, you know you want this.” http://veinsdriedout.blogspot.com/2010/05/matt-stevens-ghost.html
“Very cool. Almost like Robert Fripp and Tom Verlaine got together for a jam” Telegenises
Press for the first album:
“Matt Stevens’ Echo takes its audience on an exhilarating and romantic instrumental adventure. Ranging from light and melodic to deep and aggressive, the moods set by this album flow together like a masterfully woven screenplay. Lyrics are not necessary and would only distract from the virtuosity of Stevens’ guitar compositions.” – Pinpoint Music.com
“I told him that if I ever wanted my life set to a soundtrack, I’m hiring HIM “Lisa Hoffman Blog
“Recently, I had an opportunity to interview a guy who is doing some truly innovative work with acoustic guitar. This is hard to find these days. It’s not that often you hear someone that challenges your ear in several pleasant ways all at once. Matt Stevens is a guitarist, songwriter, producer, arranger and sound experimenter extraordinaire from the UK.” Guitarblogstar..com
“Even though that record is a must-buy for anyone with an interest in acoustic Guitar music, his regular online concerts or live performances are just as intoxicating. Let there be no doubt about it, after all: Matt Stevens may have some delicious studio cuts on offer, but the stage is still the best place to appreciate this both experimental and deadly catchy music.”Tokafi.com
“He is fabulous. He has also been renamed Javier in my head because of the way he plays guitar – please check this one out, it’s pay what you want until the end of February and is very highly recommended! “Put Me On It
You can download my albums here http://mattstevens.bandcamp.com
My website is http://www.mattstevensguitar.com
I hope you enjoy it.
Speak soon
MS
May 22, 2010 at 6:00 am
Hi mike, nice stuff we got here! I’m a Brazilian music and I’m composer of lots of genders but my preferred is proogessive ambiental songs. I know it’s not a common category of music but listen to my album:
http://www.jamendo.com/br/album/78233
I hope you like it, and keep on progressive my friend!
December 2, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Hey Mike. Just wanted to let you know that I absolutely love the site, and that I’m looking forward to more rants. Keep up the good work!
December 30, 2010 at 4:47 pm
How you doin dude? I like the blog and was wondering if you would like to review a project of mine which is a take on YES. http://clan-destined.bandcamp.com/album/the-yes-project is the link and feel free to download it.thanks for your time
DT
January 19, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Hello,
I am writing on behalf of Father Divine. We would like to submit our new album Requiem for Intellect for review. It features the drumming of Blake Fleming, formally of Dazzling Killmen and The Mars Volta.
Our Album can be heard here:
Thanks
Joe Ferrara
April 27, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Ever heard of Shamanic Prog? Check this out:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Interstellar-Transmissions/111809225529453?sk=app_178091127385
January 26, 2012 at 8:52 pm
Think it’s great what you’re going here, I think you might enjoy some of my material. Any free time you have to give it a listen would be much appreciated, and by the way, I’m looking for a drummer.. Thanks for the time!
February 16, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Hello Mike,
I’m sure you get a lot of submissions for review, here’s another one! Some prog from across the pond in the UK.
Take a listen here
http://andrewtaylor.bandcamp.com/album/mohribold
All the best,
Andrew
March 26, 2012 at 7:16 am
Hey Mike, I really enjoyed reading your five cents 😉
I´d like to share my new bands first output with you.
We´re gonna come up with something like this every months from now on, maybe you like the stuff and we get in touch ?
cheers
Jojo
July 11, 2012 at 1:00 am
Hi Mike, greetings from Manchester, UK. I’ve really enjoyed reading through your blog, thanks for taking the time to write it! I’m a chapman stick player (solo, and in jazz combos) and to help the scene out here in Manchester, I’ve started a new event, Close to The Edge, which hopefully can become a regular to provide a platform for this wonderful underground world of music!
best wishes, Rob
September 6, 2012 at 4:57 pm
Hello!
As you may have surmised, I’m writing for consideration for some kind of coverage or feedback. My band, Sister Helen, recently released our third LP and we’re trying to get it off the ground. It’s hard to find reputable websites that take submissions and that also cater to “progressive music” (whatever that means”, which is a big deal for us since we pride ourselves on our prog leanings.
ANWAY
Below, there’s a streaming link to the whole album, as well as some free downloads and our facebook page, and a short bio, if that interests you.
Hope you enjoy it!
Sister Helen is a band from Brooklyn, NY and a little bit from Hell’s Kitchen. They leap, they jiggle, they contort themselves into strange shapes, and they rock. They pride themselves on the uniqueness of their style; unlike most of the indie/punk bands they play with, they don’t shy away from either musical complexity or big arena hooks. Just as their music balances trickiness with straightahead rock, so their lyrics combine allusion and wordplay with attitude.
Sister Helen signifies a third way for modern rock music: neither to hide from itself in endless trickeries and modifications nor to manifest itself in cliches and blatancies; but to improve itself by drawing on the essence and potential that has always been there.
They like to play in dirty, smokey pits and sometimes on big stages with nice monitors if someone will let them.
Also they’ve opened for Lupe Fiasco and Third Eye Blind.
That’s pretty cool, right?
Hope To Leave No Harm is the third full-length LP from Sister Helen since their first release in 2008. Songs cover topics as diverse as controversy in the baseball hall of fame, self-loathing, gratitude for your parents and inconsistencies in the MTA’s F train service. The album was recorded and engineered by guitarist Chris Krasnow, and features songs written by all band members.
Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sister-Helen/6210178070
Bandcamp Link: http://sisterhelen.bandcamp.com/
Free Download Link:
http://sisterhelen.bandcamp.com/album/4th-trimester-i-will-haunt-you-free-single
Thanks for considering us!
January 26, 2013 at 3:54 pm