Well, it's taken a while but here we are at last. Chateau BoBo will be updated for the start of every month with interesting interviews, a gotta-see gig guide and essential CD reviews from the best of prog world-wide !
I feel there is a strong progressive revival taking place. People are reacting against dull House and tedious techno. It's time the major record companies took note and started giving us real music again - not garbage. They need to clear out the accountants and lawyers and get real music fans in control once again.
Unfortunately I feel that the media isn't giving progressive rock a fair chance and I think it has something to do with the name. Progressive rock. Once you've said it it's like you told a story that happened a couple of centuries ago. Tell someone about progressive rock and they think of the glorious seventies but NOT about the current scene. So maybe we all have to brainstorm in search for a new name !?
Richard Allen at Delerium recently told me he had enormous trouble promoting Porcupine Tree as long as they called their music 'progressive'. Once they said they played 'experimental rock, more magazines were giving the band coverage ! In the beginning the band called it progressive rock because they wanted to express they were to progress using new technology. Unfortunately the word progressive nowadays stands for Yes, Genesis, Camel, etc... It's like when Indie music stood for Independent. Nowadays Indie stands for music similar to the Smiths.
So let's think of a new name together, a name which will unite all lovers of this kind of music and all bands and artists active in this field worldwide ! Maybe once we have found that name, the entire media will give it the attention it has been deserving for years. Then more people will get to know this music as press and radio will inform you about it. So how about ... ?
Meanwhile I would ask all artists active in this musical field to send their releases together with bio/photo/information to the address below so I can include them in 'Chateau BoBo' in the coming weeks. Especially all artists linked with the Italian Mellow label as my numerous letters to Mellow (Mellow, extract the digit! - Rockmine) simply remain unanswered. I would also love to hear from people in Australia, Canada and even Africa to find out what's happening there in the domain of ... well, The Music Formerly Known As Pogressive TMFKAP ?
John 'Bo Bo' Bollenberg, Heideroosstraat 20, 8200 Brugge, Belgium. Phone (+32) 5039 1833