Welcome To Progtronics from Progsphere Promotions. New Cutting Edge Prog Rock For 2017
Enjoy The Stream And Thank Progsphere Promotions For Creating Awareness And Supporting Indie Music!
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4/01/2017
Featured Stream: Progotronics II by Prog Sphere Promotions
Welcome To Progtronics from Progsphere Promotions. New Cutting Edge Prog Rock For 2017
Enjoy The Stream And Thank Progsphere Promotions For Creating Awareness And Supporting Indie Music!
Prog On And Stream and Discover Now...
3/31/2017
Dean Friedman Embarking On UK Tour
American recording artist, Dean Friedman, best known to UK
& Ireland audiences for his classic hits, ‘Lucky Stars’, ‘Lydia’, ‘McDonald’s Girl’, ‘Ariel’, and ‘Woman of
Mine’, embarks on a 40+ city concert tour, running 20th April
thru 20th August, 2017, and featuring appearances at the Brighton
Fringe Festival (6th May), Great York Fringe Festival (22nd
July), Edinburgh Fringe Festival (10 thru 21 Aug – not 14,15) and
including a 2-night run at The Pheasantry [Pizza Express], London (26, 27
May).
Friedman’s
tour coincides with the release of a brand new fan-funded album – his first new
album release in seven years. Says Friedman of the, as yet, untitled album, “I’ve
always tried to paint pictures in my songs, with words and music. Recording in
a studio, turning the songs into an album, allows me to add color and shade and
texture to those sonic portraits and aural landscapes.” The new
album, currently in production, has a projected release date of 15th
July, 2017.
Tickets
to all of Friedman’s tour dates, as well as his CD and book catalog, can be
purchased direct via www.DeanFriedman.com .
Friedman’s
recent tours continue to garner rave reviews: “Every song in this show is a
classic.” (London Theatre
Guide), “Songsmith Extraordinaire” – (Music Week), “Stunning
Musicianship” (HotPress) , “Dean Friedman is entirely unique and
utterly brilliant!” – (ThreeWeeks)… are just a few of the superlatives used to describe his unique and
original talent.
In addition to his familiar radio hits, album
releases and touring, Friedman composes and produces music soundtracks for TV
and film, including the music to the hit Central TV series BOON and NBC’s Eerie Indiana.
He’s also published a respected tome on the art and craft of songwriting titled,
‘The Songwriter’s Handbook’ (The
Artists League), based on the ‘Songwriting Workshops’ and ‘Songwriting
Masterclasses’ he’s conducted at universities and music conservatories around
the world, including L.I.P.A. (The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts).
This
year marks Friedman’s 14th appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival, where in addition to his regular concert runs, he’s written and
produced several hit children’s musicals, including ‘Smelly Feet’ – a children’s musical that really stinks! This
summer, Friedman will premier a new kids musical titled, ‘The Legend of Finn McCool’ – a silly tall tale of giant proportions. The show is based on
a beloved Irish folk-tale about Ireland’s mightiest giant, Finn McCool, and
tells the story of how the Giant’s Causeway came to be built.
Friedman has faced
his share of controversy in recent years: The Merseyside band, Half Man Half Biscuit released a
best-selling EP containing a track entitled, ‘The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman’,
which went to #1 on the UK Indie chart; a claim which Friedman vehemently
denies, ‘I’ve never even met Nigel
Blackwell’s mum!’. Friedman extracts his revenge on his recent CD, ‘Submarine Races’, in the
song, 'A Baker's Tale', the hitherto untold story of Nigel Blackwell's
dubious origins.
Though Friedman's
single, ‘McDonald's Girl’, was officially banned by the BBC for
mentioning the name of the well known fast food restaurant in its chorus, the
irrepressible pop song has been covered by a number of contemporary bands
including top-selling, Canadian group, Barenaked Ladies (WEA), and The
Blenders (Universal), whose version soared to #1 on the national airplay
charts in Norway. With the advent of YouTube, video versions have gone viral
and finally, thirty five years after the song was banned by the BBC, the
McDonald’s corporation officially licensed the song for a national TV/Radio
campaign, confirming the song as a pure pop phenomenon.
One of Friedman's
recent tours was almost cancelled when it was announced that his tour sponsor www.goldenseeds.co.uk would distribute
packets of cannabis seeds to the first ten people that purchased CD's at each
of Friedman's gigs. The controversy was only resolved after Friedman promised
not to distribute the seeds within 50 yards of the venue premises. (click to
see Songwriter's Cannabis
Controversy).
Friedman will be performing solo, on guitar
and keyboards, featuring songs from throughout his 40 year recording career,
including familiar radio hits, ‘Lucky Stars’, ‘Lydia’, ‘McDonald’s Girl’,
‘Ariel’ and ‘Woman of Mine’,
as well as selections from his newest album. Discover what legions of
devoted fans have known for years - the sophisticated, funny and profound work
of a master songsmith.
………………………………………………………………………..
Joe O’Donnell: Channelling His Ancestors To Reclaim St. Patrick’s Day With His Blend of Indo-Celtic Music
"Joe O'Donnell is one of the finest violinists playing in the Celtic tradition" - Living Tradition
As a living descendent of
the people who brought St. Patrick to Ireland, world music composer and
violinist Joe O’Donnell is looking to bring the day of the Patron Saint back to
its roots with his unique brand of Indo-Celtic rock.
Known
as the ‘Princes of Donegal’, the O’Donnell family are closely related in
lineage to Niall of the Nine Hostages, a High King of Ireland who brought St.
Patrick back as a slave from a raid on Wales. Consequently, Joe’s Irish
heritage goes back a long way and this is something he feels strongly about now
that commercialism has overtaken St. Patrick’s Day with the misguiding, yet
typical image of drunkenness and over-indulgence. Joe feels that without losing the humour,
there should be more emphasis on the historical
roots and he plans to combat this with his one-of-a-kind style of folk inspired music.
Joe was keen to note that "St.Patrick, with his Egyptian hat and
Graeco-Egyptian crozier, became the adopted Father of the Irish Nation. The
celebration of that event on St. Patrick's Day used to embody the spirit of
Irish creativity and culture. We need to bring some of that back to redress the
balance."
Also,
2017 marks the 40th
anniversary of Joe’s stunning concept album Gaodhal’s Vision, which tells the story of
the Milesian people leaving Egypt and setting out for the island, foretold to
them by Moses, called Eire (Ireland). The album displays Joe’s fascination with
the esoteric and celebrates the origins of the Celts and many distinctive
aspects of their famed culture.
As
well as Joe, the album featured some highly talented musicians of the day
including virtuoso guitarist, Rory
Gallagher, with whom Joe enjoyed a warm musical friendship. As a result,
the album was met with critical acclaim, partly due to Rory’s involvement, but
also because of the quality musicianship and innovative compositions of
O’Donnell himself.
To
celebrate the anniversary, Joe will be performing Gaodhal’s Vision in its entirety with his band Shkayla (Gaelic for
‘stories’) on 31st March and
1st April at the Belgrade
Theatre, Coventry. The band will be joined by guest musicians as well as Indian fusion and Irish dancers. The
performance will also be accompanied by narration, visual projections and Rory
Gallagher’s original solos, synced with the live show, making for a
multi-sensual, multi-media experience.
Joe was classically trained but
from his early experience working in rock bands, he quickly grasped the
affinity between Celtic modal and Indian Music, and now his band Shkayla bring
together aspects of these, mixed with jazz, rock and classical orchestral
styles. Shkayla generate great energy and excitement through their music,
channelling the sensitivity and delicacy needed to keep Celtic music faithful
to its roots.
The 40th Anniversary Special Edition of Gaodhal’s Vision is set for release 28th April 2017.
Links:
Buy tickets for the
shows here:
3/29/2017
The Turtles/Zappa & The Mothers Legend Jim Pons Pens New Book “Hard Core Love: Sex, Football, and Rock and Roll in the Kingdom of God”
From the Sunset Strip to the White House and stadiums throughout the NFL, Jim Pons' journey through rock and roll to filming professional football becomes a one-of-a kind spiritual autobiography. “Hard Core Love” connects the dots behind the scenes of Jim's years with The Turtles, Frank Zappa and The New York Jets, all of which lead to his finest achievement, a long-sought peace with God.
Says Jim, “People I have worked with, played with and lived with always told me I should write a book someday and I always thought it would be entertaining to people. It was Neale Donald Walsch who convinced me. He told me it would be helpful to people.”
Jim Pons is a former bass guitarist and singer for several legendary 1960's and 70's rock bands, including The Leaves, The Turtles, Frank Zappa & The Mothers and Flo & Eddie.
In 1973 Pons left the music industry to become the film and video director for the New York Jets football club. He held this position until his retirement in 2000. Pons and his family moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2005, where he did game day video for the Jacksonville Jaguars for three more years before finally leaving the NFL. He now sings and plays upright bass in a bluegrass band called Lonesome Ride.
“If you’ve been taught to believe that fame and fortune are the keys to happiness—and most of us have—Jim Pons’ remarkable story is for you. If you’ve been taught that your questions about the meaning of life should be left in the hands of religious experts—and most of us have—Jim’s personal quest to know God offers the gift of spiritual freedom. His transparency shines throughout and cannot help but assist other seekers—covertly, even those who buy the book for the football and rock n’ roll. Having known his story for several years, it has been our sincere desire that Jim share it with the world. Thankfully that time has come. We invite you to open these pages, enjoy his story and come away the better for sharing his experience.” - Lee and Steven Hager, authors of The Gospel of Thomas: Where Science Meets Spirituality
In closing Jim has this to impart, “There is more to life than fame and fortune. We haven’t learned all there is to know about God.”
To purchase:
https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Core-Love-Football-Kingdom/dp/1945390484
For more information:
www.jimpons.com
www.facebook.com/wjpons
Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com
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