Have you ever wanted to get into a band, but you feel intimidated by their discographies? Prog Primer was created to help you, the listener, get a sense of where to start.

Everyone’s heard Jethro Tull. That’s pretty much certain. Chances are, you’ve heard “Aqualung”, or “Locomotive Breath”, or maybe you’ve heard “Thick as a Brick”. And if you’re on our website, you’ve probably heard even more than that. But what do you know about the full Jethro Tull catalogue? In my case, as a ‘greatest hits’ Tull fan, I was really excited to talk to Ian Beabout (producer, sound engineer, and massive music fan) about the entire Jethro Tull discography, from their breakthrough in the late 60s and early 70s, to present day. We had a great conversation that spanned five decades of music, starting with the band’s humble beginnings and ending slightly before their latest album, The Zealot Gene, was announced (Ian notified me that it was coming out just a week after the podcast was recorded!).

Here’s a playlist of all of Jethro Tull’s various chapters.

Find Ian and ShedSounds on Facebook, here.

Subscribe to his Youtube channel here.

Are you an expert on a band or an artist who would like to be interviewed for Prog Primer? Let me know at [email protected].

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

Have you ever wanted to get into a band, but you feel intimidated by their discographies? Prog Primer was created to help you, the listener, get a sense of where to start.

There’s a good chance you’ve heard Sonic Youth. They’ve been around for several decades, and their discographies have been celebrated by rock journalists and folks “in the know”. But in many ways, Sonic Youth was highly anomalous. They wrote songs with unusual song structures, sometimes even clocking at 20 minutes. They experimented with tunings and instrument modification. Their themes could be philosophical, unusual, and disturbing. They were far more “out there” than they get credit for, despite appearing on MTV and David Letterman. Dr. Scott Whiddon, a musician and professor, came on the podcast to talk about his favorite band, Sonic Youth, and the impression they made on his life. He also curated a playlist of some of Sonic Youth’s more representative tracks, along with some of his favorites. Check it out below.

From Scott: It was a joy talking with Thomas about one of my favorite bands of all time. The thing about a playlist for a band with a 30 year career is that much gets left out; for every recommendation noted here, there could be 5 others, if not more. For now, perhaps it’s best just to see these as starting points — mere places in a conversation that could begin and end anywhere.

To quote SY, quoting the inimitable Hair Police, “Let’s see who’s here and who’s not.”

Check out Scott Whiddon’s writing and music at adoorforadesk.com.

Are you an expert on a band or an artist who would like to be interviewed for Prog Primer? Let me know at [email protected].

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

If you like what you hear, please subscribe to Proglodytes Radio Podcast through iTunes or your favorite podcast app. If you can, please leave a review. Also, feel free to stick around at Proglodytes.com for reviews, interviews, and features.

We had a great time talking with Mike Keneally and Scott Schorr, who joined us on the Proglodytes Radio Podcast to talk about their project, MFTJ (or Mankind’s Final Traffic Jam), and their latest album, My Mom’s Getting a Horse. In their own words, MFTJ is “instrumental prog soup flavored with art-rock, hip-hop, hard rock, and psychedelia”. We talked about how the two of them met, how they used technology to create the album despite the fact that they live on opposite ends of the planet, and Scott even got Mike to share a little bit about what it was like to work with Frank Zappa. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Check out MFTJ’s Bandcamp here, and buy their album at Lazy Bones Recordings. Below is a video for opener “What Wally Thinks”, from their latest album, My Mom’s Getting a Horse.

Check out Mike Keneally’s Patreon Page as well!

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Featured Track: “Shoe Trade Gone Bad”

Outro music provided by MFTJ: “What Wally Thinks”

Have you ever wanted to get into a band, but you feel intimidated by their discographies? Prog Primer was created to help you, the listener, get a sense of where to start.

Of course you know who Adrian Belew is. If you’re a prog fan, you’ve likely heard his work with King Crimson. You probably have heard his work with Zappa, Bowie, Trent Reznor, and others. But how well do you know his solo work? I brought on Adrian Belew super-fan Cedric Hendrix to walk us through his diverse and brilliant discography. He shares his own personal story about how he discovered Adrian’s music, and shares some of the best entry points for those who are wanting to get into his large and varied discography. As he’s still making great music, we might have to do another one of these in a few years, but that’s a good problem to have.

Here is a playlist curated by Cedric Hendrix of some of Belew’s most noteworthy tunes.

Are you an expert on a band or an artist who would like to be interviewed for Prog Primer? Let me know at [email protected].

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

Have you ever wanted to get into a band, but you feel intimidated by their discographies? Prog Primer was created to help you, the listener, get a sense of where to start.

Not too long ago, I discovered the music of Tim Smith and his band, Cardiacs. The music was so unique, but it also felt familiar. I realized that this was because the band’s unusual compositions had influenced many of my songwriting idols- Devin Townsend, Mike Patton, Thom Yorke, Steven Wilson, and many more. Echoes of their unabashed creativity and influence can be heard all over the place in modern prog and rock. However, Cardiacs remained a “cult” band for much of their career.

For this episode of Prog Primer, I had the great fortune to talk to Charlie Cawood, who is not only a huge fan of the band, but also an adopted member of the Cardiacs family, having played with Cardiacs guitarist Kavus Torabi in Knifeworld, and several other members and friends of the band over the last several years. We talked about the Cardiacs discography and history, their intense stage theatrics, their lovely fans (affectionately referred to as ‘The Pond’) as well as some of the barriers that a Cardiacs neophyte might face when starting out with their music.

Below is a playlist, curated by Charlie, of some essential Cardiacs tracks.

Are you an expert on a band or an artist who would like to be interviewed for Prog Primer? Let me know at [email protected].

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

If you like what you hear, please subscribe to Proglodytes Radio Podcast through iTunes or your favorite podcast app. If you can, please leave a review. Also, feel free to stick around at Proglodytes.com for reviews, interviews, and features.

Nick Prol’s music often defies easy description- art rock, avant-pop, and everything else under the sun. His debut album with his project Nick Prol and the Proletarians, Loon Attic, received wide praise for its inventiveness and quirky charm, as well as an illustrious list of guest musicians. However, his latest album takes the band to even stranger territory, as a concept record about the weird world of Erstwhile, a magical plane of existence, lovingly brought to life in music and visual art. Nick, along with bandmates Ben Spees and Connor Reilly (from The Mercury Tree), came on Proglodytes Podcast to talk about the new album, remote collaboration, and their favorite modern pop songs. Also, as a Proglodytes exclusive, this podcast features the penultimate track from the newest record, “Kigangs”.

Check out the track “Intrinsics” from Nick Prol’s latest album, An Erstwhile Alphabestiary: Book One, below.

Here’s the video that was referred to in the podcast: “Filnosses”.

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

Have you ever wanted to get into a band, but you feel intimidated by their discographies? Prog Primer was created to help you, the listener, get a sense of where to start.

On the third episode of Prog Primer, I talk to Todd Evans about his favorite band ever, British progressive rock band IQ. With 40 years of history, several lineups, and 13 studio albums, IQ is one of the most respected bands in the genre. Todd talks us through each album, gives us some of his favorite songs, talks about lineup changes and helps us neophytes know where to start with this amazing band.

Below is an IQ playlist that spans their entire career, with a song per studio album, curated by Todd Evans.

Also, as we mentioned, ProgStock’s Virtual Series resumes on October 3rd, as well as October 17. And don’t miss the incredible lineup at the Virtual Progstock Festival 2020. To buy tickets and read about the bands, visit their website at ProgStock.com.

Are you an expert on a band or an artist who would like to be interviewed for Prog Primer? Let me know at [email protected].

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

Have you ever wanted to get into a band, but you feel intimidated by their discographies? Prog Primer was created to help you, the listener, get a sense of where to start.

For the second installment of Prog Primer, we decided to learn more about Devo. Some listeners might ask- “Why would you talk about Devo on a progressive-themed podcast?” The more that you learn about Devo, the more it makes sense. The world likely knows Devo from their smash hit, “Whip It!”, or maybe the silly hats. But as you’ll learn in this episode, there is a lot more to know about Devo! I asked my friend Kai Esbensen (from the art rock band Bubblemath) to come on the podcast and talk me through the history of Devo, their lore, and their discography.

Also, Kai supplied me with a playlist of songs and videos that you can listen to if you’d like to do further discovery. Check out the playlist below:

Are you an expert on a band or an artist who would like to be interviewed for Prog Primer? Let me know at [email protected].

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

Have you ever wanted to get into a band, but you feel intimidated by their discographies? Prog Primer was created to help you, the listener, get a sense of where to start.

On the first episode of Prog Primer, I decided to ask my good friend Gavin (drummer for Bent Knee, bandleader of Mr. Gavin’s Meat Farm) to talk me through the discography of The Residents. I’d always heard about their music and their influence, but I’d never really listened to them, mostly because I didn’t know where to start. Gavin talked me through their origin and their band history, their most important albums, and the different chapters of their discography.

Are you an expert on a band or an artist who would like to be interviewed for Prog Primer? Let me know at [email protected].

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)

If you like what you hear, please subscribe to Proglodytes Radio Podcast through iTunes or your favorite podcast app. If you can, please leave a review. Also, feel free to stick around at Proglodytes.com for reviews, interviews, and features.

If you’re on this site, chances are you’ve seen a Chapman stick before. Whether it’s in Tony Levin’s hands, or in a Nick Beggs music video, you’ve probably seen this amazing and confusing instrument. Some of you might have seen different touch guitars, such as the U8 or the Warr Guitar. I had Jacob Leibeck, who is a very skilled touch guitar player, and also a touch guitar enthusiast. He tells us about Emmett Chapman and the history of the Chapman Stick, as well as some of the variations on the Chapman Stick that have come out in the last few decades.

Also, check out the Death Mountain audio/visual reel below to hear some of Jacob’s amazing Chapman Stick/U8 arrangements!

Intro music intro provided by Advent Horizon. (Song: “Invasion Theorem”)

Outro music provided by Avandra (Song: “Threshold of Evolution”)