Three King Crimson members unite for exclusive Two of a Perfect Trio tour this fall

King Crimson members Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto have combined the forces of their trios, the Adrian Belew Power Trio and Stick Men, for the Two of a Perfect Trio tour. This double trio will extensively tour the United States this fall with select Canadian dates.

“It's a rare treat, both for us in the band, and for the audience, for three King Crimson members to be together onstage,” says Levin. “And the supporting cast are excellent players in their own right.”

The performance will feature two sets with an extended encore of music all featuring King Crimson material. The show will kick off with sets by Stick Men, featuring Mastelotto on electronic and acoustic percussion, Markus Reuter on his self-designed Touch Guitar, and Levin on Chapman Stick; and the Adrian Belew Power Trio with Belew on guitar and vocals, bassist Julie Slick, and NYC drummer Tobias Ralph.

For the extended “Crim-centric” encore, fans will be treated to the three Crimson members Belew, Levin and Mastelotto, covering some of their favorite pieces from their work in King Crimson.

“King Crimson is an elite club,” says Belew. “There have only been seven members in the last 30 years. Having Tony, Pat and myself onstage, three legitimate Crimson players, will make this as close as currently possible to the actual thing.”

To make this concert even more colossal, the trios will combine to close out the show.

“Then the others will come out to join us as a double trio, fairly well covering what Crimson had in the 90's lineup,” says Levin. “It should be a big challenge, wild music, and great fun.”

I’m very excited at the sound I hear in my head of this particular ‘double trio,’" says Belew. “It’s monstrous.”

Confirmed tour dates are:

Sept 19 Atlanta, GA / Variety Playhouse


Sept 20 Carrboro, NC / Arts Center


Sept 21 Knoxville, TN / Bijou


Sept 22 Annapolis, MD / Rams Head


Sept 23 Phoenixville, PA / Colonial Theater

Sept 24 Vienna, VA / Jammin Java


Sept 26 New York, NY / Iridium


Sept 27 Boston, MA / Royale


Sept 28 New York, NY / Iridium


Sept 29 New York, NY / Iridium


Sept 30 Fairfield, CT / Stage One


Oct 1 Northhampton, MA / Iron Horse


Oct 2 Montreal, QC / Corona


Oct 4 Toronto, ON / Mod Club


Oct 5 Buffalo, NY / Tralf


Oct 6 Covington, KY / Southgate House


Oct 7 Detroit, MI / Magic Bag


Oct 8 Chicago, IL / Old Town School of Folk


Oct 9 Minneapolis, MN / Cedar Cultural Center


Oct 11 Boulder, CO / Boulder Theater


Oct 12 Salt Lake City, UT / The Depot


Oct 14 Portland, OR / Aladdin


Oct 15 Seattle, WA / Triple Door


Oct 17 Sacramento, CA / Harlows


Oct 18 San Francisco, CA / Regency


Oct 19 Solana Beach, CA / Belly Up


Oct 21 Agoura Hills, CA / Canyon Club


Oct 22 Santa Ana, CA / Galaxy


Oct 23 Phoenix, AZ / The Foundry


Oct 26 St Louis, MO / Old Rockhouse


Oct 27 Indianapolis, IN / Birdys


Oct 28 Nashville, TN / Belcourt


Oct 29 Asheville, NC / Moogfest

John Wetton shows his support of District 97

John Wetton (middle) donned his District 97 shirt proudly at the Sonisphere Festival in Madrid this weekend. Pictured here with Jordan Rudess (left) and Mike Mangini (right).

Mörglbl and Freak Kitchen announce US tour

Blue Mouth Promotions, LLC (BMP) is thrilled to announce the return of the French jazz/metal fusion masters known as Mörglbl, (www.myspace.com/morglbl) the to the United States after a more than two year absence! Mörglbl returns with an updated catalogue of hard-driving and humorous metallic jazz to tease and tantalize audiences.

And joining Mörglbl on select dates for their very first US tour will be Sweden’s own Freak Kitchen (http://www.freakkitchen.com) featuring Mattias ‘IA’ Eklundh. Freak Kitchen’s long awaited presence in the U.S. is sure to leave unaccustomed audiences wondering what hit them.

MÖRGLBL DATES

Thursday, August 25 Fountainhead - Florence, SC

Friday, August 26 Uncle Slayton’s - Louisville, KY

Sunday, August 28 46^th Annual Orton Park Festival - Madison, WI

Tuesday, August 30 Atlanta Institute of Music – Atlanta, GA

Wednesday, August 31 Atlanta Institute of Music – Atlanta, GA

Thursday, September 1 Boone Saloon - Boone, North Carolina

Friday, September 2 Canyons - Blowing Rock, NC

Saturday, September 3 Prog Day - Chapel Hill, NC (http://www.progday.net)

FREAK KITCHEN

Thursday, September 1 Double Door – Charlotte, NC

Friday, September 2 Prog Day Pre-Show at Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC

Saturday, September 3 The Hangout – Florence, SC

MÖRGLBL AND FREAK KITCHEN

Monday, September 5 Lincoln Theater - Raleigh, NC (with Andy Wood)

Tuesday, September 6 Jewish Mother - Norfolk, VA (with Andy Wood)

Wednesday, September 7 Venue TBD - Philadelphia, PA

Thursday, September 8 The Drom - New York City (with Consider the Source)

Friday, September 9 NJ Proghouse – TBD (http://www.njproghouse.com/)

Saturday, September 10 Orion Studios - Baltimore, MD

Sunday, September 11 The Hangout - Florence, SC

Wobbler's Rites of Dawn makes the old new again

In a time when progressive rock is experiencing a strong renaissance, and countless bands namedrop the genre, it is ironic that not a single contemporary band has so far managed to recapture the thrill and excitement '70s teenagers experienced when the first thundering Rickenbacker notes and mellotron washes hit them as they drooled over Roger Dean gatefolds back in the day. Maybe it has to be that way. You can only hear Close to the Edge or Brain Salad Surgery for the first time once, and 1970something is a long time ago.

The whole proposition of a resurgent progressive movement in music is a troublesome one. Since prog has solidified into a genre since the early '70s heydays, don't you have to play by the rules of that genre to properly be "prog"? But if you play by the rules, are you truly progressive? It's all a big one-hand-clap, a conundrum wrapped in an endless enigma.

Norway's kings of symphonic prog, Wobbler, arrogantly sidestep the whole debate of "prog" versus progressive. Since it's dubious whether rock has anywhere left to progress anyway, they have instead chosen simply to celebrate the rainbow-colored fireworks, the airy-fairy themes, the danger and the drama and the joy of pure music that made prog what it really was, and still can be: An exhilarating musical spectacle, a gladiator match of major chord crescendos and mini-moog glissandos.

Wobbler's third album, Rites at Dawn, is a case in point. It's a no-holds-barred declaration of love to the progressive giants. It's all here - Lars Fredrik Frøislie's overblown arsenal of every analog synth known to man, played with Wakemanesque flair and Emersonian hubris. Andreas Prestmo's soaring vocals, delivering at times delicate, fragile melodies and at times joyous, triumphant multi-part harmonies that would make CSN proud. The vibrant, stinging guitar of Morten Eriksen, the - you guessed it - thundering Rickenbacker bass of Kristian Hultgren, and finally Martin Kneppen's drumming, which manages that neat and esoteric 70's trick of making even impossible time signatures swing and swagger.

Rites at Dawn is a major step forward for Wobbler. As songwriters they have matured. Even though the music is as complex as ever, it flows and breathes in a whole new way, and the addition of Andreas' vocals adds a very human, and dare we say emotional, element to the songs. The album somehow pulls off being both challenging and adventurous, but at the same time accessible and downright infectious. Even though this is the kind of prog connoisseurs will stroke their beards appreciatively to, it is also prog their girlfriends will like. And you really can't ask for more than that.

Riverside returns to the Laser’s Edge with its 10th anniversary release

For the band’s 10th anniversary, Riverside has prepared a special three song EP entitled Memories In My Head. The release marks the band’s return to the Laser’s Edge, which will release the EP throughout North America on June 28.

Memories In My Head contains 33 minutes of fresh music. “This new material, concerning (for obvious reasons) the themes of the passing time, will be a pleasant surprise for those who have missed the specific kind of melodies and space known from the band's early releases,” says Mariusz Duda, lead vocalist and bassist. “We have consciously gone back to our beginnings to create a certain kind of a circle. This mini-album will contain three longer compositions most resembling those from our first two albums. The result is a quite interesting, spacious, film-soundtrackish, nostalgic, and most of all rock mixture, summing up our career's first decade quite well.”

Riverside has performed at all the major progressive rock festivals in North America and Europe. Its extensive touring as a headliner and as a support act for Dream Theater has solidified the band’s place in the progressive rock pantheon while establishing a foothold with metal fans as well.

For further information, visit www.lasersedgegroup.com.

Melodic rock legends Pendragon release new CD

Pendragon formed in 1978 and over the past 30 years have built up a fanatical fanbase around the world, releasing eight albums along with countless EPs, live and mini-albums, most of which have been available via their own Toff Records label. Their recent studio album, 2008’s Pure was named Album of the Year by Classic Rock Society and described by Classic Rock magazine as “Pendragon’s finest hour so far without a doubt” and they have returned this spring with their new album Passion, out now on Madfish, a division of Snapper Music.

Frontman Nick Barrett explains the decision to work with a label after all these years: “After the success of the last album, the obvious next step was to sign to with a label who could continue this success. Snapper/Madfish are currently the best in the field at releasing and promoting creative rock music so signing up with them seemed like the perfect option and it’s something I am very excited about.”

Passion promises to build on the exciting foundations created by Pure and further expand the band’s sound, following and profile. Nick explains: “Our new album is again another step forward for us musically, the mixes sound amazing. There has been so much activity since Pure and there are a lot of new fans now but I really think Passion will reach even more new fans too.”

The album, which will be packaged in a deluxe digibook, is accompanied by a DVD featuring a behind-the-scenes ‘Progumentary’ filmed by the band themselves while recording the album.

Following two weekend-long launch events in UK and Holland, the band will be embarking on an extensive European tour in April which will see them playing 38 dates in Germany, Poland, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and the UK.

Jakko Jakszyk, Robert Fripp and Mel Collins to release new King Crimson ProjeKct

DGM/Inner Knot Records announce the upcoming release of A Scarcity of Miracles, a new release in the King Crimson ProjeKct series. The ProjeKct features Robert Fripp, Jakko Jakszyk and Mel Collins with a rhythm section of Tony Levin and Gavin Harrison.

A Scarcity of Miracles will be released on May 30, 2011. Information and merchandise for the release can be found at www.dgmlive.com.

When Fripp (King Crimson founder and guitarist) and Jakszyk (Level 42) got together in February 2009 neither expected that their initial sessions of guitar-only improvisations would result in a full-blown album, or that it would ultimately be deemed to be a King Crimson ProjeKct. As the material from those first sessions developed, it was obviously becoming much wider in scope and scale. The arrival of sax player and former King Crimson member, Collins, added further colour and texture to the emerging songs. The line-up was completed with the addition of bassist Levin and Porcupine Tree’s drummer, Harrison (both members of the 2008 incarnation of King Crimson), adding their parts to the material in their respective studios.

What had begun as an exchange of ideas grew into an album of heartfelt songs, an album that is immediately accessible on first hearing but reveals fresh detail and depth with each subsequent play, as one might expect from musicians of this calibre.

A Scarcity of Miracles (A King Crimson ProjeKct) features artwork by PJ Crook and will be released simultaneously as a CD/DVD-A package, a 200gm limited edition vinyl album with a gatefold sleeve and a standard CD. The CD/DVD-A pack features the album mixed in 5.1 surround sound, the album in high definition 24/96 stereo, an album’s worth of alternate mixes, improvisations from the original sessions and the video for the title track, along with the CD album in a slipcase.

Many fans have read about the evolution of this King Crimson ProjeKct through Fripp’s widely read online diary at www.dgmlive.com - where he has updated progress on the recording, mixing and mastering of the album at regular intervals.

“JFC [Jaksyk, Fripp, Collin] is a superb album. I have not heard stereo quite like this since the early 1970s, and much of that was not of this quality, “ writes Fripp in his December 15th entry to his online diary. “JFC is one of my favouritist albums, of those where I am a determining element. It has the Crimson gene, but is not quite KC [King Crimson].”