Long, rambling concert review follows - read at your own risk:

It's been a while since I've seen Project/Object, so last night I
made the two hour drive to Sellersville.  It was sort of a last
minute decision, so I didn't order tickets in advance, assuming
they'd have plenty at the door.  Turned out to be a foolish move
on my part - I did manage to get in, but ended up in the second
to last row of the theater.  At least I got a ticket - I'm pretty
sure the show sold out shortly after I arrived.  Would have sucked
to have driven two hours and not gotten in.  Especially after
having to circle the theater for 15 minutes looking for a
parking spot.  If you go to the Sellersville theater, go early.

Every time I've seen Project/Object in the past, it was always in
a bar or nightclub, so it was a very different experience seeing
them in a theater.  The Sellersville theater is fairly small.  It
looks like a tiny movie theater (about 25 rows of seats with
around 20 seats in each row) that was converted to host bands.
The acoustics were great (best I've ever heard P/O sound) and
it was nice to be able to sit through the show, but it really
sucked being so far from the stage.  Made it hard to "get into"
the show.  Plus the theater had poor ventilation, so by the
middle fo the show it was so hot and stuffy that I was having
trouble staying awake.  Fortunately the B.O. of the guy sitting
next to me was quite bracing.  The theater floor isn't sloped
very much, and the seats aren't staggered, so I spent a good
bit of the show looking at the bald spot of the guy in front of
me.  If I ever go there again, I'll be sure to order tickets
early and try to get down front.

There was an opening band that started promptly at 8pm: Igor's Egg
from Philadelphia.  They were really good.  Guitar, bass, drums,
keyboards and violin.  Kind of a jam-band base, but they
incorporated just about every style of music there is.  I heard
some reaggae, klezmer, funk, fusion, country, cartoon music, etc.
All over the map.  Their lyrics seemed on the silly side, but it
was hard to make out most of what they were singing.  Unfortunately
they only got to play for around 45 minutes because the theater has
an 11pm curfew and P/O had to get on by 9 to have time to play a full
set.  I should have bought Igor's Egg's CD while I was there, but I
figured I already have enough CDs of obscure proggy bands playing
that type of music.

Anyway, there was a brief between-band intermission, so I went
out to the lobby to use the men's room.  There was a long line,
so I waited.  When it was my turn, some guy barged into the tiny
bathroom just after I had entered, much to the dismay of all
the guys who were waiting in line.  I guess he didn't realize
that's what they were all waiting for.  Some people are clueless.

They were selling beer and wine in the lobby, but I figured if I
was going to have any chance of staying awake for the long drive
home, I better stick with caffine, so I bought an overpriced coke.

Project/Object started up promptly around 9pm, and played a single,
two-hour long set.  I didn't know that they theater had a curfew,
so by 10:15 I was wondering when they were going to take a set
break.  But they just pushed on, stopped around 10:50, then came
out and played an encore of "Peaches and Regalia" (the drummer
managed to nail that opening drum fill, which was nice) and then
they were done.

The band was made up of the usual suspects, with bandleader Andre
and ex-Zappa bandmember Ike Willis fronting the group and providing
most of the vocals and guitar.  I always think of Ike as a vocalist
and forget how good he is on guitar.  But he's great - he was even
playing a bunch of Steve Howe riffs during the sound check; maybe
he's trying out for a Yes cover band.  The other regular was the
keyboardist, who I think is named Jordan, but he was kind of hard
to see because he was wedged into a back corner of the stage.  A
couple of times during the show, he switched to mandolin and got
to come out from behind the keys for a while.

In addition to Ike, the band featured two other ex-Zappa sidemen:
the venerable Don Preston on keyboards and Ed Mann on percussion.
At one point in the show, everyone else left the stage, leaving
Don and Ed to play a duet.  A lot of people around me left to get
another beer during this, which amazed me.  Don is 77 years old,
we may never get another chance to see him play, and these people
go out for a beer.  Rediculous.  Anyway, the duet was very cool,
starting out as a spacey improv and then shifting into a Zappa
instrumental that I recognized but just couldn't put a title to.

An on-again, off-again member of P/O, Robbie "the Sea Hag", was
on for this show.  Normally he plays guitar, but this time played
bass.  As Andre put it, "Give him anything with strings and he'll
play the hell out of it", and sure enough he's just as impressive
a bass player as a guitarist, playing flawlessly and even throwing
in some string popping here and there.

The drummer was Eric Slick, a young man who has made a name for
himself playing with Adrian Belew.  He was obviously having a
great time, and occasionally did a fair impression of Terry
Bozzio's antics.  He even sang lead on "Tryin' to Grow a Chin".
At one point half the band left the stage, leaving Don, Ed, Eric
and the Sea Hag to play a version of "Go Cry on Somebody Else's
Shoulder".  As Don sang the lyrics, Eric belted out falsetto
wails in the background and even sang part of the the ultra-rare
Zappa song "Oh in the Sky", so he's obviously a big fan of FZ.

Overall the show was good.  They stuck mostly to early Mothers
songs and mid-70s stuff from albums like One Size Fits All and
Roxy and Elsewhere.  I don't think they played anything from
later than 1980.  The performance was a little sloppy at first,
as the band seemed to be having trouble with the monitors.  Ed's
percussion was almost inaudible at the beginning, but eventually
got turned up.  By the mid-point of the show, the band was
clicking along nicely.  It wasn't the ultra-polished performance
of Dweezil's tribute band, but they made up for it with lots of
"eyebrows" (Frank's term for bringing attitude to the music).

There were a few political comments thrown in, as always.  A
bit of Bush bashing and one jab at Sarah Palin, but they don't
really make good targets any more.  At one point someone in the
audience yelled "Ike for president!", and Andre said "Yes, Ike
Willis in 2012.  I like Ike.  We've elected a black man, so why
not a black man with silly hair?"

There was a low-tech "light show", with computer-generated
imagry (which looked like a screen saver) projected onto the
movie screen behind the band.  It would occasionally react to
the music (i.e. vibrate and pulse with the beat), but mostly it
just floated back there.  At one point Ed Man went over and
started tracing it on the screen with his mallets, and Eric
Slick commented "I didn't know this was a Phish tribute show".

All in all a fairly entertaining evening.  I'm not sure it was
worth the four hour round trip, especially since I had gotten up
early that morning to take my daughter to a Pokemon card tournament
and I was barely keeping my eyes open by the end of the show.  And
the back-of-the-theater experience isn't nearly as good as wedging
yourself right up against the stage in a bar.  But it was nice to
see Don Preston again (he even hung around after the show to sign
autographs - as Andre put it, "Let's see you even turn on a light
switch when you reach 77"), and it was my first time seeing Ed Mann.

They were selling an assortment of CDs in the lobby, so I ended
up buying a copy of Don Preston's "Vile Foamy Ectoplasm".  I've
read many glowing reviews of it on the Zappa newsgroup, so I
couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy it.  I also picked up
Andre's "Enigma With Attitude", which he described as "late night
stoner electronic guitar music".  I figured he should be rewarded
for keeping his Zappa tribute going despite Gail's best attempts
to shut him down.

Oh, and I did manage to make it home around 1am, but I'm not sure
I was even awake during the last half hour of the drive.  I'm
getting too old for this...

   -- Bob "Bice" Eichler

ProgScape Radio #241 Playlist
Website: http://www.progscaperadio.com
Where: Delicious Agony - http://www.deliciousagony.com
Time: 8pm to 11pm Eastern
Date: February 3, 2008

Album Of The Week: Brett Kull - The Last Of the Curlews (2008)

1. ProgScape Radio Opening (0:08)
2. Webb Wilder - Doo Dad (1991) - 02 - Tough It Out (3:54)
3. David Sylvian & Robert Fripp - The First Day (1993) - 03 - Firepower
(10:27)
4. Frost - Experiments In Mass Appeal (Special Edition) (2008) - 01 -
Experiments In Mass Appeal (7:57)
5. The Collins-Wardingham Project - Interactive (2006) - 06 - Bionic Zit
Xpander (5:47)
6. Niacin - Organik (2005) - 03 - Blisterine (5:34)
7. Pochakaite Malko - Pochakaite Malko (2001) - 06 - Arrhythmia (5:21)
8. Course Of Empire - Telepathic Last Words (1998) - 03 - Automatic Writing
No. 17 (4:28)
9. It Bites - The Tall Ships (2008) - 02 - Ghosts (4:45)
10. LITE - Phantasia (2008) - 02 - Contra (3:45)
11. Roland Orzabal - Tomcats Screaming Outside (2001) - 02 - Low Life (4:36)
12. Opeth - Deliverance (2002) - 03 - For Absent Friends (2:17)
13. Brett Kull - The Last Of The Curlews (2008) - 01 - Acadia Gulls (7:12)
14. Brett Kull - The Last Of The Curlews (2008) - 02 - Lullabies And
Starlings (4:49)
15. Brett Kull - The Last Of The Curlews (2008) - 04 - If She Could Be Who
She Wanted (3:58)
16. Brett Kull - The Last Of The Curlews (2008) - 06 - Halos (2:18)
17. Brett Kull - The Last Of The Curlews (2008) - 08 - Become A Ghost (2:55)
18. Brett Kull - The Last Of The Curlews (2008) - 09 - Autumn Endings (3:48)
19. Brett Kull - The Last Of The Curlews (2008) - 10 - Last Of The Curlews
(3:27)
20. The Tories - The Upside Of Down (2001) - 01 - Would You Notice (3:14)
21. NeBeLNeST - ZePTO (2006) - 02 - The Old Ones (5:48)
22. Porcupine Tree - Pure Narcotic (Single) (1999) - 02 - Tinto Brass (Live)
(6:47)
23. Genesis - Live ''Revisited'' (1973) - 05 - The Return Of The Giant
Hogwed (8:53)
24. Living Colour - Stain (1993) - 11 - This Little Pig (3:03)
25. Avant Garden - Maelstrom (2001) - 01 - Dragon Feed - Archemedes Tub
(19:15)
26. Novalis - Novalis (Remaster) (2004) - 04 - Impressionen (8:58)
27. Rush - Time Stand Still (Single) (1987) - 03 - The Enemy Within (Live)
(5:05)
28. Threshold - Critical Mass (Limited Edition) (2002) - 02 - Choices (8:19)
29. Aimee Mann - Lost In Space (Original Master Recording) (2003) - 06 -
Pavlov's Bell (4:27)
30. David Bowie - Earthling (Remaster) (2004) - 11 - I'm Afraid Of Americans
(NIN V.1 Mix) (5:26)
31. Grey Eye Glances - A Little Voodoo (2002) - 01 - Close Your Eyes (3:52)
32. Enchant - Blink Of An Eye (2002) - 10 - Prognosis (7:30)

Best Regards,
Michael Ostrich
ProgScape Entertainment
http://www.progscape.com <http://www.progscape.com/>

In case the name doesn't ring a bell, Annie Haslam was the lead singer
of Renaissance.
-Neb

---Original Message---
Annie Haslam's cat 'LILY' needs your votes to help animals
From: WhtDoveOrg@...
Sent: Thu 2/05/09 11:50 AM

Dear Friends
Please vote for Lily.

My Love and respect for animals grows by the minute, and whenever I
can, I will help them. I took a photo of my beautiful (adopted)
Siamese cat 'Lily' sitting right in front of one of my paintings.
Her electric blue eyes are hypnotic and match the background
perfectly, she was born to be a 'model'! I have entered the photo in
the 'Spay Day Online Pet Photo Contest' for HSUS. Please consider
voting for Lily and making a donation. It will not only help my pet in
the contest, but will save pets' 'lives' by reducing pet overpopulation.

Please click on the link below, the page she is on should come right
up, if not you can put her name in the 'search' box.
There are quite a few 'Lily's' but there is no mistaking her portrait.

http://photocontest.humanesociety.org/contest.html?page=viewIndex&paging=0&conte\
\stId=1

Thank you ahead of time for your kindness in helping the animals.

Love and Peace

Annie

.........

Annie's website - http://www.anniehaslam.com/

New Videos and New Prog Rock Concert Series starts Feb. 22

Important Show Information and News from The Red Masque

My band has finally uploaded all videos from our show at Orion Sound
Studios in Baltimore on Nov. 1, 2008 to vimeo.com for your viewing
pleasure. There are eight songs on a total of six free videos. Thanks
to Debbie Sears for taking the video!

Song Links:

"Carbon 14" and "Das Snail" : http://www.vimeo.com/2710962
"Passage" : http://www.vimeo.com/3136439
"House of Ash" : http://www.vimeo.com/3136715
"The Spider Is The Web" : http://www.vimeo.com/3136779
"Birdbrain" : http://www.vimeo.com/3136832
"Improvisation" and "Tidal" : http://www.vimeo.com/3136900

Please enjoy the videos and we hope to see some of you at our next
show at the new progressive rock series at the North Star Bar in
Philadelphia on Feb. 22. See below.

NEW LIVE PROGRESSIVE ROCK SERIES FOR 2009 IN PHILADELPHIA

Debut show kicks off with Kohoutek, The Red Masque and Advent at the
North Star Bar
Philadelphia, PA - December 20, 2008 - The North Star Bar will play
host to a new Progressive Rock Series starting February 22, 2009. The
series, currently with its first two shows on sale now, will take
place on the last Sunday evening of the every month. For the first two
performances tickets will be $10, advance tickets can be purchased via
www.ticketweb.com, and the events are for those 21 years of age and
older. The North Star Bar is located at 2639 Poplar Street in the Art
Museum Area of Philadelphia and can be found online at
www.northstarbar.com.

The Red Masque [Rock-in-Opposition, Zeuhl, Space Rock] of
Philadelphia, will be assisting in the curation of shows and will
perform at the first two scheduled events. February's event will also
feature headliners Kohoutek [Psych, Noise, Abstract] of Washington DC
and openers Advent [Rock-in-Opposition, Symphonic] from New Jersey.
The March 29 event will feature headliners Thee Maximalists [Avant,
Free Jazz] from Baltimore and openers Igor's Egg [Zappa, Jam] of
Philadelphia.

The goal of this series is to first feature regional acts as to grow a
local audience for Progressive Rock music in Philadelphia. Step two
would be to cultivate more local talent in closer proximity to
Philadelphia, so as to encourage the growth of the series overall.
Finally, we would hope, given the proper support of the series, to be
able to attract national and international talent, and give them more
options for live performance on the east coast.

Heyday Entertainment is a Philadelphia based booking and promotions
company that has hosted events all over the city, at venues including
The Trocadero, The Five Spot, The Barbary, Pontiac Grille (aka JC
Dobbs), NXNW, Silk City, and The Broad Street Ministry among others
over the years. Heyday has exclusively booked and promoted events for
The North Star Bar since it opened in 2001, and has worked with The
Khyber in Old City for over 10 years.

Booking inquires for this series can be directed to Lynnette Shelley
with The Red Masque, lynnette@..., and Andrew Miller with
Heyday Entertainment, andrew@....

BAND LINKS

The Red Masque: http://www.theredmasque.com
Advent: http://adventmusic.net/home.html
Kohoutek: http://claviusproductions.alkem.org/kohoutek/listen.html
Thee Maximalists: http://paulsears.net/maximalists/
Igor's Egg: http://www.myspace.com/igorsegg

Hello,

The first wave of a collection purge eventually to total 700 or so by
the end of 2009.

http://www.toib.net/salelist.html

Regards,
Sean

--- In ProgAndOther@yahoogroups.com, "the_original_ib" <sean@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> The first wave of a collection purge eventually to total 700 or so by
> the end of 2009.
>
> http://www.toib.net/salelist.html


Hey Sean,

I noticed on your web page that you say that eBay has "become
a scum web site".  What exactly does that mean?  I've seen a
couple other people bad-mouthing eBay recently, and a few weeks
ago I got ripped-off by a guy who sold me a counterfeit video
game via eBay and refused to give me a refund (and of course
PayPal's claim of protecting the buyer on eBay turned out to be
a lot of hot air).

Anyway, is eBay becoming a den of scam artists?

(Sorry for the off-topic post everyone)

   -- Bob

Someone on the Zappa newsgroup posted this link:

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/10-great-prog-rock-
guitarists/

I just noticed that it doesn't claim to be a list of the 10
"greatest" prog rock guitarists, just 10 great ones.

Kind of a "fluff" article, and it's obvious that the author
has only a passing knowledge of prog (all his picks are from
the big-name bands:  Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson,
etc).  The most exotic pick is the guitarist from Focus, and
the author makes sur to point out the song "Hocus Pocus",
since that's probably the only one he's heard.

Since it's the Gibson guitar site, I'm guessing they only
picked guitarists where they could find a picture of them
holding a Gibson.

And...Greg Lake?  Really?  And then the author goes out of
his way to heap praise on the horrible, horrible song "Daddy"
from the equally horrible "In the Hot Seat".  All credibility
out the window right there.

   -- Bob

ProgScape Radio #242 Playlist
Website: http://www.progscaperadio.com
Where: Delicious Agony - http://www.deliciousagony.com
Time: 8pm to 11pm Eastern
Date: February 10, 2008

Album Of The Week: Steve Moore - The Henge (2007)

1. ProgScape Radio Opening (0:08)
2. Webb Wilder - Doo Dad (1991) - 02 - Tough It Out (3:54)
3. Wolverine - Still (2006) - 02 - Bleeding (5:21)
4. Queensr˙che - Empire (Remaster) (2003) - 02 - The Thin Line (5:42)
5. Apocalyptica - Worlds Collide (Special Edition) (2008) - 06 - Stroke
(4:33)
6. Mike Keneally Band - Dog (2004) - 04 - Pride Is A Sin (4:54)
7. Echolyn - Cowboy Poems Free (Remix) (2008) - 05 - 67 Degrees (5:25)
8. Various Artists - Schrittmacher Tasty Tracks Vol. 1 (2004) - 03 - Mario
Schönwälder - We Are Devils (6:38)
9. Strictly Inc. - Strictly Inc. (1995) - 04 - The Serpent Said (5:28)
10. The Tea Party - Transmission (1997) - 04 - Gyroscope (2:57)
11. Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine (1997) - 03 - Greetings - Regulator
(7:59)
12. Minus The Bear - Menos El Oso (2005) - 03 - Drilling (5:03)
13. Steve Moore - The Henge (2007) - 01 - Introduction - Infinite
Resignation (12:52)
14. Steve Moore - The Henge (2007) - 02 - The Henge - Ascension (11:15)
15. Steve Moore - The Henge (2007) - 03 - Dead Tide - Cepheid (19:29)
16. Threshold - Replica (2004) - 06 - Torn To Shreds (4:35)
17. Phil Collins - No Jacket Required (1985) - 02 - Only You Know And I Know
(4:21)
18. Yes - Talk (1994) - 03 - Real Love (8:48)
19. God Lives Underwater - God Lives Underwater (1995) - 02 - Waste Of Time
(4:13)
20. ProgScape Radio ID - Derek Blakley (Thought Chamber) (0:05)
21. Thought Chamber - Angular Perceptions (2007) - 06 - God Of Oblique
(5:09)
22. Killing Joke - Killing Joke (2003) - 08 - Seeing Red (5:27)
23. Rush - Permanent Waves (Remaster) (1997) - 04 - Entre Nous (4:37)
24. U.K. - U.K. (1978) - 03 - Alaska - Time To Kill (9:40)
25. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (2002) - 04 - Wedding Nails (6:33)
26. Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery (Remaster) (2001) - 03 -
Still...You Turn Me On (2:53)
27. OSI - Office Of Strategic Influence (2003) - 03 - Horseshoes And B-52's
(4:18)
28. Bob Mould - Bob Mould (1996) - 04 - Egoverride (3:41)
29. Jethro Tull - Crest Of A Knave (Remaster) (2005) - 02 - Farm On The
Freeway (6:31)
30. Djam Karet - Recollection Harvest (2005) - 10 - Twilight In Ice Canyon
(5:19)
31. Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming Of The True (Original Mix) (1996) - 06 - A
Long Day's Life - Johnny's Other Song (9:39)

Best Regards,
Michael Ostrich
ProgScape Entertainment
http://www.progscape.com <http://www.progscape.com/>

Bob,

The last time I sold stuff on e-bay, one guy in Spain won almost every
Yes mini-LP I put up. After he had paid and I had shipped his stuff, I
saw a bunch of negative feedbacks start popping up on his profile. I
started contacting the people who had been leaving him the feedback
and got the scoop. He was getting the stuff, then claiming it never
arrived and getting his money refunded through Paypal. The seller was
out the goods + the money. I started contacting other people who sold
to him but hadn't left feedback yet. We all contacted E-Bay/Paypal to
complain. The guy's account was suspended. I was almost out $500.

Less than a month later, e-bay announced their new policies, which
included "No negative feedback allowed for buyers." Note that negative
feedback was the ONLY reason I found out about this guy in time to not
get scammed. It is one of the only protection mechanisms I have. I am
not a business who can write off the loss either. I'm just some
asshole who needs the money and ripe for the picking.

The time before that, I had some guy in Greece or the former
Yugoslavia or some damn place who was livid that his stuff hadn't
arrived after three weeks. So I checked his profile and sure enough he
had negative feedback from people he had dealt with based on
complaining about shipping speed. I suggested to him that since all my
other stuff was getting to people on time, and since he had consistent
problems with late or non-delivery, maybe the problem was closer to
home. He didn't appreciate that very much, and started making noises
about a refund (which I would have been powerless to prevent), except
sure enough his stuff arrived 2-3 days later. At least that guy was
honestly clueless instead of a scam artist.

So now some moron or scam artist can bid whatever they want on my
stuff, "win it", put some money in my Paypal account for a few days,
yank it out again once they're sure I've shipped the stuff, and I am
utterly unprotected by e-bay. No bloody thanks.

Apparently e-bay has gotten even worse since then, too! Their policies
seem designed to drive away all the small fish so that only
institutionalized sellers remain (or those who ought to be, ha ha).

I'm disappointed to find out that they didn't protect you as the buyer
either. Kind of makes me wonder what the point is. Oh yeah, to collect
fees.

So now I'm willing to have stuff take longer to sell, or get less for
it than I could have, just so I can deal with people, 90% of whom I
know, that aren't looking to give me the shaft, and who know I'm an
above-board, grumpy, jerk :). And I'm perfectly happy to wait two
weeks for each individual check for $8 rather than let Paypal get even
one penny more than I absolutely have to give them.

Regards,
Sean

--- In ProgAndOther@yahoogroups.com, "the_original_ib" <sean@...>
wrote:
>
> complain. The guy's account was suspended. I was almost out $500.

Wow, I only lost $18 on my fake video game.  Guess I got off light.


> Less than a month later, e-bay announced their new policies, which
> included "No negative feedback allowed for buyers."

I didn't know they had such a policy.  That explains why the
scammer I bought from gave me positive feedback, even though I
had put a request into PayPal for a refund.  I read somewhere
that they no longer count "neutral" feedback into the
positive/negative percentage, so if all you do is buy things
on eBay, there's no way to have less than a 100% positive
feedback rating, even if you never pay for anything.  Nice.

Unfortunately, I had foolishly left positive feedback for the
scammer when the game first arrived.  It wasn't until a
couple days later that I figured out it was a defective bootleg
cartridge.  So I went back into eBay to change my feedback to
negative, only to discover that the site no longer allows buyers
to change feedback from positive to negative.  You're allowed to
change negative to positive though - I guess they want as many
sellers to have positive ratings as possible so they can keep
the bogus sales going and keep collecting listing and sales fees.

I've gone through all of eBay's "compliant resolution" channels
to try to get that feedback changed to negative, but all I get
back is form letters that make it clear they didn't even bother
to read my complaint.

In the end, it's my own fault really - the guy already had a
dozen or so negative feedbacks (out of 1000+) that stated he
was selling counterfeit games, but I was too lazy to drill down
through all that and read them.  I just looked at the 99%
positive feedback rate and figured the few negatives must be
from cranks.


> So now some moron or scam artist can bid whatever they want on my
> stuff, "win it", put some money in my Paypal account for a few days,
> yank it out again once they're sure I've shipped the stuff, and I am
> utterly unprotected by e-bay. No bloody thanks.

I'd really like to know how they yanked the money back out of
PayPal, because I've been trying for a month to get them to give
me my money back from this particular auction.  They claim that
they're still reviewing the case, and have told me that I might
have to get written expert testimony on official letterhead that
confirms that my purchase was counterfeit.  I would have no idea
where to even go for such a thing, and I'm sure it would cost
more that the $18 I'd stand to get back.


> Apparently e-bay has gotten even worse since then, too! Their
> policies seem designed to drive away all the small fish so that
> only institutionalized sellers remain

Yeah, I'm starting to get that impression too.  I'm surprised that
no one else has started up a competing site, since a lot of eBay
users seem to be getting disillusioned.  I know there is actually
a video-game-specific auction site, and I checked them first, but
they didn't have the game I was looking for.


> And I'm perfectly happy to wait two
> weeks for each individual check for $8 rather than let Paypal get
> even one penny more than I absolutely have to give them.

My wife has been bugging me to shut down my PayPal account, since
they appear to be in league with scammers and they have direct
access to our bank account.  I'm seriously thinking about it.

   -- Bob

If you are not an online merchant but still need to use paypal for purchases the
best thing you can do is just fund it with a credit card only. Go with one of
the better bank cards that will protect you when paypal drops the ball in a
dispute (don't forget paypal and ebay are one in the same).

rich


-- "biceeichler" <eichler2@...> wrote:
My wife has been bugging me to shut down my PayPal account, since
they appear to be in league with scammers and they have direct
access to our bank account. I'm seriously thinking about it.

-- Bob




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I remember hearing some music from him in a band called Bloodline, all famous people's kids and a not so famous 'Smokin' Joe' on guitar, he was absolutely smokin' alright at some rediculously young age. I have heard his version of Tull's A New Day Yesterday which is pretty cool. So far everything i've heard from the guy sounds good, the 'real deal' as they say. Now you have me wanting to try some out too, thanks.

rich

- "Storey, Scott D. (MSFC-IS20)" <scott.d.storey@...> wrote:

On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 12:48:13PM -0500, stevesly@... wrote:
> Joe is da man.  In my opinion he is one of the brightest  lights on the blues
> scene today.  An incredible guitarist and good blues  singer.  He has even
> been known to cover the odd progressive rock song on  occasion.  Live he
> sometimes does the wurm section of "Starship Trooper"  and it is totally
killer.

His wikipedia article says he sometimes does "Heart of the Sunrise"
also.  Never heard of him, I'll definitely check him out.

T.J.

 

In a message dated 2/12/2009 10:08:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, scott.d.storey@... writes:
 
Joe is da man.  In my opinion he is one of the brightest lights on the blues scene today.  An incredible guitarist and good blues singer.  He has even been known to cover the odd progressive rock song on occasion.  Live he sometimes does the wurm section of "Starship Trooper" and it is totally killer.   He has also covered Jethro Tull live.  I have all of his studio albums except for his most recent (I am not even sure that it is out yet), and they are all great blues records.  By all means if you get the chance to see him live go for it.  He is a lot bigger in Europe than here in his home country.  I saw him in a small club a few years ago and it was killer.

Steve Sly
ProgDay 2009
http://www.progday.com

Do we have any JB fans on the list?  I’ve been hearing a song here and there on the radio by Joe and thinking it’s  about time for me to buy a record or two. Any suggestions on where to start?  Based on what I’ve heard, I could probably just pick one and be  satisfied.

This is very cool.  I have used CD Baby many times.  They have a large variety
of music, some at a very high quality, with good prices.  Their service is
great too.

http://feeds.afterdawn.com/~r/afterdawn/~3/zPq3caATLCU/16960.cfm

--
Have fun!

Roy DeRousse

--- In ProgAndOther@yahoogroups.com, "progholio@..." <progholio@...>
wrote:
>
> If you are not an online merchant but still need to use paypal for
> purchases the best thing you can do is just fund it with a credit
> card only. Go with one of the better bank cards that will protect
> you when paypal drops the ball in a dispute (don't forget paypal
>and ebay are one in the same).


Much to my surprise, this morning (a month after I filed my
complaint about my eBay scammer), PayPal emailed me and said that
if I send the counterfeit goods back to the scammer and provide
them with a tracking number that they can use to confirm that I
returned the item, they'll refund my money from the scammer's
account.  I guess I'll try it to see if they're actually good
for their word.

   -- Bob

Scott,
The only solo cd I have is You and Me-pretty good.
My favorite is still his work in the band Bloodline.
Pete

Storey, Scott D. (MSFC-IS20) wrote:
> Do we have any JB fans on the list? I’ve been hearing a song here and
> there on the radio by Joe and thinking it’s about time for me to buy a
> record or two. Any suggestions on where to start? Based on what I’ve
> heard, I could probably just pick one and be satisfied.
>
> Cheers,
> -scott
> __

--- In ProgAndOther@yahoogroups.com, Roy DeRousse <roylayer@...> wrote:
>
> This is very cool.  I have used CD Baby many times.  They have a
large variety
> of music, some at a very high quality, with good prices.  Their
service is
> great too.
>
> http://feeds.afterdawn.com/~r/afterdawn/~3/zPq3caATLCU/16960.cfm
>
> --
> Have fun!
>
> Roy DeRousse
>

....and their VP of IT (that's me) is a huge prog fan.

Jake

--- In ProgAndOther@yahoogroups.com, stevesly@... wrote:
>
> Dream Theater has just announced this years Progressive Nations
> tour lineup for this summer and this year it will  feature both
> Beardfish and Pain Of Salvation.

Do they have tour dates listed anywhere yet?  I wouldn't mind
going just to see Beardfish again.  Great band.


> I think  it is cool that ProgDay was the first to bring both of
> these bands to the U.S.  and now they are going to be playing a
> big time tour of large venues.

ProgDay does have a pretty good track record of bringing great
but obscure prog bands to people's attention.  Just think how
many ProgDay bands came to the attention of the NEARFest
organizers and then got even more exposure playing that
festival.

   -- Bob

In an attempt to generate some conversation on the list,
here are some impressions of CDs that I've bought within
the last couple months:


Frank Zappa, The Dub Room Special - this CD was put out as
a companion to the concert DVD of the same title.  The CD
version removes the sound effects that were added to the
music to go along with animated sections, so it's a nicer
listening experience.  The material from the mid-70s band
is stellar, as usual, but not all that different from
recordings that were already released on Roxy & Elsewhere
and You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2.  The stuff
from the 80s band that is mixed in here and there sticks
out like a sore thumb and is even less essential.  They
should have just stuck with the 70s stuff.  This is a disc
that's for completists only, especially if you already own
the DVD.  I just bought it because it's one of the few
posthumous releases that's available on Amazon.


Frank Zappa, Wazoo - another one I picked up from Amazon,
but this one's a gem.  This is the Grand Wazoo band in
concert (not the later, smaller "Petite Wazoo" band that
was documented on "Imaginary Diseases").  It's a full
concert, with material from the Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo
albums, plus a half-hour long early version of "The
Adventures of Greggery Peccary".  Great, great stuff and
interesting to hear the solos, improvisations and variations
from the studio versions.  And the sound quality is way
better than I expected.  This one's a keeper.


David Gilmour, Live in Gdansk - I think this is available
in a 2-CD, audio-only version, but I sprang for the 4-disc
version with the CDs and 2 DVDs of various live performances
from the "On an Island" tour.  I had no idea Gilmour was even
out on tour, possibly because he didn't come to the U.S.
The band includes Rick Wright on keyboards, in what would be
one of his last live performances.  Oddly, there's no Nick
Mason.  Wonder if he didn't want to do it, or if Gilmour
didn't ask him.  Anyway, the material performed includes the
entire "On an Island" album accompanied by a live orchestra
(and the second DVD includes a new 5.1 surround mix of the
studio version), plus the usual Floyd favorites like Shine On
You Crazy Diamond, Comfortably Numb and parts of Dark Side of
the Moon.  But they also dig a little deeper into the Floyd
discography for a nice arrangement of "Fat Old Sun" and the
highlight of the whole set - a full-length live performance
of "Echoes".  The DVDs include a couple other bonus things
like studio jams and an acoustic version of "Echoes", but I
haven't had the time to watch all of it yet.  When you put
DVD 1 in a computer drive, it allows you to go to a web site
where you can download MP3s of more live tracks that didn't
fit on the album.  All in all a very nice package, although
probably for Floyd fanatics only.  I didn't even know this
thing existed until I stumbled on it at Circuit City's
going out of business sale.


Robert Fripp, Exposure - I found a used copy of this in the
prog section at Record Connection (a huge record store about
mid-way between Harrisburg and Philadelphia that has tons
of new and used CDs, cassettes, vinyl albums and 45s, plus
a dedicated prog section - worth checking out if you're
ever driving down the PA turnpike and have an hour or two
to spare).  Anyway, I'm glad I bought this Fripp set used,
because back when it came out people were *raving* about it
and I almost paid full price for it.  Man, would I have been
disappointed.  I don't get why this album has such as great
reputation.  Yes, it's the "missing link" between 70s Crimson
and 80s Crimson (there's a track that sounds like "Red", and
there's a track that sounds almost exactly like "Matte Kudasi"
with different lyrics), and yes it's got a ton of impressive
guest stars (Phil Collins, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Daryl
Hall, Peter Hammil, Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and Sid
McGinnis), some of whom joined the 80s version of Crimson.
But the album has a fatal flaw - the songs themselves, for
the most part, suck.  I guess Fripp was trying to jump on
the punk bandwagon, because half the tracks sound like
attempts to create a hit pop song but with screechy vocals
and hideous guitar noises.  I mean, I like "weird" music,
but this stuff is just *bad*.  I knew I was in trouble as
soon as I heard the opening song, "You Burn Me Up I'm a
Cigarette".  It's just terrible.  The album's saving graces
are the Matte-like "North Star" and the soundscapes and
version of "Here Comes the Flood" at the end.  The rest of
the album I could do without, and unfortunately this 2-disc
set provides both the original versions and remixes of each
song.  I'm really glad I only paid $8 for the set.  It's not
bad for that price, but given the album's reputation and the
musician line-up, I expected a lot more.


Andre Cholmondeley, Enigma With Attitude - Andre is the leader
of the Zappa tribute band Project/Object, and I bought this
disc at the P/O show I attended recently.  Andre described it
as "late night stoner psychedelic guitar music" or something
like that, and the description fits.  Lots of guitar mixed in
with synths, drum machines, samples of various audio tidbits
and electronic manipulation.  Some of it works and sounds
really good, some of it comes across as a bit amateurish and
cheesy.  Not bad overall - makes for good background music,
although the repetitive samples of people talking can get a
bit distracting, especially on the last few tracks.


Don Preston, Vile Foamy Ectoplasm - I bought this one at the
P/O show because it frequently gets rave reviews on the Zappa
newsgroup.  And I can see why - the album is practically a
"best of" that spans Preston's entire career.  Apparently it
was first put together in the 80s as a collection of leftover
bits that Don had lying around, and it's been reissued a
couple times since then, with more material added each time
(and a couple tracks dropped for some reason).  Preston is known
for his pioneering work with early synthesizers, so it's not
surprising that there are some spacey, atmospheric 60s and 70s
synth tracks on here.  But I wasn't expecting the high-energy
jazz fusion track that kicks off the CD, or the audi-verite
tracks, or the very Zappa-like compositions with lots of runs
of fast little notes and odd intervals.  I'm enjoying this
disc more each time I listen to it, and noticing more and
more facets to it.  The only track that I'm not really sold
on is the closer, "Death Lights", which most people seem to
point out as a highlight.  To me, it just seems like another
spacey, atmospheric track but one that runs on way too long
(it's around 15 minutes long).  But there's nothing on the
disc that I really dislike, and a lot that I do like.  And
I had no idea when I bought it that it features so many other
ex-Zappa musicians.

So, what has everyone else been listening to lately?

   -- Bob

If Stevie had started out with "well Joe is good at what he does..." I'd just have to skip him ;o)

I can hear Steve saying "asshole" all the way down to TN.

-db