Michigan based Progressive Rock bands?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=114925
Printed Date: April 28 2024 at 11:52
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Topic: Michigan based Progressive Rock bands?
Posted By: philipemery
Subject: Michigan based Progressive Rock bands?
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 16:11
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Hello all, I am just wondering if anyone knows of any Progressive Rock groups that are from Michigan, hopefully from the late 60's-80's but any era works. At this point I am fully aware of Art in America, and a few other groups (having actually talked with members of a few Prog groups around, particularly from the Detroit and Genesee county areas). But wondering if there are any you guys all know of. Suggest any prog groups that come to mind. I just really wish to support local bands from my home state. ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Replies:
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 17:35
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I think Discipline -Parmenter's band - are from Detroit....and SRC which was a psych/proto prog band from the late 60's early 70's. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 18:25
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Savage Grace was considered a prog/psych band in the late 60s/early 70s. Here's an interesting version of All Along the Watchtower with one helluva spastic calliope solo.... And as Wu mentioned, SRC doing their best Grieg... ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 19:40
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Not Michigan but these guys were from Fort Wayne, Indiana..not far from Michigan as the crow flies. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 20:12
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Was somewhat familiar with Savage Grace. I am still trying to track down CD or MP3 releases of their material (I know they did three albums if I remember). Thanks for SRC! I will definitely hunt down their discography if possible. I was just in Fort Wayne not to long ago actually lol (just a funny coincidence you mention that place). I don't recommend driving there. Pain in the butt. But I will definitely check out more of ETHOS, because that bit was really appealing to me. ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 20:41
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^ Ethos material is pretty solid imo.... Regarding Fort Wayne....I have a long family connection since my aunt and uncle lived there...and I live in northwest IN not far down the road from there...been many times to Fort Wayne in the old days. You also might want to ck out Yezda Urfa...from Chicago and Gary. One of the guys still lives in La Porte, IN. http://www.yezdaurfa.com/members/default.html
------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 21:14
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Already own all the Yezda Urfa discography actually (they are in my top 20 favorite prog bands actually). ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: sidc58
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 21:32
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Styx are from Chicago. ------------- "Why, she's no fun, she fell right over".--Nick Danger (Third Eye) |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 22:00
| ^Not sure where you heard that but IZZ are actually from the NYC area. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 22:02
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The only band I can think of is Von Frickle who are from Chicago.
Edit: Sorry, someone else mentioned Chicago and I got confused. Obviously that's not in Michigan.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 22:05
The band Tiles are also from Detroit. Anyone who likes moving pictures era Rush will probably enjoy them.
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dr wu23 wrote:Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 14 2018 at 22:29
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I'll give Tiles a try (just because from Michigan... honestly can't stand Rush though lol). Anything for my home state. And there are quite a few Chicago area Prog bands: Styx (yes I consider them prog), Tortoise, Yezda Urfa, Oucho Sparks, Bangor Flying Circus, etc. ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 09:34
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I did this poll a number of years ago http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=46718&KW=michigan" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=46718&KW=michigan . It lists a number of Michigan based progressive rock bands. ------------- 
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Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 09:50
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THANK YOU SO MUCH! I will check that out immediately. Glad to see another Michigander. ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 09:57
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Welcome to the site. There are a few of us Michiganders bouncing around here. -------------
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 10:37
| I won't mention his name here but I had a good acquaintance (not really a good friend)who I knew a few years ago who was really into prog. He happened to be the director of a nature center I used to frequent in PA but was originally from Michigan. He lived in PA for many years like I did but a few years ago he moved back to Michigan. Why am I mentioning this? I'm not sure. I guess just to show that there are prog fans from Michigan out there. His taste was mostly in the classic old school style and was big into avant and RIO(as well as Italian prog)stuff. Needless to say I didn't stay in touch with him but I'm pretty sure he's still big into prog. |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 10:41
| There was also a prog band from Detroit back in the 90's called House of Usher. It looks like they only put out one album though. |
Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 11:26
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Yeah I can't find anything on House of Usher anymore. Tried researching them but the trails are hard to pick up. And I'm an old school Prog person, myself lol. StarCastle, Pink Floyd, King Crimson (first four albums), Babylon, Gypsy, Gentle Giant, etc. Still trying to explore neo-Prog and stuff (prog metal is the absolute bane of my existence). ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 12:25
Fave Starcastle album? Also, if you hate Rush, you won't like Tiles. They're not a carbon copy band, but Rush is their primary influence, and Alex Lifeson plays on one of their albums. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 13:47
| House of Usher at least have a profile page on this site but yeah their lone album has probably been out of print for a while. It's not a very highly rated album anyway so you probably aren't missing much. Check out gathering the Krums by Pye Fyte from the same year instead. No, they aren't from the mid west but instead Massachusetts(which deserves it's own prog thread. Lol). That one might be hard to come by too though. |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 14:10
Actually, there is a compilation "The Complete Savage Grace" on Amazon, as well as many SRC releases. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 14:22
Since I'm a pretty big Rush fan maybe that explains why I like Tiles. :D Enchant is another band who are similar to Rush(not as much as Tiles though)but they are from California and not the mid west. Interestingly enough though Rush first broke big in Cleveland(which I suppose is kind of the mid west isn't it?)not counting their home country of Canada.
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 14:42
Pre-Break Enchant is like Pictures/Windows-era Rush with full-time keys. I like those albums a lot. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 17:42
My favorite StarCastle album is most certainly Fountains of Light (though their debut is a close second). Song of Times isn't too shabby, and I really enjoyed it, primarily as they were definitely exploring their own sound there more. I've actually met several ex-members of the band, including Terry Luttrell. Absolutely great bunch (RIP Gary Strater). And sad. I mean I have definite respect for Rush and what they've done. Just never been my cup of tea. But I'll give Tiles a look anyways, just because I have sheer devotion to Midwest prog bands. These are my people lol. ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 17:43
Good to know. I'll check them all out. ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 22:30
My wife is a Michigander, and won't let me forget it! (University of Illinois grad I am). Starcastle was the pride of Ubana/Champaign, but I'm sure they spent a lot of time up in Michigan. ------------- I am not a Robot, I'm a FREE MAN!! |
Posted By: AreYouHuman
Date Posted: July 15 2018 at 22:40
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256 (Two Five Six) is from Grand Rapids. They first came to my attention when they opened for Tears for Fears in 1993. It was very unexpected for me but pleasing to hear a band in the 90s with a sound obviously influenced by Yes and Crimson and other 70s prog. The following year they had a CD out locally, “Mirrorings of Every”, which was as excellent as their live performance. I never followed them that closely, but they were still active into the 2000s, as I found out when they opened for Porcupine Tree in 2006, though they’d changed to a more stripped-down sound by then. I just checked on Amazon and there were four copies for sale, though a little steep in price. Highly recommended. ------------- Caption: We tend to take ourselves a little too seriously. Silly human race! Yes is for everybody! |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: July 16 2018 at 07:06
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Matthew Parmenter's nephew Ryan Parmenter has released a couple of albums on the fringes of prog. A prog metal band that you won't want to check out, but I thought that I would mention is Imminent Sonic Destruction (I saw them live when they were known as Mellotron). -------------
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Posted By: siLLy puPPy
Date Posted: July 16 2018 at 08:33
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THOUGHT INDUSTRY (progressive metal) was from Kalamazoo. One of my favorite weirdo metal bands. -------------  https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: July 16 2018 at 12:11
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If you are interested, Tin Scribble's two albums are available on CDBaby, https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/TinScribble" rel="nofollow - https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/TinScribble . Two of their members were also in House Of Usher. House of Usher's drummer, Mark Evans, went on to play drums with Tiles. -------------
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Posted By: philipemery
Date Posted: July 16 2018 at 13:18
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Looks like their discography is also available on Amazon as well. ------------- But the sun is eclipsed by the moon. -- Pink Floyd |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: July 16 2018 at 14:41
Ditto. It's easily their best, IMO. I couldn't get into the first one, at all. But with Fountains of Light they shook off most of the Yes wannabe dust and just made a good symph prog record, with great keyboard playing by Herb. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: July 16 2018 at 14:45
Ryan released his first album as RCP, titled Helvetica. Very quirky, less than cohesive. I played it once all the way through when it was brand new and couldn't get rid of it fast enough. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: eustacedevere
Date Posted: March 08 2020 at 20:40
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Hey, I have no idea if you still need more information on this topic or not, but I am going to provide anyway. In the early 70's, the Detroit rock scene was almost entirely dominated by psychedelic-blues fusion rock, kind of like L.A. Woman by the Doors. There were a few progressive rock bands, but they never were able to establish themselves and failed (the fate of most American prog bands at this time to be fair) and we have no accessible recordings for most of them. However, prog still found a way. King Crimson frequently came to Detroit, (1969, 1971,72,73) and certainly left an impact as many of the blues bands such as the Amboy Dukes and Rare Earth adopting aspects of prog into their music for a time and bands like Frijid Pink and SCR even making arguable prog albums (Earth Omen and Traveler's Tale respectively). Thankfully, some of the one-shot bands did get official releases, but unlike Northwind, most of them have psychedelic/blues influences, as that was the Detroit rock scene. The first band I can think of the fully embraced being a prog band is Lost Nation in 1970, an organ heavy band that realized one album and fell away. You can find the album and youtube. Then came Northwind and a few other bands I cannot find any music from (October and Quorum). Then we have Victor Peraino's Kingdom Come, a band from Detroit started by a keyboardist who worked with Arthur Brown, They made only one album I could find (which thankfully, is easy to find) and recently started making music again. Then we have MacArthur in 1979, a band from Saginaw that made an album which can be found on youtube and another one I can't find. Unfortunately, they are the last one from the 70's and most of the bands that followed were all pretty much prog metal (which I can't stand) or Neo-prog (which I barely tolerate). I hope I was able to provide so help two years late.
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Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: March 14 2020 at 08:13
| I just found out that the band Art in America are from Detroit. They are listed as symphonic on here but I would have thought of them more as crossover or prog related(since there is no prog pop category on here). Their best known song is probably the title track of their first album which is also the name of the band. |