Local prog bands in United States 70-80

From the time I lived in the LA CA area (1978-1989), some local proggers came to mind:

Marut: Symph prog to the hilt, featured 2 drummers, a lead singer with a Gittler Guitar, anda keyboardist who looked like Gandalf (one Wally Stoltze, funny guy too and great musician). The bassist also played very briefly with Amon Duul III (yes number 3, which was quite short lived).

Rebus: Very theatrical flute weilding lead singer and very much in the symph vein, very agressive sound. I'll never forget the bassist wearing a St Louis Cardinals uniform onstage. The keyboardist was pretty hot too (he also played some bassoon I hear).

The Fents: LA based prog-fusion outfit I saw live a few times (early 80's). Featured Adam Holzman on keyboards (son of Jac Holzman of Elektra Records fame), had organ/string ensemble/mini-moog/Yamaha Electric Grand piano type rig. Adam went on to play with Miles Davis, Chaka Khan and others as well as forming Mona Lisa Overdrive. Guitarist Tad Hall was amazing(whatever happened to him?),combined the best parts of Allan Holdsworth and Robben Ford with ZERO w**kery! The bass/drums thing had a revolving door though. Very tight playing, songs had hilarious titles and very memorable and twisted melody lines. Adam sometimes provided visual interest with things like a picture of Ho Chi Mihn taped upside down to his piano.

In the 80's, I played guitar in 2 lineups of a band called Insect Affect that got pretty prog, yet NOBODY dared call it that back then (after all, in the 80's prog was not cool and we NEVER would've got gigs using "The P-Word" back then). Some people said we sounded like a mix of Zappa, 80's Crimson and funk with some punk mixed in too.

Edited by The Owl

threefates wrote: Gypsy - from Minneapolis

 

I have a double LP set by American Gypsy released 1971 on Epic or Columbia Records - for the most part soft rock, but the long opus Dead & Gone(?) goes through very distinct prog changes. The same band, TF?

Todd Rungren/Utopia?

Touch (after recording one of the  seminal prog albums in  68/9, funded by Jimi Hendrix) did not survive into the early 70's. And what happened to The United States Of America?

Happy The Man, as Stan Whittaker would admit is late 70'.

The UK music weekly Melody maker, published a centre page spread on essential US rock and prog bands around 75/6. Amonst the Mahogany Rush type bands, Kansas and Meatloaf were included - the Todd Rundgren production (and guitarwork)  and Steinman's mock operatic rock of Bat Out Of Hell, has a strong measure of prog.

And don't forget Spirit's 12 Dreams Of Dr Sardonicus (1971 release?) - almost prog but without being able to cut the ties of psychedelia - remember Spirit split in Randy California's various 70's and 80's projects and Jay Ferguson's Jo Jo Gunne.

But hadn't Vanilla Fudge split by the 70's e.g. into the short-lived Beck Boggert Appice, and even providing Rod Stewart with a rhythm section for 10 years......................?

 

 

Cesar Inca wrote:   YEZDA URFA!!   Great stuff, indeed! You can ñisten to their repertoire in this link http://www.soundclick.com/bands/4/yezdaurfamusic.htm Imagine a mixture of Yes and GG, plus some occasional fusion stuff and acoustic folk, and that's a pretty fair description. Now... listen!!

Wow, They're amazing.

 

Hi, again.

I've read about FLIGHT, LIFT, THE LOAD, MIRTHRANDIR & QUILL, but I haven't heard anything of them yet.

No one mentioned STARCASTLE so far?

Edited by Cesar Inca

 

YEZDA URFA!!   Great stuff, indeed!

You can ñisten to their repertoire in this link http://www.soundclick.com/bands/4/yezdaurfamusic.htm

Imagine a mixture of Yes and GG, plus some occasional fusion stuff and acoustic folk, and that's a pretty fair description. Now... listen!!

 

Edited by Cesar Inca

Thank you that is very helpful. Anymore People? Keep them comming.   

James Lee wrote: It's starting to sound like a conspiracy theory. It just doesn't add up...obviously prog was hugely popular here; record sales in the US prove that. There wasn't any shortage of talented/ experimental musicians, either. So where were all the prog bands?

Ah James methinks you get to the heart of the matter.

The idea was they were here in great numbers. The fact was the record companies did not sign any more prog or experimental music after 1972. Kansas being signed was almost a fluke and Ambrosia had a lot of radio hits to make them attractive.
There seems to be this attitude that America never caught on to the prog side of things in these books publications and even in the attitude of many people now. I don't think it is correct and for all those people who did try and were snubbed I am going to try and offer an alternative view if I can.


Edited by Garion81

A couple more:

• Hands
• Harlequin Mass

 

Kind of a simplistic answer, and they're not from the US (Toronto is close to the border though), but I'd say RUSH has to fit some way into the question that you're asking. There really isn't much to differentiate Canadian and US Prog in the 70's I'd presume (except for maybe the French-Cdn offerings, but I digress)

RUSH (like Kansas) were obviously influenced by the 'English Prog Wave' that washed across North American shores in the first half of the 70's. Their first 'real prog' offering '2112' was only released in 1976...

 Alot from Calif... - Frank Zappa - Captain Beefheart - Djam Karet - Ambrosia who had a hit I think with "Holding on to Yesterday" and one other I think, they were also produced by Alan Parsons

Kansas/Dixie Dregs

Utopia - Vanilla Fudge - Savatage :  NY

Queensrÿche - Seattle

Happy the Man - somewhere around Indiana? I think

Babylon from Florida had one album, but it wasn't bad...

Gypsy - from Minneapolis

Captain Beyond - started by 2 guys from Iron Butterfly