Although there’s certainly something to be said for going to a concert and just seeing people playing, I’ve always enjoyed bands who do a bit more than that. You’re up there on stage to give the audience a show, and to me, that includes more than just making pleasing sounds.

The same goes for betting sites. Users want more than just a list of odds or potential wagers. They're looking for a unique betting experience, like what you would find here.

Since I’m probably not the most exciting of frontmen (I haven’t stood on a stage to sing since the 90s), I’m working hard on the visual presentation right now, finding clips and creating graphic elements that will enhance the experience for everyone involved.

Since we’re not the main act – as far from that as you can be, in fact – I’ve dialed down some of my more ambitious ideas, and will stick to projected movies. Although, they will be dynamic and controlled by me during the performance. This also solves the eternal prog singer problem; what the hell to do during the long instrumental sections.

I’ll be using the VJ software Modul8, and if I can properly work out the technical aspects of it, I will be live mixing visual elements that respond to the music while I’m not handling vocal duties. Early signs look promising, though.

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With our maiden gig at Sweden Prog Fest 2013 fast approaching, we’re now starting a pretty intense rehearsal schedule. Since all of us have lives (and the two Fredriks each have a baby to consider), it’s not easy to get all six of us in one room, let alone fit us all into the tiny confines of Elsewhere Studios.

Being the new kids on the block in many ways, we’ll actually open the festival at four thirty in the afternoon. That’ll be both a little nerve-wracking, but also a good thing, since we can then just run around and enjoy the rest of the festval afterwards.

This gig is in many ways a proof of concept; a beta, if you will. If all goes as it should, we’ll try to line up more gigs in the near future. So, if you want to help us move forward, we’d love to see you there. Tickets can be purchased here.

We will, we will PROG you.

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Remember how I hoped in the previous post that we could make our debut at the Lidköping Art Rock Festival and be on stage for Sweden Prog Fest 2013? Well, the first one didn’t happen, but the second one is well on the way to becoming reality.

In the intervening time many things have happened.

Our departed bassist Mattias missed the band so much, he stepped back in as our clutch player – that is to say, a bit of an all-rounder (which he is). He’ll be handling second-guitar, extra keys and vocal duties.

Then we lost our keyboard player to God. No, thankfully he didn’t die, but his commitment to studying to join the priesthood didn’t give him enough time left over for us. But our attitude is that – much like Mattias – you can never really leave Somewhere, you are only a dormant member, so we may yet see Jacob again one day.

In the meantime, we were lucky to find an immediate replacement for him in the form of the brilliant Fredrik Lundberg, who jumped in feet first and really aced some exceptionally difficult parts right off the bat. As a non-trivial bonus, he’s a also a very nice guy, so the mood in the band continues to be as great as ever.

So, folks. November 30th at Brygghuset in Stockholm for Sweden Prog Fest. Be there. It will definitely be a Somewhere to Remember. I’ll be blogging regularly – at the very least weekly – about our road to our first stage performance.

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Yes, it’s been eerily quiet on the Somewhere front, but we’re still a going concern. After releasing Lullaby…, we started working on recording the album in spring. We had our debut gig lined up for the summer, at the Lidköping Art Rock Festival.

Unfortunately, our bass player Mattias decided that he could not devote as much time to Somewhere as would be required, so he left us – all quite amicably, and we’re still good friends.

However, that left us hunting for a new bass player. We were lucky to eventually find an excellent replacement in Johan Nyberg, who has played with our guitarist Fredrik off and on for years, so they know each other well.

At that point, we did not want to force Johan so simply learn Mattias’s parts, but decided to step back a bit and allow him to influence the music with his own style. It’s a decision that has payed off in spades musically, but it has slowed our progress (heh) somewhat.

So, fall rolls around, and we’re back on track when…our guitarist Fredrik is in an accident, hurting his left hand quite severely. At this point he is more or less recovered, so after the new year, we will be focusing on moving forward.

We still hope that we can play our first gig at the Lidköping Art Rock Festival, albeit a year late, and to also be on stage for the Sweden Prog Fest in the fall of 2013. Either way, the album – still titled Magnitizdat – will be worked on and hopefully available before the first of those gigs.

Anyway, thanks for looking in, and please feel free to comment below. Every comment gives us that much more energy to complete the first of what we hope will be a series of progtastic albums.

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And now, Lullaby for the Common Man is available for download from Soundcloud. You will find it on the left in the sidebar. You can listen to it straight from there, or go directly to the site to download it for yourself and leave comments. Enjoy.

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Our new single/video is finally completed. With Christopher Lee playing the role of The High Priest, George Montgomery as The Uncommon Man and a cameo from Rock Hudson as The Scientist.

Please enjoy Lullaby for the Common Man.

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It seems I have lost our bass player’s questionnaire answers. Oops. I will be back to continue this as soon as I get them.

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Next up in the band member introduction stakes is our drummer Paul.

In an earlier post on spam I mentioned how so much of it tries to flatter you into approving a comment. Well, it seems the spammers now have a new angle: insults. Fifteen or so spam comments have come in during the last 24 hours saying that I’m obviously dumb for not making money off of this site.

Yeah. Because that was the goal all along.

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While that next single, Lullaby for the Common Man, is being finalized, we’ll take the time to present the members of the band, one by one. We’ll do this from youngest to oldest, from not yet twenty to almost fifty. First up, the guy that made the band complete, our keyboard player Jacob.

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Thank you for all the kind comments already received on Progmas 2011. Also, thanks to all who’ve bought the iProg t-shirt. It really has taken off in a big way and is our fastest seller, with orders already going out to the US, UK and Germany.

We’re still hard at work mixing the audio and editing the video for Lullaby for the Common Man (which will actually star Christopher Lee).

Here’s a pic I made and didn’t use in the new video, since I didn’t want to repeat occurrences of Pink Floyd, who are only tangentially a prog band anyway.

The rest of the reworked covers and background images can be found at the Progmas 2011 gallery. Hit the thumbnail to come to the image page, and then from there click the image again to get it full-size. Tarkus and both Fragile Christmas Tree Decorations are of suitable size for desktop wallpaper (the old one is 4:3, the new one widescreen).

Happy proglidays!

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