| ......................................THE BAND AND RECORD OF THE MONTH |
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| . | JANUARY 2006 |
| Comments:
We are starting a new year and, I´m very happy to introduce to all prog friends a special band. The Band Of Rain has a big heavenly orchestral sound and another example of pure Music - played and written at it's heart. The guys on the band play an incredible Symphonic Progressive Rock music, adorned with Hard Rock textures, blending elements from many sources such as Electronic Space Rock, Heavy Metal and Classic Rock, and even modern chamber music into a cohesive whole. The musical elements are extremely well balanced, all the instruments are clear, audible, with delicate arrangements, the main highlights on the songs are the killer guitar sounds, sometimes symphonic and sometimes heavy, driven by precise and very dynamic rhythms, while the floating synthesizer and orchestral keyboards add a touch of symphonism to all songs. In fact, the members on the band are highly talented musicians, who do not focus on one style, but show on their works how versatile they are. It´s hard classify the influences from Band Of Rain but, I can say that, they sounding like a hybrid of "Pink Floyd", "Mike Oldfield", "Yes", "Flamborough Head" and "Porcupine Tree". Band Of Rain is definitely recommended to Progressive Rock fans around the world. Brilliant and magnify absolutely recommended discovery, highly recommendable... The
musicians on the Band Of Rain are:
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BAND
OF RAIN
Chris Gill - Writer - Multi Instrumentalist - Lead Guitar.  Chris
Gill began playing guitar at 13, and learned like so many playing along
to Hendrix and Cream records. He really got in to it after seeing The Groundhogs
and more specifically Tony T.S.McPhee. It wasn't long before he had a school
band together called "Gondolin" performing Groundhogs/ King Crimson/Free
covers. Inevitably they split up after leaving school, and Chris played
with various different bands in the then thriving Bedford U.K. music scene.Prowl,
and The Eyes of Eleanor being 2 of them. He got invited to a Bath Arts
workshop which was to introduce him to the world of improvisation. Chris,
Mike Westbrook - Lol Coxhill (Kevin Ayers - National Health) and the mighty
George Khan (Robert Wyatt) and members of the Global Village Trucking Company
played non stop for about 6 hours, even through a Hawkwind gig that was
going on in the next room, without playing the same thing twice. In fact
when the Hawkwind gig finished, they came on stage and jammed along too.
Chris saw a whole new way of making music through improvisation. He tried
for a few years to recreate the magic of Bath but it never really worked.
Chris played on the fringes of festivals such as Stonehenge (before it
was stopped) Bath and occassionally Glastonbury jamming along with as many
different types of musician he could find. This was where Chris preffered
to be, as that was where "raw" music was being made, and, there were so
many different influences. It was to prove a very fortunate learning curve.
About this time the UK music scene had moved in to Punk, and so like many
others he decided to try the USA. Having moved to Houston Texas he eventually
found a club there called Carnabys in the bohemian Montrose area. Here
he met a whole bunch of like minded musicians. They soon put a band together,
and found themselves playing at various universities and clubs across the
southern states. However after an accident at The University of Arizona
in Tuscon, Chris stopped playing for a while as he had broken most of his
fingers.He drifted in to Los Angeles, and made some "pocket money" coaching
an actress (who will remain nameless) to talk with an English accent. However,
he still found time to work with new bands that were trying to get off
the ground. But it was no substitute for playing.He decided to move back
to the UK and start again. He bought himself another guitar, and got his
fingers working properly again. Add to this he found new inspiration after
talking to Nick Mason and Adrian Belew, Chris put together what we know
as Band of Rain. Because he wanted to try to make a new kind of
music, he decided to take on the debut album "Deep Space" as a solo project,
as he really wasn't sure which direction it would go in. Except for some
help with vocals from good friend Andy Fisher, he played all the other
instruments himself. His wife Katrina who is also a musician played the
flute on "Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers". Deep Space has been out since
September 2004, and has been very well received. There are already fans
all over the world and word is spreading fast. 2005 will see another CD
as well as the formation of a live band. Progressive Soundscapes Radio
USA calls the music: "Incredibly complex and mesmerising..."
Graham
Elks - Lead Guitar/Multi Instrumentalist.
Billy
Fleming - Drums/Multi instrumentalist.
Sarah
Smith Electric Violin/Guitar and backing vocals.
Genever
Morgan - vocals/Multi Instrumentalist.
Katrina
Gill - Flutes/Keyboards.
Melissa
Jayne Smith - Multi Instrumentalist.
Andy
Fisher - Guitar/Vocals.
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.New
Release
"Garlands" 01)
Ghost Town
Produced by Chris Gill for Hollowhill Music. Music and lyrics by Chris Gill. Swiss Navy Productions artist Management, represaentation and Media Relations. To get in contact or, If you would like any other information, please e-mail to Band Of Rain. |
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For
more information and every thing about the band, please visit BAND
OF RAIN HOME PAGEN
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