August 21, 2010
STRAWBS: LINEUP CHANGE FOR 2010 TOUR
Some big news just in about the electric Strawbs band line-up for both the Canadian dates in October 2010 and the UK dates in November 2010.
Neither Rod Coombes nor Oliver Wakeman are available for these tours - Rod has educational commitments, and Oliver is committed to recording a new Yes album in the States in October/November. But two renowned musicians have stepped in for the Thursday, October 7 2010 show in Montreal as well as the other tour dates:
On drums... we welcome the return of a familiar face to many longtime Strawbs fans - TONY FERNANDEZ, who played on Deadlines and Heartbreak Hill, the latter an album which Cousins considers one of their best. After 34 years in Rick Wakeman's band, Tony was reunited with the Heartbreak Hill and Blue Angel line-ups at the 40th anniversary weekend. His enthusiasm for playing Strawbs material again was both obvious and infectious. It'll be a great pleasure to see him behind the drumkit again.
On keyboards... we welcome a new face - JOHN YOUNG, who has supported the Strawbs in the past at Bilston. As well as running his own John Young Band, he writes with Jon Anderson, is MD for Bonnie Tyler, has played in Quango alongside John Wetton and Carl Palmer and with Greenslade, Steeleye Span, Bon Jovi, The Scorpions, Asia, Paul Rodgers and Fish amongst other credits. Check out his Myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/johnyoungband
August 16, 2010
THE CARL PALMER BAND AT THE GESÙ
Following our sold out presentation of Emerson and Lake on April 13th, it is with great honor and pleasure that Get It Promotions and FMPM invite you to celebrate 40 years of Emerson, Lake & Palmer with The Carl Palmer Band, on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at the Gesù - Centre de Créativité (1200 Bleury Street, Montreal • 514-861-4036).
Carl Palmer, the rhythmic backbone of progressive rock's first supergroup, has been hailed as one of the world's greatest drummers, thrilling rock fans worldwide with his dazzling speed and technical virtuosity. The Carl Palmer Band features Carl Palmer on drums and percussion, Paul Bielatowicz on guitar and Simon Fitzpatrick on bass. The power trio will serve up an all-instrumental show, entitled "Carl Palmer Celebrates The Music of ELP".
“This is a trio, which ELP also was, but we have replaced the keyboards with some very powerful guitar interpretations of that classic music. Although ELP had a lot of vocal hit songs, we were really about musicianship and conveying the spectrum of emotions through our instruments. Many of the classic elements of these songs remain, but they have been updated and reinterpreted through my band" says Palmer. Among the songs featured in the show are: Tarkus, Fanfare For The Common Man, and Hoedown.
The show will begin at 8:00 PM and doors open at 7:00 PM. Tickets will be available starting August 28 at noon for $45 (plus taxes and service charges) through Admission, or by calling 514-790-1245. They will also be available at any Admission outlet or at the Gesù boxoffice. An exclusive pre-sale for FMPM and Get It Promotion fans begins August 21st at 9:00 AM at www.progquebec.com. We have reserved the very best seats for our pre-sale and tickets will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. Visit www.carlpalmer.com for more info.
July 24, 2010
A SPECIAL FMPM EVENT BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND:
THE STRAWBS RETURN TO MONTREAL TO PRESENT HERO & HEROINE LIVE !
The FMPM team in association with Get It Promotions, ProgQuebec, Unicorn Digital and Bierbrier Brewing, is very proud to welcome back the STRAWBS in Montreal for a unique concert on Thursday, October 7, 2010 at the Théâtre Outremont, 1248 Bernard Street West.
The STRAWBS is composed of original members DAVE COUSINS on guitar and vocals, DAVE LAMBERT on guitar and vocals, CHAS CRONK on bass, as well as TONY FERNANDEZ on drums, and JOHN YOUNG on keyboards. Celebrating over 40 years of music, the STRAWBS will present their masterpiece album HERO AND HEROINE in its entirety as well as many other great classics. Another highly anticipated comeback by these veterans of the progressive rock scene!
Advance reserved seating tickets are $50 (+ taxes & fees) available at www.progquebec.com, www.ticketpro.ca (514-908-9090) and at the Outremont Theatre boxoffice (514-495-9944).
July 23, 2010
STEVE HACKETT - PHOTO ALBUM
Here are some great pictures of the Steve Hackett concert on July 9 at the Place des Arts in Montreal, courtesy of Marc Lafontaine and Robert D.
May 30, 2010
BRITISH ROCK BAND BABE RUTH REUNITES FOR
HISTORIC CONCERT AT THE METROPOLIS, JULY 10!
FMPM and Get It Promotions are pleased to announce that Babe Ruth, the ‘70s British rock band hailing from Hatfield, England, has reunited and will be playing at the Metropolis in Montreal on Saturday July 10th, 2010.
And we just got word that Montreal prog-fusion band Karcius will ensure the opening act for the evening! Composed of Thomas Brodeur on drums, Simon L'Espérance on guitars, Mingan Sauriol on keys and Sylvain Auclair on bass and vocals, the group is just returning from a highly succesful tour in France and is currently working on their next album.
Babe Ruth includes all five original members: vocalist Janita (Jenny) Haan, guitarist Alan Shacklock, bassist Dave Hewitt, keyboardist Dave Punshon, and drummer Ed Spevok. "Since the release of our first album, First Base, in 1972, Canada has always been Babe Ruth’s most enthusiastic fan base," says Alan Shacklock. "We're completely thrilled to be coming back out to play for everyone again. Our fondest memories as a band are the large arena concerts we played in cities like Montreal and Ottawa in 1974 and 1975."
First Base was certified Gold in Canada, and the band will be playing fan favorites such as Wells Fargo and the massive international hit The Mexican, as well as new material. “Songs from the new album Que Pasa such as Break for the Border and The Sun, Moon & Stars have that same progressive Latin-Mexican vibe” states Shacklock. “Singing is like breathing for me, I can’t live without it” says Jenny Haan. "We've all been doing our own separate projects over the years, but none of us has ever stopped playing. We are so charged to have the chance to do it as Babe Ruth once again... we are going to absolutely kill this!" For more info on the band please go to www.baberuthband.com.
TICKETS: Reserved seating tickets for Babe Ruth go on sale Saturday May 15th at noon on TicketPro (514-790-1111 or 1-866-908-9090 or online at www.ticketpro.ca) for $49.50 + fees/taxes. Pre-sales begin Saturday May 8 at 8AM at www.progquebec.com.
March 7, 2010
RENAISSANCE OPENING FOR STEVE HACKETT AT
LA PLACE DES ARTS, JULY 9!
A very special treat for those who will be attending the Steve Hackett show, FMPM and Get It Promotions are proud to announce for the very first time in Montreal Renaissance as special guest to Steve Hackett on Friday, July 9, 2010 at Place des Arts' Théâtre Maisonneuve.
Renaissance's current resurgence coincides with the 40th anniversary of the classic English band's formation. 2009 saw singer Annie Haslam, whose five-octave voice is one of the most distinctive in rock history, reconnecting with longtime bandmate Michael Dunford, Renaissance's guitarist and principal composer. Haslam's soaring vocals and Dunford's evocative acoustic guitar work were cornerstones of the group's sound during its most prolific era, 1972-1978. So it's appropriate that the group launched its return to active duty with a series of intimate concerts in Fall 2009 for its loyal fans.
Renaissance's new lineup finds Haslam and Dunford joined by four world-class instrumentalists whose talents provide new creative blood, while maintaining the band's traditional standards of sterling musicianship. Keyboardist Rave Tesar and bassist/vocalist David J. Keyes are veterans of prior editions of Renaissance as well as several Haslam solo projects, while keyboardist/vocalist Tom Brislin's resume includes work with Yes, Camel, Debbie Harry, Meat Loaf and Francis Dunnery, and drummer Frank Pagano has collaborated with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow and Smashing Pumpkins.
Now, Renaissance begins an exciting new chapter, while honoring its beloved body of vintage work. Haslam and Dunford promise that the new six-piece lineup will perform the band's timeless classics with the same care with which the material was originally crafted, while utilizing technological advances to reproduce the music's original symphonic textures like never before. They're also enthusiastic about introducing the music to a new generation of listeners as well as longtime fans.
"I'm thrilled to be performing these songs again, and to be performing them with Michael Dunford and a great group of musicians," Haslam states. "These songs are a big part of my life, so I'll be singing my heart out."
There are a few tickets still available, so act quickly before the show is sold out!
January 15, 2010
STEVE HACKETT, EX-GENESIS GUITARIST AND
ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE,
TO PERFORM WITH HIS ELECTRIC BAND
AT PLACE DES ARTS, FRIDAY JULY 9 2010
FMPM and Get It Promotions are pleased to present a rare concert performance by STEVE HACKETT and his electric band, Friday July 9 2010 at Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts. STEVE HACKETT is renowned as an immensely talented and innovative rock musician. He was lead guitarist with Genesis as part of their classic line up with Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. Between 1970 and 1977, HACKETT played on 6 studio albums: Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering, as well as 2 live albums: Genesis Live and Seconds Out. His guitar playing produced some of the most memorable moments of that fabled line-up including dramatic electric guitar solos as in Firth of Fifth as well as sensitive acoustic passages as in Blood on the Rooftops.
Following GENESIS, HACKETT began an impressive solo career releasing several highly-rated progressive rock albums including Voyage of the Acolyte and Spectral Mornings. He also formed super-group GTR with Steve Howe (Yes), and played with many renowned musicians such as Brian May (Queen), John Wetton (UK), and Ian Mosley and Pete Trewavas (Marillion). HACKETT also produced several award-winning classically-oriented albums featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra including A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Genesis Revisited.
HACKETT’s live electric concerts take fans on an extraordinary journey that covers many periods of his career from GENESIS and his early progressive solo work through to the present, woven together by his distinctive and melodic guitar playing. 2010 will cap HACKETT’s fourth decade as a professional musician and will also mark the year in which he and GENESIS are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
TICKETS: Reserved seating tickets for STEVE HACKETT are now on sale at the Place des Arts box office (514-842-2112 or 1-866-842-2112), as well as online at www.pda.qc.ca and www.progquebec.com. Tickets are $60 + taxes and fees!
October 13, 2009
FMPM: Thank You and Goodnight...
For four years now, we have worked tirelessly to bring about a high quality and unique experience uniting live progressive music with fans in Montreal. We are proud to say that, with lots of hard work and a little luck, we managed to accomplish this each year without any major setbacks, watching attendance rise from just over 200 in 2006 to a sold out event this year. As all festival organizers know, the job is a year long one, unrelenting and fraught with things that could go disastrously wrong. Fortunately for us nothing did, although we dodged a few bullets with the passing of Hatfield and the North’s drummer Pip Pyle a few weeks before the first edition, while Vittorio Nocenzi of Banco suffered heart problems just months before performing in 2008. Each FMPM was a blast, and every note heard from the stage resonated into unforgettable experiences. Our goals were not related to size or profit, but were instead to create a “happening” with some of our favorite international bands, while showcasing Quebec’s fine progressive artists. FMPM was always a “one year at a time” affair which depended greatly on the availability of our time and the feasibility of inviting some of our favorite bands to Montreal. And we were blessed to be able to do this four times.
So, it is with many mixed emotions that we are deciding not to proceed with another FMPM. The decision not to continue is not in any way based on finances, as the festival covered all of its expenses this year following a few years of small and manageable deficits. Nor is the decision based on any conflicts, as all FMPM team members remain the best of friends and continue to work together in various capacities. This decision is solely about the time and effort that both of us, being the main organizers, need to devote year-round to making the festival the best it can be. We have established high personal standards for the line-up and production quality, and we believe, having read all the positive comments year after year, that we could never accept offering a festival with the FMPM name that isn’t up to these standards. But with full time jobs and businesses to run, family obligations and many other commitments and activities, it would be difficult for us to repeat what we have achieved to date. So, we have chosen instead to end on a high note, although we do plan to occasionally produce some one-off concerts under the FMPM banner, and to continue promoting Quebec artists.
As most of you are aware, we are also the two principals of ProgresSon Music, parent company of the ProgQuebec label, and our priority will continue to be helping Quebec artists reissue their music and perform on stage when possible. We are proud to say that in the five years since the label’s founding, we have released 36 titles and returned around $75,000 in royalties to Quebec musicians. So on this positive note, we wish to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all those who helped out with FMPM and everyone who attended the festival during the past four years, for sharing such amazing music and experiences with us.
Stephen Takacsy and Sean McFee
September 14, 2009
FMPM 2009: A MONSTER SUCCESS!
From the magical performance of Saga on Friday to the majesty of Le Orme on Saturday and the highly anticipated Three Friends on Sunday, FMPM 2009 was a monster success! A million thanks to the incredible artists that offered us their music, their talent and their passion, thanks to the staff, volunteers and sponsors, that worked welll beyond the call of duty to make this an unforgettable weekend, and most importantly... thanks from the bottom of our hearts and souls to all of you who have attended FMPM 2009 and made it a reality!
Gary Green and friends, rehearsal - September 13, 2009 - © Robert Dansereau
For older news entries, please visit our NEWS ARCHIVE page where you'll find all the historical FMPM news and tidbits dating back to March 2006!
©2009 Robert Dansereau - ProgresSon Music Inc. All Rights Reserved.