Click on the image opposite which will take you to an enlarged image, print out the image, remove it from your printer, fill in the cells, scan in your completed Sil-Doku, attach it to an email, send it to us at this address and we'll contact you with the chance to win £10,000*

1. Mick Pointer
2. Diz Minute
3. Steve Hogarth
4. Pete Trewavas
5. Mark Kelly
6. Ian Mosely
7. Steve Rothery
8. Fish
9. Childhood Boy

*Rules Apply - must be over 18 to be entered

A couple of things have been bought to our attention recently. Firstly "Dave" from Slough sent us this link. He says "Is this Marillion fans getting out of control?"

Secondly, after trawling the worlds salubrious message forums, we found these nuggets:

Are Arena Gay?

Progressive Fundamentalists (including a rant by Birdman Barratt)

Pop along and give them your pennyworths. I'm sure your views will be eagerly anticipated! And if you've found anything interesting that you'd like to share, drop us a link here. As ever, the best ones will get printed and you may even get credited, but I'm afraid that we are unable to return your pictures.

Silhobbit - you dig the shit so we don't have to...

The Welsh proggers have had another upheaval in their camp. Pinky Plonky Colin Edwards has decided to leave to follow "other musical paths" and has been replaced by Keyboard Wiz Huw Weston (right), who reckons that he'll be wearing a cape for their live performances.

The bands new CD will be out soon, when label F2 Music can find a window of opportunity.

"Faceless" Nick May

The band have been busy over the summer, barely stopping to go down the beach, and wasting the good weather we had. Anyway, they've done loads of work opn their solo stuff, indeed, Lord Nicholas May has finished his Whimwise album and hopes to have it out soon. After a cup of tead and a jam scone, perhaps.

Ian Jones has also been working with Steve Evans and Ian Simmons on the Chasing The Monsoon project . You can read about this at your leisure here. I'm sure Gonzalo has been busy too, as has singer Alquimia. And Bob Dalton too. Anything to avoid the dreaded It Bites reunion...

Dream Aria are a new band from Canada fronted by the impressively gorgeous Ann Burstyn (right) and featuring Donald Stagg (keys) Garry Flint (Drum and bass) and Jozef Pilasanovic (guitar, bass and flute). The band are getting lots of radio plays worldwide, and their album "In The Wake" is picking up some favourable reviews too. Find out more at their website www.dreamaria.com  

The band have recorded a new song "Ann Bonny" for the forthcoming "Pirates Tales" project (featuring ELP amongst others) - see Pirate Tales for more information

Sheffield proggers Evolution are playing a few dates in the coming weeks. They are

Saturday 1 October - The Silver Fox, Stocksbridge, Sheffield
Saturday 15 October - The Victoria, Staveley, Chesterfield
Saturday 19 November - Joplins, Market Place, Chesterfield

Keep your band in the most comprehensive Gig Guide by emailling us here at Silhobbit Gig Guide

At long last Porcupine Tree will release a DVD.

Unbelievably the band's website still hasn't mentioned that the star 'ratboy' John Beck is touring South America with The Alan Parson's Project!

An insider told Silhobbit "John is enjoying the tour, but 5 am flights are not his thing, in England he is used to getting up at 9am."

Silhobbit.com - Always the first for Prog News

To mark their tenth anniversary, Arena brings back two former band members for a special evening. At the gig at the Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Holland, on October 16, the show will include a short set of Visitor material, for which Paul Wrightson, and John "Two Jags" Jowlitt will be joining on stage!

Ellie Carrick from Kings Lynn sent us this link. Was this some inspiration for Steven Wilson? Check here...

If you've found a "Nearly Progressive" story in the news, drop us a line here and we'll tell the world!

Luke, from Manchester, has pointed out that the link we gave in the previous "Nearly Progressive" item has since expired. Sorry prognewshounds!

UK band Genesis in the Cage are delighted to announce that they will be headlining at the forthcoming Dutch Genesis Convention in Zoetermeer on 11 December 2005. For further details see here.

Trevor Garrard, the band's singer said: "We are overjoyed to be asked to perform at this event. We've played on the continent before and the reception was just fantastic. We know there is a great progressive rock following in The Netherlands so we know it will be a great show."

For more details on the band visit www.inthecage.co.uk

Frost is a new project featuring the widdly creative talents of Jem Godfrey, formerly of 90's pub proggers Freefall, along with ex-Rook guitarist John Boye and John MItchell (Kino, The Urbane, Arena and many, many more).

They are currently working on their debut album Milliontown which hopefully will be out next year.

Ratboy John Beck had little time to prepare for an American tour after saving the day after the previous keyboard-player hurt his back in mysterious circumstances.

John last toured with Alan Parsons five years ago.

As a special 10th anniversary one-off type gig, Paul Wrightson and "Two Jags" Jowitt will join the rest of the boys at their gig at the Boerderij in Zoetermeer, Holland on October 16, for a special set of Visitor material.

Eager to dispell the notion that they might have been simply sitting on their arses for the last year, the Darwin's Radio guys told us that they have been working on their new album "Eyes Of The World". As it is currently being mixed, they hope to have it out in November. They reckon it's worth the wait cos it's got "...just under an hour of great songs and accomplished musicianship."

Congratulations to Genesis covers band, Genesis In The Cage. They're the first band to have told us here at Silhobbit.com about their 2006 tour dates!

Check out their dates, and many others at out gig listing page here...

The bad news for the Alan Parsons Project is that keyboarder Manny Focarazzo has injured his back and will be unavailable for at least the start of the next few dates of the bands American tour. Alan has looked into getting some sort of remote-hospital rig set up, but will instead send for a capable replacement.

Al told us "The option to cancel the dates is a non-starter with me, I'm afraid. Those kids need music in their lives, and, by golly, I'm going to give it to them, man".

Top drummer Steve Hughes has updated his website (www.stevehughesweb.co.uk) with the great news that coastproggers Big Big Train are recording the follow up to the excellent Gathering Seed and they will record two albums at once!

Steve told Silhobbit.com "The album has been delayed because IQ/Jadis producer Armitage Shanks has been busy. We go into the studio in October."

The German multi-instrumentalist has been celebrating his lottery win with his new group of special friends.

One insider told us that he has bought a flash new BMW, a stylish apartment in Munich, and a giraffe.

He is also planning on taking his new group of special friends over to England to see Kino play.

Christopher Frost from Bolton spotted this story in his local news-website and wonders if "Mr Gabriel is something of a modern-day Nostradamus!" - 30 years ago anyway.

Check out the story here

If you've found a "Nearly Progressive" story in the news, drop us a line here and we'll tell the world!

There is still time to get your pictures in and win the chance to enjoy a pleasure cruise on John Mitchell's boat moored along the Thames.

This pretty girl, Tess, lives in Uxbridge and was entered by her friend Steven.

The panel of judges is made up of Silhobbit staff and It Bites / Kino boy John Beck.

Go on, enter your girlfriend now! click here...

Enter your girlfriend, or we will..

Steven Wilson's brother is currently on a around the world trip and enjoying Australia Silhobbit.com can exclusively reveal yesterday.

Rush will be releasing the highly anticipated R30 DVD in late autumn 2005. R30 will feature the sold out concert that Rush played in Frankfurt, Germany, Europe in October 2004 during their 30th Anniversary tour.

Drummer Neil Pert (not pictured right) has expressed his interest in the band Porcupine Tree after reading about them on Silhobbit.com.

Together with Swedish openings act Violent Silence, Norwegian Magic Pie and Swedish act A.C.T., Ricocher showed their skills on Saturday, August 13th 2005 in Slottskogen-Göteborg at the Slottskogen goes progressive festival.

We have a review here written by band member John van Heughten

Contrary to the previous news story about the band, it now seems that InsideOut won't be releasing new versions of the Live @ Montreux DVD and CD until early next year.

Sorry about any inconvenience caused by our earlier story.

The melodic Symphonic-Progger ECHOLYN were the most important of the few initiators of the Prog-Revival in America in the early 90s and for this reason laid the foundation for such bands like Spocks' Beard, Enchant and Dream Theatre.

Now, in for the first time in their fifteen year spanning history, they embark on a European tour through England, The Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Echolyn are well-known for their much valued albums like “As The World”, “Echolyn”, “Suffocating The Bloom”, and most notably “Mei”. At the gigs they will also introduce some brand new songs of their album “The End Is Beautiful” that will be released at the end of August.

Saturday, 3. September: Mean Fiddler, London (GB)
Sunday, 4. September: Boardwalk, Sheffield (GB)
Tuesday, 6. September: De Boerderij, Zoetermeer (NL)
Wednesday, 7. September: Z7, Pratteln (CH)
Friday, 9. September: Stazione Birra, Rome (I)
Saturday, 10. September: Teatro Elena, Milan (I)
Sunday, 11. September: AKW, Wuerzburg* (GER)
Monday, 12. September: Bergkeller, Reichenbach (GER)
Wednesday, 14. September: Spirit Of 66, Verviers (B)
Thursday, 15. September: Lucky & Co, Rijssen (NL)

News from transport-enthusiast John Mitchell, and his noisy little group 'The Urbane' is that John, Paddy & Martin are 4 songs into the recording of the a new album. Word from the boys is that as a band they have not mellowed with age - the new stuff is said to be heavier and darker than the previous albums. As for drummers both Bob Dalton & Scooby will be involved.

Talking on the phone to our newsdesk, keyboardist Paddy said "We entered the studio with a blank page and no idea of what would happen and so far we are both very pleased with the results. It quite exciting to be honest. To my ears the sound is not that far removed from bands like H.I.M, Lacuna Coil and Killing Joke - although I'm sure John would have a different view"

John Mitchell continues his interest in transport by recently purchasing a motorbike.

InsideOut music will officially release the DVD and CD which was sold on the bands' website, this autumn. The packaging has been completely redesigned. It is unknown at the moment if the general releases will have bonus material.

It is great that material is being released, but what everyone wants is some new songs from this extraordinary band!

Mike played an impromptu set with an august bunch of musicians at a party deep in the West Sussex countryside two weekends ago. The party, to celebrate the marriage of Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera to leading music publicist Claire Singers, featured a session of 60s soul and other golden oldies played by a band featuring: Mike, Phil Manzanera and the Floyd's David Gilmour on guitars; Roxy Music's Andy Mackay on saxes; and drummers Bill Bruford, Paul Thompson (Roxy Music) and Kenny Jones (Small Faces).

Bill Bruford was in particularly good form and, we guess, this was the first time that Mike and Bill had appeared on stage together since the Genesis tour of 1976. We are sure someone will correct us if we are wrong.

The excellent solo experimentalist recently won the 'German Lottery' Silhobbit can reveal. Christian is the "German Mike Oldfield" playing many instruments but mainly guitar and keyboards.

Silhobbit can't praise wealthy Christian enough, and he is always welcome to stay at the Silhobbit apartment in Hemel Hempstead. The amount he has won is a close secret. but a friend of his reveaed that it is a "substantial amount".

We wish wealthy Christian all the best and his music is brilliant and well worth checking out.

Surfer-Proggers Pendragon release their new album Believe on the 29th August

The tracklisting is as follows:

We've heard a sneak preview of the album (and spell checked the lyrics!) and can confirm reports that it is a departure from the previous "Pendragon Sound".

The cover (opposite) has again been produced by Simon Williams, and like the sound, is a departure for the band.

Nick talks about the tracks on the album here and it can be ordered from here nearer the release date.

We think Nick and the boys have got a winner on their hands this time!

Deep Imagination is represented with "Moonscape" on the CD sampler "Underground Sounds 10" of the german print music magazine MOONHEAD, edition July/August 2005. Relevant CD reviews of the album "Scapes" can be read in the new Reviews Section at the DEEP IMAGINATION website.
 

You can hear soundbytes here

The first Summer's End Festival is to be held at the Guildhall, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, UK on the 17th September, 2005.

Described as "a celebration of contemporary progressive rock", the event's organisers have confirmed the following lineup: Also Eden, Steve Thorne, Tr3nity, Galahad, The Pineapple Thief and headliners Magenta.

Full details can be found on http://www.summersend.co.uk