cold hard noose

Bloody hell it's cold out.
Well put it away!

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Porcupine Tree

If waiting for Fear of a Blank Planet is making you go sick with anticipation then Silhobbit.com can help. Those who listened to our live radio show on Progrock.com  would've been privy to a track from their new album.

Not only this, but also three tracks from Marillion's new album Somewhere Else too!

If you missed the live show you can hear it repeated this Sunday at 3pm GMT at ARFM.co.uk.

And if you miss the weekly live shows they are repeated on on the radio shows and if you miss the repeats they are podcasted here on Silhobbit.com, the best non pornographic site on the web.

This Sunday sees one of the most exciting sports events of the year!

In an unmissable match, Donald Trump will fight against WWE owner Vince McMahon in a Billionaire vs Billionaire match. Whoever loses the fight will shave off his hair.

Many prog fans including Gay Gordon are excited to see the return of The Rock.

It Bites

Reformed and revamed 80's proggers It Bites have been named as the Sunday Night headline act at this years Summer's End festival, held at The Robin in Bilston, on September 15th and 16th. Also playing on the Sunday are reformed 80's proggers Solstice, while angry Swedes Pain Of Salvation headline the Saturday night, along with Abraxas.

Other band on the bill are Tinyfish, Also Eden, Yesterdays and Whimwise.

More details at www.myspace.com/summersendfestival and details of last years event (still) at www.summersend.co.uk

ACT

ACT, the Swedish proggers currently touring Europe, have been added to the line-up at the Motstøy Festival in Notodden, Norway on October 6th, along with Pain Of Salvation and Evergrey. Details can be found at www.motstoy.com. The band also hopes to announce further European dates to the tour that has already visited Belgium, England, France, Germany, Holland, Spain and Sweden.

Remaining dates are:

Wednesday 28 March - Club Maiden, Oslo, Norway
Saturday 4 August - Subtacto Festival, Oslo, Norway
Saturday 6 October - Motstøy Festival, Notodden, Norway (with Pain Of Salvation, Everygrey)

Solstice

The recently reformed 80's Chiltern Proggers Solstice have signed to F2 Records. The band will be playing a select few gigs this year, before retreating into the studio to work on a new album, slated for release in 2008

F2 Records will, however, be whetting our collective appetites by releasing 'definitive' versions of the band's three studio albums - 'Silent Dance', 'New Life' and 'Circles' - with brand new artwork and booklets, and bonus CD's containing rare demos and special live tracks. The bonus discs will include all those previously released on the very hard to find Solstice compilation CD 'Pathways'.

At the signing, Andy Glass said 'we are delighted to be entering into this creative partnership and we are full of hope for the future'.

Ezra

Chris Jones and Gareth Hill have joined Welsh proggers Ezra on guitars and keyboards.

A recent press release from the band said: "We have ditched the sequencer and replaced it with real people. Those of youwho have followed us over the years will have seen various line-ups of the band, some with keyboards some with sequencer, but it's the first time we've had another guitarist in the band. There are plenty of guitar parts on the albums that we can now play live for the first time. This now makes Ezra a seven piece! Both have fitted into the band perfectly and played their first performance on the 23rd March supporting Peter Banks."

Fire In The South

Wednesday 28th March see's Fire In The South's biggest gig to date, when they will be headlining at the historic Half Moon in Putney. Hopefully, by then, the band willhave news of how their download-only single "Father / Comfort" has done. You can still download the track by going to iTunes, EasyMusic or Wippit.com and spending just 79p (or even better £1.45 for the pair)

The band have also got their record grabbing Father video at www.youtube.com

Summers End Festival

Pain of Salvation have been added to this years Summers End Festival line up. The angry Swedes will be headlining one of the evenings.

Also added to the two day bill are Hungarians Yesterdays and the thoroughly British Nick May's Whimwise, featuring Gonzalo Carrera and Alquimia.

Other bands on the bill are Solstice, Tinyfish, Abarax and Also Eden

Check out the latest at www.summersend.co.uk

Rob Gould

Rob Goulds new solo CD Dome is "almost there" he says. Guitar parts are being added by Eduardo Capella and Nigel Moss. He will be making a release date announcement soon. Meanwhile work continues on the David Winstanley song, Someday, Somewhere with bass and vocal to be added in the next two weeks.

Work is also under way on a new Rob Gould 'music therapy' CD as 'juxtaposition' to the slightly un-nerving Rama and Dome recordings. It is hoped that this latest work will tie in with the forthcoming Health and Healing Festival appearances in 2007.

Fula

Guitarist Steve Higgins has left Fula due to family and work commitments. This leaves the band looking for a new guitar player. Interested parties for the vacant position can contact Rob Gould via his website at robgould.co.uk . This means that the band has had to drop out of their support slot to Arilyn at the First Floor Club in Derby. The gig will still go ahead with Soliloquy supporting instead. Arilyn will also be playing at the Hark To Towler in Tottington, Greater Manchester on Friday 11th May and finally supporting Spocks Beard at Rotherham Rocks 2007 on Saturday 12th May.

Fula will be performing live as soon as a new guitarist is found.

Ashtar

Ashtar are busy in the studio working on their latest album From the Otherside. The band are currently in Sao Paulo, Brazil recording and mixing.

Coralspin

Steve Kightley has joined Notts band Coralspin. The former Spirit of Rush bass player, Britains premier Rush covers band that also included members of the excellent Darwin's Radio, also played in metal aaaargh!!! band Shadowkeep. He replaces Andy Dickinson following his forced retirement through an arm injury. Scott Coralspin said "We jammed with Steve last night, and not only is he an awesome player, but he had already learned a lot of our songs! It's a pretty damn good line-up now."

Steve is no releation to Kiera Knightley though.

Somerset Prog Fest 2007

The tickets are now on sale for the first ever Somerset Prog Festival 2007. The Festival takes place at the Cheese and Grain in Frome, Somerset, on Sunday 13th May 2007.

The line up is

Magenta
Electric Soup
The Pineapple Thief
Crimson Sky

Tickets cost £15 from the Box Office (01373 455420) or check out the Cheese and Grain website at www.cheeseandgrain.co.uk

John Dexter Jones announces...

My band Jump will be throwing all caution to the wind on Friday April 13th, when we will be playing at the Nags Head in High Wycombe.

This is world shaking event in South Bucks... a Bucks Buncefield if you wish. And this month I've been listening to Grendel...

Subtacto 2007

Canadian superstars Saga, who celebrated their 30th anniversary by releasing their best work for many years, Trust, have been confirmed as the headline act at this years Subtacto Prog Fest, to be held at Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway on Saturday August 4th. And with vocalist Michael Sadler announcing that he is to leave the band at the end of the year, this could be your last chance to see the band as it is.

Saga completes the line-up of with Threshold, Pendragon, ACT, Aunt Mary, Magic Pie, White Willow and Wobbler.

For more information check the website at www.subtacto.com

Magellan

American proggers Magellan have a new album out on their own label. Innocent God is its name, and you can order yourself a copy at www.magellanweb.com . The album is said to veer off in a new direction!

Our good friend Pasi has been in touch from deepest, darkest Finland again!

Geoff Griffith (bass) has done some nice sleeve notes for a Black Widow demo CD called "Sleeping With Demo(n)s". The music is of course first class and you will not be disappointed. The creators of "Come To The Sabbat" (the song composed by Clive Jones and Jim Gannon) will return, first with a live DVD which was filmed in 1970 including the whole "Sacrifice" show and after that there will be a new album including the first recorded Black Widow music since 1972. Here are those demo sleeve notes by Geoff Griffith (the sleeve notes include those 10 new song titles - it is a concept story!) :

"An ancient ARTEFACT is discovered in the form of a demons head. A strange pulsing causes all compasses to point EASTWARD and the journey begins to unravel the terrible secret.

After many hours of travel, a mountainous rock blocks the path and a feeling of dread is all around. Suddenly, a doorway appears and our two brave archaeologists enter, unaware they have opened THE PORTAL TO HELL, setting free the demonic powers that will destroy love and ambition around the globe.

Far, far away in a distant western city a young mother starts to feel unwell, experiencing a PRELUDE TO THE NIGHTMARE and loses everything dear to her whilst SLEEPING WITH DEMONS! Her family is helpless, she has been TAKEN!

The Devil himself, now The World President, speaks to the people on his very own RADIO HADES demanding the return of the head, a transmitter between Heaven and Hell, to restore a balance of good and evil that cannot exist without each others...So , RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

After the ordeal once again in the chamber of all evil, the darkness is lifted. Walking INTO THE LIGHT, towards a new beginning, a new BIRTH, though nothing will ever be quite the same again! The end...?"

Some credits written by Geoff: "Thanks to Et for her beautiful Thai voice - Thanks to Steve "Gaz" Coleman for technical expertise and gratuitous humour - Thanks to Pasi Koivu for his enthusiasm and publicity - Thanks to Kelvin for his support and hospitality. And last, but by no means least, thanks to Clive Jones whose tireless work for keeping BLACK WIDOW alive was the inspiration and the reason for this collection.

A special credit to Clive for those four little words "Come To The Sabbat" appearing on "Radio Hades".

More and more news are on the BLACK WIDOW news/info site www.myspace.com/pasifinland

London proggers Fire In The South will be promoting their new single Father / Comfort, with a gig at the world renowned Half Moon in Putney, London on Wednesday 28th March. Doors open at 8pm for a fiver, and the band will be on at around 10:15.

Keyboarder Paul Wiffen will also be playing some solo gigs at Viva Viva in Hornsey High St on March 27th and April 4th.

The groundbreaking video to Fire In The South's single Father, is now up on YouTube. Paul says "The stop motion effect was created by cutting between different takes on every frame, which is the first time this technique has been used and means that this video has more edits in it than any other in history, all the more impressive as it was edited in just 2 days from shoot to first screening.

As our own drummer was unavailable for the shoot, many thanks to Steve Hughes of Kino fame for sitting in at the last minute.

The Double A-side single Father/Comfort goes up on iTunes on Sunday March 11th. For the princely sum of £1.49 you can help us get in the charts now that the new rules allowing chart position on downloads only apply. You can even pre-order on EasyMusic or wippit.com now"

The excellent Darwin's Radio will be playing the following gigs:

Friday 20th April - The Racehorse, Northampton
Sunday 15th July - The Pitz, Woughton Centre, Milton Keynes

Swedish Proggers Andromeda will be releasing their new live DVD Playing Playing Off The Board on the 10th April on Metal Mind Productions.

The main feature was recorded on 31st October 2006 at the Wyspianski Theater in Katowice, Poland when Andromeda supported Pendragon at their The Jewel 21st Anniversary gig. The band concentrated mostly on their latest Chimera album but the set-list also includes older tracks from Extension Of The Wish and II=I albums. Line-up: David Fremberg (vocals), Johan Reinholdz (guitar), Martin Hedin (keyboards), Thomas Lejon (drums) and Fabian Gustavsson (bass).

DVD includes 1.5 hour of progressive music at its very best, more than an hour of bonus video footage (featuring bootlegs and documents from the band's tour and gigs across Europe), two interviews and much more!

Playing Off The Board will be also available in a limited swing case edition, including a CD with songs recorded at the concert!

Tracklist :
Periscope, Mirages, In the Deepest of Waters, Two Is One, The Hidden Riddle, Chameleon Carneval, Inner Circle, Eclipse, In the End, Encyclopedia, Reaching Deep Within, The Words Unspoken

There's a preview of the track In The End up on MetalMind's YouTube page at www.youtube.com/profile?user=MetalMindPoland

John Dexter Jones Recommends...

Mostly this month I have been listening to rehearsal tapes cos we'll be recording soon...oh and I was given a Tinyfish album by a tiny bloke when we opened for John Young in Putney. I think it's pretty good actually so thanks for that you Tiny's. If we do a gig wid you then we'll have played with Tinyfish and Fishfish or Fish as he's known. Yeah so it's Tinyfish this month cos our rehearsal tapes are a bit crackly.

Johns band Jump is doing some gigs with young Midge Ure, Porthcawl Grand Pavillion on March 22nd and at the Wellingborough Castle on Mat 5th, and also with Spin in Northampton on April 13th, as well as supporting Spoks Beerd in Rothererham on 12th May and they'll be playing with Nick May's Whimwise at The Peel on May 25th and dung another Horses Head Soup thing at the Limelight in Aylesbury Home Of Prog on June 23rd

Also Eden

After the departure in December of drummer Mark Hall, Also Eden are delighted to announce that a replacement has been found in the shape of Steve Byrne.

Steve, who hails from South Wales, was a member of prog band Multi Storey and also played with welsh rockers No Quarter.

Steve is currently rehearsing with the band, who are planning to play their first gigs of 2007 early in the spring. A new album is now half written and recording is due to start in the summer for a prospective release in October.

The band are delighted to have been added to the line up for pROCKfest 07, taking place in Bünde, Germany on November 9th and 10th, where they will appear alongside Sylvan, Pallas, Overhead, Galahad, Alias Eye, Ricochet and Abarax. This is one of several festival dates being planned for 2007, with dates already pencilled in for appearances in the UK and Hungary.

After the enforced silence of the last months (the last gigs the band played in 06 were acoustic sets, played minus a drummer and billed as 'Almost Eden'!) the band are looking forward to a much noisier 07!

Magni Animi Viri presents Heroes Temporis

A trip towards knowledge, the discovery of reality as an illusion, the classical world meeting rock, a symphonic orchestra and a progressive band for a new, exciting rock opera with major international guests.

After Dracula by PFM, here’s a new rock opera with a progressive origin. The encounter of different worlds and atmospheres fascinated Giancarlo Trotta and Luca Contegiacomo (the former a classical musician, a prog musician the latter), both from Battipaglia (Salerno); thus the idea of a rock opera was born, something that allowed the coexistence of a 100 elements symphonic orchestra and a rock band, lyrical and pop vocals, classic arias and rock rhythms.
Heroes Temporis is a complex opera, focused on the knowledge and purification travel of the main character, who will find out that reality is illusion. The duo is supported by great international professionals such as John Macaluso and Randy Coven, by the young Italian guitar-hero Marco Sfogli, by tenor Francesco Napoletano and by the renowned Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra directed by Giacomo Simonelli.

The result? Lyrics in Italian and Latin but with an international depth, a cultured approach and a scratching sound, great melodies and rock dynamics for an opera that will be talked about.

Official websites: www.magnianimiviri.com www.mavsite.com www.heroestemporis.com  www.myspace.com/mavsite

Moonlight

Polish Proggers Moonlight recently released a video for their track Reset off their recent Integrated In The System Of Guilt album. The video was filmed at a shopping mall in Warsaw in February by Andrzej Kozera, and you can see it here!

Crimson Sky

Well, following on from our recent Crimson Sky news story, it seems that singer Nancy has struck a rich vein of bad luck - she's already broken a shoulder (hers), gone through bronchitus and a sore throat. Now it seems that the haphazard lass is suffering from glandular fever! Blimey!

I'm sure you will all join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.

This week, thanks to Wilcey and the peeps at MetalMind, for this clip of Pendragon performing 2am, taken from their new DVD Past and Presence. The DVD ain't out until April 16th, so tempt yourself by checking this out!

And thanks got abroad to the gorgeous Nanda for pointing us in the direction of this clip of Misplaced Neighbourhood playing Pseudo Silk Kimono and Kayleigh at this years Marillion Weekend in Holland.

Coral Spin

The delectable Ellie from Coral Spin has been in touch with us to point out that the bands name should actually be spelt Coralspin!

And due to Bassist Andy's retirement from the band, they have been forced to cancel their gig at the Frog & Onion.

iO Pages Festival 2007

Dutch fanzine iO Pages have seemingly organised a decent prog festival once again! The iO Pages Festival 2007 will take place on Friday the 25th May and Saturday the 26th May, at the wonderful Boerderij, in Zoetermeer, Holland.

The festival features, on the Friday, Spock's Beard supported by the wonderful and enigmatic Steve Thorne.

On Saturday Neal Morse headlines with his band, supported by Mangrove, and new band Dial - featuring ex-Pain Of Salvation dude Kristoffer Gildenlöw and his lady Liselotte Hegt.

More details, and ticket prices etc can be found on the Boerderij's website

Coral Spin

Scott from Coral Spin sent us a note to say that Coral Spin bassist Andy has had to retire from playing the music he loves due to an unforeseen arm injury. The rest of the band were going to have a wip-round to see if they could get him a present, but had something else to do that day.

He did say that they will "miss the old bugger" though. It does mean that the band are now looking for a new bassplayer, and anyone interested should contact the band via their website

It's not know if the bands gig at the Frog and Onion in Nottingham on the 23rd March will be affected by this.

Silhobbit Signs to ARFM

That's rightio kids! Following the success of Silhobbit's Proggy Style Radio Show, broadcast on www.progrock.com on Tuesday nights at 10pm UK time, ARfm has asked us to repeat our show for their Sunday afternoon show. So from this Sunday you can tune in to www.arfmco.uk from 3pm til 6pm to catch the best new prog around, with loads of old classics chucked in, along with a fair amount of the usual guff too!

This weeks 3 hour marathon show features new stuff by Gazpacho, Pain of Salvation, Alias Eye, Blackfield and The Reasoning, alongside older tracks by Camel, Marillion, Pink Floyd and many many more...

So listen tonight to www.progrock.com or on Sunday to www.arfm.co.uk

Reviews

Time to get your stick out and try throwing it at these reviews!

Blackfield's new album Blackfield II
Tinyfish's debut, cunningly called Tinyfish
The Reasoning & Touchstone at The Point In Cardiff, (Thanks to Jester for this one)

Go check em out!

Swindon proggers Pendragon will release their new DVD Past and Presence on April 16th through MetalMind Productions. The DVD will feature the current band, augmented by some of their former band mates playing their epic The Jewel album in full, along with a variety of other tracks from the same era. The tracklist is :

Higher Circles
The Pleasure of Hope
Leviathan
Victims of Life
Armageddon
Fly High Fall Far
Excalibur
Please
Oh Divineo
Alaska
Dark Summer's Day
Circus
The Black Knight
2AM
Stan and Ollie

The DVD will be full to bursting with special features as well, and as previously, there will be a Special Edition, containing the concert as a double-CD.

Crimson Sky

Bristol proggers Crimson Sky will be playing their first gig of the year on Saturday 24th March, at the Fleece in Bristol, supporting A Few Good Men. Tickets are £7 in advance from here

The band are still working towards their debut album, and have gotten over a few setbacks, thanks to proggin' help from Chris of Band Of Rain, and young Matty Cohen, from The Reasoning. And me, of course.

They hope to release an EP in May, featuring the tracks Turn It Up, Seasons End and After The Rain, while the album, which will contain the full Misunderstood Suite, will be out well before the end of the year. They promise.

Galahad

Coastprogging Galahad have been added to the line up for the already impressive looking pROCKfest, taking place at the Stadthalle in Bunde, Germany, on the 9th and 10th of November, along with Pallas, Sylvan, Alias Eye, Also Eden, Ricochet, Overhead and Abarax

The band hope to release their new album, Empires Never Last, before the festival sometime.

Magenta

Don't forget that Magenta's Sheepless single is available to pre-order from Townsend Records for only £2.99 + p&p. If you're in the UK, your purchase could help get a prog band into the UK Charts.

You can check out the video for the song at the trendy mini-site

Subtacto

Ticket sales for Subtacto ProgFest 2007, taking place at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway, has started on the festival website at www.subtacto.com . The festival, which features British bands Pendragon and Threshold, as well as decent Scando-prog in the shapes of ACT, Wobbler, White Willow, Magic Pie and Aunt Mary, takes place on Saturday 4th of August.

Standard tickets cost £41 (60 Euro) while 250 Special Edition Souvenir Tickets, featuring a special design by Lord Mark Wilkinson will go for £49 (72 Euro)

Le Dimensioni

Le Dimensioni is a new progressive rock group from Sardinia. They have everything to make them famous, a tight rhythm section, superb Hammond sounds, great guitar and even their compositions are first-class and ambitious progressive rock. Le Dimensioni is for friends of Mars Volta, PFM, King Crimson and Pink Floyd.

The band have a very powerful weapon in their lead singer Silvia Eremita (pictured here) and their sounds can be heard on www.myspace.com/ledimensioni  - highly recommended!

London proggers Fire In The South are joining the digital download revolution! The band, famed for their wonderful Pink Floyd sounding sound will be releasing the "Double A Side" Father / Comfort available from itunes and wippit.com for just £1.49 on March 11th.

The band will be celebrating this with a clutch of dates :

March 11th - The Ace Cafe, London, NW10 7UD
March 28th - The Half Moon, Putney, SW15

We have a classic Vinnie de Loux review of Saturday's gig at the Herringthorpe Leisure Centre - Click here to read it

The fabulous Chiltern Proggers Touchstone have sneakily released details of their forthcoming album to Silhobbit just as we were going to press. Well, bed anyway. Rob Touchstone told us that "Touchstone will be recording, mixing and mastering their debut album from the middle of June to early July, and dates are now firmly fixed in the diaries. They are again using the services of their good friends at Outhouse Studios with Ben Humphreys on engineering and John Mitchell on mixing. Rob Aubrey from Aubitt Studios will again be mastering.

Exciting additional news is that John Mitchell has agreed to guest on the album, and lay down one of his cracking guitar solos.

....and - after not much debate at all! - the album will be called (cue: drum roll) DISCORDANT DREAMS"

The album will be out in early September. Make a note... it's one to get!

It Bites

On the band's chat forum one dedicated fan named Batchain has posted nearly 700 comments since 1994. To celebrate, the forum have given him his own Guest Category spot for the week.

Silhobbit.com are trying to get a photograph of Batchain and a comment

Milton Keynes based proggers Solstice have added another couple of dates to their comeback tour. In addition to playing at The Weyfest in Farnham on September 2nd and The Pitz in Milton Keynes on September 22nd, the band will also be playing at The Peel, in Kingston, as well as playing on the Sunday of this years Summers End 07 Festival, which takes place at The Robin, in Bilston, over the weekend of the 21st & 22nd September.

Crimson Sky

Bristolians Crimson Sky sent us this recording update:

"We seem to be back on track with most of the problems, we had have now sorted.

The plans have changed slightly there will now be an CD/EP release before the album which will be out in early May. The full album should be out later this year.

Big thanks go out to Matthew from The Reasoning and Chris Gill from The Band Of Rain who gave us invaluable help and advice."

The Reasoning

The Resoning have announced that Marillion's Steve Rothery will be adding progressive weight to the bands performance at the Herringthorpe Leisure Centre, Rotherham, on the 3rd March.

Matthew says "Steve will be joining us on stage to play “Within Cold Glass” – the version on our debut album “Awakening” (to be released very shortly) features a solo by the man himself. We are highly honoured to have been given this opportunity to perform live with Steve, since his musical talent has provided such a huge inspiration throughout our lives. This promises to be a unique and truly fantastic night - so don’t miss it! You can order your tickets now - directly from the CRS at – www.classicrocksociety.net"

Also on the bill are Scouser scallywags Mr So & So.

The Reasoning's album, Awakenings, should be in the mitts of the greedy pre-orderers over the next week, with the rest of you able to buy it from the 26th March. The albums official release partygig will be at The Point in Cardiff on the 24th February, where the amazingly good Touchstone will be supporting. Tickets available from Comet Music at www.comet-music.co.uk (by sending an e-mail request to – info@comet-music.co.uk)

Threshold confirmed for Subtacto Progfest 2007

"We are happy to announce that UK prog metal giants Threshold will add to the exciting line-up of Norway's new progressive music festival this summer.
Threshold are England's foremost progressive metal band. The latest chapter of Threshold's story sees the band signed to Nuclear Blast Records to release their 8th studio album "Dead Reckoning" with release in March this year. Their 2004-effort "Subsurface" was hailed as "absolute perfection" by Darkscene (AT), "Subsurface" scooped 15 "Album Of The Month" awards across 9 countries, making it one of the essential rock albums of the year. The band's subsequent European tour was their most successful yet.

The band adds to the already confirmed line-up of Pendragon (UK), A.C.T (S), Magic Pie (N), White Willow (N) and Wobbler (N).

The festivals Norwegian and foreign headliner will be announced on 22nd of February, and the ticket sales starts from the 23rd. The Subtacto Progfest will be held at the world famous venue Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway Saturday 4th of August 2007.

For more information contact the festival manager Per-Helge Berg on admin@subtacto.com or phone +47 91 17 18 85.

Please also check our website at www.subtacto.com for updates."

Metalmania Festival 2007

Brazillian thrashers Sepultura are the latest band to be added to the Polish Metalmania 2007 Festival which takes place on the 24th March at the Spodek Hall in Katowice, Poland.

The Main Stage line-up looks like this: Testament, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Sepultura, Blaze Bayley, Destruction, Entombed, Jorn, Zyklon, Korpiklaani, Crystal Abyss, Darzamat

Blind Ego

Blind Ego, the new band formed by RPWL guitarist Kalle Warner, and featuring Areaneans John Jowitt, John Mitchell and Paul Wrightson, are booking a tour with German proggers Sylvan during May, to promote both their albums - Mirrors and Presets.

The only date known so far is on Saturday 12th May at the Boerderij in Zoetermeer, Holland, but rest assured, we'll let you all know when the other dates are, and if they'll be any UK shows!

Summers End 2007

The dates for this years Summers End Festival have just been announced. This years festival will take place on the weekend of September 15th and 16th. The venue remains the same, as the Robin in Bilston.

No bands have been announced yet, but the Afternoon and Evening sessions seem set to stay, along with the possibility of a Friday Night Pre-Festival gig at another local venue.

Keep up with the Jones's (and the Lambe's) news at www.summersend.co.uk  and www.myspace.com/summersendfestival  

Silhobbit Podcasts Ahoy!

So did you miss it on the radio the other night?

Well, if you did, you can download Proggy Style 9, the second www.progrock.com radio show from here, and hear Charlie and Gordon chat while playing : IQ - War Heroes, Steve Thorne - Therapy, Genesis - Ripples, The Enid - Ultraviolet Cat, Kino - Swimming in Women, Marillion - This Town / The Rakes Progress / 100 Nights, Fish - Sunsets on Empire, Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother, Jethro Tull - Budapest, Sylvan - Transitory Times, Frost - The Other Me and Porcupine Tree - Dark Matter

The hardworking solo musician is secretly pictured here eating illegal giraffe meat that IQ's Martin Orford smuggled into the recent Marillion convention in drug infested Holland.

Sound engineer Rob 'Armitage Shanks' Aubrey and part-time Jadis merchandise man Norman Holland were also around the table but were not filmed eating the giraffe.

80's legends Solstice are back and kicking. Guitarist Andy Glass has gathered together fiddler Jenny Newman, Keyboarderister Steve McDaniel, vocalist Emma Brown, drummer Pete Hemsley and basser Robin Phillips, and aims to get some material out soon. Already booked are a couple of gigs in September:

Sunday 2 September - Wetfest, Farnham
Saturday 22 September - The Pitz, Milton Keynes

See www.myspace.com/solsticeuk and http://solsticewebsite.com for further instructions.

On Friday 23rd March 7.30pm improvisational rock trio Harmony in Diversity headline an evening of progressive rock music at Blackwood Miners’ Institute. This three-piece band draws on the extraordinary talents of lead guitarist Peter Banks (guitar, MIDI guitar) who was a founding member of supergroup Yes.

Also on the bill will be Welsh wonders Ezra and an acoustic set from Christina and Chris Magenta

Fire In The South

Fire In The South also get in on the Single Releasing front by releasing their double A sided Father / Comfort via download. The single is available on pre-release on Stelios' EasyMusic.com, Loot Tunes and Whippit.com in advance of the official general release date of March 11th.

Father, vocalist Stone's biting attack on current British society underscored with screaming synths and soaring guitar, is coupled with the gentler Comfort, a slide guitar-led round delineating a more subtle social malaise which climaxes in a guitar/female vocal duet.

The band are supporting the release with a series of gigs including London appearances at the Inn On The Green, Ladbroke Grove on February 9th (Peter Gabriel has said he will try to look in as it is walking distance from his London home) and The Half Moon in Putney on March 28th, along with a single release party on the Battersea Barge on March 8th - tickets from fireinthesouth@ukonline.co.uk

To download Father/Comfort, go to Loot Tunes or EasyMusic.

The Double A-side has been produced by veteran producer Martyn Phillips who scored US and UK Number Ones with Jesus Jones, Londonbeat and Erasure. His production of "I've Been Thinking About You" by Londonbeat is the most played record of all time on German radio and his first ever producer credit "The Sun Rising" by The Beloved became the festival anthem for an entire generation.

The download release has been made possible by Ditto Music, the organisation behind the historic charting in January of Essex punk band Koopa on downloads alone, following the change in the rules governing music charts at the beginning of the year. Ditto are using the same strategy with Fire In The South, with a month's pre-release via EasyMusic.com and other download sites. All pre-orders within this period will count to towards the initial chart position in the week of official release (beginning March 11th) when the tracks will also be available on iTunes and other sites, which do not operate a pre-release facility.

Fans hoping to see the band at this year's Glastonbury Festival, where they are strong contenders for one of the Unsigned slots, are reminded that this year all those wishing to purchase Glastonbury tickets have to register via www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk  by the end of February, i.e. before the bands selected from the Unsigned entrants are announced. So to avoid disappointment make sure to register now so that you are eligible when tickets go on sale on April 1st.

Pure Reason Revolution have had their MySpace page hacked, all 4600 of their Friends have been deleted, and the page was replaced by a 'piss take' site! Police are investigating this and the band have been told to remain silent about it. Anyway, if you were a friend of the band, you aren't any more. So shoot along to www.myspace.com/purereasonrevolution and add them again.

In better news for the band, The Dark Third will finally be released in mainland Europe on February 19th. Coming out on Inside Out, the album will feature the same tracklist as the American version and a 32 minute bonus CD featuring In Aurelia, Borgens Vor, The Exact Colour, The Twyncyn/Trembling Willows and Golden Clothes.

And in even betterer news, Victorious Cupid is the title of the bands new download only free single and everyone attending the UK headline shows (in March) will get a free sleeve, which will be unique to that show, to store the single in. Provided that you download it and burn it to CD yourself.

Martin Orford

The talented IQ man is fresh back from the Marillion weekend in drug-infested Holland. But his conscience is in tatters after we had a tipoff that he stole a breakfast from the resort’s restaurant. We can reveal that Martin ate bacon with scrambled egg but he eated it without paying like a thief stealing from a shop.

He was joined by It Bites keyboard tech Paddy Darlington who stole a “full English” and solo musician Steve Thorne who stole a donut and coffee.

Blackfield's new album - Blackfield II - will be released on 12th February 2007 on Snapper Music. The album was recorded in Tel Aviv and London and produced and mixed by Hemel boy Steven Wilson and "continues and expands on the band's orchestrated melancholic rock sound, combining great hooks, sweeping strings, explosive guitars, and lush vocal harmonies."

Well, we think it's bloody brilliant!

The band is completed by Daniel Salomon on Piano, Seffy Efrati on Bass and Tomer Z on drums. Blackfield will be on tour across Europe throughout February and March 2007:

Friday 16th February - Mean Fiddler, London
Saturday 17th February - Plato, Helmond, Holland
Sunday 18th February - Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium
Tuesday 20th February - Knust, Hamburg, Germany
Wednesday 21st February - Kato, Berlin, Germany
Thursday 22nd February - Proxima Club, Warsaw, Poland
Saturday 24th February - Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland
Sunday 25th February - Alcatraz, Milan, Italy
Monday 26th February - Matrix, Bochum, Germany
Tuesday 27th February - café de la Danse, Paris, France
Wednesday 28th February - Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Holland
Saturday 3rd March - Fuzz Club, Athens, Greece
Sunday 4th March - Mylos Club, Salonica, Greece

Abel Ganz

Pallas vocalist and Abel Ganz old boy wee Alan Reed popped into the studio last week to lay down with some vocals on the Abel Ganz track So Far.

They promise more news on the album soon.

David Cross

The David Cross Band will be playing live at the Stazione Birra in Rome, Italy, on Thursday 22nd February.

Knight Area

On Friday, February 9th, between 19:00 and 20:00, Dutch band Knight Area will play live on Dutch radio. You can listen to the concert via www.rtvwest.nl or, if you are living in the Netherlands or Holland, on Radio West 89.3 FM.

The band will also be playing on Friday March 30th CC De Mortel, Ittervoort, Holland supporting Riverside.

And thirdly, the bands new album Under A New Sign is due ont on April 3rd

More information at the bands website www.knightarea.com and www.myspace.com/knightarea

As their Annual Convention gets underway in Holland, Marillion fever shows no sign of abating just yet,

Italian Marillion tribute band Neverland make their live bow at the famous Acquofono Club in Fiumicino, Rome on the 2nd March. According to singer Nomzamo, the setlist will include favourites such as Easter, Neverland, Quartz, Afraid Of Sunlight, Kayleigh, White Russian and The Lap Of Luxury.

Stream Of Passion in "We don't want your sort here" shocker!

Dutch proggers Stream of Passion have been forced to cancel their English gigs this weekend as Mexican band members Marcela Bovio, Alejandro Millán and Diana were denied entry to the UK by British Immigration Nazi's, who were convinced that they were intending to take up residence in this wonderfully warm and inviting, culturally integrated society of ours.

The gigs at the Boardwalk in Sheffield and The Dome in London (or was it the Boston Tea Room?) will still go ahead, with Breathing Space filling their boots in Sheffield, and the other three bands (including the excellent Kyrb Grinder) carrying on at The Dome.

Their scheduled appearance on ARFM on Sunday has also been hampered, though the bands (and many others) Arjen Lucassen will still be on the show between 3pm and 6pm.

Crimson Sky

The Bristol proggers have been beavering away recording their debut album but have hit a snag. Martin Leamon sent us this email

"Well, we have had a bit of a set back.

After a lot of listening I have decided that what we have done so far is not good enough. The playing is fine as are the songs, but the end sound quality is not as we need. The gear we have just won't cut it basically. At the end of the day this is our first album and we want to be the best we can do, and sound the best it can.

So until we can find a Prog Friendly Recording Studio that can do the job at a reasonable price we are back at square one, if there is one out there, not too far from Bristol, UK drop me a line at crimson_sky@blueyonder.co.uk"

So if you can help, please drop Martin a line.

Magenta

Welsh proggers Magenta are aiming to take advantage of the new Top 40 Chart Regulations by releasing a single "Speechless". Rob Reed, from the band, says:

"We have some very important and exciting news for you! To celebrate our move to a new label Tigermoth records, Magenta will release a new single on March 19th. The song is Speechless - a version of which some of you will have heard opening bands live shows in November. There will be two versions of the song available, plus a new version of Anger from Home. The single will be available as a download and also as a physical CD, and we are asking YOU to help us make it a hit in the UK!

People may be surprised with Speechless - it shows a side of the band that not many have heard. However, we feel it's a very strong song, and the perfect vehicle to increase the profile of progressive rock in the UK. We genuinely believe we can get it into the top 40.

We are asking all of you to buy the single between Monday March 19th and Saturday 24th March - either as a download or a physical CD from an established retail outlet. If we all do this together, then we have a real chance in having an actual top 40 single. We have also shot a video of the song, which will also be on the physical CD. You can view a clip from the video at our special Speechless mini-site at www.magentasingle.com

We are also looking for as many volunteers as possible to help us promote this major even for the band. For further details of the single, to hear an MP3 extract and see snippet of the video, and information on how to help, go to the Speechless page on our main website at www.magenta-web.co.uk/speechless.html. You can also join our mailing list for email updates which gets you into a draw to win a complete set of all 4 Magenta albums."

We asked Welsh comedian and star of that program where he sat in a taxi and talked about his ex wife, Rob Bryden for his thoughts on the single, but he told us that "I haven't got a effing clue what you're talking about, boyo"

Magenta - Welsh national colour for love

Gigs at The Peel

Following the outstanding success of their opening night at The Peel, the House of Progression present their next prognanza!

Saturday 24th February sees Galahad and Ezra tread the boards on what is sure to be an exiting night's prog. Tickets are once again a reasonable £6, and door open at 7:30. Probably.

www.galahadonline.com www.myspace.com/galahaduk
www.ezra.co.uk www.myspace.com/ezrawales
www.myspace.com/houseofprogression

Jasun Martz

Talk about making up for lost time. New York prog musician and composer Jasun Martz, who has released very few records through the years, will have 12 CDs released in one year- one new CD per month. He is known for his associations with Frank Zappa, Michael Jackson, Eddie Jobson, Ruth Underwood, Paul Whitehead, Mark Shreeve, Jean Dubuffet and and his Mellotron work. Many know of his classic (long sought after) The Pillory (with 40 musicians) and his newer The Pillory/The Battle (with over 100 musicians), which is a blend of dark, symphonic prog, contemporary classical, noise, avant-garde and ambient sounds.

The first 6 CD's ae:

The Pillory / The Battle - 17 January
The Pillory (remastered) - 15 February
The Sin Circle - 15 March
Sue Reed - 15 April
Wrestle - 15 May
Intertwine - 15 June

More info at: www.UnderTheAsphalt.com and groups.google.com/group/JasunMartz/topics

Lavender

Polish prog band Lavender have finally set themselves up on MySpace. Check them out at www.myspace.com/lavenderpoland . Guitarist Wojciech Pieluzek sold Silhobbit "Check out our site for the song Residue. It's been recorded last year and features our 'permanent part-time singer' Nadia Szagdaj, as well as a good friend Wojtek Roczon on lead guitar. The details are as always in the blog. Please give it a listen and leave a comment."

So, go on then. Check them out and leave them a comment!

Sonic Bond

Sonic Bond have started taking pre-orders on the second album by the Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen collaboration Blackfield, Blackfield II, due on February 12th. We've heard it, and reckon it's even better than the first album, Blackfield! Snap it up for only £12.49

The Syn also release their new album Armistice Day on the 12th February, a mixture of new songs and live tracks at £10.99. The album has courted a little controversy, so the band have decided to donate all proceeds to charity.

You can also still order Mostly Autumn's new album Heart Full of Sky, which is due out on February 12th for only £11.99

Dutch proggers Kramer will be playing live on Dutch National Radio station, Radio 2 this Saturday. The band will be playing on the TROS Musiekcafé show, which starts at 4pm.

The live show will be open to the public, if you're at a loose end during the Marillion Weekend. Just pop along to Studio Plantage, Plantage Kerklaan 36, Amsterdam (near the Zoo Artis). The studio is open for the audience from 3.30 pm

Orherwise you can always listen to the radio show on Radio 2 - more information on http://www.muziekcafe.nl

Yes, prog-kids, Silhobbit will be hitting the pseudo-airwaves this week! In an exclusive exclusive, Silhobbit can reveal that our critically acclaimed and well loved Proggy Style "podcasts" will now be transformed into the Proggy Style Radio Show with Charlie O'Mara and Gay Gordon, broadcast live on www.progrock.com on Tuesdays at 10pm gmt.

Catch the first of what will surely become the worlds most listened to non-porn radio show, this Tuesday, January 30th at 10pm, and every following Tuesday.

The shows will be recorded and available as podcasts after they have been aired as well, so all of you out there without a computer, but with an mp3 player, can listen in later, maybe on the bus, or while having a long dump.

Mick Pointers' Script

Did you see it? Or did you miss out like some sort of "can't be arsed' sucker? I know I did, but for those of you who weren't there, we have an excellent review of the damn thing by uber prog chick Carole Slinger right here

G.L.O.W

Young proggers G.L.O.W have been added as support to Mostly Autumn's gig at the Oakwood Centre, Rotherham on the 14th April.

You can find out more about the band at their MySpace page or at Lycan Media's website.

Frost* are back. Sort of, anyway. "Slim Jim" Jem Godfrey will be releasing a limited edition EP entitled Dear Dead Days, featuring extensively remixed segments from Milliontown plus three brand new tracks.

Check out the new MySpace page at www.myspace.com/frostmyspace

New Southampton band Jadis have got a couple of gigs lined up, like bottles on a wall, at the end of March. They are:

Saturday 24 March - The Talking Heads, Southampton
Saturday 31 March - Herringthorpe Leisure Centre, Rotherham

ACT

Swedish band ACT have announced the first concerts dates of their 2007 'Silence' Tour with some European dates:

Friday 16 March - Plato, Helmond, Holland
Saturday 17 March - Rotherham
Sunday 18 March - Mr Kyps, Poole
Monday 19 March - Scene Bastille, Paris, France
Tuesday 20 March - Spirit of 66, Verviers, Belgium
Wednesday 21 March - Bergkeller, Reichenbach, Germany
Saturday 24 March - Kulturbolaget, Malmo, Sweden
Sunday 25 March - Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, Sweden
Wednesday 28 March - Maiden, Oslo, Norway
Saturday 4 August - Subtacto Festival, Oslo, Norway

To co-inside with the tour, Inside Out Music will be releasing Special Editions of the first three albums by the band, Today's Report, Imaginary Friends and Last Epic. All three Special Editions will include material never previously heard before, including demos and live tracks.

The CDs will also contains new booklets and artwork along with many unpublished photos. The release dates for the Special Editions are March 16th - Germany, Austria, Switzerland; March 19th - United Kingdom, France, Sweden and the rest of Europe; March 27th - Canada.

Their fourth album Silence entered the Swedish National chart on release in October 2006, while it reached number 2 on the Ginza Rock sales chart and Number 4 on the Ginza Album sales chart.

Further details are available at www.actworld.nu and www.myspace.com/actworld

The Loreley Festival

The line up for this years Loreley Festival is really taking shape. The festival, held on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd July at the wonderfully spectacular Loreley - where Marillions Live from Loreley was filmed, obviously. Saturday's headliner is Asia, with IQ, Echoes, Sylvan, and Jebo supporting. Sunday's show has Jethro Tull headlining, with Fish, Pendragon, The Merlin Bird and The Watch also on the bill

See here and there for more incomprehensible information!

Arena

Arena, the Stockbrokers prog band of choice, have started booking dates on their 'Ten Years On' tour. The band are currently writing their new album, and hopefully will play some new tracks.

The only date so far confirmed is at the Boerderij in Zoetermeer, Holland on Saturday 2nd June

More here as we get it.

Hertfordshire starlet babe Holly Petrie will be supporting Mick and the boys when they play the complete Script For A Jesters Tear album live, this Saturday the 27th January.

The show, at Riff's in Hook, near Swindon is close to a sell out already, but check www.riffsbar.biz anyway

As soon as Brit-proggers Pure Reason Revolution finish their groundbreaking tour with Blackfield, they'll be off on their own tour. Dates are:

Sunday 4th March -Barfly, London
Monday 5th March - Joiners, Southampton
Tuesday 6th March - The Loft, Cambridge
Wednesday 7th March - The Fez (Homecoming Festival pt 2), Reading
Thursday 8th March - The Cooler, Bristol
Friday 9th March - Brudnell Social Club, Leeds
Saturday 19th March - Marquee, Hertford

It's now possible to pre-order the second Blackfield album, another collection of 10 perfectly crafted songs of beauty and melancholia that expands on the orchestrated rock of their eponymous release, combining great hooks, sweeping strings, explosive guitars, and lush vocal harmonies (you can hear previews from the album on their MySpace page). Please note that this is the European digipack (the US edition, with the same content, will follow in March) and is released on 12th February, but the CD will be shipped to arrive with you on - or just before - the release date.

You can order it either from Headphone Dust Mail Order, or from Burning Shed (orders from Headphone Dust will receive a nice little extra, a Lasse Hoile illustrated postcard of the lyrics to album track "My Gift of Silence").

Of course Blackfield II should be widely available, but buying direct from one of these sites does help support the artists.

SonicBond

Internet CD store SonicBond have got a few new releases up on their site. Firstly, there's the shrinking Mostly Autumn, who are this weeks Artitst of the Week. The band release the single disc edition of their new album Heart Full of Sky on February 12th. Get it for only £11.99, which is cheaper than from the band. The single disc edition is CD one of their self-released double set with the addition of the track Further From Home from the second CD.

Waking The Witch have a new album out soon, Boys from the Abattoir is released on February 5th for £10.99

Sylvan - Presets. New album from the brilliant German band. Due in early February for just £9.99

Boomerang Proggers' The Third Ending eponymous debut album that has been compared to Spock's Beard and Porcupine Tree is just £9.99

Puppet Show - Tale of Woe. Their new album. Also due early February for £9.99

Starcastle - Song of Times. Long awaited album from classic 70s US band. Only £9.99

Far Corner - Endangered. New album from US chamber rock band for £12.99

Pain of Salvation - Scarsick. Long awaited new album from the brainy Viking proggers. Due now for £12.99

New South London Prog venue The Peel, in Kingston, kicks off it's Prog Nights on Friday 26 January with Landmarq and John Young. Grab a slice of these formidable guys for only £6.

Check out : www.myspace.com/landmarq
and www.myspace.com/johnyoungband
and www.myspace.com/houseofprogression
and www.myspace.com/thepeel
and www.peelmuzik.com for more!

Mostly this week I have been listening to Francis Lickerish's reworkings of the Rutterkin classics. That is because I worked on those songs and even gigged them... because I was in Rutterkin you see... and not a lot of people know that.

Oh and I've also been checkin' out Michael Hargan innit. Cos he is Scottish and we in Jump are self appointed Scotophiles. Did we mention some more supports with Midge Ure next month?

Oh and in spite of having a live recording of Rutterkin at Conwy Castle in 1986 I won't be letting any of you hear it! It's brilliant... but it's PRIVATE.

Right I is off to learn me words innit... Catalogue sorcerer's apprentice inductress sliding on the sellotaped worms in wintergreen... or something like that...

Hwyl fawr... see you all at Riffs...

TJ O'Reily's in Marlow will close its doors to gigs for ever in February. This means that Jump's gig at TJ's on Saturday February 3rd will be the last time they ever play there. Given that the band made its first ever appearance at the then Pegasus 17 years ago, they're quite attached to the place and have played more than 70 gigs there since.

Support comes from Kid at the Back and the band promise that the last TJ O'Reily's night will be a night to remember.

Tankus The Henge

Weirdo psycho South London proggers Tankus The Henge will be playing their first gig with their new line-up at The Purple Turtle (opposite Mornington Crescent and Koko) in Camden Tarn, London on Wednesday 21st March along with Rubik.

They are also playing at The Shed in Leicester on Friday 25th May.

Evolution

Yorkshire proggers Evolution have had to cancel their gig at Joplins Bar in Chesterfield on Saturday 1st September.

So don't go.

The first pressing of The Reasoning's debut album has arrived chez Cohen, and word has it that Matty and Rachel are well chuffed with the results.

Peeps who have pre-ordered the album have been getting their "pay me now" emails this week, so dispatch should be soon!

Saga

Saga frontman Michael Sadler has said that after 30 years he is finally leaving the band at the end of the year.

Mostly Autumn

Also on the way out are Mostly Autumn's Andrew Jennings and Liam Davidson. Drummer Jennings has been replaced by ex-Karnataka and Fish man Gavin Griffiths. All tour dates will still be going ahead as planned.

Gazpacho

Norwegian Scando-Proggers Gazpacho will be releasing their new album very, very soon. Night is a 53 minute concept album split into 5 tracks, Dream of Stone, Chequered Light Buildings, Upside Down, Valerie's Friend and Massive Illusion.

The band describe the album thusly: "Night is a musical description of a dream or a stream of consciousness. It explores the question of where dreams end and reality begins and the mind as the tool that has to decide what to believe. The character goes through various memories real and imagined and sees the world from the angles of different people. He travels through time and visits places across the world including old New Orleans and Ancient woods with Pagan rituals being performed. Night is about life and the various ways of interpreting existence. Pretentious? Oh yes but delicious as well... very delicious."

And who are we to argue! Well, only cos we ain't heard it. Yet.

The band have three dates coming up. On the 25th January they play at Club Maiden in Oslo, then on Thursday 1st February, they play at the Marillion Pre-Convention gig at the Boerderij, in Zoetermeer, Holland (www.myspace.com/theboerderij), along with Marillion covers band Lords Of The Backstage. This is followed up with their appearance at the Marillion Weekender.

Darwin's Radio

The excellent Darwin's Radio have finally got a MySpace site, if you’ve never had the opportunity to hear the band there are a couple of tracks uploaded. For those of you that have they would be pleased to hear from you.

Check them out at www.myspace.com/darwinsradiouk

South West proggers Crimson Sky have got a new date coming up. They'll be supporting A Few Good Men at The Fleece in Bristol on Saturday 24th March 2007. Tickets are £7 in advance from www.fleecegigs.co.uk

Rob Gould

Busy progmeister Rob Gould has done and gotten hisself a brand new lookin website, oh Lordy yes.

Go to www.robgould.co.uk to marvel at it yourself!

Blackfield

There's another preview of the forthcoming Blackfield album, Blackfield II, up on their MySpace site. Apparently 1,000 People is Steven Wilson's favourite song of the album. You can also view a Lasse Hoile promotional film for the album.

London Zoo has this week begun its most extensive Animal stock take ever. Every one of London Zoo's 600 different species is being counted as part of the attraction's annual stock take. From giraffes to stick insects, zoo keepers will leave no stone unturned in their task. The headcount will reveal the full extent of the zoo's growth during 2006, right down to the very last Madagascan Teal duckling.

Martyn, Paul and Danny, from London proggers Fire In The South have volunteered their precious time to help staff out in this arduous task. Danny urged other proggers to give their time by contacting the London Zoo website at www.londonzoo.com

An enclosure for gorillas and an area for the endangered golden lion tamarin monkeys will open later this year. Six baby otters, five baby penguins and a pack of African wild hunting dogs have been added to the zoo's collection. In its last count in 2005 the zoo had 5,674 animals, 7,000 invertebrates and an additional 583 invertebrate colonies.

The annual counting is necessary for it to retain its license.

The Pineapple Thief are playing The Half Moon in Putney in London on Friday January 19th 2007. Tickets are a very reasonable £4 from TicketWeb.

Pilgrym

Bradford proggers Pilgrym will be re-releasing their first album Pilgrimage in April on Mystical Records. The album will benefit from some extra tracks, an updated booklet and double glazing throughout

Mr So & So

Marillion Weekenderists Mr So & So have a warm up gig of their own coming up on the 25th January. The Scouse band, who must have been down in the dumps after the football last weekend, will be cheering themselves up at The Citadel in St Helens, with Ghengis Grimes, with tickets only a fiver from www.citadel.org.uk

After they get back from Holland, the boys will be nipping over to Rotherham to play at the Herringthorpe Leisure Centre, to play with The Reasoning on March 3rd. You can catch both bands for £15 from www.classicrocksociety.co.uk

Mostly Autumn

Mostly Autumn launch their fantrastic new album Heart Full Of Sky at the Astoria, London on Saturday 10th February. Support comes from Ann-Marie Helder and Steeleye Span man Peter Knight

Guitar Teacher Wanted!

Ok, this is a cry for help from a desperate Silhobbit reader. This reader says:

"I'm after a guitar teacher based in Croydon. Teaching certificates don't say a lot for me - I want someone who can teach me how to REALLY play! I really would like someone who knows who Pendragon, Arena and Porcupine Tree are!"

If you can help, drop us a line at News@Silhobbit.com and we'll pass on your details to our reader.

Francis Lickerish

One of the founding members of The Enid, Francis Lickerish, is back recording again. He has a couple of demos up on his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/francislickerish for you to listen to and comment on

The Reasoning

The Reasoning have been announced as the headline act at this years Newark Beer Festival. The band will be headlining on Saturday 26th May. The beer festival runs from Friday to Sunday. More details at www.newarkbeerfestival.co.uk - the site will be updated soon and the full line up will be announced shortly.

Shockingly Bad MySpace of the Week

Well, sometimes pages are just so bad, we have to recommend them. Go along to www.myspace.com/robertsebastian to see this weeks offering from the Lord Flashheart of prog! Nuff said

Galahad

Coast-proggers and cross-dressers Galahad hit the outerskirts of London next month with a double-breasted headliner with Welsh wizards Ezra. This prog filled fun fest takes place at The Peel, in Kingston-upon-the-Thames on Saturday 24th February. Tickets are made of paper and cost £6.

Other forthcoming gigs at The Peel include Landmarq & John Young Band on Friday 26 January, Strangefish & Ardency on Saturday 24 March and The Reasoning & Touchstone on Saturday 14 April. Check out the promoters Myspace page at www.myspace.com/houseofprogression