TEE "The Earth Explorer"

TEE is a five piece flute front progressive rock band from Tokyo, Japan. Their so-called 'European' sound is unique considering their far-east origin. The imaginative tunes with complex ensembles and rhythms will definitely catch the attention of prog lovers all over the world. Their sound will remind you bands like Camel, King Crimson, Asia Minor or even Frank Zappa on some parts. The band was formed in 2004 when... more

Kevin BARTLETT

You may not know his name but you have definitely heard his music more than once or twice in your life. Maybe on HBO, or on MTV, or on VH1, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel. Doesn't ring the bell? How about American Idol Rewind, or Dr. 90210? We had interviewed Kevin Bartlett a couple of years ago when his second solo album GLOW IN THE DARK was released. Bartlett has been quiet since that time but but he has been secretly brewing new projects. A few months ago he had put a new song...more

Peter Hammill, founding member of Van Der Graaf Generator, released his 28th solo album " nearly 3 months ago. He recently got back home from a short tour covering North America, Canada and Italy. In the 70's when bands like...more

FRIGHT PIG Barque At The Lune *** REVERSAL OF GRAVITY Scuba Gear ***

Caveat - caution: a warning against certain acts: "a caveat against unfair practices" Here's your warning... These Canadian Prog metal masters play with such ferocity and technical expertise your listening appendages may very well bleed from the crushing musical torrent. With their latest sacrifice to all that is heavy, "Red" is quickly gaining momentum and more than worthy of acquiring.

Here at TheProgFiles we are pleased to present Cyclone Recording group Caveat as this month's featured artist. We're doing something a little different this time and will present the bulk of our page in interview format. You're encouraged to check the link following the review.

After all the line up changes you've been through as a band what is it about this current line up that works?

Greg Musgrave: I just think all the current members work well together musically, creatively and personally. I think that is key for any creative relationship to work and blossom. All the guys in this band just love to play this kind of music and are all monster players which make it really handy when writing songs, where you don’t have to hold anything back and can really try to push the music to new technical and progressive levels.

How did you hook up with Cyclone Records, what has it been like working with them?

Greg Musgrave: Caveat was first introduced to Cyclone Records when we participated in the first “Greatest Underground Show on Earth” Calgary metal compilation in 2006 (Caveat also appears in Volume 2 of the same name which has just been released), which was a decent experience and did some good things for all the bands involved. We then saw that local Calgary hard rockers Inner Surge signed with the label and started making some serious notice for themselves shortly thereafter. This was about the time that we split with our former management company and were looking for a new deal. We approached Brad Trew from Cyclone Records about possibly working together and there seemed to be a good mutual goal as to what we all wanted to achieve with the band and Cyclone has since released our latest album Red this past June and now we’ll see how things evolve and progress from this point.

What was the recording process like for Red, compared to your earlier sessions?

Greg Musgrave: Red was certainly the most relaxed recording session that we’ve done being that we did the majority of the production ourselves. I think this resulted in a much more detailed album in the respect that nothing was rushed because you aren’t paying $750 a day to record. Some of the lyrics and vocal melodies were finished in the studio, but other than that we were pretty well prepared for the session and think it turned out very well.

Do you think you accomplished what you had hoped to by re-recording two tracks from the last disc?

Greg Musgrave: I think so. The songs had grown considerably since they first appeared on our first album “The Biggest Secret” with the band just being a 3 piece at that time. Plus the first album was independently released by the band, where the EP was being properly released through Scarab Productions allowing us to use what we felt as our strongest songs off “The Biggest Secret” as well as including some newer stuff to show a good cross section of the band’s material.

Fusing together your different elements makes for a fantastic sound, how does that come together when writing songs?

Greg Musgrave: It really comes from putting the songs through the proverbial Caveat Blender. Where Joe and I pretty much share the writing duties of the band, the whole band is very involved in the arrangement process of the songwriting which is great for getting alternate interpretations of an original idea, which usually gets morphed into something very different than the original arrangement or concept that Joe or I may started out with. Plus we all come from very different musical backgrounds, which makes for a lot of different influences within the songs and each person’s take on their parts.

Tell us about discovering you were nominated for an Indie Music Award.

Greg Musgrave: It was very cool without a doubt! It is always cool to be recognized for an achievement in your personal art form and we were very excited about the nomination. Even if we don’t get to win, it is still great to be a nominee and get that recognition.

What are your promo plans for the rest of the year?

Greg Musgrave: As far as 2007 goes, we have already gone all over Canada this year except for out to Eastern Canada which we are planning for spring of 2008. As for promo, we’ll be trying to get as many reviews and as much press as possible on the new album to make for the next tour for 2008 to be as big as possible.

What do you hope to achieve as a band?

Greg Musgrave: WORLD DOMINATION!!!!! Seriously, it would be cool to just be able to continue to make the music that we enjoy and hopefully reach as many people as possible. Obviously a goal would be able to get the band get to point to where we can do it full time and tour our asses off for a good part of the year. Here is hoping!