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

Shawn PHILLIPS

At the kick off of his 2010 tour Shawn Phillips sat with us at a 24 hour diner in Davenport, IA to grant us a very special interview. At his insistence, it would be very informal. One should not expect otherwise from this splendid human being.

The hours prior to this meeting over midnight breakfast were now a recent memory, but...more

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 ***

Interview with Lisa LaRUE by Hande BURDG

Our readers are familiar with her name because she was our featured artist of the month recently. Lisa LaRue grew up in Topeka, Kansas, but now resides in her native Oklahoma. She is a tribal member of the federally-recognized United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, where she also serves as Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. A composer and keyboardist, LaRue became the first female artist signed to the Sound of American Records label (SOAR0 Natural Visions sublabel). Her debut release was titled “Beloved Tribal Women”, produced by Will Alexander (keyboard tech to Keith Emerson, Herbie Hancock, and many other great keyboard players). The CD also received accolades for being a first in combining art with music. She recently released WORLD CLASS with her Project 2K9 band featuring John Payne, David Mark Pearce and Steve Adams among many other musicians from around the world. We interviewed Lisa recently to find out more about this release and her future plans.

HB: Can you tell us a little bit about your World Class CD that recently came out?

LISA: "World Class" is titled as such due to the musicians who are involved in the project. Hailing from all across the globe (United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Canada and the United States), it was an effort to find 'world class' prog musicians - some already successful and some up-and-coming - to put their talents and creativity together to show that music truly is 'the universal language'. The tracks were released as digital singles throughout the making of the album, gearing the public up for the album's release which was November, 2009.

HB: You have worked with different musicians on this project except for John Payne and David Mark Pearce that you worked with beforre. Can you tell us a little bit about these new collaborations?

LISA: I've worked with John Payne (of Asia feat John Payne) before, on Transformation 2012, and was very delighted that he was so enthused about working with Project 2K9. His vocal contributions, as well as bass (on Kituwa) are marvelous, as always. John also did a wonderful job mastering the CD at his Devgel Studios.

David Mark Pearce (of The Oliver Wakeman Band) came into the project during the latter half of production, and added not only a tremendous song (Tell Me Why), but guitar on several tracks, engineering and mixing assistance, and really helped me meet the deadline for the album release. He's credited as co-producer due to his extensive involvement and engineering assistance, as well as his great ideas. He's an inspiration and Project 2K9 truly owes him loads of gratitude in helping this project come to fruition.

Another core member is Steve Adams (of ARZ) whose guitar and songwriting contributions are beyond words. A guitarist of incredible talent, Steve plays many genres masterfully, and our collaborations are most natural and a joy to complete. I met Steve through Myspace, and knew he was the right guy to collaborate with on this project. After corresponding about his wonderful music with ARZ and how incredible that just two guys make a symphony, I decided to approach him with working on Project 2K9 and to my delight, he accepted. The other member of ARZ is Merrill Hale, who co-wrote our track "Copper Edge" and played drums on it, as well as "Kituwa".

Jo De Boeck and Geert Fieuw (of Beyond the Labyrinth) contributed the song "For Eternity" which is a duet between Jo and John Payne, and also features BTL's Gerry Verstreken on bass. I met Jo on Myspace, as well, after simply falling in love with BTL's original version of "For Eternity," and knew it would be a beautiful contribution to "World Class". Svetlan Raket had spent several years with The Par Lindh Project and added wonderful drum tracks as did Merrill Hale and Damian Rodd. C.S. Brown (of Ghost Circus and Roswell Six) contributed bass tracks; I met Chris through Frans Keylard's "Rogue's Gallery". Claire Vezina, a wonderful vocalist from Canada also did a duet with John Payne for the album, titled "For Our Love". I met Claire through a mutual friend who suggested she would be a great asset to the album. Everyone involved in the project are 'world class' musicians in their own right.

HB: You are a self producing and engineering artist. How does it work / feel to be involved in both sides of creating music? Do you enjoy both sides equally?

LISA: I enjoy both sides very much, as I've always run my own businesses, or been in supervisory positions; however, it is very important to separate each one as if they were two jobs. Because they are, actually. I write, play, mix, handle the copyrights, publishing, graphic design, schedule manufacturing and distribution, and marketing. It's a HUGE task, but one I absolutely love. Fortunately, I have David Mark Pearce's assistance.

HB: As a female musician who is handling the different aspects of music (creative and business), why do you think there aren't as many females as male musicians in this domain?

LISA: I've always been curious as to the rarity of female musicians in the prog genre. There are some great vocalists - Annie Haslam and Lana Lane to name a couple, but as musicians who play instruments, it is rare. I can't 'not' mention Rachel Z, who is mainly a jazz player, but is known as keyboardist for Peter Gabriel during the 'Growing Up' tour. I really can't answer that question, as it's always been a mystery to me!

HB: You included a bonus track on the World Class CD from your previous CD Transformation "2012". What was the reason behind it? Can we say World Class is a continuation of Transformation 2012?

LISA: "World Class" is not exactly a continuation of "Transformation 2012," but more an 'expansion.' "Save Me" was remixed and rereleased, as the original version was 'all me' on all instrumentation, with John Payne's vocals. After mentioning to David Mark Pearce that I would like to really hear that song rock, he instantly agreed and started working on guitar tracks, as well as the bass. He then invited drummer Damian Rodd to add a fantastic drum track. Just as "For Eternity" was a remake of an already released song played by the Lisa LaRue Project 2K9 team, so was "Save Me".

HB: When other musicians work with you on your albums do they write their own parts or do you write everything?

LISA: One of the unique aspects of Project 2K9 was that each musician was given the freedom to write and add their own parts to my keyboard tracks. Their influences, talent and taste was what made this project 'world class'.

HB: Are there any other projects you are currently involved with? If so can you tell us a little bit about them?

LISA: I am currently working with David Mark Pearce, providing keyboards for his upcoming album, "Strangeang3ls" as well as beginning work on the early stages of my band which has evolved from Project 2K9, "2KX". There are a few other prospects that I hope come to pass, but can't be announced until the details are finalized. The Prog Files readers, however, will be the first to know!!

HB: Is there a musician you would love to work with so much or share the stage with?

LISA: It's always been my dream to work with other keyboard players who have inspired me throughout the years, including Keith Emerson. As far as sharing the stage? I hope to share the stage with "2KX" and David Mark Pearce's band, "Strangeang3ls".

HB: And lastly what are you listening to these days?

LISA: I've been listening to "Days Before Tomorrow", "Roswell Six", a new prog artist I discovered called "Audio Weapon", all my favorite classic prog stuff, but mainly focusing on new tunes for 2KX and "Strangeang3ls". Oh, and I can't forget this one: Bohemian Rhapsody, the Muppets version.

Thank you Lisa for the interview and best wishes for your upcoming projects!