YES To Perform Three Classic Albums In Their Entirety In One Evening

 

Call it a true classic rock triple header — and the quintessential live concert experience.

In a career first, iconic and Grammy-winning rock band YES will perform three of their classic albums in their entirety, all in one concert, on a special tour in 2013: 1971's "The Yes Album", 1972's "Close To The Edge" and 1977's "Going For The One". Music audiences will experience the albums, each representing an important milestone in YES' career, performed from beginning to end.

The multi-platinum progressive rock band — bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes and singer Jon Davison — will kick off the North American tour March 1 and conclude April 12 in Detroit.

After
starting in West Wendover, Nevada, the historic trek continues down the
West Coast including stops in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles
before heading east for shows in New York, Toronto, Detroit and more.
See the full itinerary below.

The tour will mark the first time since 1973 that YES — who have sold close to 50 million albums worldwide — have performed an album onstage in its entirety.

Steve Howe says, "These albums we all easily agreed on — they are complete works
in themselves," adding that several of the songs have rarely been
performed live. "I believe the only song not performed in concert is 'A Venture' from 'The Yes Album'," says Chris Squire. "And probably the most tricky of all the songs planned for this set is 'Turn Of The Century' from the 'Going For The One' album." Alan White believes, "This is a great opportunity to show the growth of YES in these different eras — and to relive the memories of these times."

"The Yes Album" is widely considered to be the band's breakthrough album. Certified platinum, it features such signature songs as "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "I've Seen All Good People". The band's album "Close To The Edge" was on the U.S. chart for 32 weeks, peaking at No. 3. "Going For The One" went gold, hit No. 8 on the U.S. chart and featured two singles, "Wonderous Stories" (which hit No. 6) and the title track (No. 24).

"I think the 12-inch album is alive and well as reinforced by the rising interest in the analog format," says Squire when asked about the album format in the singles-driven digital age. The album, says Howe, "has never totally gone away — there are those who completely understand."

Tickets can be purchased in advance. Moreover, YES is proud to provide special show packages, which include near-stage
seating, a meet and greet with the band, exclusive limited-edition gifts from YES, and much more.

Tour dates:

Mar. 01 - West Wendover, NV - Peppermill Concert Hall *
Mar. 03 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
Mar. 05 - San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
Mar. 06 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre
Mar. 08 - Temecula, CA - Pechanga Theater (at Pechanga Casino)
Mar. 09 - Reno, NV - Silver Legacy Casino *
Mar. 14 - Omaha, NE - Holland Performing Arts Center
Mar. 16 - Hammond, IN - The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
Mar. 17 - Louisville, KY - Palace Theatre
Mar. 18 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland by AMC
Mar. 20 - Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater
Mar. 21 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre
Mar. 22 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Live - Biloxi *
Mar. 24 - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena *
Mar. 30 - Melbourne, FL - Maxwell C. King Center for the Perf. Arts
Apr. 02 - Clearwater, FL - Ruck Eckerd Hall
Apr. 05 - Mashantucket, CT - MGM Grand at Foxwoods *
Apr. 06 - Hampton, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Apr. 07 - Bethlehem, PA - Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Apr. 09 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
Apr. 11 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
Apr. 12 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre

* - YES will only perform two albums — "The Yes Album" and "Close To The Edge" — for shows at casinos due to the time constrictions of events held there.

HAWKWIND Guitarist HUW LLOYD-LANGTON Dead At 61

 

Cleopatra Records is sad to pass on the news that HAWKWIND guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton has passed at the too-young age of 61. Huw had been bravely battling cancer for the past several years and died peacefully at home in England with his devoted wife Marion by his side.

A self-taught guitarist with mind-bending scope and range, Llloyd-Langton joined HAWKWIND in 1970 and immediately made his mark by contributing his unique guitar stylings on the band's groundbreaking self-titled debut album. The
album is considered historic in that it was one of the first space-rock
albums to be released.

Shortly thereafter, Huw left the band to embark on his own musical journey but he continued to be an integral part of the HAWKWIND sound as both the occasional band member and frequent collaborator with his HAWKWIND mates on numerous occasions as the years unfolded. He was on-board for the albums "Live Seventy Nine", "Levitation", "Sonic Attack", "Church Of Hawkwind", "Choose Your Masques", "The Chronicle Of The Black Sword", "The Xenon Codex" and this year's "Onward".

Huw also toured with Leo Sayer in the 1970s and was a founding member of the acclaimed U.K. hard rock band WIDOWMAKER, which released two well-received albums in 1976 and '77. He was adept
at playing all styles of music — from hard rock to classical to blues —
performing in the various genres with seamless ease and jaw-dropping
talent.

In a statement, founding HAWKWIND bandmate Nik Turner said, "He was a lovely guy and a great, great guitarist. I'm really sad that he's gone. Everybody who knew Huw liked him; he touched a great
many people with his playing. I will miss him."

Huw was and will always be a much-loved member of the Cleopatra Records family. He had been a significant part of a number of Cleopatra projects including working with KINKS legend Dave Davies on a track for THE BLACK KEYS tribute album "Black on Blues", and with Joe Elliott, Rick Wakeman and Carmine Appice on "Who Are You", an all-star tribute to THE WHO. His innovative guitar work was featured on the "Space Rock Invasion" DVD taken from the 2011 "Space Rock Invasion" tour on which Huw participated, as he opened to critical applause for NEKTAR and BRAINTICKET.

Cleopatra is preparing to release Huw's "Rare & Unreleased" anthology in January, which will now be an amazing posthumous tribute
to his work including never-before-heard solo acoustic recordings of
songs later recorded by HAWKWIND along with tracks from Huw's solo band.

NIGHTWISH Mainman To Record 'The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck' Project Next Year

 

Tuomas Holopainen, keyboardist and main songwriter of the Finnish symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH, has issued the following update:

"It was back in 1999, during the 'Oceanborn' tour, that I remember first having the idea of writing a 'soundtrack' to my all-time favorite piece of Disney comic, 'The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck', by Don Rosa, the apparent heir of the almighty Carl Barks. This book has had such an overwhelming effect on me throughout these
years, and finally I have the means and the time to make that dream a
reality.

"It all started with a story called 'Last Sled To Dawson', which was published in a Finnish Donald Duck magazine in the late '80s. It instantly became one of my favorite Scrooge/Donald stories and also introduced Mr. Don Rosa to my Disney universe. This story is not part of the actual 'Life And Times' opus, though, but 'a companion story,' set in between the chapters #8
and #9. Then when the massive 12-chapter piece was released in mid-'90s, I was completely and utterly hooked. It was similar to reading 'The Lord Of The Rings' as an 8-year-old, or seeing 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' for the first time. Adventure, fun and the strangely familiar feeling of home.

"With Scrooge, there was also a much deeper level hidden between the stories and the gags.

"This
is a book about life itself. What an unfathomable privilege it is, what
are the things that truly matter during our existence. It's about the
immense beauty of the world and its possibilities seen through the eyes
of a very relentless, honest and complex character. It's about love and
family, gain and loss, darkness and rebirth.

"And on top of that, well, it's just your good old-fashioned storytelling fun!

"I have been twiddling around with certain themes for some months now and
have an idea for five songs, but I will start working on this project
24/7 after the Australian leg of the tour, in February 2013. The demo
recordings are scheduled for May 2013, just before the festival season
starts and we're off with NIGHTWISH again. The actual recordings
then start in August-September and should be finished by the end of the
year, making a release during the first half of 2014 a possibility.

"Mr. Pip Williams has agreed to do the orchestral and choral arrangements and we will use pretty much the same London session musicians as we did on 'Imaginaerum'. Troy Donockley will bring Scrooge's Scottish origins to life with his pipes and whistles, and there will
also be a few more guest musicians and singers involved.

"This journey is very, very dear and personal to me and I'm honored to have Mr. Rosa's approval on the project. It'll be a beautiful storytime, once again!"

DREAM THEATER Guitarist Talks About Decision To Re-Sign With ROADRUNNER RECORDS

 

Guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER has spoken out about the band's decision to re-sign with Roadrunner Records. The group first joined forces with Roadrunner in January 2007 and has so far released three critically acclaimed albums with the label. Roadrunner first issued DREAM THEATER's ninth studio album, "Systematic Chaos", in 2007 and went on to release "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" in 2009 as well as their most recent album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", in September 2011. The band will soon begin recording a new album as part of the new agreement with Roadrunner.

Speaking to Metal Insider, Petrucci said: "We've been with Roadrunner for about five years spanning the life of the three records we've done
with them, and it's been amazing. They're a great record company, we
love all the people there, they get DREAM THEATER, and they're
truly on board with what we're all about. Having said that, when we
heard there were some changes, especially some big ones, of course we
were concerned. It's fairly common in the music industry, and we've
experienced it before. We were on Warner since our original contract with Atco, and that deal, which we signed when we were really young, was for eight albums, which is insane. The label changed so many times, it was Atco, it was Atco/EastWest, it was Elektra, and there were constantly changes in personnel. There were presidents
leaving, key people in A&R leaving. So we were concerned with it. It was really a matter of asking the right questions, and speaking to
everybody there. Some of the key people aren't there any more, like Monte [Conner, Sr. VP of A&R] who I worked with so closely and become friends with over the years, that was a very upsetting change. And the recent change with Jonas [Nachsin] leaving, those are big changes. At
the same time, there are people that are still there that are equally as big a part of our career. The idea that those people were staying and
were still going to be a part of this was incredibly reassuring. We've
also had a bit of a good experience with this kind of change that I
wasn't even aware of. When similar changes happened a few years ago and
the offices in Japan merged, I didn't realize that a lot of those people had merged into the Warner office, and our experience in Japan
last time was incredible. So fortunately, I didn't notice anything that
was a problem. Another big concern for us was Europe and the U.K., where we have a very big market presence. So the idea of those offices
closing and not working with those people was very shocking to us. But
it was a matter of speaking to Roadrunner and talking about the new arrangement between them and Warner. And we felt really good about it. We felt like re-signing and
continuing to build off of the history. Doing three albums together
means three tours, means a lot of promotion, and a lot of working
together. So we felt like it was definitely the right move."

Asked if there were other labels sniffing around, Petrucci said, "Yeah. There were other offers that we were considering, but we definitely felt strongest about Roadrunner and building on the relationships and the history. With the people that are there, and what we've done together, and how they know how we
operate and how we know they operate, there's a lot to be said for that. When the label understands the band, and the band understands the
label, there's a bond. Every band's unique, and every band has a
different kind of audience. We're definitely not your average band as
far as the music we play and the audience we appeal to. It's hard to get people that understand that. Since that relationship was strengthened
and developed over three albums, continuing made so much sense."

DREAM THEATER Re-Signs With ROADRUNNER RECORDS

 

Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER have re-signed with Roadrunner Records. The group first signed with Roadrunner in January 2007 and has so far released three critically acclaimed albums with the label. Roadrunner first issued DREAM THEATER's ninth studio album, "Systematic Chaos", in 2007 and went on to release "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" in 2009 as well as their most recent album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", in September 2011. The band will soon begin recording a new album as part of the new agreement with Roadrunner.

Commented the band : "We are all very excited to be re-signing with Roadrunner Records! Over the past five years from the release of 'Systematic Chaos' to our latest, 'A Dramatic Turn Of Events', we've developed strong creative and professional bonds with everyone at Roadrunner as well as many great friendships along the way."

The group added: "Roadrunner's dedication and commitment to DREAM THEATER has been evident to all of us from the very beginning, and is
consistent in all departments and on all levels, right on through to the top. Roadrunner is a record label that is not only great at what they do but who truly understand what DREAM THEATER is all about as well as the amazing people who support us all around
the world whom we proudly call our fans. They are a record company we
relate to as an organization firmly rooted in its ideals and mission,
while always pushing the envelope in an effort to keep things moving
ever forward. We've reached many career defining milestones while at Roadrunner and are all incredibly pumped in anticipation of our continued future together!"

DREAM THEATER's August 19 and August 20 concerts at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires,
Argentina were professionally filmed and recorded for the band's next
live DVD, to be released sometime next year.

DREAM THEATER's 11th studio album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", had 14 Top 10 debuts around the world. It also produced the band's first-ever Grammy nomination for "On The Backs Of Angels" in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category.

"A Dramatic Turn Of Events", sold 36,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to enter The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 8. The band's previous
CD, 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings", opened with 40,000 units to land at No. 6. This was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "Systematic Chaos", which shifted 36,000 copies in 2007 to enter the chart at No. 19. 2005's "Octavarium" premiered with 27,000 copies to debut at No. 36.

UK Prog Ensemble Landmarq Releases Highly Anticipated New Studio Album 'Entertaining Angels'

UK Prog Ensemble Landmarq Releases Highly Anticipated New Studio Album 'Entertaining Angels'

December 4, 2012 - London, UK - The progressive rock music community worldwide is buzzing with excitement about the new release by celebrated UK prog ensemble Landmarq. Pushing their songwriting skills to new heights and crossing previously unexplored musical boundaries, Landmarq's 'Entertaining Angels' is being held as the band's finest album to date! Vocalist Tracy Hitchings has pulled out all the stops to deliver some truly dazzling performances and has taken a more hands-on role with some stunning vocal arrangements. Multi-talented keyboardist Mike Varty has also brought his production and mixing skills to the band and along with excellent performances from guitarist Uwe D'Rose, drummer Dave Wagstaffe and bassist Steve Gee, Landmarq's new CD is rapidly becoming one of the top prog releases of the year!

Says Tracy, “All of the lyrics I have written for this album, starting with 'Entertaining Angels', were born of my spiritual beliefs. Other lyrics I penned had that same concept, just different stories that got reshaped as I was overcoming Cancer with a very unconventional method as part of the belief in reshaping my life and helping me rid my nemesis. In particular, 'Glowing - Part 1 & 2' is a testament to that and was an amazing and cathartic experience. Writing lyrics and vocal arranging on this album has been an amazing journey and healing process in my life, which has completely changed from the one I once lived.”

“'Entertaining Angels' is a triumph...full of power and passion...” - Geoff Barton, Classic Rock Magazine

Since it's formation in London in 1990, London-based prog-rock band Landmaq has so far released eight albums, two of which have been recorded live at various concerts in the UK and Europe and a third live CD taken from the DVD 'Turbulence – Live In Poland'. Initially signing to a Dutch record company (SI Records) then forming their own label, Synergy Records, the band soon firmly established itself within the world of progressive rock, though their appeal extended beyond these boundaries to a more mainstream audience. After three well-received albums, original lead singer Damian Wilson left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by award-winning vocalist Tracy Hitchings. Landmarq has played concerts around the world and has worked with artists such as Marillion, John Wetton, Steve Hackett, Nik Turner, Annie Haslam, Suzi Quatro and many others.

Now with Landmarq's fifth studio album, 'Entertaining Angels', the band has reached a watershed in it's career with a CD guaranteed to please old and new fans alike. The band is also proud to include guest appearances from, among others, cellist Hugh McDowell (ELO, Wizzard) and saxophonist Laurent Hunziker (Logicaltramp, Tiptop, Gino Sitson). Aside from brand new compositions, the album also includes new studio recordings of material first released on Landmarq's critically acclaimed DVD and CD 'Turbulence – Live In Poland'. All in all, 'Entertaining Angels' will be a worthy addition to all discerning lovers of not just prog-rock, but simply good music!

Says Tracy, “'Entertaining Angels' is rich in backing vocals, the arrangements of which were so important in order to give the warmth and brightness that was not quite as present in our previous work. I so loved arranging to the backdrop of Steve's and Uwe's music, which overall has been given the life-force of Mike Varty's production work. This has created a more accessible and maturer sound without losing the concept flavor. Both the cello work of ELO's Hugh McDowell and the sultry saxophone of Laurent Hunziker has provided the icing on the cake!”

“...without a doubt, 'Entertaining Angels' is the strongest album of their career...” - Nick Shilton, PROG magazine

In closing Tracy has this to impart to the band's longtime followers, “I simply say to everyone – crank up the volume, fasten your seat-belts, and enjoy the Landmarq ride of your life. This album oozes atmosphere – hot and sexy!!!”

To purchase Landmarq 'Entertaining Angels' CD: http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=3898

Available on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/entertaining-angels/id577921189

For more information: www.landmarq.net