Contrary to popular belief, progressive rock didn\u2019t disappear with the\nadvent of punk, and the lack of media support didn\u2019t prevent new bands from\nforming and new music being created, it just drove it underground. It is hard\nto imagine these days, with everyone being permanently connected, but there was\na time not long ago when communication was by word of mouth and letter. With no\ncoverage by much of the media, it was down to fanzines and independent\nmagazines to spread the word of what was happening within the progressive rock\nscene, what was being released, and who was worth going to see in concert. Most\nof these magazines survived for just a few issues, while others continued for\nmany years, all having their part to play in spreading the word. One of the\nmost important during this period was \u2018Feedback\u2019. It initially started as the\nnewsletter of Mensa\u2019s Rock Music Special Interest Group in 1988, but when Kev Rowland\nbecame secretary in 1990, he determined to turn it into a magazine promoting\nmusic which often wasn\u2019t being written about in the mainstream press. \u2018Feedback\u2019\nsoon became one of the key promoters of the underground progressive scene, and\nKev one of the most well-known and popular reviewers. He also became a\ncontributor to Rock \u2018n\u2019 Reel, as well as writing for the Ghostland website in\nthe early days of prog on the web. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following on from the success of Volume 1, which covers all his\nprogressive reviews from 1991-2006 for artists A-H, he has now returned with\nthe second of the three-volume series, this time featuring artists I-S. The\nfinal volume of the set will follow in a few months\u2019 time which contains the\nrest of the alphabet, DVD and video reviews, various artist and short reviews,\nplus interviews and gig reviews. This set provides the most comprehensive look\never compiled of a forgotten period of the genre. It was while reading yet\nanother \u201cdefinitive\u201d book on progressive rock that Rowland realized no-one had\never really written about \u201chis scene\u201d, the one which he has been so heavily\ninvolved for more than half his lifetime. This series of books attempts to\naddress that. It never proclaims to be definitive or comprehensive, but rather\nhere are the honestly given reviews of a self-confessed proghead, whose only\nagenda has ever been to try and promote music and musicians he felt should be\nheard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with the other two volumes in this series, this shines a spotlight onto a time when there were very few writings about the music in a constructive manner. Finally, it is again possible to discover some great music from wonderful bands, and this should be used as a guide to expand collections and understand that prog rock really didn\u2019t die, it just went underground. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About the author<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kev Rowland is a self-confessed music addict, who has never really been the same since he heard \u2018Sabbath Bloody Sabbath\u2019 in 1975. In the Eighties he spent quite a ridiculous amount of money on all things related to Jethro Tull and was asked by David Rees to write a piece on Carmen (the band including John Glascock, not the opera) for the Tull fanzine \u2018A New Day\u2019. This simple request was life-changing, although neither realised that at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Following on from that, Kev wrote reviews for the Mensa RockSIG\nnewsletter, before becoming secretary himself in 1990. Over the next 16 years,\nthe newsletter gained a name, and he put out more than 80 issues, many of them\ndoubles, in excess of 11,000 pages. When he moved to New Zealand in 2006, he\nretired from the music scene, but was pulled <\/p>\n\n\n\n back in \u2013 initially kicking and screaming until he accepted his fate.\nThese days he can be found contributing to many magazines and websites, is a\ncolumnist with the wonderful Gonzo Weekly magazine and is a special\ncollaborator on www.progarchives.com<\/a> <\/a> which is\ndesigned to be the most important and comprehensive progressive rock resource\non the web. In 2018 he reviewed 850 albums of multiple genres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When he isn\u2019t listening to music, writing about music, or thinking about\nmusic, then he can be found on his lifestyle block in Canterbury with his\nwonderful and long-suffering wife Sara, and their 8 cats, 5 dogs, chickens,\nsheep, lambs, calves and cattle. Oh, apparently, he has a day job as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kev is available for interview but asks for initial contact to be made\nvia email as time zones can be confusing to some people, and he does live at\nthe end of the world after all: <\/p>\n\n\n\n feedbackfanzine@hotmail.com \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Online: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n http:\/\/www.progarchives.com\/Collaborators.asp?id=5626<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n