ETTORE SALATI

This month's Artist in Spotlight is Ettore Salati from Italy. Ettore is a sought after session guitarist by many prog musicians not just in Italy but all around the world. He started playing piano at a very young age (mostly classical music) but when he became a teenager and discovered the world of Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and 70's rock in general, he was immediately fascinated by guitar... more

KAT EPPLE (Emerald Web)

KAT EPPLE, flautist and composer, is our interview guest this month. She has won 8 Emmy awards, was nominated for a Grammy and she has released 18 albums internationally. Most of you know her as the other half of the legendary ambient/new age duo EMERALD WEB. She has a very large collection (over 200) of flutes that she gathered from all around the world during her travels. Kat composes original New Age/Jazz/World/orchestral music and has produced film scores and television soundtracks for National Geographic, Nova, CNN, Carl Sagan, Another World, The Travel Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, History Channel, HGN, The Guiding Light, PBS, and NASA among others, and was Music Director for the feature-length film, Captiva Island. She also owns a record company and works on both sides of the music industry as a musician and as a business woman... more

New Grass Revival / On The Boulevard

New Grass Revival are one of the pioneers of progressive bluegrass. Formed in 1971 by Sam Bush (mandolin/vocals), Curtis Burch (guitar), Ebo Walker (bass) and Courtney Johnson (banjo), they immediately got the attention from the industry both in a good and bad way. First of all, they were often told that their music was not bluegrass, and they knew it wasn’t “bluegrass” in its traditional sense, and it wasn’t what they were trying to achieve anyways. They were blending rock, soul and blues rhythms with the traditional bluegrass music. They were not wearing suites, but instead they had a more casual style along with long hair... more

THE SECOND THAT

The Second That hail out of Brisbane, Australia. Comprised of members Toby Skeates (vocals), Mark Irwin (guitar), Justin Horsfall (bass) & Steven May (drums). They claim influence from the likes of Pink Floyd, Faith No More, MUSE, Rage Against the Machine, Cog, Pantera & Queens of the Stoneage. I'm pleased to inform you that although they give homage to the legends, The Second That in fact stand in a league of their own. Straddling the line between experimental and industrial music, this group of accomplished musicians have flavors of prog as well. They're not necessarily progressive in the way of time changes, intricate compositions, etc – but it's money well spent to take a lesson from these guys in style & movement to hear the way they can express mood and emotion with a versatility that is like no other. This, their debut release is an impressive one chock full of interesting parts and embellishments that will forcefully demand your attention. They have really got their act together as well. Complete with an eye-catching website & myspace profile, the band has quickly become one of my favorites.

Admittedly, this style of music is not up my alley. I tend to like definitive vocal lines & concrete compositions, however The Second That are unique in that they sprinkle just enough of all the elements you may enjoy hearing in your music without overdoing or over-using those musical spices.

The EP is well packaged and includes interestingly ominous artwork. I only wish the insert included lyrics because I found myself at several points wanting to know what this or that song was really about... which brings me to the point of their incredible vocalist. Not really technically accomplished, rather he is a singer that knows his range and abilities and expresses it to the empth degree. I was fascinated with the many styles enveloped in this one voice. I stopped keeping score after I counted 11 different sounds vocally. Toby can go from a Black Metal growl to a pop sounding croon in seconds flat.

As it turns out, the vocalist needs to be this versatile, because the band is changing atmosphere rapidly. Tracks like The Seed & Dissolve make me want to turn on every light in the house, it's that creepy. Other times on the disc the band is locked in, drums, bass & all out metal riffs are woven so tightly you'd think that all the parts were somehow played simultaneously via one alien instrument. My only complaint is that the guitar licks, although great, may be repeated a bit longer than needed, like on Claustrophiliac. I'm sure the driving chord is a hit when seen live, but for the recording it goes on just a bit too long... but not so long I would need to skip to the next track – in fact this is as good a time as any to say I did not skip any tracks, even the “hidden” 7th track that I waited six minutes and 59 seconds for!

Anytime a band invokes an emotion, be it uneasiness, happiness, fear, excitement or even dread, that band has successfully realized it's goal – The Second That have done just that, the FIRST time. Bravo to a well mastered piece of work.

I tried to get ahold of the band via myspace, email & phone but was unsuccessful in getting permission to post a sound clip – no harm done, they can be found and heard at myspace.com/thesecondthat & at their official site.

Dale Juday