maani

I started as a visitor here about two years ago. I was then asked to become a "prog reviewer," and served in that capacity for about two months. Some months later, I was "upgraded" to "Special Collaborator.

" I was then asked to join the admin group, with specific responsibility for the forums, as well as some responsibility for the site as a whole. I am extremely honored to have been given this opportunity, and I take that responsibility very seriously - both as a member of the admin group, and, perhaps more importantly, FOR the members, without whom this site would probably not exist. I was able to "parlay" my position on the admin group to begin a series of interviews with prog-rock legends and near-legends, and others associated with progressive rock.

This new feature promises to be both informative and exciting, as both the interviews and the responses to them will be read by the interviewee, and possibly responded to by them. Re my personal background and tastes, let me say right off the bat that although I have my own beliefs as to what bands are or are not prog-rock - and would not have included some of the bands on the site, and would have included others who are missing - I respect the right of the webmasters to make final decisions in that regard. Overall, I continue to find the site interesting, informative and fun - and even addictive.

My favourite prog bands (of those included on the site) are GENESIS, GENTLE GIANT, YES, KING CRIMSON, PINK FLOYD, THE CHURCH, MARILLION and DEUS EX MACHINA. (Others not included (yet?) are XTC, SKELETON KEY and BABBLE.

) Given these bands, my favourite albums (in the same order) are "Selling England" and "The Lamb," "In A Glass House" and "Interview," "Time and A Word" and "Close to the Edge," "In The Court of the Crimson King" and "Larks Tongues in Aspic," "Wish You WEre Here" and "Animals," "Priest=Aura" and "Sometime Anywhere," "Clutching at Straws" and "Brave," and "Equilibrismo di Insofferenza" and "Cinque." (For the bands not included, "English Settlement" and "Mummer," "Obtanium," and "Ether.") I also have a huge and growing respect for the prog-rock produced by Italy, both "seminal" (i.

e. PFM, Museo Rosenbach, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso et al) and more recent (e.g.

, Alusa Fallax et al), as well as much non-English European prog, especially from the north (Sweden, Netherlands et al). I have also finally (!) begun to understand - and appreciate - neo-prog bands such as Spock's Beard, and even prog-metal groups such as Dream Theater, Ark and Opeth.

My collection of prog-rock CDs is fairly extensive - and growing: I buy about five new prog CDs per month. My strongest areas are Art Rock, Psychedelic Progressive, Neo-Progressive, Jazz-Fusion and what is probably considered "Classic Progressive" (the origins of prog: MOODY BLUES, KING CRIMSON, PINK FLOYD, etc.) As a result of new-found favorites, I also have an increasing knowledge of Folk Progressive and Italian Symphonic Progressive.

I am proud to be a member of this site, and a member of the admin group, and hope that I will continue to be a credit to both.