CalProg Classic Cover Tradition
Back in 2004, as the idea for CalProg began to take shape and we were evaluating
who the target audience of the festival would be and how to market to them, we
were convinced that the most obvious target audience for the second (or as some
call it the THIRD) wave of prog were the same people who had fallen in love with
the first wave. That was certainly my experience and as I was getting to know
other prog fans, theirs as well.
So we thought as a way to draw both eras together it would be an appropriate headline event to get an ensemble of current prog artists to prepare a special tribute set that covered some of the well known epics of the early 70s. As this idea took shape and the artists were recruited, we quickly found the cost to pull this off effectively was beyond the budget of a start-up. As we reluctantly scrapped that idea, another one took shape. "What if we asked each band to perform a classic prog cover to pay homage to the music that inspired them?" And so we DID ask them and they embraced the idea enthusiastically. They all brought difficult selections and performed them immaculately. It was so much fun for both the fans and the artists that it became an instant tradition.
| In
the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson) – Erik Norlander (2004) Tempus Fugit (YES) – Enchant (2004) The Cage Medley (Genesis) – IZZ (2004) Close To The Edge (YES) – IZZ (2005) Sound Chaser (Yes) – Spiraling (2005) Tempus Fugit (Yes) – Spiraling (2007) The Knife (Genesis) – Bubblemath (2005) Excerpts from 2112 (Rush) – Tiles (2005) Soon (Yes) – The Flower Kings (2006) Majestic Dance (Return to Forever) – Helmet of Gnats (2006) Progledy (Various artists) – Cryptic Vision (2006) Cogs in Cogs (Gentle Giant) – Puppet Show (2007) Red (King Crimson) – Frogg Café (2007) Prog Medley on Grand Piano – Jordan Rudess (2007) |
This is a complete list of the covers played as of 2007. |
Every
year as I've sat in the audience or roamed the festival grounds I've often
overheard people speculating "What do you think THEIR cover will
be?" It's always highly anticipated and has become one of the special
features that makes CalProg different from all the other festivals.
I've compiled an audio montage with parts of a couple of songs from each year. You may notice how much the recordings improve in 2006. That was the year that Vince and Marc joined the CalProg family and have been doing pro-audio 32 track recordings of every event ever since. I hope you enjoy listening...
CalProg Classic Cover Audio Montage - 18MB MP3
2004
Erik Norlander and Friends with Lana Lane on Vocals -The Court of the
Crimson King (King Crimson)
IZZ - The Cage Medley (Genesis)
2005
Bubblemath - The Knife (Genesis)
Spiraling - Sound Chaser (Yes)
2006
Helmet of Gnats - Majestic Dance (Return to Forever)
Cryptic Vision - Prog Medley (Various Artists)
2007
Spiraling - Tempus Fugit (Yes)
Frogg Cafe - Red (King Crimson)
Jordan Rudess - Prog Medley on Piano
CD