Staff - Progrock.com

Scott Neumeister
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Host of: Metal Mischief

Scott grew up in the suburbs of Tampa, Florida, in the 70s and 80s, immersed in music from multiple genres all at once. His mother was a classical music and jazz lover, while his father appreciated folk music and tiki-influenced exotica sounds. Of course, AM radio at the time played so many different styles, one minute country, the next pop, the following rock. He became a musician in this timeframe, going from learning the keyboard to then drums, guitar, and bass.

Hanging out with fellow musicians in high school, he was schooled in progressive rock from the greats: Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Rush, and so on. Simultaneously, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal washed over American shores, attuning his ears to metal and forcing an exploration of the classic metal masters. All bets were off, however, the day he picked up a vinyl copy of Dream Theater’s When Dream and Day Unite. This new burgeoning genre of prog metal became a passion, and he found a local “tribe” who helped fire his interest in it.

Scott’s intention for Metal Mischief is to explore the prog metal genre, while paying loving (if not mischievous!) attention to other adjacent genres that overlap with the sound of “heavy metal thunder.”

Dave Ratisher
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Host of: Fusion Plus

What happens when an 8-year-old kid in 1972 gets his first transistor radio and his first musical loves on WABC-AM and WWRL-AM in New York are classic R&B, the symphonic soul of Barry White and his Love Unlimited Orchestra, and the “pop Prog” of Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra? Then, some new friends a little later in jr. high introduce him to ELP, the virtuoso Southern Rock of the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Molly Hatchet, and some more “pop Prog” by the Alan Parsons Project? Then, sprinkle in some symphonic disco love on New York’s WBLS radio, and then the discovery of New York’s WRVR jazz radio, and then college in downtown Manhattan literally right next door to the J&R Music World Jazz Outlet, and where does it all lead? Why to Jazz, Rock/Jazz Fusion, and Prog, of course…the genres where all that love of complex, well played and arranged long form music come together! But wait, there’s more: Fold in the quite-accidental discovery of the great Japanese fusion band T-Square in 1988 and seeing them live at NYC’s Bottom Line, and then learning about the whole J-Fusion subculture, and the fixation is complete…for the next 35+ years!

Hope you enjoy the “Fusion Plus w/ Dave”, program, the culmination of 5 decades of “all that jazz”.

George & Nihal
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Host of: Prog 'n Roll

GFreedom Team consists of 2 people; George and Nihal, both located in Athens, Greece. George was a DJ in various Rock Clubs and Rock bars for almost 15 years and he is an experienced DJ and a record/music collector. Nihal dealt with Rock music since her teenage years, and she is more open-minded than George when it comes to music.

In our own words…

More than 10 years ago, we started the online radio show Prog n Roll, mostly for fun and because we wanted to experience something new. During those 10 years, the show has evolved and it has gained a very dedicated audience from many countries around the globe. Also, we experienced the honor and the pleasure of having great many musicians as our “guests” while presenting a rather long list of albums. Some of them loved the show so much that they joined our audience as regular listeners, and more often than not, grown to be our friends.

After 10 comfortable years at the same radio station we felt that we needed to step out of our comfort zone; for a new challenge if you like, and we have found our way to www.progrock.com. We believe that our listeners will follow us here and merge harmoniously with the existing audience on new.progrock.com/.

We hope that we will offer something new to new.progrock.com/ while putting in our best effort in entertaining you.

Some of our most beloved albums are (without any order):

GEORGE:

Studio albums:

BIG BIG TRAIN: English Electric 1 & 2
LOVE: Forever Changes
GENESIS: Nurcery’s Cryme
PINK FLOYD: The Wall
MARILLION: Script for a Jester’s Tear
VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR: Still Life
THE BEATLES: Revolver
DAVID BOWIE: Ziggy Stardust
JETHRO TULL: Songs from the Wood
RENAISSANCE: Scheherazade and Other Stories

Live albums:

BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST: Live Tapes
PROCOL HARUM: In concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
GENESIS: Live

NIHAL:

BIG BIG TRAIN: English Electric 1 & 2
DAVID BOWIE: Ziggy Stardust
THE BEATLES: Abbey Road
THE KINKS: The Village Green Preservation Society
STRAWBS: Hero and Heroine
MADRUGADA: Industrial Silence
PINK FLOYD: The Wall
ELOY: Dawn
THE MOODY BLUES: Days of Future Passed
WISHBONE ASH: Argus

Ian Carss
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Host of: Post Avant Jazz Core Happy Hour

Ian Carss is an Englishman living in Boston. Grew up in the 70’s and 80’s listening to Pink Floyd, Yes, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and the like. Since the explosion of the internet has become a fan of the edgy, the dissonant and the experimental from Rehearsal Intensive Avant, & Rock In Opposition through Brutal Jazz, Minimalism and the like. Always on the hunt for new music. An attendee at multiple Rock In Opposition, Nearfest, Big Ears & ProgDay festivals. The plan for the show is to explore those areas outside the normal definitions of prog but of interest to fans of the genre.

Favorite albums

Henry Cow – Western Culture

Univers Zero – Ceux Du Dehors

King Crimson – Larks Tongues In Aspic

Mike Oldfield – Ommadawn

Cardiacs – Sing To God

Stacy Godfrey
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Host of: No Words Music

Hello listeners! I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s on a strict diet of radio-friendly Pop, Rock, and R&B and then one day I learned Peter Gabriel was in Genesis, and my listening life changed forever. I grew to love progressive music and the community of fans that supported it. One thing I realized very early on in my music exploration was that all my favorite bits didn’t have any singing: I prefer when the music speaks for itself, whether that was prog or funk or metal. I went looking tor a radio show or podcast that featured the instrumental music liked, couldn’t find one, and so the good folks at new.progrock.com/ said I could have a go.

Before No Words Music, I was a co-host on the podcast Tabletop Genesis for 5 years. I am a Jersey Girl that lives in Philly, working in global healthcare analytics by day and dreaming of another Phillies World Series win in my lifetime by night.

Richard Reyes
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Host of: ProgPhonic

“Purveyor of the Best of Prog, with a passionate enthusiasm (leaning towards the obsessive) from around the world”

Never afraid to dig into the archives and scour the world for Progressive Rock. Richard spends a big part of his retired life planning and producing his radio show ProgPhonic simply for the Love of Prog. He found Prog as a young teen listening to late night FM radio growing up in NYC. He is married to his long-time wife Deb who is also a progger attending numerous concerts and festivals. Richard grew up in the 70’s and has a love of classic prog and new prog from emerging artists.

Richard also dabbles with concert photography, fishing and believes it’s always a good time to learn something new. Richard and Deb happily split their time between Chicago and Destin, FL with their two small dogs Phoebe and Zooey. He has two married children and one grandchild. Oh and yes, he did manage to squeeze in a prog song for the father-daughter dance at his daughter’s wedding.

Chuck Simons
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Host of: Game of Prog, Top 10 Show, ProgRock for Requestors

Chuck Simons grew up in the 70s with mostly classic rock and the big 4, YES, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Rush. I had no idea of all the other Prog music going on at the time. Got married in the 80s and focused on family at the same time prog rock was going through a transition. With kids leaving the house I rediscovered Prog Rock in 2014 to realize how much I had missed out on. The object of my show is to take you on my journey year by year in prog rock history, not only for you, the listener but for my own learning and gratification of all those years I missed! This is why I call the show Prog Rock for Beginners, beginner being myself, and hopefully a lot of other beginners and veterans who just love this mainstream prog rock most of the time! Prog Rock for Beginners. The Best of Prog Rock, Year by Year!

Mark Burnell
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Host of: The Aquarium, Psych Ward, The Vault

Mark B, proud English-American (there’s a parade every year but it’s a secret), even prouder New Yorker. Cat lover and open-eared music obsessive. Refuses to recognize genres. “there’s only two types of music – music you like and music you do not. ”

Mark is the presenter of The Vault, The Aquarium and Psych Ward

Mike Bo
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Host of: The Stream

Name: Mike Bo
Role: Co-Owner, Station Manager
Location: Illinois, US

Mike has been Station Manager at new.progrock.com/ since 2013 – managing the 24×7 music feed (excepting hosted shows) and the station music library.

Prior to joining new.progrock.com/, Mike was a DJ at The Dividing Line Broadcast Network for 10 years, hosting a progressive rock radio show “Strange Universe” through nearly 400 episodes. Favorite artists include Rush, Kansas, Genesis, Yes, Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson.

Mike has a varied musical taste and brings that diversity to the station’s musical lineup – being a fan of classic and progressive rock and all its sub-genres, including jazz-rock fusion. If you have a favorite artist and are not hearing
them on new.progrock.com/, let him know.

Zap Niles
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Host of: Prog Scure

Zap Niles (a nom de plume) is not only a former professional musician, songwriter, and recording artist, having spent more than twenty-five years in the music business with five recording contracts under his belt, but is also an avid music collector. Indeed, since purchasing his first LP way back in the early ’70s, he has accumulated more than 7,000 albums. And although he enjoys quite a number of musical styles, mostly in the “Rock” genre, his all-time favorite style is Progressive Rock in all its various forms (Neo-Prog, Prog-Metal, Heavy Prog, Symphonic Prog, Eclectic-Prog, Canterbury Prog, etc.).

Zap is also a multiple award-winning author of both novels and short stories, and currently works as an editor in the publishing industry and as a freelance writer. Several years ago, deciding to combine his love of music with his writing skills, he began his “Zap Niles – Musical Musings & Album Reviews” website, where he posts his hundreds upon hundreds of album reviews and other music-related articles, as well as keeps a discography of every single album within his vast collection, along with his ratings for each of them.

As the name implies, his show, “Prog-Scure: Obscure Bands on the Prog-Rock Scene (Past & Present),” focuses on artists that either time has forgotten or current artists who still remain shamefully undiscovered or ignored by the masses. Additionally, he may also play lesser-known tracks—”B” sides, rarities, bonus songs—from popular bands on the Prog-Rock scene, or Prog-Rock music released by artists not even normally associated with the genre itself.

You can find Zap by visiting his website (http://zapniles.com) or Facebook profile (https://www.facebook.com/zapniles).