Univers Zero News

from the band's mailing list:

Hello UZ-friends,

We have some very exciting news. Andy Kirk is back and Univers Zéro will be performing as a two-keyboards band from now on.

We are planning to start to record our new CD, Clivages, in May.

Several gigs are schedule for 2009 already

March 2009 Concert Dates (some to be confirmed, yet)
• Würzburg / Germany (CAFE CAIRO) March 17th
• Linz/ Austria (POSTHOF) March 19th
• Praha/ Czec Republic (PALAC AKROPOLIS) March 20 th Tickets:
http://web.ticketstream.cz/czts/presentation.event.jsp?event=30020
• Dresden/ Germany (JAZZWELTEN) March 21th
• Wroclaw/ Poland March 22, Gothic Hall - 1 Purkyniego Street in Wroclaw. (4th Energy and Sound festival, 21-25 March)

We are looking for dates in Germany, 15 or 16 and 23/24/25. Please if you have interest to book Univers Zero in Germany or in region nearby, contact us at
universzerocontact@yahoo.com

April 2009 Univers Zéro in Mexico
Mexico:
• Puebla Baroque Fringe Festival the 18 in Puebla (outdoors)
• Teatro de la Ciudad Mexico City the 19
• Ecatepec (festival) 24

June -
• Les Tritonales, Le Triton, les Lilas, France 12 and 13 June, 2009
www.letriton.com
11 bis, rue du Coq Français - 93260 LES LILAS (Métro Mairie des Lilas) tél : 01 49 72 83 13 - fax : 01 49 72 83 11 - email : contact@letriton.com

September
Univers Zéro will also be playing at RIO Festival 2009 September 20

more info here
http://www.rocktime.org/rio/

We are planning to play with Present at the end of the festival as a single band. We hope it works out!

Also:

An Italian booking agency has agreed to work for some dates around the in the beginning of the next year. If you are in Italy and want to have Univers Zero at your venue, please contact:

Syncretic Srl.
Viale dei Quattro Venti, 166 - 00152 Roma (Italia)
(Loredana Miarelli)
tél: 347/9018466
lorimia@hotmail.it

Our friend Jaak Geebelen shot some marvelous photos from our last concert in Nivelles. take a look at them in the link below. Some of them are widespread in our site as well.

http://jaak56.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album180&page=1

More news soon!

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum updates (incl. tour dates)

New Shows / Weddings / Documentaries

New shows! Are they not grand?! We promise to play each of these shows with great fervor. In fact, with increasingly greater fervor, until we combust. On stage! (all shows, with the exception of Vancouver, will feature the talented Mr. Jason Webley for your listening and dancing pleasure)

We then will be attending the wedding of our famous illuminator, Mr. Allen Wilner! Sorry ladies!

And then, for the ladder half of July, the Sleepytime Gorilla Museum will be filming a short, documentary feature: The Last Human Being.

And don't worry, rest of America. We are coming your way in the fall. Promise you.

In Glorious Times,

The Museum

7 / 3 / 08 - Neumos, Seattle, WA
7 / 4 / 08 - The Plaza, Vancouver BC
7 / 5 / 08 - Dantes, Portland OR
7 / 9 / 08 - The Troubador, Los Angeles, CA
7 / 10 / 08 - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA

Yes in 2008? Speculation

While I generally do not like to deal in speculation, there's enough stuff flying around to make this worthy of note here. Much of this information has been compiled on Henry Pott's Yes (Where are They Now) page, located HERE.

Some snippets:

Yes to re-group with a world tour
Yes have new management and are in negotiations around a North American tour this summer, coinciding with their 40th anniversary.

Who will be in the band?
The band will include Anderson, Squire, Howe and White, but it appears that they will be without Rick Wakeman. Reports suggest that Oliver Wakeman, Rick's eldest son, will plays keys instead. The key point of contention seems to have been the length of the tour. Chatting with fans after a solo show in early Nov, Wakeman confirmed he had been in discussions with the others about touring in 2008 and that he wants to do a tour, but that they could not agree on what form the tour should take. He explained that he is limiting himself to 25 shows a year, but that the others want to do a tour of over 100 dates. He was quoted as saying, "They're mad—Jon's voice would never stand up to it." Wakeman has semi-retired from touring.

New music
New music is also planned: in a late 2007 interview, Squire said:

"The thing about Yes is we've always challenged ourselves to do different things, bring different things out, approach music differently, and stretch the boundaries of our capabilities under the banner of it being Yes. Next time when we're in the studio, which might be in a years' time or something like that, I'm sure we'll look at certain ways of doing things in a different fashion. Some things will work, some won't - but we'll give it a go."

Set list
In a Nov 2007 Notes from the Edge interview, asked what he saw as the major goal for Yes in 2008, Squire said, "Well, it would just be nice to playing to people again and that stuff. Hope everyone has a good time, enjoys it. As far as an actual set list, we haven't really discussed that yet."

There's loads more information on the site linked above which goes into some greater depth on the whole evolving situation.

InsideOut presents an evening with The Tangent/Ritual/Beardfish

Quite an interesting triple billing, concert-wise. I enjoyed both Ritual and Beardfish's newest releases (see reviews HERE and HERE), and while familiar with the Tangent, have not listened enough to get a full feeling for their material. Still...solid touring lineup throughout:

Friday 16th May 2008 Germany: Karlsruhe Substage
http://www.substage.de/

Saturday 17th May 2008 Switzerland: Pratteln Z-7
http://www.z-7.ch/

Sunday 18th May 2008 Italy: Voghera Thunderroad
http://www.thunderroad.it/

Tuesday 20th May 2008 UK: London The Underworld
http://www.theunderworldcamden.co.uk/

Thursday 22nd May 2008 Netherlands: Zoetermeer De Boerderij
http://www.boerderij.org/

Friday 23rd May 2008 Germany: Bielefeld Movie
http://www.movie-bielefeld.de/

Saturday 24th May 2008 Belgium: Verviers Spirit of 66
http://www.spiritof66.be/

Sunday 25th May 2008 Netherlands: Uden De Pul
http://www.depul-uden.nl/

Dream Theater's Progressive Nation 2008 Tour

North American Tour Dates
Tues April 29th - Mexico City, Mexico - National Auditorium*
Fri May 2nd - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheater
Sat May 3rd - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theater
Mon May 5th - Seattle, WA - Wamu Theater
Tues May 6th - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum
Fri & Sat May 9th & 10th - Calgary, ALB - Macewan Hall
Mon May 12th - Minneapolis, MN - Myth
Tues May 13th - Chicago, IL - Rosemont Theater
Wed May 14th - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
Fri May 16th - Columbus, OH - LC Amphitheater
Sat May 17th - Cleveland, OH - Time Warner Amphitheater @ Tower City
Sun May 18th - Albany, NY - The Armory
Tues May 20th - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater
Wed & Thurs May 21st & 22nd - New York, NY - Terminal 5
Mon May 26th - Washington DC - DAR Constitution Hall
Tues May 27th - Richmond, VA - The National
Wed May 28th - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
Fri May 30th - Miami, FL - The Fillmore
Sat May 31st - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock
Sun June 1st - Tampa, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
Wed June 4th - San Juan, Puerto Rico - Coliseo of Puerto Rico *

* the Mexico and Puerto Rico dates will be Dream Theater with special guests Between The Buried And Me (Opeth and 3 will NOT be appearing on these 2 dates)

New York progressive metal pioneers DREAM THEATER are set to unveil the maiden voyage of “PROGRESSIVE NATION”. A package tour they will headline that will also feature the talents of OPETH, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME and 3.

The tour is the brainchild of DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy who explains: “I’ve been wanting to assemble a package tour like this for many years now. With all of the festivals and package tours that go through America, I’ve been talking with our manager and agent for over 10 years now about doing something that focuses on the more progressive, musician-oriented side of hard rock and metal. I decided it was time to stop talking the talk, lace up and finally walk the walk”

While DREAM THEATER co-headlined 2005’s GIGANTOUR along side MEGADETH, as well as embarking on previous co-headlining runs with both QUEENSRYCHE and JOE SATRIANI and opening slots for YES, DEEP PURPLE and IRON MAIDEN, they have primarily built their 22 year career on the road playing solely to their own audience. Portnoy comments: “I’ve always prided myself on personally hand picking new and exciting opening acts to open for DREAM THEATER in the past. Bands such as PORCUPINE TREE, SYMPHONY X, SPOCK’S BEARD, FATES WARNING, PAIN OF SALVATION and KING’S X. In all of these cases, it was important for me to pick bands that I respect and admire but also ones that I know our fans will enjoy. And I think playing with DT has helped expand all of those band’s fanbases as a direct result. I am hoping PROGRESSIVE NATION will continue to do the same thing in offering an audience for more daring and experimental acts that otherwise may not get the mainstream exposure they so rightly deserve.”

Joining the bill for this inaugural run is Sweden’s legendary OPETH who have been enjoying an ever-growing and expanding audience of their own for many years now. DT’s Roadrunner Records label-mates will be ready to unleash their new album "Watershed" next spring and PROGRESSIVE NATION should be a great launching pad for their next World Tour cycle. Guitarist/Vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt adds: "We're very excited about this upcoming tour with DREAM THEATER. It will be the first tour that we're doing in support of our upcoming record, and also somewhat of a dream come true personally as I've been a fan of theirs for a long time. It's quite intimidating to be on the bill with such amazing musicians but obviously we'll try and give them a run for their money and pull out a few nice licks of our own. I guess we'll need to practice a little bit for this....how boring! Yet, I can't wait for this tour to start and I'm sure we'll have a blast with the DT guys as well as together with the other bands on the bill!"

North Carolina’s BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME are enjoying rave reviews and critical acclaim for their latest CD “Colors” and are looking forward to sharing the stage each night with both DREAM THEATER and OPETH. Vocalist/Keyboardist Tommy Rogers comments: "We are very excited to be touring with two bands that have been such an integral part of our musical upbringing. It is a wonderful opportunity to have our music heard by new ears."

Also on the bill with their unique blend of pop, funk and hard rock is upstate New York’s 3 who issued the following statement: "3 is very pleased to announce its participation in the PROGRESSIVE NATION tour. For well over a decade DREAM THEATER has been the vanguard of progressive rock and we are completely psyched to flex with these heavyweights, playing much of our new record "The End is Begun". This package will rock and awe fans everywhere as one of the most important tours of the year. It's a progressive way of music, a progressive way of life....welcome to the PROGRESSIVE NATION tour.”

DREAM THEATER are currently in the middle of their “Chaos In Motion” World Tour which has already traveled extensively throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia in support of their latest Roadrunner Records CD “Systematic Chaos”. The World Tour will continue through March in South America before concluding with PROGRESSIVE NATION in North America.

Portnoy hopes that this first venture of PROGRESSIVE NATION will prove to be a success that can enable himself and DREAM THEATER to continue the package into future years and begin a tradition that musicians and fans alike can count on for quality musicianship and artistic integrity on future tours.

ONE NATION, UNDER PROG...
www.progressivenation2008.com (coming soon!)

Update/news about Asia's new album (Wetton/Downes/Howe/Palmer)

(from Original Asia)

Frontiers Records, the Italian-based record label, announced today acclaimed British progressive rock group Asia, will release Phoenix, its first studio album since 1983. The new album, recorded by all four original members following singer/bassist John Wetton's emergency heart surgery last August, marks a return to the classic Asia sound, with some surprising contemporary twists.

“Everything that was there 25 years ago is still there, and quite simply if you liked it then, you'll love it now,” says Wetton. “It does exactly what it says on the tin.” “The recording has gone very well, especially since John is writing, singing and playing great,” adds guitarist Steve Howe. “I believe we've all found the team work creatively rewarding and we look forward to playing some new songs, on stage.”

Phoenix is a collection of songs that speak to the millions of core Asia fans who, like the group, have come a long way since the dawn of the MTV age in 1982. “We're older now, and our audience has grown up with us,” says drummer Carl Palmer. “I think the lyrical themes on this record are some of the best John has ever developed. One track in particular, 'Extraordinary Life,' is among the best tracks we've ever recorded, and I believe could go on to be another Asia classic.”

Phoenix has a very poignant underlying theme placed at the intersection of love, discovery and reflection, no doubt due, at least partly, to Wetton's unexpected serious health issues (which included open heart surgery), and forced the cancellation of Asia's 2007 West Coast North American tour and a sold-out tour of the United Kingdom. “It kind of knocked me sideways on another level,” said Wetton of his recent surgery and physical rehabilitation, in an interview with journalist Jeb Wright. “You tend to become very aware of your mortality and your vulnerability.”

“John is a survivor,” adds Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes. “He has proved that a few times, now. There was never any doubt in our minds that he would recover and be better than ever. We all look forward to hitting the road once again.” Adds Carl Palmer: “The last few years since we reunited have been a very natural process. The recording started and ended on a big high with the sense that Asia now was truly reborn and ready to move forward once again - onto the global stage where we all feel it justly belongs."

Coinciding with the release of Phoenix, Asia, will return to the stage for an extensive World Tour that kick off on March 1, 2008, in Falmouth, UK. It will be the first show by the band since Wetton was sidelined last August.

The four original members reunited in 2006, twenty-three years after all four had last played together. The much publicised reunion resulted in two highly successful world tours in 2006 and 2007; an acclaimed double live LP and DVD, (entitled FantAsia: Live In Tokyo); and an overwhelming response from fans and the media, which continues today. This will be the third world tour for the four accomplished musicians, whose debut album, Asia, was released 26 years ago in 1982, and remains one of only 4 albums in history to stay at the Billboard album chart position of #1 for a staggering nine weeks! Formed at the dawn of the MTV era, Asia was the first super group of the 1980s, featuring members from Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson and The Buggles. Videos made for the band's first two albums, Asia and Alpha, were a staple part of the historic music channel's initial programming.

“1982 feels only like yesterday,” comments keyboardist Geoff Downes about the first time the original members of Asia made their landmark debut album. “Four guys in the studio, making music together - John, Steve, Carl and me. Fast forward to 2008. Once again, here we are. The same four guys doing the same things. Maybe we're all a bit older now, but nothing's really changed that much over the years - that's the beauty of Asia."

Continuing his thought, Downes is reflective on the creative success of the early albums: Fortunately for his fans, Wetton has recovered fully and his bandmates say he is singing and playing better than ever. “What we set out to achieve way back then- Timeless music that only sounds like the four who created it-, is what we attempted to bring to Phoenix. Still, it remains contemporary and refreshing to us all. Nothing more, nothing less. This is the Asia story, and it remains the same today - so listen on, and enjoy.”

2008 Asia World Tour - United Kingdom

March 1 - Falmouth Pavilion
March 2 - Bournemouth BIC Pavilion
March 4 - Liverpool Academy
March 7 - Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre (Wales)
March 8 - Frome Cheese & Grain
March 9 - Wolverhampton Civic
March 11 - Nottingham Rock City
March 12 - Oxford Zodiac Club (Academy)
March 13 - Manchester Academy
March 16 - London Shepherds Bush
March 18 - Newcastle Academy
March 19 - Glasgow Academy (Scotland)
March 20 - Perth Concert Halls (Scotland)

North America
April 4 Wilkes Barre, PA - Kirby PAC
April 5 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino Wolf Den
April 7 Harrisburg, PA - Sunoco Performance Theater
April 8 Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere
April 10 Collingswood, NJ - Scottish Rite Auditorium
April 12 Westbury, NY - North Fork Theatre
April 13 Peekskill, NY - Paramount Center For The Arts
April 15 Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort & Casino
April 16 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
April 17 Englewood, NJ - Bergen Performing Arts Center
April 19 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
April 20 Chicago, IL - House of Blues
April 21 Indianapolis, IN - Music Mill
April 23 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
April 26 Marksville, LA - Paragon Casino
April 27 Dallas, TX - House of Blues
April 29 Espanola NM - Big Rock Casino
April 30 Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
May 2 Agoura Hills, CA - Canyon Club
May 3 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
May 4 San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House
May 5 San Francisco, CA - Grand Ballroom @ The Regency Center

Japan
May 8 Fukuoka, Japan - Shimin Kaikan
May 9 Osaka, Japan - Koseinenkin Kaikan
May 11 Nagoya, Japan - Shimin Kaikan
May 12 Tokyo, Japan - International Forum

Europe
May 17 - Santana 27 - Bilbao, Spain
May 18 - Hall de Martigues - Martigues, France
May 19 - Luz de Gas - Barcelona, Spain
May 21 - Lisbon Coliseu - Lisbon, Portugal
May 22 - Joy Eslava - Madrid, Spain
May 24 - Tenerife Auditorium - Tenerife, Canary Islands
May 26 - Zenith- Lille, France
May 27 - O-13 - Tilburg, The Netherlands
May 29 - Prumyslovy Palac – Vystaviste - Prague, Czech Republic
May 30 - Petofi Hall - Budapest, Hungary
May 31 - Divadlo Arena - Bratislava, Slovakia

More Dates To Be Announced. For all things Asia please visit: www.originalasia.com.