Temple of Switches – Freon Suitcase – Featured Video

“This music is not meant to be listened to on a telephone.” Heed those words, which come at the end of the liner notes for Four, the fourth album from California’s Temple of Switches. This is mysterious, majestic music that deserves to be played through the loudest speakers you can find.” – Michael Popke, Sea of Tranquility

The name Temple of Switches was coined in 2012 by Tenk Van Dool. Temple of Switches is an independent band and the creative outlet for producer and musician Van Dool.

The band is comprised of a group of musicians that have been friends since the late 1970s (Kevin McConnell and David White) as well as other talented guest musicians from outside the group (Clara Hembree and Craig Camp from the band Circle of Dominion, Gaetano Nicolosi from Iron Horse, Amanda Lehmann from Steve Hackett’s band).

Their music is dark, contemplative, dissonant, melancholy, heavy, sarcastic, and unrestrained. Their studio recordings tend to be edgy and dynamic. Their compositions draw from jazz influences while retaining an element of heaviness and adrenaline. Their last two consecutive albums have earned them “Featured artist of the month” on progrock.com.

The latest release entitled “IV” has earned them excellent reviews from Prog Archives and Sea of Tranquility among others, and the song “The Unfurling” is in the running for best composition for 2021 on Friday Night Progressives Indie Prog Awards. The haunting song “The Wind” features Amanda Lehmann on vocals.

Discography:
Temple of Switches – Self-Titled (2015)
Helium Parade (2017)
The Wings of Mind (2020)
IV (2022)

Links:
Website: https://templeofswitches.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenkVanDool/
Bandcamp: https://tenkvandool.bandcamp.com/music
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XbKRBlIEOVQjuvv0gns9g
Prog Archives: http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=9646

Evership – The Law of Ages Official Video

About this Song
In this part of the rock opera, the wrongful king, the younger twin prince, has been crowned, leaving the rightful heir hopeless, until he meets Wisdom. The message here is when unjust life situations create uncertainties that are of such a scope as to be beyond our control, Wisdom encourages us to be patient and not reactive and comforts us with the knowledge that ill-gotten gain is temporal and truth, eventually, will be known.

The Law of Ages highlights the subtle and powerful range of vocalist Beau West and the classical influence of Shane Atkinson’s compositional prowess. Introspective and powerful, with notes as varied as Coldplay, The Scorpions, Kansas, and Queen, this single is a good power ballad suitable for modern, classic, acoustic, and progressive rock programs.

The Uncrowned King – Act 2 will be released on October 14th.

About Evership
Rock band Evership is the conceptualization of composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer/engineer Shane Atkinson, along with lead vocalist Beau West. Few recent acts have made a bigger splash than Evership in the world of modern art/progressive or symphonic rock. Their impactful 2016 self-titled album catapulted them to the forefront of the rock world. This led to main-stage performances at the largest of US Art/Prog rock festivals RoSFest and ProgStock and over 50 glowing national and international reviews and interviews. Each successive album has been honored in the yearly “Best of’s” by critical reviewers. The response to The Uncrowned King – Act 1 was astounding. Highland (Issue #108) hails Evership as “firmly establishing themselves in the Progressive American Landscape” and UK’s ProgRadar sites “Evership is the new face of American Prog”.

Listen Links
https://ffm.to/zq5eb67

Web: www.evership.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/evershipband
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCekzGV7LlVF6uML4HTnT3cQ

Amanda Lehmann – One Last Spin – Gambling Harms (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

The official video for the single ‘One Last Spin’, was written and performed by Amanda Lehmann. Video courtesy of COPEScotland. Written to compliment the documentary ‘One Last Spin’ and raise awareness about the harms of gambling. Amanda Lehmann is an international solo recording artist, performer, composer, singer, and guitarist, also known for her collaborations with former Genesis guitarist: Steve Hackett.

“I was not fully aware of the extent of gambling addiction before, and now I find myself noticing stuff all over the place luring people in, it’s very scary. With this song, I have tried to capture the vicious circles of gambling leading to feelings of desperation and isolation in the face of continual temptation from gambling companies. Now with the accompanying video by COPEScotland, the message has an additional powerful visual aspect.” Amanda Lehmann. “COPEScotland recognizes the value of what the Community Interest Company “Machine Zone” set out to do: raising awareness of the harms caused by gambling with the Documentary ‘One Last Spin’. COPEScotland was delighted at the support offered by Amanda to create a song to support the documentary. We wanted to support this further by creating a music video to accompany the track. Together we can be the change” COPEScotland

Watch the featured video here.

Music, lyrics, guitar, vocals: Amanda Lehmann Keyboards and programming:
Nick Magnus Video: COPEScotland

WEB:
www.amandalehmann.co.uk
www.cope-scotland.org
www.onelastspin.vision
www.gamblingwatchscotland.org.uk

SOCIAL MEDIA:
www.facebook.com/AmandaLehmannMusic
Twitter: @amandalehmann25
Twitter: @COPEScotland
www.instagram.com/amandalehmannmusic

Song: One Last Spin Artist: Amanda Lehmann
Video: COPEScotland
Including visuals from Amanda’s Memory Lane and Watcher videos by Crooked Hand Productions
Licensed to YouTube by PRS (Performing Rights Society)

Evership Release The Uncrowned King Act 2 (Official Overture Video)

Bio

Progressive Rock act Evership is the conceptualization of composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Shane Atkinson. Shane played in Nashville bands and as a backup musician for label artists in the late 80’s and 90’s. As a composer he wrote on Music Row and always having a studio running somewhere in the Nashville area, was a prolific composer with musical work spanning from commercials and film to orchestral and theater. He made two records with the 90’s Alternative Rock band Curious Fools, but with the birth of his first child, he decided to leave the music business for the budding software industry.

Shane says he never really stopped writing. “The music just kept coming, almost haunting me. I’d constantly wake up in the night to record song ideas. Over those years I amassed at least a hundred hours of material. But my success in software made it nearly impossible to get out. Something like Evership was bound to happen, it had to happen.”

Finally, in 2005, in response to a dream, he sold his big house in the suburbs, downsized, built a recording studio, and opened a commercial and film music production company to finance the album effort. It would take about ten years to make the first record; not just for the actual recording, but for raising a family, building a studio, holding down the production company and remaining business interests, and sifting through the mountain of song material.

Many of the Evership songs were written long before the project started. Some were five to ten years old even then, and there is purportedly enough material for four or more albums. “I’ve got other material, but I wanted to do this first. Musically-speaking, Prog is where my heart is.” He said while growing up, listening to bands like Led Zeppelin, Rush, Yes, Queen, Kansas and Jimmy Hotz, he had no idea it was progressive music. He just liked it. Amongst his other influences were classical composers, particularly Bach, Rachmaninov and Ravel. He has a sizable Opera collection and is a Puccini fan. Fusion music also played a role in the early years; Chick Corea, Al Di Miola, Mahavishnu Orchestra, anything that challenged him musically. “Even what I’m writing now is not intentionally Prog. It’s just what comes out. These songs are life-stories, I can’t tell them in three-and-a-half minutes. I was a music and literature major in school. So my lyrics tend to be classically driven as well, lending to a longer format.”

After deciding on material for the debut album, demos were started in 2009, but life circumstances halted production until 2013 when Shane shut the music production company down to focus on the record.

Beau West, the lead vocalist, had moved to Nashville to do music, but nothing materialized for the effort. With no prospects on the horizon Beau shelved music for three years. He says, “My wife asked me if I wanted to do music anymore. My answer was “‘I don’t want to write, I don’t want any creative control, I just want to sing.'” Little did he know that around the corner of that third year he would get exactly that.

Originally, the singer Shane had designed the music for was longtime friend and 90’s band mate Jason Beddoe, who ended up needing to bow out of the project due to life circumstances. Shane says, “This was operatic, expressive music. These kinds of singers just don’t exist anymore. I thought it was over. Beau was literally an answer to prayer.”

Shane met Beau West, the lead vocalist, through session singer Mike Priebe (who sings BGVs on the records, along with Nicelle, Mike’s wife, on strings). Shane and Beau had a conversation about music that lasted hours. The two had the same musical interests and the same vision for what they wanted to accomplish. After an initial meeting to review the material, Beau was invited to the studio to sing on the most challenging vocal track, Ultima Thule. Shane says, “Beau has that rare range and tone that sounds great anywhere on the scale. He could handle anything I threw at him, and had such a great attitude as well, which was critical because so much production had already been done.” Beau says, “This music is everything I’d heard whirling around in my head sinceI was fourteen and couldn’t get it out. Shane unlocked what was already inside and I can’t wait to sing every note he writes.” This set course for a three year journey of finishing the recording and hence was birthed Evership.

On the debut album, Shane choose to play drums, keyboards, and an assortment of more obscure instruments like the Theremin and Chapman Stick, but to sub-out most of the guitar and bass work to like-minded musician friends and family.

The earliest recording, Flying Machine, was performed by Dan Smalley on classical guitar and Brandon Vestal on electric guitar. However, the classically trained Rob Higginbotham performed most of the rhythm electric, acoustic and classical guitars.

Shane’s brother James moved into town later in the process and performed the lead guitars, which turned out to be essential to the Evership sound. “Having my brother here reminded me of when we were young. We used to do these ‘concerts’. The neighbors would set up lawn chairs and watch.” With James on guitar, the ‘brother magic’ (a term James coined to explain their telepathic ability to communicate musically) made the lead guitar production more organic.

The Nashville bassist Jaymi “Pink Bassman” Millard (Innocent Monday, Kinetic Element, Mark Slaughter) rounded out the tracks.

Once the debut album was in full swing Shane engaged the know-how of recording engineer Mark Aartun of Innerspeaker Records who cut the beginning of Flying Machine-Part 1: Dreamcarriers on Plexiglas using a rare 1940 Presto K-8 portable record cutting machine. They then re-recorded it from a Newcomb schoolhouse tube record player. “This gave me the vintage Victorian feel I was after.”

Finally, as a last minute production idea, Shane contacted his oldest Nashville friend and classical composer Charles Heimermann, who had been leading a professional choir made up of session singers and singers from both the Nashville Symphony Chorus and The Nashville Choir, to push the production over the top with live choir, recorded in a cathedral in Green Hills, Tennessee.

The panoramic artwork was illustrated by Nashville-area artist Philip Willis. Like the music, it is immersive.

The eponymous debut album Evership (CD and Digital) was released on July 1, 2016. Within a month Evership was invited to perform at the prestigious 2017 Rite of Spring progressive rock festival in Gettysburg, PA. By years-end was sited as a 2016 top-ten album of the year by scores of prominent international progressive and rock magazine outlets and radio! The vinyl was mastered by Grammy-award winning engineer Cameron Henry at Welcome to 1979 Studios and was released a year later, again to exceptional reviews.

The Evership momentum continued in 2017 and the band was invited to perform in the second iteration of New Jersey’s new Progressive Rock festival “ProgStock”, in 2018. But after RosFest the Evership live band went through a change-up, as the members who joined Shane and Beau to support RosFest were largely part of the original album effort and moved on to other pursuits. Jaymi Millard went on to play with Mark Slaughter and was replaced by Ben Young. James moved back to Atlanta and was replaced by John Rose. Jesse Hardin, who was part of the live effort, went on to pursue his own project (Coatsworth Drive) and was replaced by Matt Harrell. Taking time to secure new members lasted into 2018.

Simultaneous to getting the new band up to speed, Shane embarked on creating a second Evership record to keep up the momentum. What took 10 years for the first record, took 10 months for the second. “I was over-extended but I was compelled to keep the continuity of Evership in front of our listeners and the media. And in a way, I had to clear my head of the first run of material. There is so much more to do!”

Evership II began in January of 2018 and was released on October 19th, 2018. The music received almost instantaneous international praise with a record number of reviews and sales in a short amount of time for the act. “Evership II is really the rest of what would otherwise have been on the Debut. The best way to listen to Evership II is to listen to the debut first and then go into the second. It will make more sense.”

The sophomore record retains James Atkinson on most of the lead guitars, but otherwise the line-up includes most of the new live band; with Ben Young on Bass and Chapman Stick, and the classically-trained John Rose on rhythm electric, classical, acoustic and slide guitars. Beau West continues to shine on lead vocals and Shane fills out the remainder of the instrumentation, with the exception of the opening track which includes some live performance material from live drummer Joel Grumblatt and some guitar work from former bandmate Jesse Hardin. Shane also managed to incorporate a live orchestra and another session with the Charles Heimermann Chorale. The artist Philip Willis was re-engaged to create the new album artwork in the celebrated style of the first album. Portions of Evership II where performed at ProgStock 2018.

In 2019 Evership released their first official music video to the opening cut; “The Serious Room” to wide praise. The band’s proliferation that year caught the notice of PROG magazine and Evership was featured in an interview in issue 97 (along with Yes and Alan Parsons)!

In the break after the Evership II support tour and during Codiv, Shane completed writing/curating their third and fourth albums; a two-act rock opera based on a literary work by Harold Bell Wright entitled ‘The Uncrowned King’! The same Evership II band lineup performed the recording and the unique photography of Rory White graces the covers for an altogether different and catching effect. The single ‘Allthetime’ was released April 23nd to great fan and industry acclaim, appeared on PROG magazine’s CD Sampler (Issue #119) and aired internationally on terrestrial and internet radio. The album ‘The Uncrowned King – Act 1’ was released on May 21st, 2021 and garnered many Best Album of 2021 from reviewers and fans! The epic music video to ‘The Tower’ aired on November 24th of that year. Act II is expected to release in Fall 2022. Evership is in full-sail again and the journey continues strong!

Overture of “The Uncrowned King – Act 2”. Album release Fall 2022! Pre-Orders and Merch bundles are available starting June 22nd at https://www.evership.com/!

Envy Of None Release New Video ‘Never Said I Loved You’

Envy Of None, the new band and debut self-titled album from Alex Lifeson (Rush), Andy Curran (Coney Hatch), Alfio Annibalini, and singer Maiah Wynne.

A Blacktide Phonic/Visual Production 
Directed and Produced by Jeremy George 
Featuring Sapphire Sumpter 
Assistant: Synaet Nin

About Envy Of None
Alex Lifeson is no stranger to the concept of evolution. As a founding member of Rush, he’s been able to explore more musical ground than just about any other guitar player out there – taking rock to new progressive heights throughout the decades and always in the most wildly inventive of ways. His influence can be heard on countless bands around the world, from indie shoegaze and math rock to heavy metal and beyond. Over the last few years, Lifeson has been focusing on a new project that, no matter how well-acquainted you are with his discography, will undoubtedly shatter all seeds of expectation and blow the mind. That project is Envy Of None.

The new band, also featuring Coney Hatch founder/bassist Andy Curran, an accomplished producer and engineer Alfio Annibalini and singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne, will be releasing their self-titled debut album on April 8 via Kscope. Its 11 tracks – which ricochet between various shades of alternative, experimental, and synth-rock – throw surprises at every turn, twisting dark melodies against contemporary pop hooks. Lifeson himself is proudly aware of how little of it crosses over with the band that made him famous. 

However, it was only when singer Maiah Wynne became involved that this truly started to feel like a band destined to go somewhere. Her haunting melodies and soul-baring intensity is – by the admission of her own bandmates – what truly brought this music to life. All things considered; she is a star in the making… “I sent over an early version of the song Shadow,” explains Andy Curran. “When I played what she’d done back to the others they were like, ‘Who is this crazy talented person?!’”

The industrial beats, driving fuzz bass and atmospheric guitars concoct a seductive swirl indeed – thrilling in ways closer to the darker art rock of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and A Perfect Circle than anything these musicians have been known for prior.

“Maiah became my muse,” continues Alex Lifeson. “She was able to bring this whole new ethereal thing through her sense of melody on tracks like Liar and Look Inside. After hearing her vocals on Never Said I Love You, I felt so excited. I’ve never had that kind of inspiration working with another musician. When we say she’s special, it’s because she’s really fucking special!”

“One of my favorite things about these songs is the intimacy of them,” reveals Maiah Wynne. “It makes them feel different and more honest. There are some heavier songs too, like Enemy, and then tracks like Kabul Blues, that sound completely different to anything else.”

The album closer, Western Sunset, was penned by Alex Lifeson in tribute to his dear friend Neil Peart. It’s a highly emotive piece of music to honor a man deeply missed by the rock community at large, and even more so by those who were lucky enough to know him. “I visited Neil when he was ill,” says Alex Lifeson. “I was on his balcony watching the sunset and found inspiration. There’s a finality about a sunset that kinda stayed with me throughout the whole process. It had meaning. It was the perfect mood to decompress after all these different textures… a nice way to close the book.”

Ltd Edition deluxe version – Gatefold sleeve with a blue LP, 2 CDs including a 5 track bonus disc, 28-page Booklet with exclusive content
CD – includes a 16-page poster booklet
LP – on black vinyl / baby blue colored vinyl (North America exclusive) / white colored vinyl

Follow Envy Of None:
https://www.instagram.com/envyofnone_ 
https://twitter.com/envyofnone_ 
https://www.facebook.com/envyofnone

Envy Of None – Look Inside (Official Video)

Envy Of None, the new band and debut self-titled album from Alex Lifeson (Rush), Andy Curran (Coney Hatch), Alfio Annibalini and singer Maiah Wynne due for release on Kscope on 8th April. Video by Jaden D. https://www.jaden-d.com Alex Lifeson is no stranger to the concept of evolution. As a founding member of Rush, he’s been able to explore more musical ground than just about any other guitar player out there – taking rock to new progressive heights throughout the decades and always in the most wildly inventive of ways. His influence can be heard on countless bands around the world, from indie shoegaze and math rock to heavy metal and beyond. Over the last few years Lifeson has been focusing on a new project that, no matter how well-acquainted you are with his discography, will undoubtedly shatter all seeds of expectation and blow the mind. That project is Envy Of None.

The new band, also featuring Coney Hatch founder/bassist Andy Curran, accomplished producer and engineer Alfio Annibalini and singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne, will be releasing their self-titled debut album on April 8 via Kscope. Its 11 tracks – which ricochet between various shades of alternative, experimental and synth rock – throw surprises at every turn, twisting dark melodies against contemporary pop hooks. Lifeson himself is proudly aware of how little of it crosses over with the band that made him famous.

However, it was only when singer Maiah Wynne became involved that this truly started to feel like a band destined to go somewhere. Her haunting melodies and soul-baring intensity is – by the admission of her own bandmates – what truly brought this music to life. All things considered; she is a star in the making… “I sent over an early version of the song Shadow,” explains Andy Curran. “When I played what she’d done back to the others they were like, ‘Who is this crazy talented person?!’”

“One of my favourite things about these songs is the intimacy of them,” reveals Maiah Wynne. “It makes them feel different and more honest. There are some heavier songs too, like Enemy, and then tracks like Kabul Blues, that sound completely different to anything else.” The album closer, Western Sunset, which was penned by Alex Lifeson in tribute to his dear friend Neil Peart. It’s a highly emotive piece of music to honour a man deeply missed by the rock community at large, and even more so by those who were lucky enough to know him. “I visited Neil when he was ill,” says Alex Lifeson. “I was on his balcony watching the sunset and found inspiration. There’s a finality about a sunset that kinda stayed with me throughout the whole process. It had meaning. It was the perfect mood to decompress after all these different textures… a nice way to close the book.” It’s a book you’ll almost certainly want to be reading.

Alex Lifeson is no stranger to the concept of evolution. As a founding member of Rush, he’s been able to explore more musical ground than just about any other guitar player out there – taking rock to new progressive heights throughout the decades and always in the most wildly inventive of ways. His influence can be heard on countless bands around the world, from indie shoegaze and math rock to heavy metal and beyond. Over the last few years Lifeson has been focusing on a new project that, no matter how well-acquainted you are with his discography, will undoubtedly shatter all seeds of expectation and blow the mind. That project is Envy Of None.

The new band, also featuring Coney Hatch founder/bassist Andy Curran, accomplished producer and engineer Alfio Annibalini and singer-songwriter Maiah Wynne, will be releasing their self-titled debut album on April 8 via Kscope. Its 11 tracks – which ricochet between various shades of alternative, experimental and synth rock – throw surprises at every turn, twisting dark melodies against contemporary pop hooks. Lifeson himself is proudly aware of how little of it crosses over with the band that made him famous. 

However, it was only when singer Maiah Wynne became involved that this truly started to feel like a band destined to go somewhere. Her haunting melodies and soul-baring intensity is – by the admission of her own bandmates – what truly brought this music to life. All things considered; she is a star in the making… “I sent over an early version of the song Shadow,” explains Andy Curran. “When I played what she’d done back to the others they were like, ‘Who is this crazy talented person?!’”

The album’s first single, Liar, is out now. Its industrial beats, driving fuzz bass and atmospheric guitars concoct a seductive swirl indeed – thrilling in ways closer to the darker art rock of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle than anything these musicians have been known for prior.

“Maiah became my muse,” continues Alex Lifeson. “She was able to bring this whole new ethereal thing through her sense of melody on tracks like Liar and Look Inside. After hearing her vocals on Never Said I Love You, I felt so excited.I’ve never had that kind of inspiration working with another musician. When we say she’s special, it’s because she’s really fucking special!”

“One of my favourite things about these songs is the intimacy of them,” reveals Maiah Wynne. “It makes them feel different and more honest. There are some heavier songs too, like Enemy, and then tracks like Kabul Blues, that sound completely different to anything else.”

The album closer, Western Sunset, which was penned by Alex Lifeson in tribute to his dear friend Neil Peart. It’s a highly emotive piece of music to honour a man deeply missed by the rock community at large, and even more so by those who were lucky enough to know him. “I visited Neil when he was ill,” says Alex Lifeson. “I was on his balcony watching the sunset and found inspiration. There’s a finality about a sunset that kinda stayed with me throughout the whole process. It had meaning. It was the perfect mood to decompress after all these different textures… a nice way to close the book.”

Envy Of None’s self-titled album is due for release on April 8 via Kscope. Ltd Edition deluxe version – presented in a gatefold sleeve with a blue coloured vinyl LP, 2 CDs including a 5 track bonus disc, 28 page Booklet with exclusive content CD – includes a 16 page poster booklet LP – on black vinyl / baby blue coloured vinyl (North America exclusive) / white coloured vinyl Follow Envy Of None:


https://www.instagram.com/envyofnone
https://twitter.com/envyofnone
https://www.tiktok.com/@envyofnone
https://www.facebook.com/envyofnone
https://www.kscopemusic.com/artists/e…