METALPRIEST
Senior Member
How to Form Your Own Prog Band
1. Experimentation
While most rock bands experiment during practice, prog bands are encouraged to do this on their records. When making a prog album, feel free to go beserk in the studio.
Of course, you won't actually sell any albums.
2. Choosing A Band Name
You really have two options when choosing a prog band name. You can either go with something "simple but random", like Yes, Rush and Camel (may we suggest "Spinach", "Taco" or "Hat"?); or you can use a complex title if it is sufficiently outlandish.
The second route is riskier, but the payoff is enormous if you nail it. Enthusiasts love to quote their favourite obscure bands, and the zanier the better. ("Oh, you haven't heard of Mr Bungle? Next you're going to tell me you aren't a fan of Van Der Graaf Generator.")
Some suggestions to get you started:
Interstellar Spinach
The Epic Taco Project
Hat Dimension
Vintage examples are The Mars Volta and Porcupine Tree. In fact, The Vintage Examples would probably work, too.
3. Merge Your Songs
Okay, so you have a record. Ten songs, four minutes apiece.
You may need to tweak some of the titles and insert an instrumental track to amp up your "wackiness", but the most important thing you'll need to do is merge those tracks into three or four longer songs.
Don't worry, the songs don't actually need to sound similar, just make sure that they flow into one another. (May we suggest the accompaniment of a flute, viola, trumpet or tambourine to ease the transition?).
You will now be referring to these songs as 'sections'.
Congratulations! You have attained prog rock success. You will now spend the next 30 years hiding from an impossibly devoted cult following while living in your mother's basement.
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