Yes go Close to the Edge and Back!

Celebrating their 40th anniversary as a band, prog-rock legends Yes will kick off a 26-night North American tour on July 12, 2008 with a show in Quebec City, Quebec Canada. Calling it their "Close to the Edge and Back Tour," this outing will be the band's first national tour in five years. The line-up this time around includes Yes founding members Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, along with Steve Howe, Alan White and Oliver Wakeman, son of former band keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Tickets will go on sale on March 29th through the Live Nation website.

Along with the upcoming tour, Yes will participate in a reality program called "VH1 Classic Presents: Your Move with Yes." Beginning in early-April on VH1Classic.com, the band and the cable network will be looking for a talented rock performer to join the Yes on stage. The winner will be invited to join Jon Anderson in performing "Give Love Each Day" from the Yes album Magnification.

Aspiring contestants will upload a 2-to-5 minute video of themselves performing an original rock song or piece of music. Submissions will be reviewed, and a panel of VH1 Classic judges and Jon Anderson will select three finalists. The VH1Classic.com audience will vote for the winner. Videos submitted and chosen as finalists will also be used in on-air promotional spots during the voting period. Additional details about the contest will be announced in early April.

Close to the Edge and Back tourdates:

July 12: Quebec City QUE @ Quebec City Festival
July 13: Toronto ONT @ Molson Amphitheatre
July 15: Columbus OH @ Nationwide Arena
July 16: Hershey PA @ Hersheypark Stadium & Star Pavilion
July 18: Chicago IL @ Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
July 19: Detroit MI @ Freedom Hill
July 22: Uncasville CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
July 23: Boston MA @ Bank of America Pavilion
July 25: Atlantic City NJ @ Borgata Event Center
July 26: Wantagh NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
July 28: Holmdel NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
July 29: Baltimore MD @ Pier 6 Pavilion
July 31: Tampa FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
August 1: Miami FL @ Hard Rock Live Arena
August 2: Orlando FL @ Hard Rock Live
August 4: Atlanta GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 6: Kansas City MO @ Starlight Theatre
August 8: Houston TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 9: Dallas TX @ Superpages.com Center
August 11: Denver CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
August 14: Vancouver BC @ General Motors Place
August 15: Seattle WA - WaMu Theater at Qwest Field Events Center
August 19: Mountain View CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
August 20: Anaheim CA @ Honda Center
August 22: Universal City CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre

Magenta signs with The Laser's Edge

The Laser's Edge has announced the signing of popular Welsh progressive rock group Magenta. The label will release the band's fourth album, titled Metamorphosis, on May 6th in North America.

Magenta was formed in 2001 by keyboardist Rob Reed, formerly of the band Cyan. After working with Christina Booth on a project called Trippa, he recruited the talented vocalist for a prog-rock project that he was working on that became Magenta. The band released its debut album, Revolutions, in 2001 and has since become a favorite with prog-minded audiences worldwide. In 2004 the band received Classic Rock Society awards for "Best Female Vocalist" and "Best Live Band," placing Magenta among other prog stalwarts as IQ, the Flower Kings, Pallas and Spock's Beard that have received CRS honors. Magenta released its previous studio album, Home, in 2006 and a collection of re-recorded tracks called Magenta: The Singles during the summer of 2007.

"I think this album is going to surprise a lot of people," says Reed of Metamorphosis. "It will challenge many people's preconceptions of what Magenta are, and what we are capable of musically. Most of it was written on guitar, so some of the material is heavier than before, whilst retaining most of the elements of the Magenta sound."

Man - Live At The Roundhouse DVD

Music Video Distributors has announced a March 18, 2008 release date for Live At The Roundhouse, the long-lost final concert film featuring Welsh prog-pop cult band Man. Recorded live at The Roundhouse in London – the scene of possibly the band's greatest moment, their appearance at the Greasy Truckers Party in 1972 with Brinsley Schwarz and Hawkwind – this 1976 concert film has rarely been viewed and should prove as somewhat of a revelation to prog-rock fans who have heard the name but remain unfamiliar with this criminally-underrated band.

Man was formed in late-1968 in the Wales region of the U.K. as the Bystanders, a vocal harmony group. The band evolved into a more prog-oriented outfit with extended on-stage jams and a sound that was a mix of pop melodies, prog overtones, psychedelic shading and space-rock jams, and changed its name to Man somewhere along the line. Described as a cross between Nektar and Quicksilver Messenger Service, Man's sound was fueled by the scorched-earth leads of guitarist Deke Leonard. Clive John, an early member of the band, would leave to pursue a solo career, his 1975 album You Always Know Where You Stand With A Buzzard a cult favorite among period record collectors. Leonard has also released a number of solo albums through the years.

After releasing nine studio and a live album to mixed commercial success (Man was HUGE in Germany and virtually unknown in the United States), Man decided to call it a day in 1976, filming the band's final performances at The Roundhouse, a former railway shed turned London cultural center. The band's line-up at the time included founding member and vocalist Mickey Jones, guitarist Deke Leonard, bassist John McKenzie, Phil Ryan on keyboards and drummer Terry Williams. Live At The Roundhouse offers up six songs, half from the band's 1976 album Maximum Darkness along with Man's earlier U.K. hits "C'mon" and "Let The Good Times Roll." The band would later re-unite in the '80s, performing and recording sporadically, with various line-ups, up to the present day.

RIYL: Caravan, Camel, Barclay-James Harvest, Gentle Giant

(Click on the DVD cover to buy Live At The Roundhouse from Amazon.com)

Pallas - Moment To Moment DVD

Scottish neo-prog legends Pallas will be dropping their third live performance DVD on April 15, 2008, released by the good folks at Music Video Distributors (MVD). The disc captures the band's dynamic performance at the Wyspiański Theater in Katowice, Poland in late October 2007 and features twelve songs running over two hours. The DVD also includes two video extras: "Tales from the Tourbus" and "The Rehearsal Tapes" as well as interviews with Pallas members Alan Reed and Graeme Murray.

Formed in the early-80s as part of the rising tide of European prog bands influenced by the works of King Crimson, Yes and Pink Floyd, Pallas released its first album, The Sentinel, in 1984, following with The Wedge in 1986. Due to conflicts with their record label, the band went on hiatus for almost 13 years before releasing Beat The Drum in 1999. Since coming back, Pallas has released a series of critically-acclaimed albums, and the band's appearances at NEARfest have increased interest in the band's impressive body of work among prog-rock fans.

RIYL: Marillion, IQ, Pendragon or the Flower Kings

(Click on the DVD cover to buy Moment To Moment from Amazon.com)