Paul Brown, known from the Oliver Wakeman Band, Janison Edge, and now in collaboration with Dave O'List (from The Nice).

Paul you started out in the town called Maidenhead, where alledgedly the
Spice Girls shared a house before rising to world fame, you however found
Clive Nolan there. Tell us the story.
It was about 13 years ago, I'd been in a band called Hybrid for several
years and we were advertising for a singer. One reply came from a guy
called Matt (who's surname escapes me now), who told us he was a friend of
Clives. He was surprised there was a prog band in the local area who'd
completely passed under Clive's radar and said he'd put us in contact with
him, regardless of whether or not he got in the band (nice guy). As it
happened, Hybrid split shortly afterwards, but the keyboard player and
myself still met with Clive to discuss our 'next move' over a few drinks.
Everything I've done musically since can be traced back to that
introduction, so it was quite an important time.

Being close to London, how did that affect your musical development?
The boring answer to that question is 'not at all'. I played some gigs
there, bought equipment there, but I can honestly say my world would be a
very similar place now had London not been in the equation.

Describe the music scene as you grew up - what was going down?
During my mid to late teens, the whole Indie music scene exploded into the
mainstream, much to my apathy. Besides the irony of 'independent' bands
releasing albums on major record labels and a lot of the songs sounding
suspiciously similar, it all did very little for me. I'd already become a
fan of rock music during my later school years and was introduced to prog
shortly afterwards, so I had little interest in what was going on in the
mainstream at that point anyhow. In terms of playing in bands in my area,
the options seemed to be limited to jumping on the Indie bandwagon (thanks,
but no thanks) or blues/rock cover bands. I opted for the latter for
gigging experience, while other more interesting bands I was involved in
never seemed to get off the ground (probably because they weren't very
good).

Give us a few lines on yourself now, music, life, job and ambitions.
I'm an easy going, laid back person with a miserable old cynic bubbling
underneath (not far enough underneath for some people's liking). Outside of
music I enjoy martial arts (kung fu and suang yang), which is great for
keeping the body in full working order, and have what I suppose you'd call
a layman's interest in philosophy and physics. Being a supervisor in a
mailroom currently pays my bills, since prog bass playing just isn't raking
in those millions! I'm far more interested in being involved in a project I
believe in, with music I enjoy rather than aiming to make as much money as
possible. At the end of the day, I just want to be able to look back on the
albums I've played on and hopefully be proud of what I've done.

What is the best three prog releases you know of?
Selling England By The Pound by Genesis was the album that really got me into prog, so
that has to be included.
Going For The One by Yes has always been a favourite. For my tastes it's
their most consistent album and has some of their best tracks on it.
From more recent years, I think Bridge Across Forever by Transatlantic is a
fantastic album.

Do you embrace or detest the term prog?
I have no problem with the music I'm involved with or listen to being
called prog. That's what it is and the only other ways I can think of to
describe it would just sound pretentious (though many would say that's
probably quite apt). I know that to many people prog has become a dirty
word in the music world, but that's because it's not their thing, the same
as many people turn their noses up at the mention of rap, metal or
classical. Some bands/artists don't like being pigeon-holed, but I think
it's an important starting point for finding an audience and for fans of a
genre to discover music they like.
 
The bass - how did you two become pals?
A few friends at school were forming a band and invited me to join, despite
the fact my musical experience didn't stretch far beyond playing the
triangle in music class (and probably not very well). There was a vacancy
for a drummer and bassist, and having no particular preference at the time
I decided to go for the instrument that would fit in my bedroom and be
easier to get to rehearsals. So there you have it, rather than being
inspired by an amazing bass player, it was plain old fashioned laziness.
 
Who has inspired you most musically?
Geddy Lee has (Rush) been the biggest influence on my playing. I've always liked
the creativity of his basslines and the way his style has constantly
evolved while always remaining recognisably his own.

Medicine Man, not the most well known prog act, but what were they all
about? I mean you were there and Clive Nolan?
John Bowman was the drummer/song writer/main man of Medicine Man. He'd
written an album but didn't have a band, so when he went to record at Thin
Ice studios, Clive, Pete Gee and Karl Groom all played their respective
instruments while Moon provided the vocals. Following the album's release,
Clive, Pete and Karl were unavailable for any promotional gigs due to
responsibilities with other bands and projects, so Clive, who I'd literally
just been introduced to for the first time, suggested I fill the bass
player position. I listened to the album, liked the songs and agreed to
play the gigs. Two more albums followed but unfortunately there seemed to
be limited interest without the bigger names involved, and so it just ended
there. To be honest, the first two albums I'd class more as rock/pop albums
with a hint of prog, and maybe that's where the problem was; too proggy for
the mainstream, not proggy enough for the prog fans. Shame, because there
were some good songs.

Janison Edge an their one album (so far) what did it mean to you and how
was the atmosphere in the band?
I've always been very proud to have been part of that album. I remember
joining another band who'd seen us play and were fans of the album, and in
what really should have been my audition/try out, their comments to each
other were making very it clear they felt it was the other way around. They
really wanted to make a good impression because they had a member of
Janison Edge potentially in the band, which I found both flattering and
amusing (though it only took a couple of rehearsals for the good behaviour
to degenerate into something more normal).
 The atmosphere within Janison Edge is very good. We're an easy going bunch,
and while everybody is very good at what they do, there's a notable lack of
ego. I'm looking forward to another album.

Currently you are a part of the Oliver Wakeman Band, a well known name,
brand. How is Wakeman junior to work with?
Oliver's very easy to work with, mainly due to his sense of humour,
seemingly endless supply of anecdotes, and a clear idea of how the music
should be. He has a very good sense of when a song or part of a song just
isn't going to work as well live and isn't afraid to do a quick rewrite in
rehearsals. He also always seems keen to add a solo here and there to make
sure each band member gets his share of the limelight. In fact I've never
been given so many solos as I get in a single Wakeman Band gig.
 
Tell us something about the life of the band, concerts, rehearsals and the
spicy stuff?
It all started when Oliver decided he wanted form a rock band for his next
album, which was a departure from his previous work. The finished product
was Mother's Ruin, but after it's completion the bass player had to leave
the band for personal reasons, which is when Mr Wagstaffe put my name
forward. It was quite hectic because there were already gigs on the
not-so-distant horizon and Paul Manzi had also just joined as the band's
vocalist at the same time, so we had a lot to learn in a short space of
time. Fortunately it all gelled pretty much instantly and the gigs went
very well. Rehearsals are quite relaxed and good fun, mainly due to the
humour in the band, which carries over to the banter with the audience
during gigs. I don't think anyone in the band would argue that the
highlight for us so far has been recording the live DVD in Katowice,
Poland. The audience reaction was fantastic and we're all really pleased
with the finished product. As for the 'spicy stuff', well that would be
telling...

What is prog?
That's a tough one. I know prog when I hear it but to pinpoint what
specifically makes a song prog is not always so obvious. It's not just
about long songs, there are plenty of 4 minute prog songs out there. It's
not just about flashy, technical passages of music, Pink Floyd are a prime
example of a band that doesn't fall into that category. I think there are a
lot of elements that can combine to define prog, though no single one is a
prerequisite or would necessarily put a song into the genre (ok, now I'm
just rambling). I guess it's not so much about 'songs' but pieces of music,
without the constraints of any particular structure, but then that doesn't
come close to covering it.
 
What and who were prog in the 70 tees?
Prog in the 70s was more about experimenting and trying to do something
unique, whereas by the 80s bands had latched onto the sounds and styles
that worked well and it became far more defined. I think any band that was
trying to do something new while breaking away from the structure and form
of contemporary music styles was prog, though I'm sure many would say
that's too vague.
 
Give us you all-star progband?..
I'm assuming that petty details like 'being alive' aren't a prerequisite
for being in my band.
Playing the most important instrument in the band (bass guitar) would be
Geddy Lee.
Tony Banks on keyboards (preferably collected via the wonders of time
travel from the 70s when he was experimenting more).
Drummer... hmm... John Bonham? Neil Peart? Mike Portnoy? Whatever, I'll
take them all. It's my band, I'll do what I like.
Similarly, I'm having 2 guitarists: Steve Hackett and Steve Vai (now
there's an unusual combination). Shame on everyone who thinks Steve Vai's
nothing but a flash, 'look how many notes I can play' show off. I know he
doesn't normally fall under the prog banner, but he's an exceptionally
creative and experimental player/writer, more so than the majority of prog
guitarists.
My choice singer would depend on how the band sounds, and lets face it, who
knows what this band would sound like. In fact it's a terrible band, it's
just not going to work, and I quit as manager.

Were Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore prog at any point?
I'll confess to not being familiar with a lot of Deep Purple or Rainbow
(yes, burn the heathen), but what I have heard I wouldn't class as prog,
but mostly very good rock songs.

What`s next for you ? musically?
I've got a few things currently in the pipeline. As you know, work has
begun on the new Janison Edge album, which I'm really looking forward to
getting stuck into. Also, recording of the next Oliver Wakeman album is
imminent, I think it's just a matter of finding a suitable amount of time
between his other musical commitments to schedule it in (he's been a very
busy lately with the Yes tour among other things). I'm currently recording
bass parts for Dave O'List (of The Nice fame) for his new album, which is
cool as there are some very good, interesting songs and I'm getting to do
some nice experimental stuff on the bass. I've also just agreed to do the
soundtrack for a short 'amateur' film which should be interesting. I do a
lot of writing but never anything like this before, so it should be fun.
 
Were do you see prog going in the near future? Who is the future for prog?
It would be nice, though sadly unlikely, to see a prog band really break
through and introduce the music to a much wider audience. Dream Theater
have achieved this to a certain extent and I thought Spock's Beard were
coming close before Neal Morse left. I think it's hard to say who will be
the future of prog as it's being taken in so many directions by different
bands now (which is great and kind of the point). I guess only time will
tell...