From: Rob LaDuca
THINKING PLAGUE: This Colorado band, on the Cuneiform label is one of the best
RIO/avant-progressive bands in the world. Thinking Plague (led by guitarist Mike
Johnson) performs angular but melodic emotionally powerful compositions. The
stunning vocals of Deborah Perry enhances the band's impact. RIO-veteran Dave
Kerman's manic drumming in all kinds of odd time signatures is simply a blast to
watch! Other members, virtuosos all, are: Dave Willey- bass & accordion, Mark
Harris- reeds, Matt Mitchell- keys.
From: RAM <> Thinking Plague "In Extremis" A word of warning to proggers, this is Avant-Garde material. It's not for everyone. I grew up listening to and playing Avant-Garde music, so it's quite normal to me. They call it RIO, "Rock In Opposition", but I don't consider it rock simply because they're playing electric guitars and a drum kit. It is a difficult thing to mix a group like this on a live stage, so most houses fail to get it right. The sound-mixer at ProgFest did a better job than the sound person at NearFest. The first album I purchased from Thinking Plague was an old release and I wasn't very impressed. But this new album is a major engineering achievement. I got chills up and down my spine listening to it on headphones. The live performance at NearFest doesn't give you the right idea about what the material is supposed to sound like.
From: "Sean McFee" <>
Subject: Re: Sounds like Genesis
The problem is this can lead to the age-old "What is Prog" debate that never
ends :). But I'll give some examples of bands that are doing original things
IMO, so hopefully we can avoid such a debate altogether.
UTotem/90s 5uu's/Thinking Plague: I've specified 90s (and later) 5uu's because
to me the earlier stuff sounds a lot like the Art Bears and similar groups, but
here's a group of musicians who all play in each others' bands, who of course do
sound like each other at times, but don't really sound like anything else. I
have heard Thinking Plague compared to Henry Cow, but usually by people who
don't like either band :). Those of you at NEARfest 2000 probably know what
style of music I'm talking about and probably know whether you'd like it or not,
but it's definitely Prog, and it's definitely original.