Recently the news was released that Genesis (i.e. Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford) have sold their music rights. According to The Wall Street Journal, music label Concord Music paid $300 million. A nice sum of pocket money for…
View More Sale of Music Rights: Booming BusinessAuthor: Alex Driessen
Von Hertzen Brothers / For Absent Friends
Poppodium De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, the Netherlands Thursday, 29th September 2022 On a cool, dark autumn night, Poppodium Boerderij once again sets the stage for a performance by the Finnish band Von Hertzen Brothers (VHB). Again, because these musicians played here…
View More Von Hertzen Brothers / For Absent FriendsBig Big Train / Dim Gray
Poppodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer, the Netherlands Monday, 5th September 2022 After an earlier cancellation forced by COVID in 2020 (remember?), Big Big Train (BBT) finally finds itself at the city theatre of Zoetermeer in the Netherlands two years later, although as…
View More Big Big Train / Dim GrayDavid Paich – Toto
With his first solo album just released, Toto legend David Paich spoke to TPA’s Alex Driessen about how less is more and how bands like Yes, Queen and ELP have influenced his band. And much, much more… It’s not every…
View More David Paich – TotoDavid Paich – Forgotten Toys
I’ve mentioned it before on these pages: Toto divides the world into two halves, either you hate them or you love them. I belong to the second category and was therefore delighted and somewhat surprised that founder/songwriter/keyboardist/singer David Paich has…
View More David Paich – Forgotten ToysAlberto Bravin – Big Big Train
After three visits to the United Kingdom to attend shows and two previous interviews with founder/songwriter/bassist Greg Spawton, I have the honour to speak once again to a member of the famous English prog band, Big Big Train. New Italian…
View More Alberto Bravin – Big Big TrainLifesigns
De Boerderij, Zoetermeer Saturday, 20th August 2022 More than a year after the release of their most recent album, Altitude, at last Lifesigns finds itself in the Netherlands for a live show. “Finally” are the first words of founder/songwriter/singer/keyboardist John…
View More LifesignsTransatlantic
O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London Wednesday, 27th July 2022 I felt a bit Transatlantic myself this time: flying via Schiphol airport in Amsterdam to the United Kingdom over the North Sea, a tributary of the Atlantic Ocean. I took the…
View More TransatlanticThe Bardic Depths – Promises of Hope
The Bardic Depths is the result of the unlikely collaboration between a multi-instrumentalist living in Lanzarote and a recognized historian from the United States. The Big Big Train Facebook page was the catalyst, the result being a self-titled debut album…
View More The Bardic Depths – Promises of HopeSupersister Projekt
Paard, The Hague, the Netherlands Friday, 6th May 2022 How unfortunate, the announcement Supersister frontman Robert Jan Stips had to make on 19th November 2021 – the day of the Supersister concert at the Hague Paard – that this concert,…
View More Supersister Projekt