Rites of Spring

2016 was a major turning point for STRAWBS. Prestigious ROLLING STONE magazine listed the band's Hero and Heroine as one of the 50 greatest prog rock albums of all time. STRAWBS headlined RoSFest (The Rites of Spring Festival) - North America's Premier International Progressive Rock Festival - in Gettysburg, the city where Abraham Lincoln made his historic address to the nation…

It seems odd that in their four decades of existence (admittedly, with some definite gaps in activity) Brand X has never officially released any type of concert video document. Then again, perhaps it's not all that surprising. Brand X has always been a musicians' band. Image never seemed to be a concern. It is fitting that this line-up would be the one to have the honor of being captured in the first Brand X concert film…

It seems odd that in their four decades of existence (admittedly, with some definite gaps in activity) Brand X has never officially released any type of concert video document. Then again, perhaps it's not all that surprising. Brand X has always been a musicians' band. Image never seemed to be a concern. It is fitting that this line-up would be the one to have the honor of being captured in the first Brand X concert film. During its first era, in the late 70s, the band would change its line-up not just from album to album or tour to tour, but sometimes even from night to night. Mind you, this was never a bad thing; Some of the finest musicians in the jazz/fusion/progressive rock movements came through the band, leaving their mark and bringing their own approaches and styles into the performances and recordings…

Originally intended as a side-project, Subsignal were founded back in 2007 by former Sieges Even members Arno Menses (Vocals) and Markus Steffen (Guitars). The first result of this collaboration was a song called ‘A Wallflower On The Day Of Saint Juliana’ which eventually appeared under the title ‘Eyes Wide Open’ on the 2007-Sieges Even-output ‘Paramount’. After Arno and Markus had left the band in the summer of 2008, they immediately started to look for adequate musicians to turn the project into a functional ‘real’ band. The first to join was Ralf Schwager (Bass), who was known for his work with German progmetal outfit Dreamscape. The line-up was completed by the Dutch drummer Roel van Helden (Sun Caged) and keyboarder David Bertok (also Dreamscape).