A bit of history - you mentioned that before Michael Bennett ran the festival, it was run by a committee. But before that, it was run by Peter Renfro. He lived at Storybook Farm, came up with the idea of having a prog festival there and ran it for the first six years (1995-2000). Then he got tired of losing money and announced that 2000 would be the last ProgDay. That's when the committee came together to keep the festival going. The stage managers for the first 20 years or so were two guys named Geoff and Jay, I'm not sure what ever became of them. Jay was known for doing some outrageous band intros - for example, he spoke in tongues when introducing Cheer Accident one year (Geoff translated for him). BTW, thanks for getting that shot of Damon Waitkus playing the electric Taishogoto - I tried to get footage of that but by the time I got my camera out, switched it to video mode and was ready to shoot, he had switched back to guitar. And thanks for this video in general. I've been going to ProgDay every year since 1997, so it was really interesting to see the festival from an insider's perspective.
@@bobeichler9158 excellent comment ! I knew Peter ran it for the first few years, he’s my buddy and we chat over the merch desk every year. When I entered the picture it was transitioning from committee to Michael’s (reluctant) takeover. Leadership was basically thrust upon him - which, imo, makes for some of the best leadership in the end. I think I was mostly commenting on my own history with the fest, I was celebrating my 3rd birthday when it started in 1995 ! Thanks for the comments and anecdotes. I’ve pinned this because it’s fantastic.
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout - LOL about the third birthday. I was talking to someone out by the pool on Saturday and mentioned that I went to my first Orion Studios show in 1997, and he said "Oh, I was born in 1997!".
@@bobeichler9158 it was probably actually really close to my actual birthday too ! I was born on Labor Day so the fest either falls on my birthday or the week before.
Been going since its inception in '95. Amazing how these people keep it going and the effort they put into this, the longest running progressive rock festival on the planet. Kudos to all.
Thanks for all the work and insight into some aspects of the sets I wasn't aware of. Don't feel bad about leaving in the last sets...unfortunately lots of us older folks are done by then between heat and bugs and it changes things when bands are on. Don't know if you were at Prog Day when Bird Songs of Mesozic played last on Saturday...it was totally different set and again it's a struggle for the 4th band of each day. You did a great job and it's always great to see younger folks in Prog and more important younger playing Prog. I think Squeaky Feet was the youngest and I think they are prog in the sense lots of rock tones but transitions and structure and vary in time signature. Hope to see you next year. Thanks again.
Thank you Ian for your contribution and your help with getting us everything we needed! And sorry for the time lost with this power conversion issues, if we (Yang) had anticipated the problem better we could have maybe almost finished the show before the storm... But it was a great experience anyway!
@@fredericlepee6507 we thought we had that all under control ! Next time I’ll make sure we have the proper converters. It was a killer set, I intend to grab a few of your CDs next time I get paid for a job !
I miss my days driving from Montréal to Nearfest (6x between 2000 and 2005) and then the couple of FMPM we had here. I always wanted to go to Prog Day. One year came close to, but never received the tix I bought haha. Maybe for the 30th anniversary...
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout It was so long ago. At least 15+ years I would say. Seems like you had good fun and that's nice. Are there any vendors at Prog Day?
If you somehow don't get the tickets you ordered, I'm pretty sure they keep a list at the gate of everyone who had bought tickets. So you should be able to just tell them your name.
Your mention that you regret missing Yang's last two songs gave me an idea. I got a pretty good audience recording of the audio, and took a bunch of still photos, and I used those to put this together: th-cam.com/video/8hgZd58LB7w/w-d-xo.html
A bit of history - you mentioned that before Michael Bennett ran the festival, it was run by a committee. But before that, it was run by Peter Renfro. He lived at Storybook Farm, came up with the idea of having a prog festival there and ran it for the first six years (1995-2000). Then he got tired of losing money and announced that 2000 would be the last ProgDay. That's when the committee came together to keep the festival going.
The stage managers for the first 20 years or so were two guys named Geoff and Jay, I'm not sure what ever became of them. Jay was known for doing some outrageous band intros - for example, he spoke in tongues when introducing Cheer Accident one year (Geoff translated for him).
BTW, thanks for getting that shot of Damon Waitkus playing the electric Taishogoto - I tried to get footage of that but by the time I got my camera out, switched it to video mode and was ready to shoot, he had switched back to guitar.
And thanks for this video in general. I've been going to ProgDay every year since 1997, so it was really interesting to see the festival from an insider's perspective.
@@bobeichler9158 excellent comment ! I knew Peter ran it for the first few years, he’s my buddy and we chat over the merch desk every year. When I entered the picture it was transitioning from committee to Michael’s (reluctant) takeover. Leadership was basically thrust upon him - which, imo, makes for some of the best leadership in the end.
I think I was mostly commenting on my own history with the fest, I was celebrating my 3rd birthday when it started in 1995 ! Thanks for the comments and anecdotes. I’ve pinned this because it’s fantastic.
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout - LOL about the third birthday. I was talking to someone out by the pool on Saturday and mentioned that I went to my first Orion Studios show in 1997, and he said "Oh, I was born in 1997!".
@@bobeichler9158 it was probably actually really close to my actual birthday too ! I was born on Labor Day so the fest either falls on my birthday or the week before.
Been going since its inception in '95. Amazing how these people keep it going and the effort they put into this, the longest running progressive rock festival on the planet. Kudos to all.
European Plugs would be a good band name! Cool review of PD, thanks for sharing, Ian!
Thanks for all the work and insight into some aspects of the sets I wasn't aware of. Don't feel bad about leaving in the last sets...unfortunately lots of us older folks are done by then between heat and bugs and it changes things when bands are on. Don't know if you were at Prog Day when Bird Songs of Mesozic played last on Saturday...it was totally different set and again it's a struggle for the 4th band of each day. You did a great job and it's always great to see younger folks in Prog and more important younger playing Prog. I think Squeaky Feet was the youngest and I think they are prog in the sense lots of rock tones but transitions and structure and vary in time signature. Hope to see you next year. Thanks again.
Thanks for sharing. I will make an effort to show up for the 30th anniversary event.
Wonderful video, Ian! Looking forward to exploring your channel. All the best to you and your family, hoping to see you again soon.
@@RaffaellaBerry thanks for watching ! It was great to see you again, please stay in touch.
The laziest mosh pit in rock history!
Very interresting music -- thanks for posting!
You should try to dance in 98° heat with really high humidity.
Thank you Ian for your contribution and your help with getting us everything we needed! And sorry for the time lost with this power conversion issues, if we (Yang) had anticipated the problem better we could have maybe almost finished the show before the storm... But it was a great experience anyway!
@@fredericlepee6507 we thought we had that all under control ! Next time I’ll make sure we have the proper converters. It was a killer set, I intend to grab a few of your CDs next time I get paid for a job !
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout Would you like CDs or downloads? (we ran out of CDs at ProgDay but I can send you download codes with pleasure)
@@fredericlepee6507 prefer CDs but I’ll accept download codes ! Thanks ! shedsoundsmedia@gmail.com
Very nice, Ian.
Thanks
I have a feeling your reason for the journey started with Jack O' the Clock. ;)
I miss my days driving from Montréal to Nearfest (6x between 2000 and 2005) and then the couple of FMPM we had here. I always wanted to go to Prog Day. One year came close to, but never received the tix I bought haha. Maybe for the 30th anniversary...
Woah, what ???? If that ever happens again please let somebody know.
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout It was so long ago. At least 15+ years I would say. Seems like you had good fun and that's nice. Are there any vendors at Prog Day?
@@progfrogian9226 before my time! Plenty of vendors, I went home with about 30 CDs
If you somehow don't get the tickets you ordered, I'm pretty sure they keep a list at the gate of everyone who had bought tickets. So you should be able to just tell them your name.
Your mention that you regret missing Yang's last two songs gave me an idea. I got a pretty good audience recording of the audio, and took a bunch of still photos, and I used those to put this together:
th-cam.com/video/8hgZd58LB7w/w-d-xo.html
@@bobeichler9158 Michael Inman got some video of this; I imagine I could probably synch your audio with his video 😊
@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout If you can do so, feel free. That's beyond my technical capabilities (I had trouble just adding photos to the audio).
@@bobeichler9158 I’ll ask Michael !
there's something sad about that lounge chair audience. but, good on you. nice job.
There's something sad about your need to insult several hundred people who are the reasons this festival has existed for three decades.