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Andrew Colyer – Personal Thoughts – September 2019

I was a professional musician at a young age, and life events caused that career to be dormant for over 20 years.

In 2011, I decided that was unacceptable, and that I was not going to my death bed without really pursuing a career in music.

About six months after that, I met Robert Berry at a December People concert.  Robert introduced me to Dave Medd, the keyboardist/vocalist for The Tubes, and that opened a lot of doors for me.

In 2013, I joined the progressive rock tribute band Downing Grey, which then morphed into my all-original band, Circuline.

Besides my ongoing work with Circuline, between 2014 and 2019, I played on the Moody Blues Cruise and YES Cruise to the Edge, working with the Prog Rock Orchestra, and recorded music with them; I also worked with / recorded / played live with the CBS Quartet, Rian Adkinson, Cell15, Awaken, Adam Tontarski’s KRYR, and Frank Wyatt (Happy the Man, Oblivion Sun).

Last year (2018), when Robert called me to do this gig, I was terribly excited, and a bit terrified.  Robert’s toured with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer; wrote a whole album with Steve Howe; he was writing an album with Keith when he passed away.How do I even approach this job?

And then I thought, nobody plays like Keith.  He is irreplaceable.  So, how can I do the best job that I can?

Robert, thank you for calling me.

Prog Ensemble 3.2 Featuring Robert Berry To Tour North America Fall 2019!

Prog Ensemble 3.2 Featuring Robert Berry To Tour North America Fall 2019!

For Immediate Release

Prog Ensemble 3.2 Featuring Robert Berry To Tour North America Fall 2019!

“3.2 – The Rules Have Changed” — Goes Live! 

Things just got a lot better for Prog Music Fans – and fans of genuine classic bands with great players. Robert Berry has assembled a killer four-piece band set to begin playing this year. For those who appreciate the fine craftsmanship of YES, ELP, Keith Emerson, Genesis, Jethro Tull, etc… are in for a real treat. Berry is riding high with his latest release “3.2: The Rules Have Changed” written with Keyboardist Keith Emerson. Berry is well known for his Bass, Vocals and as a multi-instrumentalist who’s written and toured with Carl Palmer, Steve Howe (Yes), GTR and Ambrosia to name a few. Rounding out the group are Drummer Jimmy Keegan (Spock’s Beard), Guitarist Paul Keller (Emerson/Palmer), and Keyboardist Andrew Colyer (Circuline, Cell15, Awaken). Aside from all the heavy instrumental lifting, all four band members sing – a pleasant surprise in today’s music world. The word has been spreading quickly, and already 3.2 will be headlining at this year’s ProgStock Festival – an annual 3-Day Festival in Rahway, New Jersey this October 11-12-13. ProgStock is the gem of the Prog Music Festivals in the North East U.S. and continues to bring in more prestigious acts every year. The band will be touring North America this fall (tour dates below).

About Robert Berry: Berry is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He’s co-written with Steve Howe for the band GTR, he’s a former Ambrosia band member. He drew a lot of attention for his work re-arranging/re-recording of the YES hit “Roundabout” for Magna Carta Records, drawing some to label him as a crafty American version of Trevor Rabin. Yes, there are many similarities between the two. Now Robert Berry has announced the live touring band for the #1 Amazon and Billboard charting album, “3.2 – The Rules Have Changed” written with the late Keith Emerson. Emerson and Berry formed the band “3” in the 1980’s with Carl Palmer, and had the #9 Billboard hit “Talkin’ Bout”. Their debut album “To The Power of 3” charted well on the Geffen label – well known at the time for their other artists like Peter Gabriel.

In 2015, a radio station in Boston unearthed some old tapes from the 1988 “3” tour, and released them as a live album. After hearing that live performance, Keith Emerson was inspired to reunite with Berry, resuming work on the unfinished second “3” album, now titled “3.2”. It was released on the Frontiers Records label. With Emerson’s tragic passing in 2016, it appeared the new album might not get finished.

Spring of 2018, and Berry had worked out the details with the Emerson estate and Frontiers to complete and release the record. The first single, “Somebody’s Watching” (released May 22, 2018), saw the album debut at #3 on the Amazon hard rock charts, and generated 7,000 YouTube views in the first 36 hours, and over 12,000 views in the first week. A musical phoenix had indeed risen. The album was released on August 10, 2018, and hit #1 on Amazon, selling out in five countries on the first day, and placed on two Billboard charts. The two YouTube videos from the album currently have over 75,000 cumulative views. The new album has met with unanimous positive international acclaim from over 100 magazine articles, blog and website reviews, and FM and internet radio stations. Berry, Keegan, Keller and Colyer began live rehearsals in November 2018, and are looking forward to not only performing the great last work of Keith Emerson, but will also be pulling from Berry’s 30-year history of Progressive Rock, and also his work with Steve Howe, some from Ambrosia, some of his solo work, and of course his re-worked tribute albums for the Magna Carta label, which include the music of YES, ELP, Genesis and Jethro Tull .

Prepare Yourself… Robert Berry’s new band is stacked with seasoned players!

More Than Just a Concert – It’s An Event: With his 30 year history of playing side-by-side with some of Prog and Rock music’s elite, Berry has a few entertaining stories to tell as well. So it’s more than just a concert, the shows will include an evening of firsthand stories and recollections sure to raise a few eyebrows along the way. ProgStock is one of music’s premiere interactive events where the artists and fans mingle; they hang together, drink together and bond over more than just music. The 3.2 shows will be exactly that as well – and isn’t that a welcoming idea – for fans not only to enjoy the music but to jump in the pool with the musicians that create it.

3.2 featuring Robert Berry North American Tour Dates

09/11 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst Club
09/12 – Redwood City, CA – Club Fox
09/13 – Pleasanton, CA – Firehouse Arts Center
09/15 – San Pedro, CA – Alvas Showroom
10/03 – Montreal, Canada – Piranha Bar
10/04 – Quebec City, Canada – La Source de la Martiniere
10/05 – Henniker, NH – The Lofaro Center of the Performing Arts (w/Randy McStine)
10/06 – Hennifer, NH – The Lofaro Center of the Performing Arts (w/Randy McStine)
10/09 – Kennett Square, PA – The Kennett Flash (w/Randy McStine)
10/10 – Roslyn, NY – My Father’s Place at The Roslyn Hotel
10/11 – Rahway, NJ – ProgStock Festival (headlining)
10/12 – Rahway, NJ – ProgStock Festival (Robert w/Rachel Flowers)
10/13 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater (w/Brand X)
10/14 – New York City – Iridium Jazz Club (w/Randy McStine, plus Chris Clark & Kenny Grohowski from Brand X)
10/16 – Kent, OH – Kent Stage (w/ Chris Clark & Kenny Grohowski from Brand X)
10/17 – Cincinnati, OH – TBA
10/18 – Indianapolis, IN – Irving Theater (w/ Chris Clark & Kenny Grohowski from Brand X, plus Andre Cholmondeley from Project/Object)
10/19 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s (with The Cyberiam, plus Chris Clark & Kenny Grohowski from Brand X)
10/20 – Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
10/22 – Champaign-Urbana, IL – TBA (with Steve Scorfina’s Chrome and Steel)
10/23 – St. Louis, MO – FuBar (with Steve Scorfina’s Chrome and Steel)
10/24 – Farmington, MO – Centene Center
10/26 – Nashville, TN – Douglas Corners
10/27 – Atlanta – The Vista Room (with Story of a Life and Great Wide Nothing)
10/28 – Asheville, NC – TBA
10/29 – Vienna, VA – TBA
10/30 – Harrisburg, PA – Cliff’s Underground Live (formerly Gullifty’s)
11/01 – Rochester, NY – The Lovin’ Cup
11/02 – Albany, NY – TBA

For more information: http://www.robertberry.com/

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (USA), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Published online: https://glassonyonpr.com/2019/08/28/3-2-featuring-robert-berry-tour-fall-2019/

Why I’m Inviting You to ProgStock

50 years ago, the Woodstock festival was founded on the principles of people coming together to enjoy a weekend of each other’s company and fantastic music, in a peaceful and loving way.  ProgStock Festival, based in New Jersey, was founded on the same exact principles.

I had the good fortune to perform at ProgStock’s inaugural event in 2017, with my band Circuline.  Last year’s sophomore ProgStock season saw me working with keyboardist/vocalist Tom Brislin (YES, Kansas, Renaissance), on the production team for the launch of his band, Gold Rotation.   This year I’ll be performing with “3.2 featuring Robert Berry”, covering songs that had keyboard greats such as Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks, and Jordan Rudess.

Even though people often come to festivals to see their favorite band,  ProgStock is a lot more than just seeing your favorite band or two.  So many people have told me they come for the three-day experience, just like the original Woodstock in 1969.  That’s the message I’m here to spread.  ProgStock is a great gathering of friends, access to all of the performing artists in a friendly environment, meet and greet opportunities that are open to everyone, fun shared experiences, in a friendly town, just like a cruise on land!

As a returning performing artist, I am really excited to be a part of it once again!  It’s such a great experience is for me and for all the fans, and it’s such a special experience at this Festival – it is markedly different than seeing all these bands at some other single show somewhere else.

Plus the PRICE!  When you figure out how much it truly costs to go to another concert, and look at what your total cost is for ProgStock,  it’s CHEAP.  Where else are you going to get this many bands, with these kinds of experiences?  Nowhere else.  That’s why you really want to be there!

It’s such a special weekend – PLEASE come hang out with us for the weekend, enjoy a bunch of fantastic music, reconnect with old friends, make some new friends, and have a great time!

Check out the entire weekend lineup, and get your three-day passes, or single day tickets by clicking this link:
http://www.progstock.com/2019/schedule-by-day-and-single-day-passes/

Thank you so much.  🙂
Andrew

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