“Proximal Distance” will be featured on a Aural Moon Radio program this coming Monday, August 9th at 8:00 p.m. Central Time!

They will be playing a couple songs from the CD and there will also be commentary from the deejay!!

Woo hoo!

Majestic – 2009 – “Arrival”

Link to article

Here is the review via Google translator (original text below):

Proximaldistance is based on cooperation among musicians Jeff Hamel and John Gregg. It says most people may not so much, but when we mention our bands Slychosis and Majestic is possibly someone that it rings a bell to. Well, John is from the Canadian ensemble Slychosis, while Hamel from Majestic. Both plays numerous instruments and are driving forces in their respective bands, and these bands makes the usual pretty good prog alloy music. The music is classical prog with certain sensors to space rock with some innsmett of disharmonious notes that freshens up the whole. Apart from certain influences to the Majestic and Slychosis his music influences worth mentioning in bands like Pink Floyd, Saga, King Crimson, Genesis and Yes. The music on this debut alternates between atmospheric parties and parties with really full of gas and fine intensity. Intense instrumental sections alternate with vocal parts which include the fine vocals of Jessica Rasch let him hear. The epic song “Gupsy” can be definitely hear, and our “friend” Jessica Rasch make an effort and colors sounded superb here. Keyboards are often in a space mode, and guitar lines are something that can best be described as gorgeous, playful and beautiful. We hensettes to 60 and 70 the number of the fine alloy psychedelic song “Flash Back To Now (A Hippy’s Lament)”. Jessica Rasch’s voice and acoustic guitars and dreamy keyboards are the main ingredients in the beautiful and exciting “Fall Leaves”. Also “Algol” recently mentioned type keyboard first, but eventually convert the song to dirty music. The music can best be described as a heavy prog, and the bass and guitar encourages scene with pretty intense game play before the song calms down and flows into the “The Shaman”. A “flow” that makes these two songs almost make a musical symbiosis and in any case hang naturally together. “The Shaman” offers also on vocals, Sarah Hamel who seems to be hand-picked for just the song. A song that the course is about a something special if the traditional professions, and where a reasonable degree of savagery and dramaturgy course is required. Such obtained here from, among other vicious vokalsamplere and agile and innovative guitar and bass lines, lines. As a compelling final disc gives us 14.16 minutes long “Expanding Universe”. The song has a dark undertone, and the musical range is so wide that it is a pleasure. Yet the song very much accessible and not an exercise in showing off a wealth of good. Right there and not have to show off is of the gentlemen Hamel and John their forces on this album. With two multi-instrumental sites together on a board, so to speak, had enough people fell for the temptation to show off. Instead, it is a great commitment to make good musical ideas into creative, highly audible and exciting music. A msuikk where elements and inspiration from many styles melted together into a smoothly functioning whole. Hard rock, symfonsik, metal, prog, neo, artrock, electronica, prog metal are some of the sources used. That such a broad inspiration could be both unfocused and messy, we avoid here, and instead we get really tasty and good music made. An example of these skills is the duel between the two guitar solos that is alternately lyrical and raw, challenging and constantly supported by really fat and varying keyboard lines. When we also get cover art by Russian artist Vladimir Mold Aversion who is from the top drawer, we are obviously not the less positive of this work. As the preceding text clearly says that this album is best described in the Norwegian as well “a must”, and it definitely belongs in every decent collection of prog!

Here is the text in original form:

Proximal Distance – Proximal Distance

Proximaldistance er tuftet på samarbeidet mellom musikerne Jeff Hamel og Gregg Johns. Det sier kanskje ikke folk flest så mye, men når vi nevner vi bandene Slychosis og Majestic er det muligens noen som det ringer en bjelle for. Nåvel, Johns er fra det kanadiske ensemblet Slychosis, mens Hamel kommer fra Majestic. Begge spiller utallige instrumenter og er drivende krefter i sine respektive band, og disse bandene lager til vanlig ganske så bra proglegert musikk. Musikken er klassisk prog med visse følere til spacerock og med noen innsmett av disharmoniske toner som frisker opp det hele. Foruten visse influenser til Majestic og Slychosis sin musikk er påvirkningene verdt å nevne fra band som Pink Floyd, Saga, King Crimson, Genesis og Yes. Musikken på denne debuten veksler mellom stemningsfulle partier og partier med virkelig full gass og fin intensitet. Heftige instrumentalpartier veksler med vokalpartier hvor blant annet den fine vokalen til Jessica Rasche lar seg høre. Den episke låten ”Gupsy” lar seg så absolutt høre, og vår ”venninne” Jessica Rasche gjør en formidabel innsats og farger låt fortreffelig her. Keyboardene er ofte i et spaca modus, og gitarlinjene er av noe som best kan beskrives som lekre, lekne og vakre. Vi hensettes til 60 og 70 tallet på den fine psykedelisk legerte låten ”Flashback To Now (A Hippy’s Lament)”. Jessica Rasche sin stemme og akustiske gitarer og drømmende keyboards er hovedingrediensene i vakre og spennende ”Leaves Fall”. Også ”Algol” har nylig nevnte type keyboard begynnelsen , men her konverterer låten etter hvert til røffere musikk. En musikk som best kan beskrives som heavyprog, og hvor bass og gitar råder scene med ganske så intens spilling før låten roer seg ned og flyter inn i ”The Shaman”. En ”flyt” som gjør at disse to låtene nærmest utgjør en musikalsk symbiose og i alle fall henger naturlig sammen. ”The Shaman” byr for øvrig på vokal Sarah Hamel som virker å være håndplukket for akkurat den låten. En låt som jo selvsagt handler om en noe spesiell om enn tradisjonell profesjon, og hvor en rimelig grad av villskap og dramaturgi selvsagt er påkrevd. Slikt hentes her fra blant annet ondskapsfulle vokalsamplere og spenstige og innovative gitar- og basslinjerlinjer. Som en mektig finale gir skiva oss 14,16 minutter lange ”Expanding Universe”. Den låten har en mørk undertone, og det musikalske sortimentet er så rikholdig at det er en fornøyelse. Likevel er låten i høy grad tilgjengelig og ikke en øvelse i å vise frem et vell av flinkhet. Akkurat det og ikke måtte vise seg frem er av herrene Hamel og Johns sine styrker på denne skiva. Med to multiinstrumentalsiter samlet på et brett så å si , hadde mange nok falt for fristelsen til å vise seg frem. I stedet er det et flott fokus på å forme gode musikalske ideer om til kreativ, svært hørbar og spennende musikk. En msuikk hvor elementer og inspirasjon fra mange stilarter smeltes sammen til et velfungerende hele. Hardrock, symfonsik metall, prog, neo, artrock, electronica, progmetall er noen av kildene som brukes. At en så bred inspirasjon kunne bli både ufokusert og uryddig unngår vi her, og i stedet får vi virkelig velsmakende og dyktig laget musikk. Et eksempel på nevnte dyktighet er duellen mellom to gitarsoloer som vekselsvis er stemningsfulle og rått utfordrende, og hele tiden understøttet av virkelig fete og varierende keyboardlinjer. Når vi så også får cover art av den russiske artisten Vladimir Moldavsky som er fra øverste skuff blir vi jo selvsagt ikke mindre positive til dette verket. Som den foregående teksten klart sier så kan denne skiva best beskrives på godt norsk som ”et must”, og den hører definitivt hjemme i enhver anstendig samling av prog!

http://proximaldistance.com

1. Algol (Instrumental)
2. The Shaman
3. Gypsy
4. Contemplation
5. Flashback to Now (A Hippy’s Lament)
6. Deep Space Intermission
7. Leaves Fall
8. Journey of Truth
9. Coherence
10. Expanding Universe

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Jeff Hamel – Giatrer, keyboards, bass og vokal
*

Gregg Johns – Gitarer, keyboards ,bass, mandoliner og vokal

Gjesteartister,

*

Sarah Hamel – Vokal på spor 2
*

Jessica Rasche – Vokal
*

Jeremy Mitchell – Trommer
*

Todd Sears – Trommer

Online magazine for symphonic & progressive rock

Proximal Distance - Proximal Distance (CD 2010, 74.24, Own Production) The tracks: 1- Algol (7:52) 2- The Shaman (8:03) 3- Gypsy (11:22) 4- Contemplation (3:17) 5- Flashback To Now (A Hippy’s Lament) (4:40) 6- Deep Space Intermission (5:36) 7- Leaves Fall (3:50) 8- Journey of Truth (7:33) 9- Coherence (7:54) 10- Expanding Universe (14:16)

Proximal Distance is a collaboration of two American progressive rock groups: Slychosis and Majestic, featuring multi-instrumentalists Gregg Johns and Jeff Hamel in that order. They asked Jessica Rasche from Majestic to do the vocals and from the Slychosis-camp Jeremy Mitchell for the drums. The progressive influences of Proximal Distance are many: Yes, Rush, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Saga and Eloy, just to name a few.

What kind of music does Proximal Distance make? The first track Algo, is a beautiful heavy instrumental opener in the same style as Canadian heavy prog rockers Rush. The middle-section is a bit more relaxed with synths, space sounds and a lingering kind of bluesy guitar chords: Pink Floyd meet Eloy. The Shaman is up-tempo with mysterious dark and distorted vocals in the vein of Maryson, a great contrast to the heavenly voice of Jessica Rasche. Many changes in tempo and breaks held my attention all the time. The beginning of Gypsy strongly reminds me of Renaissance especially the Annie Haslam- like voice. Furthermore, we hear electric and bass guitar playing in the vein of Steve Howe and Chris Squire (Yes). ‘Talking’ guitar solos interact with heavenly voices building slowly to a climax and ending with dramatic singing and an acoustic guitar. Gypsy is a rather long piece that contains plenty of good musical ideas. It’s a perfect piece for daydreaming, but also for playing your ‘air guitar’.

Contemplation Harsh is a short song beginning with ‘attacks’ on the acoustic guitar, then accompanied by high and heavenly singing in the vein of Iona and Renaissance. This song is a welcome rest after all those impressive and tremendous symphonic rock pieces. Flashback To Now (A Happy’s Lament) starts with an Eloy-like bass plucking theme, but you can hear influences of Dutch prog icon Ayreon as well. It’s a rather odd song with strange vocal chords and a weird structure. This one certainly doesn’t belong to my favourites and is in fact the only disappointing track on this album. Fortunately Deep Space Intermission is another instrumental highlight with a spacey and dark start, directly followed by the Pink Floyd/Eloy guitar licks. This piece is brilliantly floating through my speakers while slowly building to a climax. The lyrics and the vocals of Jessica Rasche perfectly fit in the tuneful music. Leaves Fall is a song about sad memories set to music with acoustic guitars and dramatic voices, just like the overall feel of autumn. In Journey to Truth you hear over seven minutes of rocking guitars reminding me of Deep Purple’s Space Trucking with nice interludes of dreamy and spacey Moog-synths and catchy lyrics ending with a dreamy guitar solo. Coherence has a typical Hawkwind-sound starting with news flashes, followed by dark vocals and music in the vein of Dutch prog rock/gothic bands like Within Temptation, Ayreon and After Forever. The middle-section of this song is rather hectic, but the final part is much more interesting with its fast and spacey rhythms and well-played pinball music.

Expanding Universe is the longest piece of the album that starts again with that typical spacey Eloy-sound: howling guitars and bluesy rhythms. This song contains all the elements a good prog song needs: good lyrics and fine guitar, synth and Hammond-solos. This epic piece ends in the same way as the first song Algol began. You will be surprised about the end, but I won’t reveal it. Just buy this album and you will be amazed, because Proximal Distance succeeded in creating a 70-minute debut album containing perfect and powerful progressive rock. This album will certainly belong to one of my favourites this year.

****+ Cor Smeets (edited by Peter Willemsen)

www.progwalhalla.com

News Of A Progressive Journey

June 2010

Contents:

• Proximal Distance Project
• Majestic’s New CD
• Other News
• Free Music Download
• Links

Welcome!

Welcome to Majestic’s first happenings newsletter! We are very excited to be able to bring to you, our fans, current happenings within the Majestic project! It is our hope that with this newsletter we can keep you up to date on any new projects, reviews, and other fantastic journeys that we may embark upon!

Proximal Distance!

In the summer of 2008, Jeff Hamel began working with Gregg Johns of Slychosis on what would come to be a very exciting and extremely rewarding collaboration. Slychosis and Majestic are similar in format. Both are the typical multi-instrumentalist “one man” bands. Both bands brought in other musicians as guest artists, and artistically and musically both bands were very similar in style and how they worked.  These two musicians had decided to try a couple of tracks as a collaboration via working over the internet, recording parts and beginning the process of building some music. It became quite clear that as the first couple of ideas started to form that the music was solid and started to take a direction on its own. It so became that an album had to be released and in February of 2010, “Proximal Distance” was released!

“Proximal Distance” has been received very well, and has been given some very wonderful critic reviews!! In April 2010, it was named Best Band and Record of The Month at Progressive Rock& Progressive Metal Internet Zine!

Here are just a couple of great things the critics are saying about this release:

“Epic tours around Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, ELP, Caravan, Fleetwood Mac, Vangelis and Curved Air, anywhere where the fancy takes them, but hang on a moment, there’s some Dream Theatre in there, it must be a rip in the time space continuum.  For dyed in the wool prog fans this will bring a misty eyed tear to the eye, ‘flashing back to another time and place, fuzztone axes, colors dancing on my face.  I dare not stay here, but this is a groovy place’ (Flashback to Now). For new adventurers, this is a fantastic trip, 74 minutes of amazing, superbly produced and performed music that will keep you entertained for months.”  – 9/10 (Reviewed by Phil of Ravenheart Music)

~read complete review here:

“Their sound is deeply rooted in classic progressive/space rock, probably most resembling Pink Floyd, as the guitar of Hamel and Johns is definitely inspired by Dave Gilmour. Listening to Proximal Distance was a real treat, and although they sometimes where their influences on their sleeves, they are not a clone of all things retro. The musicianship on this album is very good and with the music being so melodic, it should appeal to many fans of progressive rock. The songs vary in intensity from full symphonic aural assaults to pastoral acoustic passages and dreamy keyboard parts, often within the same song. Hamel and Johns have done an excellent job with Proximal Distance. I urge all fans of progressive rock to get on board and enjoy the trip. It is one you will want to take again and again.”  -4.5 Stars (Reviewed by Jon Neudorf from Sea of Tranquility)

~read complete review here:

Majestic’s Newest CD In-Progress!

Late 2009 Majestic started working on a new CD and we are making substantial progress and hope to release this newest journey in the Summer of 2010.  We have brought few new musical guests onto the project, which has been an exciting adventure for us!

We would like to introduce to you:

Gregg Johns: (Slychosis) Gregg’s work with Jeff on the Proximal Distance project proved so positive that we decided to bring him on board to guest on our new CD. Gregg is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and and seems to intuitively know just what Majestic needs.

Chris Nathe: -Drums Chris has played drums in a variety of bands since the late 80’s. After taking a long hiatus from playing, Chris joined the Majestic project in 2009, and plays animportant role that Majestic has not had on its past projects.. a real drummer! We welcome himto our project!

Jerry Swan: -Bass Playing in several bands that vary from Blues to Death Metal, Jerry brings an eclectic aura to the Majestic project. We are happy to have him on board with us!

John Wooten: -Drums John is a professional drummer for hire and has worked with Jessica in the past on rock/metal collaborations. John has been a great supporter of Majestic, and we areexcited to have him play on a couple of our songs!

Jeremy Hamel: -Guitar That undeniable Hamel talent flows through the veins of this our youngest guest performer! Jeremy undoubtedly has a wonderful raw talent and we are so proud to bring this young man onto our project!

In Other News!

Proximal Distance Magazine Interview!

We are very happy to announce that on May 24, 2010 Proximal Distance members Jeff Hamel, Gregg Johns, and Jessica Rasche, conducted a phone interview with Progression Magazine!  The article will then appear in the next issue of the magazine (#60). We are very honored to be included in such an established magazine that focuses on Progressive music.

Free Music Download!

We are offering a full download of our “Clover Suite” for free. Recorded in Aug 2009, Clover is an epic collection of tracks consisting of 4 songs. We are offering this little EP for free via download.  The music is in mp3 format (320 kbs) and about 61 mb. It is recommended you have a high speed line to download. Just our way of saying “Thanks” for supporting our music.

To receive the free download click here: Majestic’s Clover Suite Download. You will be asked for your name and email address. In addition to the “Clover Suite”, you will automatically be signed up to receive our newsletter which will keep you up to date on any new happenings with Majestic.

Links:

http://www.majesticsongs.com

http://www.myspace.com/majesticsongs

http://www.proximaldistance.com

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Contact Us Page

Artur Chachlowski played Majestic, Slychosis and Proximal Distance on the 06/02/2010 radio show. Along with the airplay reviews (written in Polish) of all three CDs are posted.

Thanks Artur!!!

Listen to radio

Also Reviews for the following three projects:

Artist/ Band: Majestic
Title: Arrival
Label: Mals
Year of Release: 2009
Offical Artist/ Band Link

The Review:

In 2009, American progressive rock band, Majestic, released their third album Arrival. Majestic is comprised of multi-instrumentalist Jeff Hamel and vocalist Jessica Rasche. Both of them create their own brand of progressive rock that involves stepping into the progressive metal camp. The biggest difference with Majestic is that they are not clones of what‘s been released in the market. One band I‘m reminded of, when Jessica sings, is another American band called Leger De Main.Arrival is comprised of 4 long tracks, the longest being 36 minutes and the shortest, 9 minutes. Opening this album is “Gray” (22:39) and showcases both Jeff & Jessica’s vocals. They compliment each other flawlessly here. The song flows perfectly going from full on progressive metal to progressive/space rock in the course of the track. The way the instrumentation is, reminds me a little bit of Anbeon (an Ayreon off-shoot band).

“Wish” (9:12) which is a vehicle for Jessica’s vocals. Jeff plays a softer almost acoustic guitar playing here. The song reminds me of a Wish You Were Here vibe. Next up is “Glide” (9:36). The instrumentation switched gears to a metallic guitar assault, almost a flip side of “Wish”. About 4 minutes into the song, there tempo slows down then continues on with the metallic wave. This song will satisfy most progressive metal and heavy progressive rock fans alike.

The ending song, is the title track (36:04).Aside from having the album title, this is the main focal point of the album. It also showcases how the band sounds in 2009. From it’s spacey beginning, “Arrival” takes the listener on an aural journey. While having some metallic guitar parts, especially towards the end, this is further from the progressive metal vibe the rest of the album has. This song alone is, to me, what the Majestic output is all about (in 2009). I was told by Jeff that the next album will have a different sound.

In closing both Jeff & Jessica create what has become a favorite of mine. Had I received this back in 2009, it would surely grace my favorites of that year, hands down. If you like long epic lengthy tracks and a fan of Pink Floyd and the spacier side of Ayreon then Arrival is the album you need in your collection. With excellent instrumentation and vocals, Arrival gets a high recommendation!

Clover, a 4 part suite was recorded after Arrival, and are a seperate enitiy, I felt it important to mention Clover here within this review. According to Jeff, he wanted to have some shorter peices of music to show what Majestic was all about. It was also recorded while Jeff & Jessica were contributing to the Proximal Distance project (which has been reviewed here). The Clover suite is available as a FREE downlaod on the Majestic website. If you’re already a fan of the band or even a newbie (such as myself) this would a perfect starting point within the Majestic catalog.

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on May 31st, 2010

Prolusion. The US outfit MAJESTIC is the creative vehicle of composer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Hamel, who made his debut, “Discension”, under this moniker in 2007. Since he was signed by Russian label MALS Records, which reissued his first effort, he’s recorded and released a second album on vinyl, and now in 2009 his third production “Arrival” has, well, arrived.

Analysis. While I found the initial effort from Hamel’s Majestic project to be rather underwhelming, I was pleasantly surprised by this latest effort courtesy of this talented composer and musician. In two years he’s managed to substantially improve what I felt where the main flaws of his first production, and this time around we’re dealing with an album that comes across as well made and well performed in all departments. Of the four creations at hand on this disc, the first and the last, Gray and Arrival are the ones of real importance. Clocking in at 58 minutes in total, these two efforts dominate this release, and, as they are the best tracks by far as well, these are the ones who will make or break this excursion. Both compositions seem to have a foundation of sorts in a stylistic expression rather similar to mid-‘70s Pink Floyd. Wandering acoustic and clean electric guitars form the melodic foundation, bass and drums support in the rhythm department, while rich, warm layers of keyboards, organ and synth add a symphonic backdrop or overlay, more often than not with space-tinged embellishments. On select occasions heavier passages add a metal tinge to the proceedings, while mellow acoustic and ambient, spacey keyboard passages add variation of a more gentle nature. Instrumental sequences and vocal parts are well balanced, and, while vocalist Jessica Rasche is a real find for Hamel, his own vocal contributions aren’t too shabby either – a great improvement from Majestic’s 2007 debut. Both compositions shift back and forth between gentler and more energetic movements, rich in melodies and harmonies. Not the most challenging music around, but the tracks are well made and well performed, and more often than not it’s hard to tell that this is, in fact, a one-man effort rather than a full-fledged band. And, while moments of true brilliance aren’t quite yet within the grasp of Hamel, the improvements he’s made in just two years indicate that it won’t be long until he creates an album that will make a stunning impact.

Conclusion. “Arrival” is a strong effort by a rapidly evolving musician and composer who might find himself becoming a household name in record time if he keeps evolving as much as he has done over the last two years. Those fond of symphonic, space-tinged progressive rock made in a manner similar to Pink Floyd’s mid 70’s efforts should find it an interesting production – particularly if long, epic length compositions are of interest.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: March 15, 2010
The Rating Room

The Jan 2010 issue of Prog-résiste magazine features an interview (in French) with Jeff Hamel of Majestic along with a review of Majestic’s Arrival CD. Prog-résiste is a belgian “Non Profit Making Association” having the aim to promote the Progressive Rock in Belgium, in other french-speaking countries and all around the world if possible.

Be sure to check out Prog-résiste at http://www.progresiste.com

The english translation of the interview conducted by Alex Willem is as follows:

Interview on 11/04/2009

To start, can you please present yourself shortly?

My name is Jeff Hamel and I am the musician primarily responsible for the music of Majestic. Majestic is a neo-symphonic prog recording project out of Minnesota, USA.

“Arrival” is your second album. Can you tell us the genesis of this album? What has been the creation process of it ?

Actually, Arrival is my third album release. My first was Descension and that was followed by String Theory. However, due to the label issues S.T. was not promoted the way it should have been. Fortunately, Mals Ltd picked up Descension and released it under their label.  Mals being a progressive rock and metal label really opened the door for Majestic.

In Oct 2008, I found an unknown vocalist Jessica Rasche looking for a band in our local area. I heard some samples she had done with some other musicians. Even though Jessica’s  music was quite different from Majestic I thought her voice would be a strong asset to the project. So I suggested collaboration on a track or two just to hear what the final product would sound like.  We put the samples out and the responses were overwhelmingly positive. It was quite clear that her voice fit perfectly with the Majestic sound.  Subsequently, I invited her to be the primary vocalist of Majestic and the Arrival recording sessions began.

Do you see an evolution between this album and the previous one ?

Most Definitely, Descension was a collection of smaller pieces of music written in 2006-2007 which was bordering progressive and just rock. Deservingly, it received only midgrade reviews. I have always been recording ideas down and descension was my first attempt at putting anything out there to the public.

My next attempt was String Theory. This was quite a bit more progressive in terms of being a concept CD. However, the songs were not as long due to limitations of label wanting me to keep the tracks less than 10 minutes long and be more like popular American rock.  String Theory was superior to Descension but the CD went into obscurity rather quickly from virtually no promotion.

When I began recording Arrival I decided to write something that I liked to hear and not worry about whether people would like it or buy it. I just wrote for myself and I have always enjoyed the longer epic sounding tracks. Also I have always had the desire to do something “bigger”. In addition, Jessica’s vocal talent opened up new doors for the music. Her vocals allowed me to go heavier than I had before. My vocals are passable on softer music but with Jessica handling the heavier riffs I felt the sky is the limit.

To the exception of the vocals (performed by Jessica Rasche), you play all the instruments (like Mike Oldfield…). Is it something you enjoy to play all instruments?

Very much. The guitar has always been my main instrument.  Playing all the instruments is like a double edge sword. The good part is that I have 100% control over the music and direction it takes with no arguments. The bad part is I have no one to bounce ideas off of when I get stuck on a part. Over all playing all the instruments has worked out and the good outweighs the bad.

The album starts with a long track and ends with another long track? This is very Rock Progressive. What do you think? Do you claim doing Prog music?

I rarely listen to anything except progressive music. I enjoy music that takes the listener places and lets them use their imagination.  I write music I enjoy listening to and Prog music involves more epic intricate tracks that you continue to get new things out of every time you listen. Arrival allowed me to write something that I as prog fan was able to enjoy.

What are the artists who influenced your work?

In no particular order, some of the bands that move me are Yes, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Ayreon, Riverside, Genesis, Rush and Pink Floyd.

How do they influence your work?

I try to pick up bits and pieces from songs I like. If you break down a Majestic track you will find all these influences throughout the music. Although, I have never been into learning and playing other peoples music their influences will always be there.

Listening to your music, it reminded us (at Progresiste) the music of Saga, especially the track “wish”. Is this also an influence?

I will take that as a compliment.  Saga is a great band. Though I thought “wish” was more Steven Wilson’s No-Man influenced.

Is that kind of music popular in the US? Is it easy to tour to present it?

There are some great prog bands here in the states. Short of some festivals, progressive music is not as popular as it should be. There is no denying  Majestic has a much bigger following overseas.

What are the things you are happy about this album and what would you like to redo?

I am thrilled with the response the CD has received. I knew with Jessica’s voice we were creating something new and fresh, however with the mediocre reviews of past material I had no idea “Arrival” would be so widely accepted.

As a musician, I always hear things I think could have been done better or different. That being said, I am a strong believer that you make a song as well as you can at the time and then put a stake in the ground and move on.  I just take the mistakes and learn not to repeat them next time around.

What are your project for near future?

For about a year now I have been collaborating with Gregg Johns of Slychosis on a project called Proximal Distance. We are almost done recording and are looking to release around end of 2009 or early 2010. This CD will feature Jessica and I (Majestic) along with Gregg Johns, Todd Sears, and Jeremy Mitchell from Slychosis. We are really excited about this project.

What would you say to our reader to invite them to listen your music?

Majestic is relatively new on the prog scene and definitely worth checking out. If you are a fan of prog you won’t be disappointed because this album touches on the many different styles. Stop by our website at www.majesticsongs.com . There we have free downloadable music, reviews, and current updates on our projects.