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Hardcore in 17/16

X-Ray Press splices classical influences with noise and dissonance

X-RAY PRESS: Given the gift of prog. Photo courtesy of MySpace

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My father is getting more and more uncomfortable with the manner in which I portray him in this fine rag. He has asked me to print the following statement on his behalf:

"Progressive rock is an art form that few appreciate, due to their inferior brain capacities. I, with my advanced super-brain and knowledge of the existence of the band Happy the Man, am far more equipped to process the complex dichotomies that define the genre so casually referred to as ‘prog-rock.' You see, some songs are in 17/16, and you can tell by the way Phil Collins ... zzzz ... Gentle Giant ... zzzz ... each album side portrayed a different season ... zzzz."

Are you happy, Dad? If nothing else, I support the concept of equal time.

X-Ray Press is a band that - for better or worse - has been given the gift and curse of progressive rock - and uses it for evil. The band's interpretation of prog shows them taking their extensive musical backgrounds and smashing them all into a hardcore mold.

"I'm a classical composer by trade," says Paurl Walsh, X-Ray Press lead singer and guitarist. "So I think a lot of the modern classical stuff factors in - Philip Glass, Terry Riley, mid-20th Century minimalism, as well as a lot of romantic and neo-classical stuff from the early 20th Century kind of influences us a lot."

All of the members of X-Ray Press are classically trained in one musical discipline or another. This is a fact.

How, then, do we wind up with something that rocks as hard as their music does?

"On top of all that," says Walsh, "we're all fans of the post-hardcore stuff."

When you put stick classical training in a blender with a desire for noise and dissonance, as bands like King Crimson found in the ‘70s, progressive rock is what spews out.

X-Ray Press is another example of a band taking that drive and concept and bringing it forward into the new generation - one cracked eardrum and decimated brain cell at a time.

[Bob's Java Jive, X-Ray Press with, Trip the Light Fantastic, Oh Dear!, Thursday, April 1, 8 p.m., 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, 253.475.9843]

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