Feature

Porcupine Tree is truly a cult band, making uncompromising music that puts them in the position of being an alternative to alternative. Many influences are evident when listening to band's recordings; everyone should be able to find something they like here. The only problem -- and many good bands face this particular issue -- is getting exposure to a wider audience. Porcupine Tree is slowly overcoming this difficulty as they're getting some promotional push from Atlantic/Lava, with whom they recently signed. And there's always the word of mouth , which got Porcupine Tree to its current level over the last…

It might have been tempting for Rush to short-change their fans on this tour. After all, a band of their status could figure that most in the audience have seen the band before so, hey, they've had their night, let's not play all the songs people want to hear - - that way they'll come back. Rush resisted that temptation Friday, November 1, 2002, when it landed its current Vapor Trails tour at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Rush fans gathered for what could be called a business meeting. The agenda? Three hours of progressive rock and roll with…

One of the occupational hazards of being tagged as a guitar legend after your first album is that your reputation tends to precede you forever after.“Mercurial” is an adjective that’s been attached to guitarist Ronnie Montrose’s name so many times it’s almost a part of it. Add to that “innovative,” “enigmatic,” “technically brilliant” and most of all, “uncompromising,” and you’re closer to the complete picture. In a career spanning three decades, Montrose has confounded critics, managers, record companies and perhaps even, at times, his audience with albums that have over the years ranged far from the mainstream rock sound that…

Danny Federici is a happy man -- and he's earned it.After spending much of the last twenty-five years as an integral part of one of the great concert units in rock and roll history -- Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band -- Federici is on the brink of a new career, with a posse of old friends still lined up at his side. Almost a decade after Springsteen walked away from the band, this E Streeter is busier than ever, building his own record label and promoting his very first solo album.The album, Flemington, is named after the New Jersey town…