Voluble, knowledgeable and infinitely positive, Dave Foster’s the kind of guy you’d happily spend a day in the pub with talking music, from its surface ephemera down to its deepest workings. We’re here to talk about The Dave
Foster Band’s sterling fifth record, Maybe They’ll Come Back For Us, but the happy tangents come thick and fast, about his favourite musical scale (the Lydian mode, anyone?), David Bowie’s divisive Tin Machine outing (“misunderstood”) and even the anti-arthritis injection recently stuck into the thumb of his impressive left hand. It was, he assures us, “The worst eight seconds of my life!”
We’re catching up with him right after the official announcement of another painful moment – his departure from Big Big Train (see sidebar). But that’s a lone cloud in an otherwise sunny sky for him. The album’s out and doing nicely, and he and DFB vocalist Dinet Poortman are on a high after some support slots for the Steve Rothery Band, among whose ranks Foster very firmly remains.
At those Manchester shows they played acoustic tunes from their 2016 album Dreamless and 2019’s Nocebo plus, of all things, a Suzanne Vega cover.
“We’ve been doing Marlene On The Wall,” he says, “which really suits Dinet’s voice. And she’s not just singing the words – she’s actually becoming something. I watched her at the shows and saw the way she’s developed as a singer and performer in front of my eyes. I’ve known her for a long time now and she’s amazing. I’m very proud of her.”
It’s been over 13 years since mutual friend Rothery introduced the pair at the bar during a Marillion Weekend in Port Zélande, Holland (Poortman’s home country). The two hit it off and set about making a proggish brand of pop-rock that really began coalescing with Nocebo, built up artistic speed with 2023’s assured Glimmer, and hit high gear with this latest selection.
Bu hikaye Prog dergisinin Issue 153 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Prog dergisinin Issue 153 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
JAKKO M JAKSZYK
King Crimson's vocalist and guitarist shares anecdotes from his revealing new autobiography, discusses his lost career as a footballer and reveals what he said when he met the former king of pop.
A Part & Yet Apart
Sheffield-based 80s proggers Haze have returned with a new studio album, The Water's Edge - their third since their 2013 comeback record, The Last Battle. Prog catches up with threequarters of the band to discuss Haze's DIY ethos, the curse of prog and playing to Cumbrian sheep farmers.
CONTROLLED AIRSPACE
He's about to embark on Dream Theater's 40th Anniversary Tour, but keyboard maestro Jordan Rudess has taken time out to discuss his soaring new solo album, Permission To Fly.
On The Wing
Birds, break-ups, big choruses and the Charlie Chaplin effect can all be found on In Murmuration, the ninth album from Finland's Von Hertzen Brothers. But as they embrace their power pop influences, have the Finns cast off their prog wizard cloaks once and for all? Mikko von Hertzen talks about the Seattle influence, songwriting secrets and sax solos.
Fourth Dimension
The stock of melodic Northumberland-based proggers Stuckfish has been rising since they formed six years ago. Their fourth studio album, Stuckfish IV, represents an important watershed in the band's musical evolution. Co-founders Adrian Fisher and Phil Stuckey tell Prog about the diverse influences that have helped to shape it.
Symphly The Best
In the 70s, Barclay James Harvest almost bankrupted themselves by performing with an orchestra, but, several decades on, they’re celebrating last year’s performance with the Slaithwaite Philharmonic, captured on their latest live record, Philharmonic! The Orchestral Concert. John Lees reminisces over the band’s ambitious early years and bassist Craig Fletcher fills Prog in on JLBJH’s upcoming “progtastic” double album.
We've Not Been Expecting You
The unpredictable Frost* are back with Life In The Wires, a bold double concept album that revisits the mood of Milliontown. Bandleader Jem Godfrey tells Prog why he rolled out the solos on a record he describes as the most fun since their dazzling debut.
FAR HORIZONS AND PANORAMIC AMBITIONS
Dutch five-piece Lesoir have been steadily gathering momentum over the last 15 years, and they hope to build on that with their latest release, Push Back The Horizon. Vocalist/ instrumentalist Maartje Meessen and guitarist Ingo Dassen discuss the creation of their sixth album, working with Muse's production team, and their dream of bringing their intricate music to new audiences.
'I mean, what is classical nowadays?'
Tony Banks reflects on his role as a 21st-century classical composer.
There Can Be Only One!
Never meet your heroes, or so the saying goes, but Opeth have had a blast working with Ian Anderson on their latest, The Last Will And Testament. Bandleader Mikael Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson discuss the band's proggiest album to date, the return of the growl and why blood isn't always thicker than water.
