ECHOLYN

Christopher Buzby- keyboards, backing vocals
Brett Kull- guitars, lead and backing vocals
Jordan Perlson- drums & percussion
Paul Ramsey- drums & percussion
Raymond Weston- bass, lead and backing vocals

The seeds of echolyn were sown in the late 1980s with Brett Kull, Raymond Weston, and Paul Ramsey playing in a cover band dubbed Narcissus. In 1988 Narcissus disbanded as the members tired of cover tunes. A year later Christopher Buzby joined Kull and Ramsey to form echolyn, which would focus entirely on original progressive music. Weston soon returned to the fold, and they began recording their eponymous CD echolyn in 1990. Kull, Weston, and Jesse Reyes manned the bass post until Thomas Hyatt joined permanently during the recording. The first album was released independently on Bridge Records, and quickly sold out. The CD is now one of the most sought-after collector's items in progressive rock, fetching over $100 at the Ebay internet auction site. echolyn was a welcome breath of fresh air in that generally lean time for progressive music.

In 1992, the band released suffocating the bloom, now generally regarded as an early '90s prog classic. The album honed echolyn's trademark two- and three-part harmonies with tight, often-contrapuntal instrumental playing, and featured the over 25-minute "A Suite for the Everyman". Lyrically it deals with the loss of childhood innocence and idealism. In the spring of 1993 the band privately released the 4-song unplugged mini-CD …and every blossom. However, it was suffocating the bloom that attracted the attention of executives at major label Sony/Epic Records, and the band contracted in summer 1993 to release their next full-length album on Sony/550 Music. All throughout this period, echolyn gigged extensively, playing sold out shows in the Philadelphia area, most notably at the Theater for the Living Arts. They opened some shows for progressive metal luminaries Dream Theater. The band also performed a feature set at Progfest '94 in Los Angeles.

In the spring of 1994, the band recorded their first CD for Sony in Nashville, TN. Being on a major label would not corrupt echolyn's musical ambitions. as the world is an uncompromising piece of progressive rock. The album was released in May 1995 to tremendous acclaim in progressive rock circles. People spoke of echolyn as the best chance at the time for wider mainstream acceptance of prog, however Sony maddeningly refused to support touring, which was echolyn's best way to reach new ears and their musical lifeblood. The band headlined the inaugural ProgDay in North Carolina in September 1995, without label support. Shortly thereafter they were dropped by Sony. Hyatt and Buzby left the band, and after over 250 live shows and 4 releases, echolyn seemingly had met its end. A "posthumous" recording entitled when the sweet turns sour, was released on SynPhonic and Cyclops, GFT in 1996. This CD consists of finished songs for a fourth full CD, demos in various stages of completion, a cover of "Where the Sour Turns to Sweet" ticketed for a Genesis tribute album, and live tracks from the ProgDay '95 show.

The members of echolyn remained very active in music. Kull, Ramsey, and Weston formed Still, which released Always Almost in 1996, focusing on songwriting in a hard-rock format. Renamed Always Almost, this trio released God Pounds His Nails in 1997, which featured a superb Gentle Giant cover among other well-written progressive-influenced hard rock songs. Both of these recordings were on Georgia-based Pleasant Green Records. Kull and Ramsey have also recorded and toured with the major-label folk-rock group Grey Eye Glances. Buzby formed finneus gauge with his drummer brother Jonn, vocalist Laura Martin, guitarist Scott McGill, and bassist Chris Eike. finneus gauge released two albums of intricate jazz-fusion influenced progressive rock, more once more (1997) and one inch of the fall (1999), to worldwide critical acclaim. Keyboard magazine picked more once more as "One of the Top 5 Records of 1997" in an editor's poll, while Guitar World recognized finneus gauge as "One of the 10 Best in the Current Progressive Rock Underground" in 1998.

In the spring of 2000 the members of echolyn returned with a brand new collection of 10 songs that serves as their first studio album in over four years, titled cowboy poems free. The lineup features original members Buzby, Kull, Ramsey, and Weston, along with new drummer/percussionist Jordan Perlson. The members of echolyn have had the necessary musical experiences and opportunities to confidently make this the perfect time for their re-entry into the musical arena. With a history that dates back eleven years, echolyn continues to redefine original music with their unique style of avant-rock. Defying categorization, while consistently receiving and achieving critical acclaim and success in the progressive rock, alternative, and jazz/fusion genres, echolyn is poised to once again bend the ears of the world's listeners.

Music lovers worldwide have been thrilled by this reunion of one of the leading lights of American progressive rock.

There is no better way to expand the NEARfest tradition to a third day than with one of the first live echolyn performances in nearly five years at NEARfest Friday.

Discography:

echolyn (1991)
suffocating the bloom (1992)
and every blossom (EP, 1993)
as the world (1995)
when the sweet turns sour (1996)
cowboy poems free (2000)

Website: http://www.echolyn2000.com

email: echolyn2000@aol.com