IE Rewind: Prognosis
PROGNOSIS
Almost a year in the making, Deacon Productions founder Steve Kikoen has branched out from his musical tributes to ‘70s/‘80s stalwarts Steely Dan (and Santana) to even deeper AOR territory: Prog Rock.
Kikoen’s newest project – Prognosis – is dedicated to progressive rock – which arguably exploded as a “genre” in 1968, powered by Brit vanguards King Crimson. With Prognosis, Kikoen is mining the spirit of prog-rock pioneers King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and showcasing a setlist that includes “Behind The Lines/Dukes End” from Genesis, “Solsbury Hill” from Peter Gabriel, and “Your Move/All Good People” from Yes.
Kikoen (vocals/guitars for Deacon Blues, The Lotus Kings, and Big Suit) has assembled a band of Chicago musical heavy-hitters. The band features Chris Siebold (guitars/vocals: Psycles, Lennon’s Tuba, Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion); Karl Montzka (keyboards: a Hamilton conductor); Jon Paul (bass/vocals: Tributosaurus); Greg Fundis (drums: Fareed Haque, Led Zeppelin 2); and Ray Quinn (flute: 40,000 Headmen, Martyrs’).
“Progressive Rock has been one of my biggest influences from the moment I first heard Emerson, Lake, and Palmer as a teenager. Being a guitarist first and a keyboardist very definitely second, I thought it interesting that I was so very much attracted to their music, which didn’t have many guitars in it. Then Yes and Genesis came along – and I haven’t been the same since!” Kikoen told IE. “Prog has the unique quality of combining the best of classical music with rock, along with elements of jazz and choral music.”
As a music teacher and a musician, Kikoen has not only the credentials to appreciate the music; he’s a collaborator with its creators. “I have recently written music with Jon Anderson of Yes, Steve Howe (Yes) is a good friend of mine, and Peter Gabriel is a colleague.”
For Kikoen and his co-visionary, Chris Siebold, Prognosis is a labor of love. “These shows are more than tributes – we are literally honoring these genius composers and performers who single-handedly created this genre of music, replicating note-for-note transcriptions of their work and providing just the right dose of theatre and multimedia for the perfect prog stew.”
Judging by Reggies’ famous annual Progressive Rock Festival and SRO crowds for the Genesis tribute band, Musical Box, at the Arcada Theatre, Prognosis will have fertile ground to spread the prog-rock gospel in the Chicago area in 2020.
– David Gedge
Prognosis appears at Arcada Theatre Thursday, September 22
Category: IE Rewind
