Progressive Palaver

Special Episode - Joe Deninzon from Stratospheerius and Dan McGowan from The Tea Club Sept 2025 In advance of their double-bill show at The Kennett Flash in October 2025, the Palaver were thrilled to welcome Joe Deninzon from Stratospheerius and Dan McGowan from The Tea Club. While Joe and Dan are both current members of Kansas, these projects are near and dear to their hearts. We had a spectacula...

Episode 160 – Fish Part 12, Internal Exile 2024 Remix The group continues with the second of Fish’s 2024 remixes, covering Internal Exile. While presenting a more light-handed remix this album still reveals some surprises. The Palaver generally finds a lot of joy in revisiting this classic Fish record that really showed him coming into his own. We hope you enjoy this exploration and comparison. Tw...

Bonus Episode – Apple TV’s Foundation, Season 3 Preview SPOILER ALERT! This podcast is recommended for people who have both seen the TV show (seasons 1 and 2) AND read the source novels (all of them). Joe and Sarah take a moment to look ahead at Season 3 of Apple TV’s Foundation series. On the back of yet another rewatch of Season 2 and armed with Season 3 trailers and some YouTube help, we consid...

Bonus Episode – Apple TV’s Foundation, Season 2 Recap SPOILER ALERT! This podcast is recommended for people who have both seen the TV show (seasons 1 and 2) AND read the source novels (all of them). Joe and Sarah explore the second season of the Apple TV series Foundation. This is a free-ranging palaver on many different aspects of the Foundation, both the books and the TV series. Having recently...

SCS34 – Marillion Weekend at Port Zelande, March 2025 Joe shares his experiences attending the (last??) Marillion Weekend at Port Zelande in March 2025. The conversation covers all the usual Marillion weekend topics including outstanding music, interesting food, new bands, and excellent new friends. Marillion Weekends are truly something special and getting to go to Holland again was a special tre...

Episode 159 – Fish Part 11, Vigil In a Wilderness of Mirrors 2024 This episode of the Progressive Palaver is the first in a short segment where the group considers some of the myriad remixes and remasters that have been released in the past few years. This 2024 remix of Fish’s debut solo album presents a dramatic departure from the original. Cleaner and more focused, this remix fits right in with...

Special Episode – Interview with Paul Bielatowicz – May 2025 The Palaver had the distinct pleasure of interviewing the amazing guitarist Paul Bielatowicz. We were able to discuss a wide variety of topics ranging from Paul’s gig in the Carl Palmer ELP Legacy to all of his other wide-ranging projects. Paul was able to give us a glimpse into his enticing Patreon community and we were happy to hear hi...

Episode 158 – Styx & Kansas Part 11, 2020 to 2021, The Absence of Presence and Crash of the Crown The Palaver goes into extra time! We found that we couldn’t close our Styx and Kansas discussions without talking about these two absolute gems from 2020 and 2021. In our explorations of the later catalogs, we all found ourselves enamored with these two records. They each display a vibrance and vitali...

Bonus Episode – Ranking Styx Albums A very straightforward bonus episode. As we look back on our combo Styx/Kansas segment, we rank all the Styx albums. X: @progpala Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

Bonus Episode – Ranking Kansas Albums A very straightforward bonus episode. As we look back on our combo Styx/Kansas segment, we rank all the Kansas albums. X: @progpala Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProgPala YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCw_Xxit3D8wbv-AcJ_7Z__w/featured Theme music provided by: Dave DeWhitt

Bonus Episode – Styx and Kansas Playlists We set a challenge for ourselves, create a 15-song playlist from the combined Styx and Kansas catalogs that we covered here on the Palaver. This was a steep climb and there was some last minute scambling, but we did it! This is a fun, different way for us to look back at the combo Styx/Kansas segment of the Palaver with the added bonus of having playlists...

Special Episode – Interview with Fenando Perdomo – January 2025 At long last we had the privilege of speaking with Fernando Perdomo! You can’t be in the prog world in the 21st century and not know of Fernando. We were thrilled that he was able to make time to discuss many topics including his massive, ambitious Waves project, influences, writing and recording style, and, of course, the devasatatin...

Special Episode – Interview with Randy McStine – December 2024 We were very honored to welcome renowned musician Randy McStine to the Palaver in December 2024. Randy shared some of his unequalled experiences throughout his career. We were able to discuss his current solo release, Mutual Hallucinations, as well as his work with Porcupine Tree. Randy has released a wide variety of albums over the ye...

Episode 157 – Styx & Kansas Part 10, 1986 to 2000 Technical Note: apologies for the stalker breathing throughout this episode In this episode the group considers the decade plus where both Styx and Kansas search for who or what they are. Both bands see significant lineup changes resulting in albums that, while enjoyable, didn’t seem to capture the previous magic. This period ends for both bands by...

Special Episode – Interview with Tom Brislin of Kansas – April 2024 The Palaver crew welcomes Kansas keyboardist Tom Brislin to the show for a fascinating conversation. Tom provides us some truly fantastic tales as he describes the career path that ultimately led him to be music director for Kansas. From Meatloaf to Yes with stops to play with Dennis DeYoung, Tom’s experiences leave one agog. He a...

Episode 156 – Styx & Kansas Part 9, 1983 – Kilroy Was Here Another palaver years in the making. Kilroy Was Here is a clear enigma. Some of us LOVE this record. Some of us do not love this record. Some of us are in the middle. There are certainly some very strong feelings on each side of this, but they ultimately lead to interesting discussions. The group certainly had a great time discussing this...

Bonus Episode – Grease (The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) Paul and Joe take a side quest to discuss the soundtrack to the movie version of Grease. We know that this is not what we normally do. We also know that there are many people who know a LOT more about this movie and music than we do. This is a light dip into an album that we hold dear and came up in our discussions of more pr...

Bonus Episode – ProgStock 2024 Recap On the heels of ProgStock 2024, the group gathered with new Friend of the Palaver Jordan Blum to recollect. ProgStock is always a wonderful, rewarding, and slightly exhausting experience. You get merit badges for this and you LOVE them. We have a great time revisiting our favorite moments from a jam-packed weekend of excellent prog music. Jordan adds some welco...

Special Episode – Interview with Mark Anthony K of Projekt Gemineye – Oct 2024 The Palaver is very pleased to have another chat with Mark Anthony K (Projekt Gemineye, The Dark Monarchy, The Yes Music Podcast, and KissFAQ) about the latest Projekt Gemineye offering Canada: Stories and Legends. Mark is, as always, very engaging and insightful about the process that led to this latest record. He walk...

Episode 155 – Styx & Kansas Part 8, 1982-83 – Vinyl Confessions and Drastic Measures The Palaver splits up the Kansas / Styx timeline to consider the two John Elefante Kansas records. Offering a complete view of what Kansas would be without Steve Walsh in the early 80s these two records showcase the songwriting of John and his brother Dino. The group considers the influence of religion on the band...

Special Episode – Interview with Joe and Terry From Total Mass Retain – Oct 2024 The Palaver crew gets the chance to catch up with Joe and Terry from Total Mass Retain ahead of their JA80 tour in October 2024. We always enjoy the chance to talk all things Yes and Yes music with these consummate musicians. Their perspectives are unique and illuminating. As always, it’s a great chat with these excel...

Episode 154 – Styx & Kansas Part 7, 1980-81 – Audio Visions and Paradise Theater Welcome to the 80’s for our Styx and Kansas combo timeline. Audio Visions and Paradise Theater are albums that find both bands on slightly different precipices. Audio Visions will be the last Steve Walsh Kansas record until he returns with Power. Paradise Theater will be the last Styx album before their leap over the...

Episode 153 – Styx & Kansas Part 6, 1979 – Monolith and Cornerstone On this episode Joe isn’t quite sure what year it is, but the group soldiers on to cover both Monolith and Cornerstone. Both these albums stand out for their memorable packaging. Monolith’s epic artwork and the innovative design of the Cornerstone album cover certainly stand the test of time. As for what’s inside, the group has va...

Special Episode – Interview with Know Return-Fooling Ourselves, Part 2 In this special episode, we finish our conversation with members of the dual tribute bands Know Return and Fooling Ourselves, Howard Whitman and Dave Boardman. During this episode, Dave and Howard provide some insights to how they approach the task of recreating both these bands as well as sharing some of their influences. X (f...

Special Episode – Interview with Know Return-Fooling Ourselves, Part 1 For this special episode, we get to meet two of the driving members of the dual tribute bands Know Return and Fooling Ourselves. Howard Whitman and Dave Boardman share their experiences paying tribute to two of prog’s greatest bands, Kansas and Styx, AT THE SAME TIME! During this first part of a two part episode, Dave and Howar...