Fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty electrifies Nov 4, 2009
His dazzling playing caught the ear of expatriate American jazzmen like Powell and saxophonist Johnny Griffin, the French public and rockers like the English band Soft Machine, who tapped him to record. Working with Zappa, Ponty was exposed to all kinds of electronic devices - distortion, echo and wa-wa - that young inventors brought to them to try out. (San Francisco Chronicle)
The Original Beat Writers Sep 2, 2009
Other works by Burroughs include Junkie, Queer, The Yage Letters, The Soft Machine, Nova Express, The Ticket that Exploded, Interzone, The Wild Boys, City of the Red Night, The Place of Dead Roads, and The Western Lands. In 2008, the manuscript And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, written by Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, was published for the first time. (Suite101.com)
Charge your glass Jul 1, 2009
The so called "Canterbury Sound" of the 1960s and early 70s featured Kent-based bands such as Soft Machine, whose bass player was Hugh Hopper ... They eventually split, with members forming two influential bands, Caravan and Soft Machine ... In the 90s, interest in Soft Machine was revived and he played a number of gigs under the name Soft Machine Legacy. (BBC News -- UK)
Why the Rock Hall says: No Rush for you! Apr 1, 2009
More recently, pop acts like Billy Joel, the Bee Gees and Madonna have made the cut, but Rush, Yes, the Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, the Electric Light Orchestra, Genesis, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Soft Machine have not. Beyond Pink Floyd, the closest the Hall gets to prog is Queen (who flirted with the genre) and Police drummer Stuart Copeland, who played in Curved Air. (MSNBC -- Music)
Mushroom to revive Townsend's 'Lifehouse' Mar 5, 2009
"As high school and college kids we were working our way through Who and Stones albums, then made our way to Soft Machine and 'Bitches Brew.' Our DNA is really '70s rock, which makes Mushroom unique when we do our jazzy, prog thing. But after playing free-form music for the better part of a decade, I want to get better connected with songs. For a long time, I used to say it's not about the song, it's about the sound and the texture. But nothing beats the power of a really well-written rock 'n'... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
