New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock

Submissions for inclusion, corrections and additions of any type are strongly encouraged! If you want to contribute to the GEPR, e-mail me at webmaster@gepr.net. If you are adding an act that I am not familiar with, and I have doubts as to whether that act is appropriate for the GEPR, I'll need some sort of verification. I can't say exactly what will work, other than that independent verification is generally my watchword, when in doubt.

General Guidelines

Contributions
There is no need to ask me if you can contribute to the GEPR. Of course you can!! [big grin] The GEPR depends on user contributions for growth and diversity of opinion. Please just send your contribution and I'll get it added as soon as possible. But please consider the following before submitting:

The purpose of the GEPR is to give the interested person a feel for the artist's music through your opinion. Focus on the music and style of the band, giving comparisons to other bands if that will help. I don't care if Bartley Butsford left the band because Wilton Carpet used his tuning fork to pick his nose. But if Butsford's departure had a profound effect on the band's style and sound, that is important.
If you can, write something about all the albums the band has released. But if you have only heard one, by all means, write about that one album.
Please try to write your entry with a sense of timelessness. A new band today will not be a new band in five years. So, rather than writing, "Bodo Steele is a new band from Catalonia..." or "Bodo Steele's new album, Puss 'n' Bootlegs ..." a preferred way would be "Bodo Steele, from Catalonia,..." or "Bodo Steele's 1996 album, Puss 'n' Bootlegs ..." The discography indicates when the band was in existence. I reserve the right to fix spelling or syntax if necessary (that's what an editor does, after all!), but I promise to keep this to a minimum, and I won't change the meaning of your submission in any way!
If many entries are already present for a band and yours does not enhance or contrast with those already present, I do not need it. But, if you review is negative when all others are positive, or vice versa, then your contribution is most welcome. Diversity of opinion is key to the GEPR.
The GEPR does not need any additional entries for Asia, ELP, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Kansas, King Crimson, Pink Floyd or Yes, unless it's about a new release that hasn't been mentioned in the GEPR yet.
Simply write your own entry stating your opinion. Do not refer to other entries. You do not know if the order will change or if it may later be amended.
One liners saying, "This is band is great, buy ALL their albums"! will not be added. I want substance, not empty calories. Tell us why they are great and describe the music is such a way that we want to rush out and buy their albums.
Please follow the format of other entries for your submission. Please use double quotes (") around song titles. I'll handle italicizing album names when I add the submission. Find well-written entries and follow their example.

Errors of Fact
Do not tell me my opinion about a band is wrong. Remember that many people contributed to the GEPR. In many instances, you don't know who wrote the entry. Plus, and most importantly, opinions can't be wrong as they merely reflect one person's perspective. Provide your own perspective, instead. I would like to know about incorrect facts, however; perhaps an album was released in 1983, not 1993, or Bob Runner was never a member of Anekdoten. These errors I need to know about.

Where can I buy...?
I have tried to find sources for albums on the Internet. Where I was successful, you will find links to mail-order houses listed after the band entries. Please note that I have not personally done business with all of these vendors, and I am making no claims about their quality, speed or honesty by listing them here! If there is no such link, I can't help you find an album to buy. Please check Phil Kime's FAQ files for sources of Progressive Rock.

That band's not Prog!
Don't bother telling me a band is not Progressive and doesn't belong in the GEPR. The GEPR takes a broad perspective and includes some "fringe" bands. Most bands are in the GEPR for one reason or another, even if it only serves as a warning.

Why isn't the Paper Cut Ozone Band listed?
Though you may find it hard to believe, I haven't personally heard of every progressive rock / prog-metal / fusion / ambient / electronic / avant-garde act on the planet. There are thousands of unsung acts around the world today, and there have been many others in the past. They range in quality from spectacular to absolutely excruciating crap. Some are famous and have huge international tours. Others record in their garage home studio and release CDR's with jewel case graphics printed out on their personal computers. I'm interested in all of them, but if they're not listed, it's probably because I don't know anything about them. If you have a favorite (or despised) prog act that's unlisted, write up a few paragraphs about them for the GEPR (unless you're a member of the band, in which case see below)! Send your entry to me in the body of an e-mail or as attachements of plain text or a Microsoft Word document and I'll publish them. Send to webmaster@gepr.net. If you have info about the band's web site, band photos or discography, you'll also be making my life easier by including this information as well. Don't just send an e-mail saying "please include this band". If I know nothing about them, I won't create an entry for them unless I have an original write-up to go with it. Please note that I can't publish other author's reviews without their specific permission, so write your own. I don't care how bad your English is ... if it's too terrible, I'll edit it so that it's understandable. But I do need your entries to be in English.

I'm in a Prog band! Can you include me in the GEPR?
I constantly get e-mail saying: "We're a progressive rock band and we'd like you to include our band in the GEPR with a link to our home page. Thanks. The GEPR is cool."

The GEPR is cool! Unfortunately, several of the bands that have requested addition and links are not Prog, not even under the broad umbrella provided by the GEPR. I'll check their page and find them compared to Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, not Yes or the Ozrics. They're a "progressive" rock band, not a "Progressive Rock" band. Such bands are simply trying to get as much exposure as possible; While I don't blame them, I don't appreciate the GEPR being abused in this way, either.

If you really are in a "Progressive Rock" band, I will be happy to include your band or bands on your label in the GEPR. But consider this:

I will check out your web page and I will download any music samples.
You will be getting free exposure. The GEPR gets "hit" hundreds of times per day from users the world over. That's a lot of potential exposure.
The idea of the GEPR is to provide opinions about the band's music. A listing of your band with a link is NOT going to draw anyone's attention to your page. Something needs to be said about the band(s).

You may want to consider sending promotional material to me for review. If you do so, I will give a fair and honest evaluation of the music and write it up for the GEPR. If you wish to do this, e-mail me at webmaster@gepr.net and I will give you a mailing address to send the materials to.

At the least, have a fan or two of your music write a review for the GEPR. Do NOT send me a bunch of press clippings and ask me to include them in the GEPR. Such reviews are copyrighted and protected by law. If a fan contacts you, says they love your band and are telling all their friends, point them in the direction of the GEPR and ask them to consider writing an entry. Loyal fans write rave reviews, the best kind of exposure you can get!

Now, I hope I haven't discouraged you. If you are in doubt and have a question about a submission, please write to me. I'm asking you to first consider the above, however, to make the maintenance of the GEPR easier for me.

-- Fred Trafton (Last updated 10/31/03)