November 5th, 2019
Happy and amazed to be on this list of such amazing bands! thanks go to Eclipsed Magazine in Germany (who I believe made this, or it at least appeared in it) They are very sweet people! 
September 21st, 2019
Please note that our wee sale on Sand is over for now, but we may do another one in a few months. The album is still available, but back to regular price.
August 6th, 2019
A long period without an update as some major delays affected me (Ken) in the first half of this year, but the new album IS being worked on now, with a 2020 release most likely at this point (as in, probably not this year, but next for sure!)
I’m having a small sale at CDbaby for the Sand album right now–if you’re in the USA this is a very good deal! Sand for 8.97 instead of 12.97!
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/monarchtrail2
In other news, we’ve had some nice airplay here and there, updated more commonly on our facebook page, but I’ll try to get over here more often. Hope everyone is having a great summer!
https://www.facebook.com/monarchtrailmusic/
November 16th, 2018
Some really good news from “Epics for all Time” with their 2018 version of the “top 25 epics for all time” Monarch Trail’s song, “Sand” comes in at number 23! Amazing to be on this list! Here’s a link to the podcast now up, and we’d like to thank DJ/host Jan Bracke and all those who voted! https://www.mixcloud.com/rush53/epics-for-all-time-show-150-from-15-11-2018/?fbclid=IwAR2NIWYPDy65lNo0K6WM5In-xt6ZyPniAUTCJ7QWFY9lxOALM_PRqfQR7jQ
Here’s the whole list. The brackets show the numbers from last year (if they were on last year’s list—we were not, so it’s really cool to make it on this time!)
Hier dan de volledige Epic top25 2018 !!
1. (1) Genesis – Supper’s Ready
2. (10) Yes – Close to the Edge
3. (2) Pink Floyd – Shine on You Crazy Diamond
4. (6) Pink Floyd – Echoes
5. 22) Marillion – Grendel
6. (5) Yes – Awaken
7. (- ) Riverside – Second Life Syndrome
8. (4) Porcupine Tree – Arriving
Somewhere But Not Here
9. (23) Marillion – This Strange Engine
10. (8) Dream Theater – Octavarium
11. (20) IQ – The Narrow Margin
12. (11) Genesis – Cinema Show
13. ( – ) Camel – Lady Fantasy
14. (21) Genesis – Firth of Fifth
15. ( – ) Arena – Solomon
16. ( – ) King Crimson – Starless
17. (17) Marillion – Ocean Cloud
18. (13) Yes – Gates of Delirium
19. ( – ) Saris – Twilight
20. (11) Genesis – The Musical Box
21. (18) Transatlantic – Stranger In Your Soul
22. ( – ) Saris – Miracles
23. ( – ) Monarch Trail – Sand
24. ( – ) Silhouette – Symphony For A Perfect Moment
25. ( – ) Southern Empire – The Crossroads
October 22nd, 2018
Thought we’d tell you about some cool airplay coming up from Sine FM in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England and can be heard worldwide on Sinefm.com. The podcast for that show will be available a day or so afterwards on http://sinefm.com/podcast/show-470.xml but will only be available for a week. Thanks for the airplay, Darren!
September 1st, 2018
I hope everyone has had a good summer! It’s been a quiet period for us of writing for album number 3, but things are sounding good :)
We’d also like to say thank you to all the new orders for “Sand” that are coming through from our current ad in Progression Magazine. Big thanks also go to Nick Tate for his excellent review which appeared in the previous issue.
And, Here’s a new “Epics for all time” podcast from Jan Bracke which features a track from our first album, Skye. Always so cool to be on this show! https://www.mixcloud.com/rush53/epics-for-all-time-no139-from-30-08-2018/
April 29th, 2018
Very happy to get this nice review from the Dutch Progressive Rock Pages for Sand. Thanks Patrick!
http://www.dprp.net/reviews/2018-027#monarchtrail
March 17th, 2018
Here’s a very kind and in-depth review for our album “Sand” from Professor Mark at “The Progressive Aspect” website. Looks great, thanks very much Mark!!!
http://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2018/03/01/monarch-trail-sand/
February 8th, 2018
A couple of great lists from Background Magazine in The Netherlands, we made the reader’s top 10 at #4 for “Sand” and also made quite a few #1’s for the staff favourites. Thank you everyone at Background Magazine!
http://www.backgroundmagazine.nl/specials/TOP10-2017.html
and here are the staff pics:
http://www.backgroundmagazine.nl/JV/TOP10BM2017.html
February 6th, 2018
We have a few new reviews, including one from Progression Magazine in the US (pictures coming soon) but for now you can check out two new ones on progarchives. Big thanks to both Guillermo H U (Memowakeman) http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1873074 and to Scott (AtomicCrimsonRush) http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1871482for these really nice reviews.
December 24th, 2017,
Happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Yule or whatever else you may celebrate! At this time we’d like to thank everyone for a very good year! Here are some photos from Eclipsed Magazine in Germany where we had an article, review and an interview. The issue number is 196 for December/January. And also included here (the two pictures at the bottom) are some pictures from the Just for Kicks catalog, a very cool store which has helped us with both of our albums, also located in Germany. All the best! Ken
Nov 30th, 2017
I’s that time again! We were very happy to get to number 8 for November, thanks again to everyone who voted! Please consider voting for Monarch Trail/Sand for December’s chart amongst other albums you liked from this year :) The deadline is today! http://progressivechart.com/
November 7th, 2017
News flash! Our new album is now available in the UK!–link or “button” coming soon but here’s the url:
http://www.caerllysimusic.co.uk/
November 4th, 2017
Wow, we are now number 8 on Progressive Chart! Thanks so much to everyone that voted for us!
http://progressivechart.com/
October 21st, 2017
There is still a lot going on for our album “Sand”, most of which I manage to update on our facebook page but sometimes neglect to get it to the website as well, but here’s a neat one–we are October’s “Album of the Month” for Monarch Trail/Sand on TVRDO which is a Dutch radio show. There is also a very nice review on their site. Thanks guys!
And here’s a quick link to their review as well:
October 8th, 2017
I’m pretty sure there is even more “new news” this week which I will update here soon (it’s probably over on the facebook page though) But, here’s a playlist from Stan Hilborn’s radio show which aired last night/this morning in Kitchener/Waterloo, “Adventures in Plasticland”. He played a track from our album “Sand”–Thanks, Stan!
Coincidentally, also on Stan’s show, was Art Griffin’s Soundchaser’s “Fast Track” which I played a keyboard solo on, Kelly Kereliuk is on that track too! Nice to see some Steve Cochrane in the playlist as well, and a tribute to Tom Petty.
Playlist Oct. 08/17
Atomic Rooster……………………………………………………………….Lost In Space(Heavy Soul)
Golden Earring……………………………………………………………….Wall Of Dolls(S/T)
Terry Brooks And Strange…………………………………………………Bottom Line(To Earth With Love)
Steve Marriott………………………………………………………………..Oh Well(The Official Receivers unreleased studio
sessions 87/88)
W.K.R.P. In Cincinnati………………………………………………………..The Turkey Drop
R.E.O. Speedwagon………………………………………………………….Turkey Trot/Gary’s Solo/157 Riverside Drive(You Get What
You Pay For, Live)
The Raptor Trail……………………………………………………………….The Vanishing Point(Devil On An Indian)
Ayreon……………………………………………………………………………Through The Wormhole(Flight Of The Migrator)
Art Griffin’s Sound Chaser…………………………………………………Fast Track(Visions From The Present)
Steve Cochrane………………………………………………………………..Beauty And Defiance(La La La:Variations On A Happy Song)
Sixtus The Fifth………………………………………………………………..Sun Moon And The Stars(Eye Of Saturn)
Shay Tal…………………………………………………………………………..The Silent Sound Of Everything(From The Ice To The Sand)
Laurence Campling…………………………………………………………..Songs(Everything But The Kitchen Sink)
R.I.P. Tom Petty
Jaguar And Thunderbird
Fooled Again(I Don’t Like It)
Luna
Dog On The Run……………………………………………………………….Official Live ‘Leg, Dec 12th/76 at St. Paul’s Mall, Boston
Eric Clapton And The Powerhouse………………………………………Stepping Out(Elektra Various Artists What’s Shakin’)
The Broadcasters………………………………………………………………Heartful Of Soul(Demo live from floor to Fostex)
Daniel Jone’s And Seventh Order…………………………………………Hat’s Off(The Initiates Journey 2003-13)
Bobby Guitar Porembski…………………………………………………….Mr. Tambourine Man(Live @ Birds Of A Feather)
Sweetwater……………………………………………………………………….What’s Wrong(S/T)
The Mission………………………………………………………………………Dancing Barefoot(Live B side of Wasteland 12″ Extended
Mix)
The Rick Ray Band………………………………………………………………I’m Just Looking(Killing Time)
Monarch Trail…………………………………………………………………….Missing(Sand)
The Thin Cherries……………………………………………………………….Star Lounge(S/T)
Cheap Trick………………………………………………………………………..Brand New Name On An Old Tattoo(We’re All Alright!)
The Two Tens……………………………………………………………………..Friends(On Repeat)
John Martyn……………………………………………………………………….Outside In(Live At Leeds)
September 30th, 2017
This looks to be a very lovely review of Sand, from Brazil. Thank you very much Tiago, and Anderson!
http://www.galeriamusical.com.br/resenhas.php?url=1266-monarch-trail-sand
September 25th, 2017
Not sure how I missed this weeks’ “The Prog Mill” sho from UK DJ Shaun Geraghty, but thanks for the airplay on an “all long ones” special where he played all 24 minutes of “Sand” :)
September 16th, 2017
Quite a bit has been going on with our new album in the last few weeks! Not only are many reviews and radio shows featuring tracks from “Sand” coming through–(almost too many to post or keep track of), album sales are also doing well! For now, here is one of the nicest reviews we’ve had– from Henri Strik for Background Magazine in the Netherlands (but published in English). Thank you very much, Henri! http://www.backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/MonarchTrailSand.html
September 2nd, 2017
I’m listening to a podcast from Poland from a month ago this evening. If you’re curious for some new music, please check out the show from August 2nd, 2017 here where DJ Artur plays four Monarch Trail songs, including “Sand”! Thanks Artur, and I’m really enjoying the whole show too! http://mlwz.pl/podcasts
If you’re not able to tune in, please check out the setlist at least :)
http://mlwz.pl/audycja/18924-playlista-2017-08-02
August 25th, 2017
It’s sure to not last, but at least for today…Monarch Trail seems to be the number 1 album for 2017 on progarchives!?!? (as of an hour after I posted this, it’s already back to number 2, but at least we were there for a few hours :) Thank you very much to everyone who has given us a nice review or rating on that well-known site! Hopefully we’ll continue to do well on there through the rest of the year, even though I think it’s unlikely we’ll maintain such a high rating as number 1 (or number 2 or 3 etc)–so many cool albums came out this year, after all!
August 24th, 2017
Here’s a cool review in Dutch from the Da Music website in Belguim. Thanks Christoph!
https://damusic.be/cd/monarch-trail-sand-6259.html
Later today, I also received this review from Jerry Lucky, a well known author and DJ from Vancouver, BC. Thanks, Jerry!
http://www.jerrylucky.com/reviews-mno_079.htm
August 21st, 2017
New interview I did last week, and review from the Profil Prog website in Quebec. Merci beaucoup, Richard!
Ken.
http://www.profilprog.com/monarch-trail-sand-interview
August 14th, 2017
Really nice new review on progarchives! Thanks Micheal PH!
http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1770955
August 6th, 2017
Today we now have the whole album up on progstreaming! Thanks Markwin!
http://progstreaming.nl/pages/play-album.php?activeAlbum=2017-08-06-06+-+Monarch+Trail+-+Sand
August 5th, 2017
Shaun Geraghty
to
Monarch Trail
5 hrs ·
Hi Guys. Tomorrows Prog Mill (Sun Aug 6th from 10pm UK 2100 UTC) starts with another great track from Sand. Loving the album here!
The Prog Mill – New and classic progressive rock every Sunday between 10pm and midnight UK time (2100-2300 UTC/GMT or 11pm to 1am in Europe, on the Progzilla Radio network. Hear the show online at www.progzilla.com or via the tune-in app and on internet radio platforms.
The show is repeated at 0400 UK time Tuesday morning (8pm Monday Pacific or 11pm East coast US) and also at 11pm UK time (2200 GMT) on Tuesday evenings. A podcast is usually available to listen anytime or download the show by midweek after the broadcast. Links are posted online. Music suggestions and submissions welcome to shaun@progzilla.com or via www.facebook.com/theprogmill or twitter @shaunontheair
Progzilla Radio
The UKs only dedicated progressive rock radio station!
progzilla.com
August 1st, 2017
Wow, thanks to our good friend Sonja for letting me know we’re #4 on the Just for Kicks (Big record store in Germany ) album chart! Very cool!
https://www.justforkicks.de/
We’ve also added another new store in Germany, which is Magic Dragon Music–their site here:
http://stores.ebay.de/magic-dragon-music
July 21st, 2017
Even more radio play coming up! Thanks Shaun! Here’s Shaun’s message about Sunday’s Prog Mill show:
Shaun Geraghty
to
Monarch Trail
Yesterday at 10:32am ·
This Sundays (23 July) PROG MILL starts with another track from the superb Sand album. The show starts at 10pm UK time (2100 UTC or 5pm Eastern). Greetings from Staffordshire!
THE PROG MILL – Sundays between 10pm and midnight UK time on Progzilla Radio, The UK’s biggest progressive rock radio network. (2100-2300 GMT/UTC or 2300-0100 in Central Europe). Playing new and classic progressive rock. Repeated 0400 UK time (0300 GMT) and 11pm UK time (2300 GMT) on Tuesdays. Plus a listen any time or download podcast of the complete show every week.
Hear the show online at www.progzilla.com, via the tune in radio app and on internet radio platforms.
Proggy music suggestions and music submissions from artists/bands for the show are very welcome. Email shaun@progzilla.com, or PM via twitter @shaunontheair or www.facebook.com/theprogmill
Progzilla Radio
The UKs only dedicated progressive rock radio station!
progzilla.com
July 14th, 2017
Several stores are now taking the new Monarch Trail “Sand” album, such as Kinesis based in the USA. They are a good store to order from. We’ll keep you posted here as other stores get the album in stock. (Just for Kicks and Magic Dragon Music in Germany, Garden Shed in Japan, Cosmos Music in France-links to be shared soon) I expect Cdbaby will have it back as of today as well :) (edit*OK, this turned out not to be true. I know the CD’s are in Oregon as of early Friday morning, but for some reason they delayed the delivery–I guess they’ll arrive on Monday) Here is the Kinesis link, and yes the CD’s are there!
http://www.kinesiscd.com/storeframe1.htm
I should also mention that the album is also available very local to here in Dundas–at Records on Wheels! If you’re in the Greater Toronto Area and a fan of progressive rock, it’s a very worthwhile store to visit. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Records-on-Wheels/1424784757741089
July 10th 2017
Lots of radio play lately! Some of them are now podcasts, so you can listen anytime. Here’s Shaun Geraghty’s show where he played “Back to the Start” from Sand a few days ago, amongst other great proggy tunes. http://www.progzilla.com/podcast-prog-mill-edition-62/
And here’s the setlist from Stan Hilborn’s show “Adventures in Plasticland” which broadcasts from Kitchener/Waterloo in Ontario every Saturday night EST from 12 till 3am. He played the big tune from us!
Playlist July 09/17
Charlie Barnett Orchestra w/Judy Ellington…………….Stay Up Stan The All Night Record Man(Blue Bird 78 rpm)
Middle Mist Red………………………………………………….Perfectly Blue (Ripple Soul)
Frank Zappa………………………………………………………..You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here(Freak Out)
Anton Barbeau……………………………………………………Secretion Of The Wafer(Fruits de Mer 45 ep)
Cornershop………………………………………………………….Norwegian Wood(When I Was Born For The 7th Time)
Fushia…………………………………………………………………The Nothing Song(Song)
Middle Mist Red…………………………………………………..Perfectly Blue, Part B(Ripple Soul)
Vermillion Skye…………………………………………………….Into The Fold(Industrial Poetry)
Dream Aria…………………………………………………………..Towards The Sun(On The Other Side)
Art Griffin’s Sound Chaser………………………………………Happy Place, Parts 1-4(Visions Of The Present)
Keith Emerson………………………………………………………Freedom Jazz Dance(w/Chuck Rainey,Mitch Mitchell,Buzzy Fieten)
Clouds………………………………………………………………….Watercolour Days(Watercolour Days) Duke, retired ejection seat tester
Be Bop Deluxe……………………………………………………….Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape(Live 1977)
Warpig………………………………………………………………….Flaggit(S/T)
Rick Ray…………………………………………………………………Unspeakable Words(Killing Time)
Daniel Jones/7th Order……………………………………………The Voyage, tribute to Ronnie Montrose(Demo, ist recordings)
UFO………………………………………………………………………Out In The Street(Force It)
Monarch Trail…………………………………………………………Sand(Sand)
Warren Haynes………………………………………………………It’s About That Time(Various, Fusion For Miles)
Root Deco……………………………………………………………..Eyes In The Back Of My Head(DarkCity)
Bubble Puppy…………………………………………………………Hot Smoke And Sassafrass(A Gathering Of Promises)
Sassafrass………………………………………………………………Ohio(Wheelin’ ‘n’ Dealin’)
Shay Tal…………………………………………………………………If We Had A Mountain(From The Ice To The Sand)
Sixtus The Fifth……………………………………………………….Love Is(Eye Of Saturn) nice Jack Bruce Style bass playing
Sweetwater…………………………………………………………….My Crystal Spider(S/T)
Cary Grace………………………………………………………………Star Fire(B-side to Without A Trace)
One Foot In The Groove……………………………………………Strawberry Fields Forever(Pre Release)
Patto………………………………………………………………………Money Bag(S/T)
July 5th 2017
I was able to tune into Jim Lawson’s show yesterday and enjoyed all the tunes played, especially the “Comedy of Errors” prog band. Here’s their website: http://comedyoferrors.org/
For Monarch Trail, he played “Sand” which is the longest song and the title track on our new album. Great to hear all this awesome music being broadcast from the Isle of Skye in Scotland!
More airplay coming up for Thursday July 6th–it’s “Epics for All Time” and our friend Jan Bracke is DJ. If you miss it, it’s ok because it’s also a podcast and you can listen any time. Here’s the link for Jan’s show: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1766071976755867&set=gm.1715304008771127&type=3
Other news is that I’m trying to get the new album in more stores—All of these will be added to the website soon–some of the CD’s are “in transit” right now…
Thanks to those who have already bought CD’s and downloads!
Ken
July 2nd, 2017
Our first single/album cover video is up on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiR90txlh5k and the album is now available on CD or download from Cdbaby! Also be sure to tune into Jim Lawson’s “The Ancient One” this Tuesday, July 4th at 8pm UK time, as he will be playing songs from the new album (plus lots of other great prog tunes) Here’s the link to his show via progzilla radio’s facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Progzillaradio/app/402411266453495/
June 29th, 2017
Well, it’s been a bit over three years since our debut album “Skye” came out, and here is our second! Better late than never, I changed studio gear around, and learned a lot of new recording methods, but yes, it did mean this release took a bit longer. In fact, the official release is still a few days away and we’ll let you know when the album is available for purchase and/or download. Also going to make contact with as many stores and distributors as possible in the coming weeks. For now, our good friend Jim Lawson who coincidentally broadcasts from the Isle of Skye in Scotland will be playing some of the new album on his show this coming Tuesday, “The Ancient One” (I’ll remember to post a link) and other DJ’s we know/good friends will be playing tracks in the coming weeks. More info coming in the next few days, for now, here’s what it looks like! Ken. I should also mention that Stan Hilborn from Kitchener/Waterloo in Canada already featured a track on his radio show last Saturday “Adventures in Plasticland”. Thanks Stan and Jim!
December 31st, 2016
For our year end post, I’m happy to report that the album is 99 percent finished, so the release date has been moved to February 2017. I really wanted to get it done for 2016, but final mix, mastering and artwork decisions took some extra time.
It’s been a difficult year for many of us; So many amazing people such as musicians, authors, actors and actresses among others, have passed away this year. Personally, the loss of Keith Emerson and Greg Lake weighs the heaviest on me, but there are many I strongly feel the loss of this year.
In other news, one of our three excellent Monarch Trail guitarists, Kelly Kereliuk, is heavily featured on Art Griffin’s Soundchaser project. Then there’s the incredible Steve Negus on drums, Victoria Yey on violin and Art Griffin on keys/bass/guitars. I’m very happy to have a small additional role on it, playing a couple of keyboard solos. It’s a fantastic instrumental fusion/prog album and even Roger Dean himself has done the album cover! Please check it out!
Art’s website is here: https://artgriffinsoundchaserblog.wordpress.com/ and his facebook is here: https://www.facebook.com/ArtGriffinSoundChaser/
Here’s a photo I took today in the woods of the new CD in a tree :)
All the best for 2017!
Ken
October 5th, 2016
Wow, I really must get better at updating both the Facebook AND the website. Lots of updates with the album coming along on FB, but nothing here on the website for months on end? I’ll try to be better at this in the future :)
Yes, the album is coming along, now in the mastering phase, so we’re still hoping to get it out this year—Hopefully will be in time for Christmas.
In other news, we’ve got some cool airplay in the UK this Thursday, check it out if you can!
March 17th, 2016
A great session today for the new album, Kelly Kereliuk added some amazing sounds with the guitar! I really couldn’t be happier with what we captured! The album is moving forward very nicely at this stage.
In other news this week, most, if not all of you will know of the very sad passing of Keith Emerson. Truly a one-of-a-kind keyboardist, composer and performer, the like of which the world will never see again. I can’t even begin to say how much his work has affected my life, and the only good news is that the legacy of his talents will live forever.
Here’s a cool pic of Kelly from today, and just a few of the Emerson-related albums, magazines and DVD’s from my collection. Long live Keith Emerson!
Ken
Janary 24th, 2016
It seems the world of music and drama is sadly losing so many greats lately, we’re very pleased to be played at the end of Stan Hillborn’s Saturday night radio show where this week he honoured Moot the Hoople drummer Dale Griffin with some great tracks. The show is every Saturday night from midnight to 3am on CKWR FM in Kitchener/Waterloo and the song he played from us is “Luminescence”. Thanks, Stan! Here’s the complete setlist from January 23rd:
Playlist Jan. 24th/16
Charlie Barnet Orchestra w/Judy Ellington……………….Stay Up Stan The All Night Record Man(Blue Bird 78 rpm)
The Pretty Things…………………………………………………..Cries From The Midnight Circus(The BBC Sessions)
Mash Up(Shannon/Rolling Stones/Doors)…………………Shannon Stone(This Was Pop 2002-2007)
Peter Kaukonen………………………………………………………Up Or Down(Black Kangaroo)
Schnauser………………………………………………………………Westward Ho(Fruits de Mer, Various Artists Lp, Friends Of The Fish)
Mash Up……………………………………………………………….Paperback Believer(This Was Pop 2002-2007)
The Chemistry Set………………………………………………….Time To Breathe(Fruits de Mer Lp The Endless More And More)
Khan……………………………………………………………………..Hollow Stone(Space Shanty)
Madder Lake………………………………………………………….Salmon Song(Stillpoint)
Census Of Hallucination………………………………………….Faculty Of Mirrors(Nothing Is As It Seems)
RIP Dale “Buffin” Griffin
Mott The Hoople…………………………………………………….You Really Got Me(German TV) RIP Dale “Buffin” Griffin
Mott The Hoople…………………………………………………….Ohio(Live @ Croydon’s Fairfield Hall Sept. 1970)
Mott The Hoople…………………………………………………….Darkness Darkness(Brain Capers)
Mott The Hoople…………………………………………………….Drivin’ Sister(Mott)
Mott The Hoople…………………………………………………….Roll Away The Stone/All The Young Dudes(Live, Reunion Gig, live @ Hammersmith Apollo Oct 1/09)
Mott The Hoople…………………………………………………….The Journey(Alternate Take(All The Young Dudes Box Set)
Mott The Hoople…………………………………………………….Rest In Peace(Mott The Hoople Live)
And a big thank you to Martin Bragg who turned me onto this band, when he came back from a visit to England and placed a Mott The Hoople album on the turntable. Cheers!
Spontaneous Combustion………………………………………….Down With The Moon(S/T)
PHAM!…………………………………………………………………….The Silent Suzy Sweet(Ac-ro-nym)
Strange Fruit…………………………………………………………….The Flame Still Burns(Still Crazy Soundtrack)
Todd………………………………………………………………………..Bardo(Arena)
The Trouble Boys………………………………………………………Stop It Baby(Demo)
Daniel Jones /7th Order…………………………………………….100 Year Rain, Live(The Initiates Journey 2003-13)
The Luck Of Eden Hall……………………………………………….Happiness Vending Machine(45 rpm)
The Striped Bananas…………………………………………………Captain Merwin(Cosmic Carnival)
Golden Earrings………………………………………………………..Crystal Heaven(Miracle Mirror)
London Egg……………………………………………………………….Touching Eternity(If It Takes Forever)
McFadden’s Parachute(Darren Brennessel)…………………..Living In The 4th Dimension(LITFD)
Mother West Wind’s Animal Friends……………………………Get It All Together(Riverside Park)
Cary Grace………………………………………………………………..Orange Skies(Tygerland)
Monarch Trail…………………………………………………………….Luminescence(Skye)
December 3rd, 2015
Well, what a time of year to sell out at CD baby, but if anyone wants to buy “Skye” on CD, I recommend one of our other stores such as http://www.kinesiscd.com/storeframe1.htm, listed under “Canadian CD’s” or join the waiting list at CDbaby. I’ll try and get copies mailed out tomorrow by air, so hopefully it shouldn’t be too long of a wait.
And some good news in that we just got a new review up at progarchives! Please see “memowakeman’s” review of “Skye” :)
Thanks to Guillermo for the review!
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=8865
More news soon, and hope everyone is doing well!
November 13th, 2015
Quite a bit of good news in the Monarch Trail camp lately!
With the new recording, several bass sessions with Dino lately for the next album (due mid to late 2016) and more to come, so the new record is really starting to take shape. Sounding great!
Also, big thanks go out to synth-repair genius Dean Batute, for pretty much rebuilding my Sequential Circuits Pro One from scratch. Just about every chip had blown, with lots of other new parts also needed. Now sounds just as good as ever! So, I’ve been putting down some more Pro One onto the album along with other keyboards as well. I tried out something very neat the other day, a lead with CS 10 and Pro One together–sounds huge!
That’s all for now, hope everyone is doing well,
Ken
August 28th, 2015
Hope everyone is having a good summer (it’s not over yet!) Here are some pics from keyboard recording a few weeks ago. The lead mono synth here is the Yamaha CS 10 which I’ve rarely used. Since my Sequential Circuits Pro One is being fixed at the moment, I brought it out for some leads. Quite a hard keyboard to control, but I’m really happy with what I got out of it!
The bigger/newer synth (actually 10 years old now, wow, tempus fugit indeed!) pictured is the Yamaha S90ES which I’m using for some string sounds and pads, plus organ sounds.
More bass recording coming up this week and some guitars are now under way, although still tons to be done in the coming months, but it’s starting to sound good!
Have a great weekend everyone!
August 3rd 2015
Here are a few shots I took while recording piano parts for the next Monarch Trail album. Sounding good! Lots more to do, but I think the piano stuff is a keeper.
Also, Jim Lawson is featuring a Monarch Trail song on his radio show “The Ancient One” straight from the Isle of Skye on Tuesday August 4th at 8pm GMT! You can tune in here: http://www.progzilla.com/shows/
Hope everyone’s having a great summer!
July 1st 2015
Hello everyone, for this update I wanted to share a photo of our ad in the current issue of Progression Magazine (issue 67) right across the page from Nick Magnus :) Thanks very much to Nick Tate for the wonderful review of “Skye” in the same issue!
And recording of the next album is going on throughout this summer–going well so far! Should be recording the bass very soon now!
I also can’t help but comment on the terribly sad death of Chris Squire on June 27th. I knew he had become very ill back in May, and was shocked and saddened by that news.
I’d just been watching a live Yes DVD (live at Bristol) that very evening with my brother. We both enjoyed the show and commented in particular how well Chris was playing/singing. We also discussed Chris’ health struggles and were really hoping he’d get through them.
So, the next morning I went online to see if there were any updates of Chris’ health and I was devastated to find that he had passed away.
I find it very difficult that this incredibly talented musician is gone and my words seem too feeble to describe what I’m feeling. His writing style, playing and singing influenced me in a very, very significant way. Thoughts go out to his family and friends. As Steve Howe said: “Long may his memory resonate through the lands”.
May 31st, 2015
I’ve been learning and working through new recording gear in the last month, and looking towards a good summer of recording album number 2! Most of the drums are already recorded on the earlier system back in March and sounding good!!! Very glad the transfer of tracks didn’t compromise the sound one bit, and they actually seem to sound even better on the new setup. The album is due to be released some time in 2016 so we’ll have some time to get it all recorded, mixed and let it “settle in” with us.
Some sad news is that my main lead synth, the Sequential Circuits Pro-One has had some major issues (It basically blew itself up). But, hopefully the repairs will go well and it’ll be as good as new, in fact better! If it’s truly unrepairable, then I’ll work towards replacing it, but in the meantime will borrow some synth gear from one of our “kitchen staff” and good friend, Rob Adlers.
Last time around I was lucky to be able to borrow from another of our “staff” and good friend Dave Carswell–I used his M-Tron setup quite a bit on “Skye”, but he’s since moved to New Brunswick, so I’ll likely be buying that system for myself. Amazing Mellotron samples!
April 18th, 2015
Skye is one year old today! Last year I picked up the first printing of 500 copies from the factory on April 18th (all sold now thanks to you guys!). No need to worry though, we printed another 1000 copies in September of 2014, so we’ve still got copies. It’s been a very good first year! Thanks very much to everyone for making this work. Next album due in 2016!
April 4th, 2015
Happy spring everybody! We did some rehearsing last week and a ton of drum recording following that–all for the next album! Also, we’re happy to get some airplay on the Sound Chaser podcast along with our cohort, Steve Cochrane. This is their “Canadian episode” so lots of great Canadian bands new and old on it. Here’s the link: http://www.thedividingline.com/podcasts/soundchaser/
We were also thrilled to be part of Shaun Geraghty’s “The Prog Mill”radio show in the UK, where our tune “Sky Above the Sun” was featured on their “Long Ones Special” featuring 6 epic tracks in 2 hours! Thanks Shaun! For future shows and info, here are links to the radio station and facebook: www.staffordradio.com and www.facebook.com/theprogmill
And finally, our artist and video-maker friend from Greece, Tasosprog has made another video of one of our songs–this time it’s for “Luminescence” and shows the artist at work! Thanks, Dimitriadis and well done! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuqtHn-YJfc
March 4th, 2015
Thanks to all that voted in the DPRP Polls for the year of 2014! Although we didn’t make it to the official poll results for “favourite newcomer” we did come in at 8th/9th/10th (depends on how you look at it). http://www.dprp.net/dprpoll/2014/dprpoll2014result.php… And for favourite album at number 53 http://www.dprp.net/dprpoll/2014/dprpoll2014result.php… We made it to a couple of other categories as well, so it’s good to see and always appreciated! Even more important news this month, is that Chris will be putting down the drum tracks for the next Monarch Trail album!
February 14th, 2015
Some news for us in Monarch Trail to love on this Valentine’s Day, we made number four album of the year for 2014 for Background Magazine’s reader’s poll! Wonderful! http://www.backgroundmagazine.nl/specials/TOP10-2014.html
And in the staff pics, we had great ratings–two number ones and a number two, thanks so much guys! http://www.backgroundmagazine.nl/JV/TOP10BM2014.html
February 6th, 2015
We’re thrilled to have an interview in Dutch Progressive Rock Magazine iO pages. Thanks very much to Paul Rijkens for the questions and translation! (and of course to iO pages) Thrilled also to see “Skye” as the number 1 album for 2014 (from the senior editor of the magazine) amongst some fantastic company!: http://www.iopages.nl/nieuws/id/145/jaarlijstje-9
Thanks so much, Peter!
February 5th, 2015
It’s been seemingly a quiet year so far for us in Monarch Trail, but behind the scenes, the new album is coming together for a hopeful 2016 release–We’re looking forward to recording drum tracks in March! Also working on a youtube video for our song “Luminescence” from our debut album “Skye” which is still doing very well for us. A big, “Thank you” to all who have purchased it!
In the meantime, I thought I’d share a video from John Mamone’s solo album “Order and Chaos”. Three of us from Monarch Trail’s “Skye” album appear in this video: John himself who, although he plays lead guitar on much of “Skye”, here he’s singing, playing bass and of course it’s his music too! Kelly Kereliuk is on lead guitar (for Monarch Trail, he appears on our song “East of Fifty”). I’m on keyboards here (although it’s John himself that plays keys on the album and does a very good job too!), and Mike Cotton is on drums (and he does play on the album along with Kelly!). This was a fun live video shoot we did for John just outside London, Ontario in the summer of 2013. Hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please consider buying John’s album–it’s a good ‘un! John’s website is http://www.johnmamone.com/John_Mamone/Home.html
That’s all for now—oh, I’ll also include links to three more songs from the same shoot. Enjoy!
January 3rd, 2015
Good news about one of our guitarists who played on “Skye” (and helped a ton in the mixdown/final recording phases too!). Steve’s recently remixed/remastered his 2007 album “With or Without” for a bandcamp-only release. Please check it out! I play some of the keys on this album too :)
http://stevecochrane.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjwQAVK8Jbk
December 31st, 2014
It’s the time of “end of year lists” for 2014 and we’re very happy to have made some peoples lists with “Skye”. For example, we’re thrilled to be at Number 5 on top reviewer/keyboardist/composer extraordinaire, Daniel Eggenberger’s top 20. We also made virtuoso progarchives reviewer, Conor Fynes’ top 50 at number 27 and certainly not least, soundman/encyclopedic music philosopher Dave Carswell’s list at number 1 album for 2014!!! Quite a few nice lists on progarchives/progressiveears that mention “Skye” as one of their faves as well. Thanks guys! Hope everyone has a great New Year’s Eve tonight and all the best for 2015! The new year will be one of recording for us, plus there’s still some writing and plenty of rehearsing to do. Should be fun!
1. United Progressive Fraternity – Fall In Love With The World
2. Tony Patterson & Brendan Eyre – Northlands
3. Steve Rothery – The Ghosts Of Prypiat
4. Pink Floyd – Endless River
5. Monarch Trail – Skye
6. Archive – Axiom
7. Tim Bowness – Abandoned Dancehall Dreams
8. Jeff Green – Elder Creek
9. Pallas – WeAreWhoWeAre
10. Dave Kerzner – New World
11. Djam Karet – 3017 Regenerator
12. Palefeather – Palefeather
13. Björn Riis – Lullabies In A Car Crash
14. Synaesthesia – Synaesthesia
15. Abel Ganz – Abel Ganz
16. Perfect Beings – Perfect Beings
17. A Liquid Landscape – The Largest Fire Known By Man
18. Rob Reed – Sanctuary
19. Tin Spirits – Scorch
20. Silhouette – Beyond The Seventh Wave
Dave Kerzner was released in the middle of december as well as Pallas, so maybe they count to 2015 as well. We’ll see next year.
cheers. Daniel
December 27th, 2014
We’re still up at progstreaming, just until January 4th or so, so here’s where you can still hear our entire debut album “Skye”. Enjoy! http://www.progstreaming.com/_wb/pages/play-album.php?activeAlbum=00985%20-%20Monarch%20Trail%20-%20Skye
December 25th, 2014
December 20th, 2014
We’re very happy to be back up on progstreaming for a couple of weeks as part of their “best of 2014” list of albums. So, this is a great way to hear our entire album “Skye”. Also, we’d like to let you know about DPRP’s readers’s poll. For people that frequent that fine site and even for those who have never been there, please consider a vote for Monarch Trail/Skye! http://www.dprp.net/dprpoll/2014/index.php
Here’s where you can hear “Skye” in it’s entirety among other fine albums released this year–only there for the next few weeks:
And of course, there’s still a chance to vote on www.progressivechart.com Please consider a vote for Monarch Trail/Skye! :)
December 15th, 2014
Thanks to everyone who may have voted for us last month. We’re not on the top 20 there yet, but if we can get some more votes, who knows, we might make it on! Please vote for Monarch Trail and our album Skye if you get a chance and big thanks in advance!–it’d be amazing to get on this chart even at number 20, as it’s a pretty influential one.
In other news, writing continues for the next album–this weekend has been great for work on lyrics for the longest tune on the album–feels good to get some progress on those. :)
http://www.progressivechart.com/
December 13th, 2014
Thanks very much to new fan Lex, who discovered our album through this review. I didn’t know that I hadn’t posted about it here on the website, although I had posted about it on our facebook a while back. But of course, it should be here, it’s a great review! :) Big thanks of course to Maarten Goossensen and Progwereld for the review. :)
http://www.progwereld.org/…/a…/monarch-trail-%E2%80%93-skye/
December 6th 2014
Here’s a listeners poll from Radio Floyd in Quebec–Please vote for our debut album “Skye”if you have some time. We’re now at number 20 down the list! There is a tricky system to avoid voting fraud where your first vote needs confirmation later on, but it seems to work. This station is very cool, I’ve seen some great proggy playlists! http://gatzo8.wix.com/radio-floyd-1
In other news, writing continues for the follow-up album to “Skye”. :)
December 2nd 2014
Only today and tomorrow (the 3rd) left to take advantage of 1 cent shipping at cd baby! We’ve already had a few orders because of this sale. Here’s our link for Skye: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/monarchtrail
Also, we’re happy to have Skye in the top 100 albums for 2014 from progarchives! As of writing, we’re at number 27! But, this site does move around a lot as people rate the album and surrounding albums all the time, so we’ve done as well as number 21 and at another point were further down the list at number 31.
And for “neo-prog” we’re actually at number 4 for 2014! Again, this may change for better or worse, but for now, it’s looking good! http://www.progarchives.com/top-prog-albums.asp?ssubgenres=18&salbumtypes=1&syears=2014&scountries&sminratings=0&smaxratings=0&sminavgratings=0&smaxresults=100&x=71&y=5#list
November 19th, 2014
November 17th, 2014
November 14th, 2014
Here’s a fantastic new review from The Netherlands of our debut album “Skye”. Thanks so much to Henri Strik for one of the most positive reviews yet!
November 7th, 2014
Great news for us in Monarch Trail this month in that the three of us are getting together to rehearse and jam after a long time apart. We’ll be working on songs for the next album– Looking forward to November 20th!
Also, Big thanks to Richard Hawey for having our song, “Silent World” as part of his progressive compilation CD for this year. :)
Here’s what Richard says about the compilation:
Oct 19th, 2014
A great new review of “Skye” is up at Sea of Tranquility, thanks so much for the review, Jon!
Oct 8th 2014
We’re very happy to have a new great review for Skye on The Dutch Progressive Rock Pages. Thanks, Marcel! http://www.dprp.net/reviews/201456.php
September 28th, 2014
Our friend Dimitriadis Tasos from Greece has made another video of one of our songs. :) We really enjoyed his “Silent World” video a few months ago, and this time he’s done “East of Fifty”. Quite different seeing “Skye” move around! I also really like how it focuses on Kelly’s guitar solo–cool stuff! Thanks again, Dimitriadis! Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm2lhP9vBL0
Also, if you’re in Canada or the USA, our song “Luminescence” is featured on the “As Sure as Eggs is Eggs” CD sampler with other great new bands in Prog magazine (from the UK) The front cover is “The 100 Greatest Prog Albums of All Time” issue 48 (August issue) which has finally made it across the pond to local Chapters/Indigo locations according to a fan in Toronto. Oddly, it’s STILL not in the Ancaster location local to me–they still have the Yes issue from July!? But since I’ve already got a copy sent to me direct from Prog magazine last month, I can say it’s a cool issue with articles/interviews with Keith Emerson, a retrospective on The Moody Blues and fellow Canadians Saga (talking about their energetic new album Sagacity)
For us in Monarch Trail, writing continues for our second album with rehearsals soon to be scheduled for late October for the first batch of material. I can’t wait to try out the new music! We also plan to have a video of our own making soon, for “Luminescence”. All the best for now, Ken
September 19th, 2014
Here’s some radio play we know about ahead of time, posted to our facebook page. Thanks, Shaun!
Monarch Trail shared a link via Shaun Geraghty.
September 17th, 2014
We received this wonderful facebook comment a few days ago, (I’m a huge IQ fan as some of you know) and now David has posted a fantastic review for us on the archive–I’ll post the main page for now, it should be there for at least a day, then under “Monarch Trail”. Thanks so much, David! PS, I’m sure we’d love to tour the UK someday. http://www.progarchives.com/
Here’s the comment from David: “Brilliant album- joint album of the year with IQ.Please tour uk”
September 14th, 2014
Some very cool airplay this week from Stan Hilborn, playing our song “Sky Above the Sun” on his excellent “Adventures in Plasticland” radio show airing Saturday nights in Kitchener/Waterloo on FM 98.5 CKWR from 12:00 midnight to 3:00am EST. Thanks, Stan! http://www.ckwr.com/
September 9th, 2014
Thanks very much to Jim Lawson for playing some more Monarch Trail on his fantastic prog radio show, “The Ancient One” from the Isle of Skye! This week featured our song, “Silent World” :) You can hear the show (number 11) here on mixcloud: http://www.mixcloud.com/TheAncientOne/
September 6th 2014
Here’s a lovely new review of “Skye” from Italy. Thanks very much, Alberto! http://www.arlequins.it/pagine/articoli/alfa/corpo.asp?ch=5717
August 28th 2014
Lots going on in the last month! Prog magazine from the UK is now out in Europe in the last few weeks and should be hitting North America in September. (I’ve been checking Chapters/Indigo for it–it’s not there yet, but any day now) Anyway, we’re on the sampler CD called “As Sure as Eggs is Eggs” with our song “Luminescence”. We’ve already made some new friends and connections because of our inclusion on there http://prog.teamrock.com/
Prog sent us a few copies of the magazine which arrived today. The cover feature is a list of the top 100 progressive rock albums of all time, but also looks to have some other great features in there such as the one on Saga–promoting their new album Sagacity which I’m picking up tomorrow and looking forward to it! Also, there’s a great retrospective article on the Moody Blues’ Long Distance Voyager album, plus interviews with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake.
In other news, thanks very much again to Artur for playing our music this month (and for making “Skye” the album of the month for August) This week it’s “Silent World” http://www.mlwz.ceti.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=14&Itemid=28
And finally, but not least, here’s our first review from Quebec and it’s a very nice one! Thanks so much, Richard! http://profil.jimdo.com/chronique-la-totale-5-review/
August 17th 2014
Lots of good news in the last few weeks–More airplay in Poland and the UK (http://www.staffordradio.com/staffordradioschedule.htm) thanks Shaun! Plus, there is also the inclusion of our song “Luminescence” on a CD sampler in issue 48 of Prog Magazine (the issue with the cover feature of “The top 100 progressive albums of all time”). It hasn’t reached North American shores yet, but I’m keeping an eye out for it at local Chapters/Indigo locations.
And here’s a great new review of our album “Skye” in Dutch from DaMusic Magazine in Belgium. Thanks, Christoph! http://christophlintermans.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/skye-monarch-trail/
August 6th, 2014
This one is VERY neat, a song from our album “Skye” will be heard on the Isle of Skye and Lochalsh this Monday August 11th. The radio show is called “The Ancient One”, hosted by Jim Lawson and is 10pm to 12pm BST. http://www.cuillinfm.co.uk/ Thanks, Jim!
Also more great news, we’re the album of the month for August at MLWZ in Poland! Check out the site for airplay, contests and more! Thanks, Artur! http://www.mlwz.pl/
And finally, we’re also the album of the month at progplanet, thanks Tonny! August looks to be a great month for Skye! http://www.progplanet.com/
July 31st, 2014
Fantastic new review in Polish, of “Skye”! Thanks very much, Artur! http://www.mlwz.ceti.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13615&Itemid=26
Also, here’s a review from Progplanet, also a very positive one, thanks so much Tonny! http://www.progplanet.com/reviews/cd-reveiw/2-cd/495-monarch-trail-skye
July 21st 2014
Songs from “Skye” are now being featured on Aural Moon’s internet radio show “New Moon on Monday”, Starting 9pm EST tonight. Please tune in if you can! http://auralmoon.com//
June 30th 2014
Hello everyone, and to Canadians, Happy Canada Day on the first! Still at work on demos of new songs, but I thought we’d share a video made by Dimitriadis Tasos for the second track on the album “Silent World” which we quite like! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emy7FjXyqE8
Also, here’s a link to a very good new review in German from Daniel Eggenberger’s Swiss e-zine “proggies” here: http://proggies.ch/wordpress/?p=1100
Thanks!
June 5, 2014
Lots has been happening for “Skye” in the last few weeks with podcasts, radio play and more. And now, we’re up at progstreaming.com where you can hear the whole album (and more buy links there too)
Here’s a great show on Friday nights that has been playing a song from us each week for the last month. They also have a regular stream of cool music where we’re also on rotation: www.houseofprog.com
and a podcast from Britain, this one features “East of Fifty”, but watch for more in the coming weeks: http://www.epilepticgibbon.co.uk/
And finally, new reviews are coming in all the time and I’ll try to keep up with them and post them here, but this well-known site has several very nice reviews of “Skye”! www.progarchives.com
May 15th, 2014
We’re now for sale at Kinesis from the States which is a great store to buy from! There’s a nice review of the album there too! We’ll be putting up proper buy links soon, but for now you can click here: www.kinesiscd.com/storeframe
May 11th, 2014
First review up and it’s a nice one! www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=8865
May 10th, 2014
Big in Japan? We’re happy to have the album in possibly the best record store in Japan: Garden Shed! www.gardenshedcd.com/best/index.html
May 9th, 2014
Some songs from our album “Skye” will be featured on House of Prog’s show “The Waiting Room” this Friday May the 9th between 8:00PM and 11:00 PM EST/EDT. Please check it out if you can! Their website is at: www.houseofprog.com
April 26th, 2014
Hello! Welcome to the official website for the band Monarch Trail. We’re just getting set up here, but feel free to look around at what we have so far. “Buy links” will be forthcoming for our debut album “Skye” on the front page and in the store section in coming weeks, plus more pictures/more music on soundcloud. News will be updated at least once a month, but really whenever we have something new.
Cheers and welcome,
Ken