The Band

The Prognosis was formed after a couple of years of 2 or 3 members saying we really should have a go at trying to play some progressive rock stuff sometime… and lo and behold it eventually happened one memorable evening in Simon’s (lead guitarists) basement… and it was good and smiles broke out on our faces and there was much happiness and enthusiasm so we carried on and did our first gig.

The band consists of the following members:

Richard Flanders (Bass, Bass Pedals, Vocals)

Favourite band: Pink Floyd

Favourite album: Animals

Memorable concert: Either Rush (A Farewell to Kings Tour) at Liverpool Empire May 1977, or Level 42, (Comeback Tour), The Forum, in Feb 2005

Influences: Stanley Clarke / Colin Hodgkinson / Geddy Lee

Best Prog Rock moment: Watching Chris Squire of Yes play a bass solo at the March 4th 1998 Earl’s Court gig on his birthday (Open Your Eyes Tour). The audience went nuts!

Equipment: Rich uses a number of basses in the Prognosis, including two Fodera Yin-Yang 4-string models, a Manson JPJ bass and and an Xotic 5-string for the “low-B” moments. He also uses a set of Moog Taurus bass-pedals. To quote him: “We actually cover quite a wide range of music within the band and this requires a number of different bass sounds to be available to me throughout the set. Using bass pedals really fattens the sound out and helps us reproduce those early 70’s Genesis tracks more accurately. The effect that bass pedals can have on an unsuspecting audience can be quite amazing – low down tones that you feel as well as hear!

Simon Gardner (Lead, Rythmn Guitars)

Favourite band: Yes

Favourite album: Selling England By The Pound

Most memorable concert: Either Seconds out tour at Earl’s Court or many great nights at Guildford Civic Hall seeing our great local band Camel.

Influences: Ritchie Blackmore and Steve Howe

Equipment: Simon uses as his main guitar at QMT Deluxe HSS Limited edition Strat. For his 12 string and acoustic parts he plays a Line 6 modelling guitar. As back up he uses a Sunburst 40th Anniversary Special Edition Strat and a Peavey EVH. He plays these through a VOX AD30VT daisy chained to a Cornford Harlequin to create a blend of modelled and warm valve sounds. He uses a variety of effects including BOSS and the on board VOX unit along with more esoteric boosters and delays.

In addition Simon uses a stereo Digitech RP500 which is fed directly to the PA and to his backline for monitoring.

Nelson Porter (Lead, Rythmn Guitars)

Favourite band: Early Genesis – imho nobody could play, compose and construct such wonderful gems of english progressive rock music as well as these guys. They played all this complex, haunting and beautiful music so unassumingly, without any long-haired histrionics (apart from Mr Gabriel of course, quite rightly too, & who did so very amusingly) ;- anyway, all-in-all simply untouchable! (though I love & much admire Yes, Camel, Pink Floyd etc.,etc too!…)

Phil Collins – I love listening to this man’s drumming – pure genius. (with his incredible skill & touch, I can even forgive him for his 80s singles – ok, maybe not…)

Mike Rutherford – a stunning & much underrated bass player (& great 12 string player too), so melodic and not at all like any other bassist – unique!

Steve Hackett – my all-time favourite guitarist; and he often doesn’t even sound like a guitarist! And how many guitar heroes from the 70s do you know who sat on a stool and looked like an open university lecturer?

Tony Banks – probably my favourite musician of all! – sublime touch, faultless player, always in total control – though never soulless, his playing sends shivers down my spine. Amazing command of unusual and unique compositional structures..and he never smiles!

Peter Gabriel – wonderful foil for all the serious shoe-gazing above, yet also a great vocalist, musician and unique performer, even if he couldn’t always hit the high notes! (because Mr Banks insisted on writing stuff in unreachable keys – unsmiling, ruthless Mr Banks!)

= A great, great band; my all-time heroes!

Favourite album: Genesis Live

Memorable concert: …did I mention Genesis?… ‘I think – can’t quite remember, for various unpublishable reasons!’

Favourite beard: Steve Hackett, c1972

My most memorable guitar playing moment: being refused an audition with Adam and the Ants, on the basis of having a beard.

Favourite pastime: watering the garden (no, tell the truth – watering the stage / pedalboard with various spillages, the band know what I mean…)

Favourite after-gig diner: Mr Chicken, Ealing Broadway (sorry, another in-joke)

Day job: minister of a local church (for local people). Quite lively, but not too much- ‘we’ll have no shouting here!’

Favourite equipment: I do tend to like collecting a lot of effects pedals, so; whatever is on ebay at the moment! Oh – have to go, only 2 minutes remaining…’bid now’!…

Ian Twentyman (Keyboards, Vocals)

Favourite band: Yes

Favourite album: Close To The Edge

Most memorable concert: Lindisfarne Christmas Concert at Leeds University in 1984.

Influences: Tony Banks

Best Prog Rock Moment: Listening to Awaken by Yes after a glass or two of red. This is a re-occurring moment!

Equipment: Korg SP200 Stage piano (I use this mainly for piano work but it also helps out with other simple sounds where needed).

Korg XD5 driving a Yamaha Motif-Rack ES tone generator which I use for most sounds.

Korg MS2000b analogue synthesiser.

Roland KC350 keyboard amp.

Grant Harrison (Drums, Percussion, Whistle & Vocals)

Favourite band: Genesis

Favourite album: Seconds Out

Memorable concert: Seconds Out / Wind & Wuthering Tour 77 at Earl’s Court

First album: Billion Dollar Babies – Alice Cooper (actually my very first album was a Clodagh Rodgers LP given to me by my parents with my first record player, don’t think they really understood me!)

Influences: Phil Collins / Bill Bruford / Steve Gadd / Andy McCulloch / Bottles of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

Grant uses a DW Collectors kit 20×17.5, 10×9, 12×10, 14×14, 16×16 with a 14×6 BeatHead Custom made snare or Pearl Ian Paice Snare and 10 & 12 Roto-toms.

Cymbals are 14″ Sabian HH hi-hats, Sabian HH 14″ Sound Control Crash, Sabian HH 16″ Sound Control Crash, 16″ Sabian Dark AAX crash, 15″ Sabian Dark AXX crash, 10″ Sabian HH splash, 21″ Sabian HH Raw Bell Dry Ride and Sabian HHX 14″ China. Hardware is Sonor, DW & Yamaha.

I also use a Roland SPDX for all the percussion and effects.

Oh yes and the odd pair of sticks!!!!!!! (ProMark)… and a whistle!

Favourite Jam: Blackcurrant

First Festival: Reading Festival 1977… a complete mud bath but what and amazing line up – Thin Lizzy, The Enid, Doobie Brothers, Alex Harvey etc etc

My first drumkit: Crawford biscuit tin and assorted buckets….

Favourite lyric: All of Peter Gabriel’s really… a weird and wonderful mind!

Favourite wine gum: Black or Red or Green or Orange or maybe Yellow!

Biggest regret: I never got to see Floyd play & not seeing Genesis whilst Peter Gabriel was still with them…%&#@!#%!

Day job: Running a Design Company and spending too much time on eBay!

PA system

The Prognosis use a custom-designed PA system from Funktion-One, a local company, that builds all their equipment in-house. The system comprises 2 x 1kW powered, full range cabinets with (occasionally) a set of 1kW Funktion-One bass bins. Mixing is executed through a Yamaha MG 32/14FX, 32 channel mixer with outboard effects by TC Electronics. Vocal mics are AKG and drum mics are Sennheiser.