
Grant Moon
A music journalist for over 20 years, Grant writes regularly for titles including Prog, Classic Rock and Total Guitar, and his CV also includes stints as a radio producer/presenter and podcast host. His first book, 'Big Big Train - Between The Lines', is out now through Kingmaker Publishing.
Latest articles by Grant Moon

Colin Edwin’s prog world includes Captain Beefheart, Magma, Cardiacs, Gong and more
By Grant Moon published
Former Porcupine Tree and current O.R.k. member on seeing Daevid Allen live, falling under Tim Smith’s spell, messing about with plastic cameras and, well, Lonnie Donegan

Roine Stolt slashed the average age of The Flower Kings before making Waiting For Miracles
By Grant Moon published
Tired of people who “put a lid on the joy” of music, a line-up change presented a fresh front with younger energy on their 2019 double album

Steve Babb of Glass Hammer’s prog world orbits Yes, Rush, Genesis (and the Human League)
By Grant Moon published
Inspired by Tolkien at an early age, the Tennessean encountered prog when a punk friend handed over his suddenly unwanted record collection

The 40 greatest Yes songs, as voted by 50,000 Prog readers
By Jerry Ewing, Grant Moon, Chris Roberts, Johnny Sharp, David West published
When 50,000 Prog magazine readers voted on the band’s catalogue, the resulting chart contained a few surprises

“I had a great schoolteacher… he had a band called Butt-Crack”: Rikard Sjöblom’s prog world
By Grant Moon published
Big Big Train, Gungfly and Beardfish man once wrote a term paper about the Hammond organ and went on to teach piano in a school

Despite dad Rick’s album, Oliver Wakeman included one wife of Henry VIII on new solo album
By Grant Moon published
Celtic-themed Anam Cara – featuring guests Troy Donockley, Hayley Griffiths and Scott Higham – came about after a nudge from his record label and a question from his son

Why ‘nice guy’ Dream Theater’s John Petrucci is Steve Vai’s prog hero
By Grant Moon published
They met at college and watched each other’s careers develop as the decades pass – but Vai remains in awe of how much his friend’s playing has developed too

Crown Lands’ Kevin Comeau discovered Rush at 14, forging two marriages made in Heaven
By Grant Moon published
Multi-instrumentalist, who caught Canadian giants twice on final tour, once played alongside Alex Lifeson – and he’s hoping for a second date

Prog was always in Elbow’s music, but it’s upfront on Audio Vertigo
By Grant Moon published
Singer Guy Garvey and keyboardist Craig Potter chart their history from second-hand record collectors to art rock giants with big-name fans

“You can’t just replace Geoff Tate”: Queensryche are Tobias Sammet’s prog heroes
By Grant Moon published
Avantasia mastermind recalls being blown away by Geoff Tate’s vocals – and struggling to copy what he’d heard

“We got pretty eclectic… it didn’t pay off”: When Spock’s Beard went back to basics with X
By Grant Moon published
Funded via the “Marillion Method,” the band’s 10th album was their strongest since the departure of Neal Morse eight years earlier

“When working on material we could ask, ‘What would we have done in the days of Close To The Edge?’ Maybe sometimes we didn’t ask that question enough”: Steve Howe’s favourite Yes songs
By Grant Moon published
Guitarist lists his five of the best – and explains why they’re all from the 70s

“Such a spectacle: 80,000 fans, eight-way spatial audio”: Did Roger Waters top Pink Floyd at Desert Trip in 2016? His guitarist Jonathan Wilson thinks so (and he wasn’t in the band at the time)
By Grant Moon published
While not living his “Canyon life,” American musician and producer’s prog world includes Rush, Frank Zappa, Roy Harper, Robert Wyatt and others

Every Steve Vai album ranked from worst to best
By Philip Wilding published
Heart-shaped guitars, Berklee music school and Frank Zappa – Steve Vai's had no ordinary career. Here are each of his albums, ranked from worst to best

“Robert Fripp watched the show from the wings. As I was playing I was thinking, ‘Oh, I stole this line from Robert… that’s a riff from him too!’” Billy Sheehan’s obsession with King Crimson’s Red
By Grant Moon published
Mr Big, Whom Gods Destroy and Sons of Apollo bassist once spent two weeks listening to nothing else

"When we do progressive rock, there’s no rules – we just keep writing, keep putting together whatever parts we like." How The Flower Kings made By Royal Decree
By Grant Moon published
Now the dust has settled on Transatlantic’s long-awaited comeback, Roine Stolt is back with his main band, The Flower Kings and their new double album By Royal Decree

"We had a ‘no filter’ rule on this album: make it as crazy as you want." Haken and the story of Fauna
By Grant Moon published
On their seventh studio album, Haken are ready to bust any pre-conceptions about where they might or might not fit musically.

“Man never quite hit the heights; I suppose they were almost too versatile… they locked into something nimble, nuanced and gorgeous”: James Dean Bradfield’s prog heroes
By Grant Moon published
The Manic Street Preachers vocalist discovered the genre via Rush, Floyd and Russian Circles – but fellow Welshmen’s 1976 album became his top choice on first listen

“Isn’t it the best when you get into a band and they happen to have so much material to discover?” Yes’ Jon Davison fell in love with the Moody Blues by falling in love with John Lodge’s daughter
By Grant Moon published
Singer has a soft spot for Tom Waits' melancholy first album and tree-hugger activities - and he’s in a band with his prog hero

"I have on my rider that I need two bottles of fine red wine. I won't accept anything that costs less than 100 dollars!": Jane's Addiction on breaking up, getting back together, tour life and the lure of Beyoncé
By Grant Moon published
Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro on the things they did so that you didn't have to

"I was 12 when I heard Roundabout by Yes, and it floored me immediately!" Hasse Froberg's own musical companions
By Grant Moon published
Camel makes life easy, he can't get enough of Todd Rundgren and Yes continue to blow him away! Welcome to Hasse Forgerg's prog world!

“Prog date? Very much no! You didn’t get too much romance at The Peel, unless you made a financial investment”: The Fierce And The Dead’s Matt Stevens recalls his favourite venue
By Grant Moon published
His music teacher moved him on from Guns N’ Roses to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and, armed with a book about prog, he never looked back

“We hit play, and the opening chords of Yes’ Rhythm Of Love sounded exactly like the beginning of the first song on my album. I thought we’d stuck in the wrong tape!” Jason Becker loves Trevor Rabin’s work
By Grant Moon published
Former David Lee Roth guitarist and soundtrack composer learned a lot from Steve Howe, but prefers Rabin’s melodic and emotional output in and out of Yes

“It’s the big joke, bands doing their 15th farewell tour! And I get it… a year or two goes by and you think, ‘You know, I’d sure like to do that again. Why not?’” Neal Morse on the chances of a Transatlantic reunion
By Grant Moon published
He’s released the first of two concept albums based on Joseph of the technicolour coat, and he has plenty more on his plate - but he can’t stop loving the energy when people come together to create music

“When I was about 14 a friend recommended Yes and ELP to me. To be completely honest I didn’t really like the music… I don’t think I’ve ever actually bought a prog album!” Derek Sherinian, keyboard warrior
By Grant Moon published
He’s worked with Dream Theater, Sons of Apollo, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather and many others – but Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson remain among his heroes
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