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Pallas - Fusion, Aberdeen, 26 May 1983

 

 

Well, 'twas the return of the conquering heroes (a common occurence in Aberdeen, these days!) for Pallas's last Scottish date ebfore heading off for the other side of the Atlantic. And no finer parting gift could there have been.

Previewing new songs and costumes, the sound was good and the musicianship its usual high standard. The only grumble was the sound problems due to Euan's faulty headset.

The customary "Thunderbirds" theme opened the show, and the proceedings proper were commenced with the new number Cut And Run. A "Bladerunner"-esque aura was enhanced by Euan's detective style trench coat and bashed homburg hat.

This was swiftly followed by an impeccable rendition of the singe Paris Is Burning (how I wish they would still include the B-side in their set - the poignant The Hammer Falls).

 

Next song on the agenda was yet another addition to the Atlantis meisterwerk, The Ark Of Infinity (my my, how pretentious!), which tells of the voyage by spacecraft away from the Earth's destruction. As a matter of interest, whatever happened to In The Cell, East West, and Calm Before The Storm!

The now classic Crown Of Thorns followed in all its powerful beauty, and this segued into another new Atlantean number, Rise And Fall. This time, Euan took his place as a warrior in cloak and armour, clutching a silver battle axe. Each of these new additions are equally impressive, now with the distinctive Pallas hallmark on it.

They hardly seemed to draw breath before launching into the driving, insistent March On Atlantis. Young Mr. Mathewson becomes more and more like a certain R. Blackmore in his actions as time goes on, from being the quiet man of the group, he now whirls about the stage like a man possessed classic guitar hero stuff, this! Graeme Murray's bass playing and Derek Forman's drumming remains as impressive as ever, as is Ronnie Brown's keyboard work.

The familiar keyboard opening to Atlantis rang out and Armageddon had begun (or so it seemed to the uninitiated among our number!). The performance was faultless, climaxing in a blaze of white lights and flashbombs (stirring stuff, this!).

The roar of approval which followed, would almost have put the hordes at Pittodrie to shame!

 

The first encore was the old live favourite The Ripper. Graeme's pure vocals set the scene for us before a hunched figure in a dirty raincoat and old man mask (very Gabrielesque!) appeared. The instrumental sections allowed Niall to indulge in some more Eastern-flavoured Blackmoreisms. Euan contorted his body about the stage whilsts carrying out psychotic vocals and screams. He removed the mask to reveal a white-painted face, before "cutting" his throat. (Some poor faint-hearted soul fainted at this point!)

The second encore was a lively extended version of Arrive Alive, Euan leaving the stage to leap about on the dance floor with the audience.

Well, Pallas have come a long way since those Saturday lunchtimes at the Dial Inn or the Aberdeen Bowl. Today, Aberdeen... tomorrow, the world!!

 

Review by Fiona Dempster

Picture by Mark Hughes

 

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Pallas were interviewed by Derek Oliver at the start of their first Concert Hall tour for Melody Maker, cover date 4/4/84.

 

 

BEFORE we go any further, I'd better lay the cards face up on the table and state quite openly and proudly that Pallas are a progressive rock band. Yeah go on, turn the page if you must, hide your face in the acceptability of this week's fave rave, pretend that it's all some kind of passing Joke. A flick of the wrist would be the easiest remedy for all you level headed critics of dangerous, provocative pop. However, if challenges are required, then read on . . . music fans.

 

 

Admitting influences can often blight a flourishing reputation. Look what happened to Adam Ant when his dated respect for Alice Cooper crept out into the open. Heartfelt affection for past musical trends - stepping conveniently over the chic, baggy-suited-trad - jazz buffoons - is definitely treated as something approaching near lunacy. But why? Why should an appreciation of Barclay James Harvest, Greenslade, Peter Hamill, Henry Cow et al be scoffed at with such malign distaste? There probably isn't a universal reason: hip kids simply require hip trends and, if they bothered to think about it hard enough, hip trends (take a bow Mr. Businessman) require hip kids. Natural induction or corporate policy? The answer is visible but the eves are squinted.

 

 

Aberdeen is a long way from the Marquee, that I do know. As we pull up to the town's premier rock venue, the prestigious Capitol Theatre (don't laugh, the Stones played here a couple of years back) the wind is howling with more gusto than Thor blowing up a hot water bottle. Tonight's gig is something of a special occasion. No only is it their home town (the mums and dads were out in force) but it marks the end of one rather traumatic period for Pallas and heralds the start of a new and decidedly optimistic future.

 

 

The release of "The Sentinel" surprised many by its sense of urgency and maturity."Script For A Jester's Tear" the first new age prog-rock LP had set a high standard and for a time it looked like Marillion were struggling (read panicking) to produce an equally articulate follow up. Pallas's debut also had the distinct disadvantage of being produced on a shoestring budget - a consideration that became apparent when I eventually cornered bassist Graeme Murray. Although built like a mountain, Graeme is friendly and courteous.

 

"Ye Gods! It honestly frightens me to death when I think back. It came to the point after so many false promises from record companies where we just had to take the future into our own hands. We knew that our material had a big market, Marillion's album proved it, but the companies were still very reluctant to take a chance. So we had a meeting and decided that we could either split up or put every penny we had into the recording of 'The Sentinel'. I went home, thought about it in the evening and came back the following day with the same choice as everyone else.

 

"It was so frightening yet strangely exciting. We all knew that the music was good enough but to actually put ourselves on the line was the ultimate sacrifice. From there we started to sell everything that wasn't essential; equipment, cars, junk, anything that could raise a few pounds. Our manager and myself took our second mortgages on our houses and we managed to get an overdraft facility from the bank. It was unbelievable yet essential to our survival."

 

Apart from Graeme the rest of the band consists of vocalist and resident entertainment officer Evan Lowson, a warm and extremely crazed character. Guitarist Niall "Lentils" Mathewson, keyboard whizz Ronnie Brown and techno thwacker Derek Forman. Collectively one of the most likeable and panic-free bunch of characters ever to be gathered together under the shady banner of a progressive band.

 

Originally called Rainbow (until Ritchie Blackmore buggered that idea), Pallas have been in circulation for roughly eight years. The last three have seen them playing just about every nook and cranny in the UK to increasingly devoted audiences. At one stage not so long ago, they even allowed Marillion to support them on some Scottish dates in return for a similar favour down south.

 

With an increasing following bolstering the live shows and some prestigious London dates at The Marquee (where else?), the band felt it time to put out their own LP consisting of studio demos. At this stage Pallas and Marillion were spearheading the revival and it was becoming clear that sooner or later one of them was going to be picked up by a major label. Marillion won.

 

The comparisons are actively discouraged within the Pallas camp. The following day in Glasgow Euan Lowson stood his ground and put the following case to me."God, I hate those bloody comparisons. It springs from the press more than anyone else. The fans don't equate the two of us on that level at all and they are the people who count in the long run. The music press need to sell papers - they like glamorising and picking out what in their view are anomalies.

 

"It's also incorrect to say that we're following in Marillion's footsteps. If they bothered to investigate the histories of each band they'll find out that we've been around the longest, but Marillion always had the distinct advantage of being based in or near London. They got the deal first but I think it was simply down to exposure at that stage. We're definitely not jumping on a bandwagon and in a way I think we've a more underground band."

 

Armed with money pooled from the band, they undertook the recording of "The Sentinel" in Atlanta, Georgia, under the guidance of one time Yes knob-twiddler Eddie Offord - a man long lost to obscurity.

 

Graeme: "We decided that Eddie was the man for us although his whereabouts baffled everyone. Fortunately our manager Harry tracked him down and sent him the demo tapes and he loved it. Apparently he hasn't been so excited about anyone since his days with Yes.

"The Sentinel" is a particularly probing and complex set, both musically and Iyrically, fortunately, not in the same fashion as Fish's paean to personal relationships but of a more general nature.

 

Pivoting around the central theme of a world strangling itself to death by the threat of total war, " The Sentinel" provides a last minute reprieve to the ultimate destruction. Explanations are in order.

 

Euan: "We were really pleased how it managed to fall into place so quickly. The theme has an anxious panicky feel to it and the mood we wanted to create actually worked perfectly.

 

"The Sentinel" is a kind of guardian angel who saves us from ourselves. It gathers together all the treasures, wisdom and culture and places the information into a massive computer. When the leaders reach out and press the button to nuke themselves nothing happens, the buttons don't work because the Sentinel has overruled them.

 

"The idea came around over an eight month period and we actually have about three albums'worth of material that could be written on that theme alone. Although we anticipated that the story will be completed at odd intervals and with irregular segments appearing at random. The ends will be tied up and new leads will be opened.

 

"Sure, it's fundamentally about the arms race but I personally find it depressing to see so much money spent on weapons when by right it should be used in other areas. However, our shows are different, we don't ram it down people's throats. The show is about having fun and enjoyment."

 

Enjoyment is a keyword with Euan. The man positively revels in the scenario conjured up by the grandiose stage design. His costume changes, although a little sloppy at present, enables several alter egos to run rampant with the Iyrical content not to mention his love of audience participation.

 

"It's a form of entertainment and somehow over the last five or six years a lot of bands, and the music press, seem to have forgotten that," states Graeme. "Today it's more a case of reporting that rock bands are angry young men making solid statements of intent. Honestly, if they want to be that angry, why don't they stand for Parliament. Why does a band have to preach about being a one in ten when they climb into the limo and shoot off back to the hotel after the gig? It's all a farce in those terms."

 

The Sentinel tour is Pallas's first venture into the larger concert halls and it's one they're doing with the financial clout that a show like this requires. Of the many special effects, the Infinity Tunnel" - got to be the most spectacular. A mirrored contraption that gives the effect of a never ending tunnel where Euan constantly appears and disappears throughout the performance.

 

Pallas may be a large step behind Marillion at present, but I've got a feeling that Fish and co. could be on the verge of a Iyrical tumble judging by the contents of "Fugazi". On the other hand Pallas have a potentially longer career in front of them. Whatever: progressive rock (if you really want labels) does have a future and does have something positive to offer. Forget preconceived opinions and take a peek with Pallas.

 

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After many months of hassling 'Kerrang' the band recieved its' first full page feature, by Malcom Dome issued dated December 18 1982.

 

 

 

One Swallow, my friends does NOT make a musical movement. But it seems, according to some, that we are now in the throes of a new era of British progressive rock (the birth of NEOBPR?) - a fact primarily based on the emergence of Aylesbury quintet Marillion.



 

Much as I admire Fish and the fellas, I can't help feeling that they are most certainly NOT the harbingers of a new dawn for mature, heavy musicianship a la Yes, ELP, Genesis, King Crimson etc. True Marillion now have an EMI deal, but what the heck does that prove? Only that they're a band with all the right ingredients of luck, talent, and connections - nothing more.

 



The 'prog tock' movement is no nearer happening, and will remain thus until a steady stream of similar sophisticates firstly start regularly gigging, secondly gain wide media exposure, and thirdly sign on the dotted record contract line. As yet, there aren't too many contenders to pass the post on any (let alone all) the above criteria.

 



Marillion aside, the sole ray of sunshine on the horizon is Aberdonian five piece Pallas, and even they've got a long way to go before they're ready to compete with any degree of confidence in the dangerously uncertain world of big-time rock. At the moment too much of their Yes/Rush style music consists of over-long epics that tend to drag, and run the risk of losing the listeners interest as 'Arrive Alive', their self-financed cassette release on Granite Wax Records, shows.

 



But, equally let's not lose sight of two pertinent facts regarding Pallas. Firstly, they've been together some five years - a mere drop in the time ocean for such a musically - demanding genre. And, secondly, the aforementioned cassette was cheaply produced fron ONE Scots gig - not exactly the best way to make your recording debut. Furthermore, it has picked up respectable sales, and some critical acclaim.



 

No less a judge than Bernie Marsden was moved to comment that the title track (also issued as a Granite Wax single) was "interesting . . . certainly a little different from your average headbanging record." And numbers like 'Queen Of The Deep' and 'Crown Of Thorns' (the only songs still performed live by Pallas from the cassette) do indeed balance light/shade, hardedged power/gentle introspection in a way that shows the band have the right to feel for prog rock. Moreover, they're sensible enough to admit they've much to learn.



 

"Oh yeah, we all know there's room for improvement on the technical side," says bassist Graeme Murray (the group is completed by vocalist Euan Lowson, guitarist Niall Mathewson keyboard player, Ronnie Brown and drummer Derek Forman). "But we're all musical perfectionists, forever trying to get better individually and collectively, and no-one has yet come up to us at gigs and said: 'well, you're not technically good enough'. The reason for that is simple. Most of our fans are 17/18 year olds who never saw Yes or ELP in their heyday, cos at the time they were eating lollipops and reading comics. So, when they come to see us, it's a fresh experience, something that's completely new to them.

 

"

It's not surprising that Pallas fans (virgins in prog rock territory) find the band so invigorating for like Marillion, they put on a highly theatrical show.

 



"You can only jump up and down and shake your head to music for so long. After that it becomes boring, and our style is so intense and dynamic it seemed a shame not to exploit the visual possibilities. So, we use theatrics of a sort that will AUGMENT the music."

 



Wherever you turn in this feature, however, one inescapable word keeps popping up- MARILLION! Aren't Pallas in danger of becoming labelled as a copy of their Aylesbury peers? Graeme Murray :- "Yes, there are possibly some people who think we're like Marillion. But once they see both bands perform, they can't fail to realise how much we differ from one another. Our music does have similar roots, but we've grown apart. And theatrically we're also different 'cos our frontman, Euan and Fish, are totally separate personalities. It's rather like comparing Alice Cooper with Peter Gabriel. I'm not saying these are the prime influences on our respective singers, simply that although Gabriel and Cooper drew from the same theatrical roots, they were vastly different in their interpretations.

"

 

I believe there's plenty of room for both bands in the modern rockfield. No-one ever tried to call ELP a copy of Yes, did they? Or Yes a copy of Genesis. No, we're just a couple of individual bands, each with it's own sound. In fact, as people, Marillion and Pallas get on very well. We do our utmost to promote one another. Maybe in a few years time, when we're both trying to push LPs up the charts, things will change. But at the moment, it's mutually beneficial for us to help each other out."

Despite Murray's optimism, I can't help but wonder if our major labels, having seen Marillion snapped up, will start to court Pallas for all the wrong reasons in the same way that Def Leppard's Phonogram contract led to a stampede of NWOBHM outfits being signed up, and viewed as Leppard clones.

 



"Oh I don't think there's any danger of that", retorts Murray. "We haven't struggled this far just to blow it by going to the wrong label. We're wise enough to wait for the right deal."

 



Bold words. And I hope Pallas can stick to them. Certainly tempting offers seem to be just around the corner with many companies, who disdainfully turned away the Pallas begging bowl only a year ago, now given to phoning the band, trying desperately to re-open negotiations.



 

But, the biggest question of all still remains open. Have the band (or for that matter Marillion) REALLY the ingenuity, presence of mind and charisma to build a lasting nationwide reputation? Or are we just deluding ourselves if we think that young audiences responding to high-class musicianship in new bands shows anything more than a novelty interest. For the sake of the potential inherent in both Marillion and Pallas, I pray that there is no record company/ media attempt to artificially create a NEOBPR.



 

With this proviso in mind, I believe the future for Pallas to be more positive than negative. And any band who can openly admit to having written a hitherto unrecorded concept album's worth of material based around the 'Legend Of Atlantis' (as have Pallas), have got my vote right from the start.

 



MALCOLM DOME

 

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With the band having nearly finished the recording of the Sentinel with Eddie Offord at his East Point Atlanta studios the deal with EMI was confirmed and it was arranged for reporter Chris Watts and photographer Robert Ellis to fly over to meet the band for a major feature in Kerrang Magazine, cover date November 1983.

 

 

If ever there comes a day when man lands on Mars, and if ever an architect is commissioned to design a Martian metropolis, then no doubt that architect will fashion his creation on Georgia's hi-tec capital - Atlanta. Once the home of the slave trade, Atlanta has developed into one of the most breathtaking cities ever built, with an eye for the most seemingly impossible structures of glass and steel, not to mention little podules which pass for lifts that shoot up and down the exterior walls of hotels and restaurants with no regards for queasy stomachs...a perfect and total fantasy city for the rich and playful. It's an Alan Parson's album cover in broad detail, a city of swimming pools.

 

Taking the interstate 75/85 highway south, past verges of painted grass and the never ending line of motor-diners,past Atlanta's sci-fi airport with it's own underground system, and onto the sleepy suburb of Hapeville with the airport runways at the back of it's collective garden, you will find NOISE. Not the pedestrian rock of 96FM radio, but an earthy rumble coming from East Point Studios, a mere stone's thrown from the glitter and concrete of downtown. Hapeville could hardly be described as the most decorous town in the state; it's your average motel/drug store/high school settlement with the atmosphere of a 1960's teenage cult movie.

 

East Point Studios are something of a mystery to the locals. "Hey, boy, there some band playin', you let us know y'hear! is a frequent greeting from the dozy candy - store owner with a sign on her wall saying: "We're not worried by shop-lifters because thieves will be punished by God"; and looking like six surrogate James Deans, Pallas lounge in the sun outside the deserted '50s movie house now converted into a fully-functional 24-track by the diminutive Eddie Offord, a noted producer with a track record as long as he is short......

 

Despite East Point looking thoroughly empty and more than a little eerie from the outside, due no doubt to it's once gaudy and now faded billboards and central ticket box, inside the shell is a mass of machinery. With the 300 odd sets still bolted down and the cathedral bannisters and railings intact you could be forgiven for thinking that this had been an evil hoax conceived by these five jovial Scotsmen, the sixth being their road manager/backbone and cook Mike. But, on catching sight of the desk, tapes, flickering LEDs,mikes and all the other studio paraphernalia, it becomes obvious that this is very,very real.

 

The "stage" becomes the recording booth, the orchestra pit the control room, the balconies the site for the guitar cabs; the musty hall slowly evolves from 1950 to 1990. Like a proud father,Eddie swivels around in his chair and beckons the band to work for some backing vocal dubs, whipping the Pallas album into shape before these, by now thoroughly jet-lagged, ears.

 

The reason why a fairly unknown - in commercial terms - group of Prog Rockers should be recoding their first 'real' album 6000 miles from their native Aberdeen without a record company is really quite simple. Honest. Eddie Offord....

 

"You see, we sent some tapes out here to Eddie", begins bassist and Backing vocalist Graeme Murray, "and he was impressed. We'd always wanted to work with him after hearing the stuff he'd done in the past with Yes and Emerson Lake and Palmer, and it actually works out cheaper for us to come over here and record in Eddie's studio than it would to bring him to Scotland, because he only works in one studio in the UK, and that's miles away. We were obviously on a very limited budget and Eddie offered us a very good deal."

 

They now have a clandestine record contract, the details of which they had been sworn on the pain of death not to reveal by the executives from the company in question, referred to as the "WeatherMen". The company - EMI

 

The "Weather Men" obviously saw the potential of Pallas ,and, on listening to the entire album in its rough - mix state, it's not difficult to understand that potential. Pallas are a brave band - unfairly heralded as "Progressive" - with an edge. Their music is complex yet refreshingly clean-cut and uncluttered, and an ability to laugh through the songs, complicated and proficient though they may be, is an appealing and worthy talent.

 

They're not just another Genesis or Steve Howe; this is music delighting in the fields of fantasy and harmless escapism. As entertaining and "readable" as "Lord of the Rings" - a musical "Star Wars"comments Graeme, chuckling to the playback of skinsman Derek Forman thundering up an adjacent flight of stairs for a track entitled "Cut & Run". a spy - spoof based on corny Bond themes but enjoyable nonetheless. "Balls!" echoes Derek's voice through the monitors as he stumbles over the threshold unaware that the "studio" is picking up his every murmur. This band can laugh at things, themselves included. Even when their car is towed away whilst they're out on a photo shoot (for illegal parking on a rainy Sunday afternoon) and $50 worth of food money goes speedily into the traffic cop's hand in exchange for the vehicle, they see the funny side."Balls!" says Derek to no - one in particular.

 

The image of a Progressive Band in England is not a healthy one, and an unknown one in Georgia. A picture of righteous martyrdom, heavy handed epics and opuses revolving stages and accepted musicians over the age of 45 is the norm - an image that Pallas do not conform to musically of visually. There is no box for the band as guitarist Niall Mathewson explains: "We have been playing this type of music for quite a time now and if people didn't want it then we could not have continued, we know that they are there."

 

"Progressive Rock is an easy pigeon-hole" comments vocalist Euan Lowson,"Progressive Rock does not exist anymore; Progressive, or what was once called progressive was the music that some of the band grew up with in the '70s. There are no ready-made labels for this group.

 

"None of the bands that you and I know we are talking about," chips in the suave Ronnie Brown, "would honestly admit to being part of the Progressive movement. They're embarrassed about the misconception that immediately springs to mind when folk mention "Progressive". Bands haven't been given the chance to be heard as individuals."

Having been temporarily taken under Eddie's wing and having been exposed to the American market, Pallas have benefitted greatly in musical terms. Anyone in possession of the band's decidedly dodgy "Arrive Alive" self-produced album will notice a remarkable leap. Whereas "Arrive Alive" was barely above the turgid level, this new platter is a cohesive collection of lenght and breadth, from the might of "Ark of Infinity" and "Atlantis" to the snappy single orientated material including "Shock Treatment and a re-working of "Arrive Alive" itself - the latter under scrutiny for possible single material. It's an album of variation; given the time and money to experiment slightly Pallas have uncovered a rare tomb of gold.

 

The music is custom-designed for drummers; I can still remember Derek bravely grappling with the intricacies of a Simmons kit. He drives the band aided and abetted by the true grit of Niall's guitar. Not for Pallas the candy floss and cotton wool of similar outfits, the emphasis here is on ROCK rather than progressive.

 

"A lot of people seem to think that we are restricted by a lack of image" says Euan, "but music should not be a fashion or a movement. We don't want to go and get "Woody Woodpecker" haircuts' to sell records - that's why the press doesn't like us, those people slamming us for being "Progressive" are the ones worried about showing their real age! I dont see why people who don't like us can't just turn around and go and listen to something else instead of lumping us all together and saying were all s**t. This is music that people can go and watch if they want to watch. No - one's forcing them."

 

 

 

"People seem to think that Progressive music is cold" adds Ronnie, "but I like to think that we can appeal to every emotion, not just anger or suchlike, we have sad bits, happy bits, bits to jump around to. It's different people now, different times."

 

And time that Pallas were accepted as individuals, and not just as a limb from a collective tree.

 

"When we first started" continues Ronnie,"our immedaite aim was to present a show that would be interesting to watch and interesting to listen to. That's all we've ever done - just because we've had a visit from the "Weather Men" I can't see that changing.

 

"Atlantis", as the album is tentatively titled, sees Pallas poised and confident - and alone...."Everybody obviously misses home a great deal." says Euan."But then again it had to be done. If you want to, dare I say it, progress, you've got to boldly go..... from a professional viewpoint though, It's been very advantageous, just to be exposed to such a situation.

 

I left Atlanta - with Pallas looking forward to a farewell supper of Cornflakes and orange juice because the "Weather Men" had forgotten to bank thier advance - in the knowledge that England is in some small way about to be taken by storm. In one of their spoken passages on the album perhaps they reveal more than they meant at the time:

 

"Forgive us, for we know not what we have done"

 

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