Musicians Having Coffee & Talking About Stuff: Derek Shulman

[@dbc7772011]

I love hearing Derek describe things. He is a courageous communicator. Love hearing the recruitment of Gentle Giant members. Kerry is my favorite, but love them all.

[@jasonjenkyns5083]

Awesome. Please, please get Kerry Minnear on your show!

[@tixximmi1]

Get them all on.

[@jasonjenkyns5083]

@@tixximmi1 yep.

[@KingXanadu]

Really interesting discussion, I love Gentle Giant. And I love seeing their influence in some of Neals music

[@closetotheedge91]

I pause everything I'm doing when there is new Gentle Giant content.

[@desistindo1]

This is the best episode so far, my two heroes talking about very interesting things. I loved the last part when Derek gives a very unique insight about hip hop, i had never thought about it. A wonderful conversation from these two geniuses!

[@cosmicdrifter287]

Exactly my thoughts!

[@r.a.fiallos234]

Agree on the hip hop--and yes, it is very progressive....it's kind of hard for me to get through a lot of the lyrics on some of the popular acts of today, but I do enjoy the kind of hip hop where it is very creative lyrics with deep messages (not to mention infectious grooves).

[@TheProgCorner]

Neal Morse and Gentle Giant!!!

[@mshelton5036]

Great interview, Gentle Giant is my favorite band of all time. It would be great to see you collaborate with Kerry Minnear I think you would work well together stylistically and spiritually it would be amazing to hear. Seen you live a few years ago what a great show in fact you used my video on the live momentum CD. At the end of the Day music and art is the way we relate to others and 2 great examples of that you and Derek.

[@r.a.fiallos234]

As always, Neal delivers an outstanding podcast! I've now gone into a Gentle Giant rabbit hole--man, that band had GROOVE, not to mention the great musicianship/orchestration! I also went back and looked for (Run The Jewels - Legend Has it) which has the "Knots" sample Derek was referring to)....a very creative use of it and credit to them for not trying to hide it but giving proper credit to Gentle Giant for it. I hope that someday happens with some of NMB or Transatlantic music...they deserve it and it would be great for any of the Neal/Portnoy bands to get proper exposure. Thanks for a great podcast Neal!

[@garybeaudette4208]

What a great conversation, love Gentle Giant and Spock's Beard/Transatlantic/Solo. Thanks Neal!!!

[@dr.anymemm]

Man, AFN in Germany back then kept me alive as a kid because of the good music, that's still alive these days. Never thought AFN was a part of the talk, but that brought me back in time and back...

[@FundamentalsUK]

Two heroes, wonderful, thanks Neal and Derek 👍🏻😊

[@musumechem]

This is the best interview yet! Derek makes excellent points about the definition of "progressive" music. Hip hop is definitely an untapped expanding area in the sonic landscape. One of my favorite "progressive" albums of the last few years is "Brick Body Kids Still Daydream" by Open Mike Eagle--a hip hop concept album about the conflicted feelings of a man watching a housing project he grew up in (and pretended to be a superhero in) get torn down. Give it a listen if you are still skeptical about Hip Hop's potential. I would also love to see Neal taking his unbelievable song writing ability in a collaboration with one of these Hip Hop artists in an attempt to expand out what is possible in today's musical "season." It would be a huge step outside of his comfort zone, but imagine the challenge and potential reward of it!

[@herbertbalzac]

I just looked this up. Did the usual, skipping through the album on KZbin... I grew up with a brother listening to rap and hip hop, but got less interested when the happy samples disappeared and background tracks started to sound like Call of Duty menu music. I stopped at the 8th track ('TLDR') from the album and I totally get what you're saying, gonna listen to this in full. Thanks!

[@FundamentalsUK]

Boys in the band started 2nd side of original Octopus 👍🏻

[@chuckyspell]

Taking my jaw off the floor ...

[@prime_time_youtube]

xd

[@eduardoferreira1963]

Love Gentle Giant

[@petemeyers5342]

These are like Gold! Keep it up Neal.

[@AnneLeighton]

Neal, great interview. Both of you have honest stories we can learn from.

[@robinjones363]

Absolutely fabulous stuff 😀

[@brycejacobsen123]

GG in my Top 10 fave Prog bands, BTW.

[@humblefaithful]

My sister graduated HS in same class as Bon Jovi

[@FunkyDisco79]

Radio Luxembourg was not a pirate station, Derek. 11:11

[@martymartin2894]

I dont listen to hip hop but that song for the late paul walker from fast and furious films is really good even though its based around the police every breath u take.

[@peterbrickley6041]

Can you get the giant himself to talk after some mushroom tea? 🤣

[@jonatanpinadulucmusic]

Hip-Hop is amazing, a complete musical revolution in itself.That story with with The Roots on Fallon is fantastic! Also M.F. DOOM used "Funny Ways" and it was nice. It´s such a beautiful thing to see an old time prog legend apreciate a new music that runs on a total different set of parameters. Open-minded people are inspiring.

[@daviddryden8088]

The history alone was worth the watch. Still my favorite LP from Gentle Giant is Civilian. As is Single Factor from Camel. Excellent and commercially viable music lost to the generation of Cindy Lauper and INXS. The slow death of prog. Thank God for Spock's Beard and Dream Theater for pulling us out of the muck.

[@timwhite5647]

Bought "Civilian' when it was new...sorry to those of you that think it's a good album, to me, it absolutely sucks. It does not represent the Gentle Giant that I came to love. I tried to listen to it recently...couldn't get through it.

[@manifestgtr]

You know you’re a dork when Derek Shulman’s US citizenship gives you the most legitimate sense of patriotism you’ve felt in a while lol Edit: I’m the EXACT same way with sports. I’ve been a lifelong Red Sox fan…but it really doesn’t matter who does something amazing in the game. Back when derek jeter made fantastic plays at short, even then id say “fair enough…that was awesome”. It’s exactly like watching incredible artists at work.

[@TheProgCorner]

Gentle Giant and Kevin Durant!!!

[@privateer0561]

Mr. Morse, your mock horror at Derek becoming an American citizen is not appreciated. Clearly Derek Shulman has spent the majority of his life here in the USA and found happiness and great success - like millions of other immigrants - so much so that he decided to renounce his British citizenship and swear an oath of allegiance to his adopted homeland. It is insulting to imply that being an American is somehow a Bad Thing, especially in these times of great social upheaval. Bring up your game, sir.

[@timwhite5647]

For all the years that Neal has been associated with music, I'm constantly amazed at just how little he actually knows about the history of rock and roll. Maybe it's his age, or the fact that he grew up in L.A. doing covers of some really crappy music, but to not know the legacy of radio Luxembourg and it's effect on kids in Europe and England seems kinda weird to me. I watch a lot of his segments here on KZbin, and I really like a lot of the music he is and has been associated with in the past, BUT..his interviewing style is almost cringe worthy. I'm still waiting to see if he can get Roine Stolt to talk to him, I think there might be a little bad blood there over the different edits of the last album. We shall see.

[@mladent1464]

I do not see Neal as an interviewer. He asks questions the way we would ask our frriends questions in a casual conversation. I do understand that someone would be disappointed by the video expecting a real interview, though.

[@ProgSnob14]

The hip hop world is definitely not progressive, if anything it's regressive. So much of it has completely rejected instrumentation...and every song uses that sprinkler sound instead of cymbals.