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The Story so far...
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 In the aftermath of garage bands and psychedelic music, a new age dawned musically across the sea. Influenced by American jazz and English art rock, European bands on the continent dug deep into their native musical and cultural heritage to produce new sounds that reflected their own particular artistic view. Weaned on rock and roll, I was an avid listener and came of age during the time of rock and rebellion. Inspired by the music and politics of the time it was not long before I went in search of the lost chord and found my calling. In 1972 the European musical underground first started gaining exposure outside of its various native country underground enclaves. Word of mouth began with a smattering of press clips and import record specialists in the UK. Thousands of miles away over in the States, a “fanzine” (you know - a DIY Xerox variety mag, hand collated, stapled, etc. - inspired by the beats and hippie newspapers) was conceived to “spread the word” about this way out musical scene. EUROCK was its name. The debut issue of EUROCK was published in March 1973 and it became the first English language fanzine devoted to the exploding International Progressive and Experimental Electronic Music scene. Its purpose was to explore and promote the radical new sounds being made in Europe by a generation of rock musicians who came of age in the 1960's. By 1975 I had helped to found the first U.S. mail-order company specifically devoted to Importing Progressive and Electronic music from Europe. Named The Intergalactic Trading Company, it was a part of Music Millennium, based in Portland, Oregon. For three years it brought into the country an amazing variety of new music from all corners of the globe. To this day the original ITC silver three ring binder catalog is considered a definitive reference source by long time fans. In 1978 I moved to L. A. and helped create Paradox Music Mail Order. It was a branch of Greenworld, an import wholesale record company that in its prime became a major force in the U. S. imported music industry. Paradox built on the legacy of ITC to become a big time outlet for rock music of all sorts. Ultimately however that company developed into just another manifestation of the generic music as business mentality. During this time EUROCK continued as a vehicle for promotion of electronic and progressive music from around the world that tied in nicely with these other companies. But as they changed, it became necessary to move on. So, in 1981 it was time to "do it right, or not at all" and EUROCK became a full time business after 12 years of being on the cutting edge of music exploration. It went on to become a glossy magazine hitting the newsstands of L.A. In addition, it became a pioneering indie mail-order for the evolving International Music Scene that was continuing to explode in virtually every country around the globe. This duality of print and distribution continued through the 1980's. Finally in 1990 I made a decision to concentrate on distribution making available the best that the world had to offer musically and forego publishing. By that time the "progressive era" had passed into history and the spirit of the times demanded a new strategy in terms of promoting the next musical cycle that was soon to emerge on the global marketplace. In 1996 EUROCK went mainstream with the help of the great Rhino Records label. I was asked to produce their SUPERNATURAL FAIRY TALES box set, and to choose the music and write the booklet for a 5 CD set that chronicled the history of the Progressive Rock Era. It sold out and got excellent reviews from media around the world. In 2000, EUROCK produced THE GOLDEN AGE. A musical history of the last three decades of experimental rock music. It is a unique cultural document of this particular musical genre, which Eurock has covered all these many years. A multimedia CD-ROM (made for MAC & PC), it contains all the articles and reviews ever written for the publication (1,500+), Audio/Video of some of Europe’s prime innovators and pioneers of the genre, rare photos, extensive Discography and Index. Included as well is a new issue of Eurock as a Digital Magazine, featuring articles by some of the original journalists and interviews with leading artists that created the scene. Additionally there is 40 minutes of music by Heretic, one of Japan’s leading experimental musicians that's playable on your CD-R drive as well as normal CD player. In 2002 came the book entitled EUROCK ~ EUROPEAN ROCK & THE SECOND CULTURE. It is an anthology containing all the articles - Bio's, Interviews & Features - written for Eurock over 30 years. Its 709 pages contain a living cultural history of the experimental music scene that existed in Europe from 1970 - 2000. It documents a scene that struggled in the beginning to overcome traditional cultures in countless individual countries. And in the end created a multi-ethnic, stylistic legacy of totally unique and fiercely individual bands and musical styles that lives on still today. In 2005 was realized the 7 CD "Audio Book" A HISTORY OF... which consisted of lectures given in the Portland, Oregon Public Schools during 5 years in the mid 1980's. The CD's featured a series of stories, anecdotes, and historical perspectives, with music examples. As listening it is an experience filled with facts, flights of fancy, humour and some great music. Taken as a whole, the 3 productions encapsulate the 3 decades of Eurock's existence as a magazine and distribution service. They embody that periods explosion of information and energy, capturing the sounds and spirit of the times in prose and subject matter. The material and message is full of socio-political rants, imagistic writing, in depth histories of the music, philosophy and developments in the newly emerging “second culture”. Eurock reflected my hopes and dreams of an alternative culture in that period, before corporations totally took control of the means of commerce. Remarkably this artistic “revolution” was carried on when there was no fax, email, or PC. Creation of the magazine and the music was done on the fly, using imagination, not software programming. Often inspired or amusing, seldom formulaic, the magazine, everything during that time was carried out with the zeal of a true believer. Now that the WWW has become the leading frontier for dissemination of new information, Eurock continues to utilize it in a creative way to expand the consciousness of music lovers everywhere through the avenue of online commerce and journalism. By offering monthly "catalogs" that feature the best in recommended recordings of new and reissued Electronic Space Music, Progressive Rock and Experimental Music from around the world, you can explore the music of the world with ease. Eurock also continues experimenting by incorporating its own form of multi-media Net journalism into the mix via exclusive new informational content – interviews, features and more. In keeping with the quantum leap in technology and consciousness that the Net has brought about Eurock developed an Audio and Video Podcast that is a available via FREE download in iTunes. Combined with the forthcoming transformation of Eurock into a full time Webzine the experiment to develop a new form of journalism that looks toward the future by continuing explore new innovative ways of promoting the best in music the world has to offer. Today, when much of the music being made is little more than
another commodity created by corporations to be bought and
sold as the latest fashion in the entertainment field, it’s
no small miracle that independent souls continue to
persevere. I like to think of Eurock as not only a fantastic
flashback to those earlier times, but also a living
testimonial to the power of music to inspire creativity and
encourage the spirit to carry on. Both the music it features
and the articles/reviews written about it attempt to embody
the synchronicity of creativity and spirit which is rare
today in this brave new world. Not only has the music
changed, but so has the medium as well as the method in
which it is made and marketed. The one thing that remains
the same however is the magical moment when the artist and
listener share that experience.
Bernard Gueffier, Archie Patterson, Giorgio Gomelsky Jean Claude Granjeon (SF ProgFest 1999 - Photo by Albert Bergemont)
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