Focus was founded in 1969 in the Netherlands by Thijs van Leer (organ/flute), Jan Akkerman (guitar), Hans Cleuver (drums), and Martin Dresden (bass). A year later the group released their studio debut “Focus Plays Focus”. The album received a fair amount of critical praise due to its cohesive blend of classical, folk, blues, and jazz. It also prominently experimented with psychedelia particularly in the frenetic, trance inducing cut “Happy Nightmare (Mescaline)”. For a progressive rock album most of the tracks were surprisingly short with the exception of the seven minute “Anonymous” and the nine minute and 45 second title track.
Focus were little recognized outside their home country during the time of their 1st album release; however, that all changed after their 2nd studio album “Focus II (Moving Waves)” came out. Their single “Hocus Pocus” quickly became certified as a rock classic. It was praised for its catchiness as for it’s creative instrumentation, which featured flute, accordion, quirky guitar licks, and even yodeling and whistling. The group exhibited a keen and structured understanding of song composition, referencing motifs from classical composers such as Monteverdi, but were also not afraid to test a song’s limits, often delving into extreme forms of improvisation.
Focus continued to push their idiosyncratic style on their proceeding releases, showcasing their classical chops on songs such as “Carnival Fugue”, “Anonymous II”, and “Father Bach” and tapping into the bizarre on songs like “Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!”. Their 3rd studio album “Focus III” also proved to be a great international success and thanks due to their frequent appearance on radio and TV broadcasts their popularity seemed to be on a consistent incline.
Their albums accurately reflected their live performances, but also hinted at their dexterity in the studio. An expansive list of instruments were prominently featured on their albums and were often meticulously multi-tracked, overdubbed, and tweaked with various effects.
The band decided to give their listeners a taste of their live sound and released their performance at London’s Rainbow Theatre “Live at the Rainbow” in October 1973. Their 4th studio album “Hamburger Concerto” was issued the following year and was centered around it’s 20 minute title track inspired by Johannes Brahms’ “Variations on Theme by Haydn”.
Focus’ next studio album “Mother Focus” toned down their progressive technique and veered in a direction that emphasized funk and light pop. All of the songs on the album were under four minutes, and while the group retained much of their experimentation their sound seemed much more concentrated. The change in style is often attributed to the creative control bassist Bert Ruiter exerted on this album. He composed most of the tracks as both Leer and Akkerman were busy pursuing solo projects at that time.
In 1976 the group put out a compilation album entitled “Ship of Memories”, which featured previously unreleased material recorded three years prior. Later this year the “classic” Focus line up was jeopardized with the departure of Jan Akkerman. Though the group lost one of their key members they gained several other important ones, including drummer Steve Smith (formerly of Journey), vocalist P.J. Proby, and guitarist Philip Catherine. With their new line up Focus issued their 6th studio album “Focus con Proby”.
Focus’ proceeding album “Focus: Jan Akkerman & Thijs van Leer” did not come out until 1985 and was created on the basis of fulfilling a recording contract. As the title suggests Akkerman and Leer were the only original members on the album.
In 1990 the classic line up reformed to make an appearance on a Dutch TV program. This was a short lived stint and the group only put on a handful of concerts throughout the 90s. Focus made a strong return in 2002, releasing their 1st album of original material in 17 years, “Focus 8”. The band has since been touring regularly and have also been releasing new material consistently: “Focus 9/ New Skin” (2006), “Focus X” (2012), and “Golden Oldies” (2014).
Formed whilst attending high school, Authority Zero came together in 1994, featuring Bill Marcks (guitars), Jerry Douglas (vocals, guitar) and Jason DeVore (vocals). They soon enlisted Jeremy Wood for bass duties, who had also taught Marcks and Douglas how to play guitar. As a talented bassist, his skills helped Authority Zero stand out from other punk acts, adding a sense of fluidity to the rhythm section. Jim Wilcox (drums) joined soon after, with the band beginning to play locally regularly.
Well-received early EPs and demos led the band to gain a contract with Lava Records, with whom they released their debut album, "A Passage In Time," in 2002. FInding hits with the singles "One More Minute" and "Over Seasons," the band established their presence on the punk rock scene, gaining high profile support slots with the likes of Sum 41, Everclear, Guttermouth and H2O.
In a short space of time, Authority Zero already had material for their second effort, releasing the distinctly latin-flavored "Andiamo" in 2004. Extensive touring followed before Authority Zero recorded an all-acoustic live album, "Rhythm and Booze," which appeared in 2006 on the Suburban Noize label. A support slot with Zebrahead helped gain new fans on tour, before returning with the more energetic "12:34," laying down some fast-paced punk.
In 2010, their fourth record found the band reaching the number five spot on the Billboard US Heatseekers chart, their highest position yet. Bassist Jeremy Wood unfortunately left the band in 2013, citing musical differences, shortly before Authority Zero unleashed their fifth outing, "The Tipping Point," again charting well.
I had never been to a Focus concert before. I took a chance since the little bit of music I heard was good, and it was as expected for a concert of a band you've never really listened to much because they weren't making new stuff.
They are not a vocals heavy band like most people are used to, so you have to know that going in. They played their Hamburger Concerto, which was great- I like that one. They have a wide range of instruments, like a flute, drums, a keyboard, et cetera. It's really phenomenal. The venue was pretty big, and spacy which meant the sound traveled well and you could hear it from wherever.
The crowd was more quiet than I would have expected, but I guess that's because the music was almost classical in nature- like a classic/ rock hybrid. I'm really glad they are back up and touring. It was a shame when they broke up in 1978. This reunion tour could be a big thing if they keep up what they've been doing. They aren't quite traditional, but they are really, really great. I'll be tempted to get tickets again the next time they are around.
What a show. Funky vibes, Blowing Horns, The JB's are alive.
Epic songs , good as Always, for years.
a true tribute to the Godfather and his everlasting music.
Excellent
The punk rock band called Authority Zero, was formed back in 1994. The group has 2 guitarists and a drummer who all went to school together, where they began making songs as a bit of a hobby, they later recruited another member who joined as a bit of a joke they claimed, after a while of playing together though they decided to stop joking around and actually give it a shot. It was unexpected when I found myself actually enjoying their music because it's not really the typical genre I tend to listen to. This group however combines a bit of skate punk and reggae style with a bit of Spanish influence, which is pretty interesting to see. They released their debut album in 2002 through Lava Records, called 'A Passage In Time', which did pretty well for their first released album. The band are crazy at a live gig, everything I'd want from a punk rock band including crowd surfing, mosh pits, topless drumming and insane guitar riffs. You wouldn't forget being a part of that audience quickly if you saw them live, they are currently touring the US but if they came to the UK I'd definitely go and get a bit crazy at one of their gigs!
Madsen is a German rock band from Priesseck from Germany. Their sound is such a pop rock sound with an edge. Singer, Sebastian knows exactly how to work this crowd, commanding this fantastically receptive festival audience from the start until the end of their set. He is a likeable and charismatic character, playing guitar at points throughout their set. I’ve got to admit, their sound can get very loud and very mainstream at points. There is one point of the set where he encourages a circle pit whiles playing in a dropped metal tuning on his guitar. They trawl through some of their best work, with songs such as “Nachtbaden” which has everyone in this audience with their hands up in the air waving them from back to front in appreciation. They finish with the infectious “Du schreibst Geschichte” which gets this party going bringing the audience to their peak as they are so loud that Sebastian, at this point could put the microphone down and not sing.