oh okay. yeah i love deas vail. =)) Birds in Cages is rad.

Deathbed is more of a multitrack epic. Progressive rock is a little bit harder to define, but Relient K doesn't fall into that category. I do love them though. I saw them a year ago with Deas Vail and Owl City. Greatest show ever (until I saw Owl City, Lights, and Deas Vail in February). If you haven't listened to Deas Vail, you should. Matty T sings on their new record. In fact, they're signed to Mono vs Stereo, which Relient K currently manages. They're pretty awesome, and made my favorite album of the year last year.

ahh yes!
Thank you for the insight and the link. I do like this type of music. I tend to think Relient k falls into this category (theyre my favorite band but ive probably already said that before haha).
Kind of like this song;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhf-BO_2wGw
It's 11 minutes so you dont have to listen to the whole thing but if you fast forward after the first 2 you'll notice the piano pick up towards the end into a heavier bridge. and then slow back down and its just sort of back and forth like what you were saying earlier.

Progressive rock often involves lengthy songs, syncopation, odd time signatures, time signature changes, tempo changes, complicated rhythms, extended solos, ect. Really fun stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7DFsBcVMDA

Classic progressive rock song. Right at the instrumental, it switches from 4/4 to 7/4. Lengthy instrumentals are also characteristic of progressive rock.

If you like acoustics, try Bradley Hathaway's One Thousand Angry Panthers. Its pretty awesome.

my my what diverse taste! port blue has such...peaceful effects. =)
and the best part is you can mix any genre and make it your own. it doesnt have to be specific.
progressive rock...hmm...kind of like Jack's Mannequin or something? either way the bands you suggested are quite good. I'm a sucker for acoustics. I'm not sure why but it seems like a great rock song becomes even better acoustic. For example, who i am hates who ive been by relient k .....the acoustic version is amazing. Same with Up and Up.

Genre is something that's a huge issue for me, as my influences are all over the board. Right now, I'm jamming out to Rush and Dream Theater to fulfill my need for epic progressive rock with keyboards. Tom Sawyer and Octavarium really get me going. Sadly, no one I know is really interested in doing progressive rock/metal. If I went purely solo, I'd do ambient/electro, no doubt. I do it on my own anyways. Listen to some Port Blue, The Farewell Scene, ect. Other times, I really want to do pop-punk, like Eleventyseven or Mercy Mercedes. Other times, synthcore, like with The Devil Wears Prada or We Came as Romans. Most likely though, I'm going to be doing folky, upbeat, blues/jazz influnced acoustic, starting here in a few months. Thankfully, all of these things can easily be Christian-influenced.

judging by the way you phrased the last paragraph i would say you are plenty experienced! I know!! there is such a need for positive messages and influences in our culture today. Where debase and demoralizing topics and actions are in your face. Where every other song on the radio is either about sex or vulgar things of hatred and backstabbing. Its such a shame and its up to us who claim the Lord to change that! So i am really encouraged to hear there are others out there who arent going to sell out. If I ever get anywhere with music im not sure which genre/label i'd sign with. I'd really like to go Indie the whole way but that may be tough. I'm not sure if it'd be right to go with a strict Christian title because that might be a turn off. But I would certainly put my faith first because that's the inspiration for all lyricism and such. I wouldnt be completely secular but I want to reach those who dont already know like you said. There's nothing wrong with fellowshipping with those who believe but even Jesus said the sick are who need the doctor. =)

Um, yeah.... no. I'm nowhere near accomplished. I'm just some guy that decided that he wanted to play an instrument because so many of his friends did. Plus, I've always loved bands with lotsa piano/synth in them. I've played somewhere around 50+ worship sets (once a week, 34 weeks a year, 1.5 years, plus some Sundays and events). Most of them are smaller, but I've played for upwards of 150 or so. If I didn't have to work, there was a chance that I was going to be playing at the National Student Conference this year (its going on now in Indiana) for a couple hundred people each day for morning worship. But our guitarist and vocalist are handling it.

What I'd like to do with music is use it to make God known. I've never planned to be a worship leader (can't sing worth anything, 'cept a few songs here and there). Worship leaders are definitely cool, and I love playing with them, but they don't really make God known. They play to people who already know God, and lead them in worshiping Him. Which I definitely love doing. But if given the choice, I'd rather be playing Christian-influenced music to all types of people, hanging out after shows with them, and sharing the Truth and such. I prayed and told God that if He saw it fit for me to be a musician, the I'd not use it to glorify myself. I think I've done a fairly good job of that (and its why I'll never be a straight up secular artist). I credit God as the reason why I can play as good as I apparently do (that, and having to adopt to my worship leader's tendency to make a set list of songs I've never played before around a day before play time).

really? im surprised because you seemed like an accomplished pianist. It counts lol =). but i know what you mean. the whole stage experience thing helps. ive probably done 2 or 3 shows with the praise and worship band (so around 100/150 in the audience) and a couple solo acoustic guitar things for friends/family just lame stuff like that haha. my cousin wanted me to do this band with him, we would end up playing shows with a local band who actually has done gigs with bands like We the Kings and The Maine. he booked us some gigs but we canceled because it hasnt really worked out since none of us have rides across town for practices. oh well. when im older and more accomplished im sure the opportunities will grow. im hoping to record some stuff and eventually do some local shows just for practice. that way i'll know what im doing if i ever get into a semi-important set list. =)
honestly its all about going with the flow like you said. and just letting the music speak for itself. all i really want to come out of this 'dream' or 'goal' or whatever, is to touch people with good, profound music. lyrics that really hit home with a catchy beat and whatnot. sorry for the cheesiness. im sorta having a moment haha. XD

Well, one of the reasons we look so "into it" is because we all kinda are. We just kinda let the worship flow. It does help that all of us (except me) have musical experience. Our female singer has been in our university's choir, lead worship at Youth Camp, and has been in plays. Our djembe player was in the university pep band, playing drums at the home basketball games, and has been in a band playing electric guitar for a while now (they did Cornerstone last year). Our leader/guitar player has done guitar for 5 years, and drums for at least 15, including a junk ton of drum competitions. I've got no experience on stage or anything. I just focus on the worship aspect of things, and get into the music.

awesome! i love teaching people!

woahh your band actually looks into it haha. thats the problem with our praise band, we need to work on the presentation. alot of the other students are kinda nervous, not used to being on stage. playing with other people. etc...

nice job on keys though haha. your guitarist looks great too.

The solo deal can be fun. I just recorded a ~45 second demo last night that I'm in the process of expanding into a full song. I have the intro and what will be the chorus written, and a chord progression for the verses, but I still need to do some major drum program tweaking, writing a melody line, and picking the most appropriate sounds, which will take me the most time (mostly because I'm extremely picky about what sounds I use). I'm also starting a more acoustic band with the girl in our worship band. We both just graduated. She's interning with our group, and I'm her assistant. I'm gonna be teaching her guitar later on (she's gotta do the actually playing, but I'm teaching her the theoretical stuff, like with blues and such). I'm also tryin' to get a buddy to play violin in the band. Just depends.

This is our band (you can't see our djembe player, who graduated and sadly will not be playing with us this year).

yeah i hear roland is one of the best ever. my brother was looking into an electric kit but then he quit saving his dough haha.it was i think $1000.

Wow that is so awesome! I'm sorry you missed church =(. I love worship bands they are great. I really wanted to start my own band several times but to no avail. I'm thinking about just going with a solo project then working with whatever comes at me. I'm still in high school though so I have a while just to mess around and such.
Haha 'epic strings'....I like that. =)

No prob. If you want a kit, go electric. Its not the best thing in the world, sound wise, but you can use headphones. I just graduated from college and moved into an apartment complex, so I can't have an acoustic kit either. I'd love a set of Roland V-Drums, but they're way too expensive. I may go with an Alesis kit.

Yes, I'm a Christian. And apparently my alarm clock failed entirely today, so I just missed church. Not cool. No church before work is not a fun deal. During the school year, I play every week in an on-campus Worship band with a djembe player, guitarist, and vocalist (though our djembe player graduated and left). I'm also part of a rotating worship band at my church, so I'll play various Sundays. We do a wide variety of stuff. In a single set, I've done piano on a traditional hymn, added some pop-punk synth riffs to an upbeat song, and done "epic strings" on a slower song. The first regular set of the year (next Wednesday) has me doing a very electronic version of "No One Like You" by DC*B. DC*B is about the only straight up worship I ever listen to, along with The Glorious Unseen (my favorite) and The Farewell Scene.

I really appreciate all the info.
I'm sure eventually I will look into a synth once I have mastered some piano skills =).

Yeah I would love to have a kit but it's pretty loud on my parents haha.
I noticed a few references in your posts to church and worship band...are you a Christian? I am also in a praise band and it's a lot of fun to play a more melodic style of music (even if its not my first choice to listen to).