Official Press Release:
I Am The Manic Whale are unashamedly a Progressive Rock band. Whilst making similar timbral choices to many of the great Progressive artists, particularly Genesis, Big Big Train, Spock’s Beard and Neal Morse, I Am The Manic Whale is also able to bring something new to the table. Their intelligent thoughtful lyrics touch on a range of unusual and interesting subjects from a fresh modern perspective; from science fiction to the history of printing, from the decay of a derelict swimming pool to the mobile artistic and engineering creations of Dutch artist Theo Jansen, known as Strandbeests.
History
Michael and David met at secondary school and have been making music together in various guises for over 20 years. They met Ben a few years later and John relatively recently. The first album, Everything Beautiful In Time was released in December 2015. Since then the band have undertaken a string of live performances, which have been very well received. Their second album, Gathering The Waters was released in October 2017 and in April 2020 they released their third album, Things Unseen.
The 1865 were unsuccessful in their bid for the Cultural Recovery Fund.
Details and how to donate here.
Members
Ben Hartley / Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Michael Whiteman / Bass, Bass Pedals, 12 Strings Guitars, Vocals
John Murphy / Keyboards, Murphatron, Vocals
David Addis / Acoustic, Classical and Electric Guitars, Vocals
Purchase “Things Unseen” through Bandcamp: https://iamthemanicwhale.bandcamp.com/album/things-unseen
Purchase “Christmas Selection Box” through Bandcamp: https://iamthemanicwhale.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-selection-box
Support – Colin Masson
My interest in playing music started when a kindly neighbour gave me an old acoustic guitar. Around then in my mid teens, I bought a second hand record player from a friend. The first record I bought was Collected Organ Works Volume 1 by J.S. Bach, shortly followed by Midnight Mushrumps by Gryphon, and Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield. Then, when I started at Winchester school of art, I spent my travel grant on my first electric guitar, and then hitchhiked to college for the rest of the year. Whilst at art school I played in a punk band called the BA (The original guitarist had to drop out because he shredded his fingers in his enthusiasm), however I was thrown out because I knew too many chords, and wore a woolly hat. Subsequent bands had names such as Scavenger, the Gestalt, Big Amongst Sheep, and Elidor. They all had one thing in common, they rehearsed a lot and never played any gigs.
The next band, The Morrigan was a different kettle of fish however. In its 25 year history it played a lot of gigs, including 2 stints at Glastonbury in the 90’s, and released five well received albums. In the end the band did not break up, rather it retired, and might yet crawl out of the woodwork. I released my first solo album in 2001, ”Isle of Eight,” followed by “The Mad Monk and the Mountain,” “The Southern Cross,” and now “The Anvil of the North.” When not musicing I can be seen pushing a lawn mower up and down at a local school. In the last 10 years I have become interested in computer animation and games, including games music, and have been using what I have learned, to make my own music videos.
Venue Information: https://geoffreytucker42.wixsite.com/solentareaprog/1865
Buy Tickets: https://www.seetickets.com/event/i-am-the-manic-whale-colin-masson/the-1865/1719464
