Happy the Man ?

Joules · « **on:** 4 Jan 2006, 12:22 am »

Any body ever heard of the group, Happy the Man
I think they had there roots in Reston Virgina USA

Rick Craig · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 12:34 am »

Quote from: Joules

Any body ever heard of the group, Happy the Man
I think they had there roots in Reston Virgina USA

Yes

Listening to them since the late 70's.

CELT in AR · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 01:16 am »

Kit Watkins was one of the original members. Nice guy...very creative.
"Starborne" and "Open Book" are two of my favorite tracks.

TomS · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 03:17 am »

I'll have to dig but I know I probably have a least 1 LP from my 70's collection. Really great music and very creative.

doorman · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 03:22 am »

They're a must listen for any Prog-Rock fans!

Rick Craig · « **Reply #5 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 03:24 am »

Quote from: TomS

I'll have to dig but I know I probably have a least 1 LP from my 70's collection. Really great music and very creative.

Good to hear from the Fort (my hometown)

I believe one of the band members was from Fort Wayne.

Gordy · « **Reply #6 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 06:34 am »

I'll have to try to dig something up! interesting link... http://www.fargonebooks.com/happytheman.html

jon_010101 · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 07:45 am »

Wow... strange to hear about them... I know I have a copy of Crafty Hands somewhere. Can't remember what it sounds like though!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 07:53 am »

From their website....music downloads of two songs....not bad !!!

http://www.happytheman.com/Downloads.htm[/list:u]

Joules · « **Reply #9 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 12:24 pm »

Yea ... I was diging thru some old LP's and came across Crafty Hands and... whew... the memories came flooding back. I have a Complation CD of thiers that I listen to from time to time. Great stuff.
Where are they now that we need them.

TomS · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 12:55 pm »

If you're from Ft. Wayne and remember Happy The Man I bet you'd even remember "Ethos"? There may even have been some crossover of people there. Those memories are pretty dusty and making me really feel my age.

BobM · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 01:17 pm »

Quote from: Joules

Where are they now that we need them.

They are actually recording again. Kit Watkins is not playing with them though - there's a new keyboardist. If you read his story though you will find that he is probably kit's biggest fan, has learned all his solo's and can mimic his slippery melodic technique perfectly. You won't miss Kit much on their latest CD.

If you're a progger and like this sort of stuff then you should visit http://www.progressiveears.com and look in on the forums. Great stuff there, some of it old school (Yes, Genesis, etc), much of it unknown European prog bands (both old and new) and much of it current prog. Enough for anyone with any kind of prog tastes, for sure.

Enjoy,
Bob

Rick Craig · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 01:29 pm »

Quote from: TomS

If you're from Ft. Wayne and remember Happy The Man I bet you'd even remember "Ethos"? There may even have been some crossover of people there. Those memories are pretty dusty and making me really feel my age.

Yes, I remember going into Slatewood Records and Ethos' first album covered one wall when it was released. I saw them in concert once and wrote a review for Homestead's H.S. newspaper. They were an excellent band and recorded two ablums for Capitol.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 01:34 pm »

Quote from: BobM

They are actually recording again. Kit Watkins is not playing with them though - there's a new keyboardist. If you read his story though you will find that he is probably kit's biggest fan, has learned all his solo's and can mimic his slippery melodic technique perfectly. You won't miss Kit much on their latest CD.

If you're a progger and like this sort of stuff then you should visit http://www.progressiveears.com and look in on the forums. Great stuff there, some of it old school (Yes, Genesis, etc) ...

Another site I like is www.progarchives.com. This is a good primer for old or new fans of progressive rock. They have the different genres broken down and you can hear several tracks from different bands. Some of my favorites are in the Italian prog section (Maxophone,PFM) and Canterbury (National Health, Caravan, Egg, Hatfield & the North).

TomS · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 01:44 pm »

I actually have several PFM's, Hatfield and the North, etc. I must have been in deeper than I remembered. I saw Ethos many times while growing up here. They were a terrific performance band - much better than the record companies would permit on a recording. Yikes - Slatewood Records retained most of my disposable income during high school and early college years.

Joules · « **Reply #15 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 11:44 pm »

You may have already seen this, but I just found this http://www.happytheman.com/Video%20Page.htm
I've never seen them live but, this is ok until then!!

Rick Craig · « **Reply #16 on:** 4 Jan 2006, 11:49 pm »

Quote from: TomS

I actually have several PFM's, Hatfield and the North, etc. I must have been in deeper than I remembered. I saw Ethos many times while growing up here. They were a terrific performance band - much better than the record companies would permit on a recording. Yikes - Slatewood Records retained most of my disposable income during high school and early college years.

They gladly took the majority my disposable income as well

BobM · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Jan 2006, 01:15 am »

Awesome video's. Always wanted to see them live, but came upon them late in life, after they disbanded. Now they're back, so maybe I'll search and see if they're going to play somewhere on Long Island.

I feel like I'm catching up on missed shows of my youth these days. Saw Loggins & Messina last summer, and CSN before that - both outdoor shows. Yes they are all old, but what great shows.

For those who are unfamiliar with HTM's stuff I would recommend getting the live album first.

Enjoy,
Bob

Gordy · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 03:35 am »

How timely, just received this link in my Email... http://www.echoes.org/Progrock.html