Far Corner
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NEWS

March 7, 2009

Recent Activities, Exciting Moves
It's been an exciting time for Far Corner members over the past year or so.  Craig Walkner moved to Austin Texas to try his hand at being drummer in a new and inspiring musical town.  While there is some distance from the Far Corner "home base," Craig is still very much a part of the group.

William is also trying life on the other side of the globe, making the big move to France last summer. He too is ready to swim back to Wisconsin for any Far Corner madness, whenever it may strike.

Far Corner did a few recording sessions not too long and completed about half of album number III.  Dan and Angie have been working on building their new recording studio to finish the mixing of these tunes before the summer of 09.  Sometime in 09, the group should reform to finish recording, producing a finished album in the fall, 2009.  Check back for some sneak-peak sound samples of the new material this summer.

--WEBSITE is now DANIELMASKE.COM



March 5, 2008

CRAIG AND BILL TO TOUR WITH TWO LOONS FOR TEA
Tea this spring.  Walkner came "highly recommended" by one of the band's favorite drummers, Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson).  Far Corner bassist William Kopecky will also be joining the group for a portion of the tour.


January 22, 2008

Check out Far Corner's new individual band member pages:
William Kopecky:
Dan Maske:
Craig Walkner:
Angela Schmidt:
Myspace.com/williamkopecky
Myspace.com/danmaske
Myspace.com/craigloop2
Myspace.com/cellowarrior



January 15, 2008

ENDANGERED VOTED TOP CD of 2007
Far Corner's Endangered was voted one of the five best progressive rock CDs of 2007 by the SYMPHONY OF SILENCE Radio Magazine (Italy).


December 12, 2007

Concert and Photos from 12/8/07
Far Corner performed a concert in Cudahy, WI w/ vonFrickle and Might Could.  Photographer Gareth Glynn Ash attended and posted about it on his blog.

Photos of all three groups may be viewed at:  The Celtic Camera.



December 10, 2007

ENDANGERED in Top 100!
Far Corner's album Endangered ranked at number 19 in the top 100 progressive rock CDs of 2007, a countdown featured on the GAGLIARCHIVES radio show for their 12th annual radio special.  At just over 7000 votes this year, the show is said to be the "perfect summation of the must haves for 2007."  Thanks to all who voted.


July 30, 2007

FAR CORNER IN PROGRESSION MAGAZINE
Issue # 51 of Progression magazine features a six-page article on Far Corner.  The story includes interviews with all four members regarding the history of the group, insights into compositional methods, comments on the Endangered CD, and more.  Several photos are also included.  Visit progressionmagazine.com to order your copy.


July 28, 2007

DAN MASKE COMMISSIONED
Keyboardist Dan Maske recently won a commission from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra.  Maske will compose a 10-15 minute work to be premiered by the orchestra in May, 2008.


July 27, 2007

ENDANGERED NOMINATED
Far Corner's second CD Endangered was nominated in the category of "Best Foreign Record" on the Italian progressive rock web site ProgAwards.it.  Visit the site often to find out the winner in this category.


July 26, 2007

CRAIG WALKNER JOINS YETI RAIN
FC drummer Craig Walkner has joined the ranks of Yeti Rain, the dark ambient project featuring FC bassist William and Snarling Adjective Convention sax and wind synth player Roger Ebner.  Craig recently recorded acoustic and electronic percussion tracks for YR's 3rd CD, tentatively titled III.


May 15, 2007

KEYBOARD BOOK RELEASED
Dan Maske's instruction book Progressive Rock Keyboard was released and is available at your local music stores as well as online retailers.  Published by Hal Leonard Corporation, this book and CD package features insight into a variety of progressive rock styles, including both performance and compositional techniques.  The CD includes 95 tracks featuring fellow Far Corner members William Kopecky, Angela Schmidt, and Craig Walkner, along with Strange Land guitarist, Sean Gill.

Visit the Hal Leonard web site for more information, sample pages, and sound samples.
Progressive Rock Keyboard by Dan Maske



March 30, 2007

Angela Featured on New CD
Cellist Angela Schmidt recently recorded cello tracks for the upcoming release by Unicorn Records recording artist Dimension X.  The group is putting the finishing touches on the album which should be released later in 2007.


February 20, 2007

CD-Release Concert Follow-up
Far Corner's CD-release concert took place on Feb. 16, at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, WI.  The show was opened by Strange Land, a diverse melodic neo-progressive power-trio from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that plays thought provoking rock/metal featuring Chad Novell, Brad Klotz, and Sean Gill.

Far Corner performed a few works from their debut CD, four tracks from the new CD, Endangered, and about thirty minutes worth of new material, including some improv-based music.  New tunes included "Flim-Flam Man," "Cast Your Shadows and Burn the Moon," and "Wilderness Asylum."  The group also performed their funky regular "Phat Corner," a tune inspired by a computer typo, where a hotel they were staying at had their name entered as "Fat Corner."

The show featured a welcoming crowd filled w/ friends, relatives, and people who've never seen the group.  Some had never heard of Far Corner, but saw a recent write-up in the Shepherd Express newspaper and attended based on that info.  As usual w/ Far Corner shows as well as many of the progressive rock shows in Milwaukee, musicians made up a large portion of the audience.  These included members of the bands Dimension X, The Pulltops, Shock Stars, The Quark Quintet, and even the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, plus at least a few more.

Far Corner's next show is scheduled for May 19 in the new Lake Mills High School auditorium, in lake Mills, WI.



November 28, 2006

ENDANGERED RELEASE
The release date for Far Corner's second album Endangered has been confirmed for January 16, 2007.  The CDs just came off press and look great.  The release will also be available for purchase/download on iTunes.  As of today, the CD is already available for pre-ordering on Amazon.com.

The group is also scheduling a CD-release concert for late January/February, so check back for confirmation.



November 8, 2006

New Project
The new band featuring Far Corner members put together by William Kopecky is called Snarling Adjective Convention.  Mixing of their first CD, Bluewolf Bloodwalk, which was recorded in early autumn at Studio One in Racine, WI, is nearing completion, w/ hopes for a finished recording in December, 2006.  After that, the group will look for a label for distribution and is also working on putting together a gig for sometime in early 2007.

Snarling Adjective Convention

Snarling Adjective Convention (l-r):  Joe Kopecky, Roger Ebner, William Kopecky, Craig Walkner, Dan Maske.



November 7, 2006

MySpace Update
Far Corner's MySpace page was recent updated to include new photos, and some new sound samples.  The new audio excerpts feature music from the upcoming Endangered CD that is not included on the main web site.  There was also a new Blog entry on 11/7/06.


October 12, 2006

INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS BY ANGELA AND DAN
Both Angela and Dan will have new music instruction books published by Hal Leonard Corporation (the world's largest music publisher).  Angela's book is titled "101 Cello Tips," and features everything you need to know about playing cello, gigs, equipment, electric cellos, accessories, and more.  The book also will include an audio CD full of musical examples.

Dan's book is titled "Progressive Rock Keyboard."  This instructional method digs deep into the musical characteristics of keyboard playing and composing, covering several of the progressive rock sub genres.  Dan's book also includes an audio CD featuring dozens of musical examples, and six complete tunes recorded by members of Far Corner and the progressive metal trio Strange Land.

Look for both books in your local music stores in early 2007.



October 6, 2006

NEW PROJECT FOR THREE MEMBERS
Three of Far Corner's members (William, Dan, and Craig) recently entered the studio to record a new project put together by bassist William Kopecky.  The new group also features Joe Kopecky on guitar and Roger Ebner on saxophones and wind synth.  Look for more news on the project soon, both here and on williamkopecky.com.


October 4, 2006

FAR CORNER TO PERFORM AT MILWAUKEE ARTS EXPERIENCE
Far Corner was recently invited to perform for the Milwaukee Arts Experience, on Sunday, Dec. 10.  The group will give an "informance" for a few hundred music and art high school students.  Music from the upcoming new CD ENDANGERED, the debut CD, and new, unrecorded music will be performed and discussed with the audience.  Attendees will be invited to ask questions of the band as well.


December 3, 2005

FAR CORNER ON NEW CUNEIFORM RECORDS SAMPLER
Cuneiform Records recently released their Promo CD No. 3.
The new recording features Far Corner as well as 19 other bands on the label and is available with the latest issue of Expose Magazine.



June 3, 2005

FAR CORNER TO PLAY AT PROGDAY
The group will perform on Labor Day weekend at the world's longest running progressive rock festival, held at Storybook Farm near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
See the PROGDAY web site for more info.



May 4, 2005

FAR CORNER ON NEW CD
A new compilation CD entitled LOUD ENOUGH TO GET YOUR SOUND features an extended live version of the group's tune TRACKING. The CD serves as volume 5 in WMSE (Milwaukee) radio's LIVE AT WMSE series.  See the DISCOGRAPHY page for more info.


May 1, 2005

WILLIAM RECEIVES AWARD
Far Corner bassist, William Kopecky was chosen as the winner in the category of Best Bass Player at the WAMI(Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Awards on April 25, 2005.


January 1, 2005

FAR CORNER IN POLL
Far Corner is featured as one of twenty choices in a poll to vote for the best CDs of 2004.  You may vote and/or view the poll on the Sea of Tranquility web site.


December 26, 2004

INTERVIEW SCHEDULED
Far Corner agreed to be interviewd by the progressive rock web site NUCLEUS.  Look for the interview to appear in early 2005.


December 4, 2004

NEW WORK PREMIERED
Far Corner premiered a new composition at their CD-Release Concert on December 3.  The new work titled "Creature Council" was performed in an abridged version.  The full eleven minute version has plans for a premiere performance in the Spring of 2005.  Two other new compositions are in the works as well.  If all goes well, these will see performances by the summer.


November 8, 2004

LIVE RADIO PERFORMANCE
Far Corner performed live on the PLANET PROG Radio Show on Sunday, November 7 at 9:00pm.  The show was archived to listen to anywhere, anytime.  Follow the links to listen to the show over the internet.


June 6, 2004

RADIO INTERVIEW
Far Corner appeared on the PLANET PROG Radio Show on Sunday, June 6, 9:00pm.
All four members were present for an interview.
Follow the links to listen to the show over the internet.




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