I am Steve Petch known to many as The Progmeister. I hale from the industrial wasteland of the great North East. I am a dyed in the wool Prog Rock fan and have been since the age of twelve though I was passionate about many forms of music well before that. Growing up in the sixties I became intrigued with different rhythms and musical textures usually via TV and film enjoying theme music and scores. Shunning the usual sixties favourites like The Beatles and Rolling Stones I developed a love for Manfred Mann, Procol Harum, The Beach Boys and even The Monkees. It was when I heard Focus for the very first time that I was smitten. The ensuing years saw me attending gigs by the big guns like Pink Floyd Genesis with Peter Gabriel and my favourite Prog band Camel. Prog remains one of my favourite musical forms though my greatest weakness is West coast fusion heralded by artists like Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, larry Carlton and Chick Corea’s Return To Forever together with bands like Spyro Gyra and Weather Report.

After watching a BBC documentary about Prog I became disappointed at the way the genre was represented by some of the contributors so i decided to set up a website celebrating both classic Prog and reviewing new releases. The website is still going strong to this day and keeps the Prog flag flying.

Having written and collaborated with original music inspired by the prog genre and playing keys with a group of local musicians I gained an informed view of the music scene and immersed myself in its many forms. Music chronicles your life and is a work in progress. My ARFM Progcast show gives The Progmeister a voice adding another dimension to the written word. Please join me whilst I share opinions and my views about classic Prog, new releases and many other musical forms besides.