7th Order

7th Order is an American progressive rock & roll band whose debut "extended play" CD release, The Lake of Memory, was issued on the Big Island Sounds^[1] label in 2007 (although 7th Order had been together for several years by that time).^[2] The band has, at various times, been assisted by veteran British guitarist Martin Pugh^[3] (of Steamhammer, "The Rod Stewart Album",^[4] and Armageddon), drummer Tim Kelliher (of Randy Hansen's Machine Gun), and legendary American rock guitarist Geoff Thorpe^[5] (of Vicious Rumors). Reviewers have recognized their particular sound as reminiscent of blues-rock bands like The Rolling Stones & The Yardbirds, with progressive undertones ala Led Zeppelin.^[6]

History

7th Order's pre-history began in Honolulu, Hawaii, where key participants first met in the 1960s^[7]). The actual band itself evolved from studio sessions organized in California/Washington beginning in 1999 - the band has identified their influences to be the blues/rock & roll innovators of the '50s and '60s^[8] - in a radio interview on Radio Heemskerk,^[9] Netherlands in August 2003,^[10] band members discussed spending younger days playing in various bands around the US, crossing paths with icons of the rock & roll scene like Jesse Ed Davis, Mick Taylor, B.B. King, Peter Green, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roger McGuinn, Eric Clapton and others (detailed on their Myspace page) before actual 7th Order recording sessions began in 2001.^[11]

While 7th Order had received worldwide recognition via radio and TV^[12][13][14] exposure since 2003, their progress was reportedly derailed by the death of a band member's son in November 2004.^[15] They then opted to delay their debut release, "The Lake of Memory" (the title song having been inspired by a line from the writings of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner^[16]), but had to withstand yet another tragic setback: their management consultant and longtime friend, Steven B. Williams, was murdered off of Santa Catalina Island, California in May 2006^[17] (Williams had previously been a successful rock radio DJ on stations like Denver's KBPI and Honolulu's KIKI (AM)) though the CD release did eventually take place in 2007 (albeit with some incorrect credits on the sleeve).^[18] The personnel involved at this point included Daniel Jones (not Daniel Jones of Savage Garden), who wrote & sang all of the band's material - alongside guests Martin Pugh and Geoff Thorpe on guitars, Benjamin Hadley on bass, and both Tim Kelliher and Adam Gross played drums. Some confusion about who was technically 'in the band' emerged as the result of clips from a promotional video segment (and the resulting "stills" taken from the session), as some acquaintances of the band had simply acted as "stand ins" for the video shoot (Thorpe and Pugh were not available to participate), and they were never formal band members.^[19]

Current activities

Evidence of what the future for the band may be is found in the ASCAP^[20] database, which lists several compositions that are not on the released 7th Order CD's - it therefore seems possible that these previously unknown songs may be destined for a future 7th Order release, as was stated by the DJ in a radio broadcast of the "AIP show" on CKWR in Ontario, Canada^[21] on 3/18/12. In addition, a broadcast on 5/1/09 originating from KKCR radio on the Hawaiian island of Kauai had featured several station ID promos (seemingly recorded for one of the station's yearly "fund drives"), done by a band member introduced as "...of 7th Order", indicating that they did still exist as a band. Members are also known to have autographed copies of The Lake of Memory CDs for attendees of a benefit motorcycle run^[22] for Aseltine School^[23] (a school that "helps meet the educational needs of emotionally disturbed and learning disabled students from throughout San Diego County") in San Diego, California - held on July 22, 2011.

The title track from the 2nd 7th Order extended play CD single release, "Road to Yerevan" (a band original written by Jones/Pugh), has been played and discussed on radio shows on RTRFM in Perth, Australia:,^[24] as well as CKWR in Ontario, Canada and WNTI in Hackettstown, NJ (USA) - and additionally heard in various radio broadcasts (2011–15) around the world is a live medley (taken from an audience tape recorded in Keaau, Hawaii) of Tommy Bolin's "Wild Dogs" and Roger McGuinn's "Ballad of Easy Rider".^[25]

Additionally, the band's web site references a forthcoming compilation/career retrospective titled "The Initiate's Journey, 2003-13",^[26] and has been played extensively on radio stations like "Rocker's Dive Radio"^[27] and the "Rock 365 Radio Network"^[28]

Discography

The Lake of Memory EP

7th Order: "The Lake of Memory" CD

1. The Lake of Memory - 7:38
2. Lazarus - 4:48
3. Force of Nature Comes Down - 3:40

Αll titles: (Jones) 2003-06@7th Order Songs (ASCAP)
Sound recordings copyright 2003-07@Big Island Sounds, all rights reserved

Produced by 7th Order
Assisted by Martin Pugh and Geoff Thorpe
Engineered by S. Letrev and D. Miller

Road to Yerevan EP

7th Order: "Road to Yerevan" CD

1. Road to Yerevan (Jones/Pugh) - 8:08
2. Powderkeg (Jones) - 3:15
3. Live Acoustic Medley - 2:58
   

Produced by 7th Order
Assisted by Martin Pugh
Engineered by T. Morgan and D. Miller

Sound recordings copyright 2012@Big Island Sounds, all rights reserved

References

External links

• 7th Order official website official 7th Order website
• The Rockit Scientists Armageddon & Steamhammer guitarist Martin Pugh joins 7th Order in the studio
• Vicious Rumors News Geoff Thorpe and Martin Pugh trade licks in 7th Order
• Gitarzysta Vicious Rumors na singlu 7th Order 7th Order's "The Lake of Memory" brings Vicious Rumors' Geoff Thorpe together with legendary British guitarist Martin Pugh