Marillion is a prog-rock band from the U.K. that emerged in the post-punk era of the 80′s.  Their one minor U.S. “hit” is a song called “Kayleigh,” which was sung by the band’s first front man, simply known as Fish.  In the late 80′s Fish left the band for a solo career and he was replaced by Steve Hogarth.  I am a big Marillion fan and I prefer Hogarth (here comes the hate mail!).  This is not as controversial as if I had admitted to liking Hagar better than Roth, but within the rabid Marillion fan base, my words may be interpreted as heresy!  I like Hogarth’s voice better than Fish’s, but, admittedly, I also like Hogarth because he is the only professional rock musician that I have ever interviewed.  When I was a graduate student studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago in the late 90′s I picked up a side gig writing rock album reviews for a free weekly called the University Reporter.  I reviewed Marillion’s album “This Strange Engine” for the paper and their management company contacted me about interviewing Steve Hogarth.  Needless to say, I accepted immediately!  Hogarth could not have been nicer.  He was funny and engaging and, despite a couple of technical phone glitches, the interview was an amazing experience for me.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Marillion because I have an opportunity to see them live in Chicago at the Park West next week.  Marillion doesn’t tour North America very often, so this is a treat!  The band recently played in New York City and “Time Out: New York” interviewed Hogarth about the tour and what it is like to be in a cult band that has struggled with mainstream acceptance.  I think this excerpt will explain a lot about Steve Hogarth’s character and integrity:

I mean, a band can struggle because it just has bad luck, and then a band can struggle because it’s decided not to compromise its values or its music, and that basically the music business machine can’t deal with that artistic point of view, and so it has become outcast.  And I think that’s the reason you see somebody with their hand out, it’s not like they’re begging, it’s like they’re saying, look, this is art; do you want part of this or not?  This is truth.  And I’m of the opinion–I’m of the feeling myself, but I’ve also witnessed firsthand–that if you go to someone with truth, and something that will actually move them, and something that speaks to their innermost self, then it takes on a whole other meaning for them.  It’s not entertainment anymore; it’s much more important than that to people. It sounds a bit pompous, but it just is how our audience has responded to us.  I don’t think they consider us entertainment on any level; I think they consider us almost spiritually core to what they’re about. And I know this, because I get emails every day from people trying to articulate that for me.

When I return from Chi-town I hope to blog about the show.  Until then, enjoy a taste of Marillion live!

Dave Nantais, Detroit, MI

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