Proclamation (magazine)
Proclamation, The Occasional Gentle Giant Magazine was a non-profit magazine devoted to Gentle Giant, published by Geir Hasnes. It came out occasionally, one issue every few years, but was of very high quality. The last issue official published was in 1997.
Contents of previous issues
Issue 1, March 1992: 16 pages
- Editorial
- Questions and answers
- Profiles of each band member
- Letters from fans
Issue 2, December 1992: 40 pages
- Editorial
- Questions and answers
- Album focus: Gentle Giant
- Interview from Zigzag magazine, April 1975.
- A letter from Phil Shulman.
- Gnidrolog, a band with similarities to Gentle Giant
- Photographs from a concert in Norway, September 1976.
- Letters from fans
- Ads for GG merchandise
Issue 3, August 1993: 56 pages
- Editorial
- New CD releases
- Questions and answers
- Kerry Livgren of Kansas
- The Green Album by Eddie Jobson (with Gary Green)
- Gentle Giant poll results
- Album focus: Acquiring The Taste
- Interview with Kerry Minnear
- Kerry Minnear update
- Transcription: On Reflection
- Musical analysis of Peel The Paint
- Pekka Pohjola information
- Review of a concert form 1972
- Album covers and inner sleeves
- Letters from fans
- Advertisements
Issue 4, October 1994: 88 pages
- Lyrics from Heroes
- Editorial
- New CD releases, including Phil Shulman's son
- Questions and answers
- Franco Mussida of Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM)
- Gentle Giant's BBC sessions
- Gentle Giant poll results
- Album focus: Three Friends
- Interview from 1981
- Two interviews with Gary Green
- Musical analysis of Pantagruel's Nativity
- Transcription of Acquiring The Taste
- Music releases by Proclamation subscribers
- Album covers and inner sleeves
- Letters from fans
- Advertisements
Issue 5, March 1997: 68 pages
The first issue with color and professional binding. (Thanks to Frank Long for the scan!) Layout by Christian Staebler.
- Editorial
- News about Gentle Giant releases and other important events
- The recording project (trying to arrange a reunion album)
- One Week In Britain: Geir Hasnes and Dan Bornemark visit the Boys In The Band
- The making of The Last Steps
- Live at the Roxy 1980: memories
- Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull) interview with GG focus
- 1977 interview with the band, from Trouser Press
- Phil Shulman interview
- Simon Dupree and the Big Sound history
- Musical analysis and transcription of So Sincere
- Record Collector poll results
"Issue 6," July 2000: 30 pages
This was an unofficial issue produced by David Armas, with layout by Christian Staebler. Geir considers the issue to be incomplete.
- Editorial
- List of concert tapes
- List of videos
A word from Geir about Proclamation
From Geir Hasnes (12 November 1996)
Thank you for showing your interest in Gentle Giant. Hopefully, you will find the information you require in this brief information sheet.
Proclamation (magazine) is (on average) a 50-page fanzine dedicated to Gentle Giant. Related progressive acts are also covered. The magazine is nicely produced, although not on glossy paper. Issue #1 appeared in March 1992 (16 pages), #2 in Dec. 1992 (40 pages), #3 in August 1993 (56 pages), and #4 in October 1994 (88 pages). Issue 5 was delayed but will be published in November 1996.
The magazine includes news about releases of old material on CD, bootlegs, existing audio tapes, etc. There is an in-depth questions and answers column, and general letters from subscribers are also printed: for instance, reminiscences about concerts. Extensive old and new interviews with band members and detailed articles from the 70s are prioritized, along with descriptions of compositions, albums and artwork, musical analyses, sheet music transcribed in detail, detailed discographies, bibliographies, and other pieces of information. Promotional materials are reproduced. Related music is covered.
Issue 2 included a long letter from Phil Shulman and the longest interview ever conducted with the group in the 1970s. Issue 3 was a Kerry Minnear special and issue 4 a Gary Green special, both with old and new detailed interviews. Issue #5 carries us up to date with most band members and their activities.
The magazine functions as the interest group for Gentle Giant. As we stand together, we have already helped with having all the band's material reissued on good, remastered CDs. We help unearthing unreleased pieces, and help the band members (and others) to keep composing new and intriguing pieces of music.
We have more than 700 subscribers from more than 20 countries, and the readership is steadily growing, making thicker issues and color photographs possible in the future. We are in contact with all the band members and the record companies that have reissued most GG albums.
I make no financial profit from this venture. I rely on your subscription money to make this magazine as good as possible. I channel all the money from subscriptions into the magazine. Postage to the far corners of the world ain't cheap!