MENNO GOOTJES (FOCUS)
The great and good of progressive music give us a glimpse into their prog worlds. As told to Grant Moon.
PRESS/JOHN PRICE
Where’s home?
I live in Schiedam, a town near Rotterdam, Holland. Home feels like any time spent with my daughter or with my students. Being out there in the world performing, that’s my home.
What’s your earliest memory of prog?
When I was around 15, a friend’s dad had a record collection full of Canterbury bands –Soft Machine, Matching Mole, Wyatt, Nucleus, Gong. We loved it.
What was the first prog album you bought?
Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage, in the spring of 1987 when I was 12. I bought it at this second-hand record store called Disk, near my parents’ house in Schiedam. This was another world and it has captivated me ever since. It’s a treasure!