Background
The Progressive Shamanists is an American, East Coast, music group that formed at Lehigh Univesity in the Fall semester of 1980. While the founding members attended Lehigh University, the group largely performed contemporary, cover songs written by a variety of artists, including David Bowie, David Byrne, The Who, The Kinks, the Clash and The Doors. Later, in 1983 after the most senior members of the group graduated from Lehigh University, the group met periodically to exclusively work on their own original material. Ultimately, the group produced the equivalent of eleven studio albums of original material.
The founding members of the group included Rob Kowtko, Huw Roberts, and Keith Swanson. Over the course of the Fall semester at Lehigh University the group morphed into a house band of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity.
As time progressed the roster of the group resembled a revolving door. At the outset of the Spring semester of 1981, the roster included fraternity brothers, Huw Roberts, Keith Swanson, Jim Jordan, Scott Keller, and Greg Pichler. Over the course of the Spring semester of 1981 the group performed on two occasions, including a performance at the Catacombs in the basement of Packard Chappel and another at the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity house at 227 Warren Square, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of the Spring semester of 1981, Huw Roberts transfered out of Lehigh University. Over the course of the Fall semester of 1981, Roberts was replaced by keyboardist, Bob Jones, who pledged the fraternity that semester.
Over the course of the Fall semester of 1981 the group performed on two occasions, including an outdoor performance at Warren Square, and an evening performance at the fraternity house at 227 Warren Square, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. At the conclusion of the Fall semester of 1981, Keith Swanson dropped out of Lehigh University, leading to a dissolution of the group as a fraternity house band. In its place Rob Kowtko and Greg Pichler formed a new group the following semester with freshman, percussionist, Rob Prigge.
Over the course of the Spring semester of 1982 the entirely new roster performed at the German House. The new roster practiced at a studio environment in Greentown, Pennsylvania. While in studio, the new roster produced the equivalent of one studio album, The Immaculate Conception, wrapping up the collection the weekend, starting Saturday, March 27, 1982.
Click here to read the history of the group.
Click here to listen to the Tanglewood, PA version of the medley of Kinks' songs, You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night, that the group rehearsed two weeks prior to a scheduled performance at the German House at 212 Warren Square, on April 2, 1982.
Current Members
Past Members
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