VIRTUALITY PRESS: TESTIMONIALS page 1:   Joe-X: Posted by Joe-X at the Fates Warning Board on 03/29 at 20:01:38: Don't you just hate it when you discover a great disc that matches your tastes perfectly but you've wasted several good months of listening time by not buying it sooner. That's the case with me for this disc. I heard this for the first time on Seismic Radio (http://www.seismicradio.com) last summer. DJ Stardust was playing it quite often on her show. At the time, I thought it was pretty good. It went into my head as something to eventually pick up. Now, in case you might have missed it, Scott was just about the biggest, um, self-promoter of his material in the history of any prog-metal discussion areas on the Internet. He was a spammer, but in a good and fairly non-intrusive way. :-) He had this signature that he put at the end of every message that was about 12 lines long to point to a bunch of URLs. And he responded to every message on the board for what appeared to me solely so that he could repost his advertisement (http://www.theambientmind.com) again and again. It was a good thing that most places don't allow embedded html. Fact is, it got on my nerves. I'm generally a pretty tolerant guy so I know that if it got on my nerves that it had to drive quite a few people literally ape-poopy. Admit it.   Now, musicians spamming me doesn't usually bother me. I sent an email to Rob Lamothe of Riverdogs about 30 years ago asking him a question, and I'm still on his mailing list. It's cool though. Scott was annoying because he was just so durned relentless about the whole thing. Really, that's all I have bad to say about him or his music. :-) He works his tail off, and I admire that.   I've been haunting the Fates Warning message board (http://www.fateswarning.com/fwboard) for a couple of weeks now sharing with them my twisted vision of the world and my plans for eventual domination. Scott posts on there often with opinions that differ quite significantly from mine (to say the least). He's basically a full blown marx-loving no-good pinko reactionary. :-) I enjoy reading his posts because he is frightfully consistent. A few times he mentioned that his political opinions and his music were intertwined. I thought that was cool even though I thought Joe McCarthy should pluck his fingernails. It made me wonder just what kind of music a left-wing radical egalitarian commie would make. So I ordered his disc from CdBaby (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mosher) where it is now on sale for the amazingly low price of $12.00. Shortly after placing my order I got a very fast reply from Scott thanking me for the order and asking for my thoughts. After his spamming, his "sale" on the disc, his quick followup email, and everything else I thought that just maybe he was really, secretly a capitalist without realizing it. I'm still developing this theory for future publication. Now on to the music...   Oh, where to start. I guess that anybody that has read this far is probably looking for some kind of comprehensive analogy or list of ingredients. On the back of the disc, Scott said to "file under: ambient neo-progressive cyber-rock". I think that's a pretty durn good label for it, and I'm amazed that any self-proclaimed and actual independent artist would label himself so blatantly and also so well. For those of you who are un-reconstructed power metal heads, this disc is mostly hard-edged progressive rock with lots of synthesizers and slow boringish to you stuff. Take the bombast of Rush (Signals/GUP era) or Arena(Songs From The Lion's Cage era), then subtract any notions about simplistic song-oriented poppish songs, and sprinkle in generous doses of Jean Michel Jarre or Tangerine Dream. What you end up with a musical wonder. The closest disc I could compare this to in the prog-metal world is Ambeon - Fate of a Dreamer. Sonically, it is quite comparable. Actually that's really a bad comparison because Ambeon is driven by a completely different approach to songwriting. What it really reminds me of Ayreon's Actual Fantasy disc. The mood is strikingly similar. Broad and expansive like space, adventuresome like a real story, and hammered with delightful electronic melodies. Actual Fantasy has been one of my favorite discs for years simply because there's never been anything else quite like it. Until now. This disc hits all those same buttons when I'm listening to it. It's possibly even a bit like Greyhaven, but somewhat less metallic and more newagey. Its similarities with that release are especially in the use of cool keyboard patches.   The disc started out slowly with a great instrumental mix of synths and hard-edged guitars. I was immediately struck by Scott's guitar tone. I'm not an expert at hearing the type of equipment utilized, but it is nicely distorted with just enough of fuzzy midi magic to sound pretty unique. He's one of those sound purists that's all big into feel and tone and phrasing like Rothery or Lifeson or Johnson or Lane. Combined with the heavy synths, it results in a feast for the ears. And it gets better and better as the disc progresses. There are vocals in the second track and then a few others that are done by Geddy Lee. No, I'm just kidding. But he sounds like Geddy Lee without that nasty metal shop accident. Not quite so heavy tokes on the helium tank as Geddy does. It's not the ball-squeezing early Geddy or the I'm too cool later almost midranged Geddy, it's that in-between Geddy from Moving Pictures or Signals or so.   The whole disc then flows in a fashion between instrumental and vocal sections, alternating from parping keyboards to metallic guitar domination. All the tones are constantly in motion confounding the listener to identify who he is trying to sound like, concluding finally that he's not trying to sound like anybody. The pace quickens in bursts with a tangible sense of acceleration and drive. And just as soon as you are acclimated to the rapid pace, Scott eases it down to a more leisurely or relaxed gait gliding softly over waves of sounds. Shifting tempos and moods swim smoothly across 72 minutes of time and music and life. It feels like it has gone by too quickly. The result is a disc that is suited for near continuous listening. The disc has an overall mood or tone that really moves around a lot throughout without settling down into any kind of rut, and yet somehow just feels consistent. The lyrics are done in that John Myung Lifting Shadows Off A Dream what the heck does it mean sort-of cool vague kind of way. I was hoping for something a little more politically offensive, but these are actually better. Mixed in with the shifts in music it creates this really neat "I found it ... no I didn't ... I better keep trying" kind of introspective feeling. As you listen to the music you feel a sense of urgency, a need to understand, to grasp the meaning of everything that isn't quite ever resolved. But the lack of resolution isn't some anti-climatic he didn't finish it kind of thing, it's more of a point of a journey is not to arrive soul searching kind of thing. It's very spiritual without getting into bogus dogmatism. Natural pondering or something. It's suited for darkened rooms and headphones as well as windows rolled down and wind in my hair shifting and drifting mechanical music adrenaline surge kind of listening. I can't possibly complete the review without mentioning the packaging and production. Classy and professional all the way. The attention to details in the artwork is remarkable. His talents in this area are fairly impressive, and I wonder (no I don't really) why he isn't making some big bucks as a graphics artist. The musical production is superb. Some picky people might note the lack of persistent bass guitar or the programmed drums. I don't think either hurts the overall results. He fills out the sound spectrum quite well with keys and guitars. The engineering is very clean and professional, the mix does a good job of keeping all the instruments and layers audible, and the mastering makes it sound great on the wide range of equipment that I own. To sum it up, this is a great release because of this extra attention to the entire experience. If it wasn't completely obvious from the preceding 1200 or so words, I recommend this disc most highly. Fans of Rush-like music, new-agey prog metal, keyboard heavy prog rock, and all that stuff will dig it. Those who insist on hearing stuff with their own ears can find samples at: http://www.theambientmind.com/virtuality/ Just click on the logo and then sounds. You can also find sounds at that CD-Baby link above and at http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/282/scott_mosher_virtuality.html Enjoy! Joe   William Tsamis, Warlord (http://www.warlord.ws - Check out their new material!) "Epic Soundscapes from the world of Ambient Neo-Progressive Cyber Rock" - Simply astonishing, yet phenomenally complex. Scott Mosher posted on this board a bit ago and left a note about his CD "Virtuality." I'm not one who gets too excited about this band or that band; no wonder I bury myself in Byzantine hymns most of the time. If it's dark, though, and it says something about civilization, I'm there. So I checked out Scott's cool site at www.theambientmind.com, and when I saw the smokestacks filling the sky with pollution, I was reminded of Marcuse's critique of Western Industrial Civilization, and I felt a sense of Orwell's dark totalitarian utopia. Then, I hit the Sounds, and I first listened to a song called "Human: Machine" -- I was blown away like I haven't been blown away for a long time. Scott's music is dark, mechanical, post-modern, melodic, futuristic, different, with great instrumenation and vocals -- it stands in the face of the "corporate sphere" and says "NO." Moreover, Scott's music is visual and experiential - you can practically taste it. I love it! Give it a listen, and you will hear a collocation of everything from Kitaro to Tangerine Dream to Rush to Fates, but with a real emphasis on the post-modern. I have a few of these compositions hidden away myself, although a bit more classical -- and I hope someday to be able to do something similar. Anyway, give it a listen. Scott Mosher. This guy is incredible. I'm definitely buying this philosophical piece of art . . . it will keep me company as me and my family go to the forest for holiday vacation . . . If you read this Scott, all my best to you . . .   Tetsu Hamanaka (http://www.hamanaka.com/pilgrim2/pweng.htm) Here is my first impression and review: Finally, I got Scott Mosher's Virtuality cd on my hands. Simply, very well-done melodic neo-progressive cyber metal with loads of ambience and layers of nice watery synth sounds flowing over my head. Pounding, swirling electric waves comes to my 5 sences back and forth. Simply, new kind of progressive metal lite with some F5-type atmospheric touches, too. This is absolutely interesting music. There is no comparison I think, only F5 comes to my mind for the comparison. Nevertheless, Scott Mosher - Virtuality is totally different entity from F5. Loads of fresh sounds and ideas comes out from genius musican Scott Mosher. Oh well, I just started listening to the cd for my first spin. Yet, the music on the cd quickly grabs my excitements. I myself plays and toys expandable synthesizer, so I am impressed with how Scott successfully combine modern recording devices, such as keyboard technology without gimmicks, and heavier edge of neo-prog rock and prog metal liste sounds. In addition, he takes care of everything booklet inner ilustrations and photos. Some people might be turned off by the words like ELECTRONICS/TRANCE/AMBIENCE/ATMOSPHERES with his music. In my case, fusing new ideas with melodic metal or prog metal is good idea to explore and push the envelope called musical limits. This is not definately typical prog metal sounds. If you are looking for quite different kind of progressive rock music, here is Scott Mosher - Virtuality. I have no doubt that one day, MR. SCOTT MOSHER will get signed. Graphic arts are absolutely fantastic, and some liner notes and comments are really well-thoughtful. On the other hand, some his mentions about Nobel Peace Prize and Pulizer prize. Great job, I definately look forward to seeing how he is gonna progress for next music. Very promising prog rock artist I have ever heard in this year.   Paul Bugler (email on 02.09.2002) I have to say first off, I love Virtuality. It is a great work. I'm having trouble saying anything meaningful about it - critical feedback would be great but I don't have any. There's no point in describing the tracks like some kind of review - I'm sure no-one knows the pieces better than you. One of Virtuality's strengths is the balance and inter-relationships between the tracks - it flows so well. However, one of the key points that does stick (2 in fact) are the bass solo in track 9 and the change of pace and style in track 10 - I am an absolute sucker for the resolution of chaos in this case bridging through to track 11 where (though different) the mood is carried through and then lifted up into a definite purpose. Again this is really all about achieving the balance.   I listen to most of my music in my study while doing other things so that I tend not to concentrate on the individual components of the music - rather I let it fold me up in its arms and transport my into other realms - and Virtuality does this so beautifully. I haven't mentioned the quality of production, the musicianship or the artwork. In my book they are superb and I am not competent to say other than that. As someone who merely dabbled in playing music earlier in life (a humble bass player with good reason to be humble), I merely stand in awe of your talent. It is one thing to play superbly well, to interpret others' creations, but the act of creation itself is something special in its own right, and to have the talent to both create, play and produce is mind-blowing. I often think that one of Keith Emerson's strengths was the combination of a prodigious technical talent with outstanding creative flair. You too have that talent and to produce the whgole package it truly out-of-the-box!   As you can guess, Virtuality has joined my list of favourites and I'm looking forward to your next work. Thank you so much producing such a work of art - I regard it as a genuine master-piece. To provide a comparison, I acquired Jordan Rudess' Feed The Wheel at the same time. I have been a fan of Jordan's work with Dreaam Theatre and Liquid Tension Experiment (now Tony Levin - THERE is a bass player!!) and I am in awe at Jordan's technical abilities and creative talents, but Virtuality has been on the CD player at a ratio of probably 10 - 1. For me that says it all. So thanks for the great music and I hope you get the success you truly deserve.   William Tsamis, Warlord (http://www.warlord.ws - Check out their new material!) "I spent quite a bit of time listening to your music (both CDs). Unbelievable!!! I'm sure you've been told this over and over, but you are one supremely talented artist. It's more than just music, it's the soundscape of the music and the way you put everything together. Yes, I hear the Rush and Fates influence, but you integrate so many other ideas - perhaps there is more music like this in the New Age realm that I'm not aware of - but, to me, this music is remarkable. It's unfortunate that we live in a day when the true artist is suppressed at the expense = of the industrial machine. I listen to your music, and it is so phenomenal, that I not only enjoy the beauty of your art, but I also see how your music (as an independent enterprise) is essentially a condemnation of the herd mentality which is entirely deaf to such art, while they are buried in the trash of commercialism or stereotypical music styles. Your music is really a convergence of many, many things - all beautiful. From melodies, to soundscapes, to vocals, to production, to lyrical meaning, to the post-modern feel that dons a sort of futuristic, original sound upon your music., to the images that fill the mind. It's quite transcendent and demanding of the ear. Notice that I don't mention any particular songs (although I could easily hear "Re-Define" on the radio, if the radio was worth anything these days). The reason I don't mention any particular songs is because of the consistency. From one song to the next, the music is an experience - a perfect paradise of music. The first CD is reminiscent of a film score, whereas "Virtuality" is more dynamic and detailed with all the instruments and everything. However, they are both beautiful pieces of art, and I love them both. Words are empty when it comes to describing your music. Perhaps it would take a book or a lengthy commentary. The music is perfect, and through the lyrics you are really saying something from your heart. Sure, there are plenty of bands that express themselves and write from the heart, but their music doesn't agree with me the way your music does. The mixture of the minor, the progressive, the post-modern, the melodies -- simply put, everything - just happens to concur perfectly with the music I like to listen to. I listen to everything from Byzantine liturgical hymns to Kitaro to Painkiller to Beethoven to Uli Roth to some of the better "New Age" composers to Loreena McKennit = et al. Simply, I listen to that which I consider to be the "very best" for my ear. In other words, I "search out" music (probably like you do) to find that certain sound which agrees with my soul. And I consider =your music, Scott Mosher, right up there with the best. It probably doesn't mean much coming from someone like me, but nevertheless, I'm just "dumb" after listening to your work. I listen to it over and over, and like I said, there's nothing to say - it's perfect Scott. Keep creating and I'll keep listening. I told Mark Zonder about your stuff, and I'm going up to NY with Joacim Cans (who's coming from Sweden), so I'll bring your stuff with me. Mark remembered your name from the Fates message board. Anyway, once again Scott, your music is utterly amazing.