Apparently, some people just won't give up on long held goals and aspirations. Jeff Brewer and Robert Hutchinson, co-conspirators behind the inception of what was to become The Far Cry, can vividly recall the musical awakening that occurred in their younger days when The Beatles landed and with all that followed. Soon thereafter, they each were even more deeply moved by the emergence of the Progressive Rock bands of the early 70's, most notably King Crimson, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis and Gentle Giant.

Jeff and Hutch first crossed paths around 1976 with the formation of a short-lived rock covers band. Common ground occurred later, though not simultaneously, when both were members of Connecticut prog-rock band Holding Pattern, Hutch as co-founder from 1980-83 and, after Hutch left the band, Jeff joined as lead vocalist & percussionist from 1984 to 1993 when the band ceased operations.

Fast forward to 2013 when Hutch purchased a speaker cabinet Jeff had for sale. In the attendant dialogue, the pursuit of the likely impossible was quickly broached and a decision made to chase the dream just one more time. Thus the seeds for The Far Cry were sown.

Unfortunately, due to the ambitious and stylistic nature of the music they were pursuing, connecting with suitable personnel to complete the band lineup was met with recurring difficulty and disappointment.

Eventually, the duo decided to enter the recording studio to get the material up and running. Guitarist Bryan Collin had already been in contact, having answered a Craigslist ad, and was amenable to playing on the recordings. As he did so, he became intrigued and more strongly connected to the music and the band concept.

Certainly his stellar contributions and playing on the "If Only" CD demonstrate that. Bryan Collin was now The Far Cry guitarist.

Still, a highly competent keyboardist was required. Studio owner and master engineer John Bolduc was asked if he knew of any keyboard man who could properly interpret and perform the music he was hearing.

John responded instantaneously: Chris Dabbo. No time was wasted in contacting him. At first, Chris came on as a session man but very quickly demonstrated his impressive skill set as well as a connection to and understanding of the music. All involved were highly enthused and Chris was drafted in as keyboardist for The Far Cry.

The lineup of Hutchinson, Brewer, Collin and Dabbo commenced with writing rehearsing and recording. Hence, The Far Cry's debut CD, "If Only;"was completed and released in July of 2021. With merely an economical level of promotion, "If Only" was very well received and highly validated by critics in the prog-rock community of the U.S., U.K., Europe and Japan. The reviews from that time are shown on this website and will attest to the excitement and very good reception of "If Only."

The Mask of Deception 11:26

Programophone 6:51

Winterlude 2:25

Simple Pleasures 13:23

The Missing Floor 7:23

Winterlude Waning 2:28

If Only 16:26

Dream Dancer 6:28

Robert Hutchinson:
drums, percussion, bells, spoken words

Jeff Brewer:
lead & backing vocals, bass, bass synth, bass pedals, guitar

Chris Dabbo:
piano, keyboards, vocals

Bryan Collin:
lead guitar, acoustic & electric guitars

Produced by Jeff Brewer & Robert Hutchinson

Engineered & mixed by John Bolduc

Recorded at Massiphonic Studios, Manchester, CT, USA

SOUND RECORDING, MIXING

John likes "If Only..." so much that he wants to use it as his flagship project to promote Massiphonic Studios. John has been involved in music since childhood and is a multi-instrumentalist, a graduate of the Hartford Conservatory of Music, and is one of the best recording engineers on the east coast. At 18 he spent some time at Trodnossel Recording Studio in Wallingford, CT, and states “When I sat behind the massive console with three sets of speakers looking at me, glowing lights and buttons everywhere, my mind exploded with the vastness of musical possibility. I was home.” At age forty-four, John left the Hartford Conservatory to spend the next three years building his dream studio. He took all his knowledge and imagination and created the perfect studio: MassiPhonic. John states, “At this time I am sufficiently prepared to help musicians make exceptional art. Bring it on!"

PHOTOGRAPHER

"I am especially proud to have my images used with the debut of what I think is an epic progressive rock album." Frank has a love for turning renowned haunted buildings into stylized, yet creepy, works of art. He has been photographing abandoned, spooky, weird and wonderful New England for the last 14 years. He combines his camera and eye with Photoshop manipulation to bring out the surreal aspects of his subjects. He’s been a finalist for Ron Howard’s “Project Imagination” for the last two consecutive years, his work has been shown in galleries in both New England and New York, his photography is featured in the stage show An Evening of Ghost Stories and New England Legends, and he loves all things ghostly and haunted. Frank uses a Sony A7RIV camera with a variety of wide-angle and fish-eye lenses. In 2014, he published his first wall calendar with Tide-mark Press Ltd.