The Underground Railroad

In the mid-'90s, Fort Worth had a music scene probably typical of anywhere else in the country. A bunch of mainstream rock, blues, metal, country, etc. There was also a small but active experimental and progressive scene that eventually formed such bands as Ohm, Yeti, 99 Names of God and The Underground Railroad.

Kurt Rongey and Bill Pohl had garnered a significant amount of worldwide recognition with their independent releases Book in Hand and Solid Earth, respectively. In late 1995, the improv-based group Anne Hand (with drummer Nathan Brown) had imploded leaving Kurt and Bill to form The Underground Railroad a few months later. A few years of writing and recording followed. Former Pohl-band drummer John Livingston climbed aboard in 1997. Matt Hembree (Bindle, Drunken Monkey, Goodwin) was asked to contribute bass tracks shortly thereafter.

In 1999, their first album, Through and Through, was picked up by The Laser's Edge and released the next year to worldwide acclaim in progressive rock circles. Writing for a second release took place while the band played numerous local gigs. The band was invited to play on-stage at the world's preeminent progressive music festival, NEARfest 2001, and that June found them on the bill with Porcupine Tree, The California Guitar Trio with Tony Levin, and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. December 2002 saw The Underground Railroad headlining the first annual Cattleprog event in Dallas with Yeti, Hands, Magpu and Pohl's fusion group Mad Jack McMaddd.

In 2005, the Underground Railroad released their long-awaited second album, The Origin of Consciousness.

Information from the band's site

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  Bill Pohl: guitar, vocals
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  Kurt Rongey: keyboards, vocals
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  John Livingston: drums
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  Matt Hembree: bass

Prog rock