Thinking Plague

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Thinking Plague
Thinking Plague in 1998; left to right: Dave Kerman, Dave Willey, Deborah Perry, Mark Harris, Shane Hotle, Mike Johnson
Background information
Origin	Denver, Colorado, United States
Genres	Experimental rock, progressive rock
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Recommended, Cuneiform
Members	Mike Johnson Mark Harris Dave Willey Elaine Difalco Bill Pohl Robin Chestnut
Past members	Bob Drake Sharon Bradford Harry Fleishman Rick Arsenault Mark Fuller Susanne Lewis Eric Moon Lawrence Haugseth Shane Hotle Maria Moran Dave Kerman Deborah Perry Matt Mitchell David Shamrock Kimara Sajn
Website	www.thinkingplague.org

Thinking Plague is an American avant-garde progressive rock group founded in 1982 by guitarist/composer Mike Johnson and bass guitarist/drummer Bob Drake. Based in Denver, Colorado, the band has been active off and on since 1982, taking on a number of musicians over the years. They have made seven studio albums between 1984 and 2017, and released one live album recorded at NEARfest in 2000.

Their music is a mix of rock, folk, jazz and 20th-century classical music. Music.com remarked that "...Thinking Plague stand out as a shining example of avant-garde music blended with just enough rock for it to be called progressive rock..."^[1]

While never directly related to Rock in Opposition (RIO), Thinking Plague was strongly influenced by this late-1970s movement, particularly Henry Cow and Art Bears. In spite of Johnson's dislike of the term, the band has often been categorized as a "RIO" band.^[2][3]