Greetings! Thanks for checking in!

The past year has been quite a difficult ride with our bassist Gabriel Costa moving to Brasilia (far away) after the last gig in July 2023. Combined with health issues I’ve been dealing with, and not wanting a lot of sympathy type posts, I’ve kept that stuff to myself, but I’ll say it has been a challenging time. Aging isn’t easy! And not jamming has been making me crazy.

I am posting now to inform the world I am back in action with a new bassist and new band format. A power trio I am calling POWERHOUSE which is pretty much a Brazilian version of what The Berends Brothers Band did… classic rock cover music of my choosing to get out and play. As MASTERMIND appeals to a limited audience of hardcore prog-rockers, POWERHOUSE is a more user friendly unit to go out and hit the local rock bar scene in São Paulo and surrounding areas. Our first gig is October 12th with others to follow shortly (hopefully)!

This was my original intent to begin with, coming to Brazil; a loose, jamming, cover band with a flexible repertoire, then these prog festivals came along and the focus shifted to Mastermind music full time. Then came COVID. Ack. I’m sure a few Mastermind tunes will find their way into the Powerhouse repertoire eventually. We’ll just have to wait and see!

POWERHOUSE updates and gig information will be posted over on billberends.com, so go have a look. Starting over yet again…wish us luck!!  ~Bill Berends

ps: No News of any sort regarding future MASTERMIND activity. That could always change!

ps: yes, yes, there are other bands in the world calling themselves Powerhouse. Fuck ’em! You can call it Bill Berends’ Powerhouse, or Powerhouse SP, if you’d prefer. The One and Only Powerhouse of São Paulo, out to take you for a musical ride! We hope you’ll come join us.

Bill Berends‘ MASTERMIND Brazil 2023
Aldeia Rock Fest XX Saturday, April 8th
Casimiro de Abreu – Rio de Janeiro

With Brazilian musicians Gabriel Costa on bass and introducing Gabriel Rego on drums, we hit the stage on Saturday, April 8th at Aldeia Rock Fest XX playing a mix of classic Mastermind tunes and also something brand new! The first time in front of an audience since the pandemic began in 2020, I am very much looking forward to it! Three years is way too long. More live dates to follow (hopefully ;)).

The entire Progscape ’94 concert from November 20th, 1994 at Stephens Hall, Towson, MD is now up on YouTube… only 28 year later! Go have a look!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSSTTEDef6TnbCJSOseXKr8IggUIxyqZ

November 20th, 1994. The first live performance of the Tragic Symphony album with Phil Antolino returning to the original trio line up at Progscape ’94 in Towson, MD, USA. The album had not been released in the USA (only in Japan) so no one there had really heard it yet.

Video & audio quality is poor, ancient bootleg quality at best, but this is all there is. Remember this was before cell phone digital video, etc. What you see here is from VHS copies of Hi8 analog video which is no longer accessible.

There were two cameras running, one on the floor and one in the balcony. The combined audio gives a “you are there” surround quality of LOUD music in a big room, if not crystal clear. Especially in headphones. Enjoy it for what it is and thanks for watching!

• 01. Child of Technology
• 02. On The Wings Of Mercury
• 03. Tiger! Tiger!
• 04. The Power and The Passion
• 05. All The King’s Horses
• 06. Tragic Symphony
• I. Sea of Tears
• II. Nothing Left to Say
• III. Into the Void
• 07. William Tell Overture
• 08. BRAINSTORM (inc. drum solo)
• 09. Looking Ahead (encore)

Approx 93 minutes total running time.

*****

This site is no longer being updated on a regular basis (obviously). Visit billberends.com for updates and further information. Signup to the Bill Berends / MASTERMIND mailing list to be apprised of any new activity.

Since 2019 Mastermind guitarist/composer Bill Berends has been performing the music of MASTERMIND in Brazil with a band of talented players keeping the music alive at gigs and festivals as recently as April 2021. It will never be MASTERMIND proper without Rich Berends drumming, but the band is good and the music lives on. “Bill Berends plays the music of Mastermind” is simply too unwieldy, so it carries on as Mastermind (Brasil). Rich Berends keeps himself busy with a variety of projects back in the States. Perhaps one day the two will come together again. Anything is possible.

Although this is more or less a legacy site at this point, for fans and those new to the music of MASTERMIND there is still a variety of information presented here. Thanks for visiting.

Video from the November 3rd, 2019 performance of Bill Berends’ Mastermind 2019 is now live on YouTube. Rather than post them here, simply visit YouTube. Here is the link…

Mastermind Brasil 2019 play list

Subscribe to the YouTube channel to be the first to see new videos.
Visit billberends.com for additional information. Thanks!

Visit Bill Berends Music on Facebook, see NOTES for details. (English & Português).

English: Revisiting the music of American progressive rock band MASTERMIND with founding member; guitarist, vocalist, and composer Bill Berends. 2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of MASTERMIND “Volume One” on CD. Now a resident of Brazil, Bill Berends has put together a lean, raw power trio of capable Brazilian musicians to bring this music back to life. MASTERMIND 2019 will appear in concert at the Totem Prog Festival at Teatro UMC, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 3rd, 2019 performing select cuts from the early Mastermind trio catalog.

Português: Este projeto vem revisitar a música da banda americana de rock progressivo MASTERMIND com seu membro fundador, guitarrista, vocalista e compositor, Bill Berends. 2019 marca o 30º aniversário do álbum MASTERMIND “Volume One” em CD. Agora residindo no Brasil, Bill Berends montou um power trio afiado com músicos brasileiros para trazer essa música de volta à vida. MASTERMIND 2019 vai se apresentar no III Festival Totem Prog no Teatro da UMC, em São Paulo, Brasil, em 3 de novembro de 2019, executando canções selecionadas do catálogo dos primeiros trabalhos do Mastermind como um trio.

Please stand by. More info coming soon.

Bill Berends here. Visit billberends.com for updates on my life and music. I am now living in São Paulo, Brazil (!) of all places. Rich Berends is out playing with all kinds of people. Mastermind digital catalog sales continue over on bandcamp (thank you all and welcome new fans!). We’ve all gone through some life changes, but everyone is alive and well and still making music. Thanks for looking in and check back now and again to see what’s up.

*May 2019 update: check back sooner than later for info on a new project that will interest Mastermind fans. Say no more, nudge nudge, wink wink.

ps: check out my new music site Benvalia Music if you haven’t already. There’s some cool stuff there, including my own solo releases. Thanks for stopping by. -Bb

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2017!!

To start off the new year the entire Mastermind discography is now on sale on bandcamp at a special 50% discount when you purchase the entire catalog. Full fidelity audio or choose from several audio formats, FLAC to mp3, it’s quite a bargain for $37 USD! Simply click on any album and purchase info is below the album price. Take advantage of this deal now!

In other news, Mastermind guitarist Bill Berends has set up a new bandcamp music store called BENVALIA MUSIC to make solo works and other non-Mastermind recordings available. Both Benificial to the artists and of Value to the discerning listener, please take a moment to check it out and like Benvalia Music on Facebook while your at it. Thanks! 🙂

“Benvalia Music showcases works performed, produced, and/or curated by resident musician/producer Bill Berends. Home to a careful selection of styles, bands and artists, it was set up to bring quality music to fans world-wide.”

Titles on Benvalia Music include BIll’s 1988 solo new age electronica EP Life Cycle, pianist brother David Berends’ prog-pop band THE NAME, prog keyboardist Micheal West, and other carefully selected artists Bill has worked with or produced over the years. More interesting music and more Bill Berends solo material both new and old is coming in the near future.

That’s it for now! Please join the Berends Music Mailing List if you have not already.

Here’s to a wonderful New Year!

ps: the Broken EP will be added sooner or later along with other vintage live recordings and various oddities and out takes. So much to do, so little time, please check back often!