Spock's Beard is an American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

band formed in Los Angeles. The band was formed in 1992 by brothers Neal (lead vocals, keyboards) and Alan Morse (vocals, guitars), John Ballard (bass) and

Nick D'Virgilio Nicholas D'Virgilio (born November 12, 1968), often referred to as NDV, is an American drummer, singer and guitarist, best known as a member of the progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He was also one of two drummers chosen to replace Phil Col ...

(drums). Ballard was replaced by

Dave Meros Dave Meros (born 8 February 1956), is an American bass guitar player, best known as the bass player for progressive rock band Spock's Beard. Meros has also played or recorded with such artists as Gary Myrick, Bobby Kimball of Toto, Simon Phil ...

before the release of their debut album, '' The Light'' (1995), and Ryo Okumoto (keyboards) joined soon after. Neal Morse left the band following the release of their sixth album, ''

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...

'' (2002), and D'Virgilio took over as the band's frontman. In 2011, D'Virgilio also left and was replaced by Jimmy Keegan (drums) and Ted Leonard (lead vocals) from ''

Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep ''Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep'' is the eleventh studio album by American progressive rock band Spock's Beard released on April 2, 2013. It is their first album with new singer Ted Leonard and drummer Jimmy Keegan in place of Nick D'Virgil ...

'' (2013) onwards. To date, the band have released thirteen studio albums, and numerous live releases. The band, particularly the Neal Morse line-up, are considered to be at the forefront of modern progressive rock music. Four of their first six albums featured in the Prog Report's "Top 50 Prog Albums 1990–2015", with ''The Light'' and ''Snow'' featuring in the top ten.

History

Neal Morse era (1992–2002)

Spock's Beard was formed in Los Angeles in 1992 by brothers Neal and Alan Morse. Both had played together in bands in the 1980s and initially intended that their new project would be just the two of them, with Neal Morse performing lead vocals and keyboards and Alan Morse on guitar. The brothers soon decided to form a full band and recruited

on drums after meeting him at a blues jam in Los Angeles. John Ballard, a friend of Neal Morse's, was brought in to play bass, but was replaced by

before the band began recording demos for their first album. The band's name is a reference to the 1967 " Mirror, Mirror" episode of ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''. According to Alan Morse: The band's debut album, '' The Light'' was recorded independently throughout 1994 and released later that year. While Neal Morse had performed the keyboard parts on the album, Ryo Okumoto was hired to fill in for live performances. One of their first major live appearances was at the Los Angeles Progfest in 1995, where they were introduced to Thomas Waber. Waber, a founding member of

Giant Electric Pea Giant Electric Pea (often abbreviated as GEP) is an independent music label based in London, England and Berlin, Germany. Their releases consist of progressive rock, neo-progressive rock and progressive metal music albums. History Giant ...

and

InsideOut Records Inside Out Music is a German independent record label originally based in Kleve, North Rhine-Westphalia, and dedicated to the publication of progressive rock, progressive metal and related styles. In 2009, it formed a partnership with Century ...

, signed the band to Giant Electric Pea and licensed ''The Light'' for release in Europe.

Nick D'Virgilio era (2002–2011)

Immediately following the release of ''Snow'', Neal Morse announced that he was leaving Spock's Beard. Having recently converted to Christianity, Morse wanted to explore that aspect of his life more through his music, but did not want to impose his beliefs upon the band. He urged them to continue on without him and Nick D'Virgilio took over as the band's lead singer. D'Virgilio would continue to play drums on studio albums, while Jimmy Keegan was hired to fill in for him as drummer during live performances. On July 8, 2003 the band released its first album without Neal Morse, ''

Feel Euphoria ''Feel Euphoria'' is the seventh studio album by American progressive rock band Spock's Beard released on July 8, 2003. It was the first album the band recorded following the departure of vocalist/songwriter Neal Morse, also the first full-length ...

''. Without their principal songwriter, the band adopted a more collaborative approach, as well as enlisting the help of John Boegehold and Stan Ausmus with songwriting, both of whom would go on to contribute to all of the band's subsequent albums. The result was a musical departure from the band's previous albums, with a conscious shift towards a more modern sound, and was met with a mixed response from fans. On February 1, 2005 the band released their eighth album, ''

Octane Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-t ...

'' which received a generally more positive reception from fans. Several concerts from the ''Octane'' tour were recorded and the highlights released as '' Gluttons for Punishment'', the band's first live album since the departure of Neal Morse. On May 21, 2006, Dave Meros confirmed that the band had begun working on their ninth studio album. The album, titled '' Spock's Beard'', was released on November 21, 2006 to a mixed reaction from fans. The band continued to tour sporadically over the next few years, with a 2007 show in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

released as a live album. On July 23, 2009, the band announced that had begun work on their tenth album, to be released independently rather than through a record label. The production costs were covered by pre-orders through the band's website. The album, '' X'', was released as a limited edition for those who had pre-ordered in May 2010. A standard edition was released at the end of August 2010 through

Mascot Records Mascot Records is a record label and rock music subsidiary of Mascot Label Group. Artists *10 Years *Agent Steel *Black Country Communion *Black Label Society *Black Stone Cherry *Bootsy Collins *Crobot *Conquer Divide * Dragged Under * Dublin D ...

, four years after the release of ''Spock's Beard'', the longest gap the band has had between albums. Mascot Records also released a live album, ''The X Tour Live'', recorded at the only US show in support of the ''X'' album.

Ted Leonard era (2011–present)

Spock's Beard played the Sweden Rock Festival in June and the

High Voltage Festival High Voltage was a music festival, held twice in Victoria Park, London. The event hosted artists from various strands of rock music, including classic rock, progressive rock, and heavy metal. The first festival was held on 24 and 25 July 2010. Th ...

in July 2011. On both occasions Enchant singer Ted Leonard filled in for Nick D'Virgilio, who was unavailable to perform. The High Voltage performance featured an appearance by Neal Morse, who reunited with the band for the end of "The Light" and "June", and was later released as a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

. On November 18, 2011, D'Virgilio announced his departure from the band, citing personal reasons and other commitments. Two days later it was announced on the band's official website that Leonard and touring drummer Jimmy Keegan would be the new singer and drummer of the band, respectively. On April 2, 2013 the band released ''

'', their first studio album with Leonard and Keegan as official members . The recording and mastering of the album was funded using the

crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...

site Indiegogo and featured song-writing contributions from Neal Morse. On April 22, 2015 the band announced that their twelfth album would be '' The Oblivion Particle'', and would be released later that year. The album was released on August 21, 2015. Later that year the band released '' The First Twenty Years'', a compilation album spanning the band's entire career. The compilation also included a new song written by Neal Morse, "Falling For Forever", which featured every member of the band to have appeared on previous recordings. In July 2016 the current line-up of the band reunited with D'Virgilio and Neal Morse for shows at Morsefest in

Cross Plains, Tennessee Cross Plains is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee. The city's population was 1,789 at the 2020 census. Cross Plains was the first area of Robertson County that was settled by European settlers, with the arrival of Thomas Kilgore in 1778. Hi ...

and at the Night of the Prog festival in

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

, Germany to perform ''Snow'' in its entirety. On October 12, 2016 Keegan announced that he was leaving the band for personal reasons. D'Virgilio filled in on drums and backing vocals for their performance on Cruise to the Edge 2017. On March 25, 2017 it was confirmed that D'Virgilio had agreed to play on their upcoming thirteenth album, with recording expected to begin in May of that year On February 28, 2018 Dave Meros announced that the new album would be titled '' Noise Floor'', and would be released May 25, 2018. The announcement also included the album's track listing and the confirmation of D'Virgilio's involvement in the recording of the album. On June 13, the band announced a tour in support of the album, with former

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...

drummer Mike Thorne as a touring drummer. In 2018, a spinoff of Spock's Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals, was formed by Ted Leonard,

, Jimmy Keegan, and John Boegehold. As of 2022, they have released three studio albums.

Musical style

Spock's Beard plays a brand of

with pop music leanings, drawing much influence from

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

and

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members. All of the band members were multi-inst ...

. The band is known for their intricate, multi-part vocal

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

and use of

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tra ...

vocals.

Members

Current members * Alan Morse –

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

(1992–present) *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals (1993–present), keyboards (2011–present) * Ryo Okumoto – keyboards, backing vocals (1995–present) * Ted Leonard –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, guitar (2011–present) Collaborators * John Boegehold – song co-writer (2003–present) * Stan Ausmus – song co-writer (2003–present) * Mike Thorne –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(live member: 2018–present) Former members * John Ballard – bass (1992–93) * Neal Morse – lead vocals, keyboards, guitar, synths (1992–2002; guest: 2008, 2011, 2014) *

– drums, percussion (official member: 1992–2011, live and studio member: 2017–2018), backing vocals (1992–2002, 2017–2018), lead vocals, guitar, keyboards (2002–2011) * Jimmy Keegan – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2011–2016; live member: 2002–2011) Timeline

Discography

* '' The Light'' (1995) * '' Beware of Darkness'' (1996) * '' The Kindness of Strangers'' (1998) * ''

Day for Night Day for night is a set of cinematic techniques used to simulate a night scene while filming in daylight. It is often employed when it is too difficult or expensive to actually shoot during nighttime. Because both film stocks and digital image se ...

'' (1999) * '' V'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Spock's Beard'' (2006) * '' X'' (2010) * ''

'' (2013) * '' The Oblivion Particle'' (2015) * '' Noise Floor'' (2018)

References

External links

Spock's Beard official site

Ryo Okumoto official site

Neal Morse official site
{{Authority control American progressive metal musical groups Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1992 Progressive rock musical groups from California Inside Out Music artists