Spock's Beard

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Spock's Beard
Country	Los Angeles, California, USA
Years active	1992–present
Genres	Rock, Progressive Rock
Labels	InsideOut Music
Members	Alan Morse Ryo Okumoto Nick D'Virgilio Dave Meros
Past members	Neal Morse

Spock's Beard is a progressive rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles by brothers Neal and Alan Morse. Neal played keyboards and was the lead vocalist, as well as being the primary songwriter; Alan plays electric guitar. The pair teamed with fellow musicians Nick D'Virgilio (drums) and Dave Meros (bass) and released their debut album, The Light, in 1995. The quartet were later joined by veteran keyboardist Ryo Okumoto.

The band played a brand of progressive rock with pop music leanings (drawing much influence from Genesis), as opposed to the hard rock approach of The Flower Kings or the metal feel of Dream Theater. The band is also well known for their intricate multi-part vocal harmonies (such as those found on certain Gentle Giant songs) and use of counterpoint on cuts such as "Gibberish," "Thoughts (Parts I and II)," "June," and "Devil's Got My Throat."

In 2002, the band released a concept album entitled Snow, which tells a story of an albino psychic who achieves a messianic following. Many listeners and critics have noted the parallels between the storyline of Snow and Neal Morse's own highly-publicized conversion to Christianity.

Following the release of Snow, Neal Morse left the band for a solo career as a Christian artist. Drummer Nick D'Virgilio took over the lead singing and songwriting role, in a move reminiscent of Genesis's drummer Phil Collins taking over from Peter Gabriel. Their first album, Feel Euphoria, has a harder-rocking and more experimental sound than the Neal Morse-led band, relying on Alan Morse's guitar to a greater extent.

In early 2005, after a long writing and recording process, Spock's Beard released Octane, their second album after the departure of Neal Morse. This was seen by many fans as a return to a more bright and epic sound after the previous songwriting differences in Feel Euphoria.

As posted on their website on November 8th: Their 9th studio album was released on Nov 21st, 2006, simply entitled "Spock's Beard"

Alan Morse came up with the name after a particularly wild party, where he remarked to his brother, Neal, "It's almost as if Spock had a beard. Wouldn't that be a cool name for a band? Spock's Beard." Then, when it came time to choose a name for the band, Alan made a list of over 100 names and threw Spock's Beard on the end as a joke, and the band chose it.

[edit] Members

[edit] Current lineup

Nick D'Virgilio - Lead Vocals, Drums
Alan Morse - Guitar, Vocals
Ryo Okumoto - Keyboards, Vocals
Dave Meros - Bass, Vocals

[edit] Former members and additional musicians

Neal Morse (1992 - 2002) - Lead Vocals, Synths, Acoustic Guitar
Jimmy Keegan - Tour drummer
John Boegehold - Song co-writer
Stan Ausmus - Song co-writer

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Live albums and compilations

Official Live Bootleg/The Beard is Out There (1996) (recorded 1995)
From the Vaults (1998) (rarities - From the Vaults, Series 1)
Live at the Whisky and NEARfest (1999)
Don't Try This At Home (April 2000) (recorded 1999) (live)
Nick 'n Neal live in Europe - Two Separate Gorillas (October, 2000) (From the Vaults, Series 2)
Don't Try This @ Home Either (2000) (recorded 1999) (live - From the Vaults, Series 3)
There and Here (2000) (live)
Gluttons for Punishment (2005) (live)