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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Spock's Beard| image = spocksbeard2007.jpg| caption =| image_size = | landscape = Yes| background = group_or_band| origin = Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles , California , United States|U.S. | genre = Progressive rock , progressive metal | years_active = 1992–present| label = Mascot| associated_acts = Big Big Train , Aeon Zen , Mystery (band)|Mystery | website = URL| http://www.spocksbeard.com/| current_members = Alan Morse Dave Meros Ryo Okumoto Jimmy Keegan Ted Leonard | past_members = Nick D'Virgilio Neal Morse'''Spock's Beard''' is a progressive rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles by brothers Neal Morse|Neal and Alan Morse . Neal played keyboards and was the lead singer|vocalist , as well as being the primary songwriter before leaving the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career. Alan plays electric guitar . The pair teamed with fellow musicians Nick D'Virgilio ( Drum kit|drums ) and Dave Meros ( bass guitar|bass ) and released their debut album, '' The Light (Spock's Beard album)|The Light '', in 1995. The quartet were later joined by veteran keyboardist Ryo Okumoto . Neal Morse departed in 2002, with D'Virgilio taking over lead vocals until his departure in 2011. The band currently consists of Alan Morse, Dave Meros, Ryo Okumoto, drummer Jimmy Keegan (who has toured with the band since 2002) and vocalist Ted Leonard .
The band plays a brand of progressive rock with pop music leanings (drawing much influence from Genesis (band)|Genesis ). The band is also well known for their intricate multi-part vocal Harmony|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", "A Guy Named Sid Pt.5: Sid's Boy Choir", and "Devil's Got My Throat."
History
Alan Morse came up with the name after a particularly wild party, where he remarked to his brother, Neal, "It's almost as if we were in an alternate universe, like that one episode of Star Trek where Spock had a beard " Mirror, Mirror (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Mirror, Mirror ". 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.cite web| last =Farah | first =Miguel | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Spock's Beard Frequently Asked Questions List | work = | publisher = | date =9 June 2002 | url = http://www.farah.cl/SB/sbfaql.html#name | doi = | accessdate = 2009-02-01
In 2002, the band released the highly acclaimed double-CD concept album '' Snow (Spock's Beard album)|Snow , which tells a story of an albino psychic who acquires a messianic following, who spiritually falls and loses the direction of his calling, then to be rescued with new chance to live in harmony. 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. Drummer Nick D'Virgilio took over the lead singing and songwriting role, in a move reminiscent of Genesis (band)|Genesis 's drummer Phil Collins taking over for 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 (album)|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 8: Their ninth studio album was released on 21 November 2006, simply entitled " Spock's Beard (album)|Spock's Beard "
A live DVD as well as CD (of the same material) recorded live in Holland in 2007 were released on 13 June 2008 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the remainder of Europe on 16 June, and in North America on 24 June.
On 23 July 2009, the band's website announced that most of the material for a new album has been written, and that their tenth album is to be released independently rather than through a record label. Adopting an approach similar to that taken by the band Marillion , Spock's Beard have decided to take pre-orders of the CD before entering the recording studio, to support the production costs. The band expects the album to be released first as a limited edition of 5000 CDs to those who pre-ordered the album, and then available on general release a month later.
The band's current album, X, was released in June 2010.
In an interview with Anil Prasad in Guitar Player , SB drummer and lead vocalist and songwriter Nick D'Virgilio says that “From the very beginning, Spock's Beard has been a songwriting-based progressive rock band. ... In between all the crazy stuff we do, there are always some very memorable melodies that stick in people's heads, and that has helped us cross over into the mainstream a little bit. It's funny—guys sometimes bring their prog-rock-hating girlfriends to our gigs, and our songs will convert them.” http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-130136552/spock-beard-pop-prog.html Prasad, Anil. “Spock's Beard's ‘Pop’ Prog.” Guitar Player 39.4 (2005): 30. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 September 2010.
The band played the Sweden Rocks festival in June and the UK High Voltage Festival on Sunday 24 July 2011, with Ted Leonard (Of Enchant) filling in for Nick on vocals on both occasions. They were joined at High Voltage by Neal Morse, who reunited with the band for the end of The Light and June.cite web|url= http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/spocks-beard/2011/high-voltage-festival-london-england-1bd0a96c.html |title=Spock's Beard Concert Setlist at High Voltage 2011 on July 24, 2011 |publisher=setlist.fm |date= |accessdate=2011-10-12 Concert Live recorded the performance.cite web|url= http://www.concertlive.co.uk/product.php? id=125 |title=Products |publisher=Concert Live |date=2011-07-24 |accessdate=2011-10-12 Nick D'Virgilio announced his departure from the band on November 18, 2011 for personal reasons and other commitments.cite web|url= http://www.ndvmusic.com/november-18-2011 |title=NDV Music >> November 18, 2011 |publisher=Nick D'Virgilio |date= |accessdate=2011-11-18
On November 21, 2011, it was announced on the bands official website that former touring musicians Ted Leonard and Jimmy Keegan will be the new singer and drummer of the band, respectively. The band also stated they will be releasing their 11th studio album sometime in summer 2012.
Members
;Current members
Alan Morse - guitar, vocals (1992-present)
Dave Meros - bass guitar, vocals, keyboards (1992-present)
Ryo Okumoto - keyboards, vocals (1996-present)
Jimmy Keegan - drums, vocals (2011-present; live member: 2002-2011)
Ted Leonard - vocals, guitar (2011-present)
;Former members
Nick D'Virgilio - drums, lead & backing vocals, guitar , Keyboard instrument|keyboard (1992–2011)
Neal Morse - lead Vocals, Synths, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards (1992–2002)
;Collaborators
John Boegehold - song co-writer (2003-present)
Stan Ausmus - song co-writer (2003-present)
Neal Morse - song co-writer (2012) http://www.ytsejam.com/modules.php? name=News& file=article& sid=9507
Discography
Studio albums
'' The Light (Spock's Beard album)|The Light (1995)
Beware of Darkness (1996)
'' The Kindness of Strangers (Spock's Beard album)|The Kindness of Strangers (1998)
'' Day for Night (Spock's Beard album)|Day for Night (1999)
http://www.prog-sphere.com/? p=53 2010 interview with Alan Morse for Prog Sphere
http://www.prog-sphere.com/2012/04/19/spocks-beard-the-x-tour-live/ The X Tour-Live review on Prog-Sphere.com
Spock's Beard Category:American progressive rock music groups Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:American progressive metal musical groups
