The Official Flying Colors Thread

[skydivingninja]

The Alpha Rev guy was a surprise.  I figured Neal would be singing.  Still, its a very interesting fusion of minds.  Looking forward to it.

[The Letter M]

The Alpha Rev guy was a surprise.  I figured Neal would be singing.  Still, its a very interesting fusion of minds.  Looking forward to it.

I think since Neal has Testimony 2 to work on over the coming months, he'll probably lay off vocals for THIS project, or if anything, at least write some vocal melodies or do backing vocals/harmonies. Good for him/the project, though, he'll probably need the vocal rest! His voice isn't what it used to be, but he's being smart about singing as he's had a vocal coach for some time now, but back in the day (the 90's) I don't think he had, so he was singing in some wrong ways.

Either way, I've YouTube'd some videos of this guy, sounds pretty good! I think he'll fit the band, depending on what route they go...but if it's an amalgam of Steve's and Neal's styles, it'll probably some sort of fusion hard rock, prog, and some jazzy bits. Although part of me expect some more head-banging, shredding, thrashing bits too.

-Marc.

[contest_sanity]

The Alpha Rev guy was a surprise.  I figured Neal would be singing.  Still, its a very interesting fusion of minds.  Looking forward to it.

Either way, I've YouTube'd some videos of this guy, sounds pretty good! I think he'll fit the band, depending on what route they go...but if it's an amalgam of Steve's and Neal's styles, it'll probably some sort of fusion hard rock, prog, and some jazzy bits. Although part of me expect some more head-banging, shredding, thrashing bits too.

Listening to some Alpha Rev itunes previews now.  I like his voice.  Getting a bit of a Coldplay vibe, too.  Also, their cd was in MP's top 10 for the year, so I wonder if Mike suggested this guy for the project?

[The Letter M]

The Alpha Rev guy was a surprise.  I figured Neal would be singing.  Still, its a very interesting fusion of minds.  Looking forward to it.

Either way, I've YouTube'd some videos of this guy, sounds pretty good! I think he'll fit the band, depending on what route they go...but if it's an amalgam of Steve's and Neal's styles, it'll probably some sort of fusion hard rock, prog, and some jazzy bits. Although part of me expect some more head-banging, shredding, thrashing bits too.

Listening to some Alpha Rev itunes previews now.  I like his voice.  Getting a bit of a Coldplay vibe, too.  Also, their cd was in MP's top 10 for the year, so I wonder if Mike suggested this guy for the project?

That may quite possibly be the reason behind it. But I'm sure Neal (and possibly Steve) also would have had some say in it. If Mike did suggest seeking out Casey, good for him, and good for Casey, who I am sure will get some wider exposure due to his involvement with such big names like Portnoy, Morse (both of them), and LaRue.

-Marc.

[contest_sanity]

Listening to some Alpha Rev itunes previews now.  I like his voice.  Getting a bit of a Coldplay vibe, too. Also, their cd was in MP's top 10 for the year, so I wonder if Mike suggested this guy for the project?

That may quite possibly be the reason behind it. But I'm sure Neal (and possibly Steve) also would have had some say in it. If Mike did suggest seeking out Casey, good for him, and good for Casey, who I am sure will get some wider exposure due to his involvement with such big names like Portnoy, Morse (both of them), and LaRue.

Funny thing is, I looked at their Wikipedia page and saw: On May 1, 2010, Alpha Rev's video for "New Morning" debuted on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. In all, "New Morning" spent 11 weeks on the countdown, peaking at the #7 position.

So maybe this guy will actually garner this project some wider exposure as well.  Pretty sure it's been a while since any of the rest of them were on VH1 Countdown

[The Letter M]

Listening to some Alpha Rev itunes previews now.  I like his voice.  Getting a bit of a Coldplay vibe, too. Also, their cd was in MP's top 10 for the year, so I wonder if Mike suggested this guy for the project?

That may quite possibly be the reason behind it. But I'm sure Neal (and possibly Steve) also would have had some say in it. If Mike did suggest seeking out Casey, good for him, and good for Casey, who I am sure will get some wider exposure due to his involvement with such big names like Portnoy, Morse (both of them), and LaRue.

Funny thing is, I looked at their Wikipedia page and saw: On May 1, 2010, Alpha Rev's video for "New Morning" debuted on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. In all, "New Morning" spent 11 weeks on the countdown, peaking at the #7 position.

So maybe this guy will actually garner this project some wider exposure as well.  Pretty sure it's been a while since any of the rest of them were on VH1 Countdown

Haha, true! Either way, it'll be wider exposure for everyone involved as their varying audiences may not be familiar with the other members of the band - you have the symphonic proggers like Mike and Neal, the Dixie Dregs guys Steve and Dave, and then Casey who has his band's mainstream popularity. Should be a good project! 

-Marc.

[liquidtension]

I'm glad to hear that Neal Morse isn't singing.  IMO, he is the weak link of this project....I always think he is mediocre, yet surrounded by excellent musicians.

[The Letter M]

I'm glad to hear that Neal Morse isn't singing.  IMO, he is the weak link of this project....I always think he is mediocre, yet surrounded by excellent musicians.

I agree with the last part, he always surrounds himself with great musicians, whether they're guests on his solo albums, or if he's collaborating. As for his singing, I've grown to enjoy it immensely, and appreciate it a lot more than some would. I think he does great work when he's not doing it all himself (i.e. for a solo album - doing keys, guitars, AND vocals can be tiring). Listen to his work on Roine Stolt's Wall Street Voodoo, where he does some very nice and tasteful Hammond organ work/solos and some great (often Beatle-esque) vocals. Also, I'm just biased toward Roine and Neal, so hearing them do an album that wasn't full-on, in-your-face prog epics was a bit of a fresh breath.

As for Neal being the weak link in this project, possibly, but he's got his plate full with his solo album, so I'm thinking he's okay with taking a backseat to this, possibly just doing keys and some writing. Honestly, I really want to hear what Mike can do with guys like Steve and Dave.

-Marc.

[Nihil-Morari]

My god Marc, you have a greatly supported vision on everything.

I really, really enjoy reading your posts. 

[Ħ]

I'm glad to hear that Neal Morse isn't singing.  IMO, he is the weak link of this project....I always think he is mediocre, yet surrounded by excellent musicians.

1) He doesn't have the best range, but in the range he does have, he shines brilliantly.  He's also extremely consistent live.
2) He can play a bigillion different instruments, even though he doesn't necessarily specialize in one.
3) He plays/sings with emotion for each and every song.  You can tell he really grasps the emotional meaning of each song.

ATM he is my favorite vocalist and overall musician.

[MajorMatt]

From MPs twitter:

MP, Steve Morse, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue & Casey McPherson...we begin tomorrow! The musical potential is off the charts! Very exciting....

On iPhone so cant be bothered to post link too, sure someone else will confirm, I'm rather excited for this project though!

Matt

EDIT: wow I'm behind the times just read the thread and realised Marc beat me to it......7 hours ago. *facepalm*

[The Letter M]

From MPs twitter:

MP, Steve Morse, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue & Casey McPherson...we begin tomorrow! The musical potential is off the charts! Very exciting....

On iPhone so cant be bothered to post link too, sure someone else will confirm, I'm rather excited for this project though!

Matt

Already got it covered 

Confirmation from MP's Facebook that recording sessions begin tomorrow...also, the name of the vocalist:

-Marc.

[jonny108]

From MP on his site:

This is the idea and why I brought Casey into the picture...
 
I've been a huge fan of his for years (Alpha Rev's latest is in my top 10 of 2010 and Endochine's album is in my top 10 of the last DECADE...see my Best of 00's list...)
 
In addition to the obvious PROG and METAL sides of my taste, I am also HUGE fan of that kind of musical style (think Beatles/Queen/Jellyfish/Greys/U2/Coldplay/Ben Folds, etc), but I have yet to really dip my toes into that side of my musical taste...
 
I'm hoping Casey's more pop/indie edge will help bring me & Neal (Team Transatlantic) and Steve & Dave (Team Dregs) into some new, unchartered musical territory...
 
And we now essentially have two singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalists fronting the project which will be able to really open up the vocal and instrumentation options as well...
 
The musical possibilities are endless!!
I'm excited...
 
MP

[Zydar]

Sounds like a really interesting musical combination.

[TAC]

I've never heard of Alpha Rev.

[Nihil-Morari]

So a dual frontman setup... Don't know what to think of that, yet.

I guess it's nice that he's trying to make both the epic prog, dixie type prog and epic pop together.
I'd really like to hear some coldplay-like stuff by Neal!

[The Letter M]

So a dual frontman setup... Don't know what to think of that, yet.

I guess it's nice that he's trying to make both the epic prog, dixie type prog and epic pop together.
I'd really like to hear some coldplay-like stuff by Neal!

Definitely, and because of Mike and Neal's U2-influences, I can definitely see this going into some of that direction with their usual bag-o-tricks. I wonder what the chances are of hearing them do a pop-concept album? Something as a cross between Tommy, The Lamb, the best of U2, Coldplay, and a dash of Beatles & Dregs? I know Neal has a propensity for creating concept albums, so maybe this might be another one? If not, I'm sure we can at very least expect an album (hopefully 60-80 minites) of great single, unrelated songs. However, I won't hold my breath for any sprawling epics - in fact, I'd rather hear them write a bunch of shorter songs. I think Neal writes some great "singles", and with writers like Steve and Casey, they can definitely put out some awesome "single"-esque songs, perhaps a couple great ballads?

-Marc.

[contest_sanity]

I've never heard of Alpha Rev.

I hadn't either until yesterday when I was reading this thread.  Checked them out some after that.  Very Coldplay-ish to me, but I liked it.

[Nekov]

From an Interview with Neal Morse:

As for the musical direction of the new project, Neal said, "We're all going to get together and work from scratch with no pre-prepared material and see what comes out.

"I'd like to do something different. Something to make it very different from like my solo stuff or TRANSATLANTIC.

"There are some demos and some things that Steve and I did in April that we've worked on and so we'll have some things to start with, but I think the plan is to get together and see what happens and write in the room."

 

[skydivingninja]

Very cool for them to try something new like bringing Casey on board.  Almost guarantees it won't be some meh retro-prog thing.

[Lowdz]

I've never heard of Alpha Rev.

I hadn't either until yesterday when I was reading this thread.  Checked them out some after that.  Very Coldplay-ish to me, but I liked it.

Preferred it to Coldplay, a bit more life in it, but I couldn't listen to a whole album of it. It's a bit depressing.

[contest_sanity]

From an Interview with Neal Morse:

As for the musical direction of the new project, Neal said, "We're all going to get together and work from scratch with no pre-prepared material and see what comes out.

"I'd like to do something different. Something to make it very different from like my solo stuff or TRANSATLANTIC.

 

Definitely good to read that! 

[ariich]

Very cool for them to try something new like bringing Casey on board.  Almost guarantees it won't be some meh retro-prog thing.

I think that was already fairly unlikely with the TA/Dregs blend, but yeah I like addition of something much further out than what any of them are used to. Very cool idea!

[DarkEternalNight]

Wow, just reading about this gives me a musicgasm.

[Zydar]

MPs latest tweet:

"Day #1 of the Portnoy, Morse, Morse, LaRue & McPherson project was incredibly productive and exciting!! So many ideas and such talent...wow!"

[Quadrochosis]

I have to say, while this project interests me, and I'll probably listen to it when it's released, it's not something that I'm excited for, or care that much about.

[pogoowner]

I'm really excited to hear what direction they go in with this. I checked out Alpha Rev last night, and they sounded okay. Fairly catchy. McPherson's voice did nothing to turn me off, so I don't have to worry about that, at least.

[The Letter M]

Another Tweet from MP:

In the studio w/ Steve Morse, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue & Casey McPherson....the music and the magic is totally inspiring!

I'm glad to hear he's having fun! I wonder if Neal and/or Mike are documenting the whole thing, as usual? I'd like to see a Drum-Cam DVD from this session, provided it proves to be very interesting and worth release.

Also, something I don't think I've seen discussed ANYWHERE... what label might this get released on? I'm guessing at LEAST Neal's very own Radiant Records, but any chance InsideOut might pick it up too?

-Marc.

[Nekov]

From MP's forum:

Day #2
Man, what another productive day...
 
We were joined today by Peter Collins (brilliant Producer who Produced Rush's Power Windows & Hold Your Fire and Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime & Empire amongst hundreds of other recordings...)
It's actually very nice to finally work with him as he was always on my "wish-list" for DT back in the 90's when we still worked with outside producers...
 
We're still not sure to what capacity he is going to work on the project, but he came down today to feel out the chemistry and I think it actually may work very well...he's a very nice guy, seems to respects us all as players and writers enough to give us our space, but also has a great objective ear that we are all very willing to listen to and take direction from...I think he may indeed be a nice addition to the team...we'll see....
 
Anyways, we wrapped up the writing and arranging on yesterday's song #1 (whose working title is "Daylight") and after dinner jumped into an idea that Steve had which was this huge, soaring guitar theme (classic Steve orchestration) that Casey immediately began sketching out a great verse & chorus to and in turn inspired Neal to write a great Bridge....
 
A few hours later, we wrapped up the arrangement on this song #2 (working title is "Majestic") and layed down a rough demo to sleep on...
 
Just got back to the hotel and listened down to both songs and I am very excited....both songs are just so melodic and soaring....I think we're really onto to something very unique and special here!!
 
Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings....
MP

[Nihil-Morari]

Melodic and soaring eh?

Me like. Anyone else thinking Dredg?

[The Letter M]

Wow. I'm so glad that Steve, Neal and Casey are all working together so well! It sounds like a TRULY collaborative effort! Steve's themes, Casey's verses and choruses, Neal's bridge... sounds very promising, and I hope that it all blends into a well fleshed-out BAND sound and not "Here's Neal's part" and "Here's Steve's part", etc. etc.

Also, having Peter Collins on board would be FANTASTIC! He'll definitely be a great asset to this project and album!

-Marc.

[Zydar]

Man, this sounds really promising. Melodic and soaring, just what I like in music.

[robwebster]

Wasn't particularly interested in this at all... not entirely sold on Neal Morse (though he's done some very cool stuff), not entirely sold on Transatlantic (though they've done some pretty cool stuff), and not familiar with the Dixie Dregs. Just sounded like a pretty standard retro-prog sideproject. Was essentially expecting Transatlantic-lite.

BUT. Listening to Alpha Rev, I'm starting to get quite fond of the idea.

The prog world's a wee bit incestuous. Not very, but a little bit. Tiny bit tired of hearing about everyone collaborating with everyone else - kinda "same old." Hard to get excited by MP's tenth collaboration with NM. But this Casey McPherson guy could bring in something genuinely new. Which is very cool. I've not made my mind up about Alpha Rev's music yet (though I am only midway through track 1 on the latest album, so I'm not in a hurry to write it off), but I like the style it's in, and there's a lot of cool synthy stuff going on.



Although, shame he's warmed to the idea of an outside producer a couple of years too late. I don't think DT have ever needed a producer - they do a wonderful job of self-producing - but I think it'd be a fascinating idea and keep them on their toes. I know he's had bad experiences, but not all producers are like that. 'Specially not if they're dealing with a very experienced and respected group of musicians, which they weren't before 1997.

[Mebert78]

I agree, rob.  Been checking out some Alpha Rev today at work and I like this guy Corey.  "New Morning" is beautiful.  Like you, I'm not so much interested in other guys that have already made their rounds in the genre, but Corey brings something fresh.  I'm intrigued.

[TAC]

Wow..Alpha Rev sucks..
I'm sorry.. And I thought Neal Morse's vocals were bad.. I'm losing interest in this by the minute.


What's the next project MP?