Spock's Beard Discography thread

[Mladen]

Yeah, these guys are toast. Dave and Ted might as well to P-SA full time and bring those guys to Europe. I would love that.

[twanky]

This is a bummer. Spock’s Beard having to cancel their European tour because of being unable to play HRH Prog (which pulled the rug out from under BBT and other bands by rescheduling the festival last year. Guessing some similar shenanigans are involved here).

https://www.facebook.com/100047325602689/posts/pfbid02GxwGtuaDSX4XBaZ94gTAAH1ChL49Rv4QPxKLkmFoqKZVpjFQv2L6u7WbuQSY6zwel/?app=fbl

Ted replied to the SB Facebook post saying "Well, this is an odd way to find out."

Yikes...sad that he isn't kept in the loop. Is Al making all the business decisions for the band?

-Marc.

More likely the Shysters who run HRH Prog in the UK. I've had tickets for 2 of their festivals. Line up changes without notification, cancellations,venue changes and even changing the city wheer the festival is.... AVOID

[Mosh]

Pattern Seeking Animals is new to me, are they any good? What's a good album to start with? I liked Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep a lot but really disliked the other Ted Leonard-era Spocks (not because of him, I just don't think the writing has been good recently). So if their material is up to the standard of that first album he did with Spocks I would be up for checking it out. Kinda sad to see how much this band has declined since their heights with Neal Morse and even some really high-quality material afterward.

[KevShmev]

Pattern Seeking Animals is new to me, are they any good? What's a good album to start with? I liked Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep a lot but really disliked the other Ted Leonard-era Spocks (not because of him, I just don't think the writing has been good recently). So if their material is up to the standard of that first album he did with Spocks I would be up for checking it out. Kinda sad to see how much this band has declined since their heights with Neal Morse and even some really high-quality material afterward.

My older brother is a big fan of everything PSA have done, but he is a much bigger fan of Ted's voice than I am (I like it, but I don't love it).  I thought Brief Nocturnes... was pretty awesome, while Noise Floor was good, but largely unmemorable.  The Oblivion Particle was weirdly enjoyable and quite good, but I just never think to listen to it anymore.  It sounds incredible, though.

[HOF]

Pattern Seeking Animals is new to me, are they any good? What's a good album to start with? I liked Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep a lot but really disliked the other Ted Leonard-era Spocks (not because of him, I just don't think the writing has been good recently). So if their material is up to the standard of that first album he did with Spocks I would be up for checking it out. Kinda sad to see how much this band has declined since their heights with Neal Morse and even some really high-quality material afterward.

My older brother is a big fan of everything PSA have done, but he is a much bigger fan of Ted's voice than I am (I like it, but I don't love it).  I thought Brief Nocturnes... was pretty awesome, while Noise Floor was good, but largely unmemorable.  The Oblivion Particle was weirdly enjoyable and quite good, but I just never think to listen to it anymore.  It sounds incredible, though.

The Oblivion Particle sounds TOO LOUD to me. Just gives me ear fatigue. Has some decent songs, but is the least memorable of the Ted albums for me. Noise Floor is awesome though.

[Kwyjibo]

Pattern Seeking Animals is new to me, are they any good? What's a good album to start with? I liked Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep a lot but really disliked the other Ted Leonard-era Spocks (not because of him, I just don't think the writing has been good recently). So if their material is up to the standard of that first album he did with Spocks I would be up for checking it out. Kinda sad to see how much this band has declined since their heights with Neal Morse and even some really high-quality material afterward.

If you want to check PSA out, I'd say start with Prehensile Tales, their second record, which is their best so far, imo.

[DoctorAction]

I need to go back to Noise Floor and give it another go.

I struggle a bit with Ted's voice, tbh. Never with Nick's (other than him not being Neal).

Shame about Spock's slowly fading out. They're the only other modern "prog" band I really care about apart from DT, I think. (Although, I'm probably forgetting someone really important that I love in there.)

My fantasy is still that Neal finally sees the error of his ways and we get the classic line-up back again. 

[HOF]

I need to go back to Noise Floor and give it another go.

I struggle a bit with Ted's voice, tbh. Never with Nick's (other than him not being Neal).

Shame about Spock's slowly fading out. They're the only other modern "prog" band I really care about apart from DT, I think. (Although, I'm probably forgetting someone really important that I love in there.)

My fantasy is still that Neal finally sees the error of his ways and we get the classic line-up back again. 

I know we’ve gone over this many times before, but I do hope that before the end (whenever that is), they’ll consider a reunion tour or at least a show or two with Neal and Nick and the rest of the current members (or an album, but at least a farewell show would be cool to have on DVD).

[XeRocks81]

I guess Morsefest 2016 already serves this purpose but one last hurrah would be great.

[HOF]

I guess Morsefest 2016 already serves this purpose but one last hurrah would be great.

Yeah, that might be the closest we get. Though it would be cool to get more of a full band retrospective with songs from all eras included.

[DoctorAction]

I need to go back to Noise Floor and give it another go.

I struggle a bit with Ted's voice, tbh. Never with Nick's (other than him not being Neal).

Shame about Spock's slowly fading out. They're the only other modern "prog" band I really care about apart from DT, I think. (Although, I'm probably forgetting someone really important that I love in there.)

My fantasy is still that Neal finally sees the error of his ways and we get the classic line-up back again. 

I know we’ve gone over this many times before, but I do hope that before the end (whenever that is), they’ll consider a reunion tour or at least a show or two with Neal and Nick and the rest of the current members (or an album, but at least a farewell show would be cool to have on DVD).

I'd love to see that.

[KevShmev]

I admittedly didn't watch the whole thing, but from what I saw from the Snow performance at Morsefest, the band looked liked old friends from high school who met up years later and couldn't figure out what they had in common or what to talk about anymore.  Yeah, the music sounded good, and Neal was his usual energetic self, but I didn't sense any unity or camaraderie among the band.  I know it is hard for some fans to let go...but sometimes you just need to.

[HOF]

I admittedly didn't watch the whole thing, but from what I saw from the Snow performance at Morsefest, the band looked liked old friends from high school who met up years later and couldn't figure out what they had in common or what to talk about anymore.  Yeah, the music sounded good, and Neal was his usual energetic self, but I didn't sense any unity or camaraderie among the band.  I know it is hard for some fans to let go...but sometimes you just need to.

Huh, really? Everyone seemed so into it. Maybe a bit of everyone trying really hard not to mess up music they hadn't played together before, but I got choked up in places. Thought it was fantastic. 

I really don't think there is any animosity between the band and Neal (he's had all of them on his podcast except Ryo, has talked fondly of watching them playing on the Cruise to the Edge, etc.). Don't think there's really any animosity with each other within the band for the most part. I think Spock's is just such a hard venture for everyone to keep going given their ages, locations, and the general expense of operating a band as a hobby.

[Nick]

This is a bummer. Spock’s Beard having to cancel their European tour because of being unable to play HRH Prog (which pulled the rug out from under BBT and other bands by rescheduling the festival last year. Guessing some similar shenanigans are involved here).

https://www.facebook.com/100047325602689/posts/pfbid02GxwGtuaDSX4XBaZ94gTAAH1ChL49Rv4QPxKLkmFoqKZVpjFQv2L6u7WbuQSY6zwel/?app=fbl

Puzzle,?

Ted replied to the SB Facebook post saying "Well, this is an odd way to find out."

Yikes...sad that he isn't kept in the loop. Is Al making all the business decisions for the band?

-Marc.

I could be wrong, but I think Ryo is the one handling their FB account.

I also wonder if Ted is not a full voting band member or something, since you’d think there might be some internal communications. Or it’s possible Ted is joking, as he is known to do.

Take this with a potential grain of salt as I had the discussion awhile back and things could have always changed.

I'm 95% sure Spock's Beard, as a corporate entity, are at this point Al, Dave, and Ryo. While publicly facing Ted and Mike are full-time members, logistically/financially they are compensated as hired guns.

[HOF]

This is a bummer. Spock’s Beard having to cancel their European tour because of being unable to play HRH Prog (which pulled the rug out from under BBT and other bands by rescheduling the festival last year. Guessing some similar shenanigans are involved here).

https://www.facebook.com/100047325602689/posts/pfbid02GxwGtuaDSX4XBaZ94gTAAH1ChL49Rv4QPxKLkmFoqKZVpjFQv2L6u7WbuQSY6zwel/?app=fbl

Puzzle,?

Ted replied to the SB Facebook post saying "Well, this is an odd way to find out."

Yikes...sad that he isn't kept in the loop. Is Al making all the business decisions for the band?

-Marc.

I could be wrong, but I think Ryo is the one handling their FB account.

I also wonder if Ted is not a full voting band member or something, since you’d think there might be some internal communications. Or it’s possible Ted is joking, as he is known to do.

Take this with a potential grain of salt as I had the discussion awhile back and things could have always changed.

I'm 95% sure Spock's Beard, as a corporate entity, are at this point Al, Dave, and Ryo. While publicly facing Ted and Mike are full-time members, logistically/financially they are compensated as hired guns.

Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me at all.

[The Letter M]

This is a bummer. Spock’s Beard having to cancel their European tour because of being unable to play HRH Prog (which pulled the rug out from under BBT and other bands by rescheduling the festival last year. Guessing some similar shenanigans are involved here).

https://www.facebook.com/100047325602689/posts/pfbid02GxwGtuaDSX4XBaZ94gTAAH1ChL49Rv4QPxKLkmFoqKZVpjFQv2L6u7WbuQSY6zwel/?app=fbl

Puzzle,?

Ted replied to the SB Facebook post saying "Well, this is an odd way to find out."

Yikes...sad that he isn't kept in the loop. Is Al making all the business decisions for the band?

-Marc.

I could be wrong, but I think Ryo is the one handling their FB account.

I also wonder if Ted is not a full voting band member or something, since you’d think there might be some internal communications. Or it’s possible Ted is joking, as he is known to do.

Take this with a potential grain of salt as I had the discussion awhile back and things could have always changed.

I'm 95% sure Spock's Beard, as a corporate entity, are at this point Al, Dave, and Ryo. While publicly facing Ted and Mike are full-time members, logistically/financially they are compensated as hired guns.

This sounds about right, given that Nick was their drummer and took lead vocal duties, so when he left both positions, the remaining three members probably took business into their own hands and hired Ted and Jimmy (even eventually Mike) as hired guns.

-Marc.

[gzarruk]

AFAIK, Mike was never even a "full time" member anyway, only a hired gun for touring. Ted would be the only real member who isn't involved with the business side of things for SB.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they just called it a day, as they haven't done anything really for many years now. Unless they come up with a new album/tour or a Neal reunion, they're just finished imo.

[The Letter M]

AFAIK, Mike was never even a "full time" member anyway, only a hired gun for touring. Ted would be the only real member who isn't involved with the business side of things for SB.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they just called it a day, as they haven't done anything really for many years now. Unless they come up with a new album/tour or a Neal reunion, they're just finished imo.

I'm inclined to agree. If this were a situation like with TFK or PT, where the lead writer just put their band on hiatus (in Roine's case, twice for nearly five years at a time, and in Steven's, over a decade for PT), then I could see them taking time and coming back later, but SB hasn't had a singular lead writer since Neal, and even outsourced their writing to include members that aren't musicians in the band (not that there's anything wrong with that).

With Ted, Dave, and John Boegehold all focusing on P-SA, I don't see them "saving any material" for SB. And Ryo just put out a solo album last year, so he's been busy on his own stuff. Unless Al has 5 years worth of material saved up for a new album, I can't see them bringing the band back together anytime soon.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I admittedly didn't watch the whole thing, but from what I saw from the Snow performance at Morsefest, the band looked liked old friends from high school who met up years later and couldn't figure out what they had in common or what to talk about anymore.  Yeah, the music sounded good, and Neal was his usual energetic self, but I didn't sense any unity or camaraderie among the band.  I know it is hard for some fans to let go...but sometimes you just need to.

Huh, really? Everyone seemed so into it. Maybe a bit of everyone trying really hard not to mess up music they hadn't played together before, but I got choked up in places. Thought it was fantastic. 

I really don't think there is any animosity between the band and Neal (he's had all of them on his podcast except Ryo, has talked fondly of watching them playing on the Cruise to the Edge, etc.). Don't think there's really any animosity with each other within the band for the most part. I think Spock's is just such a hard venture for everyone to keep going given their ages, locations, and the general expense of operating a band as a hobby.

Again, I didn't see all of it, so my impression of it was from what I did see, but if a full watching reveals something different, I will take your word for it. I definitely didn't see any resentment or animosity, and I don't think I was implying that either.

 I'm inclined to agree. If this were a situation like with TFK or PT, where the lead writer just put their band on hiatus (in Roine's case, twice for nearly five years at a time, and in Steven's, over a decade for PT), then I could see them taking time and coming back later, but SB hasn't had a singular lead writer since Neal, and even outsourced their writing to include members that aren't musicians in the band (not that there's anything wrong with that).

With Ted, Dave, and John Boegehold all focusing on P-SA, I don't see them "saving any material" for SB. And Ryo just put out a solo album last year, so he's been busy on his own stuff. Unless Al has 5 years worth of material saved up for a new album, I can't see them bringing the band back together anytime soon.

I think there are definitely some who would not agree with that.  Don't get me wrong, collaboration is a hallmark of music in the last 60+ years, but I know a lot of rock fans get on their high horse about "our guys write all their own music!"  I would actually argue that songwriting is in many ways a greater talent than playing a musical instrument.  Just about anyone with a decent amount of practice can play a musical instrument on at least a rudimentary level.  Not everyone can write a good song.

[The Letter M]

 I'm inclined to agree. If this were a situation like with TFK or PT, where the lead writer just put their band on hiatus (in Roine's case, twice for nearly five years at a time, and in Steven's, over a decade for PT), then I could see them taking time and coming back later, but SB hasn't had a singular lead writer since Neal, and even outsourced their writing to include members that aren't musicians in the band (not that there's anything wrong with that).

With Ted, Dave, and John Boegehold all focusing on P-SA, I don't see them "saving any material" for SB. And Ryo just put out a solo album last year, so he's been busy on his own stuff. Unless Al has 5 years worth of material saved up for a new album, I can't see them bringing the band back together anytime soon.

I think there are definitely some who would not agree with that.  Don't get me wrong, collaboration is a hallmark of music in the last 60+ years, but I know a lot of rock fans get on their high horse about "our guys write all their own music!"  I would actually argue that songwriting is in many ways a greater talent than playing a musical instrument.  Just about anyone with a decent amount of practice can play a musical instrument on at least a rudimentary level.  Not everyone can write a good song.

I thought it was odd at first, seeing Stan and John in the writing credits beginning with Feel Euphoria, but it was still SB playing the songs, and at that point, it wasn't much different than them playing Neal's songs in the band when he wasn't with them anymore (granted, he wrote them while IN the band FOR the band). And most of those songs were co-written with members in the band anyway, at least during the NDV-era. It wasn't until BNADS that we saw songs solely by Ausmus and Boegehold.

Here's the songs written solely by John Boegehold:
"Something Very Strange
"Postcards From Perdition (Limited Edition Bonus Track)
"Bennett Built A Time Machine"
"Get Out While You Can"
"A Better Way To Fly"
"To Be Free Again"
"Disappear"
"What Becomes Of Me"
"Days We'll Remember" (Bonus Track)
"Bulletproof" (Bonus Track)
"Armageddon Nervous" (Bonus Track)

Eleven songs solely by Boegehold and four ended up as bonus tracks, so really only seven, and in the vast catalog of Post-Neal SB, that's not a lot.

And as for Stan Ausmus, only two songs were credited solely to him - "Tides Of Time" and "One So Wise", both of which are pretty great IMO, so not a big deal there.

I think when folks saw the writing credits for The Oblivion Particle and saw that over half of the album's 9 songs were credited solely to Boegehold, they probably already made up their minds about the music before even listening to it, which is a shame. It's not their best album, but it's a fun one IMO, especially songs like "Bennett", "A Better Way To Fly", and "To Be Free Again". I think consequently, the band took those criticisms to heart because of the four sole-written Boegehold songs for Nosie Floor, only one made it to the main album ("What Becomes Of Me"), while the other three were put on The Cutting Room Floor. I wonder how John felt about that, and if it was the impetus for him to start Pattern-Seeking Animals.

-Marc.

[425]

 I'm inclined to agree. If this were a situation like with TFK or PT, where the lead writer just put their band on hiatus (in Roine's case, twice for nearly five years at a time, and in Steven's, over a decade for PT), then I could see them taking time and coming back later, but SB hasn't had a singular lead writer since Neal, and even outsourced their writing to include members that aren't musicians in the band (not that there's anything wrong with that).

With Ted, Dave, and John Boegehold all focusing on P-SA, I don't see them "saving any material" for SB. And Ryo just put out a solo album last year, so he's been busy on his own stuff. Unless Al has 5 years worth of material saved up for a new album, I can't see them bringing the band back together anytime soon.

I think there are definitely some who would not agree with that.  Don't get me wrong, collaboration is a hallmark of music in the last 60+ years, but I know a lot of rock fans get on their high horse about "our guys write all their own music!"  I would actually argue that songwriting is in many ways a greater talent than playing a musical instrument.  Just about anyone with a decent amount of practice can play a musical instrument on at least a rudimentary level.  Not everyone can write a good song.

I know this is a thing that a lot of rock fans care about, but I would contend that they're wrong in insisting on it. I get that a thing that they dislike, with good reason, is the situation where a record label has some people write a generic radio-friendly hit and then foists it on an artist. I also get that having the performer and the songwriter be one and the same can add an interesting quality to music videos or live shows, especially when you know the song has personal meaning to the performer.

But it's also the exception, not the rule, historically speaking. I've recently shared some prog that I listen to with a friend who knows a lot about the history of music, but is mainly focused on "classical" and jazz. And he finds it sort of odd that every single song I send him was written by at least some of the people performing it. Not odd in a looking-askance way, but just that this is a strange quirk of rock music. Those conversations have gotten me thinking that there's a case to be made that some people who would produce more good work if they either primarily focused on songwriting or primarily focused on mastering their instrument.

[Kram]

I admittedly didn't watch the whole thing, but from what I saw from the Snow performance at Morsefest, the band looked liked old friends from high school who met up years later and couldn't figure out what they had in common or what to talk about anymore.  Yeah, the music sounded good, and Neal was his usual energetic self, but I didn't sense any unity or camaraderie among the band.  I know it is hard for some fans to let go...but sometimes you just need to.

Huh, really? Everyone seemed so into it. Maybe a bit of everyone trying really hard not to mess up music they hadn't played together before, but I got choked up in places. Thought it was fantastic. 

I really don't think there is any animosity between the band and Neal (he's had all of them on his podcast except Ryo, has talked fondly of watching them playing on the Cruise to the Edge, etc.). Don't think there's really any animosity with each other within the band for the most part. I think Spock's is just such a hard venture for everyone to keep going given their ages, locations, and the general expense of operating a band as a hobby.

Again, I didn't see all of it, so my impression of it was from what I did see, but if a full watching reveals something different, I will take your word for it. I definitely didn't see any resentment or animosity, and I don't think I was implying that either.

 I'm inclined to agree. If this were a situation like with TFK or PT, where the lead writer just put their band on hiatus (in Roine's case, twice for nearly five years at a time, and in Steven's, over a decade for PT), then I could see them taking time and coming back later, but SB hasn't had a singular lead writer since Neal, and even outsourced their writing to include members that aren't musicians in the band (not that there's anything wrong with that).

With Ted, Dave, and John Boegehold all focusing on P-SA, I don't see them "saving any material" for SB. And Ryo just put out a solo album last year, so he's been busy on his own stuff. Unless Al has 5 years worth of material saved up for a new album, I can't see them bringing the band back together anytime soon.

I think there are definitely some who would not agree with that.  Don't get me wrong, collaboration is a hallmark of music in the last 60+ years, but I know a lot of rock fans get on their high horse about "our guys write all their own music!"  I would actually argue that songwriting is in many ways a greater talent than playing a musical instrument.  Just about anyone with a decent amount of practice can play a musical instrument on at least a rudimentary level.  Not everyone can write a good song.

100% agree!  This is why you and I, and so many other on this site are huge Neal Morse fans - his songwriting is extraordinary!

[XeRocks81]

 I'm inclined to agree. If this were a situation like with TFK or PT, where the lead writer just put their band on hiatus (in Roine's case, twice for nearly five years at a time, and in Steven's, over a decade for PT), then I could see them taking time and coming back later, but SB hasn't had a singular lead writer since Neal, and even outsourced their writing to include members that aren't musicians in the band (not that there's anything wrong with that).

With Ted, Dave, and John Boegehold all focusing on P-SA, I don't see them "saving any material" for SB. And Ryo just put out a solo album last year, so he's been busy on his own stuff. Unless Al has 5 years worth of material saved up for a new album, I can't see them bringing the band back together anytime soon.

I think there are definitely some who would not agree with that.  Don't get me wrong, collaboration is a hallmark of music in the last 60+ years, but I know a lot of rock fans get on their high horse about "our guys write all their own music!"  I would actually argue that songwriting is in many ways a greater talent than playing a musical instrument.  Just about anyone with a decent amount of practice can play a musical instrument on at least a rudimentary level.  Not everyone can write a good song.

I know this is a thing that a lot of rock fans care about, but I would contend that they're wrong in insisting on it. I get that a thing that they dislike, with good reason, is the situation where a record label has some people write a generic radio-friendly hit and then foists it on an artist. I also get that having the performer and the songwriter be one and the same can add an interesting quality to music videos or live shows, especially when you know the song has personal meaning to the performer.

But it's also the exception, not the rule, historically speaking. I've recently shared some prog that I listen to with a friend who knows a lot about the history of music, but is mainly focused on "classical" and jazz. And he finds it sort of odd that every single song I send him was written by at least some of the people performing it. Not odd in a looking-askance way, but just that this is a strange quirk of rock music. Those conversations have gotten me thinking that there's a case to be made that some people who would produce more good work if they either primarily focused on songwriting or primarily focused on mastering their instrument.

and a big reason rock bands choose that model as a default is because of the influence of, say it with me,  The Beatles lol!   They were an outlier early in their career performing their own material and even casual Beatles  fan know the story of how Lennon McCartney didn't think that would last and they'd be writing  mostly for other artists in a few years time.

[HOF]

Prog rock in particular has a significant history of bands collaborating with outside writers, starting with Peter Sinfield writing for King Crimson as well as ELP. Then you had John Helmer with Marillion. It’s a different thing than in the pop context where you have outside writers fashioning hits and the performer just knocks it out.

[KevShmev]

I know this is a thing that a lot of rock fans care about, but I would contend that they're wrong in insisting on it. I get that a thing that they dislike, with good reason, is the situation where a record label has some people write a generic radio-friendly hit and then foists it on an artist. I also get that having the performer and the songwriter be one and the same can add an interesting quality to music videos or live shows, especially when you know the song has personal meaning to the performer.

I think the performer and the songwriter being one and the same makes a song that much more powerful, especially if/when the lyrics are of a personal or intimate nature.  Neal Morse's spiritual journey is not something to which I can directly relate for example, but it feels very powerful when he is singing about it because I know that he is singing about his own personal journey.  If it turned out that he was singing about fiction or someone else's story, it would feel a lot less powerful.  Or take Roger Waters' lyrics about his father on The Wall.  When he sings, "...and that's how the high command took my daddy from me!" from When the Tigers Broke Free (featured in the film), it's goose bump-inducing for me because I know he is singing about his father whom he lost in World War II. 

[gzarruk]

Ryo responded to the post with Ted's comment on finding out about the cancellation on Facebook:

First things first:
Sorry about that Ted and mike

I definitely did not mean for you to find out about the tour being canceled via social media.

Here's some insight into what happened:

I tried very hard to keep this tour in play for the past year and half but I couldn’t make it happen despite my best efforts.

On our last tour with the Flower Kings in the UK and on the Mainland the cost of the tour Bus was 1000 Euro per day...but since Covid and the war in the Ukraine it went up to 2000 Euro per day. Additionally, the venues are paying less than last time (apparently people don’t go out to see live bands as much as before).

We started booking the tour when HRH offered us a spot. I tried to get a supporting band but couldn’t make it happen. Our 2 agencies, one in the UK and one in Europe, tried very hard to keep this tour moving forward but they simply couldn’t, the numbers didn't add up.

Then, our agency suggested we make an announcement, so Dave did but in the meantime 5 days ago I had major knee surgery in Japan and I was totally out of it so I couldn’t contribute to or clarify the announcement or follow through with notifying Ted and Mike.

Sorry for this, folks. I really wanted this tour to happen. I sincerely hope another opportunity will present itself next year and we can rock Europe and the UK again!

Ryo

[HOF]

Sounds more like a case of three old guys trying to run things on the fly, and they just weren’t thinking before putting it out. I do think Ryo still wants to make things happen, but it may just not be. He has two more solo albums on his deal with I/O, and maybe those will continue to be sources of de facto SB material along with PSA.

[Orbert]

So Ryo is basically the driving force now behind Spock's Beard, or it's been that way for a while now?

[KevShmev]

That is quite the apology.

"Hey, guys, sorry about that, but I was in the hospital, so blame Dave!"

 

[gzarruk]

That is quite the apology.

"Hey, guys, sorry about that, but I was in the hospital, so blame Dave!"

 

"I just got surgery, so I kinda forgot to tell the other half of the band about this, no biggie"

[ProfessorPeart]

Honestly, it makes sense, as funny as it is. Al is too busy running his company, Dave has always seemed rather aloof and is there to play and not much else. So that leaves Ryo to try and guide the ship even though Al and Dave are the only original members left.

I just don't know that we'll see another album from them. My guess is Al is the issue. Everyone else is still heavily involved in making music where it has always been a more of a hobby for Al.

[Cocopjojo]

Has anyone ever wondered if Octane's "There Was a Time" is about Spock's time as a band? And the "her" in the song is either Neal or just their success in general?

Was listening to Octane again recently and the slower, more chill songs on the album are quite good. E.g. Of the Beauty of It All and She is Everything.

[HOF]

Has anyone ever wondered if Octane's "There Was a Time" is about Spock's time as a band? And the "her" in the song is either Neal or just their success in general?

Was listening to Octane again recently and the slower, more chill songs on the album are quite good. E.g. Of the Beauty of It All and She is Everything.

Also, Watching the Tide is amazing. One of my favorite NDV vocal performances.

No idea if There Was a Time was in reference to the band or Neal. It was an Al Morse/Boegehold, and I’d guess Al was more the music side with John doing the lyrics, but it’s possible Al had input or wanted him to write a song on that topic. I’d lean towards it just being a general breakup type of song though.

[Cocopjojo]

Has anyone ever wondered if Octane's "There Was a Time" is about Spock's time as a band? And the "her" in the song is either Neal or just their success in general?

Was listening to Octane again recently and the slower, more chill songs on the album are quite good. E.g. Of the Beauty of It All and She is Everything.

Also, Watching the Tide is amazing. One of my favorite NDV vocal performances.

No idea if There Was a Time was in reference to the band or Neal. It was an Al Morse/Boegehold, and I’d guess Al was more the music side with John doing the lyrics, but it’s possible Al had input or wanted him to write a song on that topic. I’d lean towards it just being a general breakup type of song though.

Funny, I almost edited my post to mention that track too. Agreed, great track and incredible performance by Nick.

[Mladen]

I've always liked that song. Octane as a whole is really good, and the shorter, more concise songs are a lot of fun.