I don't know how Mike can expect an album that says "The Neal Morse Band" to sell better than an album that says "Neal Morse".
Also, most of TA's stuff is written by Morse. I think, the musicians in FC have a little more input but most of it still comes from Neal.
I guess everything that has Neal involved will always sound like Neal.
I don't follow it closely enough to know who writes who in the Neal Morse-related stuff, but always assumed it was Neal, and not surprisingly, much of it sounds similar.
Unfortunately, that is one of those Internet myths that has perpetuated itself. Along the lines of, "Mike Pornoy did EVERYTHING in DT. He wrote the songs, interacted with the fans, called the shots--EVERYTHING! That's why they were so metal." Etc. Yeah, Neal has a distinct style and sound that makes
anything he plays on pretty recognizable. And he has been an active writer in pretty much every project he has been involved in. But in Transatlantic, for example, he did NOT dominate the vast majority of the writing as the poster you quoted erroneously state. That's been proven elsewhere. And I know you don't follow his projects, so that's why I am clarifying.
This is why I really do think Eric Gillette (is that is name) probably is the guitarist for MP's new prog metal group. MP likely wouldn;t be calling him "baby JP" (or whatever nickname he gave him) had he not been. It's all a setup for the project.
It
could be. But, honestly, whether he is or isn't part of the project, I think Mike's comments were simply yet one of many, many examples of him just saying whatever comes to his mind without any filter whatsoever or any thought to how it will be perceived. I don't think it was necessarily a setup for the project at all. But I could be wrong.
Can Eric write? I know nothing about him, except for Shattered Fortress (where he played like a monster, so he can certainly play).
He wrote and co-wrote a few things on Neal's last album, and I really like his contributions there. I have seen it said that his solo album is heavier (and is pretty good), but I haven't heard it.