Spock’s Beard

SEPTEMBER '08

Harder Beat Magazine Online

The Genesis of Spock’s Beard

By Andy Laudano

Most progressive rock fans will know multi-instrumentalist Nick D’Vir-gilio as the drummer and current vocalist for one of the world’s top prog bands, Spock’s Beard. Some fans may not realize, though, how much his career has mirrored that of another legendary progressive rock drummer/vocalist, Genesis’ Phil Collins.

Spock’s Beard was formed in 1992. “I met Neal (keyboards/vocals) and Allan Morse (guitar) at a blues jam in Southern California,” Nick recalls. “All three of us ended up sitting in with a blues band at the same time. That’s how we met each other. We exchanged cards, and Neal eventually called me. We talked about our love of progressive rock, and he mentioned that he’d written some songs and was thinking of putting together a band. He asked me to come over and check out a tape. There, in demo form, were all the songs that were on our very first CD, The Light. We ended up getting together one day for a jam, and that’s kinda how it all started.”

The name Spock’s Beard refers to the classic “Mirror, Mirror” episode of the original Star Trek, in which an alternate universe version of Mr. Spock had a goatee. “Allan came up with the name,” Nick reveals. “We had a list of names and had a blind vote. Al put Spock’s Beard on the list as a joke, and everybody voted for it. Prog bands are always so serious, but we’re kinda crazy dudes, very low key. We wanted to be more fun.”

Together with bassist Dave Meros, Spock’s Beard made two albums before adding veteran keyboardist Ryo Okumoto in 1997. It was also in ‘97 that D’Virgilio was asked to replace Phil Collins as the drummer in Genesis. “I never expected that to happen in a million years,” Nick relates. “I was in England touring with Tears For Fears, and a friend called and said he’d heard Phil had quit Genesis and they might be having auditions. So I found their management company office in London and invited them to the Tears For Fears show, gave them a CD and asked for an audition. They called me back about six months later and flew me to England to audition. I ended up getting the drumming job on the last Genesis (studio) record, Calling All Stations.”

Shortly thereafter, Genesis went on hiatus, and D’Virgilio continued making albums with Spock’s Beard. In 2002, after their sixth album, Snow, Neal Morse left the band for a solo career in Christian music. In a move very reminiscent of when drummer Phil Collins replaced original Genesis vocalist Peter Gabriel (after he too left for a solo career), drummer D’Virgilio became the new vocalist for Spock’s Beard.

“Neal told us he was quitting, and we decided pretty quickly that we didn’t want to break up the band,” Nick explains. “I’d been working on some music for a new solo project, and I used that as my audition to let the guys know I wanted to be the lead singer of the band. After a bit of convincing, but not too much, we decided to go for it and made the Feel Euphoria album.”

Much like Collins did with Genesis, D’Virgilio’s awesome vocals have brought new life and a new audience to Spock’s Beard. Their last two albums, Octane and the self-titled Spock’s Beard were well received, and currently the band has a new Live CD/DVD out - the first video footage featuring the current lineup.

In concert, D’Virgilio is a great frontman. Not content to just stand up front and sing, he also plays guitar, some keyboards, and his drum battles with touring drummer Jimmy Keegan, are the stuff of legend.

Their sense of humor is what separates Spock’s Beard from many of their peers. While each member is a brilliant virtuoso and master of his craft, it’s the band’s onstage antics (which in the past have included confetti fights, a masked roadie with a cowbell hanging over his crotch and Okumoto’s penchant for butt-plug jokes) that make them so much fun to watch.

Spock’s Beard is proof that you can be serious musicians without taking yourself too seriously. Look for their new Live CD/DVD, now out.

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