Gothic Theatre

Spock’s Beard

Artist Website

Nick D’Virgilio
Instruments: Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Guitar, Bass, programming and a wee bit of keys. Also if I feel really ambitious I will take out my trumpet that I played in Jr. High school and try to play. Except after about 5 minutes my lips swell up so much that you can’t see my face anymore. I used to be able to rock Herb Albert tunes like it was nobody’s business. Maybe my lips were not so big then :)

Hometown: I was born in Whittier but my home town is Hacienda Heights, CA

Musical Influences: Genesis, Zeppelin, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Kevin Gilbert, Miles Davis, Louie Prima

Other Credits: Performed and/or recorded with Genesis, Tears For Fears, The Manhattan Transfer, Sheryl Crow, David Bearwald (David & David), and Kevin Gilbert.

Interesting Facts: When I was 4 years-old I wanted to be Donny Osmond.

Outside Interests: Baseball, golf, cooking, and changing my hair style at least once a week.

Website: www.ndvmusic.com

Alan Morse
Instruments: Guitar, Theremin, Saw, Cello, Vocals

Hometown: Monrovia, California

Musical Influences: Mick Ronson, Charlie Parker, Fess Parker, Parker Brothers, Brian May, Adrian Belew, Bill Nelson

Other Credits: Alan has recorded or performed with Chad & Jeremy, Spencer Davis, Chuck Norris. His playing has been featured in many film soundtracks and commercials.

Interesting Facts: When not working with Spock’s Beard, Alan is President of DynaMetric, Inc., an electronics manufacturing company.

Outside Interests: Skiing, playing pinball, drinking cappuccino

Ryo Okumoto
Instruments: Keyboards, Vocals

Hometown: Osaka, Japan

Musical Influences: Bill Evans

Other Credits: Performed and/or recorded with Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Natalie Cole, Barry White, Kitaro, Peabo Bryson, Aaron Neville, Eric Burdon, Glenn Hughes, Bobby Kimball, Robbie Robertson, David Foster, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, Simon Phillips, Jay Graydon, 5th Dimension, Marilyn McCoo, Roberta Flack, Patti Austin, Sheena Easton, Debbie Gibson, Lamont Dozier, Richard Elliot, Jennifer Holliday, Sue Raney, Aretha Franklin, Melissa Manchester, Pointer Sisters, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Eric Carmen, Al Green, Nichele Nichol, Roslyn Kind, Louis St. Louis, James Ingram, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Gill, Brenda Russell

Outside Projects – solo albums: “Solid Gold” Canyon Records (1980) / “Makin’ Rock” Canyon Records (1980) / “Synthesizer” Canyon Records (1980) / “A Christmas Collection” Syner-Chi-Music Intl (1996) / Treasured Moments Volume III, IV, V Syner-Chi-Music Intl. (1996-97) / “Winner’s of the Heart/Free Fall” (1996) /“Coming Through” Solo Project (2002)

Outside Projects – as producer: “Gonna” Gonna BMG Victor / “Treasured Moments (vol. III, IV, & V)” / "B.A.S.E. " La La Factory Canyon Records / “Rich Man, Poor Man” Hollywood Royal Symphony BMG Victor / “A Whole New World” Peabo Bryson & Anri Pony Canyon / “Rules of Love & Marriage” / “The Gentle Wind” Keiko Iwasaki S.R.O. Records

Outside Projects – as keyboardist: “Creation” Kazuo Takeda EMI Records / “Kitaro Live In Perco” Kitaro Canyon Records / “Jawbreaker” Homer Biba Records / “Passion” Earthshaker King Records / “Masque” Kuni Polydor / “East West Band” Edwing Olive Branch Records / “Inside Seduction” Lamont Dozier Atlantic / “Gonna” Gonna BMG Victor / “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ’95” Aretha Franklin Sony Music Entertainment / “Colors of Christmas 1996” Peabo Bryson, Melissa Manchester, Aaron Neville / “B.A.S.E” La La Factory Canyon Records / “Sisters of Styling MIX Phase1” Makoto Styling Records

Website: www.ryookumoto.com

Dave Meros
Instruments: Bass, Bass Pedals, French Horn, Vocals

Hometown: Salinas, California

Musical Influences: (Bass players) – Chris Squire, James Jaimerson Jr, Marcus Miller, Chuck Rainey, Paul McCartney, John Entwhistle, Francis “Rocco” Prestia, David Hungate

Other Credits: Toured and/or Recorded with Gary Myrick, Bobby Kimball (Toto), Simon Phillips, Steve Lukather, Michael Landau, Glen Hughes, Mark Lindsey (Paul Revere and the Raiders) and Eric Burdon (The Animals)

Interesting Facts: I was an FM disc jockey for three years

Outside Interests: Scuba diving, jogging, home repairs and skeleton collecting.

Outside projects: Plays with Eric Burdon and the New Animals year-round, touring the U.S, Canada, Europe, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and occasionally Mexico, South America and the Far East. Dave not only plays bass for Eric Burdon, he is the tour manager as well.

What kind of gear does everybody use?
There’s a whole section of this site dedicated to just that question! Click here to go there.
Where does the name “Spock’s Beard” come from?
From a 1999 Music Street Journal interview
Neal: "Al and I were having this really weird night out one night, just one of those bizarro David Lynch type evenings. Al said “wow, it’s like we’re in a parallel universe. It’s like Spock has a beard. Wouldn’t that be a funny name for a band, Spock’s Beard.” That was about 89 or 90. Then when we were choosing names, around 92, Al made this list, like 2 pages of names. We all voted on them. He snuck Spock’s Beard in as a joke, and it won. Then we were all like, are we going to commit to being known as Spock’s Beard for all eternity, hopefully? Especially our first album, The Light, is kind of like music from a parallel universe. It’s pretty out there, so that was part of it, too."
Are there any Spock’s Beard mailing lists?
Yes, there are two official mailing lists, both Yahoo groups: Thoughts and Looking For Answers.
Where are all the bonus clips in the “Don’t Try This At Home” DVD set?
The bonus clips are divided between the 2 DVDs. The Morse Brothers, Space Trucking, & Day For Night studio clips are on the bonus section on the Holland DVD. Select ‘Bonus’ off the main menu. The All on a Sunday Video, June live, Live at The Whiskey, and The Doorway acoustic performance, are on the Making of V disc. If you click on the “>” sign in the menu (at the lower right corner), it will take you to those bonus clips. Also, if you click on the flying man, you’ll get a surprise bonus. Then if you click on the man 2 more times, you’ll get different one!