Here is the unadulterated, uncut, unedited, un-censored "let it all hang out" interview between Tony Shore and Neal Morse. [Tony refers to himself as "the talent," but we'll forgive him for that. I mean, he turned in a good interview, plus I'm just kidding. Okay! Enough silly banter. On with the interview...]
Tony: How did you get started in music?
Neal: My Dad’s a choir director and my mom is a singer and they met in the Choir, so I grew up in a real musical family… I starred in an opera when I was 9 years old. A Christmas opera called Amahl and the Night Visitors…I played a crippled boy that gets healed by the Lord.
I always loved that music, but I have a different relationship to that music now when I think of it and sing it, because I didn’t really get it until just 3 or 4 years ago.
I started playing professionally when I was 12 or 13. My whole family was very musical. I have two brothers and one sister, who have all been involved in music at one point or another. My brothers and I were pretty good even back then when we were young. We started to play high school dances. We even use to play progressive stuff; I remember doing ‘All Good People’ at Kennedy High School in the San Fernando Valley, because I always liked the more progressive music.
All Good People by Yes! Wow…but could anybody sing it?
Yeah! I actually had a really high voice back then.
What instrument did you play initially?
I was playing guitar and keyboards back then…pretty much the same as now.
We were really cool because we actually had a synthesizer back then, people were like ‘Wow! What’s that?” My dad was a music teacher at a school so he got it for us.
It was an early Roland synth. You could make the exact sounds from Frankenstein by Edgar Winter.
I actually saw Edgar Winter opening for Yes. I think it was on the Close to the Edge tour.
So you were into Yes. Which is very apparent in your work from Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic and now your new release. What were some of your other musical influences early on?
Well, when I was 4 I started getting into the Beatles…they’d put on the Beatles and I would sing and dance to it. Then I was singing all this madrigral music with my dad. My dad was a big early influence. Also, my uncle was in a jazz group called the HiLo’s. So I sort of grew up with all this very eclectic kind of music around the house, so when I heard bands like Yes, Gentle Giant, ELP and Genesis and all these types of things, I thought, wow, you can have it all!
You can have the power of rock with the intricacy of classical with the beauty of the great pop vocal groups, with the wild creativity of Jazz…that’s what I love about it.
The bands that probably influenced me the most are the Beatles, Yes, ELP, Genisis, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, there are others in there, but those would be the most influencial.
When did Spock’s Beard form?
I played in various bands in various forms over the years, then around ’91 we formed Spock’s Beard.
And then after 6 Studio albums and building a huge fan base all over the world, you decided to leave Spock’s Beard…when and why did you make this decision?
It came to me on a flaming pie…Just Kidding! That’s just a little Beatles trivia there for you. It came to me in prayer…I pray while I run. While I was running I felt like God was pulling on me to change directions in my life. I had been feeling God calling me for a while, I just wasn’t sure…I’m still wondering what’s around the next corner. I just felt God calling me to come out of it and do something else. I had no idea at that time what I would be doing. So far he’s really been taking care of us, so I’m grateful for that. But it was a really tough decision, it was such a serious thing that affects so many peoples lives that I prayed about it for 6 to 8 months.
So how did the rest of the band and the fans respond to you quitting? You guys had developed a pretty hardcore following.
You know, I think it’s going pretty well, considering. It’s going a lot better than I thought it might go. You know the fans were particularly were mostly, you know…there are people of all opinions and walks out there… I try not to read the internet too much (laughing)…my wife is wonderful, she kind of sorts through all that stuff and just shows me the good stuff. But really the fans have been really supportive and that’s been great, it’s been great for the guys, for the band and for me as well.
So when you first approached the band and told them you were quitting, was it a shock to the rest of the band?
Oh yeah, it was out of nowhere.
That must have been a really tough situation!
It was kind of hard on them and for me too. I really miss them. We were really bonded. I miss them.
You’ve also been in a side project, the prog rock supergroup Transatlantic, which featured members of Dream Theater, Marillion and the Flower Kings. Would you ever record with them in the future?
No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Obviously the decision leading up to leaving Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic and a lot of what you’ve mentioned about God and Prayer, obviously in past couple of years you’ve made a major life decision or some major life changes and had a spiritual experience…so tell me about that.
My walk has been pretty gradual. The Lord very slowly brought me around. I felt the Lord calling me more and more to come to Church. Being in church I felt the Lord starting to deal with my heart. I started to feel the Holy Ghost moving in my life. At first, I was what you would call a ‘Chreaster,’ that’s somebody who just comes at Christmas and Easter. I was just going to be a nice Husband to my wife. I just sort of started to feel something there. An urge to go more. I always wanted to be closer to God. I was hungry and I was reaching.
I didn’t think that Jesus was the way to get closer to God. I didn’t understand about Jesus. But I thought, if I start going to church I’m going to get closer to God. And that was more important to me than anything. It’s proven out. So I started going more and more.
It was probably around ’96, then a little bit more in ’97 and a little bit more in ’98 and so on.
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Other Stories:
I am a moslem and love to hear good music so much. Playing Nusrat fateh, Bashir Munir and Latta Mangeshkar, Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Marillion and Queen, Dream Theater, Shadow Gallery, Psychotic Waltz and Angra on my CD player alway be exciting moment to me. And listening to Spocks Beard album The Light gives me much more intense spiritual experience thank to the lyrics and compositions. You know what, I feel like Neal is here with me as I play The Light on my portable CD player. I love Neal and his music..
To be frankly, I cried when I read the news that he was leaving the band...But, it was not too hard anymore when I know Neal continues making music and devotes his work to God.... God bless you Neal..
Posted by:
wahyu on December 26, 2003 06:45 AM
I saw Neal perform Testimony live in Europe and it was the best concert I've ever seen. And I've been to a LOT of concerts! At one time I even couldn't hold back the tears, especially when Neal told about his daughter being born with a hole in her heart and how God had healed her miraculously. This is the most powerful testimony I've ever heard and I am very grateful to Neal for making it. It's also a very powerful witnessing tool, I recommend this cd to all my friends. God bless Neal and God bless HM Magazine!
Posted by:
Wietze on January 21, 2004 04:57 PM
