Keegan ankles Spocks Beard!

Jefferson James · 10-14-2016

Originally Posted by Baribrotzer

SB's music isn't something you can learn in one last-minute rehearsal or fake your way through

Thanks for saying this, man. As much of a beating as Spock's and Neal Morse's music take here, the fact is the music takes a lot of discipline and concentration to master. You always have to get thru a complicated section before you can relax and play the poppy sections. It won't be an easy gig for anyone that's for sure.

EDIT: When I was jamming with Ryo 10 years ago (!) we needed a drummer and I brought a friend in. I told him, "Learn this one song (Freefall), it's in 7 so you need to nail the groove. Don't try to fake your way through it, learn the changes."

Man, the dude didn't even practice it. He comes in and we kick it off and he's completely, utterly lost. I was embarrassed and Ryo wasn't happy and told him the audition was over. He just dismissed the dude, it was pretty awesome. "You're not the right guy, bye."

My friend was like, "Well, I hate prog rock anyway."

Thing is, he was a solid drummer, he had an XTC tribute band that killed. I was in an original band with him (The Abe Lincoln Story) and we rocked in our own goofy way.

To this day, though, I thought it was lame that he didn't even learn one song for an audition for Christ's sake. I still rib him about it.

Jefferson James · 10-14-2016

As for Jimmy leaving Spock's Beard, I am disappointed for sure. He's such a dynamic and energetic drummer, a wonderful vocalist, and a fun guy to watch onstage. He really added a lot to the band. I was hoping the line-up would continue because the band was starting to regain some stability and with a few releases under their belts it felt, to me, like they could do anything.

I've been watching the Night of the Prog performance of "Snow" with the extended line-up (Neal and Nick) and the band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Seriously intense and killer performance by every man involved. I'd love to see THAT line-up continue indefinitely!

I hope Jimmy finds great success in his future musical adventures.

**Brainforest** · 10-14-2016

Originally Posted by KerryKompost

Thanks for saying this, man. As much of a beating as Spock's and Neal Morse's music take here, the fact is the music takes a lot of discipline and concentration to master. You always have to get thru a complicated section before you can relax and play the poppy sections. It won't be an easy gig for anyone that's for sure.

EDIT: When I was jamming with Ryo 10 years ago (!) we needed a drummer and I brought a friend in. I told him, "Learn this one song (Freefall), it's in 7 so you need to nail the groove. Don't try to fake your way through it, learn the changes."

Man, the dude didn't even practice it. He comes in and we kick it off and he's completely, utterly lost. I was embarrassed and Ryo wasn't happy and told him the audition was over. He just dismissed the dude, it was pretty awesome. "Your not the right guy, bye."

My friend was like, "Well, I hate prog rock anyway."

Thing is, he was a solid drummer, he had an XTC tribute band that killed. I was in an original band with him (The Abe Lincoln Story) and we rocked in our own goofy way.

To this day, though, I thought it was lame that he didn't even learn one song for an audition for Christ's sake. I still rib him about it.

Funny, this made me think of something I hadn't thought of in years. When Kevin Gilbert died, SB was only partially finished with Kindness of Strangers and had to find another studio/engineer to complete it. They ended up in a studio with a great engineer who Dave and I had worked with several times before. Super-talented guy, but when it came into punching in on overdubs, he had a lot of trouble because he had little or no experience with odd time signatures. I remember sitting with him a few times having to cue him where downbeats were in bars of 5, 7, 9, 11, etc. We forget sometimes how foreign some aspects of prog are to people who aren't used to hearing it.

**Firth** · 10-14-2016

Originally Posted by KerryKompost

Thanks for saying this, man. As much of a beating as Spock's and Neal Morse's music take here, the fact is the music takes a lot of discipline and concentration to master. You always have to get thru a complicated section before you can relax and play the poppy sections. It won't be an easy gig for anyone that's for sure.

EDIT: When I was jamming with Ryo 10 years ago (!) we needed a drummer and I brought a friend in. I told him, "Learn this one song (Freefall), it's in 7 so you need to nail the groove. Don't try to fake your way through it, learn the changes."

Man, the dude didn't even practice it. He comes in and we kick it off and he's completely, utterly lost. I was embarrassed and Ryo wasn't happy and told him the audition was over. He just dismissed the dude, it was pretty awesome. "You're not the right guy, bye."

My friend was like, "Well, I hate prog rock anyway."

Thing is, he was a solid drummer, he had an XTC tribute band that killed. I was in an original band with him (The Abe Lincoln Story) and we rocked in our own goofy way.

To this day, though, I thought it was lame that he didn't even learn one song for an audition for Christ's sake. I still rib him about it.

I totally get what you are saying. I was a drummer at 12-14 years old and it's in my system forever. It scares the shit out of me to think about auditioning for SB now though. I need to play around by myself a bunch before playing with a band, not even a band like SB. Great post man[emoji106][emoji41]

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**Hunnibee** · 10-15-2016

Well, now that Alan White is returning to Yes, Jay Schellen just might be looking for a job.

**Interstellar** · 10-15-2016

I hope this band finds another dynamic, talented, entertaining drummer. They deserve success and fun.

(Message to the band. I would have loved to apply for the job, but I wouldn't want to live "close to a major airport" because of the noise. Sorry.
The other reason is that "to groove over shifting time signatures", I would probably have to learn to play drums, which would take an unreasonable amount of time and would be conducive to a noisy environment. But thanks for asking.)

**moecurlythanu** · 10-15-2016

Originally Posted by Interstellar

I hope this band finds another dynamic, talented, entertaining drummer. They deserve success and fun.

(Message to the band. I would have loved to apply for the job, but I wouldn't want to live "close to a major airport" because of the noise. Sorry.
The other reason is that "to groove over shifting time signatures", I would probably have to learn to play drums, which would take an unreasonable amount of time and would be conducive to a noisy environment. But thanks for asking.)

But I'll bet you could still sing!