Spock's Beard - Beardfish - Sound of Contact (Simon Collins) European Tour Dates!

[Squids]

Hey guys. Don't know if you saw this but my band with Simon Collins (son of Phil) called "Sound of Contact" has joined two bearded bands on a European tour. It's the Spock's Beard tour for their latest album and we're tagging along for the ride in May! I'll post the press release below because I didn't see it posted anywhere and I think a lot of you would like this gig. So if you happen to live near any of these areas come to the show and say hello!

Before we go out in May on this Sound of Contact is also joining Marillion on March 24th in Montreal for their Marillion Weekend Event. We'll be doing pretty much the same set there even before the album is out so if you like Floyd, Genesis, Yes etc. I think you might like SOC. It brings back some of that 70's prog but in a new fresh context. Also if you liked my old swirly Wurly sounds with Kevin Gilbert and Thud then you'll enjoy some of that sort of edge in this. If it wasn't enough to have that with Phil Collins' son drumming and singing you ALSO have John Wesley of Porcupine Tree on guitar in our band and your other friendly neighborhood PE'er Jonathan Schang of District 97 joining us on drums when Simon's out front singing and on addition keys (helping a Squid out with some keyboard heavy music!). So, I hope to see you all at these shows! It's going to be killer.

I'll post the press release. One thing to note though is that the first gig at Spirit in Verviers will ONLY have the Bearded bands (no SOC for that one. We're joining up with them at Sheffield). Now, Jonathan is ALSO touring with John Wetton and D97 during part of this time and at the end we ALL meet up and play the same night! I'm looking forward to hearing them play some old King Crimson personally. Love that stuff. Anyway... here's the news:

InsideOut Music 20th Anniversary Presents Spock’s Beard on tour with support from Beardfish and Sound of Contact

InsideOut Music’s 20th Anniversary is extremely proud to present the European tour from progressive-rock legends Spock’s Beard, who recently announce the release of their brand new studio album ‘Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep’. Joining the band on this tour will be Swedish prog quartet Beardfish and Sound of Contact, the new band featuring Simon Collins and Dave Kerzner. Spock’s Beard had this to say about the tour package:
„We are really looking forward to coming back to Europe and playing our new music. The combination of Spock's Beard, Sound of Contact and Beardfish promises to be really strong and entertaining for our fans!”

The tour dates can be found below:

May 2013 European Tour Dates
Spock’s Beard
Beardfish, Sound of Contact
(G/S/A dates presented by: ROCK HARD, ECLIPSED & Dragon Productions

2.05.2013 Spirit of 66 – Verviers, Belgium
3.05.2013 Corporation – Sheffield, UK
4.05.2013 The Arches – Glasgow, UK
5.05.2013 Academy 2 – Newcastle, UK
6.05.2013 Robin 2 – Bilston, UK
7.05.2013 The Garage – London, UK
8.05.2013 La Scene Bastille – Paris, France
9.05.2013 Z7 – Pratteln, Czech Republic
10.05.2013 Hirsch – Nürnberg, Germany
11.05.2013 Majestic – Bratislava, Slovakia
12.05.2013 A38 – Budapest, Hungary
14.05.2013 Szene – Vienna, Switzerland
15.05.2013 Colos-Saal – Aschaffenburg, Germany
16.05.2013 Das Rind – Rüsselsheim, Germany
17.05.2013 Zeche – Bochum, Germany
18.05.2013 De Boerderij – Zoetermeer, Netherlands
19.05.2013 Markthalle – Hamburg, Germany


Spock’s Beard’s new studio album marks the recording debut of long-time live drummer Jimmy Keegan, and vocalist / guitarist Ted Leonard (Enchant, Thought Chamber). It also sees the return of one familiar name to the song-writing credits, that of Neal Morse who has co-written two tracks after having left the band way back in 2002.

Last year Beardfish released their most recent album The Void, an album which saw Prog Magazine describe them as ‘one of the very finest that modern progressive rock has to offer.’ It also saw the band go on a well-received European tour with supergroup Flying Colours, and play to some of their largest audiences. Principal song-writer Rikard Sjöblom had this to say about the upcoming dates:

We hadn't heard of Spock's Beard when we started in 2001 (and named our band Beardfish...), but I remember someone asking if they were a big influence and if that's where we got the name from(this question has been asked a million times since then) so I listened to "Beware of Darkness" and "V" and thought "wow, they must have listened to the same stuff we have!". Still, they had their own sound and fantastic musicianship (I mean: Ryo and Alan, come on!) and seeing some live clips I saw a band that had a lot of fun on stage which has always been what Beardfish is about too.
We're really excited to get back on the road and feel that this will be a great triple combo, or as our bass player Robert put it: "You'll have two Beards with Sound Of Contact in your ears"... See you in May!

Sound Of Contact is the new brainchild of Simon Collins and Dave Kerzner, who were both recently seen contributing to Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited 2 album. The band have finished work on their debut album, and this tour will see them debuting the material live to audiences in Europe for the first time.
The band comments:
"We're honored to be part of the upcoming Spock's Beard European InsideOutMusic tour, says Simon Collins, lead singer and drummer of the new progressive rock band "Sound of Contact". "It's an exciting and perfect opportunity for us to present the music off our debut album 'Dimensionaut" in Europe!”


Spock’s Beard Online:
http://www.spocksbeard.com
https://www.facebook.com/spocksbeard
https://twitter.com/spocksb
http://www.youtube.com/Spocksbeard

Beardfish Online:
www.beardfishband.com
www.facebook.com/beardfish
www.myspace.com/beardfishband

Sound of Contact Online:
http://www.soundofcontact.com
http://www.facebook.com/soundofcontact
http://www.twitter.com/soundofcontact
http://www.youtube.com/soundofcontact

INSIDEOUTMUSIC online:
www.insideoutmusic.com
www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic

Visit the new InsideOut Shop:
www.insideoutshop.de

PIRATE SMILE online:
www.pirate-smile.de
www.facebook.com/PirateSmilePR
www.twitter.com/-!/piratesmilepr
www.pinterest.com/piratesmilepr

[Scott Bails]

SIGH....


If only Spock's would tour their own country....

[Garion81]

SIGH....


If only Spock's would tour their own country....

If only someone would promote them in the USA, you mean. I am sure they would love to stay home and tour the USA.

[Squids]

I remember going to see Spock's Beard play a gig on Sunset Blvd. in LA. It was when Neil was singing and NDV was on drums. I went with Kevin Gilbert to see Nick play. So long ago... at one point they even asked me to be in the band! It was just after we did The Lamb at Progfest in '94. I almost did it too! How strange that so many years later id be gigging all over Europe with them... and for it to be with Phil Collins' son who also sings and plays drums (really great btw!). I NEVER could have guessed that would happen. But, it sure is cool! Can't wait to take this show on the road. I'm playing with some great musicians and the guys in the other bands are so cool. Jimmy's gonna sit in with us on some of the gigs that Jonathan can't do because he's also touring with District 97 in Europe about half-way through. I'm sharing some keys with Rikard from Beardfish, their keyboardist... it's gonna rock!

I can't speak for any of the other bands but Sound of Contact will be playing in the US either in the Summer or Fall. Some interesting ones too. Plus a one off in Miami I think before we play up in Montreal.

[Scott Bails]

If only someone would promote them in the USA, you mean. I am sure they would love to stay home and tour the USA.

Whatever.

[Gladiator1634]

That Miami one off sounds cool any idea on a date for that? I visit south Florida on a regular basis and definitely would like to be down there for that.

[Squids]

That Miami one off sounds cool any idea on a date for that? I visit south Florida on a regular basis and definitely would like to be down there for that.

I'll give you guys a head's up if we do it. It'd be something like the 21st or 22nd of March since we're heading up to Montreal on the 23rd and playing on the 24th. It'd be a club and just a warm up... however, those have their charm to them and of course you could meet Simon or Wes or any of us. BUT... it's not booked yet and there's something called the Winter Music Conference happening around that time so we may have to skip that and just do this big debut in Montreal! That's the gig to come see anyway if you can swing it (if you're in North America). But, there will be more gigs here later and even some interesting guest appearances as well!

Now for anyone in the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe this tour with the Beards is going to be really cool! I hope you can make it. Certain things will only happen on this tour and possibly never again, at least not in the same way.

[Rufus]

See you in Sheffield !

[calyx]

14.05.2013 Szene – Vienna, Switzerland

To be followed by Geneva (Italy) and Kiev (Czech Republic)...

Seriously though, the line-up looks excellent & I look forward to the show in Paris (France - not Texas)...

[mstique]

Already booked for the London gig.

[Gladiator1634]

That Miami one off sounds cool any idea on a date for that? I visit south Florida on a regular basis and definitely would like to be down there for that.

I'll give you guys a head's up if we do it. It'd be something like the 21st or 22nd of March since we're heading up to Montreal on the 23rd and playing on the 24th.
Now for anyone in the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe this tour with the Beards is going to be really cool! I hope you can make it. Certain things will only happen on this tour and possibly never again, at least not in the same way.

Hopefully the Miami gig will happen since I can't make it to Montreal. I also had a trip a trip planned for London and Paris and have been actively looking for shows to attend. I'm missing Hackett by a week in France and now it appears this amazing looking tour a few weeks later. I guess it will be one of the summer/fall shows then for me.

[Jefferson James]

Fantastic tour, congrats Squids!

I remember going to see Spock's Beard play a gig on Sunset Blvd. in LA.

Was it this gig at The Whiskey? Wondermints, Bomboras and Spock's Beard -- classic. Then The Negro Problem the next night. Gotta love the '90s!

tnpspockswhiskey.jpg

[Squids]

Fantastic tour, congrats Squids!

Was it this gig at The Whiskey? Wondermints, Bomboras and Spock's Beard -- classic. Then The Negro Problem the next night. Gotta love the '90s!

tnpspockswhiskey.jpg

Yeah I think it was that gig at the Whiskey... if it was in 1994. Such great memories from that time. From Progfest to all the things we did in LA at the time. Feels like yesterday to me sometimes.

[Squids]

Nice to see all the replies here about people going to the shows. It's a strong billing if you like a combination of music you know (if you're a Beards fan) and NEW music to enjoy. You've got Spock's new album, Sound of Contact's new album (which will hopefully be out by that time but even if it isn't you'll be hearing it first). This is a taste of what it sounds like http://www.soundofcontact.com but that's just scratching the surface. We'll be sharing more in the coming month as well plus I'm gonna talk to the guys about doing some video streaming while they're here in Miami - even just for a peak in the studio to see us working... and I will let you all know in advance as much as I can if we're going to do a surprise warm up gig in Miami. There's also a few extra performances we may do in the UK too around the release of the album (including some shows with just me and Simon like I did with Kevin Gilbert sometimes where it was just the two of us and more "acoustic").

[Garion81]

Whatever.

It is true. One guy chose to put them on in LA when they did X. Some of these guys have day jobs. Their ability to "tour" is pretty limited.

[Scott Bails]

No, I get it. I know that they need promotion, promoters, promises to fill theaters, etc.

I'm just disappointed as a fan.

[Garion81]

No, I get it. I know that they need promotion, promoters, promises to fill theaters, etc.

I'm just disappointed as a fan.

Me too! I love this band live.

[Crystal Plumage]

Sigh, if only Beardfish could have their own stage...

[Squids]

What's with the glass half empty stuff? This is gonna be AWESOME. We're all happily sharing the stage and the show is going to be jam packed with great music all night! Get yourself a ticket and prog out!!! Haha.

If things go well maybe we can convince some of the Beards to do some shows with us in the US. You never know.

[polmico]

Sigh, if only Beardfish could have their own stage...

I'm happy Beardfish is getting more and more exposure. First with Flying Colors and now with Spock's Beard.

I keep thinking this band will break, but I guess "breaking" is pretty relative in the modern prog scene.

Perhaps I keep thinking they'll get a 10-plus page PE thread . . .

[Squids]

10 plus pages on PE does not put food on the table... but I agree they're great! Nice guys too.

[Squids]

Our rehearsals start in a couple of days here in Miami for SoC. Been talking a lot with Dave Meros. What a cool guy. Jimmy Keegan too. Really looking forward to traveling with Spock's and Beardfish. (Hey if they merged they could be Spock's Beardfish! If we ALL played together at the end we could be Sound of Spock's Beardfish! We'll do "AWAKEN" as a grand finale... ok maybe not. Back to work...).

[SymfoZone]

Maybe you should think about calling yourself Beard Of Contact for this tour, Dave.

By the way: the insanely talented District 97 (featuring John Wetton) will be joining the line-up on the Zoetermeer (NL) date turning it into a great little festival called ProgDreams 2.

[Squids]

Maybe you should think about calling yourself Beard Of Contact for this tour, Dave.

By the way: the insanely talented District 97 (featuring John Wetton) will be joining the line-up on the Zoetermeer (NL) date turning it into a great little festival called ProgDreams 2.

What a grand finale to the tour (almost... this is actually the second to last gig on the tour). I've seen them do some good old Crimson with Wetton and it's really awesome. I might try to get SoC to go see UK when they're here in Miami. It's during our rehearsals. Maybe we can sneak off in the dead of night.

[Richard]

Is there any possibility of hearing the new music before the Montreal show? Please!!

-Rich