Would anyone care to see a Spock's Beard reunion and Mike Portnoy with Neal Morse?

I remember what Shaffer looked like when his amp blew near the end of their set. He looked far more pissed than this.

It was not his amp nor ours. His own guitar burned up. Wayne can give the specifics better than I. He actually took it apart to prove it to Jon. He said he has never seen it happen in 20 years of tour managing.
 
It was not his amp nor ours. His own guitar burned up. Wayne can give the specifics better than I. He actually took it apart to prove it to Jon. He said he has never seen it happen in 20 years of tour managing.

Which begs to ask
didn't Jon have a back up?Most guitarists are over redundant and bring a few in case a string breaks or something like this
 
Which begs to ask
didn't Jon have a back up?Most guitarists are over redundant and bring a few in case a string breaks or something like this

They automatically assumed it was their amp when it happened. If I recall correctly, they frantically tried to use our amp as the back-up after taking forever with their own and still couldn't get it to work. Nobody had a clue it was the guitar that was shot.

Since it was the last song of the night & they couldn't stall on stage any longer, Jon said fuck it.
 
If I remember right, the IE tech popped the cover off the back, and the wires were melted/fried. I have never seen anything like that in looking at guitar innards since 1980.... IIRC, they'were active pickups EMGs? (non-magnetic, driven by a battery).....I just remember Glenn clearing the way back stage before the storm blew through! One of the weirdest incidents of gear damage I had ever seen.....
 
As much as I love Spock's Beard with Neal Morse, I don't know about this. While there have been prog rock acts before, I would think Spock's Beard with Morse and Portnoy would have to be the headliner and I don't know if there would be enough interest.
 
It was not his amp nor ours. His own guitar burned up. Wayne can give the specifics better than I. He actually took it apart to prove it to Jon. He said he has never seen it happen in 20 years of tour managing.

Ah, ok. That makes a bit more sense, then. All I remember was what looked like hellfire and fury and then "Sorry guys, my rig took a shit."

That's pretty crazy that his guitar is what actually fried. Thanks for clearing up that longstanding (but unspoken) question!

If I remember right, the IE tech popped the cover off the back, and the wires were melted/fried. I have never seen anything like that in looking at guitar innards since 1980.... IIRC, they'were active pickups EMGs? (non-magnetic, driven by a battery).....I just remember Glenn clearing the way back stage before the storm blew through! One of the weirdest incidents of gear damage I had ever seen.....

Thanks for that. I'd been wondering for years now what the deal was there.
 
The typical situation when something drops out is you trouble shoot the signal path - check the amp and cables... both were fine. Pickups typically do not drop out like that unless they are active and need a battery change
NONE of us had any reason to think otherwise (and they were usijng their own crew, so we just troubleshot the stage stuff).
Jon's own tech took it apart after we noticed the pickups looked melted and there was a metallic and plastic smell coming off the guitar
They were Johns signature model Icebuckers (I forget the manufacturer.. ED: WCR - great pickups) - passives, not actives.. NONE of us - probably a collective 100+ yrs of gear experience - had ever seen that

@ Chris - cuz no one looked at the pickups til the guitar came off stage

John kind of calmed down a little after he realized it wasn't the fest fault, nor his amp. Still wasn't happy, but understood that at least it wasn't a fkup
 
If the concept/consideration here is a Spock's Beard "reunion" w/ Neal...why not get NDV to play instead of Portnoy?

Well, NDV left Spock's because he had other things going on in his life and couldn't devote the time to the band anymore. Also, Neal has been playing a lot with Portnoy.

To be honest, I'd be curious about what this "reunion" would consist of, considering the current Spock's Beard, with Ted Leonard, is working on getting their new album out. In any case, I'm a little surprised they are bringing it to Glenn's attention, and not any of the progressive rock festivals. (Or maybe they are and this is the only way we are hearing about it.)
 
The typical situation when something drops out is you trouble shoot the signal path - check the amp and cables... both were fine. Pickups typically do not drop out like that unless they are active and need a battery change
NONE of us had any reason to think otherwise (and they were usijng their own crew, so we just troubleshot the stage stuff).
Jon's own tech took it apart after we noticed the pickups looked melted and there was a metallic and plastic smell coming off the guitar
They were Johns signature model Icebuckers (I forget the manufacturer.. ED: WCR - great pickups) - passives, not actives.. NONE of us - probably a collective 100+ yrs of gear experience - had ever seen that

@ Chris - cuz no one looked at the pickups til the guitar came off stage

John kind of calmed down a little after he realized it wasn't the fest fault, nor his amp. Still wasn't happy, but understood that at least it wasn't a fkup
Oh yeah, I know those pickups. Not that it matters but how hot are they? Although I'm pretty sure there's no passive pickup on the planet that can put out enough power to melt the entire circuitry of a guitar. The only explanation I could think of for that could be that power was sent into the guitar from somewhere. The only place it can have power come in though is either in the pickup poles or the output jack on the guitar. *feels like he's not contributing anything new*
 
The typical situation when something drops out is you trouble shoot the signal path - check the amp and cables... both were fine. Pickups typically do not drop out like that unless they are active and need a battery change
NONE of us had any reason to think otherwise (and they were usijng their own crew, so we just troubleshot the stage stuff).
Jon's own tech took it apart after we noticed the pickups looked melted and there was a metallic and plastic smell coming off the guitar
They were Johns signature model Icebuckers (I forget the manufacturer.. ED: WCR - great pickups) - passives, not actives.. NONE of us - probably a collective 100+ yrs of gear experience - had ever seen that

@ Chris - cuz no one looked at the pickups til the guitar came off stage

John kind of calmed down a little after he realized it wasn't the fest fault, nor his amp. Still wasn't happy, but understood that at least it wasn't a fkup

I trust your memory more than mine, as that was my first year...I think.....
Then again, I thought they were actives......go figure. :erk::loco:

@Harris - Too hot for IE!
 
Anyone up for the roadtrip with me? This should be quite an experience. Saw the original lineup in Baltimore on the "Day for Night" tour, and it remains as one of my favorite concerts ever.
 
This is a mixed blessing for me. I love Morse-era Spock's Beard, but I think Snow was easily the worst album of that era by a country mile. Snow was their Lamb Lies Down on Broadway/ The Final Cut where one personality dominates to create an ambitious mess followed by that member's departure.
 
I would really enjoy a Spock's Beard show. I've seen them a couple of times and enjoyed it. I can't even imagine how insufferable MorseFest would be though.
 
I would really enjoy a Spock's Beard show. I've seen them a couple of times and enjoyed it. I can't even imagine how insufferable MorseFest would be though.

Can you explain further? I am trying to understand how the classic lineup of Neal Morse, Alan Morse, Nick D’Virgilio, Ryo Okumoto, and Dave Meros (along with current vocalist Ted Leonard and drummer Jimmy Keegan) would be "insufferable", unless you really hate the Snow album...
 
This is a mixed blessing for me. I love Morse-era Spock's Beard, but I think Snow was easily the worst album of that era by a country mile. Snow was their Lamb Lies Down on Broadway/ The Final Cut where one personality dominates to create an ambitious mess followed by that member's departure.

Just the opposite here, I really like Snow....... I'll have to spin it again, been a while since I've listened to it, but I don't think I'll suddenly despise it.... If I do, I'll eat my (raccoon) hat....