SPOCK’S BEARD SIDEPROJECT REVEALED
Studio collaborator teams up for Pattern-Seeking Animals.
John Boegehold, one of the creative forces behind Spock’s Beard, has revealed he’s working on a new album under the guise of Pattern-Seeking Animals. The self-titled nine-track will be out via InsideOut on July 5.
“I didn’t really intend to form a band,” Boegehold tells Prog. “I write a lot of stuff and I had a couple of longer, proggier, complex songs that I was working on. Usually I programme my own drums on my demos but I thought, ‘I’ll just talk to Jimmy [Keegan, ex-Spock’s Beard), go into [producer] Rich Mouser’s studio and lay down the drums.’ In the weeks before that, I finished another couple of songs and started thinking, ‘This might be cool album project.’ I called Dave [Meros] and Ted [Leonard] and it snowballed from that.”
Boegehold plays keyboards on the album, the title of which comes from an essay by sci-fi author Michael Shermer. But, despite the connections, the songwriter-producer reveals he didn’t want the songs to sound too much like Spock’s Beard.
“I wanted to put some separation between the two groups but obviously with Ted singing, Dave playing bass, Jimmy drumming, and me writing you’re gonna get a bit of that,” he admits. “It’s definitely melodic and it’s unmistakably prog but you’re going to find a lot of different influences that you might not be used to.”
He adds, “The other guys have put such an indelible stamp on it. Ted is one of the best singers around, and he’s also a fantastic guitar player. I think a lot of people are going to be pretty surprised about how great a guitar player he is.”
Despite the project’s accidental birth, Boegehold has big plans for what he now considers to be a full band. Not only has he begun thinking about their next release – he aims to make an album a year – but he also wants to see their songs played live. “We’re kicking around a few ideas but we’re going to need a couple of extra players because it’ll be impossible to pull off as a four-piece,” he says. “At this point, I’m not sure that I’m going to be involved in the live playing. I’ll be real candid about this; I’m not good enough to play the kind of material I write and I’ve never been much into live playing anyway. I want to hear it played the way I hear it.”
For more information, head to www.psanimals1.com.
“Ted Leonard is one of the best singers around, and he’s also a fantastic guitar player.”