Editing Spock's Beard (section)

===Neal Morse era (1992–2002)===
Spock's Beard was formed in Los Angeles in 1992 by brothers [[Neal Morse|Neal]] and [[Alan Morse]]. Both had played together in bands in the 1980s and initially intended for their new project to be just the two of them, with Neal on vocals and keyboards and Alan on guitar. The brothers soon decided to form a full band and recruited drummer [[Nick D'Virgilio]] after meeting him at a [[blues]] jam in Los Angeles. John Ballard, a friend of Neal's, was brought in to play bass but was replaced by [[Dave Meros]] before the band began recording demos for their first album.<ref name="goldmine interview part 1" /><ref name="nm wonderous stories interview">{{cite journal|title=Neal Morse (Spock's Beard) Interview|journal=[[Classic Rock Society#The Magazine – Wondrous Stories/Rock Society|Wondrous Stories]]|date=August 1998|issue=80}}</ref> The group's name is a reference to the 1967 "[[Mirror, Mirror (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Mirror, Mirror]]" episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]''.<ref name="star trek">{{cite web|title=Exclusive Interview: Prog Rock Band Spock's Beard|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/exclusive-interview-prog-rock-band-spocks-beard|website=[[StarTrek.com]]|access-date=March 10, 2016|date=October 27, 2015}}</ref> According to Alan Morse:

{{quote|Spock's Beard was sort of a phrase that we'd say to each other, my brother and I, when something weird would happen. We'd say, "Wow, that's like Spock's Beard", meaning, "that only happens in a parallel universe, right?" Anyway, [[Spock]] only has that beard in the one episode, and it's when he's in the parallel universe in "Mirror, Mirror". So, that was just something we'd say to each other as an inside joke. I put Spock's Beard on the list sort of as a joke. Everybody seemed to like it the best, and so we picked that one.}}

The band's debut album, ''[[The Light (Spock's Beard album)|The Light]]'', was recorded independently throughout 1994 and released later that year. While Neal Morse had performed the keyboard parts on the album, [[Ryo Okumoto]] was hired to fill in for live performances.<ref name="goldmine interview part 1" /> One of their first major live shows was at the San Francisco Progfest in 1995, where they were introduced to Thomas Waber. Waber, a founding member of [[Giant Electric Pea]] and [[InsideOut Records]], signed the band to Giant Electric Pea and licensed ''The Light'' for release in Europe.<ref name="goldmine interview part 1" /><ref name="gep">{{cite web|title=Giant Electric Pea Ltd – Thomas Waber – Business Manager|url=http://www.gep.co.uk/index.php/thomas-waber-business-manager|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002055220/http://www.gep.co.uk/index.php/thomas-waber-business-manager|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 2, 2015|website=[[Giant Electric Pea]]|access-date=April 15, 2016}}</ref>