Cosmic Collaboration

“I've gotten in trouble occasionally because my background has been so varied. It's like, 'What are you? Are you a jazz guy? Are you a rock guy?' But I get it. If I go to buy a box of cornflakes, I want cornflakes. I don't expect something else in the box.”

- Chester Thompson

Rock music is now in its eighth decade and no longer exclusively the province of the young. As we've seen with the longevity of many progressive artists in recent years - including the surviving members of Yes, King Crimson and Caravan among others - age is no longer an impediment to creativity and virtuosity. Such is the case with Cosmic Cathedral, a new collaboration between Neal Morse and erstwhile Genesis drummer Chester Thompson, with veteran guitarist Phil Keaggy and bassist Byron House. The average age of the four members is 70, yet despite the benefits that much experience can bring, it’s not always easy to maintain your chops, as Thompson explains.

“For me, practising is an ongoing thing. I'm at an age now where part of my practice is to retain what I’ve always done. But I’m always looking to improve and go to some new places.”

Since he left Spock’s Beard in 2002, Morse has enjoyed a prolific solo career that’s included epic productions with concepts centred around his Christian faith. But there have also been more secular-orientated collaborations, including Transatlantic, Flying Colors and Neal Morse’s The Resonance. However, while Cosmic Cathedral has many aspects to it sonically that will be familiar to Morse fans, the way it was created was somewhat different.

“I had gone to see the Steve Hackett Band here in Nashville,” Morse explains. “I went backstage, and Chester and Steve were together in the dressing room. I felt a little bit like a fly on the wall, just there listening to them talk about the old days. As I was driving away from that show, I felt like I should collaborate with Chester, somehow.”