SECOND BASE

Despite pursuing multiple projects already, three prog luminaries have concluded they're simply not busy enough. As D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings press the button on their cunningly titled Sophomore, Prog catches up with two-thirds of the group to find out how they're packing everything in and whether they're likely to make it a hat-trick of albums.

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“That’s quite the look, Neal!” cackles Nick D’Virgilio to his buddy Neal Morse as the Zoom call kicks in.

The former Spock’s Beard and current D’Virgilio, Morse & Jennings compadres explode with laughter on first sight of each other, always a good sign, even when the interviewees already have reputations for being distinctly non-prickly. The reason for the mirth is Morse’s wide-brimmed blue hat and matching waterproof poncho. They’re joining Prog to talk about the “trio’s” (as Morse likes to call them) quickly realised second album, Sophomore. Morse has tied in a family road trip with his sister’s birthday celebration in the San Francisco Bay area, travelling from his home in Nashville. He joins us from a famous Nevada beauty spot.

“It’s morning in Lake Tahoe and I’m sitting by the campfire, dude!” he explains to D’Virgilio.

The Big Big Train drummer, meanwhile, is joining us from Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne,

Indiana, where he works as a session vocalist, drummer and engineer. With the pair happy to see each other and nicely warmed up, we dive straight in to tackle the strangest thing about a group with such apparently organic vocal harmony perfection: the trio have only ever been gathered together in the same place twice.