Scott's Spotlight #24-- Flying Colors
Originally posted to Facebook on March 13, 2025
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Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight (#scottsspotlight) issue #24. For more information about this series, please click here:
This week, I’ll turn the spotlight over to Flying Colors, a prog “supergroup” featuring guitarist Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs. Steve Morse Band, Kansas, Deep Purple), keyboardist Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, Neal Morse Band–No relation to Steve), drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Transatlantic, Neal Morse Band, Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo, Liquid Tension Experiment and more), bassist Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, Vinnie Moore and others) and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev). The idea for the band was conceived by Executive Producer Bill Evans (not to be confused with the jazz legend who passed away in 1980) in 2008. He wanted to create a band that combined progressive complex music with accessible, mainstream songwriting, delivered by a charismatic pop singer/songwriter, using shorter songs and humor. While the four instrumentalists came on board easily, it was the lead singer spot that was difficult to fill. After looking at over 100 singers, Mike Portnoy suggested Casey McPherson of the band Alpha Rev. His band was on the Disney owned Hollywood Records label alongside Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and Jesse McCartney. Unlike many of his label mates, McPherson was a multi-instrumentalist and wrote his own songs. He was the right guy for the job! Also contacted by Evans in the initial formation of the band was producer Peter Collins, who is best known for his work with Rush and Queensryche.
Before recording the first album, Neal Morse, Steve Morse and Peter Collins got together and had a writing session to test out the chemistry, especially as Neal Morse had never used an outside producer before. Things apparently went well as portions of the songs “Blue Ocean” and “Infinite Fire” were composed. The entire band met with Evans and Collins for 11 days in January of 2011 at Neal’s house and studio in the Nashville area along with N. Morse and Portnoy’s longtime engineer Jerry Guidroz. During this time period, the songs for the album were composed and song structures were determined, and basic tracks were recorded. The album was completed at various sessions over the next six months with band members coming and going between their other commitments. Once the production team put the recordings together, the album was mixed over the course of five days at Electric Lady studios in New York. The album was released in March of 2012. The self-titled album was a success, debuting at number 9 on Billboard’s Hard Rock chart and number 11 on the BBC Rock Album chart. Notable songs include “Blue Ocean”, “Kayla” “The Storm” and the longer “Infinite Fire” (12 minutes). A live album/DVD (“Live in Europe”) followed in 2013.
For the second album “Second Nature” (2014), the band decided to self-produce, even though they had a positive experience recording with Peter Collins on the first album. The band members brought song ideas rather than completed songs to their bandmates, by mutual agreement. This time, there were two tracks of 11 minutes or longer. With one being a three-part suite. (Can’t keep a group of proggers too contained). The first of the two longer tracks was the 12:25 album opener “Open Up Your Eyes” and the other was the closing suite “Cosmic Symphony” at 11:54. The second song “Mask Machine,” seems to be the one that was chosen as a featured song from the album, running a little over 6 minutes. One of my personal favorites on the album is the absolutely beautiful “Peaceful Harbor.” Another live album, “Second Flight: Live at the Z7” followed in 2015.
The band took a 5 year hiatus between studio albums before re-convening for 2019’s “Third Degree.” However, the recordings initially began in late 2016, and additional sessions occurred in December of 2018. There are two songs of 10 minutes + on the album. “Last Train Home” (10:32) and the fantastic “Crawl” which closes out the album at 11:14. Dave LaRue described “Geronimo” as a departure for the band, as he felt that it had a Steely Dan feel to it. Once again they would follow the album with a live release called “Third Stage: Live in London” released in 2020.
At the time of this writing, in March 2025, I can find no indication as to whether Flying Colors will come together again or not. Steve Morse did quit his main gig with Deep Purple in 2022 due to his wife being seriously ill. However, he did play some shows with the Steve Morse Trio (along with Dave LaRue) in 2023. He stated that Deep Purple tours were too long and grueling to continue with them. The other members have been active of late as well with Portnoy re-joining Dream Theater and Neal Morse releasing an album in 2024. I see nothing past 2020 for Casey McPherson. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a Flying Colors album in the future, nor would I hold my breath for one either. In the meantime, we can enjoy the three studio and three live albums they’ve released.
Thanks for reading!
Check out the Links for Listening below!
Links for Listening:
From “Flying Colors”
“Blue Ocean”
From: “Second Nature”
“Open Up Your Eyes”
“Mask Machine “
From “Third Degree”
“Last Train Home”
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