As the crowd of over 600 people were waiting in anticipation for a once-in-a-lifetime “experience,” four guys were on their way out. Yellow Matter Custard, a Beatles supergroup consisting of: Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Transatlantic, OSI, Liquid Tension Experiment, Liquid Trio Experiment, Avenged Sevenfold), Neal Morse (Transatlantic, Spock's Beard) , Paul Gilbert (Racer X, Mr. Big) and Kasim Sulton (Utopia). They take their name from a lyrics in “I Am the Walrus” by The Beatles. “Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog's eye.” All four guys are legends in their own way. Mike Portnoy, dressed like a fancy Englishman. Paul came out with a psychedelic collared shirt that looks like something George Harrison would have wore. Kasim was dressed up in black pants, black vest and white collared shirt, just like Paul McCartney would have worn. Finally, Neal....well Neal just wore black jeans and a black t-shirt. But he knows how to look cool in whatever he's wearing. Either way, all these guys looked like they were experienced musicians ready to rock their butts off!
By the first song, everyone was singing along. The guys played at least 40 songs that night. Playing everything from “Don't Bring Me Down,” “Penny Lane,” Helter Skelter,” to an “Abbey Road Medley”. They opened with the upbeat “Back in the USSR.” Whether it was the amazing soaring guitar solos from Paul Gilbert, to the piano-guitar craziness of Neal Morse, this concert had the word “FUN” stamped all over it. All emceed by “The Portnoy” himself at the drums. Only once, did Mike come out from behind the drums. That was for an acoustic “You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.” The other times he was moving his sticks like magic. Not once did the band stop to take a break. They swept through those 40 songs like a tornado sweeping through the city. It's amazing how much energy they had for such a long set. There were lots of cool people there of different ages. The youngest being a 9-year-old little girl up by the stage. I'm glad parents are starting their children with The Beatles at an early age.
The band all took turns singing lead on the songs, which is a great variety. The awesome thing about Yellow Matter Custard is they've been around since 2003. Well the guys have been around for longer than that. But they performed only twice before: May 17, 2003 at Upper Montclair, New Jersey and May 18, 2003 B.B. King's Blues Club, New York. They released their New York show for a live DVD and CD release in 2005. Just this year, they all decided to come back out and play again. This time playing completely different songs in The Beatles' back catalog. Also, new on board is Kasim Sulton from Utopia on bass and vocals. This guy has a fantastic vocal range. No wonder he's the Paul McCartney part. He sure looked and sounded like it. He's filling in for Matt Bissonette, who couldn't come out on tour because of scheduling conflicts. But Kasim made it worth while. Then you have Neal Morse, who was so good at this, he seemed like a real Beatle himself. Neal is an incredible songwriter and performer, and a very nice guy. I got the chance to meet with Neal right after the concert for an in-depth interview. And, wow, what an opportunity and honor it was to meet him. I want to thank him for this tremendous opportunity. Rock on Neal!
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Matter_Custard
Buzz: What influences your writing?
Neal: Well, everything. Everything I'm around or hearing. The conversations that I have with people. I was in a jazz band a while back called Windows with a guy named Skipper Wise, and that jazz guitar sound, I wanted to use for “The Light” album. My dad was a choir director. My son Wil plays piano at the Blair School of Music. I actually wrote a song about him called “Seeds of Gold.”
Buzz: What made you branch out with Spock's Beard to go solo?
Neal: Well, I fell into prayer. The lord told me to go and try my own thing.
Buzz: How did the album “Testimony” come about?
Neal: Well, I quit with all the bands. I was waiting for what God was gonna do with me. I had a lot of musical ideas I wanted to work with. I filled out 8 or 9 cassettes with songs. My daughter Jayda was born in 1998 with a really large hole in her heart. And my wife and I were really worried about her., and she had to go through surgery and everything. Then, one day, we went back to the doctor, and they couldn't see the hole anyway. It was truly a blessing. And I wrote the song “Jayda” on Testimony 2 for her. But I believed this from the bible. Psalm 37, III & IV “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.” “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Buzz: I noticed every album you've released thus far since “It's Not Too Late” has had a biblical reference or influence. Why is that and how has the bible helped you through all these years?
Neal: Well I've used the bible a lot on my albums if you notice. At least on the concept albums. Testimony is my story. It's how the bible is part of your daily life. One is my take on the book of Genesis. Question Mark is about the Tabernacle. The messages from different preachers, and the idea that the only high priest comes once a year. Sola Scriptura, which is about Martin Luther. Then there's Lifeline, which is a step away from the prog concept albums. It's a collection of songs exploring a variety of topics.
Buzz: What made you wanna join Yellow Matter Custard?
Neal: Well Mike asked me to do it, and I thought it would be a lot of fun. God also told me to do it.
Buzz: What's your next project?
Neal: I got Testimony 2 coming out. It's very exciting. Then, I have another project I'm working on with Steve Morse, Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue, and Casey McPherson. We don't have a band name yet, but we'll see what happens. It should be really interesting.
Buzz: Are you ever going to reunite with Spock's Beard and how do you like how they're doing?
Neal: I think they sound great! I just checked out their last album and it sounds great! I'm playing the Voltage Festival in London with them. I'm playing Saturday and they're playing Sunday. We'll probably play a couple songs together or something.
Buzz: Do you write all the songs on your worship albums? Do you use psalms from the bible?
Neal: It was a calling to Europe. I went to preach there. My wife and kids and I would sing some of these songs in our church. The one day someone said to me, “You should record some of these songs.” And we did. I asked a couple friends to help me out on the album. But, no, there's some psalms we use. And there's some covers of some worship songs we do as well.
Buzz: Last but not least, how do you think writing music and performing music has helped you as a person and as a performer?
Neal: Well, the performer thing, you really have to be careful of. God's given me a gift in that. How I express myself to other people. God's helped me in that way. I'm always praying.
