THE BEAT
With Pink Floyd and Led Zep tribute bands, the song remains the same
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan. 23, 1997) -- The Machine isn't Pink Floyd, but with Roger Waters out of the group, Pink Floyd isn't really Pink Floyd these days, either.
Ditto Physical Graffiti, which attempts to recapture Led Zeppelin in all its glory. When Zep founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page toured together a few years back, they didn't even bother calling it Led Zeppelin or inviting bassist John Paul Jones to join the show. With the late drummer John Bonham permanently out of the picture, the seminal English heavy-metal band is a memory for those lucky ones who saw them in the '70s.
So with no pretense about being the genuine article, The Machine and Physical Graffiti have built followings among fans happy to entertain the illusion of seeing these monsters of '70s progressive rock in the comfort of hometown clubs, as they will on Saturday night, Jan. 25, at the Studio, the new nightclub in the former England Brothers building in downtown Pittsfield.
"With '90s music, there's some good stuff out there, but none of it compares to the caliber of the '70s," said Todd Cohen, drummer and a founding member of the Machine, in a recent phone interview from his home in a suburb of New York.
"I don't think all this music's going to be around ten years from now, whereas the Floyd and Zeppelin are going to be around forever."
Cohen said his bandmates never set out to be the foremost interpreters of the psychedelic band responsible for such hits as "Money," "Comfortably Numb" and "Another Brick in the Wall."
"We didn't start out to be the nation's number one Pink Floyd show," said Cohen. "We were just four guys -- three guys and a girl at the time -- who were into Pink Floyd. We didn't intend on having this mega light show, touring, agents and managers. It was just a group of people playing together in all different settings, playing original music, country music and covers. We were just playing together since '85 and the Pink Floyd stuff just started getting more popular. We never tried to be them or look like them. Now, eight years later, we have a really great following, an agency, and a great light show. It all developed organically."
As for what drew him to the music of Pink Floyd, Cohen said, "I love the guitar playing. I love the texture and the ambiance they create. That etheral kind of vibe they exude. It's a completely unique style of music.
"[Vocalist/lyricist] Roger Waters was dark and depressed but one of those eloquent persons who could describe how he's feeling. He's no different from anyone who's had dark moments, but he got it out in a way that's genius."
The Machine will be releasing its first CD, consisting entirely of Pink Floyd songs, next month. Cohen said his hope is that Waters -- who is estranged from his bandmates and has unsuccessfully tried to stop them from performing under the name Pink Floyd -- will hear the recording.
"We're going to send it to him," he said. "I want to do a tour with him with us backing him up. That's what I want to happen."
The Machine has its own home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.cris.com/~tmachine.
Spotlight -- Amy Fairchild
As heard on her wonderful debut CD, "She's Not Herself" (BigBand/DonkeyDisc), Northampton's Amy Fairchild is a tough-and- tender, alternative-flavored singer-songwriter, a Chrissie Hynde for the '90s with a range that spans vulnerable folk ballads, sassy pop, cowpunk and ball-busting rock 'n' roll. It's rare that such a rising, up-and-coming, out-of-town talent gets booked into a local club, especially AFTER she's already played the Iron Horse. Which is why you will want to catch her show with her band this Friday, Sept. 24, at the Old Egremont Club in South Egremont. Call 528-9712 for more info.
Backstage bits
A busy weekend of music includes the first of the Berkshire Museum's winter jazz concerts, featuring Havana Carbo and her Midnight Jazz Quintet, on Saturday night at 8 in Pittsfield. Among the musicians accompanying the former Stockbridge resident, better known as Gladys Carbo in these parts, is Alain Mallet, best known as producer/arranger/accompanist and husband to Jonatha Brooke, lead singer/songwriter of The Story....The Charmaine Neville Band will celebrate Mardi Gras at the Old Egremont Club in South Egremont on Feb. 12. Opening for Neville, a third-generation member of the legendary New Orleans funk dynasty, will be the Bayou Rulers, an all-star local band consisting of Billy Voiers on guitar, Ted Perry on keyboards, Rick Leab on drums, Rick Tiven on fiddle and Steve Ide on bass....
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Jan. 23, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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