The 1973 Pink Floyd album “The Dark Side of the Moon” is the fourth-biggest selling LP of all time. It propelled the band to legendary status, one that continued though subsequent albums like “The Wall” and “Wish You Were Here.”
A band that pays tribute to the Pink Floyd songbook is coming to Lansing on Saturday.
Pink Floyd fans know every note and every lyric from “The Dark Side of the Moon.” The band’s musicianship was heavily supported with an array of now-famous sound effects like maniacal laughter, alarm clocks, cash registers, and heartbeats.
As a youngster, Jim Alfredson would borrow his dad’s vinyl records and escape from household hubbub with music. He remembers “Dark Side of the Moon” and its iconic black cover image of a laser beam shot into a prism as being his first exposure to Pink Floyd.
“I just put it on, put the headphones on, and disappeared for 45 minutes, and that record just took me to a different place,” he said. “I remember finding the next one, which I think was 'Wish You Were Here,' listening to that, and like…this is it. I just loved it.”
Now a busy keyboardist in Lansing, Alfredson plays and sings with the seven-member band Echoes of Pink Floyd. The group aims to bring a concert experience to audiences who saw Pink Floyd and for those who never got to see the band.
Jake Zemla plays a variety of guitars and some percussion with the group.
“Everyone in this group is really good with, with being authentic tonally to what is happening,” he explained. “If we do any, like, live variations, they’re usually a live variation that they did.”
Alfredson described their plans for this concert as being “the greatest hits kind of thing in the first set, and then the second set will be what we call "Dark Side of Oz.”
Those greatest hits might include Pink Floyd songs like “Comfortably Numb.”
As for that second set, you may have heard over the years that if you begin to play “Dark Side of the Moon” at a precise spot while watching “The Wizard of Oz,” they unintentionally sync up in an eerie way.
Alfredson explained that they’ve tempo-mapped the entire album to perform live while the audience is also watching a portion of the film.
“What that allows us to do is then synchronize that to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ on the screen, and it plays out exactly as if you were to do it at home,” Alfredson said. “Put the record on, drop the needle at the exact spot that you want, to make everything synchronize, and it’s really, really cool.”
Pink Floyd concerts famously employed brilliant laser light shows, so Echoes of Pink Floyd works with experts who recreate those effects. Unlike the tempo-mapping of the music, Zemla says the lights are manually operated.
“None of it is time coded or anything like that. It is all done in the moment for, for what, you know, with what we’re getting.”
Alfredson recalls a memorable compliment from a friend who saw the band about how they recreate the Pink Floyd concert experience.
“He said ‘I was sitting there watching the show, and behind me were two women, and they said ‘this sounds like the record!’.’ I said yes, we’ve nailed it! That’s exactly what we want," Alfredson said.
Echoes of Pink Floyd will be at Grewal Hall in Lansing on Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m.
UPCOMING ARTS EVENTS
The Summer Circle Theatre show this weekend is “Pride@Prejudice,” a reimagining of the Jane Austen novel, for ages 9 and up. That’s at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 11 through Saturday, June 13 and 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 14 outdoors next to the MSU Auditorium or indoors if there’s rain.
Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing has four more performances of “Seussical, The Musical” this weekend. Shows are 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Next Tuesday, June 16, singer Sunny Wilkinson performs a Concert on the Lawn at the MSU Federal Credit Union Headquarters on West Road in East Lansing, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Story Transcript
Scott Pohl: With Inside the Arts, I'm Scott Pohl. The 1973 Pink Floyd album “The Dark Side of the Moon” is the fourth-biggest selling LP of all time. It propelled the band to legendary status, a status that continued though subsequent albums like “The Wall” and “Wish You Were Here.”
A band that replicates the Pink Floyd songbook is coming to Lansing on Saturday.
For Inside The Arts this week, I talked with two members of the band Echoes of Pink Floyd.
Pink Floyd fans know every note and every lyric from “The Dark Side of the Moon.” The band’s musicianship was heavily supported with an array of now-famous sound effects like maniacal laughter, alarm clocks...
[Soundbite of alarm clocks, clocks chiming from Pink Floyd song, "Time"]
Pohl: Cash registers.
[Soundbite of cash registers from Pink Floyd song, "Money]
Pohl: And heartbeats.
[Soundbite of heartbeats from Pink Floyd song, "Speak to Me/Breathe]
Pohl: As a youngster, Jim Alfredson would borrow his dad’s vinyl records and escape from household hubbub with music. He remembers “Dark Side of the Moon” and its iconic black cover image of a laser beam shot into a prism as being his first exposure to Pink Floyd.
Jim Alfredson: I’m like, what is this? And I just put it on, put the headphones on, and disappeared for 45 minutes, and that record just took me to a different place. And then, I remember finding the next one, which I think was “Wish You Were Here,” listening to that, and like…this is it. I just loved it.
Pohl: Now a busy keyboardist in Lansing, Alfredson plays and sings with the seven-member band Echoes of Pink Floyd. The group aims to bring a concert experience to audiences who saw Pink Floyd and for those who never got to see the band.
Jake Zemla plays a variety of guitars and some percussion with the group.
Jake Zemla: Everyone in this group is really good with, with being authentic tonally to what is happening, and if we do any, like, live variations, they’re usually a live variation that they did.
Pohl: Alfredson describes their plans for this concert this way:
Alfredson: This particular show is more of, like, the greatest hits kind of thing in the first set, and then the second set will be what we call "Dark Side of Oz."
Pohl: Those greatest hits might include Pink Floyd songs like “Comfortably Numb.” Here’s a live performance recorded by Echoes of Pink Floyd.
(Soundbite of song, "Comfortably Numb")
Echoes of Pink Floyd: (Singing) I have become comfortably numb.
Pohl: As for that second set, you may have heard over the years that if you begin to play “Dark Side of the Moon” at a precise spot while watching “The Wizard of Oz,” they unintentionally sync up in an eerie way. Alfredson explains that they’ve tempo-mapped the entire album to perform live while the audience is also watching a portion of the film.
Alfredson: What that allows us to do is then synchronize that to "The Wizard of Oz" on the screen, and it plays out exactly as if you were to do it at home. Put the record on, drop the needle at the exact spot that you want, to make everything synchronize, and it’s really, really cool.
Pohl: Pink Floyd concerts famously employed brilliant laser light shows, so Echoes of Pink Floyd works with experts who recreate those effects. Unlike the tempo-mapping of the music, Zemla says the lights are manually operated.
Zemla: None of it is time-coded or anything like that. It is all done in the moment for, for what, you know, with what we’re getting.
Pohl: Alfredson says a friend who saw the band gave him a memorable compliment about how they recreate the Pink Floyd concert experience.
Alfredson: He said ‘I was sitting there watching the show, and behind me were two women, and they said "this sounds like the record!" I said yes, we’ve nailed it! That’s exactly what we want.
(Soundbite of song, "Eclipse")
Pohl: Echoes of Pink Floyd will be at Grewal Hall in Lansing on Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m. With Inside The Arts, I’m Scott Pohl.
Pink Floyd: (Singing) The sun is eclipsed by the moon.
