To all Pink Floyd tribute bands.................

[BigDim]

I don't get it.

[filthyfish]

I don't get it.

me neither, either a band is good or it is not, some people wouldn't care if you played spice girls songs all night they are just out for a beer. I seem to remember David Gilmour saying of APF that it was expensive Kareoke at his Birthday bash, I wouldn't have taken that as a compliment, as Kareoke music is generally Crap, I should know as I have made enough of it in the past.
everyone has a right to give credit or critique, however highly or under skilled they are, It says nothing of their abilities.

[filthyfish]

We have had a strange new twist to the story of band rivalries, but I have to say I am assuming one fact. I shall explain,
the venue in question was approached by our sacked singer, they got refused, they then listed a gig there on their own site, on the same date as we had one booked there. So this caused a row with the venues manager, which was sorted and smoothed over, the new twist is that wit a week to go before this gig, a message was left by someone calling themselves Paul canceling our gig for us. Of course we have come to expect this kind of thing, so we have a system in place to identify this kind of childish behaviour as false.

Now there is a chance that it has nothing to do with who I think it is, but if I am right? don't be such a twat and get a life, because man! you are looking Old, and time is way too short, even for those of us who are younger fitter and stronger and still have all our own teeth. well nearly.
You Have been warned.

[black bobble]

I don't get it - if people don't like other bands just don't go see them.
I play some weird stuff including strange versions of early Pink Floyd stuff - if you went to the Brighton show you'd know (if you want to hear more or get a cd of my stuff go to http://www.fatoldman.co.uk - shameless plug )I don't expect most NPF members to like it but that's not why I do it. If no one likes it I don't dislike them for it!!! Or plot ways of ruining their live performances etc.

I really am amazed reading some of the comments.

[Pink Fraud]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to the site and frankly signed up specifically to respond to this thread!

I've been a professional drummer since i left school in 1994, the same year i saw Pink Floyd at Earls Court (on the night it was filmed no less!), and have played in a number of original, cover and tribute bands over the years! Having been a fan since an early age i couldnt believe my luck when i was approached to join a Pink Floyd tribute band in 2002, and I have been the drummer for Pink Fraud ever since!

I've been reading everyones comments with great interest and wanted to respond to a number of thoughts and points raised, and to tell you where Pink Fraud fit in amongst the others. I've quite a lot to say so i hope it is of interest to everyone!

In the UK (which is where we are based) there are over 35 tribute bands to Pink Floyd that i know of, varying from some friends in a pub playing some songs they love, to the full theatrical reconstruction of the Division Bell tour! I've seen few and as most people say, they are variable in quality, but it all depends what you want to do with your band! If i'm in the local pub and it's not costing me anything and someone is playing some floyd tunes then i'm well happy, but as a musician may cringe now and again at any dodgy bits, but as long as everyone has a good time! However, If i'm at a Theatre or venue paying money (sometimes quite considerable amounts) to see "THE BEST PINK FLOYD TRIBUTE IN THE UK" (of which there seem to be more than one!!) then that's what i want to see...and as a fan i have criteria.

We are close friends with members of The Aussie Pink Floyd Show and one of our female vocalists is doing a fortnight in the US with them at the moment...so tribute bands do lend out members (note to TAPFS...only on loan fellas...we know you had her first...but you let her go...and she's ours now ....mwah ha ha ha!lol!) That being said we once answered a sax players advert saying he used to be in a PF tribute band and was looking for work, we asked him to do a few gigs with us and got an extremely rude email from his old band accusing us of "poaching"!

I think in the UK at the moment if you want the full late 80's/early 90's spectacle with the big band and flashing lights then the Aussies are about as good as it gets. Although i think they'll need a bigger stage than Floyd if they make the band any bigger. At The Royal Albert hall there must have been three guitarists, 5 backing vocalists, bass, drums, keys, sax and a stand alone lead vocalist too...have i left anyone out?? For me its all well and good but you don't get the feeling that they are a "band' like Floyd "were" ! A little bit stale and clinical some people have said..there may be some truth in that, but then the Pulse tour wasn't unlike that anyway in my opinion ( I'd rather watch Pompeii anyday!)! There are a handful of other bands doing the theatre circuit in the UK with a big investor and lots of lights...but in my experience they have some musical issues.....sax solos at the end of Comfortably Numb for heavens sake...you know who you are!!

All the members of Pink Fraud are fans of Pink Floyd, specifically the 70's Pink Floyd! And regarding "members" of bands, there are only four of us ...like Floyd...and we play and sing our individual bits...like Floyd, but also...like Floyd, if we want to do some of the material then we need some extra people on stage. So we "employ" our own psuedo "Snowy White" and "Dick Parry" as well as a a couple of "Clare Torry's" just as they did on tour in the 70's! There is no shame in that surely? But when we haven't got them we won't do the songs. There are plenty of Floyd songs that just need four people without resorting to backing tracks, keyboard sax etc.......and before you jump down my throat and scream and shout "kettle", yes I know WE DO use a sequencer on ATOM HEART MOTHER! We love it too much not to play it, and we love the orchestrations so it is a necessary evil! Also as fans we are great believers of keeping it as near to the record as we can.....no random solos please....no woohoo backing vocals in money thanx! We also try and do the "look" of 70's Floyd which we have taken a bit of flack for...with flares, wigs and all. But we think that we offer something different that a lot of people come back for!

With regarding getting gigs i agree that there are now too many fish in a small pond, especially since Live 8 which has seen some old defunct bands starting up again and a fresh set of new ones! We've been lucky to have the support of most of the venues that we play, although the number of gigs has almost halved in the last 5 years, this is for a number of reasons.

With increasing the size and quality of the band its just impossible to play the really little gigs anymore, and financially some of the venues we were playing can't or don't pay enough to cover the costs of getting to them and doing the show. Also there is a problem with getting larger "theatre" type gigs as most venues "already have a floyd band, thanks", and we are not going to bad mouth anyone. That's not to say it doesn't happen...over the years many a venue we play has been called and told that we have "split up" so can they have a gig instead! Also some of the bigger bands with big agencies and financial backing can crowd you out of a venue by threatening to not let the venue have other bands on their books if they entertain other tributes than theirs! Also we can't afford to get a huge light show and hire The Albert Hall!! But we're happy plugging away in our venues and small theatres when they'll have us! If we had an agent and financial backer then i dare say we'd be doing more theatres as we would wish but that's the way it is! We count ourselves lucky to have done the "Glastonbudget" festival for the last two years, the biggest tribute band festival in the UK!

So there's not enough gigs for too many bands....and that is true of the whole tribute/covers industry at the moment in the UK, not just Pink Floyd Tributes! So my advice is play the music cos you love it, go and see the bands you love and don't see the ones you don't , and tell everyone when you've seen a good band support them and share the experience with your friends!

To some extent i realise that i've put myself up here to be shot down but feel free to check out my band and we'd all love to hear anyones comments...good or bad...on what we're doing!

Thanks Surrogate Joe for rating us so highly...we seem to have a similar ethos to the performing this incredible music (though i'm not sure what you meant by...too much at times lol!) and congrats on the results of your plugging away! I'm currently "plugging" myself for 2008/9!

Adam (Nick!)

[bpmolder]

There's not enough gigs, record deals or anything for all bands out there, let alone Pink Floyd tributes. It's called the music biz.

[W1P]

There's not enough gigs, record deals or anything for all bands out there, let alone Pink Floyd tributes. It's called the music biz.

The law of supply and demand plays a big role here. There are many Floyd tributes because there is a demand for them. However, when supply exceeds demand, the "weaker" competitors will get weeded out (at least as "money making enterprises").

[bpmolder]

The law of supply and demand plays a big role here. There are many Floyd tributes because there is a demand for them. However, when supply exceeds demand, the "weaker" competitors will get weeded out (at least as "money making enterprises").

That's very true. It's very brutal out there. I have a heart for all you guys though and wish you could all make a good living from what you do. Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of slots to fill and the competition is pretty fierce. I have seen the gamut of horrible things, from bands having gigs mysteriously canceled to guitarists losing fingers. Since ethics are extremely lacking here in most cases, it's not as simple as the best bands getting the job and the rest just accepting it.

I still wish you all success though.

[W1P]

The law of supply and demand plays a big role here. There are many Floyd tributes because there is a demand for them. However, when supply exceeds demand, the "weaker" competitors will get weeded out (at least as "money making enterprises").

That's very true. It's very brutal out there. I have a heart for all you guys though and wish you could all make a good living from what you do. Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of slots to fill and the competition is pretty fierce. I have seen the gamut of horrible things, from bands having gigs mysteriously canceled to guitarists losing fingers. Since ethics are extremely lacking here in most cases, it's not as simple as the best bands getting the job and the rest just accepting it.

I still wish you all success though.

That's just not the case in the US. Everyone appears to be ethical and everyone still has their fingers

[bpmolder]

That's just not the case in the US. Everyone appears to be ethical and everyone still has their fingers

I'm glad to know that things are better over there than they are in the US.

[filthyfish]

So my advice is play the music cos you love it, go and see the bands you love and don't see the ones you don't , and tell everyone when you've seen a good band support them and share the experience with your friends!

To some extent i realise that i've put myself up here to be shot down but feel free to check out my band and we'd all love to hear anyones comments...good or bad...on what we're doing!

Thanks Surrogate Joe for rating us so highly...we seem to have a similar ethos to the performing this incredible music (though i'm not sure what you meant by...too much at times lol!) and congrats on the results of your plugging away! I'm currently "plugging" myself for 2008/9!

Adam (Nick!)

I've not seen your band, not that i can remember, but a few in mine have and speak highly of what they heard.
And, a very good post, kind of sums up the whole situation at the moment.
The poor imitations will fall by the wayside as time goes by. I hope.

[darkside_andy]

An interesting thread this one. I'm actually looking forward to seeing Pink Fraud at the Robin next month and to see what you do as one of the better known tributes.

I would make a couple of observations, as a fan and also a tribute performer, who has followed Floyd live since 1974:

Point 1:

Also as fans we are great believers of keeping it as near to the record as we can.....no random solos please....no woohoo backing vocals in money thanx!

The Floyd NEVER played things the same way twice, one of their '70's strategies was to develop material on the road and refine it before laying it down on record, something that David reinforced on his OAI tour.

Point 2:

Whilst at the 1974, 1977, 1979 tours I failed to see David playing an authentic 1970's Variax 500, so cut the authentic cornball please - we ALL use modern technology to some degree and it really doesn't matter. All that actually matters is that the audience goes away happy and the spirit of the time lives on.

An interesting question to pose here is what do punters want from their 'tributes'?

[BigDim]

we once answered a sax players advert saying he used to be in a PF tribute band and was looking for work, we asked him to do a few gigs with us and got an extremely rude email from his old band accusing us of "poaching"!

This sounds really sad. I mean it's not as if you were poaching a gig from them or anything, surely?!

Best of luck with your upcoming shows.

[SurrogateJoe]

um...... by horrible shock coincedence, we were that band (with the sax player thing)....

And as always, theres more to the story than meets the eye.

The sax player in question called me one night saying that some band had been in touch with him, asking him to play with them... obviously he said no, and was angry at what he felt was a rival band "poaching" him.....

Needless to say, i took his side (he was a friend after all) and asked the band in question what they were up to.....

They then refused ever having contacted our sax player...........

Next, i seen the email where they got in touch with him from our sax player......

So.... i was about to start calling them a bunch of lying, untrustworthy buggers, when it all got sorted.

Turns out another member of Pink Fraud had indeed been speaking to our sax player (but the rest of the band did not know about this), and had offered him the chance to fill in, and maybe do the odd gig. HOWEVER, they claimed that they got in touch with our sax player after seeing his advert, offering his services, on a website....

Anyway.... it all got sorted out, we shook and made up, and all is rosy in the garden.
It was very much a misunderstanding, and he was still our sax player at the time (not an ex member at all) but the confusion lay with the sax player, not the bands. We were still a new band then, and quite protective of our members....... im sure you would all have reacted the same way.


On a lighter note..... i think we may have cracked it. The answer seems to be about keeping your home base on side. We spent most of the last 12 months travelling all over Scotland, and into England too, with mixed success. We found that we would lose money on one gig, but make on the next, so it was break even mostly.
Then, we spent a lot of money advertising with Rock Radio for two big local gigs we did... and wow, both turned out fantsatic. It seems the "local band" tag really helped and people appreciated the effort we put in.
We are now becoming "Scotlands Pink Floyd Band" rather than a UK band.... and this seems to have helped sales (in Scotland), i would prefer to crack the whole of the UK, but at least by staying closer to home then we can advertise better, appeal to the locals, spend less on travelling and expenses, and manage to get more bums on seats.. There are lots of smashing venues in Scotland, and most are keen to help "local" bands do well.....

Luckily our "local" area streches quite a bit, as our members are from all over Scotland...





And yes, Pink Fraud are great.... as are Breathe...... and Dark Side...... we are MUCH sexier though, and have better moustaches.

[BigDim]

we are MUCH sexier though, and have better moustaches.

I miss my moustache.

Gotta agree with you there Joe, you guys are a darn sight better looking that us 'orrible lot - what's your secret?

This local band thing is real selling point though. Unfortunately hailing from the Midlands must make Darkside 1 in over 50+ local Floyd tributes in the area. It can get a little annoying when you play a venue only to find out another 'local' tribute played just down the road merely weeks before.

Glad you managed to sort out the sax-poaching saga. Sounds like it'd make a good chapter in some Floyd Tribute Handbook or other.

Edit: - How's tricks anyhow?