DISCLOSING THE MOON.

 

 

“Utterly amazing”, “Outstanding finesse in detail”, “More Floyd as you can get”…these are just a few of the commends on Dutch Floyd’s tribute shows to Pink Floyd. The Dutchmen are approaching the classic Floyd-sound in a very sensitive but distinctive way without loosing authenticity. Much to the delight to both fans and critics who embrace them.

Dutch Floyd is currently touring to celibrate the 40th anniversary of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Guitarist and vocalist Bart Logtens is giving some insights about laboring in the service of the Pink Floyd-legacy.

 

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*Dutch Floyd deals with a passion for Pink Floyd. Besides passion, what else is needed to be general accepted as a serious tribute band?

-I guess you need to find out what all the original bandmembers contributed to the particular sound of a record or tune. Including vocal parts. You need to be true to the original parts, but also need to include the feel that Pink Floyd in their 'classic' line-up was able to stamp on every single recording. And that is probably the hardest part.

 

*So, how does Dutch Floyd conquer this?

-Luck is one way to discribe it. We're lucky to sound like we do naturally, which is very much like Pink Floyd sounded. Plus you have to authenticity of the sound right. Really listen to what is played, and try to re-create that with the same intensity.

*Because of the modern technical applications it's a lot easier today to shape the Pink Floyd-sound likewise it was in their heyday's. Isn't it a bit tricky that with these modern tools every whizz kid can perform a Floyd-show?

-Yes and no. Al the modern tools in the world can't make you play like David, Nick, Roger or Richard. A good example is Dave Kilminster, who handles most of Gilmours parts at Roger Waters' shows. He plays those parts note for note, but still he can't help to put his stamp on it. A different feel, different vibrato, i'ts almost like handwriting; there's no two alike. Sure technology makes life easier and the use of new, smaller gear clears up a lot of space on stage. But soundwise the real deal is hard to beat. That why we lug the Hammond B3 around!

 

*On composing it's claimed that Roger Waters had less sense of putting some emotion into music than David Gilmour. Waters was more of a lyrics writer, and Gilmour the composer. Did you notice that while putting the music and show together?

-You can say that Waters was the lyrical part and Gilmour the melodical part. Although Waters did write some truly stunning material, like 'Nobody Home', and Gilmour (co-)wrote songs like 'High Hopes' . The most memorable songs were conceived by the both of them, I think.

 

*There are a lot of Pink Floyd-tribute bands, and most of them are very succesful. How come that there's still an audience who hungers for the Floyd-sound?

-Pink Floyd were one of the most succesful bands ever. Next to their albums, their live perfomances were regarded as the most spectacular ever. Both tonally as visually. Now that Pink Floyd doesn’t perform any more (bar Roger Waters ‘The Wall’-shows), a good tribute band is the next best thing.

 

*What about the quote "There's nothing that compare's to the original Pink Floyd"?

-I agree! You can't be the real deal. Sometimes we get told off for copying Pink Floyd, but these people don't understand that we mean no harm. We love this music, and we just like to get together and play it the best we can. See if we can get that buzz that Nick, David, Roger and Rick used to get!

 

*So...did you achieve that buzz? And what's it like?

-If everything works and sounds the way I want it, and you see that people are moved by what we do, that buzz is certainly there! I guess you can compare it to finishing first in a race, or completing that 20-level playstation game in one go.

 

*What's your opinion about the worlwide succes of The Australian Pink Floyd Show who even made it to sell their own CD's and dvd's?

-The Australian Pink Floyd Show or 'Aussie Floyd' were the first, or one of the first, on the scene. They do it very well, and trough the years they developed a stage show which is comparable to Pink Floyd's own show, although scaled down a notch. The number of shows they're playing gives them a budget that no other tribute can dream of. They sell CD's and DVD's but any band can do that. If fans are willing to pay for it, you can sell it! They will have to forward royalties to Pink Floyd on the material they sell.

 

*Is it Dutch Floyd's desire to get similar succes, and to be as big as 'Aussie Floyd'?

-No, it's not. I think that if you play as much as they do, you will get tired of it, eventually. There's no new material to learn, and the classics you have to 'do' every night of the week. I would be happy with 15-20 shows a year or mabe 25, but that would be more than enough for me.

 

*Would a big Floyd-reunion tour with Gilmour, Waters, and Mason be disastrous for the interest in tribute bands?

-No. As a matter of fact, I think the opposite would happen. If there was a reunion, it would spark new intrest in Pink Floyd which would in turn result in more interest in tribute bands.

 

*What's for a musician the irresistible challange of performing the 'Dark Side Of The Moon'?

-It's a collection of great songs to start with! Then there is the wide range of tones and effects to deal with. And the fact that much songs segue into the next makes it a interesting piece. 'Money' all the way to 'Eclipse' is one complete piece, without audible silence!

 

*Can you reveal anything about the upcoming 'Dark Side Of The Moon'-shows?

-A thrill to perform! We're honoured that Gwen van Genderen is singing with us, and we spend a lot of time getting the harmonies right. I listened to recordings of the first two performances and I think we do it juctice. We stay close to the original part, but try to put some more intensity and dynamics into it.

 

*Pink Floyd never went on a large scale tour in 1975 for promoting the 'Wish You Were Here'-album. Wouldn't it be a challange for Dutch Floyd to give this album the tribute it deserves, and go on tour with it?

-The reason we chose to honour 'Dark Side Of The Moon' now is that it's 40 years ago since it came out. But the whole of 'Wish You Were Here' is a personal favorite of mine, and in fact the whole band. So maybe we'll try our hands on that next year.

 

*And after that, would Dutch Floyd have the courage to perform for the first time ever the controversial 'The Final Cut'-album integral on stage? Even Pink Floyd hasn't done that! For example: ‘Dutch Floyd performs 'The Final Cut'...on stage’. It sounds great!

-‘The Final Cut’ has undoubtly some of Gilmour’s finest work. 'Fletcher Memorial Home' is an all time favorite of mine. The hard, honest lyrics from Roger, and that larger than life guitar solo gives me goosebumps everytime. But I don't know if an audience would be interessted in hearing it front-to-back live. Maybe as a one-off. But I don't see us doing it anytime soon...not now John. HaHa!

 

Feb 2013
Michel Scheijen for www.mostlypink.net

 

Dutch Floyd tourdates:

16-02-13 Zoetermeer Boerderij -  www.boerderij.org -DSOTM Show

02-03-13 Beek  Asta Theater - www.roosterrockpromotion.com - DSOTM Show

16-03-13 Weert  De Bosuil - www.debosuil.nl - DSOTM Show

20-04-13 Ulft  Dru Cultuurfabriek - www.drucultuurfabriek.nl  - DSOTM Show

31-05-13 Verviers (B) Spirit of '66 - www.spiritof66.be - DSOTM Show