20 Questions with Tom Quinn, guitarist/vocalist of The Pink Floyd Experience and Pink Froyd, Pink Floyd tribute bands based in beautiful San Diego, California. After giving Tom a chance to rest from the most recent The Pink Floyd Experience (PFX) tour I had a chance to bend my friends ear for a while.
I first became familiar with The Pink Floyd Experience (PFX) in the autumn of 2006. Childhood’s End was on hiatus and frankly speaking I held more than an adverse opinion regarding other Pink Floyd tribute bands. I read a dated website talking about PFX, their personnel and successes. This resulted in quite a heated and lively exchange between Tom and myself resulting in him inviting me to see his band live and make my opinion based on that. I accepted and am pleased that the outcome was that Tom and I have been friends since then. Tom is both brilliantly talented and humble at the same time, quite unusual for a musician of his stature.
This is the result of our conversation.
GJ: Tom, it’s great to speak with you again. Thanks for allowing us a peek inside what’s happening with you and your bands. Allow me to start with some of the basic facts, can you show me where it hurts? No, I’m kidding of course, how long have you been in the music business?
TQ: 1973 was my senior year of high school and my first paying gigs…some of which were in the corn fields of Illinois, friend’s garages, after game dances at local recreation centers, juvenile detention centers, and anyone else that would have us.
GJ: What set you on the course to becoming a musician?
TQ: Years of parent driven trumpet & piano lessons (all under protest) from the 3rd grade onward were “instrumental” in establishing my musical vocabulary leading up to my first voluntary exercise in music with the electric guitar. I was long on a course to pursue academia and there was a sort of epiphany during my 2nd year of electrical engineering at Bradley University. I was the only non music major to star in the band of the production of “Godspell” there. The encouragement I received from these “real musicians” (I had only been playing for 1 – 2 years) gave me the confidence to face my parents to let them know I was dropping out of school to be a musician. Bravest & scariest thing I ever did in my life….turned out O.K. I think. I eventually graduated from San Diego State University in 1988 in Finance and EE…never worked a day in either.
GJ: How did this lead you to be in a tribute band?
TQ: That’s a huge span of time, experience and transitions, life and career changes, and is not a short answer. Essentially, years of musical activity playing in rock & roll dance bands (to “get by”, which paid the rent and school tuition for years) cloaked an unfulfilled and ongoing desire to do a project set aside for the pure joy of playing my guitar.
GJ: What does being in a tribute band mean to you? As a manager of a tribute band and a musician myself, I first thought of tribute bands as silliness until I learned much more about this part of the trade.
TQ: Being in a tribute band never meant anything to me …in and of itself. There was no money in it …at all (!) in 1994 when I first put the ads in the local San Diego entertainment rags, and for many years thereafter. We “paid to play” a good percentage of the time. Many highly qualified people shook their collective heads at the mere notion of playing in bars and nightclubs from 9 pm to closing time with tunes which included virtually no dance music!! Laughs! Being in a band where I get to play David Gilmour guitar parts all night long was, and still is, an entirely different, and inspirational proposition to me!
GJ: Does it bother you when people refer to tribute bands as cover or clone bands? I know some other tribute bands, especially Pink Floyd ones, find this especially distasteful.
TQ: No, not anymore. A need is fulfilled for us as performers, and the audience alike, which is based on genuine love for this music and a kindred spirit which we all share. Attacks are frequent however – and most vigorously by folks, or folks representing folks, who are trying to sell musical “products” that are being ignored or “underconsumed”. Genuinely engaged artists of all types generally don’t get involved here because they are using their energies for the positive push of their own creative projects seeking out their own target audiences.
GJ: What do you say to the naysayers who dismiss tribute bands as a rip-off of the original band?
TQ: I think I touched on that previously. I know a few tribute bands like The Chicago Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, and others who would love to take on attacks by those who feel that they’re Mozart and Beethoven rip-off artists. A real musical need is satisfied here with heartfelt passionate performances of any and all types, original or interpreted works! It’s no secret to Floyd fans that David Gilmour’s post-1986 Pink Floyd and Roger Water’s solo tours have been equally celebrated and berated. Who and where are the injured parties? An audience is only “ripped off” when a band sets up on a given night in a given town, and doesn’t deliver what the audience wants and craves from the artists on stage. It’s really that simple!
GJ: The Pink Floyd Experience, like any other tribute band is a business, but unlike many it is put together with the help of others. Does this lessen the authenticity of the product?
TQ: The audience has the final “say so”. Good news doesn’t always travel fast but bad news usually does. Floyd lovers expect plenty in lights, sound, and effects naturally that leads to costs/money needed to put it up there & put in place to be enjoyed by the audience. The “money and authenticity” thing is a twisted argument. Nobody complains when big acts (U2, The Killers, Genesis, etc) invest in a bigger show…except the fans who can’t afford the escalating ticket prices. In this day and age of $250-300 to see bands like the Stones, The Eagles & Genesis, PFX is very aware of the need to keep prices reasonable while delivering a world class show!
GJ: How many of the members of Pink Froyd are touring members of PFX?
TQ: Singer Graham Heath, bassist Gus Beaudoin and myself. Keyboard wiz John Cox is not officially a member of Pink Froyd but might as well be since he has been playing 80% of recent shows! Lol!
GJ: PFX is arguably the most prolific touring Pink Floyd tribute band in America, what do you owe its success to?
TQ: Passion, tenacity, & commitment from the band and our producer Ralph Schmidke and Jeff Parry at Annerin Productions…continuously over the last 6 years.
GJ: Do you find that other Pink Floyd tribute bands are supportive, competitive or jealous of your position, or a little of each?
TQ: I think a little of both…laughs! Greg has gotten an earful from me when things along these lines have broken down over the years & miles. I’ve long been a promoter of Floydian unity within the tribute community …where some have been reluctant, others, and most somewhat recently, have reciprocated with a disarmed sense of “we’re all in this together guys”!
GJ: Tell me what it feels like to walk out on stage and venues with thousands of people in it start to cheer.
TQ: It’s an acquired and necessary skill. Some nights are easier than others. Generally speaking musicians thrive, or are miserable, in accordance with their happiness with their individual “monitor mixes”. Mostly it’s not how many people are at your feet and filling numerous balconies, but who in particular is out there.
GJ: What kind of preparation goes into a typical PFX tour?
TQ: Mindful of where we’ve performed previously, we prepare set lists, and then alert the audio, lighting, and video team who adjust their technology and skills to the upcoming new challenges. The band gets together the week before and run through the sets in John Cox’s living room, our “home studio”….laughs! Luckily the band members are all San Diego residents, no accident, so it all works out with relative ease in that regard.
GJ: How many shows does a typical PFX tour have?
TQ: For many years it was 3 - 4 tours per year, 2 – 4 weeks at a time. Our last tour was almost 7 weeks and was our biggest; best attended & reviewed tour ever!
GJ: You have some unusual pet names for your guitars, what’s behind that?
TQ: My 2 electric guitars are true “Franken-Strats” ….Fender Stratocaster “types” that have been continuously ripped apart and reassembled with independently produced and acquired pickups, tremolo systems, necks….you name it, and I’ve tried it! They are not worth anything to anyone except me, who gets to play them. “Browny”, I’ve had since 1979, is and always will be my favorite axe!
GJ: Here’s a chance to plug the suits. Do you have corporate sponsorships for your gear or the band when it’s on tour?
TQ: No, but I’m willing to negotiate over a frosty pint of barley soda.
GJ: I know there’s still touring to be done in 2009, tell me what the plans are for the rest of 2009 and into the future.
TQ: The January 2010 tour is exploding already and filling an expanse of time that is around 10 weeks. *Pollstar is the place to check for the most up to date info on the band! (
www.pollstar.com/resultsArtist.aspx?ID=24447 )
GJ: Will your personnel remain the same in the near future? I know it’s impossible to predict the future.
TQ: I certainly hope so. The band line up over the last year and a half has been a clear difference maker!
GJ: Tell me a little about each of your band members in PFX and Pink Froyd.
TQ: Gus Beaudoin: is my brother in music for the last 14 years. Our nappy headed and raging bass player has never missed a gig in all that time…loves the band & crew on down to the bus driver…known to be a regular endorser and consumer of the cactus juice.
Graham Heath: since ’96, our only bonafide Englishman, who hails from Nottingham Forest (“you know… Robin Hood’s home town”) who thrives on great live shows & crowds.
John Cox: since early ’04, our grand keyboard wiz kid, programmer, and sound designer. Lover of Zappa, Zawinul, and all the prog greats! Absolutely indispensable!
John Staten (drummer) & Jesse Molloy (sax, guitar, voice, matinee idol) are both founding members of “On The One”….a monster instrumental funk, jazz, & jam band (
www.ontheonemusic.com/ ) who serve to absolutely destroy the stereotype of tribute band members. Check these guys out!
Joe “the kid” Marnane: (drummer, Pink Froyd “band manager”, Trivial Pursuit king) my long time friend and sub-reference master...without whom Pink Froyd would not have lasted the last 10 years.
Paul Viani: (Sax, Pink Froyd) Our much revered sax man from The Paul Viani Quartet (aka San Diego Jazz Cats
www.sdjazzcats.com/ ) has rocked our San Diego based shows for many years!
Chris Bang: (keys, Pink Froyd) “Cabang”, our M.I.T. grad & wiz kid on the keys…often mistaken for Rick Wakeman on our sound files and live performances. Brings down the house as “the judge” in The Trial for our annual Wall shows!!
Wayne Konopaske: (guitar, percussion, vox, Pink Froyd) our “secret weapon” at local San Diego shows.
GJ: Ok, TQ, I’ll let you off with an easy one to finish. Are you going to leave me passes and a photo pass for the upcoming Albany show?
TQ: Coming up on February 20th, 2010 ….I won’t be easy on you unless you’re there and stay afterwards to hang out after the show. We can sort out the entire Floyd legacy over stories and brews, have you pass out in the front lounge of our tour bus then drop you off at the next venue….right now it’s Philly…sound good!? Laughs!!!
Thanks for time and energy spent so that I could get this out! Cheers to you Greg!
Gilmost
www.thepinkfloydexperience.net 
