Is there anybody out there?

It's funny...my second, and first real "gig" with House of Floyd (and the bands first theater concert as well), was a mix of both: excitement, and fear...the anticipation of not knowing if the show would sell out, and then seeing the crowd lining up around the block to buy tickets, became that moment when I knew this would be a night I would remember forever.

I can still recall Pat (guitars/Vocals) telling me to sneak & peak beyond the stage curtains into a semi dimly lit, fully packed theater, and then leaning over my shoulder to tell me he had forgotten all of the lyrics, and most of the chord changes to many of the songs. This was our first concert at a theater: the Majestic in Benicia...that was 4 years ago.

Since then, it's been a fun roller coaster ride (& wild at times) with a fantastic band, a great bunch of friends, a "family" if you will. Always working hard at bringing something new, by introducing a "jewel" to a crowd that may have never heard it, or for some- not in a long while. But, with every show the anxiety is always there..."is there anybody out there?" We can't tell until we hear the cheers & applause.

Yet, I am always amazed by the legion of Floyd fans which continue to trickle in growing numbers in support of the great music of Pink Floyd. They come from all over, from all walks of life, and I've seen them as young as baby's, and as old as...well you know, as old as Pink Floyd!

Man, I remember being 15 years old and listening to "A Saucerful of Secrets" , and my dad saying...shit, that album is trip-pier than the Beatles "Sgt Pepper's"...dad was right! (little did he know that both Floyd & the Beatles recorded at Abbey Road studios, just a room apart, and that the members of both band members brushed shoulders with each other's from time to time! ). Hard to believe that much of that music would stand the test of time, and become indeed part of the classics for all ages!

It 's been something beyond my wildest dreams, that at this point in my life, I'm playing music from the band that spawned an entire music movement in the 70's know as "progressive rock" featuring bands like King Crimson, Genesis, E.L.P. & Yes to name a few, having performed to large audiences with fans who yearn for days gone by, and a chance for younger generations to see a show that ended long before they came of age.

Last Saturday, as my band mates Joe, Pat, Eddie, & myself rode from the motel, and approached the corner of the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz, with my car radio blasting the 'Pat Travers band's' version of "Boom Boom out goes the lights", we grooved while gazing with much amazement upon the a considerable crowd gathering in front of the theater's box office to purchase tickets for that night's show...Everytime, it brings me back to that night at the Majestic theater 4 years ago.

You see, while we're setting up keyboards and amps, tuning guitars, and basses, doing a sound check while the crew is still setting up the lights, and the lasers, checking video feeds, and ultimately arranging what will become that night's "main event" for many fans. The thought always drifts in the back of my mind...will "they" come? The theater is empty then, and you can only imagine what it may be like later on!

So, like Kevin Costner's 'Field of Dreams' voice: "if you build it, they will come"... it's no rocket science to me, that this is what we've been doing for the past 5 years (& the goal since the band's inception)...we've been building it...the show... song by song, set by set, and with much sweat, and sometimes frustrations. We've tried to arrange something to please everyone coming to see us. But, you know it hasn't been an easy task...there's so much good music...so little time.

In our times, HOF has gone through some personnel changes, has purchased an incredible amount of gear (that seems to be like weed...constantly growing) , and we're busy going over, and fine tuning everything we do... trying it this way, that way... in order to give the spectator, (whether a hard core fan, or the general listener of the music) the kind of show which Pink Floyd produced before going mainstream (if you can say they ever did!) with The Wall, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and the Division Bell.

But, you know we're nothing more than fans ourselves, having a blast playing the music while doing the show. It almost sounds unbelievable to say that it seems we never grow tired of it. I guess we'll continue to carry on doing our thing for as long as the crowds, or 2012 will let us. So..."is there anybody out there?"...YES, we know there is!...and we're very grateful that you've stopped by and said hello!