July 28, 2025 • 18 mins
This morning, I had a chat with Vocalist Chris Barnes of The Austrailian Pink Floyd and what a delightful conversation! Listen in and make sure to go see this incredible production at the Steelhouse on August 7th, 2025!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kg oar, Hi, who's this.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It's Chris Barnes coming from the Australian Pink Floyd Show.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Not the Chris Barnes sadly. Yeah, it's good of you
to call so early in the morning, but it's not
early where you are.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It's quite the past ten, so it's not that early.
And I've got small kids, so oh, never.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Early, exactly right. The Australian Pink Floyd Show coming up
on August seventh at the Steelhouse here in Omaha. Chris,
you've been with the band since sixteen, but the band
has been together since nineteen eighty eight. I did a
little research and I didn't know this about Australian Pink Floyd.
(00:39):
I didn't know they kind of invented the genre of
tribute bands.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, I guess. I mean, there's certainly one of the
longest running tribute bands for sure. I mean the year
they formed was the year I started high school, so yeah,
but I mean I still feel like a new boy
even though I've been in the band ten years. But yeah, yeah,
it's a strange phenomena, isn't it, the tribute band thing,
(01:05):
Because obviously when they began it was a kind of
a new thing. And now most people when they hear
the word tribute fan think of four blokes sat in
the corner of a pub wearing wigs. Thinking of the
Beatles as well. This is like a huge production. It's
grown from a bar band into this huge, global, global
trotting monster that is now. Really it's a huge production.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Well, Pink Floyd themselves they formed in sixty five, so
when you stepped in ten years ago, what drew you
to this band?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Basically, if someone is to blame, I suppose it's my
father in law, because he's this huge Pink Floyd fan,
as is my wife. And through meeting my wife, she
was saying, oh, my dad, it goes to see that.
And her brother used to go to see the Pink
Floyd tribute band and I went along with them. It
was a technically our first date and we went to
(02:01):
see Ausie Floyd and I remember looking at them thinking
we're in this room in Manchester. There's a thousand people
or whatever it was in this room at this university gig,
and I just thought, this is insane. This is great.
They're just playing Pink Foy music. It's brilliant, you know.
I wasn't aware that they existed until you know, at
that point, and I sort of befriended them because I
(02:23):
taught the drummer's daughter music a kind of school of
rock things that I ran, and he came off tour
and she'd already said, oh, my dad's in the Australian
Pink Voyd. I was, oh, okay, and he came in
and we got chatting and stuff and sort of sort
of befriended the guys that way. Really, So what drew
me towards and my guess was just I was just
blown away when I first saw them. That's kind of
(02:45):
a long waffling.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Answer there, No no, I love those kinds of answers.
So were you growing up? Just a quick side story.
When I was nine years old, I used to call
them the radio stations and win stuff and I won
an album. So I had to call the season three
times and I said what what album did I win?
(03:06):
Because I had no idea, never heard of it. I
had won the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon,
and finally went and picked it up and actually listened
to it, and I thought, wait, wait a minute, what
is this? And I was immediately drawn to it and
I wish I had that album today, had the poster
and the sticker in it. Of course I don't have
(03:27):
that anymore, but maybe that was Yeah, so that drew
me to it at nine. Now I can't say that
I stuck with him the the You know, at that age,
you're all over the place listening to different kinds of music.
But so did you You were obviously aware of Pink
Floyd before you met your father in law. Did you
(03:50):
have any leanings towards them? Were you a big fan?
Little fan? I mean, how that?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Okay? So what had happened was my introduction to Pink
Floyd began when my brother, my older brother, and I
shared a bedroom and at the time I was about
sort of six five or six. A family member had
left some records at our house, and one of them
was Relics, which is the sort of Sid Barret era
(04:15):
collection that came out, and so the things like Arnold Lane,
c Emile Play that kind of stuff on there, and
my brother used to put the album on. Obviously, it
starts with Arnold Lane, which is this nice pop song,
and then he turned the light off and then Interstellar
Overdrive would come on, which is this big nine minute
psychedelic space jam, and that just all these bleeps and
(04:39):
squeaks and these weird noises. It just terrified me as
a kid. So I liked the other stuff, but I
found that really really scary. And then I got to
listen to the other tracks on the album and really
liked things like Bike and Nile Song and Remember a
Day Paint Box, all this kind of early era Floyd stuff,
and that was what I thought think Void were. And
(05:01):
then I saw when I was probably in my early
teen probably like thirteen fourteen, I saw the Pompei concert
one night on TV. So that's them in the ampitheater
with no audience, and I was thinking, well, where's where's
c Emily play? Where's Arnold laying? And why why'd that
guy sat on the floor playing the guitar with a slide,
and why'd he hitting the gong and why's he smashing
(05:22):
the piano like that? And they were doing all these
you know, a source of full of secrets echoes obviously,
and that was that was when it all kind of
clicked into place. When I was about kind of thirteen,
and I remember I went out to a second hand
record shop and found I tried to find the album
with echoes on it, because I really thought that was
just something else and that was the whole. That's where
(05:44):
it all started. And then I was this is pre internet,
you know, so you had to find out through friends
what other albums there were, and you might have a
friend who had a copy of Wish You Were Here,
so you had to record a cassette of that. And
it was a full journey. It's not like now you
switch your phone on and you've got all the recording
music in history on your phone. So that was it.
I was kind of thirteen fourteen, and I was getting bootlegs,
(06:06):
BBC sessions and all that kind of stuff and trying
to read anything I could find on them and get
books and just became a total nerd. I'm like that
with any band. If I get into a band, I'm
a total geek.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
What worked out for you?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah? It didn't it and didn't What was it like.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
To step into those shoes when you first took the stage.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
It was amazing. I mean I had done a lot
of gigs in other bands before that. I've been digging
since I was My dad's a musician, and I've been
digging since I was fourteen. Doing there's pubs and clubs
with my dad and doing sixties music and stuff. And
I've done new big gigs with various bands, but nothing
not like a big touring with tour buses and trucks
(06:51):
and nothing like that. So when I got sort of
in the AUSSI Floyd world, I knew what there the
operation was like. And then when I passed the audition,
that was just insane. It was just like this is
this is superb, you know. And I remember I rang
my brother at some point that year, were just saying, oh,
I'm doing this and doing this, and he was like, well,
(07:13):
you rubbish it everything else, so you need to stick this.
Oh brothers you know, yeah, brothers. Yeah, but no, it
was amazing. And the thing about that people say it's
a cliche sort of thing that they were like a family,
but it is very much, you know, with the band
and the crew. A lot of the crew have been
with us for a long time, you know, many of
them have been there longer than I've been there. And
(07:36):
it is a dysfunctional family touring round in a couple
of tour buses and everybody gets on. There's no kind
of band crew divide with one big unit. You know,
we'll go out and I'll go on a bowling night,
you know, something like that. Usually on one of the
American tours will do that. But yeah, it's just superb.
You're playing the best music with the best people. You know,
(07:57):
they've become fast friends and it's just a very close
knit you know, certainly post COVID when we have to
travel around in a bubble when we weren't allowed to
see any but we literally were closely. You know, it
was It's everything I expected to be and a million
times more, you know, other things that were brilliant. You know,
(08:17):
it's it's a wonderful, wonderful best job in the world.
Is a cliche, but it is, it really is.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
You must have noticed. You have to look out on
that audience and see just an absolute joy that you're
that the audiences are feeling because they know, of course
you're you're not the original Pink Floyd, but you are
so close and it might be it might be as
close as some people will ever get to seeing some
(08:44):
of that music performed live. That has got to be
such a great feeling for you and for the rest
of the band.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean, we're we're fans as well. I mean,
that's that's the whole you know, the whole ethos of
Ossie Floyd is that everybody in the band is this,
you know, as much of a hardcore Pink Floyd fan
as everybody else, you know, and they know the words
as much as we do. They know if you're going
to like this year, we're doing the Wishue here albums,
so they know what track's going to come next. It's
they're on that journey with you for that part of
(09:13):
the set. So you do get how can I put it,
You do get a multi generational thing. The good thing
about Pink Floyd's music being what it is, you're getting
people who actually saw the band, Like you said, some
people didn't. I never got to see Pink Dloyd. I've
seen all the members do the stuff solo, you know.
But you see, you'll get people who are coming because
(09:34):
they saw Floyd in the seventies or the eighties or
the nineties, and then they might be bringing their kids,
and then they might be bringing their kids, so you
might have three generations. And it is heartening to see
that we're not just playing to an audience that's dying
off because you know, they were guys who knew the
band back in the day. It's there's younger people there.
(09:55):
There's people younger than me, and there's people my kids
age there, which is it's great. Everyone knows every word.
Everyone knows, you know. They know there's inflatables, and there's lasers,
and there's screen films. You know, it's the full experience.
So they come in to get that. We're replicating a
Pink Floyd experience of a concert experience, and it is
(10:15):
amazing to look out and see people living well. I mean,
and I've been out there because I've watched Dozzy Floyd,
so I know what they're experiencing, and it is you know,
sometimes I do wish I could be in the crowd
watching it because it's such a good show, you know.
So it's it's a very unique experience to play music
to people and they know it so well. It's not
(10:35):
you're not you know, in about in the original band
saying okay, we're going to do a new song. Now
you've got that awkward moment where everyone goes to the bar.
You know, everyone's in, everyone's in for the full journey.
You know that.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Absolutely. I do know that, and I gotta admit once
in a while, I've been a little guilty of that myself.
It's like, I'll check this out when he gets out
on the radio or whatever. But you have to be
when you're on stage and you're seeing that you mentioned
that it's multi generational, and you've got fans that have
been to the Pink Floyd shows in the seventies and
(11:10):
they're there, and I gotta imagine that they might they
might come in maybe it's the first time they've seen you.
They've got to come in thinking, well, we'll see and
to see that joy on their face because they are
feeling that they are going back and reliving that and
it is just as good and just as amazing of
a show.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I find that if we like when we do meet
and greets and stuff, and you'll get people who say, oh,
I saw Floyd in seventy seven or I saw Floyd
in the eighties or whatever, and you just know, well,
they kind of know what to expect. But then also,
uf you can still see them during the gigging lookout,
they've got big grin on their face because they're like, yeah, man,
I remember this, right, I can remember being there well.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
And the thing is in the day, and this could
not be done without incredible musicians and production people and
of course all of the stuff that goes with us.
This couldn't be done without top of the top of
the line musicians that are with Pink Floyd, Aussie Pink Floyd.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, I think that it isn't a job that, you know,
anyone can do in the same way that if someone
rang me up and said, oh, can you get get
up and do you know we're doing the Stones night?
Could you? I mean, and you know, I like the
Stones and everything, But I think because everyone's so dyed
in the wall hardcore Floyd nerd that you know, it's
(12:35):
not just we all go off and we'll do a
queen tour and then we'll do we'll do some gigs
doing Rush or something like that. It's not that kind
of you kind of how can I put it? You
like a like a life sentence.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
You're you're a conduit, You're an absolute condom.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, yeah, very much. So. Yeah. I think one of
our guitar players, Luke, once said a meet and greet
that it's an honor to play this music because it's
it's the best music. And then I was I've sort
of thought further that on by saying, but it's also
an honor to be in the Aussie Floyd playing this music. Yes,
it's great music. It's great to play this music, but
(13:12):
it's also great to play this music with these people
because these people are just you know, you know, I'm
not going to blow my own trumpet because of you know,
they've probably probably a million people can look as well.
I could. I could do that, but it's not it's
not that kind of job. And it's not a job
where you're your personality or you're you're on stage presence
(13:34):
or whatever, it matters, because it's not about you, you're
serving the music. We're kind of like an orchestra. We're anonymous.
The show is the event, and the music does the talking.
So I sing. So therefore I will talk to the audience,
but I only do it at two designated points in
the evening. It's not a Hey, so we're going to
do one now from dark Sidland remember that one guy,
(13:54):
because that just isn't the vibe of Pink Floyd. They
never were that kind of band. So because we're replication
in that experience, it's just a very humble, high good evening,
thank you for coming, and then at the end of
the gig, it's kind of out for everyone. We had
a great night. And that's kind of because that's how
Pink Floyd were. You watch any Floyd videos of the
being concert, David Gilmour wasn't chatting away, and you know,
(14:16):
it was very, very The music was important, not the people,
and that is the the soss of Ossie Floyd. It's
not about the people playing the tunes, it's the music.
As I say, with the orchestra, analogy kind of works
because you know, you're not going to see the third
person on the violin there, you'ren't going to listen to
Brahms or whatever. I guess you kind of see it
(14:36):
like that.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And people can kind of get that impression. Right now
they just released or are in the process of releasing
Life from Pompeii, which is what you mentioned was one
of the things that first got you interested in Pink Floyd.
So you can kind of get that experience and then
go and see aussy Pink Floyd at the Steelhouse and
you're going to feel like it's all part of all
part of the same machine.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Yeah, absolutely, Yeah, you know it's a conduit. That's a
great word that you use before I'm gonna I'm going
to nick that one.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
I'm going to use that yay that that is a
huge complement.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Yeah no, but it's right though. It's right. You're just
channeling that music to the people you know in the
crowd who are coming for whatever reason they've come. You
know they're massive Pink Foy Vans, or you know, the
husband's bringing the wife along. It might not be a fan,
might only know a couple of songs, but it's an
entertaining show. There's always something going on. There's as I say,
there's the screen films, there's inflatables. That light show is insane,
(15:36):
there's the lasers. So it's a massive production that keeps you.
There's there's no kind of dull moment where you like,
you say where you're going and get your popcorn or whatever.
And that the set list this year, as always, we
do try and cover all aspects of Floyd catalog, but
this year, being an album anniversary, we're doing all the
wish for here as I said earlier. But then throughout
(15:57):
the set there's stuff from all eras, from the Sid
Barrett stuff, all the big albums, from the seventies get covered,
you know, dark Side, which you're hear obviously, animals and
wall and then we've got the post Waters, the Gilmore
Lad era, we've got that stuff covered as well. So
it's kind of it's always a mixed bag. There's always
something for everybody. If you're a fan of a certain era,
we've got you covered. And I think that's kind of
(16:18):
that's always been the way with Ossie Floyd. It's to
give a broad, you know, broad brushstroke of the full
palette of Pink Floyd, because it's they're not just they're
not ac DC where and they love ac DC, but
you know, as everyone knows, they kind of do one
thing really really, really well. But the Floyd catalog is
so vast, it's so experimental in places and semic and
(16:42):
the lyrics make you think there's concepts, there's journeys, there's
psychedelic stuff. There's a full range of things, and you've
got to try and get that in an evening of
music for people in like two and a half hours
or whatever it is. It's it's an adventure trying to
come up with the sett list each year.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Believe me, we can see that on August the seventh
at the Steelhouse. You guys are going to going to
be there. This is a really cool venue. It's a
brand new venue here in Omahas. I think you're going
to really enjoy this venue.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Excellent. Yeah, no, looking forward to it. It brings the
name Rings a Bell. I'm not sure if when did
it opened. We may have played it last year or something.
I can't remember.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Well, it's probably been an open maybe two years, so yeah,
that's possible.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Yeah, it just rings the name Rings a Bell because
it's such an odd name.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
You know, normally it's you know, there's such and such
and such.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
A exactly right.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Well, that's coming endorsed by the local chemist or something.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
I'm endorsing this. I'll endorse this show endorsed by Lucy Chapman. Yeah,
that's coming up on August the seventh at the Steelhouse.
It's going to be an amazing show. I got to
ask one question. When you guys leave Australia, when you're
packing up your gear, you're not bringing any of those
spiders with you. Right, Everything is poisonous there.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Everything's trying to kill you.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, that's coming up on August the seventh, and I
think there are some tickets still available, but don't wait.
Get out and get your tickets for this show. It's
going to be amazing. Chris, thank you so much for
spending a few minutes with us.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
That's all right, it's been nice to chat.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
We will see you August the seventh.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Nice one, all right, cheers, thank.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
You so much, you have a great day.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Thank you, cheers by bye bye ah.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Seriously, did I just say cheers back? That's that's weird anyway,
Thanks so much for listening to this edition of Heres
More with Chris Barnes from Australian Pink Floyd that is
coming up on August the seventh at the Steelhouse. It's
going to be an amazing show and amazing production. Don't
miss this show.
Kg oar, Hi, who's this.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It's Chris Barnes coming from the Australian Pink Floyd Show.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Not the Chris Barnes sadly. Yeah, it's good of you
to call so early in the morning, but it's not
early where you are.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It's quite the past ten, so it's not that early.
And I've got small kids, so oh, never.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Early, exactly right. The Australian Pink Floyd Show coming up
on August seventh at the Steelhouse here in Omaha. Chris,
you've been with the band since sixteen, but the band
has been together since nineteen eighty eight. I did a
little research and I didn't know this about Australian Pink Floyd.
(00:39):
I didn't know they kind of invented the genre of
tribute bands.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, I guess. I mean, there's certainly one of the
longest running tribute bands for sure. I mean the year
they formed was the year I started high school, so yeah,
but I mean I still feel like a new boy
even though I've been in the band ten years. But yeah, yeah,
it's a strange phenomena, isn't it, the tribute band thing,
(01:05):
Because obviously when they began it was a kind of
a new thing. And now most people when they hear
the word tribute fan think of four blokes sat in
the corner of a pub wearing wigs. Thinking of the
Beatles as well. This is like a huge production. It's
grown from a bar band into this huge, global, global
trotting monster that is now. Really it's a huge production.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Well, Pink Floyd themselves they formed in sixty five, so
when you stepped in ten years ago, what drew you
to this band?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Basically, if someone is to blame, I suppose it's my
father in law, because he's this huge Pink Floyd fan,
as is my wife. And through meeting my wife, she
was saying, oh, my dad, it goes to see that.
And her brother used to go to see the Pink
Floyd tribute band and I went along with them. It
was a technically our first date and we went to
(02:01):
see Ausie Floyd and I remember looking at them thinking
we're in this room in Manchester. There's a thousand people
or whatever it was in this room at this university gig,
and I just thought, this is insane. This is great.
They're just playing Pink Foy music. It's brilliant, you know.
I wasn't aware that they existed until you know, at
that point, and I sort of befriended them because I
(02:23):
taught the drummer's daughter music a kind of school of
rock things that I ran, and he came off tour
and she'd already said, oh, my dad's in the Australian
Pink Voyd. I was, oh, okay, and he came in
and we got chatting and stuff and sort of sort
of befriended the guys that way. Really, So what drew
me towards and my guess was just I was just
blown away when I first saw them. That's kind of
(02:45):
a long waffling.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Answer there, No no, I love those kinds of answers.
So were you growing up? Just a quick side story.
When I was nine years old, I used to call
them the radio stations and win stuff and I won
an album. So I had to call the season three
times and I said what what album did I win?
(03:06):
Because I had no idea, never heard of it. I
had won the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon,
and finally went and picked it up and actually listened
to it, and I thought, wait, wait a minute, what
is this? And I was immediately drawn to it and
I wish I had that album today, had the poster
and the sticker in it. Of course I don't have
(03:27):
that anymore, but maybe that was Yeah, so that drew
me to it at nine. Now I can't say that
I stuck with him the the You know, at that age,
you're all over the place listening to different kinds of music.
But so did you You were obviously aware of Pink
Floyd before you met your father in law. Did you
(03:50):
have any leanings towards them? Were you a big fan?
Little fan? I mean, how that?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Okay? So what had happened was my introduction to Pink
Floyd began when my brother, my older brother, and I
shared a bedroom and at the time I was about
sort of six five or six. A family member had
left some records at our house, and one of them
was Relics, which is the sort of Sid Barret era
(04:15):
collection that came out, and so the things like Arnold Lane,
c Emile Play that kind of stuff on there, and
my brother used to put the album on. Obviously, it
starts with Arnold Lane, which is this nice pop song,
and then he turned the light off and then Interstellar
Overdrive would come on, which is this big nine minute
psychedelic space jam, and that just all these bleeps and
(04:39):
squeaks and these weird noises. It just terrified me as
a kid. So I liked the other stuff, but I
found that really really scary. And then I got to
listen to the other tracks on the album and really
liked things like Bike and Nile Song and Remember a
Day Paint Box, all this kind of early era Floyd stuff,
and that was what I thought think Void were. And
(05:01):
then I saw when I was probably in my early
teen probably like thirteen fourteen, I saw the Pompei concert
one night on TV. So that's them in the ampitheater
with no audience, and I was thinking, well, where's where's
c Emily play? Where's Arnold laying? And why why'd that
guy sat on the floor playing the guitar with a slide,
and why'd he hitting the gong and why's he smashing
(05:22):
the piano like that? And they were doing all these
you know, a source of full of secrets echoes obviously,
and that was that was when it all kind of
clicked into place. When I was about kind of thirteen,
and I remember I went out to a second hand
record shop and found I tried to find the album
with echoes on it, because I really thought that was
just something else and that was the whole. That's where
(05:44):
it all started. And then I was this is pre internet,
you know, so you had to find out through friends
what other albums there were, and you might have a
friend who had a copy of Wish You Were Here,
so you had to record a cassette of that. And
it was a full journey. It's not like now you
switch your phone on and you've got all the recording
music in history on your phone. So that was it.
I was kind of thirteen fourteen, and I was getting bootlegs,
(06:06):
BBC sessions and all that kind of stuff and trying
to read anything I could find on them and get
books and just became a total nerd. I'm like that
with any band. If I get into a band, I'm
a total geek.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
What worked out for you?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah? It didn't it and didn't What was it like.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
To step into those shoes when you first took the stage.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
It was amazing. I mean I had done a lot
of gigs in other bands before that. I've been digging
since I was My dad's a musician, and I've been
digging since I was fourteen. Doing there's pubs and clubs
with my dad and doing sixties music and stuff. And
I've done new big gigs with various bands, but nothing
not like a big touring with tour buses and trucks
(06:51):
and nothing like that. So when I got sort of
in the AUSSI Floyd world, I knew what there the
operation was like. And then when I passed the audition,
that was just insane. It was just like this is
this is superb, you know. And I remember I rang
my brother at some point that year, were just saying, oh,
I'm doing this and doing this, and he was like, well,
(07:13):
you rubbish it everything else, so you need to stick this.
Oh brothers you know, yeah, brothers. Yeah, but no, it
was amazing. And the thing about that people say it's
a cliche sort of thing that they were like a family,
but it is very much, you know, with the band
and the crew. A lot of the crew have been
with us for a long time, you know, many of
them have been there longer than I've been there. And
(07:36):
it is a dysfunctional family touring round in a couple
of tour buses and everybody gets on. There's no kind
of band crew divide with one big unit. You know,
we'll go out and I'll go on a bowling night,
you know, something like that. Usually on one of the
American tours will do that. But yeah, it's just superb.
You're playing the best music with the best people. You know,
(07:57):
they've become fast friends and it's just a very close
knit you know, certainly post COVID when we have to
travel around in a bubble when we weren't allowed to
see any but we literally were closely. You know, it
was It's everything I expected to be and a million
times more, you know, other things that were brilliant. You know,
(08:17):
it's it's a wonderful, wonderful best job in the world.
Is a cliche, but it is, it really is.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
You must have noticed. You have to look out on
that audience and see just an absolute joy that you're
that the audiences are feeling because they know, of course
you're you're not the original Pink Floyd, but you are
so close and it might be it might be as
close as some people will ever get to seeing some
(08:44):
of that music performed live. That has got to be
such a great feeling for you and for the rest
of the band.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean, we're we're fans as well. I mean,
that's that's the whole you know, the whole ethos of
Ossie Floyd is that everybody in the band is this,
you know, as much of a hardcore Pink Floyd fan
as everybody else, you know, and they know the words
as much as we do. They know if you're going
to like this year, we're doing the Wishue here albums,
so they know what track's going to come next. It's
they're on that journey with you for that part of
(09:13):
the set. So you do get how can I put it,
You do get a multi generational thing. The good thing
about Pink Floyd's music being what it is, you're getting
people who actually saw the band, Like you said, some
people didn't. I never got to see Pink Dloyd. I've
seen all the members do the stuff solo, you know.
But you see, you'll get people who are coming because
(09:34):
they saw Floyd in the seventies or the eighties or
the nineties, and then they might be bringing their kids,
and then they might be bringing their kids, so you
might have three generations. And it is heartening to see
that we're not just playing to an audience that's dying
off because you know, they were guys who knew the
band back in the day. It's there's younger people there.
(09:55):
There's people younger than me, and there's people my kids
age there, which is it's great. Everyone knows every word.
Everyone knows, you know. They know there's inflatables, and there's lasers,
and there's screen films. You know, it's the full experience.
So they come in to get that. We're replicating a
Pink Floyd experience of a concert experience, and it is
(10:15):
amazing to look out and see people living well. I mean,
and I've been out there because I've watched Dozzy Floyd,
so I know what they're experiencing, and it is you know,
sometimes I do wish I could be in the crowd
watching it because it's such a good show, you know.
So it's it's a very unique experience to play music
to people and they know it so well. It's not
(10:35):
you're not you know, in about in the original band
saying okay, we're going to do a new song. Now
you've got that awkward moment where everyone goes to the bar.
You know, everyone's in, everyone's in for the full journey.
You know that.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Absolutely. I do know that, and I gotta admit once
in a while, I've been a little guilty of that myself.
It's like, I'll check this out when he gets out
on the radio or whatever. But you have to be
when you're on stage and you're seeing that you mentioned
that it's multi generational, and you've got fans that have
been to the Pink Floyd shows in the seventies and
(11:10):
they're there, and I gotta imagine that they might they
might come in maybe it's the first time they've seen you.
They've got to come in thinking, well, we'll see and
to see that joy on their face because they are
feeling that they are going back and reliving that and
it is just as good and just as amazing of
a show.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I find that if we like when we do meet
and greets and stuff, and you'll get people who say, oh,
I saw Floyd in seventy seven or I saw Floyd
in the eighties or whatever, and you just know, well,
they kind of know what to expect. But then also,
uf you can still see them during the gigging lookout,
they've got big grin on their face because they're like, yeah, man,
I remember this, right, I can remember being there well.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
And the thing is in the day, and this could
not be done without incredible musicians and production people and
of course all of the stuff that goes with us.
This couldn't be done without top of the top of
the line musicians that are with Pink Floyd, Aussie Pink Floyd.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, I think that it isn't a job that, you know,
anyone can do in the same way that if someone
rang me up and said, oh, can you get get
up and do you know we're doing the Stones night?
Could you? I mean, and you know, I like the
Stones and everything, But I think because everyone's so dyed
in the wall hardcore Floyd nerd that you know, it's
(12:35):
not just we all go off and we'll do a
queen tour and then we'll do we'll do some gigs
doing Rush or something like that. It's not that kind
of you kind of how can I put it? You
like a like a life sentence.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
You're you're a conduit, You're an absolute condom.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, yeah, very much. So. Yeah. I think one of
our guitar players, Luke, once said a meet and greet
that it's an honor to play this music because it's
it's the best music. And then I was I've sort
of thought further that on by saying, but it's also
an honor to be in the Aussie Floyd playing this music. Yes,
it's great music. It's great to play this music, but
(13:12):
it's also great to play this music with these people
because these people are just you know, you know, I'm
not going to blow my own trumpet because of you know,
they've probably probably a million people can look as well.
I could. I could do that, but it's not it's
not that kind of job. And it's not a job
where you're your personality or you're you're on stage presence
(13:34):
or whatever, it matters, because it's not about you, you're
serving the music. We're kind of like an orchestra. We're anonymous.
The show is the event, and the music does the talking.
So I sing. So therefore I will talk to the audience,
but I only do it at two designated points in
the evening. It's not a Hey, so we're going to
do one now from dark Sidland remember that one guy,
(13:54):
because that just isn't the vibe of Pink Floyd. They
never were that kind of band. So because we're replication
in that experience, it's just a very humble, high good evening,
thank you for coming, and then at the end of
the gig, it's kind of out for everyone. We had
a great night. And that's kind of because that's how
Pink Floyd were. You watch any Floyd videos of the
being concert, David Gilmour wasn't chatting away, and you know,
(14:16):
it was very, very The music was important, not the people,
and that is the the soss of Ossie Floyd. It's
not about the people playing the tunes, it's the music.
As I say, with the orchestra, analogy kind of works
because you know, you're not going to see the third
person on the violin there, you'ren't going to listen to
Brahms or whatever. I guess you kind of see it
(14:36):
like that.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And people can kind of get that impression. Right now
they just released or are in the process of releasing
Life from Pompeii, which is what you mentioned was one
of the things that first got you interested in Pink Floyd.
So you can kind of get that experience and then
go and see aussy Pink Floyd at the Steelhouse and
you're going to feel like it's all part of all
part of the same machine.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Yeah, absolutely, Yeah, you know it's a conduit. That's a
great word that you use before I'm gonna I'm going
to nick that one.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
I'm going to use that yay that that is a
huge complement.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Yeah no, but it's right though. It's right. You're just
channeling that music to the people you know in the
crowd who are coming for whatever reason they've come. You
know they're massive Pink Foy Vans, or you know, the
husband's bringing the wife along. It might not be a fan,
might only know a couple of songs, but it's an
entertaining show. There's always something going on. There's as I say,
there's the screen films, there's inflatables. That light show is insane,
(15:36):
there's the lasers. So it's a massive production that keeps you.
There's there's no kind of dull moment where you like,
you say where you're going and get your popcorn or whatever.
And that the set list this year, as always, we
do try and cover all aspects of Floyd catalog, but
this year, being an album anniversary, we're doing all the
wish for here as I said earlier. But then throughout
(15:57):
the set there's stuff from all eras, from the Sid
Barrett stuff, all the big albums, from the seventies get covered,
you know, dark Side, which you're hear obviously, animals and
wall and then we've got the post Waters, the Gilmore
Lad era, we've got that stuff covered as well. So
it's kind of it's always a mixed bag. There's always
something for everybody. If you're a fan of a certain era,
we've got you covered. And I think that's kind of
(16:18):
that's always been the way with Ossie Floyd. It's to
give a broad, you know, broad brushstroke of the full
palette of Pink Floyd, because it's they're not just they're
not ac DC where and they love ac DC, but
you know, as everyone knows, they kind of do one
thing really really, really well. But the Floyd catalog is
so vast, it's so experimental in places and semic and
(16:42):
the lyrics make you think there's concepts, there's journeys, there's
psychedelic stuff. There's a full range of things, and you've
got to try and get that in an evening of
music for people in like two and a half hours
or whatever it is. It's it's an adventure trying to
come up with the sett list each year.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Believe me, we can see that on August the seventh
at the Steelhouse. You guys are going to going to
be there. This is a really cool venue. It's a
brand new venue here in Omahas. I think you're going
to really enjoy this venue.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Excellent. Yeah, no, looking forward to it. It brings the
name Rings a Bell. I'm not sure if when did
it opened. We may have played it last year or something.
I can't remember.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Well, it's probably been an open maybe two years, so yeah,
that's possible.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Yeah, it just rings the name Rings a Bell because
it's such an odd name.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
You know, normally it's you know, there's such and such
and such.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
A exactly right.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Well, that's coming endorsed by the local chemist or something.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
I'm endorsing this. I'll endorse this show endorsed by Lucy Chapman. Yeah,
that's coming up on August the seventh at the Steelhouse.
It's going to be an amazing show. I got to
ask one question. When you guys leave Australia, when you're
packing up your gear, you're not bringing any of those
spiders with you. Right, Everything is poisonous there.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Everything's trying to kill you.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, that's coming up on August the seventh, and I
think there are some tickets still available, but don't wait.
Get out and get your tickets for this show. It's
going to be amazing. Chris, thank you so much for
spending a few minutes with us.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
That's all right, it's been nice to chat.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
We will see you August the seventh.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Nice one, all right, cheers, thank.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
You so much, you have a great day.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Thank you, cheers by bye bye ah.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Seriously, did I just say cheers back? That's that's weird anyway,
Thanks so much for listening to this edition of Heres
More with Chris Barnes from Australian Pink Floyd that is
coming up on August the seventh at the Steelhouse. It's
going to be an amazing show and amazing production. Don't
miss this show.
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