By Danny Coleman
originally published: 01/15/2016
"This is our 27th year; we're insane," said a laughing Joe Pascarell; one of the co-founders of the Pink Floyd tribute band, The Machine as he relayed the band's origins and secret to its longevity. "Seriously though, we're all great friends; it's how we stay together."
Pascarell is currently doing his second tour of duty with the group and is very enthusiastic about the recent tour they've put together which sees three stops here in New Jersey; the first being in Lakewood at The Strand Theater on January 23. Averaging approximately a show a week, The Machine has re-united with Pascarell and both sides couldn't be happier. "Yes I am back and very happy about that," he stated with conviction. "I realized while I was gone just how important this band was to me and the very fabric of who I am and luckily I was able to return and pick up almost where I left off."
Like many other musicians who leave long term bands or situations thinking there is more to be found out there, Pascarell needed to do so in order to appreciate what he already knew; The Machine is where he belonged. "I turned 50 years old and I was sort of wondering what else there was of me that wasn't going to die in The Machine. So I decided to leave the band and pursue other things. I left on amicable terms and did my own thing, writing and recording but I realized within months just how much I missed it. You don't really know just how much something or even someone means to you until it's not there anymore. Fortunately for me, the guitarist who took my place was leaving the band and I said, "Yo, hey guys, I'm available" and I was able to return and it was a really great feeling to be able to do so."
The Machine was formed because according to Pascarell, he decided to "Put together a band playing music he liked." "We were all working musicians and performing in local bars, two of us were in a band that did a lot of Pink Floyd and we noticed that when we did it; people responded differently. We started doing more and more Floyd and eventually we did one set of just Pink Floyd and then one set of other cover tunes. I wish I could tell you there was some higher calling or other reason we formed the band but it wasn't that organic (laughs). Our agent suggested that we do all Floyd and that's how it began; we put together a show and audiences loved it."
Tribute bands, with a few exceptions, were not all the rage in 1988 and were often maligned by other musicians and even found various venues unresponsive to their efforts. Pascarell says that The Machine experienced some of this behavior but they were undeterred. "Tribute bands were not common place when we first formed. We heard our share of derogatory remarks and actually had people tell us that we shouldn't be doing this because we were taking stages away from original bands and asking how we could relate to music that we didn't write and saying that we were not Pink Floyd among other things but we were getting bigger and bigger crowds so we knew we had something."
Pascarell's love affair with the music of Pink Floyd began as a preteen when a sibling took him to his first Floyd concert and he became enthralled with David Gilmour. "Oh man, David Gilmour. When I was 12 years old my very awesome older brother took me to see Pink Floyd and I've been in love with the band and his style of playing ever since. When I was learning how to play guitar I can remember being bent over albums, moving the needle or slowing it down and learning his solos. Songs like "Comfortably Numb" and "Hey You," are a perfect example of why I love his work."
Keeping with their game plan, The Machine will continue to tour; playing smaller venues now but returning to the larger outdoor arenas come summer festival season. Pascarell says that playing the smaller theaters helps them connect with their audiences and continues to add to an already established and ever growing fan base. "We play mostly 800 to 3,000 seat venues and in the summer we play a few festivals. We've been lucky enough to be asked to play some of the bigger ones in Europe but no matter what the size of the audience; we seem to continue to attract new fans. Ever since we've been doing this we've had people from ages 15 to 80; we are not bias to any generation and it seems that they all find a voice to every choice in the songs we perform."
An average show for the band is between two and two and one half hours in length and Pascarell says there's a little something for everyone. "If you like Pink Floyd, you'll like The Machine," he explained. "We're like taking a picture of Niagra Falls; we're not the real thing but we do our best to authentically reproduce the music of Pink Floyd. We stop short of flying pigs but we do use video and have a terrific light show. We play something from every album and even some of Syd Barrett's solo material; as I said, we dig deep."
Thursday's show is the first in New Jersey, followed by a February 12 engagement at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood and March 26 in Englewood at the Bergen Performing Arts Center. This four piece unit, comprised of Pascarell on lead guitar and lead vocals, Scott Chasolen on keyboards and vocals, Ryan Ball on bass guitar and vocals and Tahrah Cohen on drums continues to impress and recreate the music which has touched multiple lives in multiple decades and to discover more about The Machine; please go to www.themachinelive.com
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
Amalfi's Restaurant146 Lawrenceville-Pennington Rd. Lawrenceville
(609) 912-1599
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Blue Meanies
Amarones Windsor Inn29 Church St. Windsor
(609) 448-7144
Fri. 8 p.m. Gyrl Band
Sat. 8 p.m. Kindred Spirit
Blend Bar & Bistro911 Highway 33, Hamilton
(609) 245-8887
Tues. 8 p.m. Triviajam
The Backstage at Championship Bar 931 Chambers St. Trenton
Fri. 5 p.m. Exxotype, Like Monroe, Synergi, Silent To Slaughter, Stronger Than Death, (TBA). All ages, $10/$12
Sat. 4 p.m. The Bunny The Bear, Open Your Eyes, Roots Like Mountains, Ira Hill,Blackout, Concrete God, First Of Autumn, Socko. All ages, $12/$15
Candlelight Lounge 24 Passaic St. Trenton
(609) 695-9612
Sat. 3 p.m. Lynn Riley Alto Sax Quartet (No cover-$10 minimum)
Chickie's & Pete's183 US Highway 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-9182
Tues. 8 p.m. Acoustic Music Night feat. The Dawgs
Wed. 9 p.m. Quizzo Trivia
City Streets510 Route 130 South East Windsor
(609) 426-9400
Fri. 10 p.m. 80's Undercover
Dempster's Pub437 Pine Street Mount Holly
(609) 261-0500
Sat. 9 p.m. Sharon Lia Band
Dog & Bull Brew House810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA.
(215) 788-2855
Fri. (4 p.m.) "Happy Hour Jam" feat. Cecil Middleton (9 p.m.) The Mix
Sat. (11 a.m.) "Saturday Brunch Jam" feat. Jazz 180 (9 p.m.) New Pony
Sun. (11 a.m.) "Sunday Brunch" feat. Joe Robinson Brunch Jam (3 p.m.) Mike Ghantt
Wed. 8 p.m. Mia Johnson
Fran's Pub116 S. Main St. New Hope, PA.
(215)862-5539
Mon. 8 p.m. Open Blues Jam
All shows 21+
Havana New Hope105 S. Main Street. New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-9897
Fri. 8 p.m. Highway 41
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Jumper
Sun. (2 p.m.) Ladies 2000 (8 p.m.) Time Piece w/ Tim Fitz
Hopewell Valley Vineyards46 Yard Avenue Pennington
(609) 737-4465
Thurs. 6 p.m. "Thurs. Jazz" feat. Jazz On Purpose
Fri. 6 p.m. Christina Havrilla
Sat. 6 p.m. Craig Leach Group
Sun. 2 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. Sergio & Lars
Wed. 6 p.m. "Farm To Table" Dinner. $70 per person
Ivy Tavern 3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton
(609) 888-1435
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Fri. 10 p.m. Kindred Spirit
Sat. 10 p.m. Honey Spot Blvd.
Tues. 7 p.m. Teddy Z Memorial Jam
All shows 21+
John & Peter's 96 S. Main Street New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-5981
Thurs. 9 p.m. Brad Staudle
Fri. 9 p.m. Wineskin & Dusty Manson
Sat. (3 p.m.) Jamie Salvatore (9 p.m.) Heavy Temple, The Mad Doctors, Midwestern Exposure
Sun. (3 p.m.) Jason Ager (9 p.m.) The Mayflys
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night
Tues. 9 p.m. "J & P's Holiday Party" (Invitation Only)
Wed. 9:30 p.m. The Invitational
All shows 21+
JoJo's Tavern2677 Nottingham Way Hamilton
(609) 586-2678
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke
McStews Irish Sports Pub5316 New Falls Rd Levittown, PA
(215) 949-9570
Fri. 10 p.m. Pixie Dix
Sat. 10 p.m. "Saturday Night Party" w/ Dueling DJs
Tues. 7 p.m. Quizzo hosted by Mike
Millhill Basement300 S. Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-1600
Check web site for upcoming events
O'Connor's American Bar & Grille1383 Monmouth Road, Easthampton
(609) 261-1555
Fri. 9:30 p.m. A Thousand Days Band
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Rick Winow & Danny Coleman
Olde Liberty Tavern2114 Liberty Street, Trenton
(609) 396-2262
Sat. 10 p.m. Open Mic. Night
Palermo's Of Hamilton310 Klockner Rd. Hamilton
(609) 838-7979
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Sat. 9 p.m. The Drunk Monkeys
All shows 21+
Pete's Steak House523 Whitehorse Ave. Hamilton
(609) 585-8008
Fri. 9:30 p.m. No Way Out
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Blind Lemmon Pie
Randy Now's Man Cave134 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 424-3766
Sat./Sun. (12 p.m.) "Riot On the Dance Floor" DVD Release. Meet the filmmakers and the authors of "NO SLAM DANCING NO STAGE DIVING NO SPIKES"
Sun 10 p.m. "Rock On Radio w/ Danny Coleman Live Radio Broadcast" feat. The filmmakers and Randy Now. (Broadcast live on
www.40footholestudio.com). Doors at 9:30 p.m., FREE
RHO Waterfront50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Closed until January 28
Tara's Tavern 1Cookstown-New Egypt Road, Wrightstown
(609) 286-2300
Sat. 9 p.m. The Polish Nannies
Tavern On The Lake101 Main St. Hightstown
(609) 426-9345
Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke Night
The Cool Cricket216 4th Street Fieldsboro
(609) 291-9110
Sat. 9 p.m. Radio Fiction
The HOB Tavern146 Second Street
(609) 291-7020
Sat. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Tues. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night
Wed. 8:30 p.m. FC and Friends
The Ivy Inn248 Nassau St. Princeton
(609) 921-8555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Ron
Fri. 10 p.m. Jam Lab
Sat. 10 p.m. Little Mac & the People's Champ
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv
Wed. 10 p.m. "Wednesday Wheel Night Spin To Win Karaoke" w/ DJ Rockn Ron
The Record Collector358 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 324-0880
Sat. 8 p.m. Bumper Jacksons / Corey R-J & Kara Lia (Album Release Party). Doors at 7:30 p.m., $15 (advance)
The Roost 181 Rte. 539 Cream Ridge
(609) 208-0050
Fri. 9 p.m. Out Of The Red
Sat. 9 p.m. El Ka Bong
The Sticky Wicket 2465 South Broad St. Hamilton
(609) 439-0007
Fri. 9 p.m. The Polish Nannies
Sat. 9 p.m. Run For Cover
The Sun National Bank Center 81 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 656-3200
Check website for upcoming events
Tir Na Nog 1324 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 392-2554
Fri. 9 p.m. David Falcone
Sat. 9 p.m. The Williamsboy
Wed. 9 p.m. Paul Wiese
All shows 21+
Trenton Buzz702 Pine St. Trenton
(609) 392-6000
Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic. w/ Hek Cat
Trenton Social449 South Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-7777
Fri. 7 p.m. First Friday
Mon. 9 p.m. Monday Night Karaoke w/ Benny P
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic. Night
Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-8300
Thurs. 10 p.m.
Fri. 10 p.m. ($5 cover charge)
Sat. 10 p.m. ($5 cover charge)
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Jam Night (Sign-ups at 6:30 p.m.)
Tues. 9 p.m. Live Band Karaoke
All shows 21+
Wildflowers Inn2572 Pennington Rd. Pennington
Sat. 9 p.m. Acoustic Rock
All shows 21+
About the author:
Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled 'Rock On Radio' airing Sunday evenings at 7:00pm EST on ThePenguinRocks.com where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.
