Eclipse seeks 'Dark Side of the Moon'

Mark Trammell, Spectrum Editor
Published On: 06/ 9/2009

Pink Floyd cover band takes center stage at Zydeco

Eclipse is no ordinary cover band. Whereas many cover bands see fit to simply play their subject matter as close to the source material as possible, Eclipse seeks to replicate the actual experience of hearing Floyd on record. What’s the difference, you may ask? Well, clearly you’ve never listened to the band, or you wouldn’t have to ask.

Pink Floyd is notorious for being one of the most densely-layered bands of all time. Pioneers in the art of sampling before it even had a name, Floyd’s music features vocal snippets, sound effects, looped musical sequences, and many other ahead-of-their-time effects that make them still sound remarkably current even to this day.

So, needless to say, to replicate their sound is no easy feat. Even those who have seen the original band live will admit that the live experience is a decidedly different experience than hearing them on record. Still awe-inspiring, to be sure, but not nearly as layered as they are on record.

What Eclipse sets out to do is to come as close to replicating the Pink Floyd sound on record as accurately as possible. Or as their bio puts it: “To create a live Pink Floyd experience that musically, vocally, and visually surpasses all others.” To do so takes a vast array of musicians, instruments, and state-of-the-art technologies.

Eclipse is made up of seven members, who are multi-talented singers and musicians, and who often multi-task throughout the course of the show. To that end, six of the band members sing, and play a host of instruments that include the standard guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, as well as anything and everything else needed to perfectly recreate the classic sound of the Floyd. All in all, over a dozen instruments are used, with an impressive attention to detail that outshines all other would-be Floyd cover bands.

They even go so far as to employ vintage instruments and equipment in their quest to recreate the sounds of the original music as heard on classic, densely-layered albums like “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall.” What’s more, they forgo backing tracks in favor of recreating the famous samples used throughout Floyd’s work live.
To get a taste of what Eclipse does, check out their website at: www.pinkfloydeclipse.com or their MySpace page at: myspace.com/pinkfloydeclipse.

The band will be appearing live at Zydeco on Saturday, June 13th at 10pm.

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