MUSIC - JANUARY 21, 2004

Welcome to the machine: Surrogate Band pays tribute to Pink Floyd

By CHRIS WARDELL

Thank the musical gods for progressive rock. You know, music that’s intricately composed, long and usually features a synthesizer or some sort of keyboards. Bands like King Crimson, Yes, Rush and Peter Gabriel era Genesis were all pioneers of the over-the-top grandeur that is “prog-rock.” There wouldn’t have been any of these bands if it hadn’t been for the granddaddy of them all: Pink Floyd. And, if it wasn’t for Pink Floyd, there wouldn’t be The Surrogate Band either, Lansing’s newest tribute to Pink Floyd. The band plays this Friday night at The Temple Club.

The band features an amalgam of local artists, mainly known from other bands like Jebus, Hot Toe Mitty and Global Village. Mark King is on keyboards and vocals, and assumes the roles of Roger Waters and Rick Wright. Jason Adams on percussion is Nick Mason, while Keith Billik plays guitar. Alex Rodriguez assumes the role of David Gilmour on guitar and vocals, while Phil Reed plays bass and Jill Messing and Jen Johnston provide background vocals. The group covers all of Floyd’s ground from its earliest psychedelic days with original singer Syd Barrett, to the over-the-top, post-Roger Waters, orchestrated “Momentary Lapse Of Reason” album. The members of The Surrogate Band realize they have a plateful of responsibility covering such a band like Floyd, but they believe they're up to the challenge.

“Hopefully, people will come away with the feeling that they just saw Pink Floyd. Or, at least almost did,” said Adams. “Our attention to every single, obsessive detail has been discussed, and these little things bring us closer to authentically duplicating a Pink Floyd concert.

“Floyd are not incredibly difficult musicians to figure out, but they have a sound and overall feel to them which is a bit harder to nail down sometimes. So far, we haven't had any real roadblock as far as getting the music down, except for a few songs on ‘The Wall,’ which have large orchestration and such.”

The band came together through the local musical breeding ground that is Elderly Instruments, where Adams, King, Messing and Billik are all employees. Adams was formerly in Jebus, and Billik is in the soon-to-be-defunct Hot Toe Mitty. Messing was once a member of Global Village. Hot Toe Mitty, a bluegrass favorite the last couple of years, will play its last show Jan. 27 at the Ark in Ann Arbor. Billik admits the transition from bluegrass to covering Pink Floyd has been a little weird.

“I'm having a lot of fun and the group has been received VERY well, so I can certainly justify the means with the ends,” Billik said. “At the point the band was at, we either needed to spend all of our money making a new album, and really push it and go for it, or call it quits and be happy with what we've done. Obviously we chose the latter.”

The show Friday night will be complete with a video and light show -- attractions Pink Floyd is known for, along with an actual life size wall and flying pigs.

“The full blown lights and video screen will make their debut at The Temple Club,” said Adams. “We have thought about the pig and building a wall, but we want to get the music right before we start adding too many props.”

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