Interview with Comfortably Numb - Canada's Pink Floyd Show

 Comfortably Numb - Canada's Pink Floyd Show  will be playing this saturday, Feb. 11th, 2012, at L'Astral, in Montreal, QC, Canada. If you wish to purchase tickets, I am offering exclusive ticket discounts at $7.50 off each ticket with Promo Code "MONTREAL". ($32.50 discounted ticket offer; tickets are normally $40. each). Offer is under CHOM FM Ticket Offer. Click here to buy a ticket at Ticket Master.

Interview

Between myself and AK of Comfortably Numb. 

Q: How long have you been together as Comfortably Numb?

A: Since 1992

Q: What was the turning point that made you decide to start touring with Comfortably Numb?

A: A desire to bring these shows to as many people as we can and to share the magic of Pink Floyd to all, we also hope to convert people that do not like Floyd to being Floyd fans.

Q: What lead to you being a Pink Floyd tribute band?

A: A genuine love for the music of 70’s Pink Floyd. We have always been amazed at the live concerts Pink Floyd in the 70’s and want to bring these types of shows to our audiences. In the initial stages we had a cover band that focused on different music, Genesis (I am a big fan of Genesis as well) etc. but in the middle of the show we decided to do a big ‘floyd set’ – the reaction was always wonderful so it took off from there. I am a bit of a control freak so I fashioned this band to be the best it can – and still do!

Q: Where have you toured with Comfortably Numb?

A: as far as Panama, Central America

Q: What does Pink Floyd's music mean to you?

A: Pink Floyd has been with me through thick and thin. I can always turn to this music today and it sounds as fresh as it did the day I first listened to it. It affects me on so many levels that it is hard to pinpoint just one – I do know that it is quite special.

Q: Have you ever seen Pink Floyd perform live? What about any of the band members, such as Roger Waters?

A: Yes I have seen them many times and also I have seen Gilmour and Waters live on many occasions. My First Floyd experience was September 9^th, 1987 at Landsdowne Park Ottawa – a very special day indeed. I saw Waters on Radio Kaos, In The Flesh and Dark Side Of The Moon (3 times) and The Wall (twice) tours. I saw Gilmour on About Face and On an Island tours. I am a HUGE Waters fan and have an IMMENSE respect for his work. Waters is up there with Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Gilmour’s guitar work inspires me to new heights daily. In our Numb shows I am always striving for ‘that tone’. I have gear that Gilmour himself uses as well so as to ‘get that sound’ – as all players know, sound comes from the hands and not just effects, so I am always trying to get it bang on.

Q: Have you ever met any of the members of Pink Floyd? If yes, have they seen you perform one of your tribute shows?

A: No sadly, although I came close to meeting Waters. Brain Damage, the leading on-line web source for Pink Floyd and who have direct contact with members of Floyd reviewed our show and we got 5 stars!

Q: What do you enjoy most about doing Pink Floyd concerts?

A: Playing the music and feeling that magic on stage with my band. The interaction between myself and the audience – this is a huge area for me. I am so fortunate to have this amazing group of musicians with me that when we play together it is very special indeed.

Q: Why do you choose to recreate specific concerts?

A: I must explain that we DO NOT recreate shows in the sense that other bands do, note for note, scene for scene etc. Our recreation is the emotion of these shows as it was in the 70’s. We spend a great deal of time trying to capture that spirit, not a clone of a show as it were. We do not spend time trying to look a-like or act etc. Unlike most bands that simply perform and let the lights and video take over, we play to our audiences – each person in that audience has chosen to spend their time with us and we know how valuable time is these days, so we take this very seriously, and we want it to be a memorable night. Audience interaction for me is a MUST not an option. Folks that have seen the show know AK will interact with the audience.

Q: Have you ever played in Montreal before? What's your experience like with the audience?

A: We have several times, Club Soda, Le Spectrum, Le Medley, L'Olympia de Montreal and now L’Astral. The audience are brilliant and the reception we get is very humbling indeed. We have gained some very loyal fans – it is a pleasure and an honour to perform in Montreal.

Q: Do you have any memorable stories to share about Pink Floyd fans?

A: I can share stories of our Pink Floyd fans, we have had some amazing hard core fans that come to EVERY single show and are so loyal – they help promote the shows, support the band and so on. One time I remember a fan was so into the show he had our band logo tattooed – well cool I must say! Another time a fan gave us his shirt – literally! I have been asked to sign female body parts and at our last show in Toronto a woman yelled out that she wanted to…well you know…I find all this very funny and yet humbling that fans are so into the show.

Q: Your other band, AK Project, this music is your own compositions, correct? Do you think your Comfortably Numb fan's would also enjoy the music produced by the AK Project? Do you ever do shows in Montreal with the AK Project?

A: The AKProject is ALL original. The first album was entitled ‘Outside The Cage’ and was a very personal album – the music was very much reflective of my Pink Floyd background, in fact many, many Numb fans have bought my albums in very big numbers, especially in Montreal where a group of fans spread the word and spiked up album sales considerably. Our next CD featuring the members of Comfortably Numb will also have some Floyd influence as well. We have not yet toured Montreal with The AK Project but we will for sure – the album is released in Spring 2012. 

The Band is:

AK: Lead Vocal, All Guitars, Talk Box, Lap Steel, Founder

Solveig Keshavjee: Vocal, Keyboard, Video/Audio FX

Ahenk Ozakpinar: Bass/Backing Vocal

Matt Babineau: Drums/Percussion

Charles McInnis: Keyboard, Organ

 #comfortablynumb #pinkfloyd #AK #tributebands #canada #ticketsales #concerts #L'Astral

Behind the Scenes TEASER!

This is from a photoshoot I did yesturday with model & belly dancer, Keera Sama and hairdresser/make-up artist, MIA. As I have mentioned in one of my other recent blog postings, I am just learning photography right now. Presently I am struggling to understand what an f-stop is in such a way that I can actually remember without having to re-read my notes or be in front of my prof listening to him explain it. Somehow it makes more sense in the heat of my prof's lectures, but once away from class, whatever glimmer of understanding I had on f-stops seems to fade from memory. Anyways, I babble. Here's a behind the scenes teaser from yesturday's stopmotion animation photoshoot.

Casting Call

WANTED! Looking for a petite model, the smaller the better, male or female. For the body painting competition in Trois-Rivières on March 17th. We'd go over night, we can cover your lodgings, transportation and food but this is a volunteer position. It is a long day, with the competition itself being 6 hours (95% of the skin has to be covered in paint).

 

Preference is given to those with performance experience & that I have worked with you before. If I have never worked with you before then we'd have to meet in person to do a bit of an interview, as I want to make sure that who ever I say yes to is able to be reliable, and also that we will enjoy each other's company for such an extended period of intimate time.

 

I am not a morning person so I am usually short on sleep during the competitions; I find it challenging to keep myself in a positive headspace though I definitely try to; so I need someone to work with who is able to stay positive and hopefully not be affected by my potential mood swings as I do tend to stress out (I do of course do my best to be on my best behavior, but I am human, I am not perfect, and anyone who has worked with me before knows I can be intense).

 

 I am not trying to scare you off, but rather, it's just best that I am honest & upfront. Email me to discuss: aprilanna@aprilanna.com

Body Painting Jam

I am not going to say much today, but rather just leave you with a photo story for your imagination... These photos are from friday, January 27th, 2012 at the Studio Backstage face & body painting jam! 

Vladimir Alexandru Cara painting Maerya Karz'ak

Cora Flora

I met this lovely young woman, Cora Flora, through a friend of a friend. She's a very talented singer song writer. I would best describe her music as being folk, but I also hear other influences. It was such a treat to hear her live, while the recordings sound good, it's not nearly the depth of richness you get with the live experience.

I met Cora on the day we were to do a photoshoot together with hairdresser & make-up artist, Maria Osborne de Jonge. This photoshoot was set up both so I can practice my photography but also to practice my technique with stop-motion animation.

I started a professional photography course three weeks ago with photographer Anthony Teoli, who has been teaching at Concordia's Continuing Education for 30 years now. Having spent now over 6 years working with many professional photographers, I have developed a wee bit of a grasp on how good lighting works. However, I find it easier to see what is wrong with my lighting then it is to see how to correct it with the tools at my disposal. I only have one small film light, but it's a clean white light, however, I am eager to get into learning to use proper studio lighting.

The shoot with Cora, between set up, Mia's work and then my work with Cora, it ended up being an 18 hour shoot for Cora, who was a good sport. Mia dyed Cora's hair two shades of dark purple on top of her fuscia dreads, with flowers as her inspiration, created a beautiful up-do. The song we were working with as inspiration, Flower, as per Cora's request, is a song from her first album Flourish.

The flowers in the background basically grow there through out the stop-motion animation.

I'll do a follow up blog later on when I have made more developments with the stop-motion animation's editing process.