WISH YOU WERE HERE WITH FLOYD NATION “We don’t hold ourselves out to be these rock stars we’re not. We’re just people. We’re just people that just happen to be able to play Pink Floyd really well.” – John Conrath, Floyd Nation Words by Ambar Ramirez & Carmen Macri It’s unfortunate, really, that our generation did not have the luxury of living
because we see there’s an opportunity to have a band like this. Tt’s because
through the Pink Floyd era. That doesn’t mean we don’t listen to them; we just
we just love the music,” Conrath said. “And when we all came together and
weren’t physically there. From 1965 to 1994 Pink Floyd, ruled radio stations
played together for the very first time, we literally just had to stand there for
and arenas across the globe with their psychedelic space-rock and blues-
a second in quiet and say, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’”
based progressive rock. As we mentioned, a lot of us weren’t living through Pink Floyd’s prime, but what we are living through is a generation of talented
Floyd Nation had their debut concert in November 2021, and shortly after,
tribute bands. And one tribute band particularly stands out among the bunch
they landed another gig in the following December. It didn’t take long for
— Floyd Nation.
people to notice their talent because the band secured a record deal right after their second performance — which is not as common as we might think.
You can’t just pluck a guitar and round up a couple of mates for a tribute band: It’s a tad more complicated than that. Unraveling the intricacies of Pink
For devoted Pink Floyd enthusiasts, it’s common knowledge that the iconic
Floyd demands more than your run-of-the-mill band setup. So for Floyd Na-
band not only crafted captivating “off ‘The Wall’” music but also elevated their
tion it was all about curating a band of 10 highly skilled musicians. Will Kaiser
concerts with mesmerizing laser light displays. However, Floyd Nation seized
handles acoustic guitar, electric guitar and vocals, while Brendon McDonnell
a unique opportunity often overlooked by other tribute bands. Their emphasis
plays lead guitar and steel guitar and provides vocals. Ray Nesbit contributes
lies not in replicating the visual spectacle, but rather in capturing the pro-
with guitar and vocals, and Robert Harris showcases his skills on keyboard,
found emotional essence evoked by the music. While it’s simple to acquire
synthesizer, Hammond B3 and vocals. Jason Collins holds down the bass, and
and stage a dazzling laser-light show, the indescribable sentiment stirred by
Justin Pupillo commands the drums and percussion. John Conrath adds the
the soulful sounds remains priceless.
saxophone, percussion and steel guitar to the mix. The ensemble is further complemented by the vocal talents of Shannon Robinson, Jenna Damiano
“When you’re starting out like us, you have to make a critical decision. And
and Kara Gorke. (Now say that 10 times fast)
our decision out of the gate wasn’t to focus as much on the big light and laser show, although we have a pretty decent one. Our goal was to focus on
“All of us have a very similar story in that we’re not just playing the music
52 Folio Weekly
something that we felt was absent in the current marketplace of Pink Floyd,”
