My Very First Song: Pink Floyd

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Bassist Chris Petropulos recently confessed that Pink Floyd is in his blood. While most kids started music lessons with "The Sound of Music" or "Chopsticks", Chris got his start with the hit song from Pink Floyd's album, the Dark Side of the Moon. At 17, he could have gone all Jonas Brothers. Instead, he joined Pink Voyd.

Three years later, Chris says, "I haven't been around to witness the actual Pink Floyd. I haven't been alive long enough. But the very first song I ever learned to play was Brain Damage, on the piano. That's pretty cool. I probably was 9 years old. I am a huge, huge fan of Pink Floyd."

By choosing someone so young to join the band, in 2006, Pink Voyd put talent first and stayed true to the musical ideals that makes Pink Floyd appeal to all ages. Chris says, "I wasn't around for the real Pink Floyd, which is a total bummer for me, but then I heard about this band Pink Voyd. I got an audition and that's when I really started getting deep into understanding all the levels to this music. These guys would tell me, 'Learn Lucifer Sam for next time'. And I wouldn't know what Lucifer Sam was. I didn't know the first Pink Floyd album at all. So I go listen to it. And every time I went through this, I heard a new song in a new way, and I was thinking wow, there's really something to these guys, something amazing."

"I was 17 years old when I joined Pink Voyd. I came at this not really knowing what was up. Not knowing the different aspects of bass playing: first, there's lead bass playing and second, there's that rhythmic section when the bass and the drums are perfect together. And that's what I've found in this band, a strong rhythm section really provides the bottom and the tightness of the Pink Floyd songs we're trying to recreate. And that's the main thing I've been trying to accomplish rather than just flashy playing: establishing our bottom."

With a four-person band, there are no secondary roles, and the band tends to identify with Pink Floyd originals Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters. Chris sings lead on a number of songs. Lead guitarist Walter Stickle comments, "I'm usually the Dave Gilmour of the band. But there are a couple of places where we mix the vocals around a little bit. Chris does the bluesy vocals better than I do, so there's a couple of songs that we've switched around and he does the Dave part and I do the Roger Waters part. He's mostly the Roger. He does a couple of the blues-ier Dave songs. On Time, I do actually the Rick part vocally. And because we all play a lot of synthesizers, there are times when I'm actually playing Rick's keyboard parts as well."

Chris says, "The dynamic is the best in this band I've come across, honestly. These guys are all pro musicians. They know when to go crazy on their instruments. They know when to hold back. When you're try to find a good musician that's the main thing you look for."

"So now I'm sure you'll be able to see me up there just closing my eyes, playing Comfortably Numb!"

There are new photos from the Mullins Center show up on the website. And for videos, band merchandise, and tickets see www.pinkvoyd.com. And find our myspace, Facebook, and Twitter links there, too.

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