KAILUA-KONA — Everything under the sun is in tune, and 11 Hawaii Island musicians are ready to take audiences to “The Dark Side of the Moon.”
Playing the complete 1973 album by Pink Floyd, “All That Is Now” is a new show to premiere Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea. It’s a collaboration of musicians Dan Brauer, Robby Malovic, Joe Lorusso, Jocelyn Michelle, Scott Van Spronsen, Scotty Nelson, Lauren Broido, Duncan Bamsey, Stephanie Lou Tatum, Cayenne Clarke and Alicia Maher. The group will play two hour-long performances at 7 and 9 p.m.
“Pink Floyd, they are legends in the rock world,” vocalist Maher said. “This particular album, it struck a chord for so many years. There’s just something about it that resonates with people and resonated with all of us, which kind of drove the project into what it became.”
All of the musicians in the collaboration are from the island, and while some have played together, all 11 have never been on the same stage before.
Covering a classic album with a large group of musicians takes time, and “All That Is Now” has been in the making for a year. Vocalist and guitarist Brauer and drummer Lorusso first thought up the concept, and Brauer added bassist Malovic, who is a member with Brauer of Hawaii Island band Leche de Tigre. The rest of the musicians were found along the way.
“We pieced it together as time went on from friends and recommendations,” Maher said.
Choosing to cover Pink Floyd was an easy choice for the group. They are one of the most famous rock bands of all time, and “The Dark Side of the Moon” is their bestselling album, with 45 million copies sold.
“It’s very tasteful, there’s not a lot of flash,” guitarist and vocalist Brauer said of Pink Floyd. “And I think that stands true with the performers in the band. They weren’t flashy. The people that liked Pink Floyd liked them for their music.”
Brauer said the show will stay as true to the original recording as possible, and with 11 musicians, making sure everyone is on the same page has been one of the group’s greatest challenges.
“I think a challenge is, because people have listened to this thing for so many years, over the decades, that everybody knows every single note,” Brauer said. “It’s been interesting, because we’ve been adding musicians here and there and it’s been growing up until the point where we are going to perform it, and every time we add that other little element in there it really brings it together.”
The show is named after a lyric from “Eclipse,” the last song on “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Brauer said the lyric is one of his favorites on the album, and “All That Is Now” fits for a group that hopes to continue and evolve after its inaugural show.
“We’re planning on doing this a few more times, we put a lot of work into it,” Brauer said.
If the show is a success, Brauer said he hopes for it to become an annual event at the Kahilu, but for now, the group will take the show to the Palace Theater in Hilo on New Year’s Eve.
“It’s such a timeless album that we decided this might be something that people can enjoy on the island,” Maher said.
Info: “All That Is Now” will be playing at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Nov. 29 at the Kahilu Theatre. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. To purchase tickets, go to kahilutheatre.org.