WISH YOU WERE HERE is Midwest America's most popular Pink Floyd tribute band and has gained international recognition for it's detailed recreations of Floyd's greatest albums and tours, including 'Dark Side Of The Moon', 'Wish You Were Here', 'Animals', and 'The Wall'. WISH YOU WERE HERE's theatrical concert presentation combines Sight and Sound to capture the mood, emotions, and intensity of the Pink Floyd experience. The show utilizes a professional 9-piece musical ensemble featuring 7 vocalists (including at least 2 female vocalists), authentic sound effects, theatrical vignettes with props, characters & flying inflatables, and a choreographed light show with rolling fog, state-of-the-art intelligent lighting - all produced by experienced industry professionals with a fan's obsession for detail. WISH YOU WERE HERE authentically recreates the music from Pink Floyd's entire career, performing the crowd favorites that all rock fans recognize, interspersed with the show-stoppers that appease even the most ardent Floyd fanatics. Since 1987, as one of the very first bands in America to tribute Pink Floyd (as the Harvest 'Pink Floyd Revue'), it's core members have been at the forefront of the American Tribute Band movement, with an unparalleled record of sold-out shows and celebrated productions.
Based in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame city - Cleveland, Ohio - WISH YOU WERE HERE has become internationally famous for it's large-scale recreations of Pink Floyd's most celebrated tours, as recognized in The Rough Guide To Pink Floyd. In July of 2008 WISH YOU WERE HERE staged the most elaborate production of THE WALL ever performed by an American Pink Floyd tribute act, at TimeWarner Cable Amphitheater in Cleveland. In May 2006 the band recreated the 1973 DARK SIDE OF THE MOON show at Blossom Music Center (where Floyd actually performed the same show) in front of over 4,300 fans, and in July 2005 the band recreated the 1977 ANIMALS tour at the Nautica Pavilion to over 3,300 fans - with Quadraphonic sound, video projections, lasers, and the debut of their giant inflatable pig, Ziffel, making WISH YOU WERE HERE the only Pink Floyd tribute band in the world to utilize a giant inflatable pig precisely modeled after the one used for the ANIMALS album cover shoot at Battersea Station.
WISH YOU WERE HERE holds the "sell-out and attendance record" at the HOUSE OF BLUES in Cleveland (cap. 1,200), performing 6 sold-out shows there since January 2005 (+ 10 shows with SRO crowds), and also holds the "sell-out and attendance record" for over 30 sellouts since 1996 at the now-defunct Odeon Concert club (1,000 cap). The band has also set attendance records at Akron's Lock 3 Live Amphitheater (3,000+), Cuyahoga Fall's Rockin' On The River (14,000+), and the Warren Community Amphitheater (3,000+). These Northeast Ohio crowds voted WISH YOU WERE HERE as both "Best Live Act" and "Best Tribute/Cover Band" in the 2006 Scene Magazine Music Awards.
In May of 2002, the band was chosen by Clear Channel Entertainment to headline the national FAKEFEST 2002 TOUR, which played to thousands of fans at outdoor sheds in 6 major markets across the Midwest, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh. Over 5,000 people saw the band's 2008 Florida tour, with enthusiastic crowds at the Delray Beach Garlic Festival and the Space Coast Convention Center. WISH YOU WERE HERE has also performed to capacity crowds in Columbus OH (L.C. Pavilion/Promowest & The Newport), Mansfield OH (Renaissance Theatre), Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, Canton OH (Palace Theatre), Cincinnati OH (Bogart's), Kalamazoo MI (State Theatre), Louisville KY, and throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, & New York at colleges, festivals and events. (See the GIGS page for the complete gig history of WISH YOU WERE HERE.)
Shows often include entire album performances, such as "Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here", or "Animals", and the band has also staged unplugged and quadraphonic sound shows. WISH YOU WERE HERE has performed the Floydian masterpiece "The Wall" ten times in 5 cities, staging the most elaborate and authentic production of "The Wall" ever produced by an American Pink Floyd tribute act, which included the building (and tearing down) of a giant wall that spanned the width of the stage, set pieces, a children's choir, inflatables, and costumed characters. The Sight and Sound of Pink Floyd, indeed!
HISTORY and MEMBERS:
The roots of WISH YOU WERE HERE go back to 1987, when bassist/vocalist Eroc Sosinski joined forces with guitarist/vocalist Jim Tigue in the Cleveland-based classic rock and originals band HARVEST and soon began performing their "HARVEST Pink Floyd Revue", an exclusive tribute set of Floyd accompanied by basic theatrics, sound effects and a light show - one of the very first bands in America to tribute Pink Floyd. The band, which evolved into TIE-DYE HARVEST in 1991, toured Ohio and surrounding states full-time until the mid-1990's and also recorded 3 original releases along the way, often performing a set of covers & originals preceding the Revue set. "In 1995 we decided to tribute Floyd exclusively and created WISH YOU WERE HERE," says Sosinski, "incorporating the successful elements of the Revue with key personnel additions and a more theatrical focus."
Keyboardist Bob Gerhard, a TIE-DYE HARVEST member since 1990, brought his considerable knowledge of Floyd and vintage keyboard sounds to the project. Lead guitarist/vocalist Mark Brennan, a veteran of Cleveland bands Polyphony and the Brennan/Cosma Band, was the first outside addition to the fold, energizing and updating what had previously been a 4-piece combo. Original backup vocalists Jennifer Lee and Debi Lewin were soon added to the lineup. In 1997 sax player Bob Barno was literally plucked from a smoky blues bar to perform with the band, and Tim Joseph Hanculak took over the drumming position soon after. In 2001, guitarist/vocalist Scott Langston replaced founding member Jim Tigue (who now plays with the band again in a support role) and in 2006 Cincinnati musician Jamie Combs replaced Langston on guitar and co-lead vocals. Cleveland drummer Jon Darling is the latest addition to the band in 2007.
An essential component of the Pink Floyd sound since 1973's "Dark Side of the Moon" has been the beautiful and powerful voices of their female vocalists. WISH YOU WERE HERE is blessed to have 4 talented singers available: Marla Brennan, Sharron McPherson-Foxx, Irma McQueen & Jennifer Lee, who inspire and awe the crowds at every show. Their experience, talent, and beauty shine thru in both featured solos and background vocals - the band always performs with 2 or 3 singers. ("No self-respecting Floyd Tribute should be without 'em," says Sosinski.)
WISH YOU WERE HERE also employs a professional sound and light crew to ensure that the Sight and Sound of Pink Floyd is seen and heard - sound engineers John Miess, lighting director John Middleton, and sound & stage techs Rick Lennox & Trevor Tamura are experienced industry professionals who are all vital to the success of the show as well.
