Up close and personal with Pink Floyd's Nick Mason
Lostin70s
After Pink Floyd's reunion at the Live 8 Concert in July 2005, drummer Nick
Mason added a new section to his book Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink
Floyd, first released in 2004 by Chronicle Books ($29.95).
Recently, he chatted with USA TODAY's Mike Snider about the book, the band's
recently-released music DVD Pulse and all things Pink Floyd.
Q: What was the feeling of the band during the tour captured on Pulse?
A: I suppose we are talking really about the end of a tour in 1993 and, for
me, it's really a happy time. I really enjoyed the tours that David
(Gilmour) and I did together in 1987-88 and the '93 tour. It was very
different from any touring we did with (fellow founding member) Roger
(Waters).
PINK FLOYD'S 'PULSE': New DVD races to shelves
It was the first time we were on a really long tour. We were really new to
the idea of developing the show over a long period of time and getting it
right. I haven't talked to him (Roger) about it, but I will. But apart from
all the rehearsal we did to get The Wall as we wanted it, we didn't really
stay on tour long enough for that to happen.
Our early tours in the '70s were a bit too short, so when the time came that
we would have been able to rejigger the song list and tinker with specific
performances, it would be over. I think it was a mistake because even then
there were good ways to bring the family along on tour.
Q: Do you have any favorites among the extras on the PulseDVD?
A: I think one of the things I rather like is it's possible to view the
individual films normally screened with various songs. I'm sure it was quite
distracting to try to watch a film with a band (performing) beneath it. One
that I feel good about is the animation done for Time. It is absolutely
fantastic. It's a fantasy journey through a weird and wonderful sort of
clock.
Q: In your book, you say that you were surprised that you and David Gilmour
had the strength to continue as a band. Did it take similar willpower to
play The Dark Side of the Moonin its entirety live (as captured on the DVD)?
A: I don't think that was really an issue. The only reason we hadn't played
it before - either with Roger or without - was we had all got caught up in
the business of playing our greatest hits at shows. The tendency was to
promote a new album in the first half of the show. Then, if you take up the
second half with a lot of Dark Side, you've filled the evening, really, and
can't play anything else.
In places where we played two or more nights in a row, it would have been
really nice to advertise it like that Wednesday and Thursday we are doing
Animals and Wish You Were Here and on Friday and Saturday we are doing Dark
Side of the Moon as a piece and people could pick their favorite and attend
that show.
Q: The newest edition of your book addresses the band's reunion for the Live
8 benefit concert. How would you describe that show?
A: I will always be incredibly grateful to (Live 8 coordinator) Bob Geldof
for giving us that opportunity. I am still sort of really pleased that we
did it. I think it is one of the better things we've ever done. It was much
more than (a reunion), it was making a statement.
It did three different things at once. On a global level, it did a lot of
good for Live 8 and got a message across ... that more can be done than
simply sending food parcels to starving countries. There are political
issues here that many of us never thought about.
There was a band onstage that actually did something grown-up to transcend
their differences and play music not for the cash but because we thought it
was a worthwhile cause.
Q: You recently performed with Roger Waters on his tour, right? Describe his
show and what songs do you play on? He pays tribute to Syd Barrett (who died
July 7, 2006) early in the set, right?
A: The first half of Roger's show is a mix of Floyd tracks and some of his
solo work. I think it is a great mix. The interesting thing is whether it is
David or Roger, there are still the songs that we know and he knows are
favorites such as Wish You Were Here and Shine On and you will see it on
David's solo tour (which ended in August) and Roger's solo tour. (On the
Waters tour) I'm involved on the Dark Side of the Moon, which is played
completely (during the second set).
With Syd's death, David and Roger at times have made particular statements
about Syd. David played some of Syd's work on his tour. I had a guest
appearance with David at (Royal) Albert Hall (May 29-31, 2006). I think it
is going to come out on DVD.
Q: When you joined Roger Waters for the Madison Square Garden shows (Sept.
12 and 13) did he know that Pulsewas doing well on the charts?
A: Yes. He's sort of irritated by it, but he does benefit from it. So he's
half-having to complain and half being enthusiastic. I tend to steer the
conversation to another topic. ... We are very, very good at sweeping
problems under the carpet.
Q: Is he recording any of his shows for DVD?
A: He's certainly intending to. I think he filmed in France originally, but
the Hollywood Bowl (Oct. 5-8, where Mason is rejoining him) would be a great
place.
Q: I know you've been asked thousands of times, but what do you think it is
about The Dark Side of the Moonthat allows it to stand the test of time so
well?
A: The piece itself is primarily about good songwriting. The lyrics are
still very relevant. It's like a lot of Dylan songs, they just still are
relevant.
Time is almost written in hindsight by someone 50-years-old or older.
Q: Are there any other Pink Floyd rarities we might eventually see?
A: There are various things in the pipeline we ought to do. More SACDs
(high-resolution, surround sound music discs) ought to be done and a
remixing of Animals in particular. I feel in particular it might benefit
from a real remix, not to make it sound exactly like the original but maybe
just have another look at it as to what the mix might be.
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