ALL IN ALL IT’S JUST …
… was an idea that started in 2005 as a joke among a group of friends sitting at a table having a beer at the Whistle Stop Pub in Courtenay, British Columbia. They were there to join in on a jam session that took place every week. Dan Hawes, lead guitarist, recalls it like this:
It didn’t really hatch, it more mushroomed. It started when I went to the Whistle Stop jam and met Doug, Dave and Rick. I probably went five or six times before I ever spoke to anyone. I hadn’t played for a long time and when I finally got up the courage to ask Doug if I could play, he asked “What do you play?”. Well I play some Hendrix and Clapton and I know a couple of Floyd songs. Dave latched onto the Floyd numbers, but really, I had never played them in front of others before. They were pretty terrible, but Dave and Rick liked them and I was a breathing jammer, so Doug threw me up there again and again. We started getting good at it.
Here’s where it gets a little weird. People were enjoying what Rick, Dave and I were playing at the jams. We added a couple more Floyd songs and next thing you know people are asking for them. Dave and I jokingly talked about playing a whole set of Floyd songs or doing a tribute band. It was all just a good laugh and then we would play some Hendrix or whatever. One night that week I had a dream of playing on a big stage with lights and a big band and all the cool stuff. Not just an ‘oh yea I had that dream’. It woke me up and couldn’t get back to sleep. I thought, we could do a tribute band, and then the wheels started turning. Many Sunday jams went by as we talked about the idea; who do we get for the parts, who do we know who could do this stuff. The idea grew quickly but never in a straight line. People just started falling into place and we slowly began to form a fictitious band. It would be a while before it became a real band … probably six months or so.
And in early 2006 they did become a real band. The only full-time music professionals were Dave Lyons, Mike Sutcliffe and Doug Supple. The balance of the band members were part-time musicians, performing on weekends locally. This fact is being mentioned so you can appreciate the heights of musical achievement that All In All It’s Just reached as a unit. At their apex, they were among the best Pink Floyd tribute bands in the world. That statement is not made lightly, nor is it an exaggeration. However, you would have had to have been sitting in a proper theatre while they were performing to experience the full sound that they were able to produce. Unfortunately, that is no longer possible. You’re just going to have to take our word for it. The closest you can get is to listen to their professionally recorded rendition of Us And Them performed by All In All It’s Just.
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Members of All In All It’s Just throughout the history of the band
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 Howie Brown |
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You can follow the rest of the story on The Beginning page, but first, here are some reviews of the bands’ performances:
Friday, June 2 2006
Tamas Virag
Mirror Staff
Chances are, none of us will ever see Pink Floyd play live again. Those of us who have been lucky enough to see them sometime during the last four decades will probably remember the experience for the rest of our lives and wish we could go again. Those who have never seen them wish they had the chance. A new tribute band, All In All, It’s Just, is here to fulfill that wish, or at least come as close as possible. They will he kicking off their four-stop Vancouver Island mini tour in Campbell River at the Tidemark Theatre on June 16. I went to check them out at one of their rehearsals this week.
The first strains of One of There Days were filtering through the doors of the rural community hail where the band was practicing. That unforgettable bass line still makes my spine tingle, even after having heard it countless times. My first thought was “wow, these guys sound just like the real deal.” As I walked into the hall, the bright sunshine outside was contrasted by the complete darkness inside; the large room was filled only with sound. Then, as the song progressed, images started appearing on the screen behind the band, and the other-worldly light Pink Floyd is famous for sliced and danced across the darkness. My second thought was “wow, these guys look just like the real deal.
“There is more to the All In All, It’s Just experience than a band that simply plays pre-written songs. “Trying to get the guitar to sound like 1967 was probably the biggest challenge,” said Dan Hawes, who has three amplifiers for his guitar, each tuned for a period-correct sound. The triple-amp set-up ensures that the guitar on 1967’s Astronomy Domine will sound different from 1979’s Comfortably Numb. Furthering the authentic experience are sound effects sampled from the albums. Afterall, Time just wouldn’t be the same without the symphony of clocks in the first few seconds. The band, comprised of eight musicians, including the requisite female back-up singers, and the two sound and light technicians, put on a show that only the most devoted of Floyd fans will he able to differentiate from a live Pink Floyd stage performance.
The sound of the instruments and the tone of the singers’ voices are so strikingly close to the original that, even on just a rehearsal, I kept finding myself thinking that the audio-visual experience is the closest I’ll ever get to reliving the 1994 Floyd concert I went to as a kid. The humble beginnings, just like Pink Floyd’s, are part of the band’s charm. The members, who came from all over the world, played a variety of songs at gigs until they noticed a trend: they kept getting requests to play more and more Floyd. “Then one day Dave [Lyons, who plays bass and vocals] jokingly said ‘let’s do a Pink Floyd tribute’,” said Hawes. The rest, as they say, is history.
The June 16 performance at the Tidemark Theatre will feature two-and-a-half hours of pure Pink Floyd sights and sounds. All In All, It’s Just will take you, in chronological order, on a trip of Pink Floyd’s musical career from 1967’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn through classics like Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here to the 1994 masterpiece, Division Bell.
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From: Ryan Mennie
Date: June 23, 2006
To: all-in-all@shaw.ca
Subject: Fantastic show tonight at The Sid!!!
Howdy Dan and gang at “All In All,”
Congrats on a fantastic show tonight at the Sid Williams Theatre! I had been extremely excited about experiencing your tribute for the last couple of weeks… waiting to see (and hear) your take on some Pink Floyd classics. I’m of a younger generation of Floyd Fans, so I was really looking forward to some Division Bell stuff too.
Well, you guys blew me away. In my time with The Eagle (and almost 15 years in the radio biz) I’ve heard some great cover bands, but you guys didn’t do covers. Closing my eyes during the performance…you WERE Pink Floyd. I never thought I’d get to experience anything closer to the real thing other than seeing Roger Waters in Santiago, Chile four years ago.
You guys made it happen. You’re all fantastic musicians (the sax solos, the slide guitar, the ladies hittin’ the high notes, the note-for-note lead guitar solos…all gave me goosebumps). Thanks again to everyone for an amazing show.
Your new fan,
Ryan Mennie
The Eagle 97.3 FM
www.973theeagle.com
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Review: “All In All It’s a Pink Floyd Tribute”
On Sept. 27 2006 the Kelowna Community Theatre hosted
“All In All.. A Tribute to the Music of Pink Floyd.”
I am not in the habit of personally reviewing events at our theatre. However, after witnessing last nights performance I feel compelled to share the experience. There is no question that the “All in All” show was by far the most pleasant surprise that I have had the good fortune to attend in our theatre and I was not alone in being completely overwhelmed by the absolute magic that took place on stage.
Shortly after the concert started I witnessed several people rushing out of the auditorium. At first, I thought they were crazy, as it was obvious from the opening note that we were in for a very special performance. Then I realized they were going into the lobby to telephone their friends to get down to the theatre so they wouldn’t miss this incredible event.
The vocals, musicianship, harmonies, lighting and sound were all superb. The song selection was a perfect mix of Pink Floyd classics and lesser known pieces that didn’t just regurgitate a greatest hits list, but actually helped to educate an already intelligent audience on the depth of talent and creativity that Pink Floyd has shared with the world. As a life long Pink Floyd fan, I found myself coming out of the concert and wanting to find the Cd’s that contained the tracks I didn’t recognize. “All in All” this was a fantastic show, and, even though I know it must be called a “Tribute” for legal reasons, the term “Tribute” does not do justice for the performance that took place in our theatre.
Randy Zahara,
Kelowna Community Theatre Manager
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Pink Floyd Tribute Review
Kelowna Community Theatre
January 24 2007
By Lori-Anne Charlton
Fans of the classic rock band Pink Floyd were treated to a three hour performance, covering nearly three decades of the group’s best music, when tribute band All in All performed at the Kelowna Community Theatre Jan. 24. An audience of Floydians old and young sat rapt throughout the evening, frequently bobbing their heads or tapping their toes to the rhythm of some of their favourite songs.
All in All first performed in Kelowna in September, wowing their initially small audience with authentic sounding music and vocals. For their second appearance, headlining Kelowna’s annual Snowfest event, word obviously got out about their quality of performance, as the concert was well attended.
The eight-member Vancouver-Island band formed in 2004 after director, producer, guitar player and vocalist Dan Hawes was asked repeatedly to “play some Pink Floyd!” when he was a member of another band. Joining Hawes is bass player and vocalist Dave Lyons, with Rick Bossom on keyboards, Robb Flannery on percussion, Mishka on percussion, acoustic guitar and vocals, Barry Polichek on guitar and keyboards, Rhonda Krabbe on saxophone and vocals, and Kelly Gough on vocals. Also part of the team is audio engineer Mike Suttcliffe and visual engineer Doug Supple.
While the music was enough to transport any fan back to the golden days of Pink Floyd – with the driving drums, psychedelic keyboards and occasional scream of a guitar – the experience was heightened with the help of a big screen at the back of the stage, boasting a series of kaleidoscopic images. A smoke machine and a trance-enhancing light show also helped.
While the familiar songs, such as Another Brick in the Wall, got the biggest cheers, the band did not limit itself to the Pink Floyd’s best-known pieces. Included in their play list were some lesser-known songs, including a country music infused one from off a film soundtrack. The others were a cross-section of harder rock and the quintessential Pink Floyd pieces that take listeners on a hypnotic journey.
Fittingly, the lighters (and a few cell phones) came out for a couple of songs that especially captured the mood, spirit and sound of Pink Floyd.
As the show wound down and the band bid farewell, the audience insisted on one more, with a standing ovation. Back on stage, All in All finished with Money, flashing signs on the screen with messages such as “You’re awesome Kelowna,” “Kelowna rocks” and “Thank you Kelowna.” Judging by the applause at the end of the three-hour gig, the feeling was mutual.
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THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF ALL IN ALL IT’S JUST TAKE A BOW, THANKING ALL WHO SUPPORTED THEM.
Thanks for coming out! If you landed on this page first and want to start from the beginning, go to The First Concert and view them one-by-one. May the Floyd be with you!