This is the story of a cover band that never set out to be a cover band.

Four-piece outfit The Machine has been described as more like Pink Floyd than Pink Floyd itself, but band members never intended to exclusively perform the progressive rock group’s material.

The Machine began as a venture between lead singer/guitarist Joe Pascarell and drummer Tahrah Cohen, who were stuck playing in weekend bands together and opted to establish something more serious.

“We said, ‘Let’s just put a band together and play music that we love,'” Pascarell said by phone. “That was the criteria. We played some Floyd, but we played other stuff, too.”

But the Pink Floyd songs always got the best responses.So before there were “a billion Pink Floyd tribute bands,” The Machine supplied what crowds demanded.

Soon, an agent took notice and told band members that if they learned more Pink Floyd material, he would book them as a Pink Floyd cover band. And The Machine was born.

“In less than three months, we had all quit our jobs and were playing full-time,” Pascarell said. “It took off from that. I always find it so interesting that it was never a conscious decision.”

Ironically, The Machine has been a more consistent source of live Pink Floyd material than the British band itself. The group has performed more than 2,000 live shows and released several live CDs and DVDs, including “The Symphonic Side of the Moon,” a live rendition of the seminal “Dark Side of the Moon” album with a full symphony orchestra… Continue reading at The Sun Chronicle.