The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Pink Floyd tribute Wish You Were Here playing Rockin’ on the River
Popular Ohio-based Pink Floyd tribute Wish You Here excited for first show since before pandemic — at Rockin’ on the River
Last year’s novel coronavirus shutdown saw the cancellation of many popular summer events, including Lorain’s weekly summer concert series Rockin’ on the River at Black River Landing.
The series made its return to the river earlier this year, and on July 17, the river is set to welcome back a popular act — Pink Floyd cover band Wish You Were Here.
Eric “Eroc” Sosinski bassist, the co-lead vocalist, manager and musical director of the band, has been in the group since its inception about three decades ago.
This show is the band’s first performance since the shutdown, although Sosinski has been performing his solo work, playing gigs with his acoustic duo and other bands for a little while now.
He says in a recent interview that the pandemic was the only time the band ever hit the pause button. They normally do about 12 shows a year and have performed every year since they started out.
For Sosinski, it began in 1988 with a band called Harvest, which played some Floyd (as well as some Neil Young). In the mid-1990s, he and others created Wish You Were Here.
“Longevity was never the goal,” Sosinski says.
“None of us, I think, realized we’d be doing this 26 years later and having the success that we’re seeing. For years, we played mostly in clubs and festivals, and now we’re doing more theaters and larger festivals. So I never really expected that.”
The band still has four of its original members, and those who have joined the gang later on, Sosinski says, have been in it for 10 years or more.
Most of them are located around the West Side of Cleveland, with a few sprinkled around the Akron-Canton area. One even lives as far as Cincinnati.
Sosinski describes the act for those who haven’t seen it yet, saying they give as much of an immersive Pink Floyd concert experience as they can. These concerts are known for lights, lasers, videos and inflatables.
Sosinski says they do everything possible to capture the essence of Pink Floyd.
He also says at these shows, you’ll see fans of all ages.
“Which is part of the appeal of Pink Floyd,” Sosinski says.
“Each year there is always a new generation that experiences it. The music is timeless. That’s why albums like ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ have been on the charts ever since they were released — new fans keep discovering it. We consistently see a young and old fanbase.”
As some of the more diehard fans know, Pink Floyd recordings from their stadium tours in the 70s are mostly audience recordings, sounds sneakily captured by fans.
In fact, some bootleg recordings have resurfaced recently, but this wasn’t huge news to Sosinski.
“Most hardcore fans that collect that kind of stuff already have a lot of these bootlegs,” he laughs.
“For collectors like myself, I have an extensive collection of live recordings from throughout Pink Floyd’s career that either I’ve pursued, or people have given me,” he continues.
“But now they are reaching a wider audience and sometimes with better quality.”
He says the band incorporates some of the live versions of songs at their shows, but they tend to stick to studio versions because that’s what most people are familiar with.
If you see this show to get your Floyd fix, know the band is just as excited to see you, too.
“We are just really looking forward to playing the music for our fans,” Sosinski says. “We know that people are starving for live music and shows like this. So it’s just as exciting for us as it is for everybody else to be able to play music of this scale again.”