L4LM had the opportunity to sit down with the veteran bassist Eric Gould, a founding member of Particle who has since transitioned into his new, “dream project,” the Pink Floyd-Talking Heads-Phish tribute band known as Pink Talking Fish. Speaking with the utmost enthusiasm, Gould discusses the uniqueness behind Pink Talking Fish’s performances and reveals some of his big plans for the future, which begin with the band’s upcoming take on Dark Side of the Moon.

For more information about the upcoming Pink Talking Fish Dark Side of the Moon show, click here.

Gould starts by describing the circumstances behind leaving one band and starting the next, saying that he “made the transition based on becoming a father and adopting a little girl from China. Right around the time I was doing that, Steve [Molitz] wanted to really beef up Particle and start doing multiple month touring… If you love something, set it free, and so, I gave Steve my blessing.” Meanwhile, Gould “formed Pink Talking Fish as sort of a dream project and it just caught on like wildfire.”

The new band rose from various sessions at a local bar in Kansas City – “the Cheers of the lake community” – where Gould played various covers with friends. After doing a “Pickin’ On” acoustic series with Phish music, Gould says “the idea popped into my head of doing more of what I call a ‘hybrid tribute fusion’ by fusing some bands together.” He picked three of his favorite bands that he thought would blend well together, and he wrote a setlist – Gould is a self-proclaimed “setlist junkie,” taking credit for 98% of Particle’s setlists during his tenure with the band. Once he saw the list, Gould said to himself, “oh my god, this band has to happen.”

The band really rose in prominence throughout 2014, starting with a performance at the Wanee Festival that “exceeded [his] expectations.” He believes that PTF’s success is due to the originality behind the concept. Speaking about other tribute bands, Gould distinguishes PTF, saying that there are “cover bands that just play a bunch of covers. Then you’ve got the tribute bands that focus on one band. We’re neither of those, and we’re not an original act that’s doing a special show of another band’s songs. It’s just something different all-together, and I think that’s a big part of what people love about it.”

Also contributing to their success is the widespread adoration for their three bands of choice, Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish. “Most people out there, even if they’re not into the deeper catalog of Pink Floyd, there are songs that they love, and I think the same thing is there for the Talking Heads. Then you have your diehards for Floyd, the diehards for Talking Heads, who are just so excited to hear how this fusion is.”

So how is the band able to merge the sounds of these three titans? Gould says, “it’s a blend really. There a couple of mash-ups, but for the most part it’s not about that. We’ve literally found certain grooves or instrument patterns that connect like a DJ would, and we’ve inter-mixed them. Or sometimes it’s great song combinations, 1-2 punches.” When asked about some of his favorite 1-2 punches, Gould doesn’t hold back.

“One that we just started doing that I love is the Talking Heads song “Moonrocks,” and that just grooves right into “Ghost.” It’s a similar tempo; they’re both funk, but different feels of funk. The way that the rhythm can easily shift into it, and then an easily modulation; it’s really fun to do.

“An example that I’ve used on almost everybody that I’ve talked to, which is just a perfect thing that we do sometimes, is, in the middle of the orchestrated version of “You Enjoy Myself,” there’s that ambient section that goes before a piano solo. It’s just a hi-hat pattern and just a bunch of ambient sound. That hi-hat pattern is very similar to Pink Floyd’s “On The Run,” and the way that intermixes is just wonderful.

“Things like that, doing a “Mike’s Groove” combo with Pink Floyd and Talking Heads – it doesn’t get better than that, it’s just so much fun for people. Just recently, at the Catskill Chill, we did an epic combination. It was “Mike’s Song” into “Echoes” into “Houses in Motion,” and out of the chaos and space of it, the funk groove of “Houses in Motion” just sunk into it, into the Phish song “Carini,” which got way back into space, which came back into “Echoes,” and then “Echoes” went into “Weekapaug Groove.” It was a full-on journey; that was probably 45-minutes of music right there.”

Gould says that, despite not playing original music, coming up with these transitions is fulfilling his creativity. “Even though we’re not writing songs, the way that we’re writing shows is satisfying a lot of that individuality, so that’s been a real treat.” So much so, that Gould has big plans for the band’s future.

“I really feel like we’re just getting started on this. I think 2015 is going to be a huge year, as far as catalog expansion and opportunity that we have.” That opportunity starts with the band’s upcoming Dark Side of the Moon performance, which is set for next Saturday, October 18th, at The Cutting Room. “This is a special show because, beyond just doing the classic ‘what comes next’ shows that we’ve been doing, where it could be anything, I’ve designed multiple concept shows… We’re taking Dark Side and we’re performing the album in its entirety, but we’re going to interweave the Phish songs and the Talking Heads songs in between the album tracks.”

Ultimately, “with the things that these bands have done, mixed with the creativity and ideas that we have, there’s a very high ceiling on different types of unique and fun show experiences that we could put on.” Gould says that he has “probably four or five different album concepts like this, that, over the years to come, are going to happen.” He’s also very excited for this series to kick off in New York, because he has the chance to “give New York music fans something they have not experienced before… It’s going to be really fun, and it’s going to incorporate some of people’s favorite songs. I’m getting excited just talking about it.

We were getting excited just talking about it, too. Of course, the band’s future plans aren’t just limited to conceptual album concerts; Gould is excited to dig deeper into the three bands’ catalogs, and even to potentially pull music from Pink Floyd’s forthcoming album, Endless River. New music from Floyd is “just more candy for the band,” he says.

Still, the group is heavily focused on nailing the Dark Side performance, and are even bringing in special guests to complete the whole experience. When asked who might show up, Gould said, “I’m sure you could use your imagination for some of the guests that we’re going to have. I don’t want to give away too much.”

All in all, Pink Talking Fish are finding their niche within the jam band community as something both familiar and unique. As for Gould, well, the bassist is also involved with a couple of side-projects, including a band called Electric England. “It’s this concept of bass, drums, and two keyboards, and it’s really just an electro-dance band. Livetronica, funk and afrobeat into one experience.” When asked if Electric England was designed to fill the post-Particle livetronica void, Gould was quick to respond.

“You’d be surprised. A lot of the jams we get into in Pink Talking Fish fulfill a lot of the jamming done in Particle. Pink Talking Fish is a dance band. Yeah we get psychedelic and we can get spiritual, with a lot of what the catalog is, but I’ll tell you what— you go see a Pink Talking Fish show, and primarily, you’re gonna be boogieing out there on the floor. It’s definitely a dance party, the way it’s set up. It’s hard for me to be in a band and to not have that. I’m naturally inclined to lead a band in a direction that gets people moving.”

So, if you’re into dance parties and Phish-and-Talking-Heads-laden interpretations of Dark Side of the Moon, then be sure to check out Pink Talking Fish at the Cutting Room, on October 18th. Tickets for the show are still available here.

-David Melamed (@DMelamz)

[cover photo credit to Andrew Scott Blackstein]