The Alan Parsons Project debuted in 1976 with Tales of Mystery and Imagination, an LP inspired by the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe. 1977's I Robot put the band on the map charting at number 9 in the US, spawning hits such as I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You, Breakdown and Don't Let It Show. Sirius, a track from 1982's Eye In The Sky LP is a fan favorite at several NBA arenas as the background music for NBA player introductions.

Alan Parsons discography alone puts him in the class of classic rock royalty... yet his talents do not begin and end there. His career in the music industry began as an engineer. At the age of 18 he began his career with EMI. He then earned a post at Abbey Road Studios where he worked with The Beatles as an assistant engineer. He subsequently worked with Paul McCartney as the engineer on McCartney, Wings Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway. Parsons also was involved as an engineer on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. (Read More)

We caught up with Alan at the Rib America Festival in Kansa City, Missouri. Their set vividly diplayed the timelessness of the music, the enormously talented musicians who currently comprise The Alan Parsons Live Project, and an appreciative audience who loved every minute. A few days later we caught up with Alan via telephone. He graciously shared with us some of his past and present thoughts...
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Musicpix:       Your career began at age 18 as an assistant engineer on The Beatles Abbey Road album…how were you able to land such a prestigious first gig and were you treated as ‘the new kid on the block?’

Alan: It was just good fortune…I had the necessary background with the company (EMI) because I had been working in an ancillary department at Abbey Road in the couple of years leading up to that.  I was in the right place at the right time when two new system engineers where needed.  When I got there, The Beatles were wrapping up The White Album and then the next time they came together was on Let it Be which they did at their own studio in London and I was assigned that task to go down and help out.  You’re right…it was very prestigious.  I woke up every morning and said ‘this isn’t really happening.’

Musicpix: You are both an accomplished musician as well as an accomplished recording engineer...

Alan:  [Interrupts] I would argue that point…I’m a Producer who is able to bluff his way through…[laughing]

Musicpix:  What was your training as both a musician and as an engineer?

Alan:  My parents persuaded me into studying piano as a child and my father was also a very competent flute player and he passed that down to me as well.  I did formal classical training on piano and flute.  I played with the school orchestra.  The formal training was very useful to me because it taught me how to record a score which has come in handy.  The guitar became a passion at about age 12 or 13.  I played in bands as a guitarist…a pretty good Blues band at one time.  Once I got a job at Abbey Road though, I let the musician in me dwindle a little bit and just concentrated on engineering.

Musicpix:  What was the name of that Blues band?

Alan:  We had several names….there was band manager who had spent a lot of money on this band who had the worst name on earth called ‘London’…yeah we made an album but it never saw the light of day.

Alan Parsons Live Project Concert Photos

Musicpix: At what point did you decide to step from behind the console to behind the microphone?

Alan:  I never really stepped from one place to the other as they existed concurrently.  It was the mid-90’s…actually in 1994 when we decided to put a show on the road.  We started a tour in Europe…we started in Germany and then went to Holland.  Overnight, we discovered that there was a market and that people wanted to hear this stuff and it all developed from that.  The first night was in Hamburg and once we got past the first song and they were actually applauding and I was like ‘oh my God...this is great.’  Strange feeling…

Musicpix:       That has to be a very different feeling when you’re involved in the industry at your level…not worrying necessarily about a live-real-time positive reaction to the sound or whether or not your music connects or not.  Was there a sense of jitters?

Alan:  I had the worst case of stage fright that you can possibly imagine.  There I was, basically a back room boy, thrust up on the stage for the first time.  It was absolutely terrifying.  But I got over it just through the experience.  I just described the feeling when we finished the first song….they liked it so we were going to be okay.  From that point on, I became much more confident.

Musicpix:  You and the current members of the “Live Project” seem to thoroughly enjoy music…as a matter a fact, your other keyboard player was in the hotel lobby playing the piano and I know you’ve been out enjoying some of the other bands here. 

Alan:  We don’t often play festivals where we get to see acts so it was nice to see some mega acts.

Musicpix:   Writing, arranging and directing the Alan Parsons Project requires a certain amount of selflessness.  The project bears your name but several members of the band share the spotlight.   Do you attribute your ability to do that to your engineering background?  Has it ever been an issue with the band members?

Alan:  I don’t think so….I’m the first to recognize that playing live is a team effort.  Egos exist but I have no right to an ego because the people I surround myself with are hugely more talented musicians than I am.  I still play the directorial role which is just as necessary as it is in the studio.  Somebody has to be in charge.  There’s a certain amount of ego floating around but its okay.  Everybody sings their own songs and has a chance to show themselves off so it works well.  It’s a team effort.

Musicpix    Having worked with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Hollies and Al Stewart to name a few…are there any current bands or artists that you’d like to work with?

Alan:  Anybody who is going to sell a million records, I’d be happy to work with…..[laughing]  The industry is in such decline that you’ve got to latch onto something that has a fair crack of the whip because it’s just too time consuming to spend six months locked away in the studio not being sure of some degree of success… it just doesn’t make sense.

Musicpix:   The music industry has changed drastically since you began your career.  What aspects (good and bad) of those changes affect you directly or indirectly?

Alan:  Classic rock artists are in big trouble because they can’t sell a single copy of anything they make now and that makes playing live the only realistic option.  I could not survive without playing live now.  The catalog still sells, but I can’t sell new material and many classic rock acts have that same problem.

Musicpix:  ‘Sirius’ has been good to you…You go into just about any stadium and hear the intro to that song…

Alan: That’s nice but I don’t think ‘Sirius’ has made me rich…it’s bought out by sports teams but it’s great to see it out there.  Every night we play it, when audiences see it for the first time, there’s recognition of ‘oh yeah, they did that!’

Musicpix:  Being a fan of the Alan Parson Project for many years, frankly I love your music and I wasn’t quite sure how it would transfer live but I was pleasantly surprised.  I saw you during daylight hours.  Could you speak a bit about your evening shows?

Alan:  We normally have a very exciting light show so it was a little disappointing to be on during broad daylight.  But that’s it….that is the way it is.  We don’t have any theatrics to speak of…we’re not in the Floyd, Genesis, or YES arena appeal but the lights work well.  We have a really good lighting team who work with the songs really well but it’s difficult to pull off in broad daylight.  But people seem to respond well no matter what.

Musicpix:  Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?  Are there recordings you hear now that you wish you have done differently?

Alan:  There’s always something that you say after the event that you wish you’d done.  But that’s one of the skills of a record producer…knowing when you’re finished…knowing when to stop.  Yes, there are often times I’ve said, I wish I’d done that.  Sometimes I’ll hear a part that could have been played better or sung better….things like that.  Nothing too major.

Musicpix: With all the changes in recording technology, what do you consider the pluses and the minuses of analog vs. digital?

Alan:   There are a lot of pluses of being able to manipulate audio material...taking it from one place and putting it to another…the looped sound of money on Pink Floyd, and the painstaking time we took to build that loop!  Whereas today, it would have taken ten minutes because it is cutting and pasting on a computer screen.  I think that there are purists out there that believe that analog recording is superior but given another ten years, that will go out the window because analog will be history.  Audio technology is still quite a young science and it has quite a long way to go. 

Musicpix:  Did you lean one way or another….tubes vs. solid state amplification?

Alan:  I recognize that tubes had a sound…a character….the sounds are very new and we can exactly emulate those sounds with new technology.

Musicpix:  What are your plans for the future…any more recording?

Alan:   It’s a tough decision.  I could make a record deal but it wouldn’t be like any of the deals that I’ve done in the past.  I might just take the attitude that I can survive on the strengths of my back catalog vs. trying to do anything new.  No matter how hard I try to do something new, or do something that I am proud of…it’s a tough thing to get acceptance given the state of the music business given where I come from.  I’m not 19, nor a pretty girl with a cute body and that’s what you need to be a success today.  A huge amount of money is required for promotion and I just don’t fit into that category any more.

The Band
Alan Parsons: Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Godfrey Townsend:  Lead guitar/vocals
Steve Murphy:  Drums/vocals
John Montagna:  Bass guitar/vocals
P.J. Olsson:  Vocals
Manny Focarazzo:  Keyboards/backing vocals

Discography
1975  Tales of Mystery and Imagination
1977  I Robot
1978  Pyramid
1979  Eve
1980  The Turn of a Friendly Card
1982  Eye in the Sky
1984  Ammonia Avenue
1985  Vulture Culture
1987  Gaudi
1993  Try Anything Once
1996  On Air
1999  Sound Check 2without Response Analyzer
1999  The Time Machine
2004  A Valid Path

The Tour
July 1- Barcelona, Spain
July 3 - Rijssen, Netherlands
July 4 – Heerhugowa ard, Netherlands -
July 5 - Ulm, Germany - Ulmer Zelt
July 6 - Rock Um Knuedler Festival - Luxembourg 
August 15 - Recinto Ferial of Leganes, Leganes, Spain
September 12 - APLP Humphreys by the Bay, San Diego CA
September 13 - Boulder Station Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV

By
Steve Mitchell