Joe Pascarell, co-founder, guitarist and vocalist of Pink Floyd tribute band The Machine, has passed away. No age or cause of death was announced.
The band announced his death on social media last Tuesday:
“It is with the most broken of hearts that we announce the passing of our friend, bandmate, and brother, Joe Pascarell,” the post reads. “We’re eternally grateful for the lifetime of friendship and music we’ve shared on-stage and off, and we know he will be with us as The Machine continues on. Shine on, Joe.”
Pascarell founded what’s considered the oldest Floyd tribute group with drummer Tahrah Cohen more than 30 years ago. Among a relatively crowded field of groups devoted to playing the music of Pink Floyd, The Machine stands out as spinning an especially accurate representation.
“They duplicate the sound and hits of Pink Floyd with chilling accuracy,” wrote Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone. “(They) look nothing like Pink Floyd, but that doesn’t matter — they sound exactly like Pink Floyd, and that’s what counts,” Matthew Webber wrote in Spin.
The New York-based group has played venues throughout North America, and has toured as far away as Central America, Europe and Asia.
When the question is asked of us — as it often is by fans of the “Floydian Slip” radio show — who we think is the best Floyd tribute band, our answer for many years continues to be: The Machine.
The group is dedicating its Feb. 5 performance at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass., to Pascarell. They’ll be joined by Adam Minkoff.
Shine on, Joe.
