Gallery - Alan Parsons Live Project 2006

Legendary rock artist Alan Parsons brought his band, his music, and his world-class sound-and-light show to Houghton’s Rozsa Center for two long-awaited performances with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra during Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival on February 10 and 11, 2006.

Photo Credits: Adam Johnson, brockit.com. Click images to enlarge.

Parsons, who started out as recording engineer for the Beatles and Pink Floyd before founding his great studio band, the Alan Parsons Project, has been at the cutting edge of popular music since the 1970’s, integrating technology and symphonic sounds with the best of rock and roll.

The Houghton shows featured many of Alan Parsons’ familiar classics, including Games People Play, Eye in the Sky, and Time, and songs from his latest recording, A Valid Path. In addition to Alan Parsons himself, stars of the Alan Parsons Live Project include lead singer/songwriter (and Houghton native) PJ Olsson, keyboardist Manny Focarazzo, guitarist Godfrey Townsend, drummer Steve Murphy, and bassist John Montagna, all top musicians from New York or L.A. with long solo careers. Parsons’ stage producers are also the best in the industry, including lighting designer Martin Thomas and audio whiz Greg Rubin, who were both in residence at Michigan Tech during the week of the show working with students in Michigan Tech’s new degree programs in entertainment technology and sound design.

Joining in the shows with the Alan Parsons band was the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the chair of Michigan Tech’s Department of Fine Arts, Dr. Milton Olsson, father of PJ Olsson. The KSO also played orchestrations expressly written for Alan Parsons by noted film composer Andrew Powell, keyboardist Manny Focarazzo, and Milton Olsson. “The symphony orchestra has been at the core of Parsons‚ music since his earliest studio recordings,” Olsson notes. This was a rare opportunity to see Alan Parsons integrating not just the sounds but the orchestra itself into his always-spectacular live stage show.