Alan Parsons, British rocker and music producer, will perform his greatest hits when he brings his Alan Parsons Live Project tour to the Chumash Casino Resort’s Samala Showroom at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26. Tickets for the show are $25, $35 and $45
Parsons dabbled with live performance in his late teens as a folk/blues acoustic player and again as a lead guitarist with a blues band in the late 1960s in London.
However, when he landed a job at the famous Abbey Road Studios at age 18, it became clear sound recording was his calling.
He worked as an assistant engineer on the last two Beatles albums and went on to work with Paul McCarthy and groups The Hollies and Pink Floyd.
Parsons’ work on Pink Floyd’s classic album Dark Side of the Moon in 1973 earned him the reputation of a talented producer.
He went on to produce such notable tracks as Pilot’s “Magic,” John Miles’ “Highfly” and “Music,” and Steve Harley’s “Make Me Smile.”
Parsons also produced the successful Year of the Cat album with Al Stewart, and two albums with American progressive rock band Ambrosia.
In 1975, Parsons met Eric Woolfson, who not only became his manager, but joined forces with him as a songwriting and performing partner for what became known as The Alan Parsons Project.
Their debut album Tales of Mystery and Imagination landed them a recording contract with Clive Davis’ Arista label, as well as a string of chart-topping albums including I Robot in 1977, The Turn of a Friendly Cat (1980), Ammonia Avenue (1984) and Stereotomy (1986).
The first Alan Parsons Project tour initiated in 1999 with the release of The Time Machine album. The longtime APP collaborators performed to sold-out audiences around the globe.
Over the years, the Live Project band has been reformed and reshuffled. Today, the band is comprised of Parsons on acoustic guitar, keyboard and vocals, P.J. Olsson on vocals, Manny Foccarazzo on keyboard, Guy Erez on bass, Alastair Greene on guitar, Danny Thompson on drums, and Todd Cooper on sax, percussion and vocals.
Parsons has received numerous awards including The Les Paul Award in 1995 and The DIVA Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in Munich, Germany in 2012. He is also an 11-time Grammy Award nominee.
Located on Highway 246 in Santa Ynez, the Chumash Casino Resort is an age 21-and-older venue. Tickets for all events are available at the Chumash Casino Resort’s Club Indulge or online at www.chumashcasino.com.
— Caitlyn Baker for Chumash Casino Resort.