As Genesis' Lamb is brought back to life and to the UK, Sonic Shocks talks to frontman Denis Gagne...

If you know your progressive rock history there is no denying that Genesis and their seminal album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is one of THE classics, and that is why The Musical Box have created a stunning musical based on it that has also garnered the blessing of Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel.

We caught up with singer Denis Gagne to talk about the upcoming run of the show in the UK…

CM: How does it feel to be bringing the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway musical to the UK?

DG: It’s great, it’s going to be the second time we have toured this in the UK and Europe and probably the last time..

CM: The last time?

DG: Probably yes, I’m not saying there’s no chance of an encore next tour though.

CM: One more reason not to miss it then!

DG: Exactly! There’s no chance of Genesis reuniting so it’ll be many people’s last chance to see The Lamb live.

CM:  The Musical Box are the only band who obtained from Genesis the performing rights for the Lamb, what does this exclusive represent for you?

DG:  As well as the exclusive rights we also have the original slides that were projected at the shows which were provided by Genesis, the band have been very supportive in helping us carry out the show.

CM:  How was it going through all the slides?

DG:  The most difficult part for us was putting them back in order, making sure that they were where they were supposed to be, obviously technology is better now than it was in 74/75 so no major problems but I can understand that back in 1974 due to reliability they would have had some problems.

CM: You always try to be accurate in every detail. What is the most difficult part in doing that?

DG:  We’ve played the tour three times since 200, twice in the UK and only this year the bass player finally figured out one of the guitar parts in one of the songs after going through different tunings so I would say the musical aspect of what everyone’s doing is the most difficult part.

CM: So were you happy when you debuted the show with the accuracy or do you still keep making improvements?

DG: We found new information that we didn’t have such as amateur film of the original shows; I wouldn’t say we’re not happy with what we’re doing but if we find a little bit that needs improving, whether it’s 10 seconds or one minute, we’ll adjust it in order to be more accurate.

CM: You always use the same instruments that characterized Genesis’ sound. What was the hardest piece of equipment to acquire?

DG:  I would have to say the Double Neck used by Mike Rutherford as there are not that many of his custom made version out in the world.

CM:  So if this is the last tour for The Lamb… what are the plans for the future?

DG: I would say after a couple of years from doing the Lamb we could do another tour, maybe Selling England by the Pound which we’ve done a few times already. Everybody is asking for it but, you know, you do Selling England and you have to do the Lamb, you do the Lamb and they want Selling England, so…

CM: So if you should do a new one, based on a Genesis album or not, what would it be?

DG:  We did another Genesis show in the past as well, Foxtrot; if we should do a new one… don’t know, maybe A Trick Of The Tail [First album with Phil Collins as frontman], but we’d keep focusing on Genesis, it’s what this band does.

CM: Are you a big fan of Genesis personally?

DG: We’re all fans as a project like this you couldn’t really do without being one on a different level I guess.

CM: How did it feel having members of Genesis turn up at the shows and having Steve Hackett on stage?

DG:  We’ve played with Phil and Steve so that was great, it was quite interesting that Peter came to see the show as it was the first ever Musical Box show in the UK, it was already nerve-wracking enough![Laughs] Luckily we did a great show that night!

CM: Do you still feel nervous?

DG: When members of Genesis come to watch the shows, yes.

CM:  Do any of the musicians have original projects on the go or is it complete focus on The Musical Box?

DG:  Not at the present time.

CM: Do you ever feel the need to do your own project?

DG: Probably someday I’ll give it a go; with the industry these days it’s hard for an artist to make a name for themselves, and in the internet there’s a plus but a minus as well, with people downloading music and not making any money from that. It’s a tough gig. Of course I would like to do something original at some point but at this point The Musical Box is my main focus.

CM: Do you agree with the description that The Musical Box are ‘a prominent Genesis tribute band’?

DG:  We’re a lot more than that I think.  I feel that we’re more like a musical than a tribute band. A tribute band to me is a band that play their heroes in one show and what WE do is reproducing a theatrical show, which is something almost nobody else really does to my knowledge.

CM: How did the idea come about?

CM: In closing what would you say makes the show special as well for a person who is not particularly a fan of Genesis?