Stan Gratkowski
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Stan is a founding member of the Pink Floyd Experience and has probably done more gigs in his lifetime than most people would have had hot dinners. A great vocalist, drummer and all round top guy without the slightest hint of an ego. Not really a prankster or a mischief maker, Stan tends to watch from the sidelines with a bourbon in hand as the madness starts to descend upon the tour.
A very staunch meditator both on and off tour, Stan will often be found meditating in a chair, on a couch, on the grass outside the venue and even (occasionally) in a bed! This enables him to perform at his best for three whole hours before helping to load the truck, packing up the gear and sweeping the stage without complaining.
Glen Ahearn
Keyboard
Glen plays keyboards and looks after all the high tech stuff like programming and sound effects. He also takes care of all the mundane stuff like marketing, book keeping and all that other crap that no one else would dare take on!
Armed with the best ears in the band, due to 20 odd years of working with some of the best hi-fi equipment available, Glen can hear audio details and little things that most people would never hear on an album in a lifetime. He can even hear things that aren’t actually there!
A proud father and a great mate to all who know him, he is a founding member of the Pink Floyd Experience and continues to inspire us all to raise the bar even higher every time we tour.
Darren (Daz) Whittaker
Guitar/Lap Steel Guitar
With nearly 35 years experience in the industry, Darren is the third founding member of The Pink Floyd Experience. To say he’s passionate about music is a serious understatement. If not busy working on his own bands and projects he will be found encouraging and supporting others to advance their musical talents. Facilitating regular jam nights and supporting local open mics, he loves to get behind other musicians and artists and create the space to make music.
Described as warm and humble, Daz’s positive enthusiasm has a way of rubbing off on others, keeping the team positive and upbeat. He says Pink Floyd has been a huge part of his life, so it’s fitting for him to have ended up playing in a band that is purely a tribute to Floyd.
Jacob Whittaker
Guitar
Jacob Whittaker joins The Pink Floyd Experience as our new rhythm guitarist, marking a special full-circle moment. As the son of founding member Darren, the band has been woven into Jacob’s life from the very beginning, making this next step onstage beside his dad truly remarkable. Jacob has honed his craft playing in local bands including Rain, HiViz and Something Like That, bringing a fresh energy shaped by years of performing. After working as a ‘bricklayer’ on the Experience’s production of The Wall in 2019 and 2021, he’s now stepping into something bigger and better. We can’t wait to have him on tour with us again.
Ken ‘Rumble Foot’ Te Tau
(Bass)
Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou.
‘Rumble Foot’ is one third of the Pink Floyd Experience’s solid rhythm section. The stage rumbling under foot as he plays his beloved 5 String Musicman Stingray Bass reveals the Rumble One’s earth-shaking origins.
Being Māori, Ken has an inherited ability to play acoustic guitar and also a natural ear for great harmonies at the after gig sing-along song sessions. A man full of wisdom, he is often the one person who can talk other members out of doing something really stupid and is able to bring calm and sensibility to any inappropriate childish situations that all too often unfold on tour.
Lucien Johnson
Saxophone
Lucien Johnson has been described as “a saxophonist and composer of rare excellence and mettle.” Involved in a diverse range of artistic projects, his music always succeeds in maintaining a distinctive sound, with a chameleonic emotional range that can shift from warm and intimate through to radical and rebellious.
Lucien has composed music for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand Dance Company, for short film and documentaries and for his own projects. He was musical director of Shogun Orchestra which released two albums on German label Jakarta Records. He was the winner of the 2021 APRA New Zealand Jazz composition of the year and has been twice nominated for Jazz Artist of the Year. Johnson and Marinkovich were co-recipients of the 2018 Harriet Friedlander New York Residency, administered by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.
Kirsten Te Rito
Vocals
Vocals Extraordinaire – Kirsten is a vocalist, songwriter and producer from Wellington, from Ngāti Kahungunu and Rongomaiwahine iwi. Sydney Morning Herald called her vocals ‘spectacular’, and that’s no exaggeration. In 2016 Kirsten’s sophomore album Āiotanga was a finalist at the Vodafone NZ Music Awards, won Best Māori Pop Album and Best Māori Urban Album at the Waiata Māori Music Awards and her song Tamaiti Ngaro was a finalist for the APRA Maioha Silver Scroll Award.
Kirsten has been with us now since 2012. An amazing vocalist and a fun lady to tour with and very professional. Kirsten is also very technically minded and has even been known to fix the heat pumps in other band members’ rooms. However we do have different opinions sometimes on what the word ‘Fixed’ actually means.
A bit of a prankster in her own right Kirsten can hold her own so we just feed her wine.
Lisa Tomlins
Vocal
Lisa Tomlins is a stand out singer, not only because of her strong and beautiful voice but also the energy and enthusiasm she contributes throughout her performances make her a joy to watch. With over 30 years experience in the music industry as a professional vocalist, she has travelled extensively throughout Australasia, Asia, UK, Europe and the US with the likes of Fly My Pretties, L.A.B, Lord Echo, Trinity Roots, Hollie Smith, Shapeshifter, Fat Freddie’s Drop, Neil Finn, and Rhombus.
Wini Baxter
Vocals
Wini was raised as a member of The church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Heavenly Father & the Saviour is her “ROCK”. Her children are Wini’s heart. Whanau, friends and loved ones keep her ALIVE.
Wini’s gift has given her the opportunity to sing in many different groups such as – The Pink Floyd Experience for 9 years, Virtuoso String Orchestra with Ria Hall & Lisa Tomlins, Revolution a reggae band who played for Katchafire, J-Boog, House of Shem, Fiji, 1814 to name a few. I had to stop due to my brain tumour growing. I’ve been battling my tumour for 8 years now. Because of the position it’s in, my life span is such that I cannot afford to waste precious time.
Who can say they LOVE what they do…I can!
Jeremy Fitzsimons
Percussion | Keyboards | Sound effects
Jeremy has been freelancing as a percussionist in Wellington for the last 25 years. Now principal percussionist for Orchestra Wellington. Jeremy joined us in 2011 when we first performed the Pulse show. Jeremy is a founding member of an international touring percussion troupe called Strike and also a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. A great addition to the Experience’s sound and a very dependable guy to have on the road. Quite a sensible chap, Jeremy manages to stay below the radar most of the time, avoiding any mischief and shenanigans and going home at the end of a tour with his dignity reasonably intact. Lucky bugger we say!!
Rob Ju
Drums
Drummer, singer, rhythm guitar exponent and mimic extraordinaire, Rob was born with more talent than you can shake a stick at! An accomplished boat-builder and woodworker, he even manufactures his own line of high-quality snare drums from both native and exotic timbers. With the ability to live off the land Rob is equally at home in the bush hunting or in a workshop knocking something together. Rumour has it that his diet at times has consisted of such fine delicacies as Weta, Huhu Grubs and the odd Bush Worm.
Considered a freak on the golf course after winning the Pink Floyd Experience Cup while playing his first-ever game of golf, forcing a couple of band members and crew into early retirement.
