Tenacious D has been described as “this wild lead singer with pipes of platinum” and “the heavy-set bald fellow churning out riffs of pure profundity.” Of course, it was Jack Black and Kyle Gass, the two founders of the band, who came up with that description. You would expect nothing less from the self-proclaimed “Greatest Band on Earth,” the same duo who said their show “couldn’t be explained but had to be experienced live and in person.” But it was lighting designer/director Dan Hadley who had to translate the Tenacious D concept to the live stage, replete with the transition from Gass’ studio apartment, where the duo began playing together, to a full-scale version of Hell. The band’s tour began last year in the U.S. and was timed to coincide with the release of their movie, The Pick of Destiny. The tour has since been to the UK and Australia before returning to the U.S.
Hadley, who has been touring as an LD since ‘98, was working with Weezer in 2001 when Tenacious D was opening for them. The connection led him to touring and working for the D when they played benefits and one-offs. Before reuniting with Tenacious D on the current tour, he had worked with Queens of the Stone Age, Sonic Youth, The Mars Volta, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Death Cab for Cutie and many others.
We spoke to Hadley about the tour and the tie-in with the movie.
“The show is basically two parts,” Hadley said, “the acoustic duo in Kyle’s apartment, and then the full band in Hell. So those were our starting points for the design. The apartment was fairly easy, as I well know what a bachelor’s apartment looks like, but I had to do a little research for Hell.”
Hadley says his research consisted of looking at, “honestly, a thousand heavy metal album covers.” But the real inspiration for the on-stage look of Hell came from an unlikely source.
“Once I compiled the version of Hell that we liked and it was time to do the artwork,” he said, “I needed someone who had drawn a lot of very evil and scary things. So I turned to Adam Guyot, a tattoo artist.”
Hadley’s rationale for bringing in the unconventional “set designer” is straightforward. “Who’s drawn more ‘evil’ crap than a tattooist?”
The show is about more than just the music. Because there’s a distinct show business thread to it, the challenge was to make it larger than the music. “We didn’t want it to be just an arena rock show, as they’re not just a band,” Hadley said. “The show actually has a story line and actors who come and go, so we wanted to give the arena a good dose of theatre vibe.”
The show starts much the same way the band’s career did — in an apartment, ostensibly the one on Cochran Avenue in Los Angeles. The lighting reflects the progress of the band. “The first part in Kyle’s apartment is very static,” says Hadley. “The stage is shallow and all the attention is on the guys.”
Then all Hell breaks loose. “After the video transition, we open up to the full Hell stage and let loose with all the toys,” he says. Those toys include automated lighting and LEDs.
“I have some Martin MAC 700 Washes, which I just used for the first time in October on a short Devo tour and love them. Also some High End Systems Studio Beams, which I’ve used for a long time and like quite a lot. For profiles I’m using Vari*Lite VL 3000s. Their optics are awesome. For lighting the set pieces I’m using ColorBlast LEDs, as I’m trying to incorporate more LED stuff into my tours for their low power consumption. But I have to get used to some of their behaviors. And to balance out all the technology, I have 17 ACL bars and eight FagPods. I can’t do without that nice warm glow. The overseas tours will be MAC 2000 Washes and MAC 2000s and 700 Profiles.”
And because the tour was planning to travel overseas, the set had to be very portable. But polish and slick was not a criterion. “Being that the entire thing is so Spinal Tap, I wasn’t as concerned with making it seamless. It’s a pretty cartoony version of Hell, which works well for them since they’d be helping Scooby Doo solve animated mysteries if this were 30 years earlier.”
But if Scooby Doo has a mystery to solve, then Hadley had a bit of a problem to resolve, balancing the lighting and the scenery. “I always like to use surfaces for bouncing light,” Hadley says, “but there are so many surfaces that the bigger challenge has been going darker without the set looking like it’s simply being ignored. Accurate Staging did the building and Superior Backings did the painting as well as the backdrops to keep the look consistent. Both are great companies who listened to my odd requests and helped me find the best way to turn them into reality.”
Other suppliers who helped Hadley realize his design are high on his list. “I’ve been working with Ed and Ted’s Excellent Lighting for a long time and consider them one of the best companies around, for clients and their employees alike. Their support is great, their gear well cared for, and they maintain a real interest in the final product, not just getting the gear out and back. They really helped out getting all the last minute things sorted, and the rehearsals saw no small amount of late changes.”
And lest he forget who’s signing his checks, Hadley tips his hat to his bosses. “Working with the band — Jack and Kyle — has been great. I’ve gotten major input from them for the set and drops. Everything went to both of them for approval, down to the fridge in the apartment. When it came to lighting, Jack’s a big music fan and has seen many of my shows with other bands, so he was comfortable letting me do what I do in that department.”
This tour is unique in that the band can take themselves less seriously, which translates to a unique working environment for Hadley and the crew. “I’m working with lots of old friends, all professionals. I’m not a big fan of the bitter angry roadie, and luckily we have a well adjusted crew. I think the fact that it’s a comedy show helps keep the levity, and no one walks on eggshells because they’re worried about getting fired at the drop of a hat. It’s always a pleasure to team up with sound engineer Craig Overbay at FOH. Big credit to the touring crew who put it up every day and are still smiling at the end of the night.”
