After being invited to see the New Orleans-based modern rock group, MuteMath, in Nashville, lighting designer Jeff Lavallee, of 44 Production Designs, felt compelled to approach their manager, Kevin Kookogey, to pitch a wild idea involving fluorescent lighting. “They didn’t have an LD at the time, and I was completely blown away by their presence and how they captured the audience,” says Lavallee. “I showed them renderings and plugged in a fluorescent light I bought from Home Depot for about $12, and said that I wanted about 100 of these on stage.” When Kookogey said, “Keep talking,” Lavallee knew he had the manager’s — and the band’s — attention. “Then I said, ‘At the end of the show, you can break these lights.’ That’s when I started to see the wheels turning …” The MuteMath camp green-lighted the idea and, before long, three pods measuring four-and-a-half feet high by six-feet wide, each holding 25 fluorescent lights, were being periodically smashed on stage, often by lead singer/keyboardist Paul Meany. “The lights were in clear casings, so when they would break, all of the mercury and the glass would be contained in that sleeve,” says Lavallee…“You need to try crazy ideas, because maybe it spawns another idea you can use later,” says Lavallee. “If you have a hunch and you believe in yourself, you can’t lose.”
Will Romano, from “Production Profile,” PLSN, May 2012
