Although she’s not really made of gunpowder and lead, Miranda Lambert is comfortable around firearms. But if lighting and production designer Chris Lisle jokingly claims to be “legitimately afraid of her,” the country singer who first gained national attention as a finalist on TV’s Nashville Star in 2003 can bank on her talent, and not just fearsomeness, for her fans and critical acclaim.
Lisle has worked with a variety of artists over the years, including Keith Urban, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy, Sara Evans, Babyface and LeAnn Rimes, to name just a few. His designs also include television and corporate events. He has been working with Miranda Lambert since 2009.
PLSN also caught up with lighting director Craig Richter. Lisle, Richter and the rest of the crew have been igniting the stage with gear from Bandit Lites and MooTV.
Chris Lisle, Lighting Designer
“I first got to know Miranda when she was the opening act on the Keith Urban tour in 2005, and over the past seven years it has been awesome to see how far she has come. I was very excited to get to work with increased budgets and venue sizes on this tour.
“One of the main objectives was to fill up as much space as possible and make the entire production look huge, while fitting in the necessary truck space/crew/venue constraints. Truss in itself when toned becomes a great space filler, and then by layering the video tiles throughout the rig it helps to create one massive picture.
“Ninty-five percent of Miranda’s crew entourage is the same today as when I met her in 2005. What I love the most about her is what you see is what you get — that feisty personality that comes off on stage is really her. She is very loyal to those in her organization, and treats everyone like family. Also, she is very good a shooting guns and I am legitimately afraid of her…
“We were fortunate to be able to pull some great crew in for this tour. Dave Butzler in his own right is a first class LD (Garth Brooks), but he is also amazing as a crew chief and works hard to make the system and crew as efficient as possible.
“I met [lighting director] Craig Richter while doing a one-off in Nashville. He comes from the rock world, which was a perfect fit for this camp. His timing is amazing, and he is great at creating some awesome looks with the rig as well.
“[Production manager] Todd Ortmeier and I have known each other for 17 years now — he is without a doubt one of the best PMs that I have ever worked with, and I can honestly say that he gives 110 percent to make the entire production the best that it can be.”
Video and Fixtures
“Almost all country artists pretty much carrying video these days… it helps make the cowboy hats look bigger on the I-Mag screens. The guys over at MooTV are fantastic and they have done an awesome job on this tour.
“This tour actually had two legs — the 2011 leg was pretty much the side screens and the main center wall, and then for the 2012 leg, we added the pods that hang off of the arches.
“The video director, John Breslin and I work well together. There are a lot of songs where lighting is driving all content via Catalyst, some songs he takes over with I-Mag, and then some are a mixture of the two. They key is finding a balance so that we can get a nice mixture of all of the elements throughout the performance.
“Most of the video content from this tour is played off of Catalyst and is triggered via the lighting console. There are a few songs where the video guys take over the content and drive things for a while.
“I brought in Scott Chmielewski of Digital Media Designs to assist with Catalyst programming. He is a genius at that stuff, and helped come up with some cool looks and effects.
A “Well-Oiled Machine”
“I am definitely a longtime Bandit fan,” Lisle continues. “They are the vendor on most of the tours that I design, and for good reason. The product that they put out is a well-oiled machine, from the road technicians, project managers, client reps, to the lights themselves. They continually provide a great service and value to both my clients and myself.
“I programmed about ninety percent of the show, and Craig (Richter) definitely has several songs in there that are all him,” Lisle continues. “Miranda is one of those artists who will add songs from time to time while out on the road, so Craig has had to throw some stuff in the console at the last minute on occasion.
“Regarding fixtures, I think we have something from almost every vendor. Every light on this rig, in its own right, is great at what it does. The [Vari*Lite] VL3000 Spot and [Martin] MAC 2000 Wash fixtures are definitely the workhorses of this rig and do most of the big picture looks. The other items like the [Clay Paky] Alpha Beams, Molefays and Atomics are our fun little ‘punch and jab’ toy box fixtures. Most of the LEDs in this system act as truss toners, with the exception being the Chauvet battens, which act as fill light along the downstage edge.
“This is a fantastic organization with a lot of great people involved on every level. It has definitely been great to be included on this journey. We are already working on some great design ideas for her next tour, so stay tuned!”
Craig Richter, Lighting Director
“I’m using the Hog Full Boar out front,” says lighting director Craig Richter, adding that, while he’s more of a “grandMA person,” he’s also “always down to learn a new console.” Richter acknowledges a few rough spots working with the desk — specifically the length of time it takes for troubleshooting. But he adds that “it programs fast, and editing cues are very easy. At the end of the day, it puts on a show just like any other board out there. But I am hoping to have a grandMA on the next rig design.”
In terms of video, “we are running a Catalyst media server and sending two outputs, one to the main wall and the other to the video pods hanging in the rig. There is no timecode being used in the show, all the songs are programmed and the goes are on my timing, which, in my opinion is the way it should be. We connect to the Catalyst via Art-Net, and the rest of the rig goes [via] Hog net through a DP 8000 at dimmers.
“This is my first tour with Chris [Lisle, the lighting designer]. We each have are own style, but we both mesh well with each other seamlessly to make a awesome show. I had done a couple one-off shows with him in Nashville through Bandit. I had never worked as an LD under a designer before; I was used to doing everything from design, programming and operation by myself. So it was a little weird to get used to, but after talking with Chris, he made it clear of what he did and what my job would be, and we work well together. I have learned a lot working with him over the past year and hope to keep working with him in the future.
“MooTV does a great job and all their guys rock. Miranda, her band and crew are all extremely nice and easy to get along with, and they treat you like family. Last but not least, I cannot stress how great it is working with Bandit Lites. The rig rocks, all the gear is in great working condition, and the support we get is unmatched.
“I could not ask for a better lighting crew. Having crew chief Dave ‘GigButt’ Butzler is like having three people in one, and [lighting tech] Tyler Veneziano will work nonstop all day if need be and never complain about it once, and I thank them both.
“The last thing I would say about this tour is that it is the most ‘un-country’ country tour. It looks, sounds, and pumps people up like a rock show. The fact that Miranda looks at it in a way where she wants the rig to look nice but also be able to turn into a rock rig and get people out of their seats at the same time is what I like the most about it.”
For more Miranda Lambert tour photos by Steve Jennings, please go to:
http://www.prolightingspace.com/photo/albums/miranda-lambert-online-extras
Miranda Lambert’s On Fire Tour
CREW
Lighting Designer: Chris Lisle
Lighting Director: Craig Richter
Lighting Crew Chief: Dave
“GigButt” Butzler
Lighting Tech: Tyler Veneziano
Video Content: MooTV
Video Director / Crew Chief:
John Breslin
Video Techs: Eric Heidel, Dylan Taylor
Production Manager: Todd Ortmeier
Tour Manager: Jordan Powell
Stage Manager: Fred Yanda
Cameras: Edwin Lewis, Aaron Barbatti
Lighting Company: Bandit Lites
Trucking Company: Stage Call
Video Company: MooTV
GEAR
1 High End Systems Full Boar lighting console (main)
1 Hog IPC (backup)
22 Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots
18 Martin MAC 2000 Washes
8 Vari*Lite VL2500 Spots
21 Bandit GRN Pars
6 Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300s
14 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes
18 Thomas 4 Lite Molefays
8 Chauvet Legend Batten 72 Tours
3 ETC Source Four PARs
16 Chauvet COLORdash
Accents
4 Reel EFX DF-50 Diffusion hazers
1 HES F-100 fogger
1 Catalyst Pro media server
1 DP 8000 processor
128 Elation 10mm video tiles
1 15K Eiki projector
1 Dataton Watchout system
