On the Road with LD Chris Lisle
Tour: Robert Plant Presents Sensational Space Shifters
2013 Dates: Singapore/Australia/New Zealand March 21-April 11; North America June 20-July 27; UK/Europe Aug. 31-Oct. 31.
Design: “Minimalistic. With just 12 feet of truck space, the tour counts on filling front and back trusses with local gear and 14 moving lights. Plant always wants par cans as side light; he loves the ‘70s feel. But at some points he wants psychedelic looks. As this tour would travel to South America with active crowds, Plant thought ‘let’s do some flash, some fun’ in the lighting looks to appeal to dance-oriented crowds.”
Song List: “It’s a journey through Plant’s career, spanning Led Zeppelin hits like ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Going to California,’ to solo years and including his more recent Band of Joy. The Led Zeppelin songs are lit in true rock and roll fashion.”
Compared to Plant’s last tour: Lisle designed Plant’s past Band of Joy tour. “It was 26 cues in the whole show – one cue per song – as Plant wanted one static look presented. There were no moving lights on that tour.”
Bio:
Years in the biz: 22 years.
Back story: Lighting wasn’t on his radar at all. He was working at a pizza delivery when asked if he would run the lights for a small local band in Nashville. “Right away I knew I wanted to do this. I learned what a PAR can was and worked hours for free to learn.”
Recent designs: Miranda Lambert, One Republic, July 4th Nashville festival, The Band Perry, then late July/August he goes to Korea with Quincy Jones.
Best teachers: Watching LD Marc Brickman light Pink Floyd on DVD or Peter Morse’s shows. “There are so many; I steal tricks
from them all. I went to a lot of shows, and was enthralled by Garth Brooks’ show. LD Jim Bauman was the one who taught me how to program a console.”
What do you like about what you do? “I like to take music and light and create things. Lighting is an art form. I like painting pictures with the music.”
Career goal: To design, not to tour. “I’ve built a good client base and have about six or seven tours going at the same time. To keep income coming in, I bought consoles and media servers to rent to the tours. It’s extra income so I don’t always have to tour.”
This tour is one of the few that Lisle will tour with, as he prefers to design a show and let others operate it. Plant is the exception
because “it’s Robert Plant,” Lisle says. “Working with Robert Plant is like family because he keeps people around for years and years.” However, because of other commitments, Lisle turned the remainder of the tour over to lighting tech Mike Marcario to operate.
Best advice: “Attitude is the most important attribute on a tour. Try not to be arrogant, and smile. A positive legacy is important. I lost tours in the past because of my attitude. I’ve learned from that. I want to be remembered as a great guy. It’s all about people.”
