“Anyone should be able make an impressive show with 400 lights,” says Larry Schmidt of Tallahassee, FL-based Production Support Group. “I like to see the tech-nician that can make an eye catching, innovative show with 80 lights, 60 lights, or even just 24!” Thus encapsulates the spirit of the Hometown Hero Regional Lighting Company honors. We like to think that while we can’t all be big, we can all be exceptional, serving our regions with an inspiring dedication to quality and customer service.
PLSN readers have once again nominated a fascinating collection of companies from six regions in North America. We’ve have several repeats — companies that have returned to the Hometown Hero spotlight, along with a few smaller companies you might not have heard of coming to the circle for the first time. Let’s meet them!
Northeast:
East Coast Lighting & Production Services (ECLPS)
Warwick, RI
East Coast Lighting and Production Services is one of the 2013 Hometown Hero finalists that has been honored with the distinction before. “I’m humbled and extremely proud to be representing the Northeast Region,” says ECLPS president Bob Morrissey. “It is a testament to the hard work of my crew and to our continued commitment to excellence in serving the New England area.”
Since last year’s visit to the winner’s circle, ECLPS has provided gear and crew to support events included tours with the bands All Time Low and Pierce the Veil along with the GrooveBoston’s Visceral and Vitality tours. “The spring season included college commencements, and the summer season was filled with festivals, such as the Life is Good Festival, the Rhythm and Roots Festival, the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals and the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival,” says Morrissey. “As the summer winds down, we are wrapping another year as the house lighting company at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston — our 20th.”
In terms of gear, ECLPS recently added MA Lighting’s grandMA Series 2 control consoles, Robe Robin Pointe, 600 and 1200 LEDWash fixtures and additional Clay Paky Sharpys to go along with their ample inventory of lighting fixtures from Harman’s Martin Professional.
Beyond the business, ECLPS has donated equipment and services to organizations such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association and ALS and also played a key role with the Boston Strong concert that raised funds for those affected by the bombing at the finish of the 2013 Boston Marathon. ECLPS also continues its support for the Station Family Fund, set up after the tragic nightclub fire in 2003.
Morrissey grew up in Warwick, R.I., and can pinpoint to the day his inspiration to get into the business. It was July 6, 1969, and he found himself at the Newport Jazz & Folk Festival. “That was the last time they let rock bands play,” he says.
Inspired, he got into the business, and his company grabbed hold of a shooting star known as the rock group Boston. They’ve since supported other noteworthy acts, including the Pat Travers Band, J. Geils Band, The Allman Brothers, Jerry Garcia, Joe Cocker and Rhode Island’s own John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band.
Southeast
Production Support Group, Inc. (PSG)
Tallahassee, FL
Three times is a charm for PSG as the company returns to the HTH honor a third time in a row (though in 2011 they were here for their audio service.)
“I am truly humbled and very proud of this loyalty,” says Larry Schmidt, president. “The Parnelli Awards are such a great addition/compliment to our industry. The crews on the other side of the microphone are often forgotten because of all the attention paid to the entertainer, dignitary, or performer. Hurrah for the ones who make it happen, and for the Parnelli Awards that bring the recognition to them that they deserve.”
Schmidt cites his early and continued embrace of LED fixtures as a contributor to the company’s success. “I am impressed on the light output compared to conventionals and relieved that finally we are getting beam patterns back — which have been sorely missed, in my opinion. I can now design beam patterns into our LED shows instead of just being content with washes. We have had great success with the tight beam pattern of the Elation ELAR 180 to replace narrow beamed 1K’s.”
The professed fisherman is also naturally once again pleased to have been involved with the Bassmaster Classic arena shows for the past few of years. “The bass fish has met rock n’ roll, and it is not just for the ‘singing bass’ on the TV commercials. I will point out, though, that production companies tend to see their ‘mega’ jobs as the highlights of their portfolio, and that is understandable. I tend to see the small- and medium-budget shows, using a bunch of ingenuity and creative thinking to make a big and cool looks, just as exciting. We did a show with Janelle Monet about a year and half ago that I thought really rocked, and it may have had 48 fixtures on it.”
Today, Production Support Group has five full-time employees and 20 more part-timers, and they work out of two warehouses totaling 13,000 square feet.
Midwest
Majestic Productions
Summitville, IN
Majestic Productions, located just northeast of Indianapolis, is new to the Parnelli Awards ballot’s roster of regional Hometown Hero lighting company finalists. Owner Ryan Bates’ journey goes something like this: He toured with Christian music singer Sandi Patty and other artists for four years, beginning as a technician and moving up to the LD position, all while working for Patty’s production company, Majestic Sound and Lighting, which functioned as a production and rental house while Patty was off the road. Then in 1993, Bates purchased the equipment and tweaked the name, and Majestic Productions was born.
“Our growth was slow and steady,” Bates explains. “Our partnership with other production companies put Majestic on some large-scale gigs early on, which helped to establish us as a company. That is why, when given the opportunity, we partner with other smaller companies to help get them off the ground. There have been years of hard work, long hours, some mistakes, and some lucky breaks.” Majestic has worked with some clients who have been loyal to the company for 18 years. Touring artists such as Chris Tomlin, MercyMe and The Gaither Vocal Band take them on the road often. “Then we have some corporate clients that do large yearly events, such as Chick-fil-A Leadercast, Catalyst Conferences, Orange Conference, NACC Conference and Forward Conference.” The company also provides lighting for area high schools, colleges, churches and dance productions.
Today, the company has 18 full-timers, and their warehouse is around 30,000 square feet. “What started out as an old cheese factory from the 1930s has been updated and added on to several times,” Bates says. Gear-wise, Majestic is primarily a Martin house, and the rental company continues to expand its inventory with newer Martin fixtures and consoles. Majestic has invested in other consoles as well — including desks from MA Lighting, Avolites and High End Systems. “Our biggest console investment is certainly in Hog 4 and Hog 3 consoles. We are getting ready to roll out a new show server system that will be compatible with both grandMA2 and Hog 4 consoles.”
Bates says it’s a “huge honor” to be nominated for a Parnelli award and to win for the Midwest region. “Anytime your peers nominate and vote for you, that means a lot.”
Northwest
Avalanche Concert Systems
Tacoma, WA
Dennis Baker’s Avalanche Concert Lighting & Stage offers stage lighting sales, rentals and production services and specializes in in entertainment services for concerts, theater, special events, corporate meetings, night clubs, bars, dance clubs, and retail stores, plus offers lighting and set design.
But founder Baker started out with other ideas entirely. “I originally wanted to be a promoter,” he says. When an early foray caused him to “lose his shirt,” he started buying gear. By 1985, he was able to launch Avalanche.
Baker crossed paths with some guys who were launching another young company — Colin Waters and Marshall Bissett of TMB — and their long association has proved to be mutually beneficial. “I started buying gear from them when I think Marshall was still running the business out of his garage,” he says. “They are really great people who put up with me for a lotta years.”
The company has a total of six full-time employees working out of a pair of warehouses totaling 14,000 square feet. The company stocks Martin, Robe, and Elation movers plus ETC and grandMA boards. “We have a big variety rather than a lot of one, because we’re grass roots and don’t have a ton of gear,” he says, adding that when they need to supplement their own gear, they reach out to the area’s Christie Lites.
Along with a lot of baseball, basketball, football, and soccer-related events, Avalanche handles corporate gigs and fundraisers as well, for clients that have included tech giants Microsoft and Amazon.com, among others. Avalanche also provides staging for Seattle’s big Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.
Baker credits his friend and site coordinator for Avalanche, Jeff Mason, for telling him about the Parnelli Hometown Hero awards competition. “I kinda knew about it, but I’ve just always been busy working and not really thought of this side of it!”
Southwest
Brown Note Productions, Inc.
Thornton, CO
“We’re excited to be doing what we do,” Ryan Knutson explains. “We feel honored to just be part of this industry. So winning a Parnelli regional honor makes it all even better.” Knutson and wife Sara Bensman-Knutson founded Brown Note Productions in 2004. Originally located in Lafayette, CO, BNP is now located in Thornton, CO.
Bensman-Knutson likes to tell the details of the beginning: Ryan was touring as a FOH engineer/production manager for the instrumental rock dance band Sound Tribe Sector 9. Sara, meanwhile, was working as a corporate events manager for a local data storage company. When she saw the bids to rent AV equipment for an event, she showed it to Knutson, correctly guessing that he could do better. “We made up the company ‘Brown Note Productions,’ wrote up a fake invoice, and I took it to my managers, saying I got a more competitive bid,” she laughs. Off they went.
The next year, in 2005, the fledgling company took a “leap of faith” along with a substantial loan and got a small lighting package. They continued to invest in their small but growing lighting inventory, focusing, Ryan says, on fixtures from Martin and Clay Paky, including a growing number of LED fixtures.
The “rock” of their client list is nearby Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where they support a lot of touring acts by either subletting their rig or, in other cases, building systems for them. “We have a partnership with the promoters,” Knutson says. Today, they have 20 full-time people working for them and many contractors. They recently moved from a 12,000 to 27,000-square-foot warehouse.
Bensman-Knutson says the bulk of their work involves touring and festivals. And they are lighting them with a lot Martin products, including MAC Profiles, Vipers, 301s, 101s and 700s. Brown Note also has an ample assortment of Clay Paky Sharpys and Sharpy Wash fixtures. Their consoles include grandMA1 and grandMA2 desks along with a Wholehog 4.
“Our whole focus is quality, in everything we do,” Knutson sums up. “We are trying to grow this business and make it a better company every day.”
Canada
ShowWorks, Inc.
Brampton, Ontario
Craig Bickerstaffe is relatively new to the industry, and this is the first time his young company has been honored with a regional Hometown Hero honor.
“I started working as a technical director in nightclubs in the early 2000s, but got tired of the late nights, so I started a small company,” Bickerstaffe explains. Using his well-established contacts in that world, he was able to launch ShowWorks in 2007, and things took off for him right away.
“We did a lot of big concerts and festivals in 2007 and 2008, and we did the big Sarnia Bayfest in 2009 and 2010.” Bayfest had Kiss and Rush headlining, respectively. “And at that point things skyrocketed.” ShowWorks has also supported shows for Burton
Cummings, Buckcherry, Papa Roach and Randy Bachman, among others.
By design, Bickerstaffe keeps ShowWorks’ focus on the small side — a four-person crew working from a warehouse measuring about 7,000 square feet. He says the focus on compact solutions makes the most sense.
“We spend a lot of hours figuring out how to get the most gear in the smallest space, and if I put in a 2K, there’s not a lot of room for anything else!”
The current inventory consists of “a lot of moving heads plus ColorBlasts and
[Martin] MAC 250s and 500s — all the things that make a lighting company go. This year,” he adds, “we bought a bunch of High End Systems LED Trackspots. I’ve also gotten into their new Hog system, and just put an order in for their Nano Hog 4.”
ShowWorks may not be the biggest company on the Parnelli ballot, or even on the portion of the ballot devoted to Hometown Hero regional lighting companies. But then again, honoring the smaller companies in the industry is kind of what the Hometown Hero Awards are all about.
“I think it’s really great, and I’m really looking forward to coming to Vegas and seeing what happens at the gala,” Bickerstaffe says. “I think us receiving this award [for all of Canada] shows that there’s been a lot of hard work and dedication from my guys … I can’t take all the credit. The guys working with me are the real heroes!”
To vote for the 2013 Parnelli Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year, go to www.parnelliawards.com/vote.
