TOUR: Immersive Music Tour
DATES: Sept. 19-Dec. 31, 2013 (North America)
THE SHOW: “There are moments of utter visual madness and auditory overload followed by extended down-tempo psychedelic moments, and the lighting rig has to cover all of those bases.”
DESIGN GOALS: “I often design with the DJ/electronic music producer Lorin Ashton, a.k.a. Bassnectar. The goal on this tour was to “immerse” the audience with lighting. That meant hanging the rig over the audience.”
GEAR STRATEGY: “The best choice for the concept was a center circle truss overhead. We use a Martin MAC 401 and had a mirror cut to fit just inside the beveled edge to get a DMX moving mirror. I added five mirror balls. I wanted to get my profile fixtures out over the audience — we have a bright video component to our show, and I used more gobos than on previous tours to add to the immersion concept.”
BIO
Home Base: Denver, CO
Years in the Industry: 12
Heroes/Mentors: “I learned a lot from LD Marc Janowitz. My biggest influence artistically is LD Chris Kuroda of Phish. His punting style, gobo work and concept on aerial positions were the basis of what I tried to emulate early on; I have taken many of his programming concepts and changed them to make them work for the look I’m going for.
Favorite Moment: “Right after the show is over, when people are leaving with smiles on their faces, and I see the payoff for all the hard work that I put in.”
Words of wisdom: “Specialize in something you love, but never stop taking gigs outside your comfort zone. I’ve learned a lot doing other jobs in the industry and applied those lessons to my lighting career.”
