Lynyrd Skynyrd is a great band to work with, for several reasons — one of which is they get booked on all sorts of different festivals/gigs because of their iconic music. Since I’ve been with them (2010), we have played every type of gig, from southern/classic rock to classic/New Age country and heck, even hard rock and metal festivals like “Hell Fest” in Europe. I mean we just did a gig with Judas Priest last month! It’s great, because it means this band is always working, and that means I am always working.
For the record, I am always working on the show; updating songs and lighting looks, trying to keep things visually effective. I say effective because with a band like Skynyrd, you only want to emphasize or help enhance the music, not ever take away or distract from it. That’s how I feel about lighting all great “live” artists, but of course not all bands are great live.
A Visual Crutch
It seems like the more opening acts I see that come in with a huge floor package and/or video elements have that gear because, honestly, they need it. The music, or even the band, isn’t that good. And without their “Pro Tools” or “track” inputs, some are even terrible.
See, with Skynyrd, not only is everything “live,” but the people are coming to see Skynyrd, not a Pink Floyd laser light show. Tasteful lighting helps make things better for the audience as well as the band. When I first joined Skynyrd, Johnny Van Zant told me he wanted those lights to dance!! He wants his “Skynyrd Nation” (fans) to feel like they’re part of the show and feel that heat from the audience blinders, which are used often, as he wants to see “his people.” The band’s energy is fed from the fans which, in turn, makes for a great show! Skynyrd fans love Skynyrd, and with that comes the bright lights and the loud music — when appropriate, of course.
Advancing the Shows
Now, working festivals, no matter what band you’re with, can be a great day or a hate day. It’s all up to the local lighting company and their techs. I advance the lighting for every show. Sometimes I may have two conversations. Other times, I may have 22 conversions. The more phone calls and emails spent on one show, the worse the day will be, it seems.
I have two lighting plots. One is all movers (with Moles and Lekos) and the other is a 120K PAR rig (with Moles and Lekos). Most of the festivals we have been playing seem to spec themselves with the 120K rig with Moles and Lekos. I get it, more weather-conducive than movers. (Most movers are not UL approved for outdoor use, by the way, so always say a special prayer for good weather.) The 120K rig is also, of course, easier on the budget. Some of the festivals are mostly movers, however. Either way is fine for me, because I have the show written to do both types of rigs. We are carrying a 40-foot Christie Lites “F” type truss with eight Martin MAC Vipers, eight MAC 401s and four atomic strobes. It is mostly used in a mid-stage truss position but, in a pinch, works great as an upstage truss (for the Stageline SL320 mobile stage days, for example). In addition to the truss, I replaced the traditional ACLs with 20 MAC 101s on horizontal and vertical pipes that frame in the rig real nicely and also give some movement, color and strobe effects to the show, instead of just turning on or off. I add them to the house U.S. truss. For a floor package, we have six MAC 2000 Wash XBs, two MAC Vipers and 12 ColorBlasts.
All of this is pretty simple and gives a nice big look to a simple house rig. But “simple” isn’t simple to all. There’s a huge lack of knowledge by many in the industry these days, and I don’t really get that, because what we do can be very dangerous. As a result of this lack of knowledge, I have a new saying this year: “KNOW YOUR RIG!” That’s it! That’s all I ask. How hard is it to patch and understand a 120K PAR rig with eight blinders and 13 Lekos? I mean, I’m bringing in all of the technical stuff and trust me, me and my L2 got this. We show up at some gigs where even with the all of the advance information I send (which includes a written rider and very simply detailed plots, lighting and rigging with all the notes you need) and the 22 conversations, things can still be crap when we arrive! There are also some gigs I do with real lighting companies. With those companies, I have one conversation. That, together with the information I send, is enough. There is no need for another conversation.
I was raised in this business running lights in LA night clubs, etc. but I was trained at Upstaging. As many people know, there is the Upstaging way of doing things, and thank The Lord I learned that way and not the way of Sam’s Bumble F#@* lighting Company, if you will. It seems as though now, anyone can buy some cheap lights from China. All of the sudden everyone is a lighting company. Oh, and not just a lighting company, but… “We also do sound and video and stages and busses, and hell, catering too, why not?” The lack of quality in most of these mom and pop one stop shops simply sucks, because they’re not only bad at lighting, they’re bad at everything because they don’t know how to do any of it correctly in the first place.
Working Smart
A wise man once told me laziness breeds efficiency. Now, I’m far from lazy, but I have always agreed in the motto: “Work smarter, not harder.” For example, back in my dimmer guy days, I used to coil my multi-cables from the box to the stage floor and then send most of that coil in the air. Then double handle it by re-routing the excess to the dimmer area and coiling again. My friend said to me one day, “Hey buddy, just make a fly loop, and that way you only coil the cable once.” He was right! Why coil that cable any more than you have to? “Laziness breeds efficiency” wins again!
It seems like a lot of the newer people in the industry have the “laziness” part down, but they’re lacking on the “efficiency” aspect. Now, having said all of that, I know my days of ripping local lighting guys dimmer patches out and re-doing them so they make sense aren’t over, and, honestly, sometimes its kind of funny, because it brings me back to a time I really enjoyed my career. I really have never been one to like a routine for too long, so these types of “problem” gigs and venues are great for me. Hell, I can figure out a way to put a rig almost anywhere now! I have learned more in the past five years on how to make things right for the show and production than I ever knew before.
Jonny “Tosar” Tosarello has been a freelance lighting dude for the last 10 years. When not on tour he can be found advancing gigs from his home in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
