LD Philip Ealy has designed the much anticipated reunion tour for Guns N’ Roses. Aptly titled “Not In This Lifetime” — referring to the fact that nobody believed it would actually happen — Ealy is working with lighting programmer Rob Koenig and content programmer Chris Lose on the stadium tour.
Meanwhile, Drew Gnagey reports from the road as lighting director/screens director with the Dixie Chicks’ DCX MMXVI World Tour. It’s a Baz Halpin-designed show (production and lighting) with Eric Marchwinski as programmer. “We just successfully completed our first few shows in Europe, continuing on to the States this summer,” Gnagey says.
LD Stanley Green is lighting and directing a most famous garage band, Tom Petty’s Mudcrutch, which formed before the Heartbreakers. The band’s first national tour runs May 26-June 28 in the U.S. Mudcrutch first reunited in 2008 and are now promoting a new album with the tour.
More Than A Feeling
At press time, LD Gregg Maltby was still wrapping up the design for the Boston @ 40 Tour 2016. “I’m going to Pre Viz with Seth Rapaport for five days in Las Vegas, the tour rehearsals start April 26 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL., and the first show is April 29, with dates expected to Labor Day.”
This News Relates to That News…
LD Joel Reiff says he’s excited to start up as LD with Alice Cooper’s super group, the Hollywood Vampires, which also features Johnny Depp and Joe Perry. “This is an artist I’ve been a fan of for quite a while,” he says. “It was an extremely difficult decision to leave Peter Frampton, another great job. The deciding factor was more consistent touring. After all, I need to continue to provide the kind of lifestyle that my horses have become accustomed to.”
In related news, David Davidian is wearing two hats as tour manager/video director for the Hollywood Vampires. Davidian alsoreports for duty as video director for Rihanna’s tour. Lighting designer is Jesse Blevins, lighting director is Josh Kauffman.
And also related to that, LD Vic Fable is now designing Peter Frampton’s touring show. Also new to the Frampton camp is production manager John Procaccini, most recently with The Doobie Brothers.
Just to Make it Clear…
LD Eric Cathcart checks in with us from the wide, wide world of Bigtime Lighting Design. Okay, mark your calendars: “Mike Grant will take over pushing buttons for me on Cage The Elephant for their May and June legs (Mike and I co-designed the tour) while The Arcs are on a break. Cage The Elephant will
expand their rig quite handsomely from the Spring Fling tour that they just finished. I will start touring with Silversun Pickups in May. The design will be ever-evolving based on venue size and truck space. Come July, Silversun Pickups take a break at the beginning of the month, The Arcs start back up, so I return to Cage The Elephant to push buttons while Mike returns to the helm of The Arcs. Confused yet? We are.”
It’s Not the Destination, It’s the Journey
LD Kevin “Deuce” Christopher is preparing for the upcoming Journey World Tour 2016, kicking off in May.” It’s a fairly decent sized rig,” he says. Scotty Ross joins him this year as road manager. LD Steve Owens returns to The Doobie Brothers, who open for Journey for 53 dates this spring/summer.
Picking Up New Acts
LD Scott Warner of Karate Pinky Visual Design has picked up a new act, AJ Lehrman, who is supporting Pentatonix on their U.S. tour. (See related story, page 30). Warner designed the show and Aaron Craig is again running it on the road. Warner’s also working with Erika Jayne, singer and star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for her clubs and events schedule. Sharing his strategy, Warner tells us: “Occasionally I try to pick up some new acts that have good management when they’re starting out.”
Arlo: Keeper of the Flame
LD Paul “Arlo” Guthrie has designed Miranda Lambert’s “Keeper of the Flame” tour, which starts in May. He’s sending Taylor Price out as lighting director. “He’s awesome!” Guthrie says. Arlo also designed the Tortuga Music Fest lighting April 15-17 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, featuring headliners Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley and more. What’s next? “In two months I’ll be back to digging ditches for a living!” he jokes.
Quick Cues
Mark “Junior” Jacobson kicked off April as lighting programmer/operator for Chelsea Handler’s new talk show on Netflix, taping at Sony Studios in Culver City, CA. Darren Langer is the LD, and Rob Kemery is the gaffer. The shows begins airing May 11 for three nights a week to December. Her show is still unnamed at press time as she sifts through Twitter fan suggestions for a title.
LD Ed Warren continues out on tour with Mumford & Sons world tour through mid-July. Meanwhile, he’s designing for Sufjan Stevens’ Coachella shows and a U.S. tour, and Bat For Lashes, also at Coachella but on a U.K. tour.
LD Liam Tully is currently in the U.S. with James Bay for Coachella, and doing some small shows.
Lighting director Chris Smith has just finished with The Smashing Pumpkins’ “In Plain Song” tour, carrying out the design from Tobias Rylander of Seven Design Works.
LD Troy Stubby checks in from the road with Air Supply, racking up air miles on their anniversary tour. From June 2-29 he’s running 16 shows split between New Zealand, Australia, and China. The first show is at the Horncastle Arena in Christchurch, New Zealand and the last stop on this run is at the Shanghai Grand Stage in China.
LD Michelle Sarrat had a full Coachella experience, working with two new shows, Grimes and Sia. After the fest, she heads out with Grimes as LD for the spring/summer festival season. “I am pleased to be taking over this tour from the marvelously talented LD Sarah Landau, who has returned to M83, and to help reinterpret it in its new form.”
LD Matt Mills is preparing for the spring/summer run of Disturbed as well as a few large corporate gigs thrown in there, too. “I’m going over my show with a fine tooth comb so I can have LD Andy May cover me while I’m away,” he says.
LD Rolf Wenzel of Chaos Center tells us he’s spent “a bunch of years” with the German band Element of Crime. He’s just sent out their new European tour, incorporating very old and very new lighting equipment, as he describes it. “The design you see doesn’t need any rigging points,” he says. “It is completely placed onstage. “He needs the flexibility to adopt it to various venue sizes.
Got summer touring news for Debi? Reach her at dmoen@plsn.com.
