Life sometimes has a way of pulling us into unexpected places. We may find ourselves on one course, when suddenly, the winds of fate or circumstance carry us in a new direction. How well this change works out for us often depends on how honestly and authentically we embrace it.
This theme runs through the young career of Jonathan Roy. The son of Montreal Canadians hall-of-fame goaltender, Patrick Roy, Jonathan was set to follow in his famous father’s footsteps and pursue a hockey career. He even playing briefly for the Quebec Remparts. Music, though, exerted too great a pull, so he set down his skates to pursue a music career. This ultimately led to a recording contract, and mainstay hits like “Keeping Me Alive,” a raw, gripping song about defying expectations and charting your own course.
This self-fulfilling spirit runs through Roy’s 90-minute performance on his current Life Distortions Tour, which is drawing to a close in March after an 18-month (50-date) run, before beginning a new European leg. Supporting the singer-songwriter’s performance on stage is an evocative lighting designed by OneDot that features CHAUVET Professional Maverick Force S Spot and Color STRIKE M fixtures supplied by SoftBox of Montreal.
Lighting Designer Jean-Sebastien Guillemet artfully balances light and shadows to create a dreamy, spellbinding aura on stage that beguiles audiences and draws them into the personal journey that underlies Roy’s music. At the same time, his design also reflects the intense emotional peaks that mark this transformational voyage with bold monochromatic washes and brilliant blasts of light.
“The main goal with the lighting design is to captivate the audience with the lights to bring them into the artist’s universe,” said Nowosielski-Lamoureux, who served as lighting director on the tour, and was careful to coordinate his redolent lighting with the set’s video wall.
“Marcella Grimeau created an excellent video design,” said Nowosielski-Lamoureux. “We have a 40 tiles video wall located center upstage behind where Jonathan would be for most of the show. This was used to create environments and big back light on him. The artist is mostly lit from the top with the Force 1 and Color STRIKE M fixtures. We strive to have a dark mood, but with lots of punch when needed for bigger moments of the show.
“Having video in the show was a nice challenge for the lighting because we didn’t want to overdo colors an distract the audience eyes from the performer,” he continued. “We mostly choose colors that fit well with the video and keep them throughout the song. Having multiple colors would make the mood feel brighter, and we really want to keep the vibe moody and dark, so we’re careful.”
The seven Maverick Force S Spot fixtures in the tour rig are positioned on overhead truss to match the band members. “There are seven musicians in six zones that have to be lit,” said Nowosielski-Lamoureux. “My goal is to highlight them for solos and create textures on them. In other songs we are just using them as a wash light or to add texture on stage. I really love the Force 1 fixtures because they have lots of cool features and are not super heavy. “
“As for the Color STRIKE Ms, we have four of them in a big black cloth box to create a desired look on stage. There are also four other units backstage behind the risers to create backlights, and for big wide punchy looks and strobes. I really like how this fixture adds extra punch with colors and strobes. It also gives your tour rig a trademark look.”
Among those unique looks is one of Nowosielski-Lamoureux’s favorites. It happens during the chorus of “Hold On ‘Til I Break,” when all of the Color STRIKE M fixtures in the rig start strobing to the beat of the music. Going back and forth, the flashing strobes seem to mark the passage of time, setting the mood for a journey that defines the paths (or distortions) of life.
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