This past June, concert touring veteran Lance “KC” Jackson celebrated 44 consecutive years in the live entertainment industry. The many artists KC has worked with include Luther Vandross, Boyz II Men, New Kids On The Block, Justin Bieber, and he is currently on the road as Production Stage Manager for Earth, Wind and Fire with Santana on the Miraculous Supernatural Tour. Throughout his career he has worn many hats, working in audio as well as property master, stage manager, and production manager. One hat that he always wears is mentor. KC generously shares his experience and knowledge with those coming up in the industry. He also has put action to his desire to improve the industry for everyone by being a co-founder, with Bill Reeves, of Roadies of Color United (R.O.C.U). Started in 2009 as a social network, R.O.C.U. has now grown into a non-profit organization recognized industrywide as an advocate for a more diverse and inclusive industry for all. KC graciously took some time during a rare week off to speak with PLSN and share some of his experiences with our readers.
What drew you to be a stage manager for concert touring?
It’s a combination of things. From the time that I started in the business, I didn’t have the opportunity to just do one thing. But after I did my first tour, I knew concert touring was something that I wanted to be involved in long term, working in this industry. So, I learned to wear a lot of different hats. I went to school for audio engineering, and on my first tour, which was actually a big one, The Commodores’ Platinum tour, I was the front of house engineer for LTD, the opening act. Jeffrey Osborne was their lead singer. But from there I couldn’t find another job as a sound engineer right away. In those days, particularly in R&B, you worked for a certain band and other bands were rivals. You couldn’t just go from one band to another band. You sort of belonged to that particular band.
However, I came into the business at a good time because there was an emergence of solo artists and new bands—all of which needed crews. So, I had the opportunity to not be dependent on just that one group. I spent some time working as a guitar tech, keyboard tech / programmer, carpenter, and as a drum tech. I was very good at repairing things because I had electronics one and two in high school. I would also be blessed to get behind the board again to mix monitors and front of house off and on. Wearing all those different hats set me up to be able to utilize all those experiences to become a stage manager. Initially, as a talent stage manager, which is significantly different than being a production stage manager. As talent stage manager you dealt with the band and usually production was already set up. The production would give you your time slot of when to come in, get your gear set up, do your sound check, do your show, and then pack your stuff up after your performance, which is pretty simple. So, that was where I started, and I took all those experiences to do what I do today.
Is there a project you feel really set you on your career path?
Oh, absolutely. I refer to it as my baptism by fire. In 1994, I was the guitar tech for Boyz II Men on their II tour and I also was a talent stage manager. So, again, it was a situation where we would come in after production was up and do our thing. On that tour, I had the privilege of working with a gentleman named Norman Williams, who was the production stage manager. We started working together and actually became a team. I got a little bit more involved in the production side of things. We would share some of the responsibilities to take a little bit of the load off of him. Long story short, Norman abruptly left the tour, and I was given the opportunity to take his place. Knowing only half of what he did, not knowing everything that he did, that’s why I refer to it as my baptism by fire. But that gave me the opportunity for the first time to be a production stage manager on a 15-truck show. It was a big tour, actually, it was a huge tour and, like I say, I acquired quite a bit of knowledge from Norman. For the rest of it I had to feel my way. So, yeah, that was a pass or fail project. If I didn’t come through on that tour, I think that door might have been closed for a while. The Boyz II Men tour was certainly the project that set me on the path that I’m on now.
Who’s been a role model or mentor of yours in touring?
There’s many, but there are two that come to mind. Early on in my career, there was a gentleman named James Greer who was the production manager for a company called Taurus Productions. It was a Black promoter back in the ‘70s, run by Quentin Perry. James was their production manager, and I was doing my second tour with the GAP Band, we opened for The O’Jays on quite a few dates. That was actually one of the first major tours to go across the country… 65 days, 40 some odd cities. [The historic O’Jays coast-to-coast national tour did 49 dates in 65 days, breaking 15 house records—ed.] When you first get into the business, there’s so much going on, I mean, you don’t even know what the production office is, you just know that you have a job to do and you’re busy trying to do your job. But that tour was an opportunity for me to see a production manager at a distance. And that it was a Black man in charge; that was huge to me back then. James was very disciplined, very well organized and he always had a solution. I learned much from watching him.
The second person, actually from that same tour, was a gentleman named Joe Schaffner. You have to understand the mentality back then was just short of hazing, it was ‘I had my face rubbed in sh*t, I’m going to rub yours in it also, to toughen you up,’ that kind of thing. But Joe was different. Joe would watch out for our crew. I was working for the GAP Band, and we were not a very well experienced crew. When he saw us struggling, he would come over and say, ‘Hey, there’s an easier way to do that. Do you want me to show you?’ As I said, the bands were pretty much individual camps back then. So, he didn’t have to do that. But he would go out of his way to look out for some of the younger people that were out on the tour. Like, back then there was no catering on tour as we have today. You were on your own. Well, we drove the truck ourselves, so we would get to the show after driving 250 miles straight through. We got there just in time to set up our gear, tough out the rest of the day, then jump back in the truck and leave, sometimes not even with a shower, to make it to the next city. But sometimes Joe would come over and say, “Hey, are you guys hungry? Would you like some sandwiches?” That was Joe, always a standup guy. Sadly, he recently passed away. He was a role model who didn’t mind sharing knowledge and he mentored young people like myself at the start, and so many others right up until he passed away. I was glad to know him my whole career. [For more on Joe Schaffner’s career, go to www.plsn.me/Joe-S].
I think that kind of mentoring is important. It’s part of why I’m involved in Roadies Of Color; it is my way of giving something back to the industry. It’s important to pass along your experience and to let young people see you doing the work. To really give them a path and show them the way to go; to give them a role model to look up to. James and Joe did that for me.
What is a piece of advice that you got in your career that you still find applicable today?
It’s universal. It’s very simple. You’re as good as your last show. You could be in the business for 20 years, one year, 10 years, but the most important show that you’ll do is the one that you’re doing. If you go and mess that up, then a door could close. You could get sent home. Complacency is something that you have to be careful not to fall into, or as I refer to it as Groundhog Day. Yeah, every day is the same job, but it’s a different city. It’s different people. You have to come in like this is the most important show in your career, because you’re only as good as that show.
What do you think is an important trait or quality to being a production stage manager in concert touring?
I think you need to develop diplomacy and patience. Both take awareness. These are not natural instincts for any individual. You have to be mentally focused to be diplomatic and to remain patient during the course of the day. There’s good days and there’s bad days.
Another important thing is to know how to stay in your lane, understand what your job is. As a production stage manager, the two most important responsibilities I have is time management and allocation of resources. The department heads all have their job to do, but it is my job to manage the time that they have to do their job and provide them with the resources to do that job in that time. It takes communication to find out what those resources are and what each department needs. Then if somebody asks me a question about sound, I’m going to go to my sound department heads. If it’s a lighting question, I want to go to my lighting crew chief. You will have better cooperation with your department heads because you’re respecting their positions. My advice: don’t micromanage and stay in your lane. The most important thing is it’s a team effort and everyone respects each other’s positions and their jobs.
Is there any advice you wish you had been given as a person of color going into concert touring that you would now offer to a young person considering a career in production?
When people think about the music business, the first thing they think about is the music, but the bigger word is “business.” I wish someone back then could have sat me down and had me focus more on the fact that I’m getting involved in a business, as a business professional. And that goes in line with the second thing that I tell people, which is the job doesn’t require a personality. The more personable you are, obviously the better. But in the end, you’re there to do a job. There are going to be some aspects of it that you will like more than other aspects. But the bottom line is keeping your personality separate from your business; about how you feel about certain things. I run into this a lot, particularly young Black males that are on an almost all-white tour. They have this feeling like, “Oh, these guys are picking on me, I can’t catch a break.” But the bottom line is people who will be the most critical of what you’re doing on your job are people that can’t fire you. Because if it was a person that could fire you, they would send you home.
So, it’s about learning the business, being business-wise in conducting that business and keeping your personality in check. What you should be projecting more is your professionalism, your skill set, your ability to evolve and learn. I tell people all the time, you can learn from a complete idiot what not to do. But every day you’re supposed to come in and you’re supposed to be learning. It’s supposed to be infectious, where other people are learning, and you are evolving together. This is how productions are successful, that evolution. It’s about what you have to put on the plate now, no name dropping your resume unless somebody asks for it. Nobody really wants to hear that. You’re being given a once in a lifetime opportunity. That’s how I look at it for somebody coming in, you are being given an opportunity to have a great career in a very unique industry.
How did you come to be a co-founder of
Roadies Of Color United?
I signed up to a social network, which was very popular at the time, and it was hassle-free. I signed up, I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. And I started sharing the link to this social network. But then I started getting these emails from the moderator, asking “Do you know these people?” About people I had recommended to join. Then one day I was talking to Bill Reeves about my experience with this social network. We were scrolling through the roster of members, and there were a significant number of members at the time, but we noticed that there wasn’t a whole lot of people that looked like me and him. And there weren’t that many females. We thought, well, that’s kind of deep. In a subsequent conversation Bill suggested, “Why don’t we start our own social network?”
So, in March of 2009, Bill and I started Roadies Of Color United. We wanted it to be a place where people of color could sign up, recommend their friends, create a network between us, where we could help each other’s careers, be able to speak things that were on our minds. We also wanted to do something different; it was not just for people of color, it needed to be inclusive. It’s for anybody that was like-minded that wanted to see the industry change. I mean, if you grew up in an all-white neighborhood and I grew up in an all-Black neighborhood, then there’s no exchange of ideas. I can’t really see what you do. You can’t really see what I do because you’re on the other side of the fence. So, we decided to start this social network. Over time though we realized that it’s bigger than just social networks, that there was actually a problem in this industry when it comes to hiring people of color, women, career advancement, access to certain resources. This industry is a microcosm of society at large. A lot of the ills that exist in society exist in this industry. So, Roadies of Color evolved from being a social network to being a 501(c) 6 professional membership association. Our message hasn’t really changed over the years; we would like to see a more diverse and inclusive industry.
I think people are hearing our message. I think we’re starting to see some success. We have a lot of support from a lot of companies in the industry. We were covered in Pollstar magazine last year and I thought that was huge. The industry, it’s not going to change overnight, but it has progressed dramatically over the years. I also think that after the [George] Floyd murder there was a lot of soul-searching. Keep in mind, Roadies Of Color, up to that point, had been around over 10 years. Not very much in the way of notoriety, but right after that, the Floyd murder, that put us in the spotlight. People started asking questions. As we answered, providing information about who we are, what we’re trying to do, and for a lot of people the light bulb came on. I think once you point out, “Hey, there’s something not quite right over there,” and people pay attention, in their own ways, and they’re making some effort to make some adjustments. I think things are changing, but the industry’s not going to change overnight. Also, I think that a fortunate thing to come out of the pandemic shutdown was the time that people had to think; to look and examine how we do business and how we pay people and pay equity. It is not a Black and white thing instead it’s a green thing. It’s about economic prosperity based on one’s ability to get hired to do a job. It is about having those soul-searching conversations and asking, “How do we make a better industry for everyone?” That’s the most important thing. That is what Roadies of Color is asking and working toward.
And what do you love about being a production stage manager?
It’s a sense of fulfillment. To walk into an empty building, an arena, a theater, and to then build a production. To do that successfully every day and have everybody walk away at the end of the day, safe and having had a good show, it’s like magic. Most people won’t get it. I have friends who think that when they go to a concert, no matter what band comes in there, that there’s this big closet with all this stuff that comes out for that band. They don’t see the trucks; they don’t see the buses; they don’t see what goes into putting that show together. It’s a kind of magic that intrigues me. It’s been 44 years and I still love this business.
For more on Roadies of Color United (ROCU), go to www.roadiesofcolorunited.com
