Fireworks Company Now Offers Broad Array of Pyro, Lasers and Special Effects
We recently sat down with Dennis Brady, the CEO of Pyro Engineering, an effects company with main headquarters located in Bethpage, NY, a New York City suburb on Long Island. He introduced us to a company that has been blowing up explosives for more than 30 years and providing other thrilling effects in recent years.
Origins
Bay Fireworks started in Oyster Bay, NY around 1986. They supplied fireworks and were pretty much a seasonal company. With the majority of their work covering holidays such as Fourth of July, Memorial Day and New Year’s Eve, they got by on working those dates.
At a young age, Dennis Brady was trained as a fireman and EMT. He also admits that like many pyro shooters, ‘I was a bit of a thrill seeker.’ He became a licensed shooter, working for the company part time starting in 1992. By 1999, he was full-time. Now, 25 years later, the name of the company has changed, as has Brady’s title. He now runs the company.
Changing the Name
In 2002, the company switched its name to Pyro Engineering, continuing to focus on fireworks. While previously they had been well known for their aerial shell displays (read traditional fireworks) Brady felt the company would do well to rebrand themselves and add in more effects, such as flame displays, pyrotechnics, lasers, cryo and confetti.
In 2010, they made a conscious decision to start moving indoors with their shows as well, as Brady explains. “When 65 percent of your business is based around a two week period, and that work was subject to weather, the writing was on the wall. You either diversify, or you die on the vine,” he says. “Around seven years ago, I saw a vision of the direction in which this industry was heading. People wanted a one-stop shop for all of their effects. Other companies in America were offering various effects to go along with the basic pyrotechnics. At this point I felt that we needed to go all in and develop a game plan for the future.”
Changing the Company
One of the first things Brady did was hire Luis Torres to run the special effects division. Torres’ background included touring with the WWF, Mötley Crüe and others. “I didn’t have the skill set at the time to take the company where I wanted it to go,” Brady explains. “My idea was to hire the right people and then just give them the support they need. I threw all the resources of the company behind them.”
There are other effects companies that offer lasers as well as various smoke generating devices of all kinds in addition to the normal snow and bubble machines. One of the things that sets Pyro Engineering apart is their diverse knowledge and ability to deliver a vast number of “outside the box” effects to a production.
“One of our favorite unique devices is something we introduced in 2014 down at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, called the Fire Fountains. These are 30-foot RGB water fountains that also have the ability to infuse propane in the core. We introduce propane into the stream of water, which allows us to have a ball of fire on top of the fountain. We are basically setting the water itself on fire. This makes for a glorious, colorful fountain of fire. We bring these portable fountains all over. We’ve set them up outside of the entranceway at the Golden State Warriors games, and they love ‘em.”
Speaking of sports teams, Pyro Engineering has been looking after the needs of the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New York City’s Jets and Mets and others. This can include effects during player entrances, goals scored or basic halftime shows.
The Move to Touring Shows
“Our first big break in the touring market came around 2013 when The Swedish House Mafia became the first EDM artists to do a proper rock ‘n’ roll tour, carrying their own dedicated lighting, sound, set and pyro.” explains Brady. “It was huge, with five nights at the Bill Graham center in the Bay Area and two or three shows at Madison Square Garden. We had done some one offs with this organization before and got the nod to supply the tour as their vendor. We were using more product than a KISS tour.” The tour finished up down at the Ultra Music Festival and, of course, demanded they use their own production. Along the way, the producers of the festival decided to use their services for the whole festival.
“This opened a lot of doors for us, and in 2013, we redefined pyro use at festivals,” Brady says. As it turned out, one of the major players behind Insomniac, the company that produces the Electric Daisy Carnival shows worldwide, was in attendance and was blown away.
Pyro Engineering now looks after the main stage in Las Vegas for EDC as well as all the other stages in Orlando and Mexico. They also consult with EDC for shows overseas in India, Brazil and Japan to ensure everything is done safely and up to code. “Jake Berry became a big reference for us from working with him on these shows.” explains Brady, as Pyro Engineering started venturing more into touring.
In 2015, Pyro Engineering added acts such as Alice Cooper (who, somewhat surprisingly, had never used pyro previously) and Kid Rock to their roster.
Nook Schoenfeld, LD for Kid Rock, explains how that came around. “Pyro plays a major role in this artist’s show. We were in the hunt for a new pyro vendor when our PM asked if I knew a shooter named Tom Brewer. ‘Only for about 20 years,’ I answered. ‘Well he’s with some company I have never heard of, what are your thoughts on using Pyro Engineering?’ My gut immediately replied, ‘If Tom is available to tour with us, they have the account.’” Four years later, they have locked up Kid Rock’s 2017/2018 tour.
Word-of-mouth seems to be spreading through the business as more high profile tours are coming their way. “2017 has been quite an exciting year for us,” Brady says. “We’ve had the honor of touring with some of the biggest names in the industry including Paul McCartney, Ariana Grande, Kid Rock, Alice Cooper and Lady Gaga, to name a few. Having the opportunity to meet and work with PM legends in this business like Omar Abderrahman, Mark (Springo) Spring, Robert (Hydro) Mullins, Tony Moon, Cesare Sabatini and of course, show designer LeRoy Bennett, has truly been a surreal experience for me,” Brady adds.
Providing Effects for Theme Parks — on Land and Sea
Pyro Engineering has been involved with some of the larger theme parks around the globe. Companies from Legoland (California and Florida) to Disney and Universal have utilized their skills along the way. Cruise ships have become a staple in their world over the last few years as well — and as CEO Dennis Brady explains, that’s a pretty natural progression. “When you think about it, some of these current cruise ships are just floating theme parks now.”
Pyro Engineering is currently looking after some Chinese based cruise ships that are ported out of Hong Kong and Singapore. They had done work with the Norwegian Cruise Lines over the past as well. “We train the personnel and supply the products for these lines. We must do 300-350 shows per year on the ships.” Brady adds.
From Pyro to Laser Effects
Their name may still be “Pyro Engineering,” but that doesn’t mean pyro only. The Bethpage, NY-based company is venturing forth into the world of laser effects, picking up some gear and a team of technicians to run them. “We’ve been doing lasers on a few EDM shows lately,” notes Pyro Engineering CEO Dennis Brady. “We have some 35 watt big guns for those shows. We’ve also invested in about 30 20W lasers that can be dialed down to do audience scanning as well as full power aerial effects. It’s been pretty exciting. This is just another part of our services we can offer our clients as a one stop shop for all your effects needs.”
Company Snapshot: Pyro Engineering
Launched as Bay Fireworks in Oyster Bay, NY in 1986, the fireworks company changed its name to Pyro Engineering in 2002. Pyro Engineering produces between 400 and 450 fireworks shows annually around the globe. They have 13 facilities around the country, with shops from New York to Florida and Los Angeles to San Francisco. Operating with a crew of 20 full-time employees, they maintaining a rolodex with a long list of independent contractors and employ more than 500 of them for annual Fourth of July festivities alone. They fabricate a lot of their own equipment and can custom fabricate any effect or device clients might need.
Contact Info: Pyro Engineering, 999 South Oyster Bay Road Suite 111 Bethpage, NY 11714; 888.570.PYRO [7976]; www.peifx.com.
