It was 1996 when two guys found themselves together in a room and were informed that if they wanted a particular gig, they had better start working together. The client was only interested in a package deal, it seems. As Mark Grega, one of the principals at SFX explains, “This wasn’t about two guys getting together and saying, ‘Hey, let’s start a company’.” Partner Ted Maccabee admits, “We weren’t really friends who set off looking for our dream job. It just kind of turned out that way.”
Mark originally hailed from Toronto, but lived in a multitude of places before settling in the Midwest Chicago area. He got a job at Walt Disney World, straight out of high school. The park certainly had lots of special effects to interest the young man, but he was a sound man back then. One day he sat in a room when someone asked if anyone was interested in working on the world’s largest laser show (at the time). His hand sprang up, and thus began the start of his career in lasers.
He learned about lasers on the job. Then one day a company called Laser Media contacted him about doing a show in Reno for three days. That turned into three months, which led to going on the road. “I started my first tour with Deep Purple. Then Ritchie Blackmore broke his finger and I was bummed.” But that turned into a case of “One door opens as another one closes,” as he moved on to a Pink Floyd tour. There he met designer Marc Brickman thus starting a lifelong friendship. Grega admits, “I learned so much from Marc on that first Floyd tour as well as the McCartney one he took me on right afterwards. It’s been my pleasure to have been involved with all the Pink Floyd shows and their respective solo projects since meeting him.”
Ted Maccabee came more from the corporate world, at one point working for some computer security firm that “bored the hell out of me.” He went on to become employed by a small company out of Chicago who did some laser work and a little pyro for some sporting events. This is where he met Mark, as the two of them were doing some work for the Chicago Wolves, an AHL hockey team with a big following. They were eventually released by the producer of the company, and found themselves in a room with the head guy from the Wolves. As Ted remarks, “This fellow told us point blank that he didn’t want to really hire either of us…but if we were a team, he would be interested in using our services.” Thus Strictly was born.
What’s in a Name?
One of the first thing the guys needed was an easy name for their company. The previous employer had a silly name that nobody could remember. The duo decided they wanted to concentrate on all kinds of special effects only. No lights, video or staging. If someone needed lasers or anything atmosphere altering they wanted to be the folks to provide that. “We basically knew we wanted a simple name that everyone could remember” says Maccabee. “We knew we wanted FX in the name.” Grega adds, “To be honest, we just started scrolling through the alphabet and putting letters in front of the FX until we came upon the word Strictly. We liked how SFX sounded.” Nowadays, anytime the word Strictly is mentioned around a stage most people know exactly who they are talking about. But it wasn’t always like that, and according to Maccabee, “I still think there are a lot of designers out there who aren’t familiar with us and how we work, what we bring to the table. We love meeting new friends and showing them what we are capable of.”
Being unknown was a dilemma. But having confidence in their ability overrode the tough parts.
“I walked into my first meeting with a boom box.” explains Grega. “I hit ‘Play,’ and Guns N’ Roses started playing ‘Welcome to the Jungle.’ I said to them, ‘Here’s the part where we go BOOM – BOOM – BOOM and the players come out’….They just loved it.”
SFX began with a single 7-watt full color laser and their first propane (gas) flame unit, doing Wolves games as well as other sporting events. Ted cold-called people and beat on doors to get his products in use. Working the sports circuit turned out well at the start, with the company looking after 10 different NHL franchises at one point. They just may have originated the first game opening ceremonies where athletes enter an arena through columns of flame, smoke and laser beams.
Grega would cover the gigs himself, as this was where his passion lay. To this day, he is still on site at the big premium gigs. Ted laments, “There’s times when I wish Mark was in the office so we can concentrate on business, but the reality is he’s looking after clients and doing what he loves. He just happens to be off the radar at times, like when he’s in Pompeii for a week on a David Gilmour show.”
Entering the Touring Market
While making a living in the sporting field provided an income, music and the touring business was in their blood. Maccabee explains, “We got a break when we were young, and it didn’t take long for us to realize we wanted to get involved with the music and touring biz. A conscientious decision was made to move away from the sporting world as our main source of income and concentrate on the touring market. Mark had some contacts, and I was just hoping we were moving in the right direction.” Grega adds to this, “The reason Ted and I are successful as partners is we have this left brain-right brain thing going on. Ted deals with the sales and I deal with the ideas. Together we have each other’s back.”
Mark Miller was the LD for Prince back around 1998. He had done some corporate work where Strictly FX had provided lasers. He wanted to use their lasers on Prince, and off they went with a little package on their first tour. A big break came soon after at a big radio show in Chicago. Grega explains, “An up-and-coming band named Nsync was being managed by Tim Miller. They were on the bill with several acts at the local arena. We had showed up to do some pyro effects for a different artist playing that night. Miller caught on to what we were going to do and approached us. He begged us to please allow his band, who was the headliner, to use the effects package we brought. In the end, we relented and did what the manager wanted. A little time goes by, and this band is huge. Steve Cohen is the LD. Miller called us back, and our second tour was a really big one.” They have since gained a fair share of the touring market, but sporting events are still a part of the business.
Before the advent of video in the live entertainment market, Laser animations were used frequently to paint moving images on backdrops, ice and the ceilings of the concert halls. Neil Diamond had seagulls flying on the back cyc. Mötley Crüe had large-breasted dancing girls on the ceilings. This was a process that demanded artists and dedicated software. As the company grew, demands were made for new unique products. One of the first employees brought on board was David Kennedy, who serves as the art director at Strictly. To this day he still designs laser effects (like all the laser cues on Coldplay’s current tour) as well as coming up with great effects. The one thing that the laser department at SFX is known for is showing up on site with hundreds of pre-canned looks already in their controllers. Kennedy explained to me the principle. “With the advent of EDM shows, designers were short on time and demanding lots of new looks. We would hear how LD’s liked the lasers, but hated the time it took to program.” So a few years ago, Strictly stepped up their game and now is able to send out shows with 100 different laser looks for the designers to choose from, that often just need to be tweaked on site.
Strictly has been building a large percentage of their effects since the beginning. “Our own stuff just seems to work better for us,” Ted declares. Not having to rely on the engineering of outside parties is helpful as Ted admits to being bit in the ass a few times by providing certain gear that was demanded by the client. Eighteen years ago, they hired Reid Nofsinger as part of their staff, after he had been flown in to fix some gas units the company had developed. Reid is one of those guys who can tinker with anything mechanical as well as invent innovative new effects (particularly ways to blow stuff up). He soon became a mainstay at Strictly, inventing new devices when he’s not out working as a pyro shooter on some of the biggest shows.
Talking about the past, Ted talks about the first expansion of his operation. “We had just moved into a real shop in the Chicago suburbs when 9/11 hit. I remember the landlord almost apologetically saying ‘good luck’ as she handed us the keys on the 12th. Business as we knew it stopped.” Destiny’s Child pulled the plug on their tour. Contracts were voided, corporate work stopped, tours didn’t know what to do. “It was a lesson learned in saving money for an emergency and not constantly spending all your money on new gear,” says Ted. They managed to keep up with payroll and keep the doors open until the next summer, when business in general picked back up. Nobody was laid off.
The Work Ethic
“We were a boutique company at first, depending on word of mouth to get jobs. We worked hard, and soon enough, we had some steady gigs. We could do as much work as we had talented technicians for. This is still how we roll today. It pains my heart to turn down business, but we simply have to at times. We won’t risk our reputation by sending gear out with an inexperienced crew,” stresses Maccabee. Despite the fact that this summer SFX employed over 60 people, they still run out of gear and guys. Grega adds, “We always have to take care of our repeat customers, but we love new business. A few years ago, Jake Berry called us and requested our services. We were slammed. I had to tell him I wasn’t going to put someone out on a show that I did not know. We take safety seriously, and it ripped my heart out to have to say no. That was our one chance to work with Jake. He hasn’t called since.”
“I live for the shows,” Grega exclaims. “The Super Bowl is one of my favorite events to be involved in. The amount of talent that is assembled to put on that half time production is just awe inspiring. People think we go into these large events with a whole game plan, but it doesn’t always work that way. Someone in a room may spout out an idea and all of a sudden we are all thinking, ‘Damn we could do this. That will be amazing.’ Then stuff just happens. Last year, as we were preparing for the game, a wrench was thrown in to the works. Someone said, ‘Why don’t we have Beyoncé and her dancers work a section of the field instead of the same stage with Coldplay and Bruno?’ The next thing you know, it’s happening. We needed pyro moved to the field, lights brought in. More staging carts etc. But this team just gets it done.” SFX has had a hand in the last few Super Bowl events.
SFX was called upon by Beyoncé for the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards (see related story, page 100) and a special 15-minute performance. At one point in the show, the lights black out and the singer and dancer reposition themselves. The first light that appears is a ring of fire engulfing the star in a feat of pyro brilliance. I thought for sure that LD Cory FitzGerald and his design team must have spent a week rehearsing that scene. “Nope,” says Mark. “They worked it all out during rehearsals at Madison Square Garden and just nailed it. They are as professional as they come.”
Old Friends, and Still Gigging
Designer Paul Normandale has been a huge supporter of Strictly for most of his career. He has used them for specialty built products from a wall of flame projectors for Bjork, to a massive laser and pyro show for the current Coldplay tour. Grega recalls, “I believe Paul called up [Marc] Brickman looking for a laser company, and we got recommended. We have a fantastic relationship. Working with Paul is a pleasure, because he’s so creative. We get to collaborate, and he listens, he’s open to ideas.”
Production manager Chris Gratton has been a repeat customer over the years. He recalls, “I was in a pinch last winter. I went right to Strictly and said ‘Hey, you guys are an effects company. You can build anything, right?’ They said they could. Well, I needed an inflatable pool for Justin Bieber that could be set up in the dark during a two-minute video roll and catch the water from above while everyone danced in it. And I needed it to empty and have everything packed up within 10 minutes at the strike. I honestly did not know who else to turn to for this. They passed all expectations and delivered an amazing product.”
In conclusion, Grega states, “Most of us started out as frustrated musicians who got in the business another way. We get paid to go all around the world and listen to music. I can’t think of a better job.”
- WHEN Founded: The company, founded in 1996 by Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee, is celebrating 20 years of doing what they love — special effects.
- FIRST GIGS: Strictly FX started out doing lasers and pyro for Chicago’s AHL Wolves hockey team.
- COMPANY HIGHLIGHTs: While still doing sporting events (including the Super Bowl), Strictly has branched out into touring, from Nsync to Coldplay’s big shows.
- Locations: Wood Dale, IL (Chicago); Los Angeles
- MORE INFO: For more info on Strictly FX, visit www.strictlyfx.com.
