I had the privilege of attending a road show last month. Not a traveling theatrical spectacle, but one put on by a popular lighting manufacturer that enabled quite a lot of people to get hands on experience with the latest technology. Harman’s Martin Lighting division took their gear to the people and extended me an invitation. With my schedule, I chose to take a trip to their stop in Dallas, Texas in May, one of the first destinations on their nationwide trek.
Business and Pleasure
Gemini Lighting Sound and Video donated the warehouse space for the crew to set up a demo. Brad Schiller, a Martin rep who deals with the lighting designers specifically, was on hand, as was national sales manager Brad Haynes and console department manager Paul Pelletier, both longtime friends of mine. After catching up on personal life, I was treated to a time-coded show that brought out the best features in their various range of products ranging from the M6 console to the Rush line of fixtures to some of their video products.
When I was at the Prolight + Sound show in April, I couldn’t get close to the Axiom Hybrid, a most impressive small footprint fixture that was recently released. The mob surrounding the fixture was harder to get through than the three-deep mob at the bar at the Hard Rock during LDI. That was the beauty of this event. I got to spend an hour by myself playing with the fixture while three guys in the room had every answer for me.
I then had plenty of time to play with the Sceptron line of stealth looking LED strips and figure out all the cool little things one could accomplish. I think everyone that stopped by got quite an education, and it was also a very valuable time for networking with others in the same biz in the same town.
I had never been down to the shop at Gemini. I knew several friends who have worked there for quite some time, so I knew it was a good place by reputation. Now they had won a Parnelli award a few years back, voted in by PLSN readers as the Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year. So I arrive expecting a moderate sized Mom & Pop shop. Boy, was I mistaken.
It took me 10 minutes just to realize which of the multiple entrances I was supposed to go in. The place is well equipped to handle anything, as they are loaded with lighting, audio video gear, and other rooms, such as the dedicated woodshop. It didn’t take long to realize that this is actually one of the bigger shops in the world, let alone Dallas.
Perhaps the most impressive part of my journey was I got to meet a guy named Terry Cain, who happens to be the president/CEO of Gemini and an all-around helluva guy. It’s rare for me these days to meet someone who has been in the biz as long as I have, yet we have never crossed paths. As I was testing out the Axiom fixture to see if I approved (see the “Road Test,” this issue, on page 70), this fella kept snooping around and asking, “Whatcha think?” I assumed he was a tech. Actually, it was just Terry, messing around with me, and finally he introduced himself. From there on in, we got along well and started swapping war stories and getting to know each other — well past dinner and drinks.
Networking Opportunities
That’s perhaps the best fun of attending these type shows — you never know who you’re gonna meet. On the flip side, I meet so many folks hawking gear who I actually did a gig with sometime in the past. Quite often I get the old, “You probably don’t remember, but about 20 years ago, when I had hair…” line more than I can remember. And it never gets old. Catching up and re-establishing lost friendships is all part of networking.
I missed the 4Wall barbecue in NYC last week. From all the posts I see on Facebook, that was one heckuva good time as well. Something I gotta pencil in early next year. So if you have a chance to stop in and see the Martin road show or any of these open houses, you really should go. There’s no downside. The gear and the grub are hot and ready for your hands.
