There are a lot of social networking sites, including the new one started by this magazine (www.ProLightingSpace.com), that allow many of us in the music biz to keep in touch, or for that matter, find each other after all these years. It can be addictive and fun. It can also be annoying. But there is one feature where people can list 25 things about anything — stuff they hate, love, worship or just wish to blog about. I’m going to hijack that idea this month and list 25 things that shaped my career in music. In 1964 my parents bought me a Victrola for my birthday. It was a small record player with a built-in speaker. It only played 45- and 78-RPM records. Along with it came my first three 45s; the Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” The Stones’ “Time Is On My Side” and the Four Seasons’ “Working My Way Back to You.”
FM radio came to life in the late 1960s, and I got my first cassette recorder. I was kyping songs off the radio for free, long before anyone thought of internet piracy.
My parents bought a full-blown stereo, which I promptly abused. I can still hear my dad yelling to turn off “his stereo” when he walked in the door at night.
My parents bought me a trumpet in the fourth grade. My braces didn’t help my horn playing, and three years later, I realized that chicks dig guitarists more. I put it away and taught myself the guitar.
My parents sat me down and wanted to listen to some of my albums with me. It was kind of a bonding thing. They liked the Beatles and hated Steppenwolf.
My dad worked in a building connected to Madison Square Garden, which is built on top of a train station. For my 13th birthday he paid for my friend Steve and me to come to the city and attend my first concert. The band was the Doors. After the show we walked to his office so he could get us home on the train.
In the early 1970s they had a concert series in Central Park at Wolman skating rink. Tickets were $3.50 for general admission. I must’ve seen 50 shows there. I would study the guys running around during set changes. By high school I knew I wanted to be one of those guys.
I got my first stagehand gig in 12th grade. It was Jefferson Starship playing at the Commack Arena on Long Island. I didn’t get paid, but I got my first free T-shirt.
During my first year at college I got on the concert committee. This led to a stagehand job at the new Poughkeepsie Civic Center. Promoter rep Herbie Robinson gave me the job — $42.50 per day, no matter how many hours we worked.
Herbie introduced me to some folks from Showco one day. They fired their driver/audio tech at a gig I was working the call and they asked me if I could drive a truck and wire a PA. I lied about both and went on my first road gig with Dave Mason.
My dad got me to go back to school, sending me to a private college in San Francisco that specialized in audio recording. I never even considered doing lighting back then.
Brian Higginson got me in with Michael Ahern and the Who, building scaffold for some stadium shows. Michael got me plenty of grunt work around New York City.
Ahern in turn introduced me to Bob See, who gave me my first steady job as an audio guy at his company, See Factor. It was an interesting three years. I learned more than I ever did in college.
They had more lighting gigs than audio ones. Since I would do anything to go on the road I became versed in lighting. See sent me on the best tour of my life, the Talking Heads. Abbey Rosen was the LD.
I ran monitors on a Twisted Sister/Ratt tour afterwards and realized I didn’t get yelled at as much if I did lighting. In the shop, Jim Holliday taught me how to build dimmer racks and other fun stuff. I was no longer solely relying on my back to make a living.
Moving lights were invented. I realized I could make a lot more money hanging these things. Left NYC for the left coast and lighting companies who paid well.
Dan English hired me at Morpheus Lites. Two weeks later, I was fixing moving lights on, of all things, a Starship tour.
Michael Keller taught me how to run lights. He bailed on a Lionel Richie Tour and had to teach someone. Peter Morse was the LD and he was the best lighting influence I’ve had since that day.
I got my first LD gig, running the lighting on a Simply Red tour.
Morpheus did all the TV awards shows back then. I watched with great interest how Bill Klages and Bobby Dickinson lit things and took it all in.
This company also introduced me to my favorite designer and work partner, Mike Ledesma.
Meteor Lites hired me to run movers on a Lenny Kravitz tour. They gave me a new, unknown console to use, the Wholehog 1.
John Huddleston gave me a big break in 1994. He called me in to run a Wholehog 1 on the Eagles world tour. Nick Sholem was the LD, but he let me run the console. The Hog 2 came out the next year and Nick and I were the first ones to use it, on a Sting tour.
Nils from Flying Pig brought a copy of WYSIWYG over to my house and I got into it. And then I got into MiniCAD 7. My graphic arts career started.
The MA Lighting grandMA came out. AJ Penn and I jump started the band wagon in 1998, lighting a band called 311.
Media servers were introduced and I became a video guy by force.
To this day I will light, mic, draw or feed video to anything. I have never once looked back or wanted to do anything else. Live music remains my passion. Thanks to all who gave me these breaks. I owe you beers forever. But most of all I need to thank my mom and dad for setting the hook when I turned seven.
