Some nights are just more magical than others. On my current tour, we had one of those nights, and it was glorious. Not because of the crowd, and not because of the artist, but because of the camaraderie. Live entertainment is inherently a collaborative endeavor. Several people from several disciplines must gather to share skills, opinions, and forms of expression. This requires a level of mutual respect that keeps us moving forward. The epic of Haystax is just the most recent example of why teamwork and mutual respect is so important.
Who is DJ Haystax?
Bruce “Haystax” Hendrix has spent the past two decades circling the globe as the playback, keyboard, and guitar tech for some of our industry’s biggest artists including Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, and Journey. We are fortunate enough to have him on our current tour. What most people don’t know is that he is also an experienced DJ. While on the road, we visited the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum in Charleston, WV which happens to be his hometown. Semi-last minute, the band agreed that it would be fun to have him open the evening with a live DJ set to get the crowd engaged with some local flair. He did a great job integrating local catchphrases and relating to the local audience with shouts of “Let’s Go Mountaineers” and the obligatory John Denver’s “Country Roads” in the set list. This meant that we all had a little extra work to do, but no one hesitated for a moment. This was a great example of how we can all get along and work together to whip up additional value for the audiences that keep us employed.
Lighting
Because Haystax was going on before the opening act, we knew that we would need to be in the opening act show file. This meant that we would need permission from Greg Classen to use his show file for the set. Greg was happy to oblige. I have been on tours where an overinflated ego could have easily prevented such willingness. I saw this as a great opportunity to give our FOH tech an opportunity to brush up on his punting skills. I asked Matt Schiller if he was interested in running lights for Haystax and without hesitation he jumped onto the console, built a separate punt page with the tools he needed to put on a show without interfering with any of Greg’s programming. Greg was even kind enough to let Matt use some of his pre-programmed bumps and hits. I could have put together the show myself, but I would have missed an opportunity to share some tips and tricks between seasoned professionals. Mathieu Cote, our Follow-Me programmer, also hopped in and ran followspot. Without this combined effort, the day could have been much more difficult.
Video
Even though the performance was cutting into their off time, several people from the video department were happy to chip in their time and efforts to make sure that our teammate had a successful show in front of his hometown. John Beswick happily agreed to direct his show and have his team ensure that he looked great on the I-Mag. I quickly whipped together a digital logo for DJ Haystax and submitted it to Luke Taylor, the Disguise operator. Luke took the logo and made sure that it was displayed during the walk-in and then manipulated it so that it could be used during the set in the lower third. Seeing his logo in lights was a huge hit for Bruce’s family and friends in the audience. I know that this is not terribly difficult for John or Luke to do, but it’s even easier to say no. The willingness to hop in and help is what makes this a magical moment.
Wardrobe
Without a costume, Bruce would have just been a roadie in black shorts, black shirt, and mid-90’s tribal tattoos strutting around the stage. But with proper wardrobe, Bruce was transformed into DJ Haystax. Don’t ask me why Bruce owns a pair of denim coveralls with a spiky codpiece, but he does. When his partner brought it into the arena, the wardrobe team immediately jumped in to spruce up the duds so that Haystax would be outfitted for a rock show. The sunglasses, lucky horseshoe, straw cowboy hat, and fingerless gloves completed the outfit. They had no financial motive to help him. They helped him because we are a tribe that looks out for one another. None of us would be willing to let our fellow roadie go onstage without proper support.
Audio
Our audio department is a finely tuned machine that carries enough gear to support our artists. An opening DJ set is not a part of our advance. The audio department had to scramble to put together the bits and bobs required to accommodate the additional load. This required bits from the headlining artist and bobs from the opening act. Inter-department lending like this could have been a touchy subject on less amiable tours where the headliners and openers treat each other as rivals. I’ve even seen managers come out and make sure that the dB levels for the opener stay at least ten percent lower than the headliner.
Can’t We All Just Get Along?
At FOH, it was a regular roadie party. Everyone who was not immediately needed elsewhere gathered in support of our compatriot. Box office, merch, security, and runners were all in attendance. These are the moments that we know that it takes a team to create magic. Clear communication, mutual trust, and positive attitudes contributed to a work environment where everyone felt valued and empowered.
The epic of Haystax is just another example of how the many departments are not actually separate units. We are one cohesive organism that has amalgamated to produce entertainment. Please think of Haystax when the video snake is sitting on top of the lighting snake. Instead of trying to pull up the lighting snake first and leave the video snake in a heap, just help the video department pull up their snake and then get to the lighting snake. You may find that you have saved each other a lot of time and headache. Instead of complaining that the rigging department is taking too long to hang motors, maybe you can offer to pickle up some motors while your cases are being sorted out. This will become most apparent on the load out. Trying to step over one another may seem like the fastest way to get out of the building, but more often than not, inter-department assistance is the best policy. Please consider that we can all use a little help when we get overwhelmed. So many people in our industry have at least some knowledge of how and what the other departments are up to. Offering to help is not a sign of disrespect, rather it’s a sign of mutual respect. Empathy and compassion go a long way in our field. Working against one another just brings us all down.
Reach Chris Lose at close@plsn.com
