Design: “I’m working with Seth Jackson on the new tour starting in May. We are trying to come up with a nice little rig that will look good in amphitheaters, small fairs/festivals.”
Goal: “To give the fans the best possible show, no matter if there are 50 or 50,000. Years ago, at a club gig, there were only about 75 people in a venue that held 1,000. After our first set, the band said not to use any haze or fog. I argued. ‘Why would we not give everyone there the best show we could? They paid to get in, and if there was 1,000 people there, you wouldn’t have any issues.’ Luckily, they agreed. Two days later, another band, really big at the time, offered me a job. They were five of the 75 people there that night.”
BACK STORY:
Home Base: The Villages, Florida
Years in the Industry: 33
First Industry Gig: “Set up everything and ran spotlight for a band called Eclypse at a bar in Jacksonville, FL.”
Career Spark: “New Year’s Eve, back in 1982, my friends and I entered an air-band contest at a skating rink. The real band members playing after our contest were the judges. The bad part of the story was my girlfriend broke up with me a couple days before, because she met the lead singer and thought she had a chance be with him. I told her to go ahead and be with that long-haired sleazy a**hole! Well, the band picked us to win out of 15 other air-bands! They told us they needed a roadie to tour around the Southeast, and tryouts were next week to see who could run the spotlight. I was the only one who had the balls to tell my parents what I was going to do and showed up, so I got the gig. The singer told me that he never had any interest in my ex-girlfriend. Our first gig outside of Jacksonville was eight straight weeks on the Pier at Daytona Beach for spring break! Six months later we opened up for Derek St. Holmes, singer from Ted Nugent. They offered our LD a gig and the band promoted me to LD. I was 18 and loving it.”
Design Inspiration/Heroes/Mentors: “In 1984, I went to see the movie Purple Rain. I was amazed at the lighting and have watched Leroy Bennett’s career ever since. I’ve never met him but would love to one day to say ‘Thank you’ for inspiring me for over 30 years.”
Aesthetic Payoff: “I like the freedom to paint the sky with beams of lights. It’s art.”
Best Advice: “Don’t worry if one or two lights don’t work before the show. Turn off the other side and move on. Fans won’t know. Move on to the next gig and hope it all works tomorrow.”
