TOUR dates: Jan. 12 to April 1 (U.S.); April 23-30 (Australia)
THE DESIGN: “Vance Joy is a dynamic pop act, but it’s also a very intimate one. At either end of the dynamic spectrum, his music lends itself to a warm blanket of incandescence. The next step was choosing instruments to provide punch and textures to accentuate larger moments without overriding the intimate, storyteller vibe intrinsic in the show. I’m also a drummer, and I’ve found my most valuable lighting tool to be timing. I look at it as playing drums with colors.”
BACKSTORY
Home Base: “Most recently Nashville, but nomadically employed the past two years.”
Years in the Industry: Seven
Career Spark: “I was close friends with a band while learning about music publishing and management in college. I wasn’t drawn to the business side. I took the touring opportunity, jumped in the van, and read Concert Lighting by James Moody and Paul Dexter, along with every user manual I came across.”
First LD Gig: “Moon Taxi. We did three years of rigorous, character-building van touring together. I had six LEDs controlled by MyDMX, and we were sleeping at clubs or six deep in a hotel in the name of rock ‘n’ roll. My first bus tour as LD was for Matisyahu on his 2012 summer tour.”
Heroes/Mentors: “Seven Design Works and LeRoy Bennett, especially his work with Nine Inch Nails. Also, Eric Marchwinski, Steve Foster, Bobby Grey and Sam Mason, for their absolutely profound console knowledge.”
What does a great lighting design need to have? “It’s important that the audience’s experience of a design isn’t contingent on seat location. A beam should go over everyone’s head at some point.”
Best advice: “Be kind to everyone. Grumpiness is road poison.”
What do you like about what you do? “The real pleasure comes from the moment house lights go down, and we get to collectively create moments that people may carry a lifetime.”
