TOUR: Paul Simon
DATES: April 29-July 1 (North America); Oct.-Nov. 2016 (U.K./Europe)
LIGHTING APPROACH: “Take a mechanical space and turn it into sacred space, balancing lighting with the music and the building. I call it ‘Lighting Feng Shui.’ A lot shows today have lights shining in your eyes [so that the audience] can’t see the band. I’m more into the natural thing: Accent the artist, light the band. I would hope you’d notice nothing about lighting, because ‘that’s how it should look.’ I didn’t start out as a designer; still don’t consider myself one. More of a nuts-and-bolts guy.”
BACK STORY
Home Base: Chicago
Years in the Industry: Since 1977.
First Tour: “As guitar tech/lighting in the late 1970’s, with The Boyzz. First national tour was in the 1980’s with REO Speedwagon/707), Judas Priest/Krokus, Uriah Heep, Ozzy Osbourne/Starfighters.”
First Tour Operating Lights: “I worked up to being dimmer guy. Then there was an LD named Alan Owen, a.k.a. ‘The Goat,’ lighting Genesis. We did Julian Lennon together in ‘86 and Little Feat in 1988. Little Feat saw I was working hard and said, “We don’t want the other guy to come back, we want you.” I’d never done it before. So LD Don Carone put me behind a console and taught me how to run the board.”
People You Admire: “Don Carone, Patrick Woodroffe, Roy Bennett, John Featherstone, Norm Schwab, Nook Schoenfeld, Mike Ledesma, Dave Hill, Mac Mosier, Keith Wismer, Paul “Arlo” Guthrie, Dave Maxwell, Jon Pollak, Ethan Weber, Cosmo Wilson, Bob Peterson, Butch Allen, Terry Cook, Paul Normandale, Wally Lees, Errol Reinart, Georg Slejko. Those guys are real lighting designers — they take it to another level, above and beyond expectations.”
What Do You Like about What You Do? “I did this because I wanted to get paid to travel! When the band, audience, sound, lighting and building are all in balance, they seem to breathe together as one. It’s pure magic. We are blessed to do this work.”
