You could say that Joe Branam's story is one about a guy who ran away with the circus and made good. Of course there's more to the man than that, but it starts with the uncommon fact that he began a rigging career on the performance end of the equation. From there he became a member of the famous "Disney Riggers." By the late 1970s, he was part of the elite group of riggers that handled the biggest acts, including the Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Jethro Tull and many more.
Branam founded Branam Enterprises in 1977, which has grown into a large operation that handles the rigging chores for theatre, film, television and concert tours. Today he runs the operation with his children Kristina, Kelly and Joe (an ETCP certified rigger with over six years of experience).
PLSN: How did you get into rigging?
Joe Branam: I grew up in Tampa, Florida, and I was a trapeze artist for the circus by the time I was 13. I worked with Hugo Zacchini, the world famous "human cannonball." When you're in the circus, you do a lot of your own rigging, plus you can make extra money doing rigging for others.
How did you get to become one of the "Disney Riggers"?
During my circus days, I met Roy Bickel, who was at that time a "human cannonball" for the Zacchinis. Then I joined the Coast Guard for four years. When I got out, Roy was working for the Disney on Parade (a live arena show), and he called me to come join him. We stayed on that show for six years. It was a very exciting and rewarding time. We learned so much about the venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Back then you didn't wear a harness when you climbed (laughs). ["Back then," people did a lot of things that weren't very smart, like smoking unfiltered cigarettes, riding in cars without seat belts and working at height without fall protection. We were less well educated about the hazards involved, but today we know better. -ed.]
What was it like working on that large traveling show?
We did everything from handling the circus acts on the show to rigging lighting trusses and movie screens. At one point, we flew a Volkswagen Beetle on a high wire. Little did we realize, we were developing the rigging standards that are used today in the entertainment industry.
We did it by just doing our homework. We went through all the catalogs of cables and figured out the breaking strength, what would be safe working loads, and came up with the right cable to use. Then we determined the best lengths were 5 feet, 10 feet, 20 feet, 30 feet and 50 feet.
But next was the problem of how to tell one from another. Roy came up with a color-coding system: red, white, blue; then yellow and green.
Safety was the biggest factor for us. We went with a 5-to-1 safety factor: if the load we were hanging was 100 pounds, the rigging had to hold 500 pounds, and so on. Today at Branam Enterprises, we use a 7-to-1 ratio.
How did you transition from Disney into rock ‘n' roll?
We were known as the Disney Riggers, and we got the rigging done. The rock ‘n' roll industry took notice, because no one else was doing this kind of work. Bands were taking more equipment on the road, and the promoters and managers wanted to fly all of the sound and lighting equipment so they could sell more prime seats.
Who was your first rock ‘n' roll act?
Jethro Tull. They wanted to hang everything, and that's when CM Hoist chain motors entered into the mix. CM motors were originally made for factories and warehouses. They were hung on trolleys and used to lift and move heavy equipment and material. The motors were always hung motor up, chain down, but for rock ‘n' roll tours we started hanging the motors hook and chain up, motor down.
Who were the riggers involved?
Roy Bickel, me, Rocky Paulson, Jim Barnes and Mike Grasley. We were an informal association of freelancers who were also close friends. If any one of us couldn't make a particular tour, we'd call each other. Sometimes we'd have to jump in and out of one tour and cover multiple tours.
One memorable tour was the Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas in 1975, which was a big, big concert tour. They had a big lotus petal stage and lots of rigging. Besides everything flying over the stage, they had many scenic pieces that hung out over the audience. We flew Mick Jagger out over the audience, and I think that was one of the first times that was done in a rock show. Mick is a great guy, a great performer and he was a pleasure to work with.
I was interviewing Parnelli Lifetime Honoree Randy "Baja" Fletcher, and he told a funny story about a George Clinton tour that you were the rigger on…
That was the P-Funk tour. I did three tours with them. He had the "mother ship," which was this space ship that landed on stage and he stepped out of it. But there was also the "little mother." That spaceship ran down a line from the back over the audience and then behind the curtain. Then there were flashing lights and pyro. The curtains would open, and the identical big mother ship would come down and he'd walk out. It was great.
And it was around this time you started your company…
I had gotten married and started having kids. When I had my first daughter in 1976, I decided I didn't want to tour all the time. So I started the company as a combination touring and rental company. I started buying chain motors and rigging gear. Today we have miles of truss and over 2,000 motors.
What were the 1980s like for you?
MTV came along, and then I was known as the MTV Rigger. I was very busy. I would jump around on up to three video shoots a week. I'd go do a strike for one shoot, sleep in my van for a little bit, and then go do another one.
Any particularly memorable ones?
I really liked Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" video. I flew Jon out over the audience with a lot of pyro going off. The video even showed me putting the harness on him.
How have rigging techniques changed over the years?
The biggest change is the tools, specifically the harness and safety equipment. Everything is much safer nowadays.
Sound equipment kept getting heavier… In the mid 1980s, we had to go with a half-inch cable and two-ton chain motors to lift the heavier weight of the larger sound clusters.
Back in the day, when we went into an arena, we had to take all the measurements and figure it out for the first time. Today, we have computers. There are programs on iPhones that tell riggers what the building layout is and its technical specifications. Then there's the distometer that tells you the distance from the floor to the ceiling. It's really changed a lot.
What about lighting? Has automated lighting made it any better or easier?
Well, now besides intelligent lighting, we have intelligent chain motors. A lot of shows are moving trusses and have flying effects, like with Britney Spears. We had a couple of tons flying, and flew Britney and four of her dancers. We had it all automated and it worked great!
What else has changed?
Rigging has grown so big and the unions and local riggers have learned a lot about it. When we started, we would get a volunteer fireman or casual labor at times, but mostly we had to rig every point ourselves. First, we'd have to set the motors up on the ground and lay it where we wanted it, then we'd run up to the perms and pull it up, then run back down again and do the next one! (Laughs.)
Now every city has ETCP riggers. Most of the tour riggers are just in charge of laying out the points, and they don't even need to climb any more.
How has the ETCP Certified Riggers program changed the industry?
I think it has done much for our industry. The certification process is very important from a safety perspective, but you should know your rigger and his credentials.
What is the future of rigging?
The whole future of the rigging industry is going to be a safer rig with more automated rigging.
