Marshall Bissett has played a key role in the live event industry for four decades, and is the founder of TMB, long rumored to stand for either “Too Many Beers” or “Too Much Bull****.” He was in the live event industry before “there even was an industry.” He sat down with PLSN recently and reflected on his career, the business and what’s next.
PLSN: Tell us how you got in this mess.
Marshall Bissett: My hometown of Perth, Scotland was blessed with an excellent repertory theatre. From 15 I was active in their youth theatre program and jumped at every chance to work backstage. I knew then that my career would be in theatre. I later found out that Brian Croft, one of my mentors (and Parnelli Lifetime achievement award winner in 2002) also started his career in this theatre.
From there I went to St Andrews University where I was supposed to be studying English and French but wound up directing plays and musicals. Later I did a postgraduate course in directing at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
What was your first professional experience in the business?
The day after I graduated, I joined a touring dance company called Northern Dance Theatre based in Manchester England. We toured in the U.K., and we played venues of every size. I learned to work fast using house gear and crew, or supplementing with our own lights and dimmers that we transported in laundry hampers. I took the job to get my first Equity card, and I learned more about staging in that year than a dozen college courses could provide.
I then worked my way around regional theatres, finally arriving as production manager at the Young Vic in London. I worked on the first production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with an unknown composer — Andrew Lloyd Weber — as our rehearsal pianist. We did early work by Tom Stoppard, who was a frequent visitor backstage.
And how did you transition from theater to concert work?
In the 1970s, there was a migration of theatre techs to the new world of concert touring. Bands were coming over from the States to tour Europe, and they needed gear and crew. I was recruited by Brian Croft, who then ran a company called ESP Lighting which, through acquisition, would later become TFA, Electrotec, Theatre Projects, VLPS, Vari*Lite, etc.
It was like running away with the circus — my influences were Chip Monck, Richard Hartman, Michael Tait, Joe Gannon and others who created miracles with every new tour. I worked with the first designs of Marc Brickman and Patrick Woodroffe. It was the early days of huge outdoor shows, hanging audio rigs and projection screens with chain hoists — the stuff we now regard as commonplace was back then like splitting the atom every day. We had no idea that we might be in on the beginning of an “industry,” or that our on the spot solutions to technical problems would have such far-reaching impact on the world of TV and even film production. We were theatre people with a budget — a deadly combination.
What were some of the early tours you worked on?
l did tours with the Stones, the Who, Elton John, Diana Ross, Chicago, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and many others. Actually, I did many tours with Patrick Stansfield, who taught me all there was to learn about life on the road.
Then I wound up behind a desk organizing crew and scheduling equipment. In all my theatre and touring years, I was not unemployed for a single day… The trick is to develop people skills — that will keep you employable in this industry.
How did you end up on this side of the pond?
In 1979, I was working for TFA in London, and was sent to L.A. to take over the U.S. lighting division. I was to stay for six months, and I wound up staying for 35 years. I was asked to design and build lighting rigs for TFA using the latest technology, including a console with a pin matrix and 96 channels! When I arrived, the company had 12 tours on the road and was turning down work. The early 1980s was a great time for lighting and sound companies to get their start — all made possible by the three magic words: “record company promotion.”
And when did you start TMB?
I left TFA in 1983 and started TMB. My last project at TFA was coordinating the concert sequences for the movie, This is Spinal Tap. That was a highlight I still remember very clearly.
Times were good, sure, but starting a company is always risky. What made you think you could do it?
At the time, all the innovative lighting stuff was coming out of the U.K. — lightweight truss, dimmer per circuit Socapex distribution — even an early version of what became DMX. I had sourced all this technology for a big Rod Stewart tour, and knew that it would become the standard for all tours. I had the idea to become the importer and supplier of all things British. I figured that as long as I was neutral and did not compete with my customers, then I would be providing an essential and unique service. I still believe that businesses should find gaps to fill in the marketplace.
Sounds like a good plan. How’d it work out?
It was crazy — I took orders, arranged import from the U.K., and then made deliveries in a beat up 1970 El Camino, where I wound up getting more orders. Having no warehouse, I became very expert at drop shipping. I became a Lee dealer by supplying all the color for the first US Festival. I sold the first Avolites consoles in the U.S. I built customers by selling what they asked me to sell, from gaffers tape to batteries to the first moving lights. From the beginning, cable and connectors were a mainstay of the company.
In 1985, I was joined by my old touring pal and fishing buddy, Colin Waters, and we outgrew the front room of my house and moved into a storefront in Burbank. We then added Tommy Stephenson and Warren Mays, and we were on the way to becoming a larger company than I ever thought possible.
What were the highlights?
In 1988, we supplied a huge lighting system to a Mexican artist, and through that, we learned how to systemize and package. In 1992, we supplied the full lighting package for Cirque du Soleil at Treasure Island in Las Vegas. We did full scale cable projects for Pink Floyd, Queen and the Stones tours, and many Summer Olympics, starting in 1984, and, most recently, the cable for the Sochi Winter games. Over the years, we built an amazing and faithful client list — and some amazingly innovative products that may be the lasting TMB legacy.
What would you rather forget?
2009 and 2010 were dark recessionary years. For the first time in our history, we were forced to make layoffs and cutbacks. I think the industry is still feeling the residual effects of that recession.
What’s your take on the changing market?
TMB learned some valuable lessons. We learned that it is hard to be the Amazon of the supply world. We learned the value of supplying exclusively distributed products with strong technical support and customer education. We learned to focus on our core strengths and back off from areas already well served in the marketplace.
How is business done today compared to when you first got into it?
You mean before HR departments and health and safety? Well, everyone complains that their lives are now run by accountants, and I guess the old “shooting from the hip” approach does not play as well in a litigious world. The industry is still run by people with almost no formal business training and this is its strength and its weakness. The Internet has created a whole generation of price shopping end-users. Distributors and dealers have to work harder to bring value to the table.
What led you to decide to step away from the table and move on?
Thirty years is a long time to be doing anything, and I felt the need for a change. The timing was right in that TMB is left in good hands with a strong sales and management team to carry on the tradition.
All you’ve done through all those years — who are some of those you admire the most?
That’s a tough one. Let’s start with all the Parnelli Lifetime Achievers and throw in all those dreamers who are now employers.
Now let’s hear who you think the biggest ass**** in the business is?
Nice try!!!
Thought that one was worth a shot … so what’s next for Marshall Bissett?
I plan to start a small consulting company, and am open to project management and local production opportunities. I have a strong interest in writing and photography, both for lighting magazines and for fly fishing, my other well-known passion. I have many interests inside and outside the lighting business. I also want to direct plays or musicals. I am on the Boards of the Shakespeare Center in LA and the Parnelli Awards — I will become more active there. I will never be bored.
