Although you can’t download lighting design from iTunes, in many ways it is a lot like music. So says up-and-coming lighting designer Rob Koenig. Koenig is the owner of World View Touring and he’s currently viewing the world and touring with Billy Idol. In this PLSN interview, Koenig tells us how music is like lighting design, why he prefers soft edge fixtures, and why he loves rock ‘n’ roll design.
PLSN: What possessed you to get into the lighting industry?
Rob Koenig: I started off wanting to do sound. In the early 1990s I got out of high school and I started doing sound, and it really just didn’t do much for me. I continued playing in bands and around 1995 I started working for a local sound company in Orlando. They had a small sound and lighting rig and the lighting guy left to move onto bigger and better things. I believe he went to go work for Bash, and they needed a lighting guy. So I stepped into the lighting position and that’s when it all just came alive to me.
I’m guessing that you were probably exposed to sound and lighting when you were playing in bands, right?
I was a drummer and played piano for about 12 years of my youth — from about age five to 17. I started playing drums when I was nine and did the whole high school drum line thing.
When you switched to lighting, did the light go on for you so to speak?
It was a real awakening experience. I didn’t enjoy the ear candy as much as I enjoyed the eye candy. I appreciate a good mix, but I just fell in love with lighting overnight.
What type of shows were you lighting?
We were doing a lot of different stuff. We were doing a lot of the club circuit in Florida — a lot of metal bands, punk bands. So, (let’s) say we’d do a run with Mighty Mighty Boss Tones. We’d work for a promoter and do two or three shows providing lights and sound. We’d do Faith No More, Bad Religion, Marilyn Manson and those types of shows. I had a blast doing those shows.
How did your background in music help you understand cue changes and other elements of lighting?
Most rock ‘n’ roll bands have a certain structure to their music, a certain feel to it. To me, what is lighting but rhythm and mood? I grew up playing drums and piano, so that definitely helped me understand what lighting is all about. Drums are all about finding that pocket and a groove; sectioning the music. The piano can be a rhythmic instrument, as well. It can also establish the harmony and the overall feel of a song. My musical background is a major factor in my approach to lighting. I want my lighting to be rhythmic and to establish the harmony and the overall feel of the song.
For how long did you do the club circuit?
I did that for about two years; 1995 and 1996. Then, some of friends of mine got signed and needed a lighting designer. They were on tour and they were getting their first bus and they were all excited. I went out to work for them for little money, and they weren’t making any money at the time, either. The band was Matchbox 20. That was my first tour and it lasted 10 months. We were all rookies and none of us knew what was going on. We were like a deer in the headlights — from the band all the way through the crew.
Did that tour start out in clubs?
And small theatres. “Push” had just come out as a single and it was slow going at first, but after a couple weeks of it being on the radio, they were picking up momentum. Their record sales — and this is when we still had record sales — were doubling every week. It just got more exciting every day.
Were you carrying gear or using whatever was available?
We were carrying a small package; six Martin 518’s, some (High End Systems) Dataflash and some pipe and using whatever else was in-house.
I take it you were the designer, programmer and tech?
Yeah, the whole nine. I was using an NSI MLC-16 for a controller, if you can believe that.
Was that a lot of work?
I’ve got to tell you, it helped me tighten up my skills. At the time, that console had no way to preset palettes, at all. So I had to go into every cue to adjust all my pan and tilt settings.
So when you went into a new venue, you couldn’t just go into your show file and update your position palettes and it would update your cues; you had to go in a touch up every cue, right?
Every cue.
Well, it’s like you said; you really learn the basics that way.
You really do. You learn how to streamline your programming and how to get quick on a console.
That tour must have been a great learning experience for you.
It was awesome.
That takes you into the late 1990s. What was next?
That was all of 1997 for me. Late in 1997 and early 1998, I went out to LD for Deep Purple for a while.
Was that a more elaborate rig or the same type of thing?
They were doing a lot of fly dates, so we didn’t carry a lot. But it was more elaborate because were working with an established legendary rock band that was selling tickets, opposed to an up-and-coming band. We were using a 180K, three-truss system with some movers, so it was a lot more elaborate than what I was able to get on Matchbox at the time.
What were you using for control, then?
Whatever was available. We were doing a lot of multi-dates at the House of Blues, so we got Avolites Pearls a lot, which helped me learn those very rapidly. Then we went down through Mexico and on those dates it was whatever they would throw at me. After Deep Purple, I began working at the House of Blues in Orlando, and it gave me the opportunity to program continuously and work with a myriad of directors and designers over the years. I love working there, and I continue to work there when I am home.
Do you own your own independent design firm now?
Yes, it’s called World View Touring.
What are you guys up to?
Right now I'm working on Billy Idol. Prior to that, the past two years, mainly was the band Live. Prior to Live, I spent about four months with Papa Roach. Rock ‘n’ roll design and touring is where I enjoy being. I do some corporate work as well, but I truly love rock ‘n’ roll design. Ministry, Better than Ezra, Machine Head and Lit are a few of the artists that I’ve had the pleasure of working with.
That’s a great resume. Different designers have their own unique styles. What do you like to do when you’re designing?
I think I’ve become very good about treating every artist individually. One thing I am a huge fan of is a lot of wash lights. I tend to stay away from a lot of spot luminaires. A lot of the time I use them for accents, but I’ve found, for me, that I really enjoy soft-edge beams a lot more.
Why is that?
I think with spot luminaires, everybody uses them, everybody carries them — we see them everywhere. We see them on American Idol and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and, as much as I admire those designers, I think the look has been copied so much that it has become typical. So, sometimes I use them. I splash them in here or there, especially if they are requested. But I really enjoy working with color, strobe effects and strategically placed movement. Can I do that with spot luminaires? Absolutely. But I try to stay away from that because I feel that look has been done enough.
Is it fair to say that you’re using automated fixtures to achieve, in some ways, the same look you would achieve with multiple PAR fixtures while cutting down the size of your rig, coming up with that subtle look, and using movement, in time, to get that true rock ‘n’ roll feel?
Absolutely. You go back and look at some of the old shows — my favorites are some of the old Mötley Crüe and Ozzie shows — where there are just huge PAR can pods in the air. Do I want to carry that around today? No, because it’s a nightmare. But, thankfully those guys did it back in the day because it’s brilliant stuff. But I thoroughly enjoy that heavy wash look on the stage because I can take that same beam and isolate it on a performer as well, and make it a soft look. To me, you put a (Martin) MAC 2K Spot and a MAC 2K Wash in a room and I’m going to go hug that MAC 2K Wash because that is a beautiful looking light.
In your wildest dreams, where do you see yourself in the future?
I’ll make it simple. I would like to be as respected as Butch Allen, John Broderick, or Roy Bennett. Those guys are my heroes. I’d love to design multiple shows a year; go out and program them up, see my finished work, and go right into the next one. That is the ultimate dream.
