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Brad Paisley – The Fun Continues

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No sooner had Brad Paisley’s highly successful last tour, “Bonfires and Amplifiers”, come to end did he announce his next tour, The “Paisley Party.” Lighting designer and director Dean Spurlock, who has been with Paisley for about seven years, was called on to keep the 2008 Grammy Award-winner and the Academy of Country Music Top Male Vocalist of 2007 and 2008 out of the dark, with visuals that would meet Paisley’s goal of achieving his “most spectacular concert yet.” “The show is basically an all Vari-Lite show,” Spurlock says. “I really love the Vari-Lite product — the color palette, the patterns and most of all the reliability.” The Element Labs Versa Tubes are a hold-over from the last tour. “The tubes make for a great backdrop with all you can do with graphics,” he says. “Actually our side tube walls look like PA clusters but really give us a cinema wide look.”

Paisley actively contributed to the video content for the tour. “Brad actually did the animation for the cartoon video segment of the show,” Spurlock reveals. “He created it all himself. I told him it was the coolest thing in the whole show.”

“He drew the cartoons for the instrumental song ‘Throttleneck’ and ‘It’s Amazing,’” notes Bailey Prior, who has been on the road with Paisley for the last two tours on behalf of Moo TV, Paisley’s video production supplier for about five years. According to Prior, switching the show can be an adventure.

“Due to Brad’s show being live, we hang on for the ride. That being said, we utilize three manned cameras, two robo cameras and one POV camera that I cut for the screens and LED wall. We add in some B-roll and special effects as well. Most of the pre-shot footage was shot and edited by Tim Monnig and the crew at Moo-TV post production in Nashville. The video is switched using a Grass Valley 250 Video Switcher and a Watchout server system. The video is displayed on an LED wall.

Pendleton, Ind.-based Tyler Truss and its sister company, Dodd Technologies (DTI), were both involved in the tour. DTI was outsourced to handle various scenic elements such as painting and refurbishing of the amplifier set pieces, ramp and stage carpet, etc.

In addition to refurbishing the main staging components featured in last year’s tour, Tyler Truss, under the supervision of Scott Almand, general manager, designed and constructed a 48-foot-by-8-foot-by-7-foot-2-inch carpeted video wall riser with a free span, tech and gear “housing” room underneath.

“The video wall,” supplied by Moo TV, “is massive for a reason,” said Bill Edwards, director of marketing at DTI, and that is “to clearly display the many complex graphics, animations and videos that literally put the show up close and in your face.”

The muy grandé video riser, Edwards adds, comes in handy. “To bridge the band risers and platforms, an upstage ramp and downstage mini ramp connect the band risers to the video riser, allowing ample room for Brad to make his way up, around and down the set and video wall platform as his performance is laced with movement and effects.”

Kevin Freeman, production manager, and Bill Ferris, stage manager, asked Tyler Truss to design and fabricate a set that included a ramp, poser and thrust system.

“It had to be flexible in a number of ways,” Edwards says, “including being height adjustable to being solid to walk and run on, no matter the particular length, layout, or height. The center thrust spec called for angular and side-to-side adjustable legs from 3 feet to 5 feet-5 inches, capable of a 100-foot run.”

The system had to be designed to accommodate either stadiums or sheds, and the platforms had to be seating-friendly so they could be used without having to force the venue to physically remove any seats.

“On top of all of this,” Edwards adds, “Dean’s lighting requirements led to Tyler developing an innovative solution and system that included translucent platform tops, self-contained, with ride-along Versa Tube lighting pods in ready-to-connect mode.”

This is Bill Farris’ second tour with Paisley. He worked as set carpenter for Reba McEntire from 1990 to 1997 and as production manager with LeAnn Rimes from 1998 to 2006. Farris credits a great crew with making it a great ride.

“All I have to do is be the daily traffic cop. This tour has plenty of veterans in all departments. Kevin Freeman does a great job looking after the crew and band, so I just stay out of their way.” Lead driver Eddie White “makes my job easy every day.” Spurlock and crew chief Brian “Sweet Pea” Carico, he added, “did a great prep job for this year's tour, so when we were in May rehearsals, it was easy incorporating the other tour elements.”

Prior agrees. “I’ve been doing this for a while so I’m always up for more challenges. So far, they have not been huge. Working with Kevin Freeman, Bill Ferris and the rest of the crew makes everything run smooth as silk. My video crew,” including Bo O’Brien, crew chief and LED tech, Joe Monahan, Watchout system engineer, Bill Overstreet, FOH camera operator, Mark Ellis, stage camera operator and Cole Duddleson, stage camera operator — “are the best in the business.”

Spurlock started his own company, Spurlock Lighting, but “I’m just a small company starting out,” he says. Much of the lighting gear for the tour is hired from Theatrical Lighting Systems (TLS), which is owned by David Milly.

Paisley’s last tour was so successful that a third leg was added. Spurlock is upbeat about the current tour as well.  “This year has been our best year so far. I’m so glad to see this show grow like it has.”  

He adds that he enjoys working for the man who wrote “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” and titled one of his albums Time Well Wasted. Paisley obviously has a sense of humor. “You couldn’t ask for anybody better to work for,” Spurlock says. “I can’t thank him enough.”  

CREW
Lighting Companies: Theatrical Lighting Systems (TLS), Spurlock Lighting
Lighting Designer/Director: Dean Spurlock
Production Manager: Kevin Freeman
Tour Manager: Brent Long
Stage Manager: Bill Ferris
Lighting Programmer: Benny Kirkham
Lighting Crew Chief: Brian “Sweet Pea” Carico
Lighting Techs: Brace “Cowboy” Baltrop, Johnathan “Magic Shoes” Edwards, Jason “King Jr” Hicks, Ira “LB” Wilkens
Set Design/Fabrication: Tyler Truss, Dodd Technologies
Video Company: Moo TV
Video Director: Bailey Prior
Video Crew Chief/LED Tech: Bo O’Brien
Watchout System Engineer: Joe Monahan
FOH Camera Op: Bill Overstreet
Stage Camera Ops: Mark Ellis, Cole Duddleson

GEAR
Lighting console:  MA Lighting grandMA
    40    Vari*Lite VL2500 Spots
    42    Vari*Lite VL2500 Wash fixtures
    15    Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots
    12    Vari*Lite VL500 Wash fixtures
    12    Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash fixtures
    800m    Element Labs Versa Tube HDs
    18    Color Kinetics Color Blasts
    120’    Stardrop
    12    Martin QFX
    2    Catalyst Media Servers
    1    Lycian Truss Spot