This year Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper teamed up for the magnificent co-headlining Freaks on Parade Tour. It’s a match made in heaven for those lovers of shock rock, glam rock, industrial rock—no matter what music labels you want to call it—just a powerful night of music with two iconic artists sharing the stage, topped off with Ministry and Filter opening. The designers have done a great job putting together a tour package where each artist has their own unique stage setting.
Damian Rogers
Lighting & Video Designer, Programmer & Director (Rob Zombie)
Rogers, owner of One4Five Creative Group has been with Rob Zombie for 18 years as his Lighting and Video Designer, Programmer, and Director. Rogers says they have added more video screens and video content to the mix for this tour. “We also added pyro and an inflatable… it’s packed with punch. For fixtures we used a mixture of spots and washes that are shared, nothing too fancy. Alice Cooper’s designers added some LED strips to their rig for their set design. The end result was two totally different looking shows. It’s always really cool to see how designers use the same rig in different ways.”
To change things up it was decided not to use for example the “Munster, Go Home!” movie footage to accompany the song “Dragula” that had been a staple for many years, says Rogers. “It was time for a change. Rob makes great videos and provides tons of cool content for our show, so we always have plenty to choose from. With a mixture of Rob’s videos and movies, stock footage, and custom content, we create layers of video that keeps your brain and eyes occupied.”
Rogers concludes, “It was an absolute pleasure working with LD Chris Noll and all the Alice Cooper production crew on this tour. Everyone worked really well with each other. There was mutual respect between all camps, and everyone acted as a team. We had a lot of fun while still maintaining a professional work environment.”
Curtis Adams
Creative Director & Production Designer (Alice Cooper)
Alice Cooper’s team included Creative Director and Production Designer Curtis Adams, Production Designer Sooner Routhier, and Dane Kick as Associate Lighting Designer. Adams says working with Alice Cooper and Manager Shep Gordon was an incredible experience and a true collaboration. “The two asked Sooner Routhier and I to design a new theatrical rock show for them that would combine an original storyline, Cooper’s vaudevillian antics, and LED video content, something the rocker had never incorporated into his show before. Sooner and I wanted to find a storyline that would allow Alice to perform some of his greatest hits in a fresh new way yet give him a new theatrical playground to have fun in with a full cast of spooky characters. The show concept led us to design a set inspired by a colonial-style courtroom featuring giant wooden video arches and even two massive judge’s pulpits flanking the stage.”
The creative visuals, set extensions, and unique I-Mag became a vehicle to introduce Alice, the band, and a lot of Cooper’s performances to the audience in a way that had never been experienced before. “One of the best, and simplest examples of this, can be seen in the song “Snake Bite” where Alice performs with a massive snake onstage. Alice and Shep wanted to create visceral reactions in the audience and with the added I-Mag that magnified those emotions to where it feels like the snake is wrapped around you.”
This project was a new chapter in many ways as it was one of the inaugural projects for a new venture—The Playground, an Entertainment Creative and Design Collective founded by Sooner Routhier. “We knew we would need a talented team of collaborators to capture and embellish Cooper’s fun, original, and macabre style, so to execute the vision we assembled an incredible team. They say it takes a village… and to produce an incredible Alice Cooper experience, it takes a Playground. If there is anything that’s more fun than getting to work in entertainment and making shows, it’s getting to work with legendary rock star Alice Cooper and the super mensch rock manager himself, Shep Gordon.”
Chris Noll
Lighting Director (Alice Cooper)
On the road as Lighting Director was Chris Noll who says running the show for Alice Cooper was just plain fun. “It’s old school rock and roll meets theater. Dane Kick and Clay Joiner were great to work with during pre-viz, with Curtis there to steer the ship when needed and Sooner video-calling in throughout the process until she could join us on site. Dane and Clay spent a lot of time streamlining the show operation, knowing I was going to be juggling running the show, calling spots and, when inevitably needed, making changes on the fly when things change.”
The flown lighting package was Rob Zombie’s normal touring package that Cooper’s set then added elements from their show. “From the shared rig we made use of the Robe BMFL WashBeams and Spiiders. The BMFLs, while not a true hybrid fixture in my mind, were tasked with taking the place of other lights from our touring package. The Spiiders played a double role for us as key light and additional pixel effects. Alice’s set being very theatrical in nature, has high demands for a key light fixture.”
Noll adds that Routhier added 48 Elation SIXBAR 1000s to the Alice rig. “These fixtures serve as our crowd blinders, audience wash, and strobes all in one. By spreading the SIXBAR1000s across the entire rig, we get a larger look without having to be as in your face about it. It also allows us to do wipes across the rig that come off really smooth due to them literally covering the whole stage.” MooTV supplied video wall carts lined up, dressed in scenic fascia to resemble arched windows displaying both content and I-Mag intermixed throughout the show. Media servers are PRG Mbox Designers, controlled from the desk. “Uplighting these scenic elements are eight Elation KL Fresnels, which were chosen due to their relatively small form factor, motorized zoom, and barn doors to keep off the LED right next to them,” says Noll. “There is a single GLP X4S shoehorned downstage center, which is used during “Dwight Fry” as an up light special for Alice when he is straitjacketed on the downstage riser.” Elation COLOUR CHORUS 12s are tucked under the DS riser line and drum kit, then rounding out the floor package is LED tape built into the set, lighting the fascia on the band risers and the two staircases.
“Cueing follows the dichotomy of the set of rock vs theater,” explains Noll. “Your big rock numbers, “School’s Out” for example, come in around 150-175 lighting cues in the main stack and a healthy dose of spot calling sprinkled on top. Sometimes less is more and just giving Alice a look to perform within is the most powerful thing you can do. I owe a big thank you to Jeff Archibeque [Lighting Crew Chief] and [Tech] Elijah Ahlers for all their hard work this year, rolling with the show through three different packages over four different legs and knocking it out of the park. Thanks to Bandit’s Mike Golden and Matt King for all their help getting the show on the road and continuing to support it while we roll. Thanks to Damian Rogers, Brent, and the entire Fuse crew for all their help on the tour; it was a team effort on more than a few occasions to fit four bands into a shed.”
PRODUCTION TEAM
Rob Zombie
- Tour Manager: Marcellus Jiles
- Production Manager: Mark Woodcock
- Lighting Designer, Programmer, & Director: Damian Rogers
- Lighting Crew Chief: Brent Harwell
- Lighting Techs: Bryce Pico, Ricardo Garcia
- Video/LED Techs: Ian Cassidy, Carter Phillips, Brandon Young
- Pyro: Tony Alaimo (Op), Scott Rolick (Tech)
- Carpenters: Jesse Kiesnowski, Kris Davis
- Rigger: Steve Warmbier
- Production Coordinator: Taylor Woodcock
- Production Assistant: Ali Yepiz
- Stage Manager: Paul Bassett
Alice Cooper
- Tour Manager: David Davidian
- Production Manager: Cesare Sabatini
- Production Designer: Sooner Routhier
- Creative Director and Production Designer: Curtis Adams
- Creative Management: Niccolo Cascino
- Creative Producer: Allison Ciccarelli
- Associate Lighting Designer & Programmer: Dane Kick
- Assistant Lighting Programming: Austin Schneider
- Lighting Director: Chris Noll
- Lighting Crew Chief: Jeff Archibeque
- Lighting Tech: Elijah Ahlers
- Video Director: Jesse Byrd
- Video Programmer: Clay Joiner
- Video Tech: Michael Alleman
- Carpenter: Chris Lisee
- Stage Manager: Kurtis Grossen
VENDORS
Rob Zombie
- Lighting: Fuse Technical Group
- Video: Screenworks NEP
- Content Creators: Damian Rogers, Rob Zombie
- SFX/Pyro: Strictly FX
Alice Cooper
- Creative Design: The Playground
- Lighting: Bandit Lites
- Video: MooTV
- Staging/Scenic: Gallagher Staging
- Content Creator: Andy Reuter
LIGHTING GEAR
Both
- 60 Robe Spiider
- 32 Robe BMFL WashBeam
- 10 Elation DTW 700 IP Blinder
- 44 GLP JDC1 Strobe
- 2 grandMA3 full size
Rob Zombie
- 8 CHAUVET Nexus 4×4
- 4 Chroma-Q Color Force II 72
Alice Cooper
- 48 Elation SIXBAR 1000IP
- 8 Elation KL Fresnel 8 FC
- 1 CHAUVET MK3 Spot
- 1 GLP impression X4S
- 48 RGBW LED Tape
- 2 CHAUVET DJ Hurricane Bubble Haze
- 4 Reel EFX DF-50 Hazer
VIDEO GEAR
Rob Zombie
- 2 Resolume Media Server
- 168 ROE Visual CB5 1,200 x 600 LED Video Panel
- 52 ROE Visual CB5 600 x 600 LED Video Panel
Alice Cooper
- 2 PRG Mbox Designer Media Server
- 86 Black Widow CTS 5.9mm 1000 x 500 LED Video Panel
- 4 MooTV Crank Up Video Wall Cart
