Sometimes I think I’m too old to learn new tricks. But that’s just an excuse for being set in my old ways. What I really need to do is practice what I preach now, and start making lists. I’m thinking that if everybody made little lists we would probably save on a lot of things besides aggravation. Things like gasoline, overtime and shipping bills.
Over the years I’ve watched technology grow in leaps and bounds. America always seems to be a step ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to new gear and ways of setting it up, but eventually everyone catches up. I like to watch as they do, just as much as I like teaching in countries that are way behind. Last week I went back to Africa for the first time in years and noticed quite a change.
My friend Kenny Mednick is also a lighting designer who illuminates musicians on their tours. While I was speaking to him this year I mentioned that I had been working with some less-than-pleasant people in the last year, namely musicians who were, for lack of a better word, mean, disgruntled people.
One of my biggest joys of watching a live performance is when I see a lighting show where the designer has put a lot of thought into different aspects, when that lighting person is professional enough to know when to use the latest technological gadgets and when not to, when sometimes “less is more” and old school prevails.
There are a lot of social networking sites, including the new one started by this magazine (www.ProLightingSpace.com), that allow many of us in the music biz to keep in touch, or for that matter, find each other after all these years. It can be addictive and fun. It can also be annoying. But there is one feature where people can list 25 things about anything — stuff they hate, love, worship or just wish to blog about. I’m going to hijack that idea this month and list 25 things that shaped my career in music.
I’ve been asked several times about what smaller bands playing nightclubs should carry for lighting gear. These questions come from cover bands to newly signed acts to old touring professionals who are reuniting for a club tour. The two things they all have in common is a lack of knowledge and a shortage of cash for lighting. Long gone are the days when bands put colored PARs in coffee cans and connected lots of wires to a foot pedal board for the guitarist to trigger.
Last month I found myself peeved at somebody because they told me they knew how to operate a certain lighting console. But once they got on site my client realized they didn’t. This put me in a tight spot because I was not at the gig to help out, and I had assured my friend that my guy would be all over it.
Times are tough. People and lighting companies are running short on gigs. For the first time since 9/11, shows that I normally do each year are scaling down their productions, if not cancelling them all together. Empty spaces on car show exhibition floors say a lot. Empty venues and minimalist shows coming in say just as much.
‘Tis the season of trade show lighting. And whether you are starting to design the lighting for your client’s booth or you are already on site, you must make sure to put some thought into bringing a box of lighting accessories; you know, those little things good designers can’t live without.
The subject of lighting really covers a broad scope of fields. The best lighting designers are folks who pay attention to detail. Whether they’re lighting a car or a rock star, certain de-signers will spend hours on minute things, but they all add up. That’s why they are good.
I’ve lit a lot of things before — televised events, concerts, trade shows, cars, boats and planes. But I’ve never lit a church. In fact, I have never had any contact with this whole side of the lighting industry (though I wish I did). So I had to smile when I got a call to light some choirs. But they were not in any church; they were in a touring arena show.
Nowadays everyone is concerned with power consumption for two logical reasons. One, we want to save ourselves some cash, either at the pumps or in our house with heating oil, and, two, we want to save our planet by lowering our fossil fuel consumption and emitting less toxic waste into our atmosphere. I firmly believe that the time has come to start getting rid of incandescent light bulbs, not just in our households, but also in our stage work. We are facing obstacles in doing this, but really, is it something our industry cannot overcome? I don’t think so. It seems we are well on our way.