Stephen Gudis is one of those select people in Nashville that you can truly call a “Man about Town.” There’s nobody that’s been in the live event biz around Nashville for any length of time who hasn’t crossed paths with this guy. While the same can be said about most seasoned touring veterans on the music scene, one thing that sets “Gudis,” as he’s affectionately referred to, apart is that he’s worn just about all the hats…
Laura Frank is the proprietor of Luminous FX, a company that specializes in dealing with getting the properly formatted media to the proper projectors or LED walls at an event. In these days of having a dozen or more surfaces on one stage covered with pixels, she has created a niche’ for herself. While she is not the only person in the entertainment business tasked with her job, it’s the unique way her company operates that sets her apart from the rest of the world.
Eric Marchwinski is the uber-talented programmer behind many of the biggest tours, musicals, and live television events happening today. From Katy Perry to the Rolling Stones, this young man has risen quickly to become one of this industry’s elite programmers, working with some of the biggest LDs in our business, including Baz Halpin, Patrick Woodroffe, Roy Bennett and Eric Wade.
Paul McCartney’s Longtime Lighting Director is Someone You Should Know
Wally Lees has been on the live concert scene for his entire adult life. For the last 13 years, he could be found behind a console directing the lighting for every show Paul McCartney has performed, with good reason. But it didn’t start out at the top for a Scottish lad who moved from Glasgow down to the Midlands of the U.K. with his family when he was nine. At 20, Wally got an offer from his best friend’s brother to work as an electrician at a cabaret in Watford under his supervision.
Bob Gordon has been a major player in the live concert business since the 1960’s. While long known and revered as the founder of A.C.T Lighting, few realize the Bob spent the first half of his adult life on the road with touring acts as a lighting designer and production manager. When it was time to get off of the road, he became an account rep for various light and sound companies.
Hitting the Melody Road with Marilyn Lowey, Gregg Maltby and Michael Weiss
Neil Diamond’s 2015 tour kicked off Feb. 27 and wrapped up its North American run on May 31 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. The tour has now headed overseas, with tour legs planned for Europe and the U.K. before traveling to Australia and New Zealand later this year. It’s all in support of the artist’s 2014 album release, Memory Road, but the shows will also feature, inevitably, such old-time hits as “Sweet Caroline,” “September Morn” and “America.”
For the film crew of Insidious: Chapter 3, the latest installment of the successful horror franchise, capturing darkness, framing vibrant and bloodcurdling demons, and beholding the flame is all in a day’s work.
Ethan Weber is gearing up to start yet another Rolling Stones tour. This marks the 21st year he has been on the road with these guys, but in reality it’s only a fraction of his career in stage lighting. Along with designing some top-notch shows on his own for bands such as Green Day and Fall Out Boy, he is often entrusted with running larger-than-life productions, such as U2, for other designers. I caught up with Ethan to chat for a spell.
They ought to put Reid’s picture in the dictionary under “pyro technician.” Take one look at him, and you know he’s the type of guy you would expect to drive fast cars, own his own custom fit Storm Trooper suit and blow up stuff for a living. He’s been the lead engineer and technician at Strictly FX, Chicago’s premier special effects vendor for the entertainment biz, for more than 15 years. PLSN sat down to chat with how he and Strictly got to where they are today.
At 34, Tyler Elich has already crafted fresh looks for projects that range from theater to comedy to huge arena pop shows. He has lit artists ranging from Bob Dylan, Janet Jackson and comedian Eddie Izzard to Fun, Sugar Ray and Everclear. He divides his time between drawing event renderings, corporate shows and designing and directing touring projects. He has been drawing for LD Paul Normandale for more than 12 years, and last summer he got a “dream” assignment: serving as lighting director for the Nine Inch Nails tour.
John Wiseman, CEO and president of Chaos Visual Productions, began his career in live event production in 1979 as the concert chairman at California State University, Sacramento. He managed local bands in the area and owned a small production company. He was managing the band Steel Breeze when they were signed to RCA Records and became the executive producer of the group’s eponymous debut album, which yielded two Top 10 singles.
Guy Pavelo of GPDesign.net was the production designer and creative director for the recent Drake vs. Lil Wayne concerts that toured arenas throughout the U.S. this year. He previously designed Drake’s performance at last year’s Toronto-based OVO festival and his Would You Like a Tour? 2013 tour. This design morphed out of what Pavelo created for Drake’s performances at this year’s OVO festival at Toronto’s Molson Arena. PLSN sat down to speak with the designer about how he approaches his designs overall, his knack for pushing technology, and about this tour, for which he also operated the lighting on the road.