Wide Angle

Exile in America Tour

In 2000, Benoit Richard was working on the Matchbox Twenty Mad Season tour with lighting designer Marc Brickman. When Rob Thomas struck out on his own in 2005, he brought Richard along as the lighting designer. From his experiences with the band and its front man, Richard has compiled quite a knowledgebase about the band’s likes and dislikes. “For this tour,” he said, “our goal was to top what we had done in the past. When I showed my concept to the band, they were very excited. One band member (Paul Doucette) actually participates in the creation of the show cues with me and we worked well together this time around.

Millions of people recognize the distinctively sensitive tone of James Blunt’s singing voice, primarily with his mega-hit, “You’re Beautiful.” But most would be surprised to learn that the singer-songwriter, raised as a military brat, got his pilot’s license at age 16. Or that he is an accomplished ski racer. Or that, as captain of a British military unit in 1999, he led the squadron that secured an airport held by Serbian forces in Kosovo, making Blunt the first British officer to enter the Serb-held Kosovan capital of Priština.

When Ozzy Osbourne recently hit the road, it was the first time in almost ten years that he was the headliner. His recent forays into reality television have pro-pelled him back into the limelight and the world now knows that Ozzy’s shows can’t have bubble machines. Lighting Designer/Director John Clark grew up in Nashville, so he’s been around the business enough to be familiar with the no-bubbles rock genre. Having worked for Vari-Lite and VLPS and toiled under the tu-telage of Eric Wade, he has lit everything from hip-hop to country to rock shows, the last two of which were tours with Disney’s Cheetah Girls and Ashley Simpson. He has also worked with Available Light in Boston doing corporate shows, trade shows, and “a lot of one-offs.” He’s currently touring with Ozzy and making sure the Osbournes are happy.

Following the huge popularity of TV’s Dancing with the Stars comes Dancing with the Stars — the Tour. The tour features a revolving door of celebrity guests and dance numbers. On a recent night, for example, “Mr. Las Vegas” himself, Wayne Newton, made an appearance, along with Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan, who was voted off the show early in the season, to the dismay of many. Also on board for the tour were emcee/dancer Drew Lachey and dancer Cheryl Burke.

Lighting designer Chris Stuba tells the story of how he was once riding around in a car with legendary bandleader Billy Gibbons. It was early in his tenure as the designer for ZZ Top, and Gibbons wanted to talk to him about an upcoming tour. So he drove to Stuba’s house in Houston, where they both live, and picked him up. They were driving around, talking about the upcoming tour, when a ZZ Top song came on the radio. It was one of those moments when time stands still, and Stuba’s thoughts turned inward. “I grew up listening to ZZ Top, and here I was, driving around with the man, listening to his music on the radio,” Stuba recalls.

PLSN Talks to B&D Lighting Designer/ Director Larry Boster

“The video content was produced by Marcia Kapuspin and Marcus Lyall. Both are very creative and artistic. Media Visions Entertainment was the video company. They have been with the Brooks & Dunn family for just about as many years as I have.”

“Bandit Lites is the lighting company and have been the entire time I’ve been on board with Brooks & Dunn. As a matter of fact, Mike Golden and Michael Strickland handed me this account. Thanks guys!” 

Linkin Park collaborates with Cohen on cohesive design

“There is no more fun to be had than collaborating with Production/Lighting Designer Butch Allen. He is a production-savvy, creative-solution-oriented soul. We sat down at dueling computers, rendering and passing sketches back and forth, and he really helped me find the core of the de-sign. I am not sure if the arena stuff will be realized, but there are some outside-the-box elements that wouldn’t have happened if not for Butch’s irreverent prodding. He did the first lighting design pretty much single-handedly, and onsite in Copenhagen for our first show 12 hours after load-in.”

Lighting Designer Abigail Rosen Holmes:  “I was very pleased to be asked to work with Martina again. She’s very involved in the design and very clear about what she likes, and really knows what is going to feel right for her and the music.  Martina’s great production team and crew, Trevor included, were just fantastic to work with. They make touring a show like this look a lot easier than it is!”