Corey Easterbrook likes to go with the flow, whether it’s busking light shows or jumping on new, unexpected opportunities. The affable owner of Hot House AV in Orlando has done both during the past 18 months by running a steady series of one-offs by pop/rockers Neon Trees.
Coming out of the Covid lockdown, the quartet was in need of a LD to work the festival shows they had lined up. There was one overriding criteria they had in mind: whoever they brought on board had to be comfortable busking big, bold looks without a lot of repetition – or prep time. This ultimately led them, in round-about fashion, to Easterbrook and his ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console.
“My good friend Myles Mangino learned what Neon Trees was looking for, and recommended me,” said Easterbrook. “We haven’t looked back since. It’s been a blast for me, doing about a show with them a month, all of them one-offs. I have a very busy schedule outside this band, so it’s really convenient taking my MQ80 as carry-on and doing my preprogramming on the plane, in a hotel room, or bar.
“The cloning and morphing with this console are a breeze,” continued Easterbrook. “Plus, being able to reorganize the in-built Visualizer and update makes from wherever I find myself makes things go smoother. Given that the house rigs we come across are so different, I really appreciate ChamSys’ Fixture Library as well as their support team – great stress busters. Then there are the Executor Buttons and the networking capabilities. All of this makes my life easier, so I can concentrate on busking the kinds of shows I like.”
Stylistically, Neon Trees and Easterbrook’s busked shows are an ideal fit. Described by one critic as a “refreshing blast of timeless rock energy,” the band exudes a spontaneous, playful spirit on stage, bounding around, bantering, and obviously relishing the chance to perform for the crowd.
These exact qualities are also plain to see in Easterbrook’s light shows for the band, as he conjures up one bright, colorful, free-flowing look after another, never seeming to repeat himself, busking all the time.
“I love tasty dynamic looks for my shows, and they have a place in the set, but this band and their music require bold and fun looks,” said Easterbrook. “I try to get the crowd amped anyway I can. I also want to show Tyler (lead singer Tyler Glenn) the crowd, so he can feed off their energy, and vice versa.”
When all is said and done, says Easterbrook, he wants the fans at a Neon Trees show to feel “it was the most fun they had in a long time.”
