NASHVILLE – For David Nail’s “Night’s on Fire” tour in support of his fourth album, Fighter, LD Gordon Droitcour with Cour Design turned to Elite Multimedia to supply a rig that included Clay Paky Sharpys, Elation CuePix and Chauvet COLORdash fixtures.
More details from Elite Multimedia (www.elitemultimedia.com):
MCA Nashville recording artist David Nail is known for his powerful lyrics with emotionally-charged vocals that have garnered him both Grammy and ACM Award nominations. Currently on tour in support of his fourth album Fighter, Nail and his production team are bringing his music to fans in packed houses across the country. With a lighting design and unique playback system created by Cour Design, the production needed a tour vendor who understands the value of quality gear and support so they once again turned to Nashville-based Elite Multimedia.
“This will be our 2nd tour with David and his shows are really focused on the music and the storytelling of his life,” began lighting designer Gordon Droitcour. “To make sure we are supporting him best as an artist, the lighting design has to be dynamic for both high and low impact moments, but it also has to be more about being ‘felt’ rather than ‘seen’ so the audience can focus on the lyrical content. Working with Elite Multimedia, they have not only provided us with the proper tools needed, but they have also provided the touring support needed to make the design a success.”
With the design parameters in place, Droitcour got work with Elite Multimedia to select the lighting fixtures needed to create the comprehensive lighting design, which includes Clay Paky Sharpy, Elation CuePix and Chauvet COLORdash luminaires, while also keeping the logistical challenges of the tour in mind.
“To make the tour a success on all levels the show not only has to be has to be appealing to the artist and the fans, but the gear itself needs to easily load-in and out and have the ability to play a wide variety of venues,” added Droitcour. “By using our custom set carts we are able to achieve a wide variety of heights to play any size room and the rig itself sets up in a matter of minutes with a minimal crew. Since we also knew the tour would be out for a long time, we had to have durable, high-quality fixtures that could withstand the rigors of road. In the end we decided on Clay Paky Sharpy luminaires to look big in any size room, then we use the COLORdash LED Pars for our stage wash, and the CuePix blinders for a dynamic visual accompaniment on the big moments.”
Now that the fixtures were chosen, Droitcour began the programming phase of the lighting design. Knowing the tour would not be traveling with a large production crew, he used the unique Cour Design lighting control system to give both the production and the fans a breadth of options at each tour stop.
“Most the bands we support travel with our automated lighting control technology and we pride ourselves in designing rigs that are self-contained for bands to carry great visuals on a budget,” explained Droitcour. “Once we have the design in place, we will pre-program all of the songs the artist might like to play on tour so that at any time they have the design for that specific song ready to go. Then we provide an intuitive lighting cue sheet for the house lighting engineers to follow along with the programming to make sure the show is the best it can be each night.”
With the full design now complete, the David Nail “Nights on Fire Tour” is in the midst of the fall production schedule playing to ecstatic fans throughout the United States. Understanding the challenges a tour faces on the road, Droitcour rests comfortably knowing that Elite Multimedia was not only there at the beginning, but they will be there in the end as well.
“As a tour provider Elite Multimedia really takes a lot of burdens off of designers,” concluded Droitcour. “In our world where lighting techs are not typically on the road with the tour, we have to have a provider who can not only provide quality gear, but who is also dedicated to providing the touring support needed for any issues that may arise, and that’s Elite Multimedia.”
