Skip to content

Reflections on Touring with Jeff Beck

After British rock guitarist Jeff Beck died unexpectedly on Jan. 10, 2023, Debi Moen touched base with three lighting professionals, David “Gurn” Kaniski, Michael Keller, and Chris Stuba, who were all involved with Beck’s last tour. They share their thoughts with Designer Watch about working with the rock legend.

Old Mensch Musings

This month Chris Lose muses on the recent loss of Nook Schoenfeld, who he considered a mentor. Lose took over the LD-at-Large column from Schoenfeld and now uses it to “share some nuggets of wisdom that shaped my career and pay homage to a great man.”

Ayrton Festival Fun in Switzerland

Main Stage for Stars In Town. Credit: ©Julius Hatt

As the European festival scene kicked back into action following the upheaval and restrictions of the pandemic, Ayrton teamed up with some established Swiss rental companies to support festivals across the country and showcase some of Ayrton’s latest fixtures. Stagelight AG Showtechnik supplied kit to the largest hip-hop festival in Europe at Frauenfeld, the Gurten Open Air festival in Bern and Schaffhausen’s Stars in Town across July and August.Read More »Ayrton Festival Fun in Switzerland

CHAUVET Professional Helps Alec Takahashi Connect Thomas Rhett To Crowd

Location, they say, “is everything” in retailing; well, it’s pretty important in live touring too. Just ask Alec Takahashi, the long-time lighting designer for country superstar Thomas Rhett. Lighting the multi-platinum singer/songwriter’s Bring The Bar To You tour, the LD could sense the crowd enter different emotional spaces as his client moved from one location on the set to another. “We had a B stage that Thomas Rhett walked on for a few songs,” said Takahashi. “This allowed us to create stripped down moments for him to get closer to fans. When he did this, the crowd subconsciously relaxed and became a little loose. You could literally feel the crowd relax and engage when he moved to that stage, and then you could feel the energy skyrocket with no walls when he returned to a full band performance on the main stage.”Read More »CHAUVET Professional Helps Alec Takahashi Connect Thomas Rhett To Crowd

CHAUVET Professional Creates NYE Magic for Mike Grabowski and The Lighting Design Group

 

ABCs ‘Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest’ was lit by Lighting Design Group’s Senior Lighting Designer, Mike Grabowski with a range of CHAUVET Professional fixtures. Photo by John Argueta/ABC via Getty Images) DURAN DURAN

Mike Grabowski was thrilled with his experience designing the multiple stages under his purview for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest in Times Square this year, except for one thing. His single regret didn’t involve the rain that fell for much of the evening, either. After all, the “unpredictability of nature,” comes with the territory when lighting outdoor events, said The Lighting Design Group’s senior designer. Plus, given that most of his rig was IP65 rated, he had little to worry about regarding the showers. (He and the team have seen a lot of challenging weather, being at Times Square on NYE, for over a decade of these shows.)Read More »CHAUVET Professional Creates NYE Magic for Mike Grabowski and The Lighting Design Group

Nook Schoenfeld: A Great Character

Remembrances of PLSN’s late Editor Emeritus Nook Schoenfeld from Terry Lowe, President of PLSN publisher Timeless Communications along with PLSN Editor Michael S. Eddy and Managing Editor Frank Hammel

In Memoriam: Richard ‘Nook’ Schoenfeld

A remembrance of Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld, 65. Editor Emeritus of PLSN magazine and a noted Lighting Designer and Writer, Nook died on the morning of Dec. 14, 2022. Though he had beaten pancreatic cancer this past year and was cancer-free, complications from that fight resulted in liver failure. He was a legend for his wit and kindness and his loss is felt by family, friends, colleagues, and the industry as a whole.