LD Jonny Gaskell with David Gray
Tour: David Gray Tour
Tour Dates: The tour started April 2014 in North America, visits U.K. and Europe Nov-Dec and returns to the U.S for radio promo shows in December. Might go to Australia in 2015.
Read More »LD Jonny Gaskell with David Gray
Lighting and Set Designer David S. Goldstein: Sculpting the Story
New York-based scenic and lighting designer David S. Goldstein possesses a powerful passion for theater, and for him, his disciplines are perpetually married as he feels that they help to tell and sculpt the story that actors are portraying onstage, be it a musical or a straight play. “It’s not a prevalent practice in the United State, for a single designer to do lighting and sets,” observes Goldstein. “It is very prevalent for one designer to do set and costumes. In the United Kingdom, it’s the opposite — it’s very prevalent for one designer to do sets and lights and one to do costumes. ”
Read More »
Queen + Adam Lambert LD Rob Sinclair
Designer Rob Sinclair has just completed a tour leg for Queen + Adam Lambert that finished in New Zealand Sept. 3. We caught the show while the band was touring the U.S. and spoke with Sinclair about the tour he directed as well. Among some of Sinclair’s credits — Miley Cyrus, Peter Gabriel, Pet Shop Boys and Keane (all covered in past PLSN issues). He’s also designed for Adele, Vampire Weekend, Goldfrapp and many more. Here’s what Sinclair had to say about the Queen + Adam Lambert tour.
Read More »
Sharing Pickathon with the World
Video Production Helps Bring a Locally-Grown Festival in Oregon to a Wider Audience
Over a 16-year span, the annual Pickathon Music Festival —so-named, according to executive producer Zale Schoenborn, for the “hand-picked” assortment of artists across a wide range of genres — has grown from a modest shindig at Horning’s Hideout in Portland, OR to a three-day music festival with seven unique stages on Pendarvis Farm, an 88-acre horse farm framed by the forests and mountains near Happy Valley, OR, a half-hour outside of the big city.
Read More »
Gathering of the Vibes Festival
It’s been 19 years since Jerry Garcia died, but the Grateful Dead frontman’s “vibes” are alive and well, floating though the crowd of 25,000-plus who gather in his honor every summer for four days of music and camping — with a little ‘60s-style peace and love thrown in. Gathering of the Vibes, a modern-era, well-behaved version of Woodstock, was started in 1996 by Connecticut businessman/Deadhead Ken Hays to fill the void created by Garcia’s untimely passing from a heart attack at 53. GOTV has since become one of the Northeast’s pre-eminent festivals; over the years it has featured not only the remaining members of the Grateful Dead and various tribute bands, but world-class artists from an eclectic mix of genres: Crosby, Stills and Nash; James Brown; Allman Brothers Band; Elvis Costello; Black Crowes; Nas; Bruce Hornsby, to name a few.
Read More »
A Conversation with Designer Cory FitzGerald
It has been a very busy 2014 for lighting designer Cory FitzGerald. Starting off the year working with his Seven Design Works’ partner LeRoy Bennett on the Bruno Mars New Years Eve Show at the Cosmopolitan hotel in Vegas, all the way through to the taping of the Beyoncé/Jay-Z On The Run performances in Paris for HBO. In between, FitzGerald provided designs for Skrillex — both the Mothership Tour and the San Francisco Takeover shows, Demi Lovato’s Neon Lights and current world tour, Beyoncé’s performances at the Grammys and MTV Music Awards shows and many more one-offs and special events.
Read More »
Pasquale Quadri Honored Posthumously with 2014 Gottelier Award
LONDON — The late Pasquale ‘Paky’ Quadri, who founded Clay Paky in 1976, was honored posthumously with the 2014 Gottelier Award during a ceremony at PLASA 2014 here earlier this month. The award honors members of the industry who have made significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of event, entertainment or installation technology.
Read More »
In Memoriam: Pasquale “Paky” Quadri, 1947-2014
Clay Paky Founder Leaves a Legacy of Innovation
Pasquale “Paky” Quadri, founder and chairman of Clay Paky SpA, died at his home in Torre de’ Roveri, Italy shortly before midnight on Sept. 6. He was 67. In the years since founding the company in 1976 with fellow musician Claudio Paredi — the company name is formed by their two nicknames — Quadri and his company have amassed close to 80 patents and 50 major industry awards for a raft of fixtures combining design innovation with optical excellence and reliable operation.
Read More »
Pyrotecnico FX: The Special Effects Dynasty Continues
Historians believe fireworks first exploded onto the scene in seventh century China and reached widespread use during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). A new dynasty began in 1889 when Constantino Vitale founded his fireworks company in Pietramelara, Italy. In 1920, he moved his firm and family to New Castle, PA, whose official slogan would become “The Fireworks Capital of America.” In its first century, the business that would emerge as Pyrotecnico grew to become one of the country’s largest fireworks companies. It now creates many of the world’s most dazzling displays.
Read More »
2014 Parnelli Visionary Award Honoree Howard Ungerleider
You are the architect of your own future, and you get out of it what you put into it,” Howard Ungerleider says. Ungerleider is, himself, a helluva architect, and he has put his heart, soul, sweat and passion into a remarkable career that continues to inspire and influence not only the work of other lighting designers, but the manufacturers who create lighting tools. For all that and more, he will be honored with the Parnelli Visionary Award at the 14th annual Parnelli Awards ceremony, set for Nov. 22 in Las Vegas.
Read More »
The 2014 Hometown Hero Finalists
Companies driven by people doing what they love to do most are what make a “hometown hero.” There’s a lot of passion in this eclectic collection chosen by the readers of PLSN. And while this can be, as one honoree described it, a “dog eat dog” world, there’s a lot of good people doing good work out there. Here are the six best lighting companies in North America for 2014. One of these companies will be honored with a Parnelli Award for Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year at the annual awards ceremony, set this year for Nov. 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Read More »
The Next Evolution in Presentation Switching
Over the last few years, I’ve written several columns on the subject of 4K, and the message in the consumer marketplace remains unchanged: the big television manufacturers need shiny new toys to sell, and 4K gets the nod. Granted, the pictures are stunning, the resolution is remarkable, the price point is way higher than HD, and 4K content is very scarce.
Read More »