Editor’s Note

I stopped down at the USITT show last month in St. Louis. I enjoy going to this show for a day every year to watch all the enthusiasm that thousands of kids have for the Arts. Plus, it’s great to see the various vendors giving back their knowledge to the next generation. Since the government seems to care little about the arts during the current administration it’s so much more important to see the other companies that did show up to pass knowledge.

The Super Bowl halftime shows rarely thrill me. I think the lighting, production and staging of these shows is usually incredible, year after year. But to be honest, the last time I think I saw an artist that really impressed me with their performance was when Prince killed it. But this year rocked.

It’s a good thing February is the shortest month, because except for the bright reds you see around Valentine’s Day, it’s one of our least colorful months. By mid-January, I’m already nostalgic for the holiday season. For a few weeks every year, everything becomes colorful in America again. I drive around and see beautiful green foliage in living rooms and on doors, long after the leaves have fallen. Multi colored holiday strings of lights add to the red candy canes that illuminate our city streets.

It’s the start of a new year, and time for me to put my corporate taxes in order for the old year. This amounts to taking 12 months’ worth of info and combining it into one spreadsheet that shows all my write-offs. One of my favorite parts of all this is my travel expenses. I gather up what the flights cost and I cross-reference them against the airline miles I made. I am indeed, one of those geeks who figures out ways to get several free plane tickets every year.

I believe we are all thinking the same thing as this year closes. Glad it’s over, and how the heck is the new guy gonna keep everyone insured, yet make it affordable? I question why I pay what amounts to a second mortgage to Aetna for my family of four, a company that has paid their CEO, in terms of overall compensation, more than $90K per day. Repeat: per day.

The yearly jaunt to Vegas was once again a fun time. Met a few new friends and caught up with a bunch more on the golf course, the LDI show floor and, of course, the nightly celebrations culminating with the Parnelli Awards on Saturday night.

Ah, my favorite time of year. The summer heat fades to cool breezes. The kids are back at school. The Parnelli Awards are just around the corner, and I got a big fat issue in which I can include all sorts of articles from every sector of the live event business possible. Sure, we cover some of the biggest productions on the road this season and chat with top name designers, but it is also an issue where I can shine some light on some new interesting people and lesser known acts.

During the week, I run this magazine for a living. But on weekends, I still dabble in my other craft, lighting bands doing one-offs. I generally like to use about 60 movers and some key lights on a show. I’m not picky on what lights I get, because I’m playing mostly festivals with these acts during the summer. I take what I get. The beauty is, I get to test about every fixture made over the summer.

Not too many days go by when we all wish we could clone ourselves, to take some of the workload off our shoulders. We wish we had a partner that we could turn to in order to help sort through the mess on your desk, before you lose your sanity and a certain job altogether. Partnerships reinforce ideas within some companies. Like-minded people who can work, act and discuss business with clients in the same manner as ourselves are an important commodity. Just take a look at the current Presidential race.

I spent the last month filling my brain with information. As is my custom at trade shows I try and stop in at as many booths as possible to see what pops out at me. InfoComm 2016 took place in June, and I strolled the aisles looking for new cool stuff and people to chat with.

I had the privilege of attending a road show last month. Not a traveling theatrical spectacle, but one put on by a popular lighting manufacturer that enabled quite a lot of people to get hands on experience with the latest technology. Harman’s Martin Lighting division took their gear to the people and extended me an invitation. With my schedule, I chose to take a trip to their stop in Dallas, Texas in May, one of the first destinations on their nationwide trek.

Last month, I went to a couple different lighting conventions. The USITT show in Salt Lake City is a show that is designed to teach todays’ college students who major in theater a thing or two. It’s a place where I see all sorts of great people who now teach or demo gear for companies as opposed to running shows themselves. I get quite an education at this show because it’s not as crowded as LDI and folks have more time to teach you. The other show was the Prolight + Sound show in Frankfurt. For those who have never been, let’s just say it’s several times the size of LDI.