“In high school, my parents took me to a Tom Petty concert. During the show, I saw someone climbing a truss to fix a light. I was in awe. At that moment, I said, “I want to do what that guy’s doing!” And that’s what I did! First I went to theatre school so I could learn the craft, and then I joined Upstaging so I could start touring. I love lighting for any medium, but my true passion lies in lighting for music.
I think it’s really important to understand that I am not designing a show for myself, or to show off my skills, but rather to enhance the music and build on what the artist has created. The show is for the artist and the audience - not for me, the designer. In that same vein, when a client gives me a budget or other constraints, I believe it’s important to embrace those as positives and let them push me creatively.
Once when I was touring with Bob Dylan, he asked me to light an entire concert in black and white. At first, I was nervous. How could I make a concert interesting without color? Going back to my roots in theatrical design, I used intensity, texture, angle, etc. to create a minimal but powerful show. Of course, Bob is a genius and was thinking outside of the box, and together we created something special.”
