311 Day Las Vegas party brought to life with GLP
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Concentrating on lighting he came under the influence of Joe Paradise - and it was he who introduced Grey to his current charges, veteran rock band 311. Along the way Grey became an associate designer with Sightline Design Group, before starting his own company, Notan Creative in January 2020.
The band are now noted for their summer tours and legendary ‘311 Day’, held annually at the Park Theatre, Las Vegas (Park MGM) on 11 March. But this year the event went into overdrive as they celebrated their 30th anniversary over three nights. Bobby Grey designed another bespoke rig, using an abundance of GLP X4 Bar 10 and Bar 20 and JDC1 hybrid strobes, run in full pixel mode.
Of GLP’s automated lighting he said: “I’m a big fan of the way GLP creates unique fixtures that don’t fit the mould of what everyone else is making. It’s great that a fixture like the X4 Bars can line architecture or sets so that the lighting and geometry work together. And I like the versatility of lights like the JDC1, which can be used in different ways to keep the rig looking fresh through the night. Instead of choosing an RGB strobe that gives you colour, or a white strobe that gives you punch, we get the best of both worlds in a unique form factor.”
For the success of the three-night extravaganza, Grey praised touring director / operator Alex Parayuelos who is “an invaluable asset to the production” and the trust placed in him by the band and their management. He also credits his entire technical crew, special FX vendor Strictly Effects, PRG (which provided automation) and the house crew.
Inventory for 311 Day was provided by Felix Lighting of Los Angeles. “Felix is a very supportive family and a rock in the Los Angeles lighting community,” said Grey. “Our rep, Ryan Herrera, bent over backwards to pull the pieces together for us. For our summer tours we have been very well taken care of by TMS from the band’s hometown, Omaha. Aaron Steinbrink, our account rep, has made sure that our gear has been flawless every time.”
