The tour united two of the groups that helped define The San Francisco Sound. In careers spanning 40 years, Journey has sold 80m albums worldwide and the Steve Miller Band more than 30m records.
Tour Tech East Ltd. in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia provided lighting support for the tour supplying 34 Sharpys and 20 Sharpy Washes. Senior account executive Tracey Ploss has worked with Journey and the band's lighting designer Kevin "Deuce" Christopher for eight years.
"Last year Deuce used a couple of Sharpys, but this year he specifically wanted Sharpy Washes for the tour so we added them to our inventory," says Ploss. "We've made a significant investment in the Clay Paky fixtures." Sharpys are very popular with Tour Tech customers for their output, size and low power consumption. Fixtures are currently out with Styx and Foreigner, and the Calgary Stampede deployed a large number for its famed rodeo.
Deuce, who has been lighting designer for Journey since 2004, says he "probably doubled" the number of Sharpys in his new tour rig. "There are 12 on the side trusses and four each per overhead truss for a total of 12 more. Plus one each on ten US Towers that top a wall of 20 Sharpy Washes," he explains. "A video display, comprised of PRG/Nocturne V-28 and V-9 LED panels, is directly behind the band above the towers. It looks like there's a wall of light with the video display resting on top."
The Steve Miller Band's lighting designer, Andrew Richter of IOD Group in New York, has used Sharpys and Sharpy Washes "extensively" the last two years. "The pure power from such a fast and compact fixture makes it ideal for all but long-throw, wide-beam applications. I prefer the Washes in a mid-stage position for our non-shared rig due to their speed and depth of color rendering."
The scenic design for the band calls for Richter to block off the Sharpy Washes on the rear lower truss with a fiber optic drop and a full stage drop designed by Stanley Meyers for "Jet Airliner" in which the Sharpys play a key role.
For Journey, Kevin Cassidy is the crew chief, Rob Kern production manager, Armando Figueroa in charge of power distribution and control, Oscar Carnales lighting tech, and Cole MacDonald FOH systems tech. Scott McCowan programmed the Steve Miller Band show.
Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, commented, "This is a very ambitious and impressive tour and both designers are doing a great job at deploying our fixtures to their fullest."
(Jim Evans)
