"In the design for the Journey tour, we have a large video wall that we treat as a surface for I-MAG, so I knew we needed automated lighting that could punch through the intensity of the video wall," began Christopher. "During the design process, we looked at several luminaires for the job, but at the end of the day, we found that the power, performance and reliability of the VL3500 Wash and VL3000 Spot luminaires were second to none."
"For the Steve Miller Band portion of the tour, we really wanted a hard and psychedelic look in a theatrical setting," added Andrew Richter, Steve Miller Band lighting designer. "Whenever you have two acts that are trying to meld what they do, you really have to sit down and define what you want to use as your workhorse and effects fixtures. I was thrilled when I heard that Kevin had chosen the VL3500 Wash and VL3000 Spot luminaires and I knew they would be the right choices for both our designs."
As the two designers got to work on their lighting designs, Christopher turned to his trusted relationship with industry veteran Tracey Ploss and brought Tour Tech East on board to supply the Vari-Lite luminaires.
Christopher continued, "Our previous tour vendor was Epic Production Technologies and since we have maintained our relationship with Tracey over the years it made sense to go with Tour Tech East as the vendor for this tour. They have an impressive operation in Halifax and they are very organized with well-maintained gear."
Richter agreed, "While this is my first time working with Tracey and Tour Tech East, their crew is phenomenal and their gear is top-notch."
After the lighting gear and vendor were both in place, Christopher and Richter finished their designs and began working to bring the full production to life with the VL3500 Wash and VL3000 Spot luminaires leading the way.
Richter concluded, "The music of both tours really takes audience members back to an earlier time in their lives and lighting-wise this is a high-energy type of tour. Vari-Lite fixtures seem to be the most reliable, high-output, colour consistent fixtures on the market. This is a big, solid show from both sides and it's the VL3500 Wash and VL3000 Spot luminaires that give us those big solid looks."
(Jim Evans)
