"This tour is completely different from those of years past and it's a spinoff of their origins in San Francisco and their latest studio album California 37," began Hogan. "Since this was our largest tour to date, hitting all the major markets, we added a few new features such as video wall automation and a new set inspired by the theme of the tour. For the lighting, I wanted to also showcase new and innovative fixtures that we have not used before so I called LMG to see what the latest advancements in lighting might be and that's when they told me about the Philips Vari-Lite VL3015LT Spot and the Showline SL BAR 640 LED luminaires."
As production meetings on the tour began it became apparent that this would be one of the more creative designs Hogan had ever developed for the band and LMG Touring stood ready to provide him with two of the most cutting-edge fixtures available today.
Hogan explained, "As I was putting ideas for the design together, LMG started sending me links to the new Showline LED products and then shortly after that I made a trip to Dallas to the Philips Entertainment factory where they suggested Brad Schiller give me a demo of the new VL3015LT Spot along with the complete Showline family.
"When I saw the VL3015LT Spot in action I loved its output and the beams it could create and I knew they could provide me with a big beam 'search light' to fit perfectly with the tour theme. Then when I saw the SL BAR 640 LED luminaires, I knew I no longer needed to worry about strobe fixtures in the rig because they could replicate those effects plus provide fantastic color mixing. On top of that, they also have a great dimming curve with fantastic color chases, so I knew these would be perfect as my new strobe lights with a new level creativity."
With his new fixtures now in hand, Hogan got to work bringing the design for "Mermaids of Alcatraz" to life relying heavily on the VL3015LT Spot and the SL BAR 640 LED luminaires to provide audience members with an experience they had never seen before.
"I have the 16 VL3015LT Spots set around the perimeter of each riser on stage in four groups of four," continued Hogan. "LMG actually purchased the fixtures specifically for our tour and I while I immediately saw the creative potential of the fixtures what surprised me most when we got them in the rig was how well the beam registers when you are in the deep, rich colors such as Congo Blue. The output of this fixture is amazing and is definitely the key to its success."
(Jim Evans)
