hi 
ok im back , where was I ? ,,i flew to Romania to see my girl
, i was bored at home ,and i had time ,so i just spent 3 weeks in Bucharest 
, it was sooo nice ,
oh ya i got laid hehehe ,that helps
really i went to help her with her aunt ,she needs to be put in a asylum and then we are going to buy her apartment . so i wont be renting anym,ore i will own an beutifull old communist apartment .well for a year then we are going ot sell it and buy in the Tineretulie neighborhood ,because it is a great place and has a great park across the street . so many plans . My girl just finished her law degree and now is in her 2 nd year of Phsycoligy [erm spelling ] ,,it makes me feel really great in my heart i can help her with all this ,,she considers me her only family ..wow it has been 3 years we have been together .
i need to wash clothes and repack ,why ? because i am going to the UK for the month of december for make up dates for Rod , and this will be the last time for a while we will be on the road .
, great now i need to find another band to work with for next year ,could be fun though .
This was an interview i did for a lighting industry magazine , it was fun . so now you can see what i do for work . i cut and pasted the interview here
As previously mentioned, lighting is designed and operated by longtime LD Mark Payne, and is supplied by Light and Sound Design / Fourth Phase (www.lsdicon.com), who also have worked with Stewart for many seasons. The lighting crew joining Payne on this leg of the tour are Crew Chief Jason "Attaboy" Stalter, Lowell Hawley and Joanne Wooi.
Payne drives a Flying Pig Systems Whole Hog II; the crux of his rig are VARI*LITE 3K's - 20 VL3000 spots and 10 VL3000 washes. Other lighting gear includes a dozen ETC 19 Source Fours, 18 Source Four PARs, four black PAR 64's, six 8 Lite Series 3 molefays, a full complement of Wybron Color Ram II scrollers, ETC Sensor dimming, 13 Diversitronics 3000 DMX strobes, 24 CM Lodestar one-ton and half-ton chain hoists, and four Lycian 1.2kw HMI followspots. Cool road gadgets include a L'il DMXter, two Clear-Com 2-ch. base stations, and a 20-pack of Beyer DT109 headsets.
The structural package supplied by LSD is made up of the following truss pieces: (5) 12" x 12" x 8', (6) 20" x 20" x 8' , one 20" x 20" x 10' Box, (8) 28" x 28" 4' Black D-type, (30) 28" x 28" 8' Blk D-type, and (7) Corner 6-way T 28" Box Blk D-type. Although the tour rider includes two Reel EFX fans and two DF-50's, Payne claims the tour doesn't use smoke, resulting in a clean as a whistle lighting style unencumbered by beamage caught in the atmosphere.
Now thirteen years into his Rod Stewart employment, Mark first worked in theatre, ballet and opera, but 'bumped into Vari-Lite' in London back in 1987. Following a stint in VL programming, he's LD'ed for a plethora of cool artists over the years, including Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, Simply Red, and The Cure.
"Rod is quite specific about the kind of feel he wants onstage - he likes it big, white and bright," says Payne. "The majority of the tours we've done recently have had some white in them a white floor or white set. Rod's also a very flamboyant dresser, which makes him great fun to light. He's got some very different shirts and colored jackets, and so I try to follow what he's wearing."
According to Mark, the mission statement for lighting was obvious. "We help showcase Rod's hits, and his new standards... the two new albums he's done recently." With the show being segmented into two halves, Payne is afforded the opportunity to stretch as a designer - and light two shows. "They're very different," he agrees. "The first half is all about color and excitement, and the second is treated in a more old-fashioned way - very gold, orange and gentle. Towards the end of the second set Rod introduces more of his hits, and the tempo goes up again."
"The physical design of the lighting," Payne continues, "has always been dictated by the 'U' shape truss surrounding the stage. Rod really likes to have the stage completely covered when the audience comes in, so we have to have that 'U' shaped truss, and that dictates where I've got to put my lighting. And I have a mix of trusses in-between, depending on where the video is located."
Mark raves over his VARI*LITE VL3000's, which add a truly original, 'haven't seen it before' element to the show. "The 3K's are great fixtures," says Payne. "I haven't had any problems at all. It does everything in the show, and is pretty much 'the' light. They're really uniform from lamp to lamp - the zooms, focuses and edges are all identical, It's cut down on my focusing time.
"We've got 20 spots and 10 wash lights, and we don't use any smoke. Using it is always very tricky - if you put too much in the air you lose the video, We tried smoke for a while, but then cut it. And in these venues, there's absolutely no atmospherics - so it makes for a really clean looking show. In a way I actually prefer it, because you have more control. You have to light backgrounds and people; you're not lighting the air at all."
The LD also relies on a large followspot team for the tour's signature looks. "We pick everybody in an open white followspot, and really, each performer has a followspot on them all the time - because we're using a lot of video, and it's a fairly free form show. I like to keep everybody lit all the time; that way Gerry can pick up what he wants when he wants."
Having on a large pool of local labor doesn't spook Payne. "I've been calling spots for years, and if you motivate them, get them to join in and let them do some stuff on their own - they can be quite responsive." Payne's spotlights are placed two downstage, 'just extra hot arcs on Rod', two upstage on Rod, short throws on the truss, and house spots. "I've love to tour my own, but it's just not practical," he adds. "Lowell run the spots up in the afternoon and checks them out."
Sensitive to the color temperature differences between PARs and moving lights he color corrects all the PAR cans, and when using open white, adds a CTO on the Vari-Lites, "which is very good on that unit," Mark adds. "I'll use color correction in the followspots as well," he says. "Because video is such an enormous part of the background, we needed to balance everything to open white - that way our reds, blues, etc. are all the same, and it all fits in as one big picture."
The lighting programming has many cues across the 30 songs in the console, but is never busy or rushed. "Knowing the music so well, I guess it is quite cue intensive, but it's also very relaxed. An average song on the Hog might have 16 to 24 cue points - but less sometimes - on some songs we've got three!"
Mark says he typically treats each song as one big look. "There's occasional spots where I have the odd special here or there, but Rod doesn't like it when things gets fiddly," he laughs. "He does like to see the audience - especially down the sides, so we've got a big audience wash, and the 3K's spend a lot of time out there as well."
The LD's color palette is - in his own words, 'thick' but not 'saturated'. "I tend to do songs in two colors, or in two shades of one color," he admits. "I try to match or complement what Rod's wearing. He'll occasionally change his wardrobe, and I'll change my colors to match - it's such a big thing on the video. His shirt is taking up 50% of the video screen. It's just much better to follow it!
"We've got a white floor and white amp panels for the first half, and for the second we go black, with suits and a super shiny floor. They both take light completely differently. With the white set, I had to spend a lot of time in rehearsals getting the lights away from the video screen. What works with Rod is clean, sharp, thick, simple colors - and nothing on the floor - really clean looks and big things. When something happens, it's big; I don't spend time fading three lights in over there. And I tend to leave things as they are. I think simplicity is really what I've learned from working with this organization. Obviously you have an artistic brief as well, but essentially if Rod's happy, you can do anything you like."
Production support by Sound Image, Light & Sound Design, Creative Technology, and Tait Towers. Production coverage by Bruce Jordahl. Photography by Jimi G.
ok im back , where was I ? ,,i flew to Romania to see my girl
, i was bored at home ,and i had time ,so i just spent 3 weeks in Bucharest , it was sooo nice ,
oh ya i got laid hehehe ,that helps
really i went to help her with her aunt ,she needs to be put in a asylum and then we are going to buy her apartment . so i wont be renting anym,ore i will own an beutifull old communist apartment .well for a year then we are going ot sell it and buy in the Tineretulie neighborhood ,because it is a great place and has a great park across the street . so many plans
. My girl just finished her law degree and now is in her 2 nd year of Phsycoligy [erm spelling ] ,,it makes me feel really great in my heart i can help her with all this ,,she considers me her only family ..wow it has been 3 years we have been together .
i need to wash clothes and repack ,why ? because i am going to the UK for the month of december for make up dates for Rod , and this will be the last time for a while we will be on the road .
, great now i need to find another band to work with for next year ,could be fun though .
This was an interview i did for a lighting industry magazine , it was fun . so now you can see what i do for work . i cut and pasted the interview here
As previously mentioned, lighting is designed and operated by longtime LD Mark Payne, and is supplied by Light and Sound Design / Fourth Phase (www.lsdicon.com), who also have worked with Stewart for many seasons. The lighting crew joining Payne on this leg of the tour are Crew Chief Jason "Attaboy" Stalter, Lowell Hawley and Joanne Wooi.
Payne drives a Flying Pig Systems Whole Hog II; the crux of his rig are VARI*LITE 3K's - 20 VL3000 spots and 10 VL3000 washes. Other lighting gear includes a dozen ETC 19 Source Fours, 18 Source Four PARs, four black PAR 64's, six 8 Lite Series 3 molefays, a full complement of Wybron Color Ram II scrollers, ETC Sensor dimming, 13 Diversitronics 3000 DMX strobes, 24 CM Lodestar one-ton and half-ton chain hoists, and four Lycian 1.2kw HMI followspots. Cool road gadgets include a L'il DMXter, two Clear-Com 2-ch. base stations, and a 20-pack of Beyer DT109 headsets.
The structural package supplied by LSD is made up of the following truss pieces: (5) 12" x 12" x 8', (6) 20" x 20" x 8' , one 20" x 20" x 10' Box, (8) 28" x 28" 4' Black D-type, (30) 28" x 28" 8' Blk D-type, and (7) Corner 6-way T 28" Box Blk D-type. Although the tour rider includes two Reel EFX fans and two DF-50's, Payne claims the tour doesn't use smoke, resulting in a clean as a whistle lighting style unencumbered by beamage caught in the atmosphere.
Now thirteen years into his Rod Stewart employment, Mark first worked in theatre, ballet and opera, but 'bumped into Vari-Lite' in London back in 1987. Following a stint in VL programming, he's LD'ed for a plethora of cool artists over the years, including Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, Simply Red, and The Cure.
"Rod is quite specific about the kind of feel he wants onstage - he likes it big, white and bright," says Payne. "The majority of the tours we've done recently have had some white in them a white floor or white set. Rod's also a very flamboyant dresser, which makes him great fun to light. He's got some very different shirts and colored jackets, and so I try to follow what he's wearing."
According to Mark, the mission statement for lighting was obvious. "We help showcase Rod's hits, and his new standards... the two new albums he's done recently." With the show being segmented into two halves, Payne is afforded the opportunity to stretch as a designer - and light two shows. "They're very different," he agrees. "The first half is all about color and excitement, and the second is treated in a more old-fashioned way - very gold, orange and gentle. Towards the end of the second set Rod introduces more of his hits, and the tempo goes up again."
"The physical design of the lighting," Payne continues, "has always been dictated by the 'U' shape truss surrounding the stage. Rod really likes to have the stage completely covered when the audience comes in, so we have to have that 'U' shaped truss, and that dictates where I've got to put my lighting. And I have a mix of trusses in-between, depending on where the video is located."
Mark raves over his VARI*LITE VL3000's, which add a truly original, 'haven't seen it before' element to the show. "The 3K's are great fixtures," says Payne. "I haven't had any problems at all. It does everything in the show, and is pretty much 'the' light. They're really uniform from lamp to lamp - the zooms, focuses and edges are all identical, It's cut down on my focusing time.
"We've got 20 spots and 10 wash lights, and we don't use any smoke. Using it is always very tricky - if you put too much in the air you lose the video, We tried smoke for a while, but then cut it. And in these venues, there's absolutely no atmospherics - so it makes for a really clean looking show. In a way I actually prefer it, because you have more control. You have to light backgrounds and people; you're not lighting the air at all."
The LD also relies on a large followspot team for the tour's signature looks. "We pick everybody in an open white followspot, and really, each performer has a followspot on them all the time - because we're using a lot of video, and it's a fairly free form show. I like to keep everybody lit all the time; that way Gerry can pick up what he wants when he wants."
Having on a large pool of local labor doesn't spook Payne. "I've been calling spots for years, and if you motivate them, get them to join in and let them do some stuff on their own - they can be quite responsive." Payne's spotlights are placed two downstage, 'just extra hot arcs on Rod', two upstage on Rod, short throws on the truss, and house spots. "I've love to tour my own, but it's just not practical," he adds. "Lowell run the spots up in the afternoon and checks them out."
Sensitive to the color temperature differences between PARs and moving lights he color corrects all the PAR cans, and when using open white, adds a CTO on the Vari-Lites, "which is very good on that unit," Mark adds. "I'll use color correction in the followspots as well," he says. "Because video is such an enormous part of the background, we needed to balance everything to open white - that way our reds, blues, etc. are all the same, and it all fits in as one big picture."
The lighting programming has many cues across the 30 songs in the console, but is never busy or rushed. "Knowing the music so well, I guess it is quite cue intensive, but it's also very relaxed. An average song on the Hog might have 16 to 24 cue points - but less sometimes - on some songs we've got three!"
Mark says he typically treats each song as one big look. "There's occasional spots where I have the odd special here or there, but Rod doesn't like it when things gets fiddly," he laughs. "He does like to see the audience - especially down the sides, so we've got a big audience wash, and the 3K's spend a lot of time out there as well."
The LD's color palette is - in his own words, 'thick' but not 'saturated'. "I tend to do songs in two colors, or in two shades of one color," he admits. "I try to match or complement what Rod's wearing. He'll occasionally change his wardrobe, and I'll change my colors to match - it's such a big thing on the video. His shirt is taking up 50% of the video screen. It's just much better to follow it!
"We've got a white floor and white amp panels for the first half, and for the second we go black, with suits and a super shiny floor. They both take light completely differently. With the white set, I had to spend a lot of time in rehearsals getting the lights away from the video screen. What works with Rod is clean, sharp, thick, simple colors - and nothing on the floor - really clean looks and big things. When something happens, it's big; I don't spend time fading three lights in over there. And I tend to leave things as they are. I think simplicity is really what I've learned from working with this organization. Obviously you have an artistic brief as well, but essentially if Rod's happy, you can do anything you like."
Production support by Sound Image, Light & Sound Design, Creative Technology, and Tait Towers. Production coverage by Bruce Jordahl. Photography by Jimi G.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
i don't have room on my friends list for anyone else right now. i like to have my friends list be a rectangle, but you can bookmark me as interesting.