Sao Paulo Part 3 - The Eminem Show

It's 4 hours before the show. The entire crew is stuck in traffic (imagine that) on our way to the show. One hour and 15 minutes to get from the hotel to the venue, 4 miles away. Derek, the video engineer sitting next to me exclaims, "Oh! Lightning!" Dusk is upon us and we can see storm clouds brewing ahead. Soon after, the rain comes, we're stuck in traffic listening to the rain pound the van like fists. This can't be good.

As we drive by the venue (you have to go past to cross a bridge and cut back) we notice that the main stage where Eminem is to be playing is dark. This can't be good.

We get to the venue at 7PM, the start time for the opening band. We walked through the dressing room area to the stage to discover darkness with 100 flashlights running back and forth. No opening act on stage. This can't be good.

I figure the best thing to do is stay off stage and sit in the lounge area. Eventually, the lighting designer for the festival came by and told me what happened.

The part of the storm we didn't experience while sitting in traffic was the wind. Caio, the lighting designer, was telling me that the wind was so strong, the lighting trusses were blowing around, and the video screen on stage was practically horizontal. The rigging roof was creaking and twisting under the weight and he was sure it was going to fall. Thankfully it didn't.

There was a small explosion and sparks came from the video screen on the left side of the stage, so they were pretty sure that wasn't working. The rain had come in sideways and soaked our center video screen, so that wasn't going to work for sure. Lights sparked, breakers broke, no one knew what would come back when powered up.

There was an hour and a half delay while they sorted and tested to see what was working. We got sound back, we got the side screens back, and we got all but the floor lights back. The first band went on, with a little static in the mikes but all went fine. They cut their set by 1/2 an hour as did the next band, all the while the skies remained quiet.

Eminem's band came on stage, and got into position. The tested their instruments, checked their headsets and were ready to go. Eminem got into position under the stage and got on the elevator that took him to the stage in glorious fashion. All departments checked in ready to go. And then, the sky opened up again, and the rain came down. And when I say rain, I mean, cats and dogs and mice, and cows. No joke, at one point there rain looked like golf balls hitting the stage. It didn't stop until... The end of the show. Like clockwork, as soon as Eminem sang the last notes of his encore (Lose Yourself) the rain stopped.

The video screens worked, the microphones had some crackle and static every now and again. Eminem and all the band got soaked to the skin. The worst victims were the band members who's instruments and gear got soaked. A keyboard was flooded, the backup singer couldn't hear in her headsets, and the bass and guitar players lost their amps.

The lighting rig went down in parts. First I lost the front truss, then parts of the mid truss started doing their own thing. Nothing like having a blue look up and then have 4 lights go white and ballyhoo. By the end, I had 1/2 a rig and 3 out of 4 follow-spots.

But none of that mattered, 50,000 fans stuck around and sang every word to every song. Which sort of amazed me, since they all speak Portuguese as their first language. I can't even rap in English, which is my first language. Have a look and listen:



Not the greatest quality video, but you can hear everyone sing along. Pretty cool. You also get a great idea of the rain that was coming down. That particular song, "Way I am" happens pretty early in the set. Hence, I still had most of my lights.

Here's a better quality video:



Also a song early in the set. But at least that guy wasn't being bumped around, and could focus his camera.

A little side note to the show, The LD before me for N.E.R.D., I don't think quite has the hang of loading his show onto the console because he did something (I won't go into detail here) that basically knocked my user profile out of the console. I had the show, and I had all the cues, but I had no "personal touches" to the console. Anyway, I had to load the show back in from my USB thumb drive, which I forgot at the end of the show, and left in the console. I hadn't realized it missing until I the next afternoon when I started to pack for home. I frantically tried to get a hold of someone who would have seen it, the crew chief or the promoter, but no one was available or answering emails. I guess no one works on the weekend in Sao Paulo.

So I came back to L.A. without any hope of ever getting it back. The real bummer was that I had a number of other shows on there that I hadn't backup up to my computer. The one show I think I was going to miss the most was the file I had for "Million Dollar Mind Game". Only because if that one ever came back, I'd need the file.

Then, a miracle. 10 days after I returned from Brazil, a package shows up at my door with a lot of Portuguese writing on it. It was my USB thumb drive! They found it, got my address from one of the numerous emails I sent to the promoter and crew chief and sent it back!

I wish I could say the same for local companies. I forgot a USB stick in a console for a show here in L.A. and no body at the shop could find it. I think somebody found it and thought, "Cool, a USB hard drive, I've always wanted one." But the joke was on them, it was only 256Mb.

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Sao Paulo Part 2.

I'm already back in L.A., and back to work today. I'm at Jimmy Kimmel, working on the main stage show. Which usually affords me some spare time. That means I can finish my Sao Paulo blog. At least, post the rest of the pictures.

One more shot from the hotel...Here's the view from the window by the elevator. You can see in the foreground the very nice outdoor pool for the hotel. Just over the wall is the main drag into the heart of the city. Beyond that is a river. I think it's called the Tiete river. It stinks. Whenever I stepped out of my hotel room (even standing in the hall while I took this picture) I could smell the river. Words fail me at the moment to describe the smell. It's almost easier to just refer you to this show called "Vanguard" that did a documentary called the "World Toilet Crisis". You could almost smell that show. This river is black, and runs through the city. It even ran by the venue we played at. I think I know what was causing my headaches. I suppose if you live there, you probably get used to the methane stench, but I did find this article talking about an attempted clean up.


The second day we were in Sao Paulo, a few of us went over to the venue to see how the load in was progressing. The nice lady who sat in the lobby of our hotel (mentioned in this blog) arranged a van for us, and off we went. Above is a picture of the load in I took. They were starting to hang the video wall (the black grid in the middle of the picture) and were moving around some of my lighting trusses. As we were leaving the venue, we met up with the woman who was to be the "handler" for the band. More of a translator than anything, so we kidnapped her, and she translated to the van driver to take us around the city.

Our first stop was one I was anticipating for about three days before I left L.A. for Sao Paulo. I discovered the store, Decathlon, when I was touring Spain with Shakira. There was one near the venue in Zaragoza, where we rehearsed, and needless to say, I was hooked. It's like a supermarket of sporting goods, and cheap. They have their own lines of clothing and sporting goods. Even with the exchange rate of Euro's to dollars, the price was still better than similar items in the U.S. I even convinced Nicole to go to one when were in Paris in 2008. The best part of Decathlon? Cycling clothing! In addition their own line of clothes, they have pro gear cheap!

Alas, the Decathlon in Sao Paulo was a huge disappointment. I guess in a country not known for it's cyclists, I shouldn't have expected a good cycling department. They did have great soccer, volleyball, and table tennis departments.



It never really surprises me when I see a McDonalds or Burger King, or even a 7-Eleven when I go over seas. You see 7-Elevens all over Melbourne Australia. What you don't see there are Burger Kings. There, they are called Hungry Jacks because Burger King was already taken.

Imagine my surprise when I saw an AM/PM at a local gas station! As a matter of fact, while driving around the city, I saw several AM/PM's. I was able to snap this photo because we were at a stand still in traffic.



And speaking of traffic... There's lots of it in Sao Paulo. Everything gets stuck in traffic. We were touring through the garment district (That's what I called it because many of the store fronts were selling mannequins or were lines of people on sewing machines working away) and pulled up to a stop light. No sooner did we stop than a couple of motorcycles pulled up next to us and then this guy pushing a hand cart. He didn't have a horn, so he kept slamming his cargo on the road in an attempt to get the motorcycles to move forward. When they finally figured it out, he pulled up to the light, and turned right. Yes, he was in the street and not on the sidewalk. Go figure.



We asked our kidnapped "handler lady" to take us to a place that she goes to. So she took us to the farmers market.

The "Mercado Municipal" is a huge building, with stained glass windows and glass ceilings to let in natural light. Each section of the building had vendors selling similar products.

There was the spices and sauces section.


The salted and cured meats section. Butchers, fruits and vegetable sections. Even a section for cheeses and sausages. Upstairs was a food court of sorts, with four or five restaurants with open sections of seats. The "handler" (I wish I could remember her name!) recommended a sandwich place that she always eats at when she comes.



I ordered the most popular sandwich on the menu (so she says), the "Bellisimo" which as you can see is a mountain of mortadella and ham with melted cheese served in a flaky bun. Mortadella, if you don't know is like a baloney, but very salty. I guess it's a favorite of the Brazilian people. The restaurant was running a special of two beers for the price of one, so we took advantage of that.



After lunch we exited the Mercado Municpal and headed back to the van, on the way we noticed there trees, potted and suspended by guide wires above the stinky river. And it wasn't just this one, as we followed the road along the river there was a tree every 100 yards or so, suspended above the river. I couldn't figure it out, I chalked it up to some sort of modern art.

We headed back to the hotel, it was already late in the afternoon, and jet lag had caught up to most of us. It took us a while to get back, again because of traffic.

I think Sao Paulo is to South America what Seoul, Korea is to Asia. Both are economic centers for the regions, but neither are really touristy. Lots of businessmen doing business things. No one goes to Sao Paulo for vacation, not even the Brazilians. That's what Rio's for.

One more blog about Sao Paulo... Gotta talk about the Eminem show...

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My First Days On The South American Continent.

In 1995, I started touring. In 1996, I made first trip south of the border to Mexico City. In 1998, I made my first trip to Europe. In 2000, I made my first trip to Australia. In 2004, I made my first trip to the Middle East, South East Asia, and well, all of Asia really. In 2007, I made my first trip to Africa. In 2008, I hung up my touring shoes and have since then made efforts to stay home, having never toured in South America.

I considered myself lucky. I heard many horror stories about South America. None as bad as my time in Nigeria, but still wore it like a badge, telling other roadies, "Nope, I've never toured South America."

It took me retiring from the road to finally make it to South America. Not really for a tour, but I'm here for work on a concert none the less.

Sao Paulo, Brazil. The new capital of, well, capitalism in South America. I think I read somewhere that Sao Paulo has usurped Mexico City with the number of it's billionaires.

Huh, I remember when to be a millionaire was a position of affluence. Now, billionaire.

I've been in Sao Paulo for 5 days now. We landed on Tuesday after an all night flight from Los Angeles (connecting through Miami). I didn't think I'd be terribly jet lagged since it's only a 5 hour difference to home, but even today I'm a bit foggy and waking up at strange hours. No matter, I'm flying home tomorrow in time to suffer jet lag in reverse. Which is fine, since I have an Xbox game I still need to play and being awake at 4 AM, it may help to put me back to sleep.

I'm here for an Eminem concert. He's the headline act for the Formula 1 Rocks show. I guess on Sunday they have a Formula 1 race somewhere in the city. To bad we fly home tomorrow (Saturday) and miss the event. They've been taking really good care of us here. We're in a decent hotel, the Grand Hyatt, and there always a woman from the local production team sitting in the lobby. She has access to transportation for us if we need to go anywhere, and even if there's no where we really need to go. She also has a clipboard with a list of all of our (the crew) names. She checks it every time one of us leaves and returns to the hotel. Kinda creepy.

Here's some pictures of my adventures so far.


No trip would be complete if I didn't take pictures of my hotel room. Nicole always likes to see what my hotel room looks like. The rooms at the Grand Hyatt are admittedly "cozy", but what they lack in space in the bedroom, the more than make up for in the bathroom.


One day, I'm gonna have a separate tub and shower in my bathroom. But until then, I'm gonna enjoy this one. I love the downpour shower head. What I don't love, is the fact that I can't get a comfortable water temperature to stay. It always seems to run suddenly hot or cold.


The maids at this hotel are very tenacious. I've had my "Do Not Disturb" sign on my room every day and yet they still knock every time and ask if I want service. Yesterday, I was working at the venue, I think the maids took this opportunity to steal my "Do Not Disturb" sign so I can't put it out anymore. And they don't just come once a day, they come, THREE TIMES. The first time they come, I tell them "No Thank You", then they come again later in the afternoon, I've not been home for this visit usually, I've been out doing stuff, and then a third time in the evening for turn down service. On the plus side, they always line up my toiletries nicely on a wash cloth by the sink. I even think they wipe down my tooth paste and deodorant. Not sure how that pack of Extra gum ended up there, But I should check to see if the maids are stealing a stick or two.

This is the view from my hotel room. The building across the way is a local TV station. This means that they land their traffic helicopter on a helipad near by in the morning. I love the sound of chopper blades rattling my window while I try to sleep. I'm assuming the bridge in the background is a landmark of some sort. More importantly, on the other side of the bridge is a Decathlon store. Although I was very disappointed in this one. No cycling clothing!


Here's the view in the other direction from my room. It's a pretty typical view of Sao Paulo. Lots and lots of apartment buildings and sky scrapers every where. It's a very modern (and congested) city in that respect.

There's more pictures to come, but I'll post them in a second blog... Right now, it's time to go to work. It's show day here in Sao Paulo, but we've been delayed because we've just had to waves of a pretty awesome storm blow through. The lighting was orange. I think it's because of the pollution in the air, but that's just me speculating...

More to come...

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Geeking Out...

I've been in Anaheim for the week working on Blizz-con which is being held at the Anaheim Convention Center. Today is the opening day, and it is, as expected, a geek fest.

22,000 people are expected here. The tickets sold out in 11 seconds. DirecTV is doing a pay-per-view of four channels (one for each stage), 300,000 pre-sold subscriptions.

I'm working on the RTS stage. "Real Time Strategy" for those who don't know. And don't worry, up until about 2 days ago, I didn't know what RTS stood for either.

But I'm learning. HP - "Hit Points". GG - "Good Game" (Indicates game is over). TP Out - "Teleport Out". MIHTGTTBHP- "Man I Have To Go To The Bathroom, Hit Pause". Okay, I made that last one up.

This is some serious gaming. The stage I'm working at features two players, going head to head and two or three "Shoutcasters" commentating on the game as it goes on. It's like watching a sporting event mixed with a game show. Each player is in a sound proof booth(that's the game show part) and the commentators have headsets and computers that "observe" the game and they commentate on what's happening.

And the best part? The crowd stands and cheers when big deal things happen. "The Level 6 Beast Master goes down!" What?! Woot woot!

I've got at least 1000 seats in the audience, and yet, they stand, 15 deep all around the perimeter of the room. They sit in the aisle ways. All stare up at the big screens at watch the game unfold.

This is the Star Craft or World of Warcraft geek Superbowl. And they are all here.

I don't get it. But people seem to love it. I've sat here through three matches thus far and I'm beginning to understand it. I'm a little tempted to run out and buy the game.

I guess everyone has what's important in their lives. For these people it's the fantasy world created in the games. It's something else to the guy who's gonna have to sweep the floors in the convention center on Sunday when this all wraps up.

Here's a few more pics:

The view of my stage. "Angular, non blobular gobo's" was my directive.

My little home away from home. The video monitor next to my console would draw a crowd of people when all the seats for the stage were full.

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Roe Vs. Wade Vs. Jimmy Kimmel?

It seems I get all the fun shows at Jimmy Kimmel. Tonight's show was no different. In addition to it being my 30th day, we got protesters in the show! Yeah!

Here's the back story. Last Friday, when we did the Tom Cruise stunt where he zip lined above Hollywood Boulevard, there was an abortion protest group called "The Survivors of Abortion" out on the boulevard as well. Because the stunt was taking place 4 stories above the street, we had to light it with 15k to 20k HMI flood lights. 15k and 20k stand for, you guessed it 15,000 and 20,000 watts. We're talking bright. What we're not talking is hot. Yes, they are hot if you stand in front of them, but it can be done. You won't get a sunburn, you won't get scalded and you certainly won't burst into flames.

Since I wasn't there and the video featured on this website starts when the light is already pointed at the boy, I don't know if they protester stepped into the light, or if the electricians were instructed to point the light in that direction. In any case, as you see in the video a very bright HMI lamp is pointing at someone who happens to be a protester.

I won't go into detail, you can read the article/propaganda yourself and decide if this was an "attack" as they put it, on the boy "exercising his first amendment right".

Flash forward to today, during the interview with Dakota Fanning, 4 people stood up in the audience and started demanding the Jimmy apologize for the actions of his crew and how he was responsible for the "scalding" of an innocent boy. Needless to say, they were arrested and will probably spend a night in jail for trespassing on private property, or some other minor charge. Which will probably inflame them more and cause more protests and action.

Which is fine, they can protest all they want for the next two weeks. (The show is on hiatus).

Here's my take on the whole thing, and then some. First, I believe in every one's first amendment right to free speech. You can stand up and say what ever you want. But I also believe that you should show some measure of decency or, I don't know, manners or something. Theses protesters, the "Survivors of Abortion" were standing outside the line of people waiting to get into the El Capitan Theater to see Toy Story 3. They were standing there waving signs of bloody aborted fetuses and preaching about how abortion is bad. And who is in this line? Families with young children. NOT COOL. Protest all you want, but do not subject my kids to stuff they can't see in a "G" rated movie. The children are innocents in your battle, they have no opinion on the subject your preach. How dare you subject them to something that could cause them great mental harm.

Second, I will admit, I'm a pro-choice guy. I'm not pro abortion. I believe in a woman's right to choose. I cannot force my will onto another person for any reason. And taking the option of abortion off the table because I don't believe it's right, doesn't make sense to me. It's like in Korea, where cars come in three colours, black, white or gray. If you want a red car you have to pay extra, were not saying you can't have the red car because the government only wants you to have black white or grey.

Third, I don't think that anyone pointed this light at the kid intentionally. Yes, it's not pointed in the air, and, again, since I wasn't there, I don't know if they had just turned the light on and the kid happened to be standing there, or if he walked into the bright beam and intentionally tried to stir the pot. Besides, if the light is bright and warm, take two steps to the left, your message can still be seen and heard two feet over. Anyone else standing in front of that light would have moved. And I will also offer that the electricians could have moved the light, pointed it two feet to the left. A good electrician (or any good employee really) would wait for instruction before acting. Here's a possibility, the gaffer was standing on the roof getting a light level reading and told the electricians to pan the light away so he could get level. Because HMI lamps take time to warm up and cool down, you should never douse the lamp after it's struck. The boy happened to be standing there when they panned it away and instead of moving, stood there and enjoyed the warmth it provided.

Besides I didn't see the kid complaining in the video (admittedly I didn't watch it til the end).

Finally, these "Survivors of Abortion" are extremists. It seems as if there is no grey for them. It's all black and white. Abortion is bad and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. It seems they have a paranoia that anyone who is around them is also and extremist and will take extreme actions. Like pointing a really bright light at an "innocent" boy. They are no better than other extremist groups because everyone of them thinks their cause is just and their actions justified. No tolerance, under any banner, is a bad thing.

People are just crazy. Especially on Hollywood Boulevard.

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Today Makes 30.

Today is my 30th day working at Jimmy Kimmel. I've done 10 days on the talk show stage, and 20 bands on the outdoor stage. All within the last calendar year.

What is the significance of 30 days at Kimmel? I am now eligible to join IATSE Union 728. This is important, because it can certainly lead to more work in town, which isn't a bad thing. Over the past two years, since I've been home, I've been refused a couple of jobs because I wasn't union. It's always a strange phone call when they say, "We need a lighting programmer, you're 728 right?"

"Nope."

"Uh, never mind. Talk to you later."

I know I posted a couple of years ago that I was in IATSE Union 33. I was grandfathered in because I needed to be part of that Union to work on the MTV Video Music Awards. And all I've gotten out of them since then is no work, and a lot of mail regarding $125 they took out of my paychecks for a 401k they have for me. Guess I'll have some money when I retire.

728 is the union I want to be in. They are the electricians union and my talents are needed there. 33 is a broader union, and lighting programmers are not high on the list. Not to mention a very strange "tier" program they have. And since I'm on the lowest tier, I doubt there will ever be work for me.

Fingers crossed I can process the paperwork for 728 quickly and my phone will start ringing. I hear it takes 1 to 2 months for the paperwork to push through, for them to take my initial "dues" and hand me a card. I'm sure I'll blog about that when it happens.

Today is also my last day on the talk show stage here at Kimmel. It's been a fun two weeks. I was here for a power outage and the show being filmed on a laptop computer; the Lakers basketball team the day after winning the championships; and for Tom Cruise zip lining over Hollywood boulevard.

They're going on a two week break followed by 4 weeks without the outside stage, then another 2 week break. Guess I won't be seeing this building again until September. By then, I'll be 728.

Fingers crossed.

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The Death of One Career?

I'm still hoping for 10%. I'm trying to be optimistic about it, but the chances are looking slim.

I'm mostly upset about how I'm finding out the answers, and not so much the answers themselves. Why can't people be honest, especially those people you trust.

I suppose I should tell you what I'm talking about.

It's looking like I won't be going to Europe next week to do a three show run with Eminem.

How did I find out I wasn't going to Europe? When I got a call from the new designer asking me to come out and push buttons for him. It was an awkward moment for sure.

Back in January, I was told by the production manager that I was going to Europe.

It wasn't until today that the production manager finally told me the truth. That I'm not going. That the new designer is taking over the gig. He said it's out of his hands, that management has made the decision. He believes it to be a mistake that they try to program 20 songs in three days. They're proceeding forward.

I can't help but wonder how long the production manager actually knew that I was replaced. A month? two weeks? If he had known, I wish he'd have told me then so I could have at least tried to book work for that time. Now I have a two week hole of unemployment, starting next week.

It's also possible, that the production manager is fighting to get me out there even today, hence the 10% chance. But I doubt it.

Eminem was the last of my design clients that I've had from my former days of touring.

I guess you could now say my former days of designing as well. All the gigs I get now are just button pushing. I'm not really complaining, it was a choice I made. I've chosen my family over the wonders of touring, and quite possibly designing.

It was not a difficult choice, everyone knows family is more important. But it's still sad. I can't tell if something has died or if I've just put it on hold for now.

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What's With All The Blogging?

Almost a month between post here, then all of a sudden, a flurry of posts. What changed in my life that allowed me to get all the blogging time?

Simple answer, job.

Some of you know, I've been working on Jimmy Kimmel Live for some time now, doing mostly the lighting for the outside music stage. This link here features lighting I did for Ozzy Osborne on the outside stage.

This week and next, I'm actually working on the main stage. Since the show has been running for 7 years now and everything in terms of lighting for the talk show is already programmed, I get some downtime which I've been using to blog again.

There is also an inside music stage that I have to program when there are musical acts on it. Here's a link to the band Minus The Bear, who played on the inside stage a couple of days ago and I had to light. That day has been the only day that was too busy to blog.

Here's a screen capture from that same show that Minus the Bear was on.They filmed me in a bumper going into an interview segment. Did you notice the picture?Probably not. It's this picture.Nicole and Sean Patrick gave it to me in a nice frame for Fathers Day, and I thought what better place to have it than at work. I actually positioned it on the shelf above my desk and pointed at light at it so it would be lit for camera. I'm sneaky that way.

The point being, expect more blogs next week, while I'm still sitting in "The Big Chair". And if all holds true to form, expect another long drought.

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Jumping The Shark.

Some of you may have heard the term, "Jumping the shark". It refers to the moment when something goes from being viable to being, well, nonviable. The term refers to the television show "Happy Days". It was a great show, with great ratings, until, on one episode, Fonzie jumped over a shark on water skis. That was the point at which the show began it's downward spiral in the ratings and eventual cancellation.

The term can be applied to anything. "Living in Hollywood 'Jumped the shark' the day I found a homeless guy sleeping on at my back door." "Attending church 'Jumped the shark' the day the preacher started every sermon with, 'You know you're a Christian when...'"

So today, I'm starting a new term, "Go Fred Savage".

We all remember Fred Savage from television show, "The Wonder Years". Here's a picture of him then. And here's a picture of him now.


To "Go Fred Savage" means to loose the cute factor.

As another example. The actor who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies has "Gone Fred Savage". Here he is in the first movie.Ho da cute. And here he is today.

Uh, not so cute.

I would think "Go Fred Savage" could apply to most things. "The dog 'Fred Savaged' when he started rolling in the stinky dirt." "With the release of the new models, the older ones will certainly 'Go Fred Savage'." "My husband is 'Going Fred Savage' more and more everyday. I gotta get him to shave."

My gift to the world, go out and use it at will. And let me know the results.

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Have I Outgrown You? Or Were We Never Friends?

Facebook can be a wonderful thing. Today, another one of my long lost friends found me. Well, she wasn't really long lost, a few years back, I don't remember how, but she called me out of the blue and it turns out, she was living in Oceanside, about an hour and a half south of me at the time. We met up a few times, talked on the phone a bit, and the last I heard from her, she was moving back to Hawai'i because her husband was being stationed there again. I had her email, but never got a phone number and we lost touch.

But through the magic of Facebook here we are again, friends, this time both with kids (She has 4!), and now on opposite sides of the country (She's now on the east coast).

So I started surfing around on her Facebook page looking at pictures of her family and then discovered that she had pictures tagged in a group we both belonged to, Castle Theater Guild.

Castle Theater Guild was the theater program at my high school that I found my way into. The start of my lifelong love affair with technical production and lighting started on that stage. Special shout out to Sandy if you're reading this. Thanks dude! For everything!

As I looked at the pictures of her, and then started looking at all the pictures posted to the site, I noticed something, there aren't many pictures of the production crew. I had looked at the site years ago when I first joined. There was less than 50 photos, three of which featured myself and/or other crew people. Now there's over 200 pictures, with only one more picture of a crew person.

The rest of the pictures were of the actors and dancers. Most of the pictures are from the high school days, but there are also pictures of the actors and dancers long after. Some of the pictures feature actors who went on to star in national performances of Broadway musicals (Most notably, Miss Saigon), and are being visited by other actors.

Where are the pictures of the crew and what happened to us after high school? I know I'm not the only crew guy who's a member of the Castle Theater Guild group. Did we not take pictures?

Maybe it's just the nature of crew people to be "behind the scenes" and remain unsung. We were never in front of the camera, but behind it in our black clothes.

I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say. Maybe I'm rambling a bit, but here's what the thought that prompted the title of this blog; Did all those people I worked with in high school just forget about the crew, or did we just outgrow them?

When I say outgrow, I think I'm saying we grew up. It seems the actors and dancers still live a fairytale life of acting and dancing hoping one day to "make it", where myself and other crew people have continued to do what we did in high school, but we now get paid.

One of the crew people I worked with is now a stage manager at a hotel/casino in Las Vegas. Another owns his own production business in Hawai'i. There is even one guy who, spent his years as a dancer on the stage, but now makes a living as an artistic producer for one of the largest convention companies in the U.S.

And me, I've done lighting and set designs for some major musical acts, and now am programming lighting for major television shows and events.

There's a very slim chance that someone will become a famous actor, you have a better chance of making a livelihood (although not as a millionaire) as a production person of some sort.

I can't think of any of the actors having made it past performing in national musical tours or on Broadway. An accomplishment for sure, I don't knock it, but do they still work in the field they love? Or is acting, singing and dancing still just hobbies?

I'm blessed that my job is also my hobby. Although my priorities may have shifted in the last year to concentrate more on my family and less with my career, but I'm still doing what I love. What I've loved since high school.

All these former actors are my friends on Facebook. I hope they remember who I am. I know I remember each of them, and most of the roles they played. I would hope they could remember the role I played. I would like to think that they can look fondly on our years in high school (and for me a few years after) and have happy memories of us. I know I do.

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Time To Complain About The Damn Airlines Again, and Janeane Garofalo.

Sad news last month... Continental Airlines, my favorite airlines of the last few years and taken and nose dive and done something stupid... They've merged with United, one of the WORST airlines flying today. Why do I say in all capital letters WORST?

It was United who first charge for meals in flight.

It was United who first did away with pillows and blankets.

And WORST of all, it was United who first charged for baggage.

What made Continental so great? You still had a pillow on every seat, they still had meals on the longer flights. Granted, they did play along with the whole baggage fee game, but one out of three ain't so bad.

Chase Bank has a partnership with both United and Continental. When our bank, Washington Mutual was bought by Chase, we had to get new ATM cards. And with these new cards we were offered a choice of having the cards linked to our United or Continental frequent flier memberships. With Untied, you'd get one mile for every dollar you spend. With Continental, you'd get one mile for every dollar, AND you get your first checked bag free for every flight you took with them.

Now I'm worried, with the merger, all the good benefits everyone had will go out the window. No more free food, no more free pillows, and no more free checked bag.



Oh Larry! Why did you leave Continental? You had a face I could trust! I blame you if this all goes horribly pear shaped!

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Ah well, guess it's time to explore other airlines. Seems more and more everyday, Southwest is the best airlines in the sky.

Although on my last out of town business trip, I was treated to quite a nice airlines. If Virgin America flew to places I travel often (Hawai'i or Chicago) I would be buying tickets on them every time. Of course, I'd be buying "Main Cabin Select" seats. Free food and bags!

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And speaking of my last business trip, I went once again to Seattle, this time to light a comedy special for Janeane Garofalo.

It was a short trip, only three days. One day to fly in, Show day, and a fly home day.

Here are some pics:
We stayed at another botiquey hotel. I can't remember the name of it, but as you can see, it's not a Hilton. That chaise lounge on the right, NOT comfortable.

As I've said in the past, I need counter space in the bathroom! Not that the hotel room wasn't nice, as a matter of fact, the bed was quite comfortable, but sometime boutique is not practical.

I packed three shirts for my trip, two short sleeve Henleys (the black one was for show day, obviously), and one long sleeve shirt for the weather. I noticed something when I pulled them out...

They're all from Duluth Trading company, my current favorite catalog. Check it out here.

No blog post would be complete without a picture of the show. It was a small theater and we had to quickly set up and program since we had only one day. She was pretty funny if not a little eccentric.

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Rest In Peace, Pekona Boland

On 15 May 2010, our beloved beagle, Pekona was put down.

The night before, he was vomiting a lot. That morning I took him to the vet's office, thinking that he had some sort of stomach blockage (he ate a diaper a few nights before). The vet took x-rays and agreed that there was something possibly blocking his intestines. Surgery needed to be done, so I left him with the doctor.

That afternoon, the vet called me. When the opened him up to remove the blockage, they discovered that he had a large tumour on his liver and that the cancer seemed to have metastasized in other organs. We had a choice, they could remove the tumour and we could start taking him to a dog cancer specialist, but she (the vet believed the cancer was too far along), so the best option was to just put him down.

I will miss him very much. I was often accused of not liking Pekona, but nothing was further from the truth. I loved him. He was very obedient, loving, very tolerant of us and our quirks. He was a good friend to Sean Patrick, putting up with constant poking and prodding. He looked at our cat Kolohe as a peer.

He will always have a place in my heart.

Pekona Boland - July 2003 - May 2010.

Always a place in our hearts.

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"Primary Caregiver"

Let's face it, not many of us like to serve on a jury. It feels like such a waste of time. I myself am torn on the subject. While I know it's my civic duty to serve as a juror for my peers, it's such a hassle if I have to turn down weeks of work for the possibility of one week of jury duty. Does not help with paying my bills.

I originally got the summons for jury duty last October. Unfortunately for them, I was out on what could have been my last tour so I had to postpone my service. I wanted to back it up until November, but when I called in to postpone, the computerized answering service said, "The first available date is... May... 10th." So without thinking, I took the "first available".

We later found out that the week of May 10th was a bad week for jury duty. When I accepted the dates, we didn't know that Nicole had to go out of town for a couple of events that week and part of the next. Which meant I was to do the single parent thing for 10 days, trying to find activities for my son. There was nothing I could do, you only get one chance at postponing your service.

With the one day, one trial system here, I am "on call" for the week. So I called in Monday through Wednesday without having to report. Today (Thursday), I rolled the dice again and this time, had to show up. I called our sitter, arranged for her to come in early, and drove to the courthouse at the crack of dawn.

The first thing that happens is orientation, a nice lady stood in front of the crowd and welcomed us to our "civic duty". She then began to rattle off reasons we could be excused from service. "You are over 70 and have a medical condition, you are under 70 with a medical condition and have a doctors note, you are primary caregiver for an elderly parent, you are a primary care giver to a child under the age of 5..."

Hold the phone, I have a child that is under the age of 5 and I am currently the primary caregiver! I got up from my chair, reported to the clerk, who sent me to the "hall of records" to plead my case.

Once there, I had to fill out another form with the reason why I wanted to be excused from jury duty, "Primary caregiver to 19 month old son, spouse is on business trip." I wrote in bold black letters.

The clerk didn't buy it, "Just because your wife is on a business trip doesn't get you excused, only postponement."

"But I already postponed once."

"I know, but I can postpone you again from my computer. Pick a date you want to start."

I hurriedly looked at my calendar and chose the middle of August.

So far, august is wide open. Hopefully I can fill in some dates around my "one day, one trial".

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Not John Cusack Inspired.

I was driving back from Hollywood after working on Jimmy Kimmel Live listening to a mix CD I had found sitting on my desk. I had labeled it "Dance Hits of the 80's", and found the most ridiculous hodge podge of songs, from Bjork to The Jets and everything in between. While I was trying to figure out what I was thinking when I made the CD, "Waiting in Vain" by Bob Marley popped on.

I like that song. I actually played it a couple times in a row. Mostly because the bass sounds pretty good in my truck. But it got me thinking back to that old question, "What five albums would you have with you on a deserted island?" So here's my current list, subject to change as I get older and discover more music. No particular order, just what came to mind.


Bob Marley - "Legend" - Obviously the first thing to pop in my head after listening to "Waiting in Vain" last night. Not just that song, but every song on the list is a classic and worth a listen anytime.

The Smiths - "Louder Than Bombs" - Although I don't know if I can still listen to this album over and over, I did when I was younger from about 1987 until 1993. Whether it it's Morrissey raspy voice or Johnny Marr's twangy guitar riffs, it's forever in my brain, and worth a listen... maybe not twice in a row.

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - "Facing Future" - I never really listened to Hawai'ian music when I was in Hawai'i. I guess I was too busy rebelling against the society I was surrounded by. When I moved to L.A., I started to listen more. Facing Future is the perfect album to get a cross section of the music produced in Hawai'i, short of traditional chanting. Even if I was on a desert island, I'd still fast forward over the first and last songs however.

Yanni - "Keys to Imagination" - When you're done laughing, I have a perfectly good explanation as to why this album makes the list. Inspiration. Not the kind of inspiration that Yanni claims his music gives, that his music can "heal" sick people. I know, what a nutter. This album reminds me of when I first discovered the sport of cycling. Before the magical land of Versus television brought us 6 hours of Tour de France coverage a day, the only coverage we got to see in the late 1980's (1986 and 1987 for sure) was on ABC's "Wide World of Sports". Back then, it was two hours every Saturday in June that would cover a week of racing. So for two hours I would watch and listen to this:
Yes, that is a Yanni song playing at the beginning of the clip. And being a fan of the 7 Eleven cycling team, first ever American team to race the Tour de France, why can't I find the music with the images inspirational? Besides if I'm stuck on a desert island, I'm gonna need some inspiration.

Jack Johnson - "In Between Dreams" - Although I'm currently mad at him and his management for again not hiring me to do his tour, this is a really great album. So great that Nicole and I chose our song off it ("Better Together"). This album never leaves the CD player in the truck. It's great driving music.

Like I said, this list is subject to change. Although I think most of those albums are timeless and can be listened to by anyone, any generation. Maybe not The Smiths...

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