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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