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Bandit Lites 40 AT 40: Stuart Christie

Job Title: UK Technical Support and Training Manager

Stuart Christie's introduction into the entertainment business started with friends. After a lighting director from a local lighting company approached him, Christie quickly learned he had a knack for technical operations and soon he was doing freelance work for a variety of companies. In 2000, he took a full time position at Bandit UK's office and he has been there ever since. Here are a few questions we asked to get to know him a little better.

Q. How has your job changed or evolved over the years?

A. When Bandit set up a shop in the UK, the director at that time asked me if I wanted to help out. The company, in its early days, had very few staff so we all had to do whatever was required of us - from general show preps to looking after rigging and motors, training, site work, maintenance and repairs, etc. When I went full-time in 2000, I had the official role of technical services manager. I held that position until earlier this year when I became the Technical Support & Training Manager.

Q. From your point of view, what are the biggest changes facing the entertainment technology industry at the moment?

A. The biggest changes facing the industry now, are the stringent health and safety

regulations and European legislation concerning all of this. Also, I think as we go on, our responsibility to the environment will mean lower power consumption. LED technology will be much more of a part of what we do in the future. Besides better power conservation, because of LED technology, the boundary in lighting and video is getting smaller every day.

Q. What is the best part of working for Bandit Lites?

A. The job satisfaction and knowing you are an integral part of a team that pulls off some truly amazing feats all so that the show can go on! The only downside to working in this industry is that I can no longer go to a show as a punter without gazing up at the lighting rig, or being overcritical about the production - it still feels like work to me!

Q. What is something most people do not know about you?

A. On March 26, 2008 I became a father for the first time, so my life is now changing for the better! In 2000, I became the owner of an artificial heart valve and Dacron artery as doctors discovered a massive aneurism and had to operate almost immediately. There were huge complications during surgery and I suffered a stroke in the process so I feel very lucky to be here in one piece. In turn, this has given me a totally different outlook on life and made me reevaluate the important things in life.

   ww.banditlites.com

Le Mark Expands Performance Dance Floor Sales Team

Dance Instructor James Harrington (centre in picture) will join the Le Mark Performance Dance Floor Team on 2nd June, reinforcing the sterling work already done buy Deborah Garner. James has a passion for dance which will become apparent to all who have the opportunity to meet and work with him. As the picture shows, James joined the Le Mark Team at the after-show sponsors party following a superb dance demonstration evening with the stars of BBC TV's Strictly Come Dancing ‘Anton du Beke and Erin Boag' organized by event company  ‘Loquendi'.
   "His obvious experience and desire to grow Le Mark's Performance Floor business I see as a superb asset for the company, said Le Mark's managing director Stuart Gibbons. "James comes from a sales background, and has danced all his life .He will continue his dance classes evening and weekends (it would be impossible to stop him) with both new and existing students. I am even expecting some of his Le Mark colleagues to be signed up!"
   James first saw the Tuchler Performance floor range during a visit to the 2007 PLASA show. Le Mark as exclusive UK Distributors has seen strong growth over the past 18 months and have committed to a strong UK stock holding to supply the growing demand. James will have a very busy ‘first week' as he will join Deborah for product training at Tuchlers superb premises in Vienna. James said: "To be able to advise and sell such a superb product range is a fantastic opportunity for me, I am looking forward to meeting Le Mark customers as soon as possible."

Frank Lambrechts Joins Team Rosco

In line with Rosco's commitment to further developing their international business and in order to further increase awareness of their custom gobo service, Frank Lambrechts (pictured) has joined the company's sales force.
   Reporting to business development manager Katrin Schlueter, Frank comes to Rosco with considerable experience of working with lighting designers in Belgium and with an in depth knowledge of the Rosco product range.
   Having spent the last two-and-a-half years years at Rosco dealer Candela, developing their Rosco business, Frank has the ideal background to develop the Rosco brand in Benelux and Northern France.
   Frank will focus his attention and considerable energy on end users ensuring that theatres, lighting designers, TV Studios and filmmakers understand the breadth of the Rosco range and the value it brings to their productions, whilst Katrin will continue to support the Rosco dealers to ensure they get the most value out of Frank's activities.

   www.rosco.com

Chris Foreman Appointed Community VP/COO

Community Professional Loudspeakers has appointed Chris Foreman to the position of vice president, chief operating officer.

Foreman, who rejoined Community last year, is an industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience in professional audio. A writer and journalist, Foreman was editor of Sound & Communications Magazine in the 1980s, and co-author of Audio Engineering for Sound Reinforcement, written with the late John Eargle, and widely regarded as an educational standard. He has also held prominent positions with audio industry manufacturers, including management positions at JBL, Panasonic and Altec Lansing, and with major low-voltage contractors including Stanal Sound, Pierce-Phelps and, most recently, as VP of marketing for Lincoln, Nebraska-based Electronic Contracting.

Foreman's new position is a homecoming of sorts, having been Community's director of marketing in the early 1980s. "I'm delighted to be back working with Community," he remarked. "This has always been one of the industry's most exciting companies, with a 40-year history of innovation and creativity, an accurate, no-nonsense approach to specifications and documentation, and a strong focus on customer service. I'm looking forward to leading the company into its next 40 years of innovative loudspeakers."

"We're thrilled to welcome Chris back to Community," added Community founder and president Bruce Howze. "He is one of those rare individuals whose background spans nearly every facet of our industry, from marketing and manufacturing to education and journalism. That broad range of experience Chris brings with him to Community promises to be a major driving force in the company's future; it's great to have him on board."

Arup Augments Venue Consulting Team

Arup's venue consulting team has been strengthened with two senior appointments. Director Neill Woodger has moved back to the UK from Arup's New York office and will be responsible for acoustics and integrated venue design projects in London, while Richard Bunn joins as a senior consultant in Arup's Winchester office.

Neill joined Arup on leaving university in 1988, and has since worked in several global offices, including Hong Kong, Sydney and Los Angeles. His new position will utilise the skills he has developed in getting staff to work together seamlessly across business disciplines. "Over the last ten years in New York," he explains, "I built a multi-disciplinary specialist consulting group that was able to deliver integrated design solutions for our arts clients. The different skills that are required for any major project are strongly interlinked, so it makes sense that the team works closely together to develop holistic solutions."

Neill was also instrumental in setting up the SoundLab, a facility which allows the client to hear the acoustical quality of their building before it is built. "It has been very successful in engaging clients in way that allows them to directly experience and understand acoustical choices." He says. "We originally developed the SoundLab in New York, and now have similar rooms in Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Glasgow. We are also very excited to be opening a brand new facility in London later this month. A client can go to any one of them and listen to how their new venue will sound, whether it is a new opera house, airport terminal or Olympic stadium. Just as importantly, they can hear their building compared to existing buildings, giving clients a benchmark against which to measure."

A classically trained musician - he plays piano, trombone and the guitar - Neill is also a champion of both environmental and economic sustainability. "The running costs for any public arts building can be several times its ticket income, and with the reliance on subsidy or donations, designers have a responsibility to ensure that their projects are efficiently designed so that they can survive in the long term. This means they must not only satisfy the public and legislative demands for them to be environmentally sustainable, but also ensure they don't become a liability for future generations." Neill's advisory skills also include helping arts and entertainment clients develop sustainable business strategies for both events and buildings.
Senior consultant Richard Bunn joins Arup from Theatre Projects Consultants, where he worked as a systems consultant for three years. His wide experience includes product design and project management with two lighting manufacturers, as well as freelance theatrical lighting designs. Delighted to be joining Arup, he says: "I have worked with many Arup people in various guises since university and have gained huge respect for their skills, professionalism and innovation. The opportunity to make a contribution to this and develop using the extensive pool of knowledge and worldwide support that is available became irresistible.

"The venues team provides theatre consultancy services at the highest level and requires a professional team working alongside engineers and architects. I am looking forward to using my broad background to make an immediate contribution to current projects."

Bandit Lites 40 AT 40: RICK BERRY

Job Title: Director of Educational Services

Like many people, Rick Berry started out in this industry as a frustrated musician. He was playing for a local band in Knoxville, TN and they rented some lights. When the lights didn't all work, Berry had to fix them before they could use them. When he brought the lights back, he said he wasn't going to pay full price and instead of a discount, Berry was offered a job as a lighting technician. The rest, as they say, is history. Below are a few questions we asked to get to know him a little better.

Q: What is your title? Please describe your primary job responsibilities.

A: I am the Director of Educational Services. I conduct several series of seminars to people in-house here at Bandit to make sure that everybody has a good working knowledge of what industry standards are as well as what Bandit standards are, because they may not be exactly the same. In addition to that, I also am involved in technical design services for things such as power distribution and custom devices. I guess it's debatable how much time I spend doing what- it really depends on the time of year and what we need.

Q: Earlier in this interview, you mentioned that you started out at Bandit as a lighting

technician. How did you get into educational services?

A: That was my idea. I had seen over the years that the industry was becoming much more of a seasoned profession instead of ‘by the seat of your pants pull somebody off on the road' business that it had started as. I knew that we needed to get people up to speed on what we do, and at least on the basic industry practices. In addition to that, there are an awful lot of people that come out of universities or specialized technical schools that really do have official training in this business and that's only happened in the last 10-12 years. I knew that would be a much more important thing as time went on, and it has.

Q: In answering the last question, you briefly touched on how the industry has evolved into more of a profession than it had been in the past. Could you please expand on that?

A: It's becoming more of a profession in the sense that there are standardized practices and there is a large body of knowledge that everybody needs to know. In addition to that, we have what we call the "Bandit Standard." The "Bandit Standard" doesn't necessarily deviate for the industry standard but we build on that and we think that we've significantly added improvements. A lot of what we do has been developed in the last 12-15 years. The idea is that you can take somebody off one tour and throw them on another tour and because everything is standardized, they can get up to speed within an hour. In addition to that, there is the more fundamental training that everybody has to have. The "Bandit Standard" really is an ethic, a philosophy and a body of knowledge.

Dave Byars Joins the i-Pix team

Leading UK lighting designer Dave Byars (Beautiful South, Young Knives, Blur, Deacon Blue & many more) has joined the product development team at Manchester based LED innovators, i-Pix.
   He and i-Pix founder Chris Ewington have worked closely on various projects since Ewington launched the original Pixel range of products into the entertainment market in 2003. Byars used these products, and has also been a keen advocate of the first i-Pix fixture - the Satellite - and more recently their new BB range - integrating these into his designs and creative work.
   "We're delighted to be working with Dave Byars (pictured) and to have someone of his touring experience on the team," declares Ewington. "His appointment also reinforces our commitment to ensuring that working LD's are actively involved in our product creation and development."
   This is one of the areas which helps keep I-Pix unique and gives them an edge over other entertainment orientated LED manufactures. Ewington adds that Byars is very good at playing ‘Devil's Advocate' with him. "His practical experience is exactly what we need to develop products that will work on the road, and he's already brought many fresh perspectives into the equation."
   i-Pix is known for producing reliable well built, robust products that are aesthetically pleasing as well as built for touring and rigorous day-to-day use.

   Byars is enjoying the "Progressive and experimental" atmosphere at i-Pix and also the fast pace at which things can be moved forward and ideas can be transformed and tried out.
   He will also be continuing his lighting design work whilst with i-Pix.

Further Expansion at Stage Electrics

Liz Maw - Health and Safety Manager

Liz Maw joins Stage Electrics in Bristol as their new health and safety manager. Liz previously worked for Gloucestershire County Council where her role was health and safety advisor. Liz has over 15 years experience working in health and safety and has worked both as an enforcement officer and a safety adviser. She is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health and has a wide range of experience having worked in construction, warehouse and transport, licensing and event safety.

Liz is responsible for making sure that the company complies with health and safety legislation. This will involve improving procedures, policies and systems; including risk assessments, accident reporting training and competency. Liz says: "This is a challenging role in an interesting industry. I look forward to developing procedures which will benefit the company."

Gareth Matchwick - Safety Services Coordinator

Gareth Matchwick joined Stage Electrics in Bristol as their new safety services coordinator. Gareth has an extensive background in sales and marketing and his most recent role was as BDM for Expertise Training, the second largest training company in the UK.

Gareth's role will involve looking after a team of engineers, electrical inspections, PAT testings and rigging and load testing. One of his main objectives will be to expand Stage Electrics' presence in theatres, schools and at public venues.

Gareth says: "Since joining the team at Stage Electrics, I’m looking forward to taking the safety services department from strength to strength.”

Anthony Taylor to Share Top Role at Martin Audio

Martin Audio's long-serving finance director, Anthony Taylor (pictured), has been appointed to the role of joint managing director with immediate effect.
   The move, warmly welcomed by Martin Audio's parent company LOUD Technologies, is seen as strategic succession planning, although current CEO and managing director David Bissett-Powell, who recommended the appointment, says he has no thoughts of standing down at present.
   "Anthony has worked with me for many years and although he is a well qualified chartered accountant he has also become very commercial in his operation within the company. These balanced business skills mean that he can handle a great deal of the day to day responsibility and future direction of Martin Audio and, hopefully, allow me sufficient time to assist with other LOUD functions as well as continuing my focus on our distribution in China."
   Anthony Taylor (41) joined Martin Audio in February 1994 having spent his early years in accountancy at Deloitte & Touche.  At Martin Audio he was quick to put his training in corporate finance to good use, helping to steer the company through the most prosperous period in its history, before becoming one of the successful managing team who led the MBO from parent company TC Electronic, in 2003.
   Taylor says: "I have worked closely alongside David for a number of years and this appointment is an obvious way forward and reinforces our awareness of corporate responsibility."
   A popular member of the board, Anthony Taylor is a great believer in teamwork and believes one of his main attributes will be his ability to maintain this strong team and lead by example. "The culture in the company is excellent, and with the pedigree of our engineering team and innovative products we are now introducing to the market we are perfectly positioned to further capitalise on the successes of the past."
   Married with three daughters, Mr. Taylor's appointment coincides with plans to relocate the family from their base on the south coast to Berkshire.

40 AT 40: Will Twork

Job Title: Lighting Designer

The people are what sets Bandit Lites apart from the rest of the industry. Once a week, for 40 weeks, Bandit is showcasing an employee that has made a substantial contribution to the company, whether it be in an office, on the road or somewhere in between. Bandit would not be celebrating its 40th Anniversary without the hard work and dedication of every one these employees.
   Will Twork, currently the lighting designer for Lenny Kravitz, is no stranger to the stage. Starting out as a musician at the age of 14, Twork spent some time as a drum tech before finding his niche in entertainment lighting. Here are a few questions we asked to get to know him a little better.

Q: What is your title? Please describe your job responsibilities.

A.: I'm a lighting designer as well as a touring lighting director. My responsibilities are to design a lighting system that adheres to the touring act's budget. If the artist has any ideas, I meet with them and discuss their wants and needs. I then take their ideas and draw/design something that will work within the budget, but will also keep them happy. Having said that, some artists don't have an agenda regarding lighting. In that case, I design something that I feel will work for the artist being lit, as well as keeping it within budget and to my liking.

Q. How did you get involved in the entertainment industry?

A. I was a musician from the young age of 14 (drummer) and played in and around Detroit until around the age of 18 with local bands. My only claim to fame was opening for The J. Geils Band (Popular 1970's-80's Boston based blues band) when they recorded their live ‘Full House' LP in Detroit in the early 1970's. Then a few friends of mine got a gig playing bass and drums for Ted Nugent/Amboy Dukes in 1970. My friend KJ Knight was the drummer, and he needed a "drum roadie" for the Nugent tour of that summer. I was a drummer, so I figured I could set up his drums! It was my first taste of the road. I made $75.00 a week and I slept in the back of a (moving) Ryder truck on a suspended hammock! I remember the back door was banging from the wind and was extremely noisy, but I was on the road, even if I was scared to death! After that experience, I just kept on the roadie work wherever I could find it. I ended up moving to Los Angeles and I was washing clothes in the Laundromat one day and saw a flyer for an act looking for a drum tech. It was Bobby Womack - a guitarist that had written some very popular R&B songs in the 1950's as well as playing with the late Sam Cooke. He paid $450.00.a week. I was on my way to the big time. I even managed to have him retain me between tours. I got $100 bucks a week to stay home (not bad in 1973-74). I still don't know how I ever managed talking him into it.

Q. So how did you get into lighting then?

A. The guitarist friend I moved to California with got a gig with a band called ‘Legs Diamond' and I started working for them. They asked me to do the lighting as well as setting up the drums for their opening slot on an Alice Cooper tour. I was scared to death. What did I know about lights? I actually started out by turning the rehearsal studio floodlights on and off with the music being played. They were the old household dimmer type. Push on, and turn! As silly as that sounds, it was then that I realized that this was kind of fun. And I had great meter, I was a drummer after all.
   Long story short, I kept hunting for gigs throughout the 1970s. Then in 1981, I got a call from a friend I had met on one of the tours I had done a year or two before. He was now working with a Swiss Metal band ‘Krokus' and they needed a lighting  director/production manager. I jumped at the chance. By then I had gotten pretty good at stage lighting, but had yet to design anything or even know how the mechanics worked past the console. I stayed with Krokus until 1984, but along the way we did a "co-headlining" tour with a Southern Rock band, ‘Blackfoot'. It was 1983. Michael Strickland was the production manager and Pete Heffernan the lighting director for Blackfoot. Bandit was the lighting company used so it was then that I began my relationship with Michael. He must have thought I was pretty good at my job because after the tour finished, I got a call from him asking me if I wanted to work for him. I said yes.

Q. Fast forward 24 years and you are still working for Bandit Lites. What is it about Bandit that has kept you here all of these years?

A. To be honest, there was never a reason to leave. In the early days, not many acts had an LD. And because I was one of only a handful of LDs in the company that liked and had experience lighting heavy metal bands, I got most of the gigs! The checks were never late, my pay raises were always fair and I had no desire to work for some company that looked at you as if you were a number with no 401k or even health insurance. It was a no brainer really. But bottom line, Bandit has given me a chance to do the only thing I know how to do; design and direct stage lighting. I'm 55, happily married and don't need to work all year every year. It all works out nicely actually. And I'm one hell of a 6-lamp bar repairman! It's a nice trade-off actually. And it gets me home by 6pm-5 days a week when I'm not touring.

   www.banditlites.com

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