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Playing to the lights.

TheControlled

TheControlled

Guest
Oct 9, 2012
65
1
Brisbane, Australia.
soundcloud.com
#1
Hey Justin. A little while ago I was reading an interview with Jeordie White about the differences between playing live shows with MM, APC and Goon Moon, and he said that the biggest difference is that with MM shows, it's very much about learning to play to the lights, and if you don't do it for a while, it becomes difficult. Last year when MM toured here in Oz, I kind of got the impression that Fred Sablan was having a little trouble with this as they were his first few big shows with MM.

I've noticed that NIN is similar in the fair exuberance of the lighting component in terms of complexity and style. In those situations, would you be playing to a click that is synced with a light program? Or is it still manually controlled by the lighting techs, and you are kind of, in a way, performing together?

Cheers.
 
#2
NIN is usually click and the lights are partially synced to the song. Beck is 100% organic. I've done both circumstances, and playing "to the lights" is not really something I am concerned with. Fred, who is a friend, hadn't really done lots of big touring prior to MM, so I imagine the lights could prove distracting. For me, it's second nature. With NIN, the strobe factor (for example) was really extreme, and soon it became easy to just roll with it. But the lights play to me, not vice versa. :) I think it's important to be very bloody-minded and assertive when you're playing so the changes and intensity doesn't effect you.
 
#3
Awesome. Thank you. It's fantastic to be able to get this sort of insight. I intend to never lose my sense of joy and wonder when the big touring acts come to town but I always end up walking away wondering about something.

I realise that the gear Fred was using on that tour was either Jeordie's or the usual MM tour rig but his Thunderbird/Ampeg tone was sensational. Even guttural at times. Before the Brisbane Soundwave Festival show, I could see Fred from behind the big black curtain looking out over the crowd of 60,000 or so. Because I'd done a little research earlier, I knew it was his first big outdoor show with MM. The look on his face was priceless! I'd hope that sense of awe and excitement would never subside when playing on the big tours. :)
 

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