Gearsource Geezers Of Gear Podcast

Episode 345Today we’re joined by Jeff, a true pioneer from the wild, formative years of rock concert touring — what he calls the “pirate years.”Jeff recently published his book, How to Be a Lighting Guy (During the Pirate Years of Concert Touring), a firsthand account of building a career during the birth of modern concert lighting. From running liquid light shows in the early 1970s — including for Grand Funk before they were even Grand Funk Railroad — to experimenting with the first analog moving lights like the Cyklops, Jeff was there as the art and technology of live lighting were being invented in real time.He worked with Fantasee Lighting, pushed for the early R&D of computer-controlled moving lights with Morpheus Lights, and directed or designed lighting for legendary artists including Warren Zevon, Jimmy Buffett, Steve Miller Band, Huey Lewis and the News, Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, and Grand Funk — who fittingly bookended his career.Jeff’s journey came to an une