Geezers of Gear

LEADING LADIES EPISODE 30

Madi Adams, a touring lighting designer, programmer, and grandMA3 instructor whose work spans the biggest arenas, stages, and broadcasts in the world.

With an incredible resume that ranges from serving as Lighting Director for David Byrne's World Tour and Radio City Music Hall resident LD for Hugh Jackman, to designing and programming for Kesha, The Roots, and Hozier—Madi is one of live music’s most versatile lighting talents.

From high-profile fashion shows for Louis Vuitton and Victoria's Secret to world tours for legendary acts like Billy F. Gibbons and WWE, Madi bridges deep technical precision with raw creative spectacle.

This episode is brought to you by Lightswitch

Geezers Of Gear Podcast: Legend Series - Roy Bickel | Dining With Dinosaurs at LDI 

Roy was a circus rigger and performer prior to being hired as the head rigger for the first “Disney on Parade” show in 1969. He continued until 1974 when he left for Broadway to work for Pete Feller. After some time there, he went on to work the Rolling Stones tour in 1975. That marked the beginning of a long career as a “rock & roll” rigger. 

As the first head rigger on the Disney on Parade shows he trained people in climbing techniques, rigging procedures, and physical fitness regimens to maintain peak shape. Roy's techniques were taught to many first-generation entertainment riggers. This training greatly helped the industry's rapid expansion during the rock & roll explosion. 

Roy was and is a true innovator. Perhaps the two most notable contributions that changed the rigging world to what it looks like today were the introduction of slings with screw pin anchor shackles around 50 years ago. Along with the sling development, he specified the orientation and sizes of shackles used with the slings; these methods are still in use today.

A natural problem-solver, Roy revolutionized industry rigging standards during the 1970s by developing a color-coded system for wire rope lengths (Red, White, Blue, Green, and Yellow for 5’, 10’, 20’, 30’, and 50’ respectively) an intuitive organizational method that remains the industry standard today. His pioneering work extended into production logistics; ahead of the Rolling Stones’ iconic 1975 tour, Roy teamed up with Bill McManus of McManus Lighting to collaborate with CM (Columbus McKinnon). Together, they engineered a way to operate chain hoist motors in the "motor down" position. This breakthrough debuted on the Jethro Tull tour, making it the first tour in history to utilize chain motors. Roy's versatile rigging expertise also includes his work with Disney, where he managed complex setups utilizing drum motors, block and falls, and cable climbers 

Roy received the ESTA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award in 2021

Geezers Of Gear Podcast: Legend Series - Mark Fetto | Dining With Dinosaurs at LDI  

Mark Fetto started working as a lighting technician in the late 1970s, working his way through the ranks at the Obie Company and Vari-Lite. He then became a lighting designer and senior programmer. In 1989 Mark opened Vari-Lite's satellite office in Las Vegas. He went on to become general manager of Vari-Lite's Dealer Network and later General Manager of North American Operations.,

Following a 16-year career at Vari-Lite, Mark joined Stage Rigging, Inc. as the National Sales Manager before moving to his position as Chief Operating Officer at Morpheus Lights for 14 years. Mark oversaw touring systems, new inventory, infrastructure, and operational strategies in both production and manufacturing.

In 2019 Mark joined OSA International as their Vice President, Lighting and he is now learning how to be a grandpa to four grandkids. The priorities are shifting. Mark's motto in life is: “Do it now, because you can’t count on being here tomorrow.”

Geezers Of Gear Podcast: Legend Series - Nancy May | Dining With Dinosaurs at LDI  

Nancy May is a seasoned administrative project manager and production executive with more than three decades of experience overseeing large-scale live events, venue operations, and broadcast productions. Her career spans some of the most iconic venues and productions in the United States, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Denver Performing Arts Complex, and Dick Clark Productions, as well as international sporting and cultural events such as the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games and the Aspen X Games.

Most recently, Nancy served as Administrative Project Manager for the 2024 Aspen X Games with Brown United, where she provided critical oversight of staging, sponsor accommodations, and technical structures, ensuring compliance and safety while liaising with event safety officers and local contractors.

Nancy’s career highlights include serving as Director of Production Operations at Outback Presents, Director of Venues at Swallow Hill Music, and Production Manager at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Denver Coliseum, and Denver Arts & Venues—where she advanced and managed hundreds of concerts, festivals, and civic events while leading teams through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also held senior production roles on nationally televised broadcasts, including live music specials and award shows, combining her expertise in operations, financial management, union/non-union labor, and sponsor relations.

With deep expertise in event planning, production logistics, and venue management, Nancy has earned a reputation as a reliable leader who can seamlessly manage complex projects from concept through execution. Known for her collaborative leadership style, problem-solving ability, and commitment to safety and excellence, she continues to bring value to both nonprofit organizations and high-profile commercial productions.

FUTURETECH Featuring ETC

EPISODE 70

ETC’s Hog OS v5.3 adds a graphical framing shutter tool, touch-based window resizing, six-part screen layouts, more U Keys, and recording and masking updates. We also cover OSC over local WiFi on new consoles, support for two Tour Wing playback wings, and what ETC says about performance, stability, and future development.

Geezers Of Gear Podcast: Legend Series - Bud Horowitz | Dining With Dinosaurs at LDI  

Born and raised in New York, Bud Horowitz fell in love with theatre while in high school. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BA in Theatre, Bud has spent the last 45 years lighting shows worldwide.

He has spent a large part of that time touring internationally with musical artists, lighting shows in over 80 countries. Artists that he has toured with range from Devo and John Mellencamp to Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Bette Midler, Brian Setzer, Sebastian Maniscalco and Yanni. He has lit a number of PBS specials and other video projects, including DVDs with Yanni at the El Morro Fort in Puerto

Rico and the Great Pyramids at Giza. When not on the road, Bud lights a number of award shows and special events, including the NHRA Awards, EMA Awards and the Clive Davis Grammy Party. Bud currently resides in Camas, Washington, where he shares his life with his wife Linda, son Seth and 3 horses. He still, after all these years, loves to travel and enjoys spending time in the redwoods and the coasts of Oregon and Washington, as well as international destinations.

Geezers Of Gear Podcast: Legend Series - Jay Robert (Bob) Harmon | Dining With Dinosaurs at LDI  

It was 1974, when 16-year-old Jay Robert (Bob) Harmon was enjoying life in growing up in Kailua, Oahu, when, while showing old 16mm films at a pizza parlor, a customer asked if he had ever worked concert lighting before…without a pause, he immediately said, “Of Course!”…though he hadn’t…and booked his first job that very weekend.

After lighting that first concert, for Brewer & Shipley of ʻOne Toke Over The Lineʻ and ʻBallad of a Country Dogʻ fame for 3,000 people at the University of Hawaii, Harmon would go on to light a sellout show for KISS at the HIC (Hawaii International Center) and never looked back. 

Today, his boutique production company, Eggshell Lighting Company, is a nationally recognized and endeared provider of lighting and visual production for everything from the smallest of weddings to the largest of concerts. 

Fifty-plus some odd years later, Harmon still loves how a change in lighting can affect an audience, shifting their moods and providing the background for the greatest memories in their lives.

EPISODE 367

Tal Kochav is a Lighting Designer, Director and Programmer working across concerts, television, theatre and major live events. With a strong technical background and extensive experience with grandMA3, Tal brings together creative design, programming and a deep understanding of every role within a lighting team.

From touring the world as one of the youngest members of a crew to designing and programming major productions including Alessia Cara’s Love & Hyperbole World Tour, CMA Fest and Max McNown, Tal has built a career around constantly learning and making the next show better.

His motto says it perfectly: “Don’t do the same thing twice if you can make the next thing better.”

This Episode is brought to you by Main Light and Delicate Productions

Geezers Of Gear Podcast: Legend Series - Anne Militello | Dining With Dinosaurs at LDI  

Starting out as a teen as one the first girl roadies for small touring companies in the San Francisco Bay area in the late 1970’s, she learned the ropes from some of the best - climbing trusses and coiling cable on tours for artists like Santana and Eddie Money. When she hit her head on the glass ceiling on her way to being an LD, she started lighting bands in clubs right as the punk scene was exploding – a scene that welcomed gender diversity.

She lit bands at San Francisco’s notorious Mabuhay Gardens before heading to New York where she cut her design teeth in the after-hours chaos of CBGB's, Danceteria, The Ritz, and The Mudd Club. By day, she worked as a shop electrician at Production Arts Lighting in Hell's Kitchen — sharpening the technical part of her craft. 

While in New York, she also designed plays and earned an OBIE Award for lighting design for the Off Broadway Theater. By 28, she was designing on Broadway. The stage led her back to music after a meeting with Tom Waits reignited her love of concert design. Her work on his tours put her work in front of the industry and soon she was designing lighting for Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, Robert Plant, Leonard Cohen and more.

Through her passion for exploring all “angles” of lighting exploration and design, she also became a Walt Disney Imagineer, a professor at CalArts, and the founder of Vortex Lighting in Hollywood, where she now designs light for everything from concerts to architecture. Her latest project: a public, moving-light art spectacle in Santa Monica, CA.

Geezers Of Gear Podcast: Legend Series - Peter Morse | Dining With Dinosaurs at LDI  

With a career that spans over 50 years, Emmy Winner Peter Morse has worked with some of the world’s best performers and their astonishing productions. He has collaborated with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Barbara Streisand, Prince, Usher, Bette Midler, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Andrea Bocelli, The Eagles, Sean Combs, Dolly Parton, Reba, John Denver, and many more.

He has lent his illuminating talents to numerous production shows such as "Glee", "Disney on Ice", "Ringling Brothers and Barnum&Bailey's 'Greatest Show On Earth'"; as well as feature films: "The Bodyguard"; "Showgirls";  and "Truth or Dare". Peter has always appreciated the expression of design as a sampling of art and culture, and has found inspiration in many mediums as well as in many collaborations.

He has enjoyed working with Directors such as Kenny Ortega, Amy Tinkham, Raj Kapoor, Jamie King; Designers like Butch Allen, Michael Cotten, Mark Fisher, Bob Bonniol; as well as gifted entertainment technicians too numerous to count…