![live band stage lighting design live band stage lighting design](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/band-stage-texas-performing-live-51647336.jpg)
![live band stage lighting design live band stage lighting design](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qtz4tJoe-Qw/maxresdefault.jpg)
The whole Phish mantra is organic, so we tried to make automation organic, and we’re happy where we’re at right now. We’ve spent a lot of time building in flexibility. We have the flexibility to go to any shape we want from any shape we want or to move it in any way we want. It’s not pre-programmed in the sense that every time it’s in this shape, it’s going to go to this shape next, and to that shape next. It’s sort of a symbiotic relationship of how it all works together. Yeah, it’s controlled from the lighting console and from other computers. It wasn’t exactly the right thing for us, but it led to what doing now for the last three years, which is a bunch of moving trusses and making different shapes out of the truss throughout the night, moving stuff around a lot more, and having a lot more what we call “automation.” It opened the door of creativity for us that we would never have explored had we not experimented with things that didn’t exactly work for. We for a little bit, but we were trying to do it in an organic….We had a video wall that moved up and down and opened and closed and got bigger and smaller. We sort of felt like we hit a wall around four years ago? Five? So we all got together and decided to do some experimenting, which is what Phish is all about-taking risks and trying new things. We had shapes in the truss -circles, triangles, those sorts of things. How has it evolved?Ĭhris Kuroda: From what you saw 10 years ago, we kept evolving down that same road. The first thing I noticed was the lighting design. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.ĥ280 : I went to a lot of Phish shows when I was younger, but took an extended break until seeing the band live at Dick’s last year. Kuroda admitted he was inexperienced with lighting design, but Anastasio told him: “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out together.” Thirty years later, they’re still figuring it out, through experimentation, automation, and a hefty dose of creativity.ĥ280 caught up with Kuroda ahead of Phish’s annual Labor Day shows at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to discuss the evolution of Phish’s lighting design and what makes the band’s Denver performances so special. Later, when he learned who was really responsible, Anastasio asked Kuroda to take over as Phish’s lighting designer. Then, during a Phish show in New Hampshire on April 7, 1989, the band’s lighting designer, Chris “Steck” Stetcher, asked Kuroda to take over the board while he went to the restroom during the song “Fly Famous Mockingbird.” Anastasio was so impressed with the lighting during that tune, he complimented Steck on his creative input. One night after a show, Kuroda asked lead guitarist Trey Anastasio to give him lessons, which eventually led to him landing a gig as the group’s roadie. He was a devoted attendee of early Phish shows at Nectar’s, the Burlington music venue that became the namesake for the band’s 1992 album, A Picture of Nectar. Now called the fifth member of Phish, Kuroda was once just a loyal fan while majoring in computer science at the University of Vermont. By Deana Bianco August 27, 2019Ĭhris Kuroda never set out to be a lighting designer.
![live band stage lighting design live band stage lighting design](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_GaAdGq-zyk/mqdefault.jpg)
In advance of the band’s Labor Day weekend shows at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, we connected with Chris Kuroda to talk about the evolution of his designs and what makes the Denver performances so special. Photo by Amy Harris / Invision / AP Music How Phish’s Lighting Designer Keeps the Fans in Awe Trey Anastasio of Phish performs at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Friday, June 14, 2019, in Manchester, Tenn.