Estados Unidos – Experiencing change together is said to make a relationship stronger. It certainly has for Michael Cooper and Staind. The lighting designer for the nu-metal pioneers since the early 2000s, Cooper has seen the band add new acoustic and rock elements to their signature sound. Thanks to some incredible advances in technology, he’s also experienced quite a few changes in how he lights his client’s gripping music.
Now, Cooper is getting to transcend these changes, as he uses new tools to light songs taken from deep inside Staind’s historic vault on their 23-city Break The Cycle, 25th Anniversary tour, which takes its name from their seven-time platinum album of the same name.
“I’ve been working with the band for a little over 20 years and this tour is really great because they’re playing some songs that they’ve only played live once or twice in concert,” said Cooper. “As ‘Break the Cycle’ was arguably their biggest album, a lot of songs on the album were on the setlist already, but on this run we’re getting the deep cuts. Visiting these songs with today’s technology and content capabilities has been very fulfilling.”
Included in the new technology that Cooper is enjoying in his PRG-supplied rig are 26 CHAUVET Professional COLORado PXL Curve 12 motorized battens. He is positioning two of the pixel mappable RGBW fixtures in the center of each of the 13 sticks of automated truss in his rig. Drawing on the versatility of the 12 independently controlled LEDs in each batten, along with their wide zoom range, he is using them to create an impressive variety of looks.
Discussing the PXL battens in this rig, Cooper said: “You get a lot of bang for the buck with them. This fixture is essentially12 lights in one and having them in groups of 2 gave me 24 sources on each truss. The different looks and vibes we can pull from these battens are a lot of fun.”
The Break The Cycle tour, which kicked off September 8 at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta and ends October 19 at the Moody Center in Austin keeps a consistent look, with small changes from venue to venue. At the center of that look are 13 automated truss “fingers” in a chevron configuration over the stage.
Using this centerpiece, Cooper worked with Michael Willingham (Staind’s touring lighting director, who programmed most of the show), Andy Reuter (video content), and Robert Long (additional design collaboration) to give fans a tightly programmed, widely varied look that tracks the band’s range.
“The band and management wanted to add some automation to the design for this year, which I was all for,” said Cooper. “After running through a few different design concepts, we landed on this setup. The 13 automated trusses hang from a chevron shaped mother grid above the stage. The chevron really gives it depth, even though it’s not a terribly huge angle, it matches the set on stage beautifully. It’s nothing dramatic in terms of trim height, but it does allow for some killer depth once the trusses start moving.”
“Video content drove a lot of the automation looks. Sometimes we needed the trusses low and intimate where we could block and frame. Other times we needed them out of the way. ‘Suffer’ is the best example — the new content piece is a church; the content even has ‘Staind’ glass. That look almost writes itself, with the cathedral look in the automation. The long time final song of the show “Mudshovel” has fully kinetic movement where all the trusses are in motion throughout most of the song.”
Drawing inspiration from different sources, artfully mixing light, video and scenic elements, Cooper and his colleagues created a multi-faceted show that did justice to this legendary band.
