CANADIAN ROCK LEGEND RANDY BACHMAN is one of the most gifted songwriters and storytellers in the pantheon of Canadian musicians with a career spanning decades. One of the side benefits of taking the job of production design for his touring re-launch of Bachman Turner Overdrive was getting to sit down with the man as he regaled me with the story of how the BTO name and brand has been reclaimed.

The inspiration for the efficient design came from a look back at the band’s historic performances in which a large BTO logo set piece would hang upstage, centred above the drummer. Over the years different set pieces were constructed, reflecting the evolution of the BTO logo. With the availability and versatility of today’s LED product, we chose to replace the set piece with a square video wall surrounded by lighting truss and automated wash fixtures. Video content included historic footage from all eras of Randy’s career, carefully curated and re-formatted for the square video format by Daryl Chonka, a longtime friend of Randy and member of his touring crew.

Lighting Director Eric Duquette took up the challenge of operating this tour using the relatively new MA3 lighting software. This marks just the second Penlight tour to use the new software from MA lighting, and right away he warmed to the new features and user interface. The programming is intended to evoke a classic “PAR can” look to go with the straight-ahead rock repertoire, making it all the more dramatic when the light beams are actually moved.