Axis deBruyn as Lord of the Lights

Axis deBruyn in Vegas

Lighting Legends and Iconic Moments Around the World

BY KENDALL HARDIN / PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF AXISLIGHTS, INC.

Here in the Entertainment Capital of the World, we expect “gee-whiz extravaganzas” on stage both on and off the Strip. But who are the ingenious creators who dream up and execute these astonishing stage experiences that wow us? Meet one Las Vegan who works in Sin City and all over the planet – Axis deBruyn – and discover how one becomes a real “Lord of the Lights.”

Chic Compass: How did you get into this business?

My father was a musician and a photographer who always claimed one room in the house dedicated to his hobbies. So, in that space as a kid, I helped him develop photos and record and splice tracks for his friends on reel-to-reel machines. When my junior high school teacher asked our class who knew how to use mics and tape players, I raised my hand.

Soon, I found myself out front in the audience, running a tape player and simple mixer with one hand and a spotlight in the other. All the positive feedback from my teachers (as well as the girls in the cast) gave me more confidence as a bookworm at the time. By high school, I was the first student to have keys to the art rooms so I could run the theatre on the weekends, work the school dances as DJ, and handle all the A/V needs for classes.

Cal State Hayward offered me instant entry into their theatre program as a stage tech major. I was not the best student in regular classes, but I quickly found myself involved in four to six productions at once on campus. My technical director there was also the local business agent and President of the IATSE Local 16, who offered me stagehand calls on the side.

In the 80s, there was always a massive rock concert every few weeks, and I worked every one I could get. It was great to see how huge touring rigs were loaded in and dismantled so efficiently, and I got to work with all my favorite artists like AC/DC, Guns and Roses, Pink Floyd, and Prince. In fact, I learned early on that if I wore my rock-climbing harness to work, I was guaranteed to work the entire gig, as climbers were always in demand.

I left college early to be the Assistant Technical Director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre for a season before pivoting into full-time stage lighting. I was working in a theater rental shop in San Jose when I was tasked to drop off some lamps for the Def Leopard tour coming through town. The lighting designer let me stay and watch him operate the tour. Well, it was pretty much over by song three – I knew exactly what I wanted as my career.

Chic Compass: What brought you to Las Vegas?

I began freelancing for tours with legends including Debbie Reynolds and Ray Charles, eventually joining a Chinese-owned lighting company called NDP in 1997, where I started working in Asia with singers like Grace Jones in nightclubs, concerts, and on a few movies.

One day, a trade show exhibit group contracted us to add lighting to their Polaroid booth at the 1995 Photo Marketing Association convention at the LVCVA. I lit the property 100% with traditional rock-and-roll “intelligent” lights rather than conventional non-moving fixtures – an advancement at the time. Trade shows changed forever with that evolution in entertainment technology, and the company brought me to Las Vegas after 9/11.

I worked for IATSE local 720 here, as well as for various production companies in town as a freelance LD and programmer before starting my own design firm servicing concerts and conventions, Axislights Inc., with my wife, Sarah O’Connell.

I’m grateful to have served as a Lighting Designer or Director over the years for some incredible icons: Elton John, Queen, the B52s, Sheryl Crow, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Waits, Garth Brooks, Seal, Earth Wind and Fire, Wiz Khalifa, Lionel Ritchie, Roger Daltrey, the Doobie Brothers, and John Fogerty, to name but a few.

Our corporate event clients comprise the other half of our portfolio and include projects for brands in every sector, from pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and medical devices to high-tech, defense, and media companies. We are proud to engage talented production teams to manage 20-30 booth properties and general sessions annually around the globe. I’ve also had the honor of lighting five US Presidents at special events over the past 30 years, which is an honor, even if definitely more stressful.

Chic Compass: What are the biggest challenges in delivering lighting experiences for clients?

Some clients have a vision but lack the process to make it a reality, while others need help “seeing” what they need in the first place. It feels great to accomplish both aspects with them, though I love it when I get to try out a new lighting “toy” to help create the perfect look or moment. People are used to seeing the finished product without any concept of the massive “Wizard of Oz” logistics behind the curtain.

Marketing experts aren’t always aware of how labor/union management, a project’s location, and the time of year can impact production budgets. For instance, I once had a client with a retail tour schedule a load-out in Orlando, Florida, at midnight and a load-in with the same set and lights in New York for an 8 pm show that same day.

They had also budgeted the same amount for labor in both cities and were puzzled as to why the New York load-in cost them five times that of the Orlando one once the NY show finally got up and running 48 hours later. I worked for 60 hours straight, managing the operation with the help of power naps on a tablecloth under the lighting console.

Chic Compass: How do you handle the colossal scale of live events?

A large lighting load-in is a carefully thought-out ballet of gear, cases, and trucks managed to get from a bare floor to a working rig in four to five hours – whether a modest hotel ballroom or Madison Square Garden. My early years in China gave me great experience in logistics and planning. There weren’t a lot of lighting companies at the time, so I learned if I didn’t bring it with me, I wouldn’t have it.

The key is to break the project down into smaller chunks. Whether a show requires a group of six or 60 lights, every project needs the same things: structure on which to hang or attach lights, as well as power sources, data networking, and space on a truck to get there and back. They need all the necessary gear and skilled technicians to connect the dots between lighting and media instruments while realizing the intentions of the creative design.

As the job gets more extensive, more people are required to cover specific sections. The more prep work we can do in the shop before, the quicker the set can get onsite and into position. Color coding with gaffers’ tape is an essential skill as we address and label everything.

Chic Compass: Any funny tales along the way?

I have too many to count, making it hard to pick when my kids want to hear road stories, but the time I flew ahead to Poland to prep the stage for a Pearl Jam concert comes to mind. After landing at midnight, I only had a phone number for a ride pickup.

As I walked outside to find my ride, I heard the gate slam behind me, with all the lights turned out. No one showed up to meet me, so I was alone in the dark on a sidewalk in a foreign land with no cell phone (this was in the early 2000s). Oh, and did I mention it was raining?

That was nerve-racking but not as scary as the time a few years later when I got off on the wrong floor of a Munich hotel and had AK-47s thrust in my face by Vladimir Putin’s guards.

I had a warmer welcome once in Guangzhou, China, in the 1990s. I guess it was a big deal for an American man to come into their town back then, as the mayor met me at the airport with a police escort to the hotel where I was installing lights.

It was nice to be feted until I realized that most of the hotel wasn’t finished yet. I could tell by the fact that there were not that many rooms on my floor that had doors on them. The other doorless rooms were occupied by scruffy-looking men sitting on piles and piles of fake Marlboro cigarettes, glaring at me.

Chic Compass: What’s on the horizon for AxisLights Inc and Axis deBruyn?

I was named after the Jimi Hendrix album “Axis: Bold as Love,” which is why we like to say our work is “Bold as Light.” Next year looks busy with another Fogerty tour in Europe and North America, plus several corporate projects already in pre-production. Art and Science produce beautiful music and lighting together.

I am grateful for all the incredible artists and unsung heroes I work with who give people around the world magic and memories that last a lifetime.

AxisLights, Inc.
(702) 604-3417
axis@axislights.com