WASHINGTON – Matt Calabrese says he thrives on spontaneity. Good thing too. As lighting designer for the increasingly popular and much traveled progressive funk jam band Kung Fu, his career has taken him on a wildly original, and thoroughly enjoyable, ride. Every show is a new adventure for the Connecticut-based LD, not just as a […]
BEAUMONT, TX – In true Texas fashion, Cody Johnson has never let events play him. While working as a prison guard and professional bull rider in the mid-2000s, he decided to embark on a recording career. No contract from a Nashville label was forthcoming, so he set out instead to release an album on his […]
PORTLAND, ME – It’s been said that the most powerful creations are often collaborations. A pair of lighting designers emphatically illustrated that point recently at Portland’s iconic House of Music, when they got together to build a shared rig for their two bands with a CHAUVET Professional anchored floor package. Matthew Calabrese is the LD […]
LOS ANGELES – On August 1, 1981, MTV made history when it became the first network in the world dedicated to broadcasting music videos. For years, the home of celebrated “video jockeys” like Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman and Martha Quinn was the center of all things musical. Then, as new digital competition arose, MTV moved […]
CUMMING, GA – How does a large and rapidly growing house of worship still maintain an intimate small church feel? While there is no one answer that applies in all situations, the leaders of First Redeemer Baptist have come up with an approach that works well at their 2000-seat church. One of the fastest growing […]
CONWAY, AR – Often referred to as the “City of Colleges,” because it’s home to three large institutions of higher learning, this picturesque city in central Arkansas has a well-deserved reputation for being tech savvy. It’s been rated the “6th Geekiest City” in America by Onlineuniversities.com. Forbes tabbed it as one of the top 20 […]
SOUTHAVEN, MS – Getwell Road United Methodist Church had clearly outgrown its stage lighting system in 2012, when Jeremy McCullough joined the vibrant house of worship as its technical director. “Stage design wasn’t even an idea at that time,” he recalls. “Yet the church was actively seeking to reach worshippers with dynamic new events that […]
WICHITA, KS – Like a proverbial cat, the stately building on 412.5 Douglas in Kansas’ largest city has gone through many lives. Starting out as a movie theater, it later morphed into a penny arcade, pool hall, recording studio and cocktail lounge, before becoming a cabaret that featured theatrical performances for 22 years until closing […]
ENID, OK – Emmanuel Baptist Pastor Wade Burleson described the results of Paragon 360’s recent renovation project at his church by saying “Paragon hit a homerun with this one.” To extend the baseball analogy a step further, one impressive result of that renovation is that Emmanuel Baptist can now make the transition from a traditional […]