With its deeply evocative arrangement, haunting vocals, and slightly ominous undertones, “Eye In The Sky” broke many of rock’s most sacred rules on its way to becoming one of the most anthemic songs of a generation. Among those drawn to the unique sound of The Alan Parsons Project’s classic was a young architectural design student named Martin Thomas.

A short time later, Thomas would transfer his design skills from architecture to lighting. Dropping his draftsman’s table for a FOH console, he went on to build on successful career in lighting, designing for the likes of Todd Rundgren, and running boards for legends like Roy Bennet, Peter Morse and Howard Ungerleider.

Then, in 2003, Thomas got a call from Chuck Beckler, stage manager who worked for the Rolling Stones and others, asking him to journey to Jack Pot, Nevada to light some shows for the groundbreaking band he had admired so much years earlier. It was supposed to be a weekend gig, but after the first day’s show, Alan Parsons wife and tour manager, Lisa, asked Thomas to change his plans and go on tour with the band.

They haven’t looked back since, and are still going strong today, 20 years later, as Thomas, still a fan, but now also a friend and designer for The Alan Parsons Project explains in this interview.

The music of Alan Parsons Project is often very mysterious and ethereal. How do you convey this mood in lighting?
“Alan is big into symmetrical, which might seem odd, as he is such a sonically spatial engineer, so the set has never changed in all the years I have been with him; three risers upstage, standing band members downstage in a line. For the longest time, my designs for the show always reflected the symmetry with lots of mirror-images from center concepts. When we approached the 40th Anniversary of the I Robot album, I went rogue and drew my influence from the album cover, the people mover tubes from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.

“It had a lot of asymmetrical hangs and angles, along with combinations of wash, spot and beam fixtures to draw very different shaped architecture in the air. Even the floor kit was asymmetrical. It created so many more opportunities to make a lot of the proverbial “big look” that never got repeated in the show after the first throw. So, although the previous tours had their moments, going way outside of the box allowed me to make some new striking moments and bring some freshness to ones that had always been part of the show.”

You’ve traveled the world with this artist. Any idea on how many different countries you’ve been to? Are there any venues on these tours that stands out for you?
“Personally, I have been to pretty much everywhere but the poles in my career. For all the continents we have been lucky enough to perform in with Alan, there are so many that we- surprisingly- haven’t. Alan has never performed in Australia, China or for that matter, Africa, where thanks to Sirius and Eye In The Sky, he has a huge local fan base. I have to admit, for all the places we have played — including Kremlin Palace- with a few government leaders in attendance.

“However, the most memorable show for me personally was just outside of Toronto, ONT, Canada, where my mentor, Howard Ungerleider, attended the show and was in the A/V fishbowl with me for the first half, watching me busk a console that I had programmed before that afternoon. The looks on the faces of the house crew when Howard showed up was absolutely priceless; at one point, one of the crew asked another “Who is this LD?? Like, HOWARD is here!” Howard stayed for the second half but watched from his seat in the audience and after the show, there was a great hang with the band, Alan, and the gentleman that has been such an influence in my career.”

How do you create lighting designs for Alan Parsons? Do you collaborate with the artist and his production team? What kinds of things do you talk about regarding lighting?
“As the years have progressed, I have been able to discuss my ideas with Alan and his wife Lisa with a bit more detail, and pick out when they get that light of excitement in their eyes or voices when we are on the phone. But they have always left the minutia to me as far as concept, design and execution. I never have an established budget that I have to get to until I have presented the first couple of ideas to them with estimated costs, and then they come back to me with what they want to spend, and I whittle down the system with my vendors from there. A good design for me is when Alan walks on stage for soundcheck and I watch him looking up at the rig and starts to see familiarity with the engineering drawings and renderings that I have presented to him with the bids. I think it’s at that moment that he thinks ‘Ahh yes- this is familiar.’”

What is the best thing about lighting The Alan Parsons project?
“Working for an icon in the music industry, who has created songs from my youth that absolutely stand the test of time. Being there for the past 20 years of new songs that he has written and created, and knowing I am the first person to light them; that I will bring a visual representation of the music to life for the first time for his audience. Knowing that Alan trusts me to present him in the best ‘light’ to the public, every time. Knowing that I am considered family in the organization.”

Alan is one of the most iconic rock artists. How did you hook up?
“Chuck Beckler, Stage Manager for such acts as the Rolling Stones, was in the position of Production Manager for The Alan Parsons Live Project in 2003-2004. I had just finished a tour with his housemate, Johnny Blaze and Chuck had mentioned that they were looking for a touring Lighting Designer. A couple of phone calls later and I was on a plane to Jackpot, Nevada to do four casino show dates in a weekend. As a longtime fan of APP, I already had an idea of the songs in the catalog, so I flew up with my console, and made the poor House LD’s weekend a nightmare!. New gel, a moving light package for both the air and the ground… but when I had a show in the can top to bottom by the first day’s second performance, Alan’s wife and TM, Lisa Parsons, gave me the schedule for the remaining dates for the year and told me to work out my schedule around them.”

You’ve also become friends. What makes the friendship click beyond the work environment?
“Alan is an extremely precise and creative person, as has been shown by his history at Abbey Road Studios as well as his production work with acts such as Pink Floyd and The Beatles. His ability to come to the projects with a twist, as well as the quality he has come to be known for, have made associating with him a true pleasure. As the years have passed, Alan, his wife Lisa and all of his children have truly welcomed me into their family lovingly, and sincerely. My first date with my wife, Missy, was at the Parson’s home in the Santa Barbara mountains, where their ranch is. Talk about making a great first impression! As the years have progressed, we have experienced moments that usually only family shares in, both great and sad ones. There is a trust between us that I have never achieved with any of my other artists — an extremely rare situation for a production person and their artist.”