This Wednesday, Imagine Dragons, The Flaming Lips, Lauryn Hill, Cake, Cold War Kids, Yoko Ono, Tegan and Sara and many more will take the stage at Barclays Center for Amnesty International’s “Bringing Human Rights Home” concert. The artists will come together to raise awareness about human rights violations around the world in an event that will be reminiscent of the international nonprofit’s past concerts, which featured performances by legendary acts like U2, The Police, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Joan Baez, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, The Neville Brothers and Carlos Santana, among others. The show will also include an appearance by Nadya Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina of Russian activist punk band Pussy Riot, who were recently released after spending 21 months in prison for protesting the government of Vladimir Putin.
However, the aforementioned artists will not be the only superstars making their mark on Wednesday’s show. Jamband fans will be happy to learn that acclaimed Phish (and Justin Bieber) lighting designer Chris Kuroda will be contributing his talents to the event as well. We caught up with CK5 to talk about Amnesty International, Phish’s 30th anniversary, Justin Bieber and hanging out with fans on Jam Cruise.
How’d you end up getting involved with this Amnesty International show?
It all goes back to friendships. Stuart Weissman, who’s the president of Stuart Weissman Productions—they run this show and he organizes it. He’s been a good friend of mine for twenty, twenty five years. In the early days of Phish, he was a rigger. He used to rig and hang our shows. So we developed a relationship and a friendship dating back to those days. Since then we’ve done a handful of projects together, most of them on the corporate end. But when he started putting this together, he had in his head that he really wanted me to do it.
When he called me up and asked me about it, I wanted to be a part of it simply because of the cause that it represents. We’re believers in those kinds of causes in the Kuroda family. The other thing was that I had just done a year and a half lap around the country and around the world with Justin Bieber, and in a lot of these countries Amnesty helps out and I sort of saw with my own eyes what goes on there. I mean, we didn’t stay in a lot of these neighborhoods and areas that are in need of that kind of help, but we certainly drove through them and you see what’s going on. And this would happen over and over. So when he called me and asked me if I wanted to participate in this, I had flashback memories to some of those moments and I said, “Yeah, I’d love to help out in any way I can.”
Those are sort of the two main reasons that it came to fruition in the first place.
They’ve got a pretty solid lineup for this event: The Flaming Lips, Yoko Ono, Cold War Kids, Tegan and Sara. Do you have any experience lighting any of these bands?
I don’t have any experience with any of the bands that are going to be performing, but I have done several awards shows in my past. At those things bands will play anywhere between one and three songs, then there’s a quick set change and you kind of get the next act going. I’ve kind of done a lot of that stuff—not with these acts in particular—but the format of how a show is put together. I do have a lot of experience doing these things. But I’ve been listening to the music like crazy.
I just got out of a five-day session—a 3D visualization session—where we design a 3D model of the lighting rig and I’ve been programming it for the last five days in preparation of this show so that when we’re in the heat of the moment, we’re prepared for anything. We’ve been doing all the back-end stuff that we can just basically to be ready for anything that’s thrown at us because in shows with this kind of format, there’s often a lot of curveballs and changes thrown in last minute.
So we’ve been trying to cover our butts from anything and be prepared. I literally just walked out of the studio from a five day programming session about 15 minutes ago. So we’re ready to go; we’re prepared!
I imagine lighting a show like this is very different from a Phish show.
Believe it or not, it is and it isn’t. This show, they’re still trying to figure out the entertainment and the lineup keeps changing. I haven’t been given a list of songs yet, like, “Tegan and Sara are gonna play these three songs, followed by the Flaming Lips who are gonna play these three songs.” Believe it or not, that stuff is still TBD and being figured out. So with that stuff I sort of have to put it together the way I would with Phish because, with Phish, there is no set list. Nothing is scripted. It’s a jamband so you don’t know what version of each song you’re gonna get every night; you could get the three minute version or you could get the thirty minute version.
With Phish it’s on the fly, you pay attention to what’s going on and try to follow it and stick with the best way you can. So we had to approach this show with that same blueprint in the sense that we don’t really know what songs we’re getting, we don’t know the order, we don’t know who’s gonna play next. We put it together in a Phish sort of style where we just built a lot of different lighting effects and a lot of different looks and they’ll all be at my fingertips. As the show progresses, I’ll be able to pick and choose how I want it to look and sort of roll with the punches as we go.
With most show formats you get the information about a month in advance. Then you can actually sit and figure out the lighting for each song and script it in that way. But this is not that kind of event. A lot of people are coming in last minute saying, “Hey, I want to be a part of this event, too! Can you squeeze me in? I don’t know what I’ll play yet.” Being in the nature of that kind of thing, we have to be in a position where we’re ready for anything. So in that way we’ve put it together sort of similar to the way a Phish show would be put together in the first place, basically out of the fact that we had no other choice. And in hindsight, I’m looking at it now and feeling like that was the right way to approach it. We feel really confident that, A) it’s gonna look really good and B) it was the right approach, to be ready for whatever curveballs are thrown out way. Some people who were scripted to play one song might, all of a sudden, get to play three songs, and you don’t know what those songs will be. So we need to be ready to light anything that comes our way. So that’s sort of been the approach and we’re locked and loaded.
Are you guys going to be incorporating any other type of spectacle as well? Pyrotechnics, smoke machines, that sort of thing?
There will be smoke machines; I don’t think there’s going to be very much pyrotechnics. Each band has their own thing that they like to do, and we’re gonna allow these bands to have whatever their signature look is. There’s one that likes to have a mirrored ball and their guitarist likes to have control of the mirrored ball and lights pointing at it. And he has a footswitch for it so we’re gonna let him do that. The Flaming Lips—everybody knows what the Flaming Lips bring in for production. They’re very dramatically oriented as far as the production drama, whether it’s video screens or the camera that’s real close to Wayne’s face. They have lots of props; they’re a very prop-driven act. So we’re gonna let them, obviously within reason, bring their props and do their thing. There are a lot of proprietary gags based on the acts provided within themselves. But as far as we’re concerned, at least on my end, we’ve designed a real nice light show. As far as the lighting goes on my end, we’ve got that covered. As far as effects like pyrotechnics go, as far as I know there isn’t anything yet. But even if there was it would be brought in, I would be told what they’re going to do and I would sort of get to dictate how we were going to use it. But up until this point there isn’t anything like that.
It’s going to be pretty straightforward with a lot of information about Amnesty, having some really wonderful music played and trying to boost awareness of what’s going on with those guys.
Everybody knows that Amnesty International was a giant force back in the 80’s and 90’s, but so much has happened in the world that they’ve sort of fallen by the wayside. We really want to re-introduce as many people as we can to what they stand for, what they’re trying to do and what the need is for them on the planet in general. I think this is a good start and hopefully, if this goes well, we can do a few more of these around the world and we can get people tuned in to what’s going on on a planetary scale, in some of these countries that need help. And maybe we can help them.
Absolutely. It seems like the concerts that Amnesty International used to hold in the past were very successful in that regard.
Absolutely, and we’re hoping to get a little bit of that thunder back for these guys. I think they’ve got wonderful talent this time. And, you know, there’s a lot of talent out there that are interested in helping Amnesty International but will not be participating in this particular show simply because the scheduling didn’t work out for them. Everyone knows that U2 is very involved; everyone knows that Robert Plant is very involved. Madonna obviously, who will be at the show. She might perform, she might not. But she’s gonna be there to send the message to this audience and speak to them.
But some of the giant acts from the past—there’s still interest from them. They may not be participating in this event, but might if we do more in the future. You know, the Springsteens and the Robert Plants and the Alison Krausses. People like that. From what I understand, they are very interested in participating and would’ve been participating in this one had their scheduling worked out. And actually there might be a couple of these acts that might perform or speak via satellite from wherever they are in the world. So that could be really cool as well.
You mention earlier that you got this job through a friend from the Phish crew. Does that happen often? Do you find work or projects via people that were involved with Phish back in the day?
No, not necessarily. I usually hunt down my own projects or let my reputation help me find work in that way. But Phish keeps me pretty busy year-round. It’s sort of difficult to find time outside of Phish to do other things. But in this particular case it worked out. And word of mouth and networking and friendships in the industry do play a role in getting projects and helping participate in projects. My friend Stuart Weissman—we’re basically working hand-in-hand together to make sure this is a success—he is responsible for 95% the events that occur in Times Square in New York City. Any time a band plays in Times Square or when someone sets up any kind of event there, it’s usually corporate events or like when Santa Claus comes and lands his sleigh in Times Square—he’s the guy that puts in all together.
He has a long reputation, resume and history of doing these kinds of events in Times Square in New York City. If you want to do an event like this, he’s the guy to call. So it’s not a surprise that he’s the one that got handed this particular project and is making it happen.
So I wouldn’t say it was just a buddy calling a buddy. He’s very successful at doing exactly this kind of thing. Maybe someday there will be a project where my skill-set will fit into what he’s doing, but usually these outdoor Times Square things aren’t the kind of thing. But this came up and it was the right thing for us to work together again and do this project together. So far it’s been an absolutely awesome experience. I got to reconnect with my buddy and I got to see how professional he is nowadays and we’ve both come a long way since we were just friends in the early 90’s. It’s sort of refreshing to see a friend being really successful, and I think he’s really excited to see where my success has taken me in the last 25 years. It’s just sort of a cool thing, and we’re all pretty amped about it.
Speaking of Phish, they have one show scheduled for this year so far, and that’s at Jazz Fest. Given the way that the festival is set up, not much of their set will take place at night. How are you going to be dealing with that? Will you light it more like some of the first sets during the summer tour?
Yeah, pretty much. That will be probably the case, yeah. You sort of roll with the punches. If it’s a daytime thing, then it’s a daytime thing. We in the Phish organization feel that when there’s a daytime set going on, lighting can still play at least a small role in keeping it intimate and giving it a little extra flair than just the sun. So we’ll do a little bit of something. But the approach to daytime lighting compared to the approach to nighttime lighting is completely different. Most of the things I can do in the dark you won’t even see in the daytime. So we try to choose what we like to call a classy way of lighting the band without it looking sort of out of place or silly in a daytime environment. And that’s what we’ll be trying to do. And of course, if it gets dark in time, we’ll be ready to do what I normally at a Phish show.
2013 was a pretty incredible year for Phish. Looking back, what were some of your highlights?
It was a highlight from start to finish. Phish is just in a place right now, musically, in my opinion, my humble opinion, I think they’re playing better than they ever have before. To see the four of them getting along as people and getting along as friends again like we all were back in the ‘90s and early 2000s, before things started getting a little weird, it’s been very rejuvenating. And to see these guys rejuvenated, to see them working together, to hear what the result is of these guys being rejuvenated and rejuvenating their friendship and being willing to work together, and obviously being in a new state of mind compared to the state of mind that they were in 10 years ago, I think is all reflective on the final product that you’re getting today from the band. They’re playing wonderfully, the shows are terrific, everybody’s happy. The audience is really picking up on all the good energy that’s coming off stage. Everybody’s smiling up there, and the music’s better. And everyone’s a little more grown up from back in those days, so the music’s coming across a little more grown up as well. I think it’s just all 100 percent positive. It’s such an amazing thing to be a part of and witness and see.
The fact that we’re still going, and the fact that, after 30 years, this band is in a place where they’re playing that well, and they’re that happy, and they’re motivated for the future, and they’re not bored with each other, and they’re not bored with the music. It’s really, really cool to see. To me, it’s sort of a human nature thing, and the human nature thing is playing out in a really, really good way with these guys. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s all been a highlight. We do these Dick’s shows over Labor Day weekend, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and those are always amazing shows. It’s always an amazing time. We did an indoor run for the first time in a long, long time. We did a fall tour indoors. And if I had to focus on one thing that was my highlight like you asked, it would be that indoor tour. Because there nothing, there’s no environment that I like better than an arena setting. And we’ve been doing the shed setting—we play Madison Square Garden every year for New Years, we get at least four shows in an arena—but mainly Phish has been an outdoor thing every summer for a few years. So to get back inside and get that sort of East Coast rock arena vibe again—in my opinion, shows indoors are always more intense than shows outside—just to get that energy back and be inside was really, really cool. So I would have to say that was my favorite part of 2013, that little indoor run in the fall that we did.
I guess you’re pretty excited going into 2014, I mean I know we all are over here.
Yeah, for real. Can’t wait. Looking forward to it. Again, I try to approach every project that I do as if it were Phish and try to put the same sort of passion and care and creativity into it. So for about a month and a half now I’ve been focusing mainly on this Amnesty thing, and being passionate on it and, like I said, sitting in programming studios for weeks at a time and really getting prepared to do this. Then it’ll be over next week, and then it’s off to the next thing.
But when it’s time for Phish, it’s all aboard, all hands on deck, and it’s time for Phish. And when it’s time for Phish, that takes more preparation than anything else. When we’re getting ready for a Phish tour, I will sit in the same set programming studio that I was telling you about. It’ll be a month-long session before we even go into rehearsals. We sit and program Phish for a month in the studio before we do anything. So that’ll be coming up before our next run, whenever that may be. And yeah, we look forward to that the most.
That’s my favorite thing to do. My favorite thing is preparing for Phish, going and doing Phish. Phish has been my life for 26 years. Phish is not a job. It’s just, for me, a way of life and a family and all that sort of stuff that I think everyone’s aware of. And obviously there’s no place like home, so I can’t wait for that to start up.
Going back to Justin Bieber, are you going to continue your work with him whenever his next tour might be?
I would like to. I really had a wonderful experience doing the Justin Bieber thing. I couldn’t even begin to express the things I learned, the people I worked with, the companies I got to familiarize myself with. Really good relationships with Strictly FX, which is a pyro company, or All Access who was a staging company. You do something like that for a year and a half, and you make some good friendships, you do a lot of good networking. You sort of solidify your place in that world, and I feel like I was able to accomplish that. And I’ve spoken with their people, and they’re very interested in having me participate in the next one, whenever that is.
Right now, Justin’s got his own sort of drama going on, so there hasn’t been much talk of when his next tour will happen. I think as soon as he gets his ducks in a row, he’ll be wanting to get started. Even though he’s in the press every day, even though he’s doing these silly things that everybody writes about, I know him well enough to say there’s no place he’d rather be than on stage performing. So hopefully we get to that point pretty soon. I’m looking forward to it.
I know Justin has caught a few Phish shows at this point. Have you ever had some time to talk Phish with him?
Oh yeah, many times. He’s a big fan, and I think everyone knows that Dan Kanter, his musical director, got him involved in it. I think it’s pretty common knowledge that the way I got the Justin Bieber job in the first place was that Justin came to a Phish show at Long Beach specifically to see the lighting and decide if I was the right person for him. At the end of that Long Beach show, he basically hired me right there on the spot. So I guess he liked what he saw. And it’s been a great relationship from that point forward. Regardless of what they say in the press about him—and this is just my own opinion, obviously—I fully believe that Justin is a great kid.
We have great times together, we have great conversations, he seems to have great values about family and friends and what’s important, and all those good things that make good people. But I think, ultimately, he’s a 19-year-old kid. It seems to me that people keep forgetting that he’s a 19-year-old kid. I know when I was 19-year-old kid, I was probably doing a lot of the same things that he’s doing right now. If I was 19 and you gave me a Lamborghini, I’d probably be speeding in it, you know what I mean? Just like he was. Let the 19-year-old kid grow up and maybe judge him again then, is what I’d say to the general public. But Justin Bieber is a really good person deep down inside, in my own personal opinion.
So you did the lighting on Jam Cruise this year, which was probably a bit of a different experience. How was that?
Yeah, lots of fun. Lots of fun. It’s a chance to sort of get intimate with the fans. You’re stuck on a boat with these guys. A lot of the people who are fans of Jam Cruise and the bands who play on it also happen to be fans of Phish. I think the general vibe I got was that people were pretty excited for me to be in a position where I was approachable, where they could talk to me, where they could just walk up to me, sit down and ask me questions and talk all things Phish. And you know, for me also being able to be accessible like that, and to be able to sort of give them that moment was really, really cool for me. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just a lighting designer, you know what I mean? But to the Phish fans, maybe I’m a little bit more than that, and when I see them get excited that they actually want to sit down and speak with me, and they’re interested in what I have to say, and they’re sort of hanging off of every word, that’s a very, very flattering and cool moment for me.
To be able to sit there and say, “Wow, this is really cool.” They really are truly interested in what I’m talking about, and they truly do want to come talk to me, and they have legitimate, valuable questions. It’s not just all sort of a farce. It’s very real and very from the heart when you sit down and talk to these fans. And I just think, personally, that that’s one of the coolest things. Those are the coolest moments you can be involved in, when you see how genuine these folks are. It’s very moving and touching. It means a lot to me sort of as a human being. So I think that’s really cool. I really enjoyed it on that level.
It’ll be great to see what you have in store for us at the Human Rights Concert.
I’m really looking forward to this Amnesty thing. I really truly believe in the cause more than anything else. I’m hoping that the awareness of what they stand for translates into the show that we’re about to do and hopefully future shows. It’s definitely a very important thing on a planetary scale, and I hope they’re able to succeed in their goals and do what they’re trying to accomplish here as Amnesty International. And to have the honor of playing a small role to try to help them do that is really, really cool, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
