CMU School of Drama


Friday, September 08, 2017

Joshua Light Show Founder on Fillmore East, Janis Joplin

Rolling Stone: Janis Joplin is about to lose it. It's 1969, she's just finished a show at the Fillmore East in New York, and the group in charge of the theater's so-called liquid light show, Joshua Light Show, has projected a one-word question on the screen behind where the bands play: "More?" Joplin had probably been looking forward to a break; she had another show to do later that night. She heads for the man in charge of the visuals to give him a piece of her mind, but then has a change of heart.

2 comments:

Sydney Asselin said...

The comparison to progressive jazz really interests me. I think it's a really great analogy. Similar to liquid light projection, every time a soloist improvises, they have an idea of what to play; they've got chord changes or a lead sheet to play with, but every solo is a new experience. For every performance, the projectionist has an idea of what the show is going to look like, but every show is a different experience. I think the evolution of liquid light projection to becoming not just an integral part of shows, but the focus of said shows in a weird way mimics the role of the jazz soloist as the focus of a jazz performance. The rhythm section that supports the soloist in a jazz band is similar to the bands that now play under the liquid light projection shows.

Ella R said...

Liquid Light Projection fits so well with the Rock and Roll of the sixties. I love the psychedelic imagery in the article and I think it is so cool how the art form of lighting mixed with the art form of media.