Lighting Designer, Jeff Maker
Jeff Maker, known as the lighting designer for the band All Time Low, started doing lighting back in 2000.
His very first lighting design job was for The Click Five with only having been a lighting director before that.
He got his start in the music industry being a booking agent for a local band in CT called “throne”; when he noticed nothing was being done with the lighting, at their shows, he took it into his own hands.
As the years went by he developed a passion and desire to learn more. He eventually moved to Boston for college and got a job as a bar back at a venue called The Paradise Rock Club, getting an internship with their very own lighting guy who trained him.
As he trained, developed skill, learned design, practiced timing with all kinds of music, word of mouth got around about him and The Dresden Dolls took him out for his first tour in 2006.
After years of growing his resume and skills, this year he was nominated for one of the top honors in the touring industry, the “Lighting Designer of the Year” at the Parnelli Awards.
Photography provided by himself
Describe your path to becoming a Lighting Designer. (When did you start doing lighting designs? What prompted this career choice?)
I actually got into lighting design by accident. In the early 2000s I was a booking agent for local/regional bands in CT. I’d book tours/local shows and I also had my own web design company. All while I was going to school at Emerson College in Boston, MA for TV production. I was going to try to be a TV producer. As I booked shows, and went to the shows I was booking I noticed that they were a little bland in the visual department. So I started inquiring about the lighting and basically began pushing buttons during the sets. Mind you, I had no idea what I was doing at the time. While in college a club in Boston called The Paradise Rock Club had just re-opened and I decided to apply for a job there…as a bar back to make some extra money as well as be close to music. The lighting guy at the Paradise (Shane, who is still there today) heard me talking about lighting as he passed by and asked me if I was interested in learning more/training. I said yes and became his apprentice. As I learned more and more another club in Boston called Axis (no longer around) had just lost their LD and wanted to know if I wanted to be their house lighting guy. I had my own room after only 2 years. While training myself some more at Axis I did lighting for many bands that were basically starting out and are now larger than life. Bands like Paramore, The Jonas Brothers, Maroon 5, and New Found Glory to name drop a few. There was another lighting guy at a club next door to Axis called Avalon who also helped train me. His name was Kevin, He worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers and 50 Cent. By 2006 I was offered my first tour overseas in Europe with the Dresden Dolls. The dominoes kept falling after that, I got better, word of mouth got around, people saw my work, I began getting a bunch of tour offers, and here I am today!
When you were growing up, did you have intentions of working in the music industry?
No, I actually wanted to be a heart surgeon when I was little. But growing up I had a deep love and passion for music. My first concert ever was the Michael Jackson “Bad” tour at The Hartford Civic Center. The show blew my mind and I basically credit that visual experience as to what started me on this path even though back then I had no idea. My parents took me to all sorts of concerts when I was little and my dad (the original Jeff Maker) worked with Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi in the early 90s when he was making commercials for Snapple. I was always drawn to music, around music, people who made music, and I had a curiosity about the business. I like to think I arrived here pretty organically and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.
You have been nominated as “Lighting Designer of the Year” for the Parnelli Awards; which is one of the biggest honors anyone in the touring industry can receive. What was your reaction when you found this out?
Shock, disbelief, and justification. I thought it was a typo or a joke. I have confidence in my work and in what I do, but the other LDs I was up against were many of the people I look up to in the business. Then all of a sudden I was literally in the same category as them. I’m sure they were all like “who’s this ‘new’ guy we’ve never heard of?” A great LD by the name of Baz Halpin (Katy Perry) won this year. I’m hoping to continue the path I’m on and maybe with a little luck I’ll get nominated again next year or in the future and maybe, MAYBE win the whole thing.
Creating the lighting can be as simple as selecting specific intense colors for specific songs; other times it can involve programming moving lights with complex patterns so they move the way the song feels like it’s moving. How do you go about lighting for a song? What are the steps of figuring out the lighting for a new tour?
It’s a process I’ve applied from day one actually. What color best relates to the song’s story/meaning? Is it sad? Is it up beat? Is it romantic? Is is dark? The lyrics tell the story. All you have to do is listen and there is your answer. When it’s a sad song, I use blues. Dark and bright blues. Sadness, calls for blue, rainy day, dark. If the song is uplifting or happy I use bright colors, hot colors, amber, yellow. If the song is sick, dark, morbid, I used green. Florescent lights in hospitals give human skin a greenish tint, sick. Romantic/love, I use lavender and magenta. Every song has it’s own personality. I try to help magnify each songs personality the way the band intended for their audience to experience it. I try to simply be an extension of the songs meaning through lighting/video. Every tour is different so sometimes you tend to redefine a song based on color just to change things up, but I still apply the same mold to which emotional strings the song tugs on. I take the songs, listen to them over and over and over again. Figure out my interpretation and apply it live. I get the artist(s) feedback before the tour starts AND during the tour to make sure I am projecting the correct moods to their audiences.
How often do you get new lighting fixtures/ what is one of your favorite pieces you have ever gotten?
I personally don’t purchase any lighting fixtures. Especially since new, better technology/fixtures come out every year! I rent from lighting companies all over the world. Depending on where I am touring. Companies such as ECLPS, PRG, and Zig Zag. Three of the best lighting companies I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. My favorite console(s) are made by Avolites and my favorite fixture to date is the Clay Paky Sharpy.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about this job?
People tend to think that touring life is all about partying and everything else that comes with the rock ‘n’ roll world. Truth be told, YES there is a fair amount of partying…mostly for the artist(s). As far as crew guys go, most of us are up at 9am or earlier and go to bed around midnight or later. Sleep is rare and days are long. It’s a lot of hard work but I am not complaining. I love it! Sure, on days off or nights before days off (known as roadie Friday regardless of what day of the week it is) crew guys/gals tend to let loose a little. Everyone has their own thing(s) they enjoy. I personally love Vodka Redbulls aka “Vodka JeffBulls”, a quiet bus, and a great movie.
The lighting for shows is an important part of a band’s “personality” onstage. If you had to pick a color for each ATL band member what color(s) would they be? What color(s) would you pick for yourself? Why?
Alex – RED; color of heat, passion, he is the main focal point of many fans.
Jack – BLUE, cool, chill, like the ocean he is wild and unpredictable on stage, also funny…makes you cry tears of joy.
Zack – AMBER, the man loves his whiskey, he is a man who also loves to lift weights and keep fit, metal, rust, powerful.
Rian – WHITE, bright smile, powerful, intense, white is the presence of all colors, very versatile guy, bright in many ways.
How is it for you, when bands play small venues vs. big arenas? Which one is your favorite?
Small venues present a challenge. Like “How the heck am I gonna make this one work?!” Arenas are where I belong. It’s where I do my best work with my best designs. More space, bigger stage, bigger trim heights, which in turn means a larger budget for lighting…yeah, arenas are better.
When the bands perform at the big areas the lights, more than likely, would be programmed. What are the pros and cons to that?
This is half correct. Let’s take festivals for example, those are the shows where you typically walk into the venue/fair grounds/where ever, and the lighting can be pre-programmed for you unless you are the headliner. Where you would have your show/content saved on a hard drive or USB stick that you can simply load into the advanced/provided console or just bring your own console. Many bands such as, let’s say Foo Fighters have headlined many festivals. The lighting there is to THEIR specifications. Much of it saved for their set only. Then there is a bunch of fixtures that the festival provided for every other band. The opening acts use those lights if they bring an LD. If they don’t the festival provides an LD to run lights for their set. The headlining LD takes the “festival fixtures” and adds them to their specs by “cloning” the fixtures so that they match their pre-programmed pallets. I could go more into it but it’s a little too much to type. That’s a loaded question. I can explain it better verbally.
You have toured worldwide, what are your favorite places to tour? What’s a place you haven’t been that you would like to go to?
Yes. I’ve done 9 Europe tours, 19 North America tours, 3 Australia tours, 3 South East Asia tours, and 2 South America tours. My favorite places to tour are in the U.S. and in South East Asia. Two places I haven’t been to yet that I’d love to do a show someday are Egypt and Russia.
Before tour you put together your lighting designs and work with lighting companies to make sure your vision is brought to life the way you want it to. What has been the most extravagant lighting design you have come up with? What do you think your best/favorite lighting design has been?
My most “extravagant” design to date was a design I called “Vega” over in the UK. I had 54 Sharpies, 24 Atomic Strobes, 116 PAR 38 Pro LEDs, 32 Robe Robin 600s, and 14 Molefays. This has also been my favorite design that I have put together to date.
If you could do lighting for any song from any band from any era, what which song/band would it be?
Great question. Hmmm…I’d have to “Thriller” by Michael Jackson OR “Closer” by NIN.
Besides learning from two other lighting designers and have taken a class at Emerson College for theater lighting design, you’re basically all self-taught. What is the best lesson/ piece of advice some one has ever given you?
Haha, wow, you’ve done your research! Best advice I’ve ever gotten in life is from my dad. When I was very young, he told me “Son remember, honesty is always the best policy.” I’ve tried to live my life by that in all things. Personal and professional. Being honest to others and to yourself.
Do you have a memorable moment or fun story you want to share?
I have many many stories and moments I could tell you about. BUT they are all typed out from 2006-present day on my website, JeffMaker.com (plug plug). If you’re interested, they are all there…most of em.
Is there a moment that sticks out in your head that made you realize that this is the perfect job for you?
The moment I realized I could do what I love, get paid to do it, AND see the world for free. This is the perfect job.
