Life as a Rock Star…

The famous Joint Logo

Tour bus  arrives at the Hard Rock Hotel in mid morning… Head to check- in in what seems to be a club atmosphere in the middle of the night.  The lights are dim and you are assaulted by overwhelming sights and sounds. I try to get into the Rock star head- space since we are here to perform at The Joint! The Same stage that has had some of the most incredible performers on it , the same stage where Guns and Roses just signed on for a several week performance.

I spend several moments being entranced by the huge moving billboard, showing all of the most incredible Rock Stars, behind the beautiful check in people and by the beyond cool musicians filing through with their instruments. I am distracted by the glass cases of the costumes worn by the actual performers. There is Cee Lo Green’s bejeweled black outfit with the space age shoulders, Britney Spears’ see-through- skin colored- tiny dress, Madonna’s hip- flamenco style dress and bolero jacket and of course  James Brown’s kingly cape and crown. Much to the horror of my band mates I am starting to fantasize about a new costume look for The Pink Flamingos!

Cee Lo’s crazy costume

Lucky for them, we get our rooms and head to them. Everything about this hotel is so Rock and Roll. The elevators are like road cases with famous lyric quotes inside. The lights are covered by Zyldjian Cymbals and there is a chandelier made  completely of saxophones! My room is fit for a rock star with colors of  muted silver and grey’s and framed photos of  The Monkey’s and Kurt Cobain. I am definitely going to have Rock Star dreams tonight!

Cool Steve Vai’s Rock Guitar!

Paul McCartney’s bass! (Need I say more?)

We head down to The Joint to set up our gear. The stage is amazing with an incredible lighting rig that looks like an otherworldly space craft is descending on us.  The sound guys are super professional and sound check goes smoothly and quickly.

Pre-Gig stage with amazing lighting rig

As the costumer, I get to spend the bulk of setup in the dressing room – a REAL dressing room with actual make up mirrors and a professional costume steamer! There are posters plastered all over the wall of every rock n roller you can imagine. I am daydreaming that I am using the exact same steamer that Mick Jagger’s costume mistress used for Mick’s costumes when I hear it’s time for sound check. Before I head down I pass through the Green Room where I try to sit on every couch and touch every item that Rock Stars have touched – hoping that their super-star power may rub off on me.

The Hard Rock Dressing room

Time to come back to Earth – Show Time!

Maybe it was the steamer or the super star vibes from the couch or standing on the same stage that infamous Rock Stars have stood on or maybe it was just plain hard work –  but that night, at The Joint, I became a legend in my own mind and had my 15 minutes of fame!

Mine (and Joey’s) 15 minutes of fame!

Planning the perfect event: Tips from an Industry Professional

By now, I am sure you have gleaned more than a wealth of information from our expert show designer, Lisa de Wolf. Since she is a never-ending fountain of extremely valuable information, it is only a natural step to share another great piece of advice!

Planning a truly successful event can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be if you
start with a solid plan. Begin by answering two essential questions:

Who?

Why?

The what, where,when and how will fall into place once you’ve clearly established the who and why.

Let’s break it down:

When answering the “who”, consider these eight points:

a. Number of guests attending ___________
b. Age range _______ Median age __________
c. % male _________ % female _____________
d. % of guests w/spouses or dates _________
e. Where are guests from? (local, national, international)_________
f. % of guests who know each other __________
g. % of guests who attended this event last year __________
h. Relationship to host/company sponsoring event __________

It’s important to get this information as soon as possible.

Now, when answering the “why”, learn everything you can about the purpose of this event, both externally and internally:

There is almost always an external, advertised purpose for an event:
TO EDUCATE sales teams, dealers, distributors
TO AWARD outstanding achievers
TO MOTIVATE employees
TO HONOR incoming/outgoing V.I.P.s
TO RECRUIT new members
TO CELEBRATE a company’s great year or anniversary
TO SHOW APPRECIATION to top clients/customers
TO MERGE two competitors bought out by another company

However there is also an unspoken internal purpose:
Ask “What is the intentional experience that you, or the powers that be, want to create for these guests?”

It’s important at this juncture to understand that no matter what medals, plaques,
trophies, or accolades with which you shower your guests, those objects serve only
as half of the equation. The other equal if not more significant half is the
EXPERIENCE they have. While gifts are an explicit expression of appreciation,
they can’t touch the power of a truly memorable experience—a gift that lasts forever.
In the end, it is the quality of the experience that determines how successful the
event has been.

The rest of the puzzle:

THE REST OF THE PUZZLE
By knowing everything you can about the “WHO & WHY,” you can create a solid
framework that allows the rest of the puzzle pieces to easily fall into alignment.
That initial checklist might look something like this:
1. Venue options (Where)
2. Date options (When)
3. Billing of event (What)
4. Room/space layout options
5. Timeline/schedule options
6. If event involves food, options include:

Hors d’oeuvres only

Buffet only

Sit-down, plated meal
7. AV/sound/light options
8. Vendor/supplier options
9. Decor options (or no decor)
10. Theme options (or no theme)
11. Speaker options
12. Entertainment options

Also, within each category are a multitude of options. With your focus remaining on who your guests really are and on the specific intention of your event, you can double-check every choice you have with this one qualifying question:

“Which option most supports our guests and that integral ‘intentional experience’ that we want to create?”

In every category on that checklist, without exception, there are dos and don’ts, ideal and less-than-ideal options. But when held up to the light of your framework and that one qualifying question, the correct choices will quickly become apparent. For example, if your event is designed to encourage and allow guests time to network and connect with each other, you wouldn’t choose to have them sitting at round tables of twelve with gigantic centerpieces that restrict conversation, as prerecorded music blares down through the house speaker system so loudly that they can barely hear themselves think. Just remember: if at any moment the overview begins to overwhelm you, simply take a deep breath and know that you have that clearly defined framework to fall back on.

For more great ideas & useful information, check out our other blogs,  tips for meeting planners or Contact us.  We’ll be happy to help! And,  get to know Lisa a little better by connecting with her on LinkedIn!

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The Pink Flamingos © 2012, All Rights Reserved. CONTACT US! www.thepinkflamingos.com
800.700.3898

A Day in the Life of Pink Flamingo Productions

After the photo shoot blog last week, one of our loyal readers wrote  that they would like to see a behind the scenes look. So, I thought it would be neat to take a little walk around the Pink Flamingo Productions’ facility to try and take in everything that was there. I have to say that we’ve got some pretty slammin’ amenities around here (please forgive the 90’s “slammin'” reference, but really it’s the best way to describe it)! What’s more, it’s fun to explore… so come on, and bring your juke box money (again, apologies)!

Pink Flamingo Productions operates on 30 acres of wooded property between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, with a variety of out buildings each serving a purpose for our production company. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s one of the first production companies in the country to operate under a green initiative, with a solar energy grid and a comprehensive composting and recycling program in practice.

This picture is more pleasant than the one of the compost.

And the first stop? The rehearsal room, where the magic begins:

We make it look easy – it’s not!

In this rehearsal space, we’re equipped with a full sound system, complete with wireless mics and a 64 channel sound board (the same kind we use on the road, for continuity’s sake). This is where The Pink Flamingos rehearse their standards, and also their freshest material.

Raven, Willow, and Sophie Hunger for some Harmonies

But what about the art, you ask (admit it, you were asking)? The PFP facility has not one, not two, but three spaces used for Art Explosion and The 3 Painters, two successful and innovative speed painting acts. The main art space is used mostly for painting rehearsal and gig preparation (for all the custom art work that we perform!).

Jeff, one of our Speed Painters, calls this space “The Flick and Thwack Proving Grounds”.

The other space we use for art rehearsal is our multipurpose space, which is bigger and more open; just what we need to practice painting with glitter, fire, and our revolving screen.

This space is also used to store and maintain the different equipment required for our acts (several sets, for those double and triple bookings, of course).

Hula hoops are official equipment, too!

In another facility, we organize and store our plethora of costumes (which you can never have to many of, obviously!):

DRESS UP, I SAY!

But before we can rehearse for a gig, we have to get the gig – that’s where our newly remodeled marketing office comes in to play:

We find that coming to the office in proper attire sets one up for a healthy and productive day.

And for recording the band, or mixing custom music for an explosive art performance, we have a state-of-the-art recording studio, designed by Scott Jarrett and studio designer Geoff Turner:

For mixing and recording!

Once it’s time to go to a gig (and we go all over the place), we load our gear (and ourselves) into these:

For our gear (and sometimes we throw Jeffrey in here for fun)

And the rest of us travel in style!

What helps us too is the location of our headquarters – the beauty and the tranquility contribute to our creative entrepreneurial spirit just as much as our excellent and varied facilities.

It was a very enjoyable walk around the PFP headquarters. Hopefully, you enjoyed it as much as we get to enjoy it every day!