This guy Lightshow Bob is what you’d call an original. He’s fearless, too; dude makes a rock ’n’ roll spectacle of himself nightly. See, for 12 years LB has been doing sizzling, multihued lightshows for local rock and blues bands directly from the stage, fortified with his faithful, guitar-shaped control board (cleverly christened The LIGHTAR). That’s right, LB is an LD who “riffs” on stage with the band! So it’s no surprise then that LB’s tour bus is a classic ’74 Dodge KaryVan, which he purchased in Detroit three years ago.
“It hauls my gear on the road and saves me money on hotels,” LB says. He’s shown here with the band Downtown Brown (he’s the &ldquot5th member” of DTB, by the way) at the Theatre Bizarre 6/6/6 party. The inside of the van is covered with autographs running the blues (Eddie Kirkland, Thornetta Davis) to porn (Ron Jeremy, natch!) gamut.
Says Neil P of Downtown Brown: “Driving from gig to gig in his unstoppable caravan of doom, armed with his trusty LIGHTAR, Lightshow Bob illuminates every show and joins every band he plays with to create a cascade of colors and emotions. And who would ever take the time out of their demanding rock schedule to run a power source out to their trusty tour van to fuel a vaporizer that provides endless enjoyment to those who have the opportunity to partake? Taste the fame, feel the magic, ingest the genius.”
And, Lightshow Bob adds, “What happens on the tour bus stays on the tour bus!”
Doug Coombe is an area photographer. Send comments to [email protected]
