Jim James Tour Features Solaris Mozarts

	Jim James in concert. Photo: Eric Mayers.

My Morning Jacket (MMJ) founder and frontman Jim James embarked on a solo tour this fall, opening on the west coast and closing December 18 at Iron City, Birmingham, Alabama. Veteran MMJ designer Marc Janowitz conceived a "forest" of 57 Solaris Mozarts as a main design feature for the tour.

"The Mozarts are used as stand-alone fixtures," explains Janowitz, "each one mounted at the end of goosenecks, LP claws, mic stand boom arms, and other lightweight audio accessories. I designed them to look as if they were growing out the ends of these 'branches.' There are sets of these 'trees' downstage, mid-stage, and upstage, creating a three-dimensional forest of lights for Jim and his band. Mozarts are super bright, but not in a way that it hurts to look at them, and although they're promoted as RGB their mixed white is excellent."

Space optimization is always a major consideration for bus/trailer tours. Janowitz adds, "I'm always on the lookout for lightweight light sources that can be dispatched with minimal structure or rigging. The 4" x 4", one-pound Mozart is the perfect solution for creating an intentional and unique environment that is flexible and diverse. We're using them primarily as a lighting and environmental source, although we do pixel-map them for a few songs."

Janowitz continues, "I'm using them in hi-res 16 pixel mode, controlled with a Hog 4 Full Boar. Tour lighting designer Chase Nichols and I programmed most of the Mozart effects via the Hog effects engine, but for three songs I have them pixel-mapped using the Hog's pixel mapping and internal media server. For some songs we simply have them with one or two pixels per face emulating a flickering candlelight type effect."

Lighting equipment for the tour is provided by VER and the LD is Chase Nichols of Baton Rouge. Nichols explains, "We're using seven 10-way Mozart PSUs custom-mounted in an 8-space rack kept at dimmer beach. The Mozart is such a clever little unit; they're discreet and can be placed anywhere. Marc's design covers the stage in pixels at different heights and depths. The look is truly unique and could not be achieved with any other fixture. Mozart's small size and light weight allows for terrific flexibility, invaluable for playing club and theater stages of all sizes."

Nichols adds, "The local crews and technicians are always eager to see what these little guys can do and are always impressed with the results. I enjoy using the Mozarts to add detail to the design with single-pixel chases, but it is also a very powerful tool when using the entire fixture in one solid color."

Find out more about Marc Janowitz at www.e26design.com. Information about VER is available at www.ver.com. TMB is exclusive worldwide distributor for Solaris Mozart.