TMB's Intelligent Marquee Systems (IMS) on Stray Cats World Tour

"It was definitely a swingin', rockin', and shoutin' of a good time, as the sensational, iconic and legendary band the Stray Cats prowled their way to the Greek Theatre," writes The Music Connection's Daniel Seylum of the band's recent Los Angeles appearance. Forty years after their debut album, rockabilly fans worldwide found out why the timeless group has such staying power.

After opening in Europe last June, the Cats' North American leg commenced in Atlantic City, New Jersey, wrapping up in San Diego, California. The centerpiece of the set, spanning 24', was an impressive and fun "Stray Cats" marquee sign, designed, built, and installed by Gallagher Staging of La Mirada, California. Comprised of 202 IMS RGBW LED lamps, as well as other LED ribbon and panel lighting, the colorful and buoyant set piece was the visual signature of the tour.

"Marquees go hand in hand with the genre," says Gallagher's special projects manager, Joe Golden. "Like rockabilly, marquee lighting is retro, yet timeless. We had an existing sign and reworked it to become essentially a blend of makeover and new. On the Brian Stetzer Orchestra Tour, we had used incandescent lamps mixed with IMS LEDs, but the warm white in the RGBW IMS lamps looked so much better that, for this tour, LD Michael Duncan opted to replace all the lamps with IMS LEDs. The IMS lamps easily retrofitted into the original E27 sockets, saving us a lot of time."

Golden continues, "Driving the IMS system were two ProPlex IMS Universe Drive DIN-Rail units built into a custom PSU chassis. The marquee sign was illuminated throughout the show, elegantly programmed by Duncan to capture the moods from song to song, as well as sections within a song. The lights were in continual motion."

Asked to comment on the IMS marquee, tour production manager Michael Richter says, "Yup, we love it. It's awesome, exactly as I envisioned it -- the band and management, everyone loves it!"

The IMS individually DMX-controlled, long-life, LED marquee/festoon lighting systems feature RGBW, Dynamic White, and Warm White V12 "Filament" lamp versions. Shatterproof and outdoor-rated, IMS lamps last many years and are safe to use in public areas. IMS proprietary technology combines data and 24V power over two-conductor cabling. This, and the IMS lamp's standard Edison base, allows easy retrofit into existing festoon and marquee systems. ProPlex Universe Drive power supplies are available in PortableMount (ideal for truss), DIN Rail, IP65 portable outdoor, and various RackMount versions. A very handy and powerful HHP (Hand Held Programmer) quickly and easily addresses the individual IMS lamps, completing the system.

IMS is distributed exclusively worldwide by TMB: www.tmb.com/products/ims. Learn more about TMB's range of professional products and services at the link below.