JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- When this year’s Tops In Blue performers enter the spotlight with their precision dance, music and song, a small team will remain relatively unnoticed, seamlessly weaving light, video and sound into each production.
Ultimately, what the seven members of the TIB Technical Flight do will make or break each performance – from getting performers and their equipment to each venue on time, to illuminating the spotlights at exactly the right time to alternating microphones.
Led by TIB Technical Director 1st Lt. Ethan Frazier, a member of the 21st Force Support Squadron at Peterson AFB in Colorado, the team consists of two vehicle operators, a video director, lighting director, audio director and audio engineer.
Frazier got his first real look at production while working at a Christian summer camp in Panama City, Florida, in 2009. The camp, which was “very intensively production heavy,” gave him insight into lighting, video and audio work and helped him understand how each discipline fits into a true production.
“I fell in love with it after that,” he said. He then continued pursuing his new passion by working at a large church with a 2,500-seat auditorium and full production while travelling the country as a video and audio engineer doing freelance production work.
Frazier is excited about the technical team who are now busy learning new equipment, building sets and mastering a host of other duties before hitting the road for the 2015 tour next week.
“We have awesome (audio, lighting and video) engineers who have prior skills and are learning the new equipment, bringing their skills to the table, learning new tricks of the trade and learning the show. They’re doing a great job,” the lieutenant said.
Like Frazier, Staff Sgt. Brandon Armagast, the TIB lighting director, is no stranger to performance production. The noncommissioned officer, a member of the 4th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina, started tinkering with sound about the age of 12 using a four-channel mixer in his small church.
“I just jumped into it and enjoyed it,” he said. “Since then, moving around with the Air Force I’ve been all over so I’ve done music festivals from North Pole, Alaska, to Tampa, Florida.” Between music festivals and different events at arenas, he’s also done lighting for concerts and musical theater “and just filling in about anywhere in between.”
Although there are big differences between the technical team members and the performers, when show time comes, there are also a few likenesses, Armagast said.
Just like the performers who take the stage, the technicians get an adrenaline rush as well, he said.
“You’re nervous until show time but once the show actually starts, you really don’t have time to think about it,” he said. “You know what you’re doing and just keep moving through the steps you were trained to do.”
The technical flight’s two transportation experts are exceptional as well, the lieutenant said.
“Staff Sgt. (Ronald) Brooks has extensive knowledge of vehicles. He has been a bus driver before, operating motor coaches, as well as tractor trailers in previous circumstances. He brings a lot of knowledge and skills to the table as far as vehicles go,” Frazier said.
“How can I say this, I am at one with the road,” Brooks, a member of the 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Luke AFB, Arizona, said with a grin. “I take trips all of the time. I’m stationed in Phoenix right now so I travel back and forth to California, to Louisiana, I’m always taking road trips … it’s relaxing to me.”
Brooks said he enjoyed driving buses before joining the military and added that he’s “pretty awesome” at driving tractor trailers as well. Both skills are important because of the tight schedule for getting TIB performers and equipment to their destinations on time.
When things go bad with the team’s vehicles, and they’re going to happen, Brooks said, how well he and fellow transportation troop Senior Airman Mason Hack, a member of the 52nd Logistics Readiness Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, troubleshoot them will be key.
“Our moment to shine isn’t during the production of the show,” Brooks said. “Getting people to the show on time, that’s the pressure.”
Once the team arrives at a performance location, the technical flight relies on the performers to help with the setup, acting as roadies.
“We have various aspects of the production so there is a team (of performers) that helps with the various areas – lighting, audio, special effects – to set up the show,” the lieutenant said. “(The technical flight) directs, answers questions from venue to venue and modifies pieces for the specific venue.”
With weeks of preparation under their belts, Frazier and his team are excited for the tour to begin.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Frazier said.
Tops In Blue made its season debut at the America’s Armed Forces River Parade here May 16 and had two San Antonio area dress rehearsal performances appearances before hitting the road next week. A partial schedule for the 2015 team is available now at www.topsinblue.com.