
By Will Seagers
Hi folks. Will here! And, in the spirit of the season, this week's "Booth Adventure" deals with the brightly colored and festive lights of club life and the party scene. I thought I was done with my "Booth Memories." But, they wouldn't be complete without recalling some of my "light-man escapades!"
My attraction to lighting in general started at a very early age... we're talking three or four years old! My mom used to tell me tales of when she and my father would take me on nighttime outings with them in the car. "See-da-light, see-da-light" were some of the very first words out of my young mouth! They were accompanied by my excitement and pointing, as well. Truth was, I do remember looking at intensely colored lights, such as those red lights atop radio towers and their blue counterparts. Knowing they were coming, I sat prepared to stare at some of these travel markers whose locations I memorized from regular trips that we made to visit relatives and the like. I remember being transfixed by my friends, the deep cobalt blue lights - which would appear later in my life.

Fast forward a decade and a half to my late teens and my experimenting with smoking pot. I wasn't that fond of smoking. But, I did like that the experience lent itself to color appreciation! Also at that late teen stage were a few dablings with the more potent LSD. Once again, not so much a heavy hitter with the frequency of use, but those times I tried it were very visual - particularly in the world of colors!
Moving further down the timeline, I was a young gay man who frequented New York's dance bars and party halls. Lighting was just starting to be taken as a serious accompaniment to the pulsing music of the day. Luckily, I happened upon some of New York City's most tasteful gay private clubs. I took mental notes on the lighting and what I had experienced. It wasn't so much the animation of the lighting - but, the sophisticated palette of hues that I was seeing.

I also noticed from better lighting technicians that I had the ability to "see what I was hearing!" The changes in light both in the instruments and the colors seemed to transition perfectly with the music. Something inside me told me I wanted to do this myself at some point in the future.
That came in my middle twenties when I moved to San Francisco. From the moment I arrived in town, I was enthralled with the ability to take on new projects and be successful at them. Although I had never attempted it before, the time was ripe for me to become a light-man!
I am right now searching through fifty years of "memory fog" to place where and when my first lighting gig was. But it is to no avail. Suffice it to say, I remember playing at some pretty big San Francisco clubs and discos like the Music Hall, Trocadero Transfer and Dreamland on established lighting systems. Not being of my own design, I quickly got bored and moved onto designing lights. It was at private parties-at-large where I got to assemble the gear and gels myself. I also thought it was very important to play up the architecture of a room as well as the dance floor.
Once again, my friend and mentor Bruce Trondson (primarily my audio engineer) welcomed me to ply my talents and imagination at a couple of rather large San Francisco party venues such as at the Long Shoreman's Hall and at The Peoples Temple (YES, of Jim Jones fame!). I was also summoned by Bruce to do the lights for the original party at the Russian River resort, "The Woods!" My design was kept in tack for future use when it transitioned into a permanent club! Both in town and at the River, I designed the lights and did all of the labor-intensive setup. This included cabling, setting up lighting instruments and other special effects and, finally, placing the color gels. Bruce was my godsend in that he could always figure out how to connect the scrimmers (lighting control boards) to power supplies of the various buildings. I was scared to do that (LOL).


Last but not least were the crowning events that I lit at San Francisco's Kabuki Theater. Rod Roderick, a famed S.F. showman and entrepreneur, was the MC of the whole affair. He invited me to work as operator and co-designer with John Tadesco of Industrial Light and Magic (yes, that arm of the Lucas film group!).
I was invited several times to Mr. Tadesco's private warehouse. There, I let my imagination go into full gear as we assembled some of the most impressive gear ever to be flown from the ceiling of that great Kabuki Theater.

With the glorious music of Frank Corr filling the Kabuki Theater, I instinctively followed him with my version of synesthesia (seeing what you are hearing). It was during the popular Gino Soccio tune "Oh What a Night" that I pulled out all of the stops and set off on a trail of my own. I had left some "tempo lighting" still engaged so as not to disrupt the energy of the dance floor. But, with defiant glee, I fired up eight emergency halide cans (the size of garbage cans!). These were a type of utility lamp most frequently used in parking lots! I had these gelled with Dark Urban Blue - a very deep cobalt shade (that color that was burned into my childhood memory). They took almost five minutes to come to full intensity. During the build-up time, the whole theater was turned so blue that you could almost taste it. At the peak of the aforementioned song, I shot teal-colored pin spots through this room of blue and then killed the massive blue lights, leaving just the pin spots. The crowd went nuts!!!! Soon, there was a line to my lighting booth with "thank you party favors."

That was a moment I will never forget. And like L.A. Tool & Die in my movies, the Kabuki Theater was the pinnacle in my lighting game, and I moved on from both shortly afterwards.
So, later in life when my mom used to tease me about "See-da-light, See-da-light," I would just nod and grin! If she only knew what came of that! From the folks at Bijou and myself, we wish you safe and happy holidays! XO!
Bio of Will Seagers:
Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted careers and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model, film performer, and DJ, just to name a few. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.

Will Seagers, recent photo
You can read Will Seagers' previous blogs for Bijou here:
Welcome Matt/Will | What's For Dessert? | On and Off the Set of L.A. Tool & Die | Wanted, Weekend Lockup and Weekends in Hermosa Beach | Honeymoon in the Palms | Birds of a Feather | The Stereo Maven of Castro Street | The Pass Around Boy | The Ecstasy and the Agony | Fitness and Fantasy | Chasing the Boys and Chasing the Sun | Becoming Invisible | The Reverse Story of Dorian Gray | Pin Money | One Organ Leads to Another! | The Wheels of Steel | Feast and Famine | An Alphabet Soup of Powders and Pills | Merry Christmas (and Getting Re-Organized) | Now and Then | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: The Badlands | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: Moby Dick Bar | DEEP INSIDE THE CASTRO: "Just Another Stroll Down the Castro!" | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Hamburger Mary's | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Long Live the Stud! | Diving Into SoMa/Folsom: Club Life..."Hit me with your Rhythm Stick!” | A "Split Ticket": SoMa/Folsom and The Haight! | Staying Vanilla in a Flavorful Culture | A Little Secret | Recollections of the 1977 S.F. Gay Pride Parade | Life's a Beach | Flora & Fauna | Once Is Just Not Enough! | A Love of Cultures – A Knack for Languages! | For the Birds | It's About Time! | The Perfect Storm | Hello Chicago/Adieu Fire Island Pines! | Sex in the Woods! | My Life at the Gym | The Last Picture Show | Cumming Attractions! | The Peter Pan Syndrome | Valentine's Day Reflections | The “Idus Martias” and a Peacock! | Taxing I.M.H.O. | Nope...This Sure Ain't Kansas! | The French Connection | Water Baby | Pride: You Wear It Well! | Life Goes On... | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 1 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 2 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 3 | The Dance Floor and the Booth, Part 4