Pyrotek Heats Up The Block

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TORONTO - After being on top of the charts in the late 1980's and early 90's and selling over 70 million albums, the New Kids On The Block have reunited for the first time since they last appeared together in 1994. With the release of their newly titled album The Block, the band, including brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood, returned to the stage to promote their latest album release.

Since their debut performance in Toronto, the tour has sold out shows across North America with a fan base consisting of mostly young adult female audiences. “The show has a real nice party vibe to it and is very current, commented Doug Adams, Designer and President of Pyrotek Special Effects. Coordinating with Production Manager Bobby Schneider and Lighting Designer Butch Allen, Adams designed a remarkable amount of effects to various aspects of the show such as the introduction and over a half-dozen other tracks including hit songs Right Stuff, Step By Step and Hanging Tough. Adams speaks highly and with admiration about working with LD Butch Allen. The two have collaborated on a number of occasions and are receptive to each other's designs. When it comes to the pyrotechnics, they both understand the first priority to any design is safety. “Butch knows that we're going to always give him a great look, I typically discuss where he is emphasizing his design and I work around that and he works the lighting to complement our effects. The integration of effects into the design of the tour adds a notable variety of customized designs to highlight various songs throughout the set list. During rehearsals at the Air Canada Center in Toronto, ON, Adams also worked closely with Donnie Wahlberg each day as the two discussed the various placements of cues and ways to frame the band. “Working with Donnie was great. He was adamant about the timing of cues for the effects. He was always dead on where he wanted to create accents to emphasize the band and stage set. Wahlberg was receptive to a number of the proposals Adams presented. The show which is imbedded with variety of effects includes over 20 cryogenic jets, multi-colored airbursts, a silver Gerb Waterfall, Red Comets with Tail, Gold Crackle Mines, White Flash with Bang, Streamers and more. Implementing the design to each show is Pyrotechnic Crew Chief Eric Muccio and Kenn MacDonald. The Tour which kicked of in mid-September is scheduled to continue across North America until February 2009, along with stops in Amsterdam, New Mexico and Paris.