Cult of Personality

When The Cult released its latest albumBeyond Good and Evil last June, The New York Times called it a “cleansing blast of noise.” For the tour of the same name, LD Ernesto Corti provided the cleansing blast of light.

Corti first started lighting shows in his home country of Argentina back in 1982, at the age of 14, in the production and sound end of touring. Speaking about working on some of his favorite tours, with such bands as Lords of Acid, he says, “I always try to relate to the people I'm working with as family and not just as clients. You're out on tour with these people for lengths of time, and you get to know them; it's more pleasant when you can relate on a more personal level.”

For The Cult, Corti is using the new Vari*Lite® VL2402s, and “I just learned the Vari*Lite Virtuoso console which I will be using when we go out with Aerosmith for some dates after our tour is over. Coming from being a Wholehog fan for years, I think it's a great console.”

Corti co-designed this show with Rick Canny, the band's manager. “Personally I always like to go to the band and get feedback on the way it's going,” Corti explains. “Even if they say, ‘Do whatever you want,’ I like the feedback. For instance, I found out that they don't want too many gobos. They used to be kind of heavy metal but they don't want to have that look anymore, so they don't want to see ACLs, or many PAR cans. Singer Ian Astbury is a very artistic person; he's great to design a system around — and they're a blast to work with.”

The Cult teamed up with Aerosmith for a fall tour, including an October 4 date at LA's Grand Olympic Auditorium, which was recorded for a live DVD. The two bands toured through December 19.

THE CULT

Lighting Designer/Director
Ernesto Corti

Lighting Supplier
Vari-Lite

Lighting Equipment

16 Vari*Lite VL6Cs
16 Vari*Lite VL2402s
16 8-lights
9 Diversitronics 3k strobes
8 ETC Source Four ellipsoidals
3 ETC Source Four PARs
10 AC Lighting Chroma-Q color changers
19 Wybron Coloram scrollers
2 Reel EFX DF-50 hazers
1 Avolites Diamond III console