How to open a portal and go back in time

When I arrive at a live show, nobody ever knows quite what to make of me. What exactly am I going to do with an old analog projector, pyrex dishes, and food coloring? My sarcastic answer is always that I'm going to open a portal to the past, and even though I'm joking, there is a tinge of truth in that answer! I'm a liquid light show artist, meaning I use basic chemistry to mix colorful water and oil and project the image onto a wall behind a live music act. The craft is not often something many people have ever heard of, but it used to be one of the most important parts of live music in the 60's and 70's.

Liquid light show art is a beautiful marriage between DIY and mind-blowing. It's cheap to produce with basic equipment but what it creates is otherworldly. It started in the psychedelic 60's as a visual aspect for many headlining bands when they played live. Light show artists toured with many headlining bands including the Grateful Dead, Led Zepplin, and Pink Floyd. It was the preferred act to supplement these rock artists because it was fairly cheap and DIY, yet produced a stunning and extremely trippy image to go along with the music. There is an incredibly rich history behind the liquid light show yet the community of artists is incredibly small and only getting smaller. This means the craft is starting to die out and not many people are aware of it at all.

I fell in love with this art after noticing it in old clips of some of my grandparents' favorite bands back in the day and from there tried to learn all that I could about it. Truthfully, there isn't much out there in terms of tutorials or history for someone who may be interested in liquid light shows. I made the plunge to buy an old projector and teach myself how to create the images I loved seeing in the old shows. Soon after, I started being booked for local shows, everyone from DJ's to rock bands loved my style and finally I got to bring an old craft into the modern world. My most commonly heard reviews from people are that they have never seen anything quite like what I do. That both breaks my heart and mends it back together knowing I can offer a mini history lesson of what I do.

My dream with being a liquid light show artist extends far beyond just being a performer, I truly would love to bring it back into the modern day and inspire people to try it for themselves. I have amassed a loyal following on Tik Tok posting clips showing and explaining my art, but I think I can reach much farther and really share this beautiful fossil of an art. Everyone I meet wants to know more and how they can see more, but I'm never sure where exactly to point them considering there aren't many resources. I would love to be that resource. The demand is there, but a supply is nowhere to be seen!

The beautiful part about doing what I do is not only showing young people something new, but reminding the older generation of something they had forgotten about entirely. I often hear from the older crowd that my shows reminded them of an old rock show. Seeing the smiles on their faces is so rewarding, you can really tell that you've sparked some happiness into their hearts that they weren't expecting. With everything being digital these days, bringing back analog is a nice refreshing take on concert visuals. The flow of the visuals with the music is organic and very human. That just isn't something you get with computer generated content. You can tell the difference between a live art performance that is being produced in the passion of the moment versus something that was created before hand, and is stiff and feeling-less.

While I may not be a pioneer of my craft, I certainly do all that I can to bring it back into the live music scene. I spend many of my days educating concert goers on the rich history of the art and sharing its' ties to rock and roll history. Should I have the resources, I would also absolutely love to do workshops and mentor new liquid light show artists on the chemistry and techniques behind what I do so that the art can spread and be appreciated again. Liquid light shows do not deserve to be forgotten, they deserve to find a place in the modern world with a new twist!