Fruit Salad Lights

Formed, High Wycombe, UK in 1987 by Jasper Johns and Crom, Fruit Salad Lights quickly established themselves on the underground and festival scene as THE psychedelic lightshow in England.

Using primarily Optikinetics projectors, Fruit Salad were seen at nearly every underground/psych event in England during the 80's and 90's and are responsible for running the lightshow for the Ozric Tentacles and also for providing lighting at the many Mega Dog events and Pongmaster Ball's in the UK.

Crom later moved over to do lights for Eat Static.

Fruit Salad are still very much part of the scene in the UK working with the Ozric Tentacles and also on much bigger projects such as stages at Glastonbury Festival, WOMAD and other outdoor festivals.

Born near London in 1966, Jasper grew up an avid listener of The Beatles and additional early influences include Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and The Jam amongst many others.

A natural flair for the practical enabled him to leave school confident in his creative and technical abilities. During this time (c1983) Jasper and some school friends formed a band called Fruit Salad Belt, with Jasper on drums. It wasn't long however, before he realised his talents were with lighting the band rather than drumming.

Throughout the 1980s Jasper honed his light show craft under the name Fruit Salad Lights, collaborating throughout the 90s with Crom, Shmo, and Club Dog. Passionate about psychedelia, he created mind-altering vision-scapes using hands-on mechanical oil projectors, hand drawn slide wheels and real-time visual manipulation.

A partnership with guitar space-rock visionaries Ozric Tentacles began, with free rein over the appearance of the shows.

Jasper always knew that the most dramatic parts of a light show can be when no lights are on at all and used this to great effect – not many bands enjoy moments on stage in total blackness however 30 years on, Ozrics and Fruit Salad still have a fond working and experimental relationship.

Early friends and mentors including Crom, Neil Rice (Optikinetics) and Garry Masters (Magic Mushroom Band), not forgetting Scouse and Marge (Wango Stages), helped keep Jasper within the niche and slightly obsessive community of psychedelic lighting.

In the 1990s he joined a venture in London called Coloursound Experiment (CSE). Alongside the daily lighting hire and repair, countless bands hired Jasper for their gigs and tours and a 25 year Glastonbury Festival career began.

Notable bands/artists from his career include Gong, Senser, Steve Hillage, Jeff Beck (8 years including two US and two Japanese tours), Hawkwind, Marillion, Porcupine Tree, Dr. John, The Electric Prunes and Sonja Kristina.

Jasper embraced the move to digital technology and is known in the industry for the layering of vintage, analogue effects married with slick timing, psychedelic video projections, live video feed and concurrent lighting control.

Ten years after CSE began, adventure called and Jasper moved abroad to sunnier climes to create a home and wood workshop. From there he teaches his son the rudiments of woodworking and lighting and travels all over the world to tour with bands and light stages at festivals.

Jasper Johns - 2017

MegaDog 5th Birthday Bash - September 27th