Prismatic Revenge (Contra Costa County)

How you got into doing Light Shows & when?

In January of 1967, I attended my first actual rock concert – at the Berkeley Community Theater.

Headliner was Country Joe and the Fish, opener was Congress of Wonders, and saw my first light show, Jerry Abrams Headlights.

Decided on the spot that was what I wanted to do. So came up with our name, Prismatic Revenge, and started to figure it out.

Bought an overhead projector, 2 Kodak Carousel projectors, pyrex dishes, and off we went.

Where did/does your Light Show operate?

Prismatic Revenge operated mostly in the East Bay Area, Contra Costa County and San Francisco.

Who was your main influence, if any?

Our influences were first other local light shows that we got to know, but things really changed when I reached out to the Brotherhood of Light, who was doing the Fillmore West shows every other week, rotating with Little Princess 109.

BOL was kind enough to take me under their wing – Ed Landgon (Brother Ed) in particular, and taught us the right way to do things, where to buy supplies, etc. etc. So they were a significant influence to our style.

Through them we added equipment and skill, including 16mm film, hand painted slides, and first and foremost fantastic liquids.

What Bands have you worked with?

We worked with many of the SF bands and others, including The Dead, Santana, Van Morrison, Mike Bloomfield, Joy of Cooking, It’s a Beautiful Day, BB King, Humble Pie, John Lee Hooker and many many more.

What was your most memorable gig?

I think we had two really memorable gigs. The first was when we finally made it to the Fillmore West. We had developed the show and equipment to a level to audition at the FW. So back then you did three Tuesday night auditions, and if successful, got a shot at a weekend at the FW.

So our first night, BB King was the headliner, Balling Jack and Christian Rapid the openers. That was such an achievement it was a highlight.

The other memorable show was at Longshoreman’s Hall, A Hells Angel Party. I don’t remember who played, but I remember the evening. Was my first Hells Angels event, so was quite nervous. But they were super kind to us (not necessarily the same to one another!) and was a great show.

What other Light Shows have you worked with and/or Cooperated with?

As I mentioned earlier we worked with our Mentors, Brotherhood of Light. Ultimately that led to merging/joining the BOL.

And in fact, I actually purchased and was the owner of the BOL for a time. Brother Ed, sold me the famous Overhead projector setup, along with 3 Bell and Howell 16mm projectors. Ed remained as one of the members, and we did shows throughout the Bay Area.

A funny story, particularly funny for those who knew Ed, may he rest in peace, was after I began to wind down my time doing BOL. The equipment was stored with Ed. I lost contact with Ed.

But many years later when I reconnected with Chris Samardizch, the current owner of Brotherhood of Light, Ed sold him all of the equipment, that I owned. Knowing Ed, did not surprise me, and cracked me up.

I also was friends and did some work with Bob Holt Lights. Bob had a totally different approach to lightshows, very very artistic with very detailed hand painted slides. I don’t even think he used liquids as I recalled. But we became friends and I helped out with his gigs.

He was a true artist.

Where did the name (s) come from

Once we decided to start a light show, we needed a name. My friend Alan, who was an original partner in the show, but left fairly early on came up with the name.

We thought it sounded cool, so that was it.

When was your Light Show formed?

Prismatic Revenge was formed in Feb. 1967.

How long did it run for? (is it still going or maybe back after an interval?)

We ran until the merger, purchase of Brotherhood of Light in 1972. I have thought of doing it again, but with all of the equipment and art gone, probably more than I am up for.

Any personnel changes within the Light Show(s)

So original founders – Scott Bauhofer and Alan Macomber. Alan left the show in 1969.

From there, a number of friends joined and were part of the light show.

My girlfriend at the time, Kathy, and a good friend Pete Steffen were the primary players. Also important was Michael Slack. He was our electronic wiz, that helped make things work.

Can you supply behind the scenes photo's of the equipment/shots from live shows/Posters/Personnel pictures/Light Show Handbills etc?

Unfortunately I do not have any photos of our rig. I will send over a couple of the posters from our Fillmore shows, and also one from a Dead concert that I put on at my high school in my senior year.

I was on the fundraising committee, and we thought it would be a great idea in 68/69 to put on a concert.

So in fall of 68 we did our first one, Santana, Ace of Cups, Country Weather and lights by Spectral Euphoria and Prismatic Revenge.

So that concert sold out and made a bunch of money, so we decided we needed to do one more in the Spring of 69. We got on the phone, and landed the Dead (paid $2k).

That show was The Dead, Frumious Bandersnatch, Velvet Hammer with lights by Prismatic Revenge. By that time we had graduated to clock faces from pyrex, but were still pretty green at what we were doing, so not the greatest light show – yet!

Can you share any amusing/interesting Light Show related stories that wont land you in Court?

I remember doing a show with Johnny Winter at the Fillmore West. This was after Bill Graham had closed it but a promoter tried to reopen it, and did a number of shows there, and we were the house light show.

So Johnny Winter apparently was short on roadies, and asked if I could help get the gear in. I said for sure, but quickly learned why I never wanted to be a roadie for a band, that gear was HEAVY!

What equipment you started out using, why you used it and what you changed to?

We started with one overhead projector, and two slide projectors, and a color wheel. From there we continued to buy equipment, more overheads, plus eventually added 16mm movie projectors.

What non standard objects/items were used in the quest for 'better effects'?

Our most non standard item as a very powerful laser that we acquired. I don’t think it was legal to have and use, but that did not stop us. We used an oscillator, and a custom built mirror setup – basically mirrors mounted on two small speakers.

We would point the laser into mirror one, which would then go into mirror two and to the screen.

One speaker was x axis and one speaker was y axis. Then with the oscillator we could control the speakers and the effect was amazing mandalas in live action on the screen behind the band.

How many projectors/slide machines you started out with?

We started with one overhead projector and two Kodak Carousel slide projectors. In the beginning we had nothing, so actually bought our first set of psychedelic slides through a catalog – Edmund Scientific Catalog.

The slides were not half bad, and got is started until we create all of our own, both photography and hand painted.

How many projectors you finished up with?

At the end we had a rig with 20 slide projectors, in custom cases that we built that held 4 each. We could carry them in, open the case, add the color wheel setup, and were ready to go very quickly. Slide projectors were a combination of Kodak Carousels and Leitz/Prado. All slide projectors were run through dimmers so we could fade in and out our slide sets.

We had 3 to 4 overhead projectors, all with glass lenses, and overvolting variacs so we could juice up the wattage. They would get so hot that you could boil a liquid dish on them, which was a great effect.

We had 3 Bell and Howell 16 mm movie projectors, that we ran film loops through.

What is your favourite aspect of doing Light Shows (maybe you prefer liquids, slides, movie clips for example)

I actually enjoyed the co-ordination of all of the media types, but my favorite thing was the liquids.

Where has your career taken you if you are not still in the Lighting Industry?

After I left the lighting industry, I moved into the Consumer Electronics world. First selling stereos and televisions in Northern California - Matthew’s TV and Stereo, Pacific Stereo, The Good Guys.

Then on to my own car stereo business for 7 years – Car Systems.
From there I became a merchant – a buyer – at The Good Guys, and then Best Buy (moved in Minneapolis).

Then into ecommerce, was a founding member of BestBuy.com and general manager.

Spent 7 years total at Best Buy, then moved back to Southern California where I ran the Direct sales (ecom and phones) for Gateway Computers.

From there back up to Northern California and work in the tech sector. Now retired, but ended my career running the Direct business for Advance Auto Parts.

I still am a huge live music fan, so go to tons of concerts (at least did until COVID, and ready to get back to them).

My son took to the space on the music side, and has a very successful career as a DJ/Producer. His DJ name is Minnesota. He plays throughout the country, though COVID has been a challenge to all of that, as all of the money is made playing live gigs. But first tour since COVID starts in August, so excited about that.

You can check him out on Facebook –

https://www.facebook.com/minnesotabass

One other note, and would be interested in feedback on this subject.

Back in the day, to color the mineral oil, we used Analine Dye. Lots of contact with the dye, in mixing into the oil. And then likewise when doing the liquids. Twelve years ago I was diagnosed with bladder cancer.

At the time, could not figure out how I got it, as most cases were heavy smokers or those exposed to harsh chemicals.

Roll forward, first, I have been clear of the cancer after two bouts of it and chemo to treat it for ten years.

But in a discussion with Chris from Brotherhood of light, I mentioned how we use to do the liquids and the dye we used.

Chris mentioned that stuff was like poision. So I began to research this and found that exposure to Analin dye was connected to bladder cancer, and it usually showed up 30 plus years after the exposure.

I told my doc and while no way to know for sure, it is highly likely that this was the cause of this cancer.

So very curious if any other of us pioneers suffered a similar fate?

Scott Bauhofer - March 2021 (Updated May 2021)

Since Jan 3rd 2000