42 PL & P
42 PL & P
In Focus
By Andrew King
Mark Desloges
Simply put , 2017 has been a total whirlwind for Mark Desloges . At the beginning of the year , Desloges – better known in production circles as “ The Drifter ”– purchased his own Kinesys automated rigging kit and launched Drifter Rigging . Originally , the vision was to provide automation equipment and expertise to the Canadian live event market , and fittingly , his first official job was the Grandstand Show at the 2017 Calgary Stampede ; however , in the past few months , Drifter and his rig have hit major venues like NYC ’ s Madison Square Garden and L . A .’ s Staples Center and augmented the production value of events like KCON and WE Day . A few weeks ago , he joined British superstar Ed Sheeran on a leg of his Divide World Tour as an operator . Now , Desloges is speaking to Professional Lighting & Production from the U . K ., where he and the team at Christie Lites Coventry are gearing up for a tour with X Factor winner James Arthur .
Desloges was born in Brampton , ON and soon moved with his family to Kentville , NS .“ Growing up in rural Nova Scotia was fantastic ,” he enthuses .“ Life was a slow pace , not many people had egos , and I grew up humble and appreciative of what I had .”
At 16 , Desloges and some friends started a punk band , and he quickly discovered that the only way to get on a show was to put it on himself . Soon , he was bringing bands from across Canada to the East Coast – including some heavyweights with major booking agencies ; however , still being a minor , that meant his parents were regularly signing contracts for artists , venues , and production equipment . He consistently found himself in need of a good audio pro so he decided to learn the craft himself .
Out of high school , Desloges started touring with acts like Protest the Hero , Arise and Ruin , and Cancer Bats ( who gave him his nickname ) as an FOH engineer and tour manager .“ I got to a point where I was mixing in large venues , and even a handful of arenas ,” Desloges shares ,“ and it wasn ’ t until I got to arenas that I found my true love of production .”
Desloges took the plunge and landed a full-time gig with East Coast production giants Tour Tech East , where he had the chance to “ study his craft ” while still touring on the side , including a stint mixing and tour managing Halifax rapper Classified over the course of a few weeks .“ That was an eye-opener as to what it really takes to drive the ship on an arena show ,” Desloges admits .
Over his subsequent years with Tour Tech , Desloges found his focus slowly shifting from audio to lighting and , most significantly , rigging . He jumped into IATSE Local 680 in Halifax and worked his way up to being its head climbing rigger .“ When I started at Tour Tech , I was doing third and fourth audio positions ,” he recalls .“ When I left , I was looking after the rigging department and travelling as their production rigger . I toured with the likes of Johnny Reid and worked on some fairly big shows ; however , I reached a point where finding enough work locally to support my family became difficult .”
That ’ s ultimately what informed Desloges ’ decision to start his own business and move his family to Toronto .
“ Since Drifter Rigging is still new , I spend a lot of time just trying to catch up with infrastructure and paperwork ,” Desloges admits . “ We literally hit the ground running with our first contract and it feels like it just hasn ’ t slowed down .”
Understandably , his biggest professional challenge for the time being is switching gears from being a touring technician to a business owner and operator . “ I ’ ve had to invest a lot of time and energy into learning the art of international business , from work visas to equipment import and export to international tax – things that , as I tech , I just leaned on the companies I worked for to handle .”
Still , the work has undoubtedly been worth the rewards for Desloges , who says he relishes the chance to work with “ some absolutely amazing ” artists and technicians . “ The real highlight so far , though , was unpacking my Kinesys kit for the first time and realizing that I had created my own thing – something that I can mould and shape into my own vision .”
He and his family – his wife , Brittany , and one-year-old daughter , Miesha – now reside in The Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto . Being a new business owner and touring technician doesn ’ t leave him much time for himself , so when he ’ s home , he tries to relax and “ be a good husband and father .” Sometimes , that means just cuddling on the couch and watching cartoons , and considering much of his time is spent adhering to strict production schedules or hopping from airport to airport on his way to and from international destinations , he ’ s totally fine with that .
“ Life has given me more than I could ever ask for ,” Desloges shares in reflection , and that makes him feel just fine about the fact that his whirlwind of a year will surely extend into 2018 . “ Whatever next year brings , I know that I will be happy because when I wake up every day , I get to do what I ’ m passionate about .”
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of Professional Lighting & Production .