9. CK5

Beyond the four musicians onstage, there is one man without whom Phish would not be the band and live act they are today.

While commonly referred to as the fifth member of the band, he is not a musician. You won’t see him onstage. But without him, you wouldn’t see anything.

His name is Chris Kuroda, aka CK5, and he is Phish’s lighting director, responsible for the visual spectacle that makes Phish shows all the more special.

Kuroda has worked as Phish’s lighting director for 30 years. He also currently works as lighting director for Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, having designed, written, conceived, and programmed all aspects of stage lighting for Justin Bieber’s Believe Tour from 2012 to 2014.

Phish’s lighting show, due entirely to Kuroda’s mastery and creativity, is one of these magical elements that makes Phish shows unique.

Phish’s light show is no ordinary light show. It is a spectacle unto itself. And while seemingly all other bands’ lighting merely supports or accents the musical performance, the work of Chris Kuroda will sometimes genuinely influence the band’s improvisation. The relationship this lighting artist has developed with these four musicians over the decades touches on a group mind, a psychic synchronicity.

In fact, while listening to a live Phish show from the annals, one may hear a loud, unexpected roar from the crowd seemingly out of context from the music. Well, that’s Kuroda working his magic, literally wowing the audience.

Surely, Kuroda is a master of his trade, but recently some of his wizardry is a result of his tireless endeavors to do more, to be bigger and better. He never stops learning, never stops pushing the envelope, and is constantly developing new techniques as well as new technologies.

For Phish’s summer 2016 tour, Kuroda and production designer Abigail Rosen Holmes developed an addition to their traditional lighting rig: an LED panel array onstage behind the band that showcased an infinite color palette as well as geometric animations during the first sets. And then, for the second sets, however, the large panel would split into dozens of individual panels and rise high above the band, a positioning that reminded some fans of classic arcade games like Galaga: colorful, independent aliens descending upon the stage.

While some fans praised the new addition, others disliked the added technology, calling it a distraction or otherwise overkill. Of course, no one knew what Kuroda had in store for summer 2017.

But let’s step back for just a minute. How did Kuroda come to work as Phish’s lighting director for now over 30 years?

According to Phish.com, Kuroda, already a Phish fan, was taking guitar lessons from Anastasio at the band’s house in Winooski, Vermont the day before a two-night stint at local club The Front when Trey asked him if he knew anyone who would be interested “in carrying some gear in and out of local gigs for $20.”

“I’ll do it,” Kuroda said.

Originally from Princeton, New Jersey (where Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall went to high school), Kuroda, aka Topher, grew up in Westchester County, New York, spending many of his teenage days in Manhattan. After initially attending New England College in New Hampshire, Kuroda transferred to UVM in 1986 to major in computer science. While studying in Burlington, Kuroda worked as manager of a silk screen shop.

As a avid fan and follower of the Grateful Dead—Kuroda caught 232 Dead shows—it was there, watching the work of the Dead’s longtime lighting director, Candace Brightman, that he discovered his interest in and love for live production light shows.

Then suddenly, at 24 Kuroda found himself part of the Phish team as a roadie. As the story goes, back then, a man named Chris “Steck” Stecher was the band’s lighting director. But not a week later, during an April 7 show at Stone Church, Steck left the lighting board to use the bathroom during “Famous Mockingbird” and Kuroda took over. According to Phish.com, Trey was impressed by the lighting work during “Mockingbird” and complimented Steck after the show, only to later discover it was indeed Topher at the helm for that song.

And the rest is history. Chris Kuroda has worked as Phish’s only lighting designer and director ever since.

Perhaps Kuroda’s greatest accomplishment is his latest evolution to Phish’s lighting rig, which premiered in Chicago to kick off Phish’s 2017 summer tour. Featuring a completely unprecedented automated truss system that allows Kuroda to move clusters of lights in sync or independently, this lighting rig is a sight to behold. In some instances, the lights themselves seem to have life, ascending and descending at free will. Again, this is Kuroda’s wizardry at work. The 2017 rig is revolutionary. For a unique glimpse at its wonder, check out the handful of time-lapse videos on YouTube capturing the scope and scale of the rig’s movement.

For more on the 2017 rig, check out the podcast The Light Side, hosted by lighting designer and audio engineer Luke Stratton, where in episode five Stratton sits down with Kuroda and associate designer and programmer Andrew Giffin.

Needless to say, Chris Kuroda, while not a performing musician, is an integral member of Phish. Can you imagine a Phish show without its brilliant, dynamic lighting?

No. Because, well, that just wouldn’t be a Phish show.

Wanted: Creative Light Person

Phish ran an ad for a light designer in the March 1989 issue of the Phish Newsletter, which at the time was printed and distributed by Trey Anastasio’s sister Kristy. It read:

WANTED: Creative light person to run new light show for PHISH on a salaried, permanent basis. This very valuable partner will travel with the band as a 5th member. We are looking for someone from the New England area—no need to live in Burlington. Call (802) 654-9068.

Even in the late 1980s, Phish had a vision that included a significant lighting show. But for the record, Kuroda never even responded to the ad.