Keeping Their Fans Thrilled, Chilled, and Fulfilled: A Q & A with Tight Crew Owners DJ Soappy, Keither, and Linz

Llewelyn Ross (Motif): On Friday, October 30, you guys are hosting your uber-successful Creatures of the Night event at Lupo’s in Providence. Why go back to Creatures theme (this will be the sixth edition), and keep the “Thriller” performance in?

Tight Crew: Creatures of the Night is a Rocky Horror Picture Show reference and one of the first events we ever did, so the moment we found out they were available this year, we jumped at the chance to bring Creatures back to Lupo’s. The performances of Rocky Horror and “Thriller” really set this event apart from other Halloween dance parties, and the whole crowd gets into the performances!

LR: Why is Lupo’s a good setting for Creatures?

TC: Lupo’s is such an amazing and historical Rhode Island landmark. We all grew up going to concerts there and it holds a special place in our hearts. The venue is just beautiful with a huge balcony overlooking the main floor. The stage is perfect for doing large art pieces. It allows us to really go over the top.

LR: Tell me a bit of your relationship with RKO army, Rhode Island’s Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast. How many years have they participated?

TC: Keither and Lin-Z, part owners of Tight Crew, have been performing with the RKO Army for over 12 years. The cast are friends of Tight Crew, and a lot of the same people participate and volunteer for both groups. The RKO Army is at every Creatures of the Night with a Rocky Horror floorshow and a “Thriller” performance!

LR: About how far in advance does planning and production for this party start?

TC: We sometimes have a good idea of what event will happen as far as an entire year in advance, although most line-up scheduling won’t happen until roughly three or four months before the show.

LR: 

DJ setup? Decorations? What can we expect?

TC: 

We have been building our Halloween arsenal since 2009, and you can expect us to cover every corner of the building with spooky props and set designs. The highlight of this show is our 24-foot-tall skull DJ booth with video mapping and disco ball/laser beam eyes!

LR: What went into making them?

TC: For the most part, our decorations are designed from scratch and made by hand. It takes anywhere from hours to days to visualize, sketch, cut, drill, paint and build our sets. The skull booth took several weekends and a few cases of beer to complete. We schedule “deco days” where our friends and crew meet up at our warehouse to work on the art and props for our shows. It’s also a nice way to get everyone together.

LR: What’s different this year?

TC: 
This year, we tweaked the main stage with new lighting fixtures and visuals. The artist lineup, we feel, is exceptionally strong this year as well. An additional smoking area has been added for crowd comfort, and this is also the first Creatures of the Night to have the balcony seating available.