The RHYTHM Pyro Podcast

Putting together a pyro show is taxing, mentally, physically, and emotionally. 

In this episode, the guys explore their coping mechanisms for keeping pyro show anxiety at bay.

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When Bo's not doing the fireworks thing, he's producing audio.  He started PYRO Trax to help companies and hobbyists with their different soundtrack application needs.

In this episode AJ, Jamie, and Bo dive into what makes for a cohesive soundtrack.  Bo shares some creative and technical tips and tricks you can use to make your pyro show soundtrack comps the best they can be.

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Chad knows things.  Beards, Gurbs, Recreational bus driving, and home warehouse management.  He can also provide sound advice on...welll...sound...Getting started with sound systems for your backyard or smaller venue pyromusicals is a daunting task.

In this episode Jamie, AJ, and Bo clean their good ears out as Chad takes them through his philosophy on building out sound systems for smaller application pyromusical applications.

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This week is special.  We're celebrating our 50th episode...and we get to do so with an extremely talented hobbyist show designer.  Travis Kramer is (fairly new) show designer out of Kansas City, MO.  He's a member of KCAP, he's the design mind behind KCAPs 2024 Spirit of 76 win at the annual Missouri Showdown, AND he's an outstandingly genuine & selfless human being.  

Travis, AJ, Jamie, and Bo get lost in design talk and pyro sentiment in the 50th episode anniversary of the RHYTHM Pyro Podcast.

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We've all been there.  You can't always get what you want.  Sometimes it happens early in the design process and you have time to work through a substitution, and sometimes it happens when product shows up and you've got the cases open (surprise!).  Either way, knowing how to approach handling changes is important.

AJ, Jamie, and Bo reminisce on some of their personal experiences where they had to work through product substitution problems.

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This episode is sponsored by bozie8823.com and the New 1 Shot Ball 2.0. 

From the potentially serious to the not so serious, "disasters" come in all shapes and sizes and they can result in horrible shows and overall bad pyro experiences.

What matters (more than anything, we'd argue) is our ability to process experiences and create plans of action to ensure we're constantly learning and making adjustments to our processes to ensure we're always progressing.

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Marcus Berger is the general manager of Fireworks Forever in St. Croix Falls, WI. servicing the 1.4 and 1.4 pro markets.  

AJ, Jamie, and Bo rap with Marcus on the evolution of the 1.4 customer, Fireworks Forever's new website, The in-house EPIC brand, his generous contributions that have helped to enable the consumer and hobbyist designers throughout the space, and the future of 1.4 pro.

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Thunder Over Louisville is one of the "must see" shows in the United States.  It's also a perfect example of the caliber of pyro show (in setting, layout, and design) that exists somewhere between the traditional shell show and the full-fledged competition grade pyromusical.

AJ and Bo are competition hobbyist pyromusical show designers, and in this episode they share their thoughts and opinions on the show and the choreography in this Kentucky legend...Thunder Over Louisville 2024.

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Firing systems are the tools we rely on to bring out pyro shows into the world, and like TOOLS in a toolbox, each manufacturer has their own unique and innovative outlook on how to make the job more efficient to help us bring our designs to life.

In this episode, Don Kark & Neil Larson from Simplifire walk Jamie, Bo, and AJ through the Mongoose Firing System.

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1.4G PRO comes under new restrictions issued by the Missouri State Fire Marshal for the 2024 season and beyond.  Peter Rogoz from Spirit of 76 calls in with and update.

Jamie's @ COBRA-CON, Bo and AJ hold down the fort covering the hot button news topic in the 1.4 Pro world.  

This episode is sponsored by Pyroland Fireworks!

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In choreographed fireworks shows, 1.4 Pro Lines (UN0431 & UN0336 for professional use only) offer designers from all walks of the hobby or profession greater control over their display compositions. In this episode, Jamie, AJ, and Bo delve into their experiences with 1.4 pro lines and discuss the creative evolution of lines and products over time.

This episode is sponsored by PYROLAND!  Some of the most unique 1.4 effects around!!

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If you've got hundreds of feet of frontage, getting creative and "exploring the space" doesn't carry as much of a burden as it does when you're confined to one (or a few) very tightly packed positions in an effort to keep your show within it's desired footprint.

In this episode, Jamie, AJ, and Bo dive into a tight spot and explore the mindsets and workflows of a designer trying to make the most of a prohibitive site.

Episode #42 of the RPP is sponsored by Pyroland Fireworks!  "The Snappiest Place on Earth"

Capturing video of your firework shows can seem like a daunting task, or even worse, an afterthought. As show designers, our attention is often consumed by every aspect of getting the show off the ground, leaving us with a sense of regret when the event passes and all we have to encapsulate the experience are poorly or failed video captures.  Zach Huibregtse is a show designer and media professional.  He joins AJ, Jamie, and Bo in episode #41 to discuss camera hardware choices, tips, and techniques for effectively recording fireworks shows.

This episode of the RHYTHM Pyro Podcast is sponsored by Pyroland Fireworks, "The snappiest place on Earth"!

In this episode of CAKE TALK; AJ, Jamie, and Bo discuss three solid pyromusical worthy cake choices (UN0336 or UN0431).

YouTube Playlist <-Follow along with the cakes in this episode

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You need mortar racks to shoot fireworks...Jim "Goofy Darts" Gifford from Pro Pyro Racks has been a long time provider of consumer and display racks for the pyro market since 2014.

Pro Pyro Racks

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AJ, Jamie, and Bo dive DEEP into the artistic concepts of creating fireworks choreography. In this episode, they try to unravel the mystery behind choosing fireworks effects that perfectly complement the emotional nuances of a display's music and flow.

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#Fireworks, #Pyrotechnics, #SkyShow, #FireworkDisplay, #BoomTime, #pyro, #pyromusical, #The RHYTHM Pyro Podcast, #RPP

Michael Karr's new to pyro.  He's a content creator on a mission to educate new fireworks users and enthusiasts just like him.  He has experiences, he learns lessons, and he shares.

AJ, Jamie, and Bo dive into the mind of The Novice Pyro and explore the challenges new pyros face in 2024

The Novice Pyro

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Choreographed pyromusicals are like a recipe (to make a culinary comparison)...too little or too much of an ingredient can find the final cuisine lacking in flavor or chalked so full of ingredients that your taste buds get overwhelmed.

In this episode, AJ, Jamie, and Bo explore the side of the choreographed fireworks that (literally) bursts at the seams and raises the question...is there such a thing as "too much" of a good thing.  Join the guys as they discuss the methods they utilize to keep their creative design processes in check so's NOT to overload their shows in their pursuits for the perfectly defined and balanced pyromusical site pictures.

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Ellery Ho (Tong Po) is a hobbyist pyromusical designing madman, and that's meant in the most endearing of ways.  He's put up shows at loads of community and industry events throughout the US.  His design workflow and simplistic approach to choreographed displays is a constant reminder that putting up stellar musicals doesn't require loads of critical product analysis and expensive visual simulation software to achieve.

Join AJ, Jamie, and Bo as they dive into the mind of the community legend, Tong Po Pyro 

Ellery's YouTube 

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Inspiration has a funny way of finding a pyro.  The artists inside us are always in pursuit of it.  At times, finding it can come as easily as drawing breath, and other times our inability to accept it can choke us.  Sometimes it creeps up on us to take us by surprise...and other times it's hidden in plain sight though the parts of our lives we experience every day.  Whichever form inspiration presents itself in; we know that you were born to use what inspires you to bring a cool show experience into the world.  What inspires you to create? 

In this episode, AJ, Jamie, and Bo turn the looking glass inward to explore the origins of the inspirations that lead them to pyromusical and show design square one.

AJ, Jamie, and Bo pour some drinks, get silly, and reminisce as they look back on the inaugural year of the RHYTHM Pyro Podcast.

Our first year has been a blessing. Your friendship, patronage, time, and opinions have enriched our journey. We hold a special fondness for fireworks—they brought us together and continue to serve as the thread that weaves the shared experiences within our personal lives and the pyro community. As we look ahead, we’re excited about the future of our podcast and the growth of the RHYTHM Pyro community. 2023 has been a roller coaster of emotions, but through it all, we persist, learn, and grow. Here’s to a promising 2024—now stop talkin about it...

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AJ, Jamie, Bo, and special guest Nate the pyromusical meat-man step into the firing line this week as the women that stand behind them (Amber, Stephanie, Katie, and Vannah) take center stage to speak the truth about their feelings for the guys' pyro hobbies and its impact on their lives.

The fireworks season has a profound effect on the die-hard hobbyist.    It’s a roller coaster of energy and emotions that resonate throughout our lives.  Our significant others are the biggest part of our lives. 

In this episode, the girls tell the pyros what they really think of their hobby and the effects it’s had on their marriages.

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1.4G (whether UN0331 consumer or UN0331 For Professional Use Only) multi-shot fireworks cakes can be great product to lean on for variety and effect variation in your pyromusicals.  This episode is the first in the CAKE TALK series where Bo, AJ, and Jamie share what 1.4G cakes they love using in their pyromusicals....and why!  *Learn how to spot the unique characteristics of the products and how to use them*

Before the fancy pants pyros showed up with their buttons, batteries, and little blinking lights, pyros used fusee's, coordinated team effort, and sheer will alone to put stellar shows up.  In this episode long-time Thump Junkie, Illinois resident ,and lead shooter Doug Moser raps with the guys about the art and creativity behind hand-fired shows and how they've evolved into the hybrid electronic/hand fired shows of today. 

In 2022, Ohio (finally) granted legal permission to consumers to discharge 1.4G consumer fireworks during specific holidays within the sate, however this legalization comes with an imposing storage limit of 125lbs of total pyrotechnic composition materials at any one time.

In this episode, Bo, AJ, and Jamie get real with Andre LeBlanc and Jim Sakaley from Phoenix Pyrotechnics in Northeast Ohio. Both enthusiastic consumer pyro users as well as professionals.  They share their pioneering journey as the first in the state to secure approval for storing 1.4G pyro materials in excess of the 125lb comp restriction. It's a wild story that that ends answering the 'million-dollar question'—is the pursuit truly worthwhile?

COBRA Zach once ordered a steak at a restaurant, that steak obeyed every command it was given...  

COBRA Firing Systems places the utmost priority on service to their customer base.  Zach Gilbert; head of COBRA's customer service and customer experience dept. is the human embodiment of that effort.   Zach and the guys talk the future of the firing system, loads of different things to look out for in the process of preparing for pyro shows with COBRA, the 2023 Black Friday Sale, Jelly Beans, and the defining moment of Zach's career as a child actor...😮

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All aboard the short bus ladies...we're going to fireball school...Bo and Alfredo Pasta boi get a crash course on fireballs courtesy of Jamie and guest host and dear RHYTHM friend Chad Leinart.  Technical difficulties run rampant.  Who'd have thought talking fireballs could be so phallic?  COBRA lives up to their best-in-class customer service reputation with a press release providing transparency into MJG's Firewire Initiator issues that created hardships throughout 2022 and 2023. 

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What do narrow shoot sites, wide shoot sites, smoky shoot sites, floating shoot sites, wheels, sporting events, talking DMX lights, Defqon.1, parade floats, and Rammstein all have in common??  They all make extraordinary firework show experiences.

Bo, AJ, and Jamie recount some of their most unique pyro show experiences to date.

Jamie goes off the deep end as the chili is cold and void of Nate's meat as Firewireflation looms.  As the buzzkill sets in the guys decide to make lemons out of lemonade and go in-depth on their post-display clean up and immediate gear storage practices and procedures.  

**10% OFF RPP Merch for the remainder of the month of October 2023 in celebration of 10k Episode downloads w/coupon code OMG10K !!**

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AJ reflects on his Sky Wars 2023 Pro-Am Champion of Champions run and lessons learned. Bo addresses Octoblast poorly and Jamie gets poison ivy on his dingy.

Sky Wars is the very definition of living in the moment for a lot pyromusical show designers...this year Bo, AJ, and Jamie kick off their post Sky Wars 2023 content with an episode that encapsulates those memories as they were lived at a live roundtable recording session the Thursday night before the competition.

Guests:

Brett Rivera (Team Plata)

Brett Domescik (Team Plata)

Jim Goofy Darts (Team Plata)

Amber Plata (Team Plata)

Chad Leinart (Team Allen)

Jamie and Bo do da real talk & the importance of prior experiences with long time pyromusical designer, and Sky Wars 2023 Pro participant; Casabella's Tim Traphagan.  

The enigma himself, Donnie Toms burns up the mic with Bo and Jamie to talk about his first time designing and coordinating on the big stage.  The guys chat the keys to KCAP's multi-designer, coordinated full-frontal assault on the 1.3 Pro Division at Sky Wars 2023.

Jamie and Bo spend some quality time with their 3yr long mullet mohawked homeboy Scott Smith; Sky Wars 2020's 1.4 Pro-AM Champion to discuss his return to the field in 2023 for a run at the Champion of Champions.

Scott's special...not styrofoam helmet special...but "creates one of the cleanest and most cohesive pyromusical site pictures, packed with exceptional color cycling, and super impactful points of emphasis over the course of his slow burn music selections" kind of special.

Jamie and Bo sit down with David Anglin, full-time sales rep and shooter for RKM fireworks in Edwardsburg MI to rap about his return outing to the 2023 Sky Wars main stage where he'll compete in the Pro (1.3) category for the first time.  

Bo and Jamie sit down with Blind Pyro veteran and hobbyist show designer Brandon Williams to chat past experiences, blind pyro beginnings, and his debut onto the Sky Wars main stage with 2023's 1.4 Unlimited show.

Bo and Jamie sit down SKY WARS 2022 1.4 Pro-AM Champion Mike Allen from Glasglow, KY to rap on his pyro origins, inspirations, show theme's, and his return to the fighting pits for SKY WARS 2023's 1.4 Pro-AM Champion of Champions category. 

Mike is a relatively new designer with a masterful command of the entirety of the pyromusical experience.  His approach to an all-encompassing and engaging pyromusical spawns from origins that most amateur and professional designers forget about entirely.  The use of themes and stories in pyromusical designs and how impactful they can be in generating a sense of familiarity, shared experience, and cohesiveness that creates a rock-solid foundation to build a visual experience on.

Bear ye witness as team RHYTHM's Jamie and Bo bewilderingly look into the elusive face of product inventory management.  May you experience a hearty chortle as these two stare blinkingly at spreadsheets in hopes that the the plethora of 1.4 product will count itself.

The guys chat about how they manage their inventory, what inventory management systems they wish existed in the consumer space, and put out a call to action to the community to share their systems.

Bo and Jamie rap with Las Vegas native, and fellow 1.4 amateur competition show designer Paul Burcham (PGI, Sky Wars) on his pyro journey, the creative use of 1.4, safety whilst executing creative uses of 1.4, and some unique product to differentiate your shows.

Bo, AJ, and Jamie chat with long-time pyro amigo and fireworks industry innovator Brian Craig (owner of Craig Co llc & Boomville Fireworks in Brookville, PA) on the storied start behind CraigCo, the flagship MinCom single shot rack, and his newest venture into the wholesale and retail world, Boomville Fireworks.

You spent months (dare we say years) in design and execution of your fireworks show or pyromusical only to walk away with both pieces of the 18R2 you snapped in half mumbling something under your breath along the lines of "wtf...that doesn't look anything like it did in my sim"

Keep that chin up and go find a pen and your favorite stack of post-it notes.  Bozie, AJ, and Jamie talk about different types of effects, their places within the pyromusical site picture, and the MONSTER importance of understanding HOW they behave so you can nail your site layout and create sims that arn't lying to you when you get to your site.

#Fireworks, #Pyromusical, #1.3G, #1.4G, #Finale3D, #ShowSim, #FWsim, #Depence R3

Fireworks hobbyists spend more money on pyro in a lifetime than they'd ever care to admit.  That being the case...We are "the consumer" first and foremost.  Product quality has been a mixed bag over the last couple years, particularly in the legacy 1.4 pro-lines.  The largest manufacturers who traditionally found themselves in a market made up only by a few players, now have new competitors to keep them honest.  In this episode, the guys discuss some potentially problematic current season quality woes with MJG's Firewire Initiators and some oddly performing Dominator product.

Every year, the 4th of July season leaves fireworks show designers and pyrotechnicians soar, broken, bloodied, exhausted, and God willing...victorious in their quest to raise the pyromusical bar.   Through the success (or failure) of any fireworks show, there's valuable lessons to be learned as students of the art of show design and execution.  Bo (Light Up The Lake 2023), AJ (Wouldn't you like to know), and Jamie (Potts Farm 2023) reflect on what they took away from their most involved shows of hell week 2023.

We're only a few days away from the 4th, and there's LOADS of questions getting tossed around on community pyro forums & groups.  This week AJ, Jamie, and Bo answer some of those community questions.

Joined by 2020 Sky Wars Pro-AM Champion Scott Smith; Bo, AJ, and Jamie dive in on the state of 1.4 pro lines (Articles Pyrotechnic).

The previously classified UN0431 pro-lines were the lifeblood of hobbyist pyromusicals...and all signs are pointing toward the qualified, trained, and competent hobbyist pro-sumer user being denied access to this product. 

The "perfect storm" surrounding this product has finally made landfall...Commercial special interests within the industry lobbied for the molestation of this product class (by pressing for it's pyrotechnic material limitations to be increased to 1k grams and to include flash, all while flying under the banner of 1.4 pro in an effort to reduce costs and get out from under the burden that comes along with the 1.3 classification.  This coupled with the accidents in China that forced the UN0431 product classification to migrate to the standard consumer UN0336 (with and asterisk) and now the ATF has officially asked the chief regulatory body overseeing our industry (the American Pyrotechnics Association) for a clarification on what defines a "professional".

Who sits on these sub-committees?  Who's interests do they really have top of mind?  Have hobbyists even been recognized, considered, and represented as in these discussions as a shooter sub-classification?

Turns out "organization" is a VERY broad topic as it pertains to fireworks shows...One that Bo, AJ, and Jamie will need to touch on in a more sub-compartmentalized and focused depth in future discussions.  In this episode the guys touch on different aspects of displays, sites, and setups and how paying attention to the little things can make a world of difference.

Music and fireworks are languages the entire world can understand (whether they understand the lyrical content or not).  The pyromusical is the fusion of those two elements creating a visual and audible experience that creates excitement that's meant to resonate for both the spectator and the designer.

In This episode, the guys unpack the the importance of music selection as it pertains to pyromusicals and the different contextual show settings that determine appropriate music selections.  

How long of firework show is "too" long?  There's a lot of different variables that can change the answer to that question.  What's your shows format?  What's your budget?  How large is your site?  Are you a hobbyist shooter or a commercial shooter?   Bo, AJ, and Jamie talk through a lot of these variables and try to make sense of the perfect show length.

Pyromusicals are only as good as the product that makes it up.  In this episode; Bo, AJ, and Jamie focus in on prepping pyro product in the phases leading up to their shows and dive head first into their workflows to comparing, contrasting, and insulting one another every chance they get...❤

The "PLZ Help, there's so many firing system gear configurations, which ones should I buy?" question seems simple to answer on the surface (and IS often answered...by a LOT of the community, all at once...and some times to a point where the original poster winds up leaving more confused than before they asked.)

In this episode; Bo, AJ, and Jamie dive into how get a better understanding of YOUR need and avoid "information overload" to make the right firing system configuration decisions.  

Pyromusicals are all about the timing of the effects.  If these aren't right, the visual effects don't live in the same world as the music it shares the moment with.  Bo, AJ, and Jamie talk primary product category prefire times (cakes, shells, and single shots) and rap on best practices for getting to know your product PFTs.

The 10,000ft view of how Bo, AJ, and Jamie approach their Pyromusicals and their workflows from concept all the way through to show day.    

Every solid relationship starts with a good introduction.  So naturally these three idiots completely beef it.  AJ thinks Bo's Voldemort...and "we do not speak his name".  Bo completely forgets to introduce himself, Jamie steals the show with a best-in-class performance, and all three completely forget to highlight ANY of their REAL pyro accomplishments to date.  Par for the course.