Crystal in "the dress." Photo by Jon Stark. The Springfield, PA-based special effects and production designer
created a strawberry that beats like a heart for Joan Osborne's
"St. Teresa" video and a giant walk-in closet for Tracy Bonham's
European video of "Mother Mother." But this would be a challenge.
"I like to make the impossible happen," says Cox, CEO of the No
Joke Art Department. Cox designed a $10,000 giant hoop skirt with a hydraulic system
underneath that can lift the soul singer up, up, up. She rises
up during the song "Just a Freak" while singing the phrase "Higher
higher." "It's a machine, not a dress," says Cox. Waters, normally 5 feet 9 inches tall, wore the dress in Philadelphia
at Q-102's Monster Seven tour at the E-Centre back in September.
She also used it throughout her summer tour and on the RuPaul
show. "We tried it out in her garage in Washington, DC, before the gay
pride parade. She loved it." Originally from Richmond, VA, Cox had planned to become a film
director, but got sidelined building sets for music videos, TV
commercials and film. "Now I've got my federal explosive license," he laughs. "So I
can do things like purchase a detonator." That's something he'll need as he helps create an action scene
in Allentown this weekend for a film. "You should see our gun selection," says Cox. "It'll be a sick,
ugly scene. All fake of course." As Billy Joel might say: Oh they're blowing up in Allentown.
High Waters
When Jeffrey Cox was asked to make a hydraulic 9-foot dress for
R&B chanteuse Crystal Waters, he, um, rose to the occasion.