KNOXVILLE, TN – Bandit Lites hasn't completely sworn off non-LED lighting fixtures just yet, but the company began a push toward LED alternatives close to two years ago, and many of the artists it supports now have a significant percentage of their stage illumination coming from energy-efficient alternatives to conventional light sources. On the manufacturing end of the spectrum, Bandit Lites has sourced LED lighting from Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL) for the company's GRNLite fixtures, and has bolstered its LED rental offerings with "greener" gear made by Phillips/Vari-Lite, Tyler Truss, GLP, Coemar, Color Kinetics, PixelRange, Element Labs, Chroma-Q and I-Pix, among others.
Touring acts with greener rigs, meanwhile, include Ann and Nancy Wilson, otherwise known as Heart, and their longtime lighting director Dale Doucette, who opted for more than 40 GRNLite 3-54 battens as his primary wash look, supplemented with Martin MAC 2000 Spots and Washes on an overhead Thomas grid, controlled with a pair of Compulite Vector Red consoles.
For Tears For Fears, LD Chaz Martin used a compact rig controlled by a Jands Echelon console that included GRNLite 3-120 moving wash lights, GRN 3-36 PARs and Atomic Strobes.
Blue October went GRN as well, and the rig's GRNLite 3-120 Moving Wash fixtures featured brightness to spare – lighting director Andrew Polansky typically runs the fixtures at only 70 percent.
Jeff Lavallee, LD for Guster, chose GRNLite 3-120 Moving Washes and GRN PAR 3-36 fixtures. The touring setup includes a Thomas floor tower system with arched trusses adorns the floor and VL 2500 Spots for hard-edge looks, controlled via Lavallee's grandMA console.
The emphasis on LEDs has proven to be a good fit with the preferences for Guster's Adam Gardner, who founded the environmental organization Reverb with his wife, Lauren Sullivan.
For more information, please visit www.banditlites.com.
