NASHVILLE – Bandit Lites is once again supplying the lighting for The Band Perry as they tour the nation. The country music super group recently released “The Comeback Kid,” the next single off their upcoming album Heart + Beat. Lighting designer Jay Waddell based the design around an LED neon outlined heart shape, which had originally been a piece of artwork the band had used for branding.
More details from Bandit Lites (www.BanditLites.com):
LED neon was also placed into stair treads that run the length of the risers for the band, with three steps high and eight sections across of neon in the stairs for 24 controllable steps.
“I love the looks of all the neon; there are really cool FX to run through the heart and stairs,” said Waddell of the design. “I also love the backlit looks from the Nitro Strobes; I have two lines of 9 units: one at the top of the cart and one at the bottom. The bottom line hits the band right at the waist and just silhouettes everything on stage.”
Following a recommendation of Jake Tickle, Bandit Lites Director of Technical Services, Waddell chose to use Elation ACL 360 Bars.
“The fixture provides a ton of different looks, and has great output and color,” said Waddell. “It is really not a one trick pony: it is very versatile for wash, punch, eye candy, and whatever else you need.”
Bandit also supplied GLP X4S, Martin Atomic Strobe, Martin Mac Viper, Colorblast TRX, and Clay Paky Sharpys which deliver defined beams even during The Band Perry’s day light shows, and Showline Nitro 510Cs for super saturated wash colors and strobe looks. A Grand MA2 Lite and Grand MA2 NPU provided control.
“The X4S are set in 10’ sticks of GOGO truss towers,” said Waddell of the integrated design. “They are able to provide side wash on stage and some cool linear air and color FX as well.”
With no video elements within the design, Waddell was directed to make the lighting modern and impactful.
“I love programming and lights so I was excited to get video out of the way and let the lightshow be the focus of the production,” said Waddell. “The programming is very rhythmic and full of color. It is a big looking show no matter what size venue it is in.”
That element of flexibility for venues was crucial for the lighting, as well as be ground supported, scalable and fit in one truck. By placing the majority of the lighting in five set carts that roll into place, interlock and crank to 14 feet tall along with four 10 feet rolling towers loaded with 32 X4S fixtures, the entire rig can be unloaded, set up and wired in under an hour.
“When you look at how many lights we are carrying around, I think that’s pretty awesome. This rig is full of cool toys, you can turn a lot on, or just a little, and get some great looks.”
Waddell shared his experience with Bandit was great, saying, “Bandit is always helpful in suggesting fixtures and helping to balance designers creativity with their budgets. Project Manager Jimmy Hatten was great working with me to streamline this thing and make it super slick going in and out everyday. Jake Tickle always plays a big part in my designs helping me to select fixtures and get over humps creatively by bouncing ideas back and forth, and of course (Bandit Vice President) Mike Golden, my long time mentor and friend, always takes care of me from start to finish.”
“I doubt there is a more close knit operation on the road today,” said Golden. “It starts with the talent, professionalism and personality of the entire Perry family and that is reflected in the touring entourage led by Production Manager Earl Neal. Jay Waddell has amazed me with his talent from the first show I ever watched him do years ago, and to this day he continues to exceed my expectations. I am very proud to be associated with The Band Perry and their entire staff and each year I look forward to them rehearsing their production at Bandit.”
The Band Perry’s tour continues through the year. For more information visit http://www.thefansperry.com/tour-dates.
