SETH JACKSON AND BANDIT CREATE WORLDS LARGEST GREEN SYSTEM WITH TOBY KEITH.
Lighting Designer Seth Jackson made history in 2010, becoming the first designer to produce an all green lighting solution. Jackson, long a visionary in the field, had the confidence in the new GRNLite products to produce a Van Halen sized lighting system using all LED equipment. The result was the most stunning visual show on the road in 2010.
Keeping with the Van Halen analogy, Jackson used Bandit 36 Lamp Pods full of hundreds of GRN PAR 3-36's and Versa Tubes for a very heavy metal look. The pods carry the PARs in the center and are bordered by Versa Tubes. All trussing is the versatile Tyler Green Truss. GRN 6 Lamp Bars carry all the PARs, eliminating 80% of the cable a standard system would require. GRN 8 Lite units illuminate the audience while GRN Moving Wash 3-120's and GRN Wash 3-36 provide continuous onstage visual arrays. The unique Coemar Stagelite Cycs are also a part of the green initiative at work on Toby and provide a look and a motion unlike any other fixture.
As there is currently not a satisfactory LED spot solution, Seth used VL 3000 Spots and Coemar Infinities for his hard edge lights. On the control side of things, Seth chose the Grand MA with an MA Lite as a backup. Perhaps the most unique feature of this world's largest green show was the fact that Jackson used a Grand MA Media Server to control every individual LED in the rear wall of PARs, treating every LED as a pixel. He then pixel mapped them and throughout the night you will see a large variety of illumination and motion effects normally reserved for LED screens! The non-stop display of visual artistry by Seth leaves everyone stunned at the results.
The Toby system operates on 80 amps, 3 phase of electricity, while the same system out of conventional equipment would required a 1,200 amps 3 phase electric supply! In most cases the old style technology would required a dual pack generator be rented and delivered to the show. There is also 80% less cable, meaning less truck space required. The biggest benefit to Toby and the musicians is the fact there is no heat on stage, meaning they are very comfortable and their instruments are not going out of tune every song or two. The most important up side for Seth and the creative team is that they have virtually every color in the rainbow at their fingertips from every fixture, and the intensity and saturation of the hues are second to none.
Toby Keith, Manager TK Kimbrell, assistant Mark Sissel, Tour Manager David Milam, PM Mickey Mulcahy, stage manager Ashley Swann and Jackson all took a large leap of faith to use an all LED solution for a major tour by a leading artist, but it has paid off in spades. Bandit VP Michael Golden has handled the Toby account from day one and was an integral part of this move into environmentally friendly lighting. Long time Toby Lighting Director Eddie “Bones” Connell works the nightly magic and runs the show as only a person with his skills and 10 years of experience with Toby can.
This bold step by Toby, Seth and Bandit is but the start of what is truly the future of the lighting industry. We will all look back in a few years and remember this time when a few bold people pushed forward and led the way into the next generation of entertainment lighting, Green Technology!
About Bandit Lites
Bandit Lites is a global leader in the entertainment lighting marketplace. From touring productions to fixed installations, Bandit Lites has a full staff of highly trained professionals to deal with all types of lighting needs. With offices in Knoxville, Nashville, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Bandit's global presence will insure seamless transitions no matter where your next show takes you.