DALLAS – After a year off due to the front man’s shattered leg, and with a new album to promote, American rock band Highly Suspect needed a strong comeback for its U.S. tour. LD Justin Wade turned to Gemini Lighting, Sound & Video’s Jason Cain, who turned him on to High End Systems’ SolaPix 19 to dazzle the audience. “Great LD, a killer band, and they needed the latest greatest badass product on the block!” Cain says of his product recommendation.
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Wade was thrilled to be the first tour taking the new pixel wash/effects light on the road. “We had 16 SolaPix 19 side mounted on four prerigged towers,” Wade explains, “which worked great with the size and weight of the fixtures not being too large to easily handle. Each fixture was staggered to create more layers of depth onstage and create a cohesive mirrored design across the stage. I wanted a moving wash that could zoom to a tighter beam but still have the nice soft edge of a wash fixture, and the full pixel control made it great for creating unique effects.”
A distinguishing feature of the SolaPix 19 – “the wash light with an edge” – is the beveled edge of the pixels, which create an outline of light known as Halographic Pixel Definition.
“The beveled edge around each pixel really helped shape the independent pixels, making any shapes and designs in the lights really well defined,” Wade explains, adding that the built-in pixel mapping effects made it easy to program and keeps the crowds fascinated. “The band loves to change the set and their show on a moment’s notice, so having a fixture with flexibility made programming and operating much easier.”
The tour’s first leg from September through December hit varied-sized venues, allowing Wade’s design to be flexible without losing the integrity of the show. To enhance his rig, he added eight High End Systems SolaSpot 1000 as ground fixtures for aerials and textures, placing four behind the backline and four in front of the backline and riser.
“The SolaPix 19 balanced great with the SolaSpot 1000 as well. As both were punchy fixtures, neither would get lost between each other or the house rig,” he notes.
The LD made extensive use of the SolaSpot 1000’s rotating prism and strong rotating gobos. “I used quick gobo rotations to create a feeling of tension in the room during fast songs and slow prism rotations for a more trance-like, psychedelic effect during slower jams,” he says.
It was also important to have a strong profile that wouldn’t get lost within the wash fixtures. “The SolaSpots were powerful enough that the spot wouldn’t lose definition through gobo break-ups,” Wade notes. “The SolaSpots had strong, well-focused beams through the gobo, giving great definition to the beam in the air.”
“I used the SolaPix 19s for more of the quick movements and scans across the room, and the SolaSpots helped keep the shape of the stage through gobo play while the SolaPix would move throughout,” Wade explains. “The two fixtures balanced well, giving the rig all kinds of dynamic.”
The band just finished their first leg of the “MCID” (My Crew Is Dope) tour, and pick it up again in February 2020 on into June.
Wade plans to use more High End Systems fixtures in his next tour design, thanking the “great experience and quick responses” from High End Systems, and the help and support of Jason Cain and Wade Schrade from Gemini LSV. “Gemini has been phenomenal, and with their professionalism and extensive inventory, it’s definitely a great partnership,” he says.
Cain is excited to offer the SolaPix 19 in his Dallas rental inventory. “The SolaPix 19 fixture fits a size that we don’t really have already in-house, and is a great fit! Gemini will be using more of these units and the smaller SolaPix 7 in the coming year. The SolaPix19 are already being prepped for the next adventure, so we’re thinking these will be doing us solid for years to come.”
Photos: Mike Brooks and Lauren Schorr
