The Rockzilla Summer Tour featuring Papa Roach, Falling In Reverse, Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves has been crisscrossing the country with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites.
Lighting Designer Mathias Kuhn worked to achieve completely different looks for the co-headlining bands all while using the same floor set by using lighting fixtures mounted on and in Tyler truss.
“For Falling in Reverse, they are tipped upright, and for Papa Roach they are on the legs vertically again,” said Kuhn. “Together with the way of programming the bands, it worked out even better than I thought. Falling in Reverse’s show has a lot of beams, mostly just white and super clean, while Papa Roach is more in a soft look, with lots of gobos and less movements, but of course some punchy beams when they are needed.”
Bandit Lites supplied a shared package consisting of Chauvet Maverik MK Pyxis, Chauvet Rogue R2X Washes, Chauvet COLORado Solo Batten IP 65, Elation SixPar 200. GLP X4 Bar 20, GLP JDC1 LED Strobes and Robe MegaPointes.
“I always have Robe MegaPointe and GLP JDC1 in my floor sets,” said Kuhn. “The MegaPointe is just an awesome mix of beam and spot fixture, super bright beam and amazing gobos, exactly what I need for the shows. I am using the JDC1 not only as a strobe, but also as a wash/blind effect, that work just perfect with the heavy amount of haze I have on stage. It is brighter and more versatile than any other strobe on the market.”
Falling in Reverse used Bandit’s Chauvet COLORado Solo Batten IP 65 while Hollywood Undead used Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids and Showline Nitro 510C.
Papa Roach closes out the mega tour, and Kuhn made use of Bandit’s Chauvet Maverik MK Pyxis, Chauvet Nexus AW 7×7, GLP JDC1 LED Strobes and Martin MAC Viper Profiles.
While co-headlining tours can require extra lighting logistics, Kuhn shared that working with Bandit Lites eased the process.
“Using Bandit is a great experience every time,” he said, “from the communication in the design process to the prep of the gear, it is outstanding. It makes my job a lot easier knowing that the Bandit project managers, here especially Paul Holst, have been on tour for a long time themselves, and know how to make a rig as tour friendly as possible.”
“Having the opportunity to work with Mathias and Bryan Campbell (PM) this year on the Rockzilla Tour has been a collaboration that is built on professionalism, directness and attention to details,” said Bandit Lites Vice President of Business Development, Brent Barrett. “Mathias’ creative ability to utilize the fixtures in the lighting package to accomplish three distinct looks for the three artists is very impressive and praise worthy.”
