Godsmack Lighting Up the Sky with Jeff Rials and Bandit Lites American rock band Godsmack is on the road in support of their latest (and final) album, 2023's Lighting Up the Sky. With twenty five top ten rock hits and a dozen #1 songs, Godsmack has upheld a strong presence in the rock scene blending their raw sound and powerful songwriting with a touch of metal. The fall leg of their North American tour kicked off in September with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites. Lighting designer Jeff Rials assembled a clean and simple design saying, "I was looking to get a lot of big looks out of it, the old 'less is more' mentality. We wanted to make the deck clean with no lighting on the floor except for downstage edges." The original design brought back a video split into three sections with ladders alongside the panels, but once the content was added and spilt up the IMAG shots, Rials and lead singer Sully Erna did not like the look of it. The design was altered to one big wall and surrounded the ends with ladders on each side, making the view from the front look like the ladders wrap around towards the downstage. Bandit Client representative Ty Veneziano and project manager Craig Richter worked with Rials on acquiring a fixture list that would both look the best and assimilate to Rials's programming preferences. Bandit Lites supplied Ayrton Khamsin-S, Chauvet STRIKE Array 4, Claypaky B-EYE K20, Claypaky Sharpy X-Frames, GLP JDC1 LED Strobe, Martin MAC Auras, ROBE Pointes, Robe Robin 1200 LED Washes, and a grandMA3 Full console for control. "I really like the performance of the Robin 1200 Washes," he says. "They look good on video and rich colors. Robe Pointes have been a work horse fixture for me on the past few tours I've done; they look great with not a lot of issues." Rials utilized Bandit's new Sharpy X-Frames, noting their gobos, color, and ability to cut through, as well as versatility. "We typically use Followspots, but we decided to not have them on this tour, which can create an issue with Imag," Rials shares. "We added Sharpy X-Frames downstage for key light and it has worked really well. It can be a challenge sometimes when they're running around, but we made it work!" "It has been a pleasure working with the Godsmack team," says Veneziano. "Craig and I used to work with the PM Scott Tkachuk and Jeff Rials at a company called Rainbow Production Services over a decade ago. Working with them in a different capacity has been a treat and a real blast from the past. With a lot of relational groundwork already made, our collective synergy has made this process a lot of fun. Jeff's design and programming is a proper handshake with Godsmack's energy and vibe. I'm very proud of our road crew for representing our company in proper Bandit fashion." Bandit's crew consisted of Eric Taylor, Cody Cheatham, Jacob Carson, David Maher, and Carter Fulghum. "Bandit's attention to detail and quality service has been my favorite aspect over the years, going all the way back to the early 2000s when I first started using Bandit," finishes Rials. "I can say I've never had a bad experience with any of the tours I've been on with Bandit as the supplier. Ty and Craig went above and beyond to make sure everything was right and ready for the tour. Attention to detail is one best qualities from Bandit Lites, and the professional staff, quality gear, and support is top notch! I couldn't have been happier with the outcome." Godsmack's tour continues into October. 
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