Bandit and Craig Richter Light Chevelle

	Chevelle on tour with Bandit Lites

American alternative rock band Chevelle has partnered with lighting designer Craig Richter and Bandit Lites on their North American tour. The three man group, comprised of Pete Loeffler, Sam Loeffler, and Dean Bernardini are out promoting their sixth studio album "La Gargola." Prior to working with Chevelle, Richter toured with Mudvayne, Rascal Flatts, and Seether when an opportunity arose to be the lighting director for what Richter thought would be a "short little run:" an up-and-coming country singer named Miranda Lambert. That short little run turned into a three year gig. Then at the start of the year Chevelle's tour manager/front-of-house, Chris Morrison, called up Richter and offered the opportunity to work with Chevelle. Richter found the deal was too good to pass up saying, "I'm a big believer in the fact that change can be good now and then."

Change proved only to be one aspect in the new tour as challenges for the production arose in the form of choosing a design that would meet the budget, truck space, and varying venue sizes. Having toured for almost 15 years, Chevelle had a definitive idea of what look they were trying to achieve with the lighting. With having only met with the band once, Richter worked to create a design befitting the seasoned rockers by using versatile fixtures such as the GLP X4S's and Martin Mac Vipers.

"I wanted something that would give me some nice tight beam looks but also was able to zoom out and wash the stage at the same time," said Richter of the X4S's. "I also knew I wanted a hard-edge fixture and Martins pack so many great features into the light that it was hard not to take them. I also like to use a lot of gobos in my designs, and the Viper is packed with awesome ones that give me some really cool looks on stage and in the audience. On top of that they are fast, and can flood out as well as give me a Sharpy style beam if I want." Richter also used Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300s to cut through everything on the stage, choosing the Alpha Beam over the Sharpy due to its ability to color mix. Finally, some well-placed Auras add eye candy around the drums them from the black drop.

"By far the most unique aspect of the production are the ACL Mole steps. I got them through lighting designer Dave Butzler from one of Garth Brooks' previous designs. The band guys love them and the front row hates them," laughs Richter.

Additional equipment includes Coemar Mini Cycs, Color Kinetics Color Blazes, Elation Cuepix Blinders, Bandit GRNLite Battens, and Martin Atomic 3000 strobes. Richter also uses an MA Lighting grandMA 2 lite.

"It all worked out; the band and I are very happy with the outcome and they are getting a lot of great feedback about the overall look of the show," added Richter.

"I am truly enjoying the opportunity to work with both Chris Morrison and Craig Richter," said Bandit's Brent Barrett. "Chris is that rare tour manager that is capable of answering pertinent questions before they are even asked, while Craig as the lighting designer knows the look he is after, but possesses the flexibility to accomplish it in an economical fashion. These traits are what make working with these two so gratifying."