Three Days Grace and Shinedown are co-headlining a national arena tour, which commenced in February.
"Using Sharpy is almost mandatory these days," reports Mike Filsinger, the lighting designer for Three Days Grace. "It's an advanced light - pretty much the only technological advancement in lights lately: Clay Paky has really done the R&D to make better fixtures and is now reaping the rewards."
Bandit Lites supplied 28 Sharpys in the main package. A primary lighting rig serves both shows; each band also has a supplemental rig. Three Days Grace has eight additional Sharpys in its package; Filsinger's Sharpys are the dominant light in the rig and are used in the air and on the floor. Shinedown has 24 additional Sharpys, which are used to achieve a variety of moves.
"The band really likes Sharpy's look and beams - they're known for being beamy and bright," says Carter Fulghum, Shinedown's lighting designer. "The gobos give you great breakups, too. But the Sharpy is so bright that you have to be careful of what other lights you use because Sharpy will overpower them."
Fulgham concludes, "It was great working with Mike [Filsinger], who is so easy to work with on this co-headlining tour. Also great were Aron Altmark, Esteban Caracciolo, Mario Collazo and Bob Gordon for all there help and support through the years."
(Jim Evans)
