40 AT 40: Andy Knighton
Job Title: Lighting Designer

The people are what sets Bandit Lites apart from the rest of the industry. Once a week, for 40 weeks, Bandit will showcase an employee that has made a substantial contribution to the company, whether it be in an office, on the road or somewhere in between. Bandit would not be celebrating its 40th Anniversary without the hard work and dedication of every one these employees.*

*Employee Spotlights are released in no particular order.

Andy Knighton was working as a cook in a bar when he was approached to run the lights for a local band. After purchasing equipment from Bandit, Knighton started to fill in on tours and not long after, he became a full-time Bandit employee. Today he is the lighting designer for Grammy Award- winning country group, Rascal Flatts. Here are a few questions we asked to get to know him a little better.

Q: How did you get involved in the lighting industry?
A: I was working at a bar as a cook. A band came through, I fed them, we all had a great time and two weeks later, they asked me if I wanted to go run around the bars with them and be their lighting guy. I told them I had no idea how to run lights but it was something I had always wanted to do, so off we went. After I was shocked about 500,000 times and worked through a few kinks, it turned out that lighting was a natural thing for me so I kept going with it. I would buy my equipment from Bandit Lites, because at the time, it was right where I lived and they were giving me great deals. Then, when they needed someone to fill a slot on one of their tours, they asked me if I wanted to do it. I said sure, let’s go. That was in ’98 and here it is 2008, and you and I are sitting here in the sunshine.

Q. How did your job at Bandit evolve from filling in on tours to being a very established lighting designer?
A. Nine months after I started at Bandit full-time, I was a crew chief on tours. A little over a year after that, I became the LD for Jo Dee Messina. The opening act for Messina was Rascal Flatts. I thought, well who are these guys? We took care of the opening act, of course, and put together some good looks for them. Rascal Flatts moved on and I continued with Jo Dee Messina. Then in 2003, Rascal Flatts was going to headline a tour. I got a call from them, basically thanking me for the work I did for them while they were with Jo Dee Messina and they asked me if I could do that for them for a headlining tour. I’ve been working with them ever since.

Q. How has Rascal Flatts’ production grown since you first started working with them?
A. Well as their success builds, then so does the demand for the bigger, better product. Fortunately for me, as they get bigger budgets, I get more equipment. Based on my bar experience (where if you ask me, that was where I made the mistakes), that’s where I learned what colors go with what, learned what you can and can’t get away with, so now, I’ve already answered all of those questions and I can apply all of that knowledge and experience to produce the best quality show.

Q: What is the best part of working for Bandit Lites?
A: The best part of working for Bandit is that they take care of you. They make sure that as you suggest your worth, they accommodate that. In other words, they got me, I got them. I could go somewhere else but I’d have to rebuild a lot of history. Everyone is out for everybody in this business, except Bandit. At Bandit, instead it’s about the resources, the organization, the energy and dedication.