BANDIT HISTORY: 40 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
Part 2: The 70’s

The 70’s saw an explosive growth at Bandit Lites as the company transitioned from high school to college to the real world.

Michael Strickland and company built a solid client base of current acts of the day while in they were still in high school, working with artists when they visited the southeast. When it was time to attend college, Strickland chose the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to continue his education and took the firm there with him. The rest of the young men chose to go other directions so Michael found himself alone in the endeavor. This led to hiring several new people in the Knoxville area and a rebuilding of the company.

Juggling the demands of adolescence and a budding company proved to be a bit challenging at times, but determined to succeed, Strickland pressed on - even through college and law school. Strickland ran Bandit Lites from his dorm room at the University of Tennessee while earning a degree in Business and then Law. Bandit worked with the biggest names in the music business and all the while, few people knew that the owner of the company was actually a college student. Black Oak Arkansas, The James Gang, Blue Oyster Cult, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Goose Creek Symphony, Dr. Hook, Parliament Funkadelic, NRPS and many others worked with Bandit in the college years.

“While going to undergraduate and law school the company experienced phenomenal growth. All of the funding came from operations, and we never used outside financing. I am not sure anyone would have loaned us money even if we had asked,” Strickland commented. “I was on the road more than in class during that time. During law school I was lighting director and production manager for Kenny Rogers and this was during his breakout period.”

The Kenny Rogers 1977-78 Gambler Tour was Bandit’s biggest tour during that time and it gained Bandit a tremendous amount of national exposure since it was one of the highest profile tours on the road. Bandit’s early relationship with Kenny Rogers was so successful that that he is still a client today, almost 32 years later.

In addition to Kenny Rogers and the clients listed previously, several high profile clients came to Bandit in the 70’s, including Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Blackfoot, The Outlaws, Charlie Rich, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton and Pure Prairie League.

Bandit also became one of the first dealers for Genie Industries and EDI; both relationships would serve Bandit well for many years to come.

Overall, the 70’s was a period of substantial growth for Bandit, with one brief glitch. After already establishing a very firm footing in the entertainment lighting industry, Bandit suffered a tragedy that nearly ended the company. In July 1979, the warehouse burned to the ground and with no insurance, Bandit was left with only two light systems that were on the road at the time.

Thankfully, Bandit leaned how to make two systems do the work of four, and also learned the value of having insurance.

As the 70’s came to an end, Bandit added several key people to its staff. Brent Barrett, now the Director of Business Development, would start at Bandit while in college with Strickland, a relationship that continues to this day. Current Bandit VP Michael Golden and current C.O.O. Pete Heffernan also joined the Bandit family around that time and they have been with the company ever since. Kent Shafferman and Eric “Eroc” Shafferman began with Bandit in 1979 and Eric is still at Bandit today. Kent was an employee for 26 years before he retired a couple of years ago. Michael’s brother Steve “Moose” Strickland was at Bandit for 27 years before he too retired.

Heading into the 80’s, Bandit was a small company with a very close, very dedicated group of 30+ people, mostly from the Kingsport, Tennessee area. The concepts of paying people salaries as well as providing health insurance and retirement were established. Bandit was also the first company in entertainment lighting to treat employees more like a permanent staff as opposed to easily replaceable freelancers. This led to a fierce and proud company loyalty.

“We had grown and developed so much in the 70’s. We had no idea what explosive growth and what new adventures faced us in the exciting and wonderful ‘hair band’ eighties, but we were ready for the challenge,” Strickland added.

Please stay tuned for the third installment of Bandit History: 40 Years of Excellence – The 80’s.