Bringing new beats to the campus

The Concert Board has had to settle with less-well-known performing artists at the Fall Rock Show after spending $15,000 last year to host Billy Joel.

The board chose Virginia Coalition and the Aaron Katz Band, which may not be familiar to students, to perform at tonight's Fall Rock Show in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall.

"We try to have up-and-coming rock bands, and have groups before they get big or are just starting to be big in the underground scene," Amy Dumpy, the Concert Board's co-chair, told the Daily.

Many students would like to see more famous artists perform on campus. Junior Liz Richardson said that she would like Dispatch, Beta Band, or the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas to perform at Tufts.

"Dispatch is always good," Richardson said. "I think we should [also] get Tracy Chapman back here. She's never performed here, but I mean, she's an alum."

But the Concert Board hopes to sign a more well-known artists for Spring Fling and the hip-hop concert, which was a smaller affair than usual last year.

Although some students were disappointed with last year's Spring Fling, senior Jeff Blumberg said that "Mo," last year's feature band, was one of the better musical performances he has seen. Blumberg also raved about Deep Banana Blackout, which performed at Spring Fling in 2001.

"I've been psyched," Blumberg said. "My freshman and sophomore year [the Concert Board] got some amazing artists. I've been blown away by what they have brought here."

At the Concert Board's first meeting this year, co-chair Omar Ellis charged this year's board members with a mission: "Your job is to let us know who you want to bring to campus," Ellis said. He also told members that they will be putting on the shows. "You are the show, pretty much," Ellis told the group of about one hundred students.

The Board is headed by an executive, which deals with the administrative details of putting on a concert. The members who do not hold positions on the executive are involved in preparing the concerts by coming up with lists of possible artists for the shows, listening to their work, and then voting on which artists the Board will try to bring to campus.

Once the Concert Board signs a contract with an artist, preparations for the concert can begin. Concert Board members have several of responsibilities, including running the concert, setting up the lighting, preparing the stage, and acting as security agents for the event.

"We get to see how the music business works," Dumpy said. Just like in the "real" music world, Dumpy and Ellis have learned that Concert Board members must not reveal their plans to students before the contracts have been signed_ otherwise, the artists may decide not perform.

To attract a specific artist, the board approaches agents at Pretty Polly Productions with the names of the artists they want and are told which ones they can possibly sign. These agents help them to contact the bands.

Assistant Director of Student Activities Ed Cabellon also works with the Concert Board, helping to hire bands and arranging the major logistics, including police protection, concert facilities, and food catering.

Dumpy explained that a perk of her position is that she not only watches the artists perform, but also that she has the opportunity to "meet them and hang out with them."