2008 Woodie Awards
SAAB goes for broke to bring in Guster
Mike Trzciensky
Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: News
If the Student Association Activities Board holds a concert by a well known band, will students be willing to pay for a ticket?
That is one of the burning questions on the table as planning continues for this year's Spring Weekend.
It has been more than a decade since SAAB put on their last large-scale concert featuring Run-D.M.C. An attempt was made last year to bring in popular hip-hop group Nappy Roots, but it never wound up happening due to a combination of SAAB's budget situation and an impossible technical situation.
Last year Andy McQuerrey was elected Vice-President of Activities, the head position on SAAB. McQuerrey immediately made it his goal to get students more involved in events on campus. Original plans were to bring in Blues Traveler, but after their price climbed too high, it was decided to look elsewhere.
After viewing the results of a survey designed to gauge what kinds of bands students would be interested in going to see, focus was officially changed to Guster and their supporting band The Format.
"Guster has an Environmental Sustainability Protection Initiative that makes them an ever more attractive act to bring to Castleton," said McQuerrey, who also stated that the band, which is from Boston, has a major following in this area.
One potential issue in booking Guster, or any other major band that SAAB may consider if things don't work out, is the cost. Guster would cost more than $35,000 to bring in. Also, McQuerrey approximates that it will cost about $8,000 for tech and additional costs to hire security and to rent portable toilets. Castleton will be providing its own lights and sound. The money would come almost completely, if not entirely, from SAAB's current budget.
According to McQuerrey other bands that were considered, such as O.A.R. and Ziggy Marley with Robert Randolph & The Family Band, would cost twice as much and would be out of their price range.
Still if SAAB is going to spend $35,000 on a band, they want to make sure that they are able to make a profit. The current plan is to charge $20 for Castleton students that buy their tickets in advance and $30 for students who choose to buy tickets at the door. The price would be $30 for all non-Castleton students.
That is one of the burning questions on the table as planning continues for this year's Spring Weekend.
It has been more than a decade since SAAB put on their last large-scale concert featuring Run-D.M.C. An attempt was made last year to bring in popular hip-hop group Nappy Roots, but it never wound up happening due to a combination of SAAB's budget situation and an impossible technical situation.
Last year Andy McQuerrey was elected Vice-President of Activities, the head position on SAAB. McQuerrey immediately made it his goal to get students more involved in events on campus. Original plans were to bring in Blues Traveler, but after their price climbed too high, it was decided to look elsewhere.
After viewing the results of a survey designed to gauge what kinds of bands students would be interested in going to see, focus was officially changed to Guster and their supporting band The Format.
"Guster has an Environmental Sustainability Protection Initiative that makes them an ever more attractive act to bring to Castleton," said McQuerrey, who also stated that the band, which is from Boston, has a major following in this area.
One potential issue in booking Guster, or any other major band that SAAB may consider if things don't work out, is the cost. Guster would cost more than $35,000 to bring in. Also, McQuerrey approximates that it will cost about $8,000 for tech and additional costs to hire security and to rent portable toilets. Castleton will be providing its own lights and sound. The money would come almost completely, if not entirely, from SAAB's current budget.
According to McQuerrey other bands that were considered, such as O.A.R. and Ziggy Marley with Robert Randolph & The Family Band, would cost twice as much and would be out of their price range.
Still if SAAB is going to spend $35,000 on a band, they want to make sure that they are able to make a profit. The current plan is to charge $20 for Castleton students that buy their tickets in advance and $30 for students who choose to buy tickets at the door. The price would be $30 for all non-Castleton students.
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