SAB band enhances Celebrate Drake event
EGG and We Shoot the Moon performed in Olmsted Friday as part of Celebrate Drake.
from laser tag to a top-notch band lined up. We Shot the Moon, the headlining band for Celebrate Drake, played to a modest, yet enthusiastic audience of Drake students. Its sound combined with its obvious love for performing, made the concert a great way to be entertained on a Friday night.
We Shot the Moon gave off a relaxing vibe with its sound being close to a combination of Owl City and Quietdrive, another band which was recently at Drake. The Student Activities Board Bands Committee is always looking for a band with a good sound that students will respond well to much like We Shot the Moon. SAB Bands communicates with various agents as well as the performers to ensure that the students will enjoy the music they bring.
Michael Riebel, one of the cochairs for SAB Bands, enjoyed working with We Shot the Moon because of how approachable the band members were.
“The guys were very easy to talk to,” Riebel said. “They were outgoing and really nice. They also interact with the audience really well.”
SAB Bands goes through heavy preparations when a performance is scheduled. Reserving the spaces for the band to use, including where the concert will be held as well as their green room, can be tricky when the campus is busy with various activities. Riebel also discussed the requests that bands have as well.
“Bands request food for their green room, so we have to make sure that we can get what they want,” Riebel said. “We then usually take them out for dinner before the show and from there on it is really easy. We are just around to make sure they don’t have any problems.”
Choosing entertainers can sometimes be an issue for the SAB Bands committee. It can be difficult to get the big name artists that students often request with its budget. By discussing within the committee, speaking with students about their wants and talking to their friends about who they would like to see, SAB Bands can usually find a good substitute for popular artists.
“If someone says they want Taylor Swift we unfortunately will not be able to get her, but we will work on getting an artist who is very similar,” Riebel said.
SAB Bands has around six performances scheduled for this year including the Sonos on Nov. 3 and Nathan Angelo on Nov. 10. The Court Avenue show during Drake Relays, however, is its biggest event of the year. Much of the budget and a lot of hard work go into choosing this specific band. Though the Bands committee can’t get big names, they do have a wish list for whom they would like to book.
“I think Super Smash Bros for Relays would be really cool, they are exactly like GirlTalk,” Riebel said. “A dream band, if we suddenly got a lot of money, would be B.O.B for Relays.”
Riebel enjoys being the cochair for SAB Bands and his ability to work with the bands and bring entertainment that students will like overall.
“Working with agents to find bands that students might like is very rewarding when people come to the events and have a lot of fun,” Riebel said.
Although the turnout is often less than anticipated, students seem to respond well to the bands brought to campus. Even though we are all busy with schoolwork and other activities, the events that the SAB Bands Committee books can be used as a great escape from homework or as a way to unwind after a hectic day. SAB Bands takes into account students’ needs and wants, and combines them to bring some great-sounding performers to Drake, so stop by the next event and perhaps a new favorite band will be discovered.
Photos by Heather Boone