Homecoming: Behind the Scenes

Hello blogosphere! The music committee is absolutely thrilled that Rogue Wave and the Ting Tings agreed to play at William and Mary, but I want to take this chance to give everyone a closer look at the process that went into booking them.

The music booking industry, as I'm sure many of you know, is complicated and at times really quite frustrating. We've been discussing the Homecoming show for four months and putting in offers to bands for the past three. As a committee, we always strive to: 1) ensure that we bring W&M a spectacular event, and 2) appeal, whenever possible, to sections of the campus that have not been represented by our past acts. Being turned down several times before finally having an offer work out is an entirely routine part of this process.

We put in several offers this fall that were declined (whether due to scheduling conflicts, our low budget, or various other factors). Spoon, M.I.A., Old Crow Medicine Show, Rilo Kiley, Girl Talk, Flobots, Michelle Branch, Death Cab for Cutie, De La Soul, and the Cool Kids all turned us down. De La Soul even did so twice. This is nothing to take personally in the music business, it happens to every venue all the time.

In addition to formal offers that were turned down, we also contacted agents about well over 100 other bands that students routinely request. The agents were able to tell us right away that these bands were unavailable. Among these were: The Decemberists Fleet Foxes, the National, Ben Folds, Sarah Bareilles, Sufjan Stevens, State Radio, Eric Church, Matt Nathanson, Feist, Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket, All American Rejects, Matisyahu, Queens of the Stone Age, Robert Randolph, the North Mississippi Allstars, Gavin Degraw, the Hold Steady + the Drive by Truckers. The simple fact is that 95% of bands we contact agents about are either unavailable or uninterested.

This blog post, though it might seem a bit glum, isn’t. These are the realities of the music booking industry, and UCAB has been coping with them for years. Keep giving us feedback, and we’ll keep trying our absolute hardest to bring what you want to William and Mary! It’s taken hours and hours of work and frustration to arrive at Rogue Wave and the Ting Tings, but we are ecstatic with the result.

Stay tuned: next week I may have an announcement about a show later in the semester. If I don’t, expect a post about who I think would win a battle between the greatest musicians of all time: Bruce Springsteen and Prince.

sean o'mealia

Parent's Weekend UCAB Free Family Fun!

Are your parents coming to visit this weekend and you don't know what do do? Here are some UCAB events that would be fun for the fam. Plus, all these events are free!

Friday:
Fridays @ 5: Steel Train, SC Terrace
Slam Poet Bassey Ikpi. 9PM Lodge 1

Saturday:
Street Fair: 11AM-1PM. SC Terrace. Inflatables, air brush tattoos, cotton candy, and carnival games! Perfect place to go before the football game.

See you out there!

Announcing the UCAB Interns 2008-2009!

First of all, I just want to thank everyone who applied this year for the UCAB intern committeee. You all were great, and it was so hard to pick just a dozen or so. That being said, congratulations to our newest members and welcome! We have our work cut out for us this year, but if anyone could plan about 9 events in a month for this semester and next, we can!

UCAB will now be graced with the presence of sophomores Roshni Uttamsingh, Anne Foster, and Brian O'Donnell and freshmen Caitlin Floyd, Lina Yeh, Ashley Newell, Ella Carroll-Smith, Jason Gangwer, Andrew Fickley, Kevin McCrory, Kelsey Conway, Lora Faris, and Olyvia Salyer!

If you can't tell, I'm pumped about this group of people and know they will be a valuable addition to the organization as a whole!

~Taylor, Intern Coordinator

THANK YOU!!!

The comedy committee had our first big show of the year on Friday with Rob Riggle, from the Daily Show. Thank you to everyone who came out and made the event a success! We had a huge turnout, which means that in the future we will be able to bring more exciting and big comedians to campus. I especially loved the huge graduate student turnout we had at the event! Rob was hilarious, as was his opener, Adam Lowitt. Adam actually is one of the executive producers for the Daily Show (little known fact) and was able to impart to our students a few pointers on how to get started in his line of work. Both Adam and Rob were incredibly nice, and loved the campus so much that they volunteered to do a Q and A after the show.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped out and came to the show! We hope you enjoyed it! If you loved Rob Riggle, hit up our next show on October 18th- Rip Michaels in Lodge 1.

Interested in Travel?? Get Lost with Doug Lansky!!

Are you interested in travel? Studying abroad? Have you ever thought about taking a trip around the world or a crazy road trip across the good 'ol U. S. of A? If you have, then you are in luck! UCAB is bringing travel expert, Rough Guides and Lonely Planet author Doug Lansky to campus this THURSDAY September 25th at 8pm in the SC Commonwealth. He brings an informative and humorous look at travel and provides excellent tips and advice to students looking to get their feet wet in the world. Barnes and Noble will be selling some of his books after the show. Hope to see you there tomorrow night! It's FREE!

On another note, the Contemporary and Cultural Issues Committee is planning for speakers and events for the Spring. What do you want to see on campus? What issues are hot topics right now that you want the campus to get more involved in?? What speakers do you want to listen to?? Let UCAB know and we'll try our hardest to provide it for you!

UCAB Love,
Clara -- Contemporary and Cultural Issues Chair

Homecoming show announcement!

Finally! After months of anticipation, UCAB has booked a Homecoming show! We over here in UCAB HQ are ecstatic. On October 25th, Lake Matoaka Amphitheater will host not one, but two great bands!

Rogue Wave, the headliners, are an awesome live act and a great pop band. Gorgeous harmonies meet soulful vocals meet laid-back grooves -- this is exciting stuff. They've toured recently with The Decemberists, Jack Johnson, Death Cab for Cutie, and Guster, among many others. Rogue Wave songs have recently been featured in Scrubs, the O.C., Heroes, and the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack. Check them out, you'll love them!

Equally exciting are The Tings Tings, our opening act. "Shut up and let me go" has been getting a ton of radio play and just won "Best UK Video" at the MTV Video Music Awards. Their debut album "We Started Nothing" was #1 on the UK charts this past summer, as was their other awesome single "Great DJ". The Ting Tings have exploded over in Europe and are on the cusp of doing so in America; we're unbelievably lucky to have them.

Two outstanding up-and-coming bands FREE with a William and Mary student ID. Homecoming in Williamsburg: what an incredible tradition!

Intern Developments

Hi, guys! This is just to let everyone know that the intern application window has closed. We have 19 great candidates, and interviews will be over by Wednesday, September 24th. Stay tuned to meet the newest members of UCAB!

~Taylor, Trusty Intern Coordinator

Late Nite and Revival of Lodge 1

Hey guys!

If you haven't been to Lodge 1 on a weekend night lately, then you may not have noticed all the changes going on down there. My name is Sarah Michalowski, and I'm the Director of Late Nite. It is my mission to work with the UCAB committees and with other student organizations to provide entertainment and a fun, social atmosphere in Lodge 1 from 9pm to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. This year we're really trying to provide the kinds of programming that are fun and will create a social and casual environment for W&M students to unwind, hang out with their friends, and meet some new people too.

We've already had 3 great events. The Late Nite Kickoff filled the Sadler Center with cool things to do like laser tag, free food, karaoke, a comedian, and a '90s TV party. CKI hosted an "Office" party, which included an "Office" marathon, a costume contest, and other games themed around the show. Finally, VSA brought karaoke to Lodge 1 as well as some delicious bubble tea. If you would like to apply for Late Nite event funding check out www.wm.edu/ucab, and if you have any suggestions on what kind of programming you'd like to see or on whatever else you think would make Lodge 1 a cool place to spend a few hours on the weekend shoot me an email at ucab.late.nite@gmail.com.

The other big change in Lodge 1 this year is the Flex Bar. Have you ever even noticed the bar back there? Well now we have a Lodge 1 coordinator, Kathleen, who makes sure the bar is open with a regular bartender on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. She's also offering some great deals like 50 cent wing night on Thursdays. The Flex Bar is always open during Late Nite events, so stop by sometime to check out all the food and drinks you can get there with your flex.

Reminding you that UCAB is way better than sleep,
-Sarah Michalowski
your Late Nite Director
ucab.late.nite@gmail.com

Gideon Yago is TONIGHT!

Hey guys --
I am soooo super excited that Gideon Yago is speaking tonight at PBK Hall. It's going to be awesome. This is The Contemporary and Cultural Issues Committee's (fondly called ContempoCult) first event. We've done a whole bunch of planning -- from creative a kick-butt flier to contacting the SA for Voter Registration tables to getting a DVD highlighting the discussion of youth voting. So it's going to be great -- doors open at 6:30 pm. Be there! It's FREE!

Fridays @ 5

D. Folk and the Movement let UCAB know late this week that he is backing out of Friday's show. The new album will not be ready in time and he had wanted to sell copies. His decision is, to say the very least, highly unusual. Excitement was high both within and without UCAB for D. Folk's show: I'm sorry to be bringing you this news. This also means that all our pretty little Fridays @ 5 fliers are now incorrect.

However, I'm thrilled to announce that Kooley High, a hip-hop group out of Raleigh, NC, will replace D. Folk for this Friday's show! The Music Committee has been trying to book Kooley High for a while, so this is an exciting opportunity for us. I hope to see you out on the Sadler Center Terrace this Friday at 5! Check out their myspace:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=98334600

Stay tuned in to this blog: with some good luck, I hope to have a major Homecoming Concert announcement posted here within a week. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sean O'Mealia

Super Tribe Tailgate Cancelled

After some discussion we have decided to cancel this weekend's Super Tribe Tailgate. Sad, I know. We were having difficulty getting enough food vendors to sign on for this weekend. Some were going to be out of town, and others needed more time. At this point we have our eye on rescheduling it for the last home night game, which is Saturday, November 8th. I personally think that it would be great to have it later in the semester because we would have much more time to get the food vendors we want and organize other aspects of the event to make a truly special event. I also just think that colder weather goes better with the football season. We should know by the end of September if we are going to be rescheduling the event. Keep your fingers crossed! Once again, I apologize to anyone who is really bummed by this news.

Intern Applications!

Hello from your trusty Intern Coordinator! It's that time of year: the 2008-2009 intern applications are due Monday, September 15th by 5pm outside the UCAB office. I hope you'll apply!
Why should you, you ask? Maybe because interns get to get their hands dirty with just about everything UCAB does as the campus's premier event planner. Whether it be volunteering with the next big concert, helping keep the celebrity speaker comfortable, or inflating the crazy obstacle courses for the Sunken Garden, you won't ever be bored. And then there's our very own events! It's an election year, so we're planning a huge election night soiree for the revamped Lodge 1! Also in November, we've running the hugely popular Paint-Your-Own Pottery event. Plus events that you yourselves will envision and create!!!! How could you pass up such a great opportunity to produce large-scale events, wear copious amounts of yellow, and hang out with some truly awesome people?!

Get your application from www.wm.edu/ucab under the "Interns" tab and turn it into the glittery manila envelope outside our office! Then sign-up for a painless interview! It's that simple. Can't wait to meet you all!

UCAB Love,
Taylor

Vote for YOUR Monthly Blockbusters!

Hi W&M!

We're screening your September Blockbuster, SEX AND THE CITY, this Friday and Saturday at the SC Commonwealth Auditorium. It runs at 7 and 9:30pm both days. Its only $2! Remember to make your voice heard (after all UCAB is your cab) by voting for YOUR October Blockbuster on http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gaAQYWtFt0sUqGgDruLbQA_3d_3d
Don't miss the September 18th deadline!

UCAB Films

General Board Retreat

Hi everyone,

UCAB normally meets in committees (Music, Comedy, Publicity, etc.), but once a month everyone in UCAB gets together and has a General Board meeting. It's a great chance for us to share ideas about events, get to know people outside of our committees, and to discuss the current issues facing us as a board.

We had our beginning of the year "retreat" meeting in August. We did some icebreakers, shared news like the upcoming name change process, and discussed our thoughts about the year ahead. All in all it was pretty fun, and it's one of the great UCAB member benefits.

Oh, and check out the pictures from the retreat - each committee had to act out a particular machine (on the left is Homebrew being a fridge and on the right is Music being a dump truck).

- Katy
General Board Director

UCAB is changing its name!

In light of the University Center’s change to the Sadler Center, UCAB (University Center Activities Board) has decided to follow suit and seize the opportunity to build a new brand for itself with a fresh name and logo. The change will be a process that lasts the entire fall semester leading up to a launch of the new name in the spring.

UCAB is asking for ideas and submissions from within the organization as well as the William & Mary student body. We are looking for something catchy, professional, and relevant to the College. (Keep in mind that SCAB has already been ruled out!)

If you have any ideas, please send them to ucabnamechange@gmail.com. The submission deadline is Wednesday, October 8, 2008. After this date, UCAB’s Executive Board will narrow down the list, receive feedback from the General Board members in the organization, and then make the final decision.

Please direct any questions to Thomas Milteer, UCAB's Director of Public Relations (thmilt@wm.edu).
Check out the facebook event.

Tickets Reminder...

Just a reminder, if you need to purchase a ticket for a UCAB event (such as Rob Riggle on September 19!), you must do one of the following:


1. Go to the box office in PBK and purchase there (M-F 10am-2pm).
2. Or, order online here.
3. Or, call them at 757-221-2674.


Thanks!
- UCAB