The 2008 Campus Activities® Magazine Readers’ Choice National Campus Entertainment Awards recorded the largest vote in the industry’s history. The final tally was 12,216 votes, more than SIX times that of 2006 and nearly 2,000 more votes than 2007. The surge in voting came from the convenience of students being able to vote online. Online voting began in 2007 and this year the system was coordinated with vote verification by email address.

 

The trend toward LIVE NOVELTY continued for 2008, but all categories experienced increases in buyer participation. Legendary Small Venue performer, Jason LeVasseur was nosed out by less than ten votes by Sean McConnell. Only 20 votes separated Best Music Performance winner Recycled Percussion from second place winner Chris Cauley & Chinua Hawk and third place finisher Black Violins. New to the winning list was Jay Black for Comedian of the Year with approximately a 100 vote lead over Mission Improvable but for the most part, the comedy voting was tight. David Coleman( the Dating Doctor) took a commanding lead over the rest of the field for Speaker of the Year and newcomer Shevy Smith slipped by Alexandra McHale for Best Female Performer by 15 votes. Jason LeVasseur moved from Small Venue to top the Best Male Performer category edging out Justin Kredible by less than 20 votes.

 

For Best Major Performance, hot country artists Emerson Drive took the nod just ahead of campus legends, Recycled Percussion.

Possibly one of the most interesting categories each year is Newest Rising Star which highlights new talent in the marketplace. Singer/songwriter Meg Allison passed Jared Campbell in a last minute surge for the victory. Justin Kredible took the Live Novelty slot for the second year in a row with a huge victory over the rest of the field. Thinkfast once again proved its popularity by sliding past Grant Edmonds for the Best Novelty Game.

 

The race for Best Diversity Artist was a battle to the end with Chinua Hawk winning over N*gger,Wetb*ck, Ch*nk by five (5) votes and Western Michigan University slid by Ohio State to take Campus of the Year. Bass/Schuler Entertainment rallied over 2007 winner, CampuSpeak, to take their fifth ride to the top by winning 2008 Agency of the Year.

 

And if you had any doubts about this young man’s popularity, this should end them. Justin Kredible takes Entertainer of the Year for the second consecutive time in a landslide assault on the rest of the field.

 

 

 

Justin Kredible - Entertainer of the Year & Best Live Novelty Entertainer

 

Well, it’s been exactly one year now since we last saw Justin Kredible on the cover of Campus Activities® Magazine. Now, for the second year in a row, Justin has taken the title of Entertainer of the Year (as well as Live Novelty Performer of the Year), garnering him his position on our cover.

 

In this issue, we talk about many exciting facets of his career that are on the horizon. For more detailed information about how he got into magic and the college market, refer to his story in our March 2007 issue.

 

Now, we thought Justin was excited about his win last year and rightly so; as his very first time in the awards process Justin was a relative newcomer to receiving accolades in the market. This year however, is no different. “It is crazy, man,” he says. “It is such an honor, and such a thrill. Winning last year was such a thrill, and I think it really set off my year, because this past year has just been insane. I got a lot of press out of it, and it paved the way. Everything just sort of snowballed together. All of the TV spots and other opportunities came out of it, so it has just been an awesome year since I won last year’s award. To be able to win it again and have this happen to me twice is just like a cherry on top. It is almost surreal.”

 

For those of you not familiar, Justin has been a featured guest on the “Rachael Ray” program for some time. As he’s done so well on that show, the producers decided to bring him on not only for his occasional magic segments, but also as a regular correspondent to the show. “I have signed a one-year contract with the “Rachel Ray Show”, as a correspondent for them. At first I was only doing magic stuff, but now I get to do all of these crazy variety stories that are a lot of fun.”

 

Justin sees some incredibly unique and fun opportunities on the show including reporting on the world’s largest hamburger (as Rachel Ray is famously a hamburger fanatic), crashing a high school reunion at a school he didn’t even attend, and hosting various events for Rachel. “I have been able to do all of these hidden camera and other fun shoots that have allowed me to get a lot of the momentum building in my career.”

 

Despite all of this success and notoriety, Justin says the best part of his job is still performing live with fans he loves and that love him. “The crowds over this past year have been better than ever, and I have just tried to do my best to step up to the plate to ensure they get the very best show possible. I always want to take things to the next level, and I am always working on new stuff for my show. I think that the people get that; I think they can see the show and say to themselves ‘Wow, we just saw a show two years ago and now we have seen it again and it was even better. We can now expect to come back next year and be able to hope for something even better than that. That has been the key to my success; friends tell other friends about the show and I’m incredibly grateful.”

 

Justin’s schedule has been hectic to say the least. He has unrivaled popularity everywhere he performs and it’s easy to see why. “It is a fine balance and the toughest part of it all,” he says. “I always want to keep everyone happy. Nothing makes you feel more alive than performing in front of a real crowd; each of which is uniquely different at every show I perform. There is an interesting dichotomy however, because a lot of these TV projects I have been working on are kind of what I see as the next level in my career. So, balancing the two has worked surprisingly well to this point.”

 

Being a big star in the television world has always been a long-time goal for Justin since he was just a kid doing magic for his friends. “Ever since I was in college, in addition to being a magician, I also always wanted to be a TV host. My dream had always been to eventually be the host of “The Tonight Show”, or something like that. I thought it would be great to have a Johnny Carson career; you know, start out as a magician, then just sort of phase into a well-rounded entertainer and have my own TV show.”

 

Justin has now done between 15 and 20 different segments over the past year for Rachel Ray, and hopes to do more in the future. “The segments just get more fun and more interesting; it is cool incorporating the magic occasionally and at the same time it’s cool that I can just go on there and be myself.” For any of you out there who are interested in seeing some of these clips, just check out his website at www.justinkredible.com. “I have just launched a brand-new website at justinkredible.com, which I want to plug, plug, plug (laughs). In there it has a video viewer window and in the news section you can see all of my television stuff.”

 

Justin is one entertainer that, no matter how successful he becomes, will never forget his roots. The college market and his college friends are those whom he wishes to please the most and feels most honored by their acceptance. “I am so excited that Paramount, who produces the “Rachael Ray Show,” appears to be interested in working with me over the long haul. It is simply a great opportunity that I have just stumbled into, and I have to admit that being able to say I have been named Entertainer of the Year by the readers of Campus Activities® Magazine adds so much credibility to what I do, I can only imagine how much it has done to help my career. And I’m not saying that just to kiss up to you or your readers, it is just that it is so cool being able to tack that on to my resume and see the reactions I get based on that. I once again really and truly appreciate the honor and want to thank your readers.”

 

Congratulations to Justin Kredible for his second consecutive Entertainer of the Year and Best Live Novelty Entertainer Awards.

 

BOOK IT! GP Entertainment (866) 812–8248

 

 

 

Bass Schuler Entertainment - Agency of the Year

 

Bass/Schuler Entertainment has, for the fifth time, been proclaimed by the readers of Campus Activities® Magazine to be the Best Agency in the campus market. “It is definitely something that we don’t take for granted,” says Chris Schuler, co-founding partner with Scott Bass. We work really hard to try and make sure that we stay in touch with all the schools, on behalf of our roster. We feel a kind of obligation and as Scott always says, ‘There’s a fine line between follow-up and stalking. (laughs)’ We are always diligent in making sure that we don’t stalk anyone, but we always strive to keep everyone up to date on what’s going on and when they are in the buying mode, we hope they will think of us.”

 

Bass/Schuler Entertainment is known for having a strong presence in all facets of the campus marketplace, however Chris says the key to success with any entertainment agency must always start with a strong core roster. “Well, I think that an agency is only as strong as its’ roster ultimately. I always viewed agents as more of just a conduit for the students to get to what they want, and if you can make that process as easy as possible, they are bound to come back to you for their other events. I think that is why we consistently stay competitive in the market, because we are always working to make sure that the process of working with our agency is a smooth one. People should always feel comfortable talking with their agents and Scott, Kristina and I try to never be pushy and we always want to make sure that whatever the schools do will be successful. If it is a successful event, they’re more apt to call us back in the future. That has been our- working mantra here at Bass/Schuler.”

 

One unique challenge of being an entertainment agent is that you have two separate sets of clients on each end of the bargain that all need to stay happy. While obviously the programmers who book the shows are the primary focus of any entertainment agent’s business, equally as important are the artists who supply their talents. “We kind of have to split the difference a little bit, because on one hand, we are taking care of our roster in making sure that they are as busy and as booked as they can be, while on the other hand we have long-standing relationships with schools who are coming to us for help with budgetary issues. Many times this leads us right back to our roster to see if that little bit off of the price they are willing to take will make a difference. It is a bit of a synergistic relationship and we are in the middle.”

 

Clearly, Bass/Schuler has learned to manage both ends very well as they have continued to see success time and time again in this market. One positive affirmation of their strategy has been their relatively low turnover rate for artists on their roster. Consider campus market favorites such as Christopher Carter, Frederick Winters and Jason Levasseur, who have been staples on the Bass/Schuler roster since the agency’s inception. “I would say the majority of acts on our roster have been with us since we started the agency in 1999. We’ve obviously added new people as we continue to grow but we have had very little attrition and anyone that has left the agency has done so on good terms.”

 

Chris says some of the major benefit to the agency has come from not only maintaining a presence at the conferences, but also being actively involved with Campus Activities® Magazine and the Reader’s Choice Awards. “For some of the schools who may not be as familiar with all the marketplace, or any time a new student comes in and doesn’t know the small agencies or new agency, they have to either find out about the reputable ones from other students or their director; I think they can also look to Campus Activities® Magazine as a reliable resource. They can see who is actively advertising and which artists have won awards in the past. I think that gives them a pretty good indication of who is active in the market and who maintains success over a period of time. We have found it to be very beneficial to consistently advertise in the magazine and promote our roster through it. In this way we have been able to raise the awareness of everyone involved and it has been valuable not only to our artists but also our clients over past ten years. You know, many activities boards have so many members and I can only speak to so many of them. So many times we get calls from schools that specifically saw us in the magazine that we would never have had a chance to meet otherwise.”

 

Bass/Schuler may be known for some of the campus market’s most traditional favorites, but they are also on the cutting-edge of what’s new and important to today’s campus audiences. Exciting speakers such as CL Lindsay are leading the way. “We have several new speakers on the roster and one of our most exciting new additions is CL Lindsay. He is a lawyer who has a variety of programs, and his most popular is one that deals with MySpace, Facebook, and other internet issues. He came to us two years ago and has really hit the ground running with a lot of NACA showcases and a huge number of college bookings. He did over 150 colleges last year and he is on par to do that again this year. That is really unheard of for many speakers and we are very excited about his future.”

 

Campus Activities® Magazine is certainly excited about the future of this entertainment agency. As one of the most consistently reliable and dependable entertainment agencies the campus market, they have proven time and time again they are a “go to” group for a variety of entertainment needs in a college environment.

 

BOOK IT! For more information about the wide variety of exciting acts Bass/Schuler as to offer, contact them at (773) 481 – 2600

 

 

 

Chinua Hawk - Best Diversity Aritst

 

Chinua Hawk has been one entertainer who has done consistently well in the nominations process of Campus Activities® Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards for the past few years. And while Chinua has not been able to pull down the award in the past, this year redemption paves the way to his Award for Best Diversity Artist of 2008.

 

The most important aspect of a show presented by Chinua (to Chinua himself at least) is not the music, or the setting, or even his performance. No, the most important thing for him is the experience, the comfort and entertainment each and every one of his audiences experiences. “The main thing we try to do is create an atmosphere that is very family-friendly and comfortable. I like to think of it as a place where friends just come to hang out and enjoy some acoustic music; ‘vibing’ and having a stress-free time.”

 

Chinua’s roots in music are in Gospel, as he grew up singing in church. “I kind of bring a lot of that experience with me into the Pop and R&B realm of music that I do. I call my music ‘Acoustic Soul’, so the songs consist of a lot of life issues and the different ways you can deal with situations in a positive way.

 

“I think I have always known from day one this was going to be my career. I thought my parents would be disappointed in this choice of mine, but in the end they weren’t; they were very supportive.” For someone who wasn’t attending college and not privy to the college entertainment market, he was lucky to find the niche market we call home. “I was involved with ASCAP through my songwriting. I told the man who signed me that all I really wanted to do was perform. He introduced me to NACA, and I have never looked back. I got that chance with the college market eight years ago and I just went for it.”

 

BOOK IT! Contact the Auburn Moon Agency at 800-566-6653

 

 

 

David Coleman - Speaker of the Year

 

America’s real-life “Hitch”, David Coleman (a.k.a. The Dating Doctor), has once again come away with Best Speaker of The Year. This is David’s 8th award and it’s little wonder. His show is always a resounding success no matter where he goes.

 

David has been doing this presentation for a long time now, and after such an extended run, you may think things could get stagnant or stale, but not so for David. He says his passion and skill for what he does only increases with each and every show he presents. “I think what has changed over the years is that I am no longer concerned whether an audience likes me or not. That is a big point and it may sound stunning, but I have finally come to realize that the time I have with them might be the only time I ever spend with them in their lives and I want that time to matter. The audience knows that I may offend them, they know they might not like what I have to say, but they know it will be effective in the long run if they listen and put it into practice in their own lives.”

 

One of the most rewarding facets of David’s jobs as a love and life educator is the communication he gets back from hundreds of the thousands and thousands of people he has spoken to. “I have had at least a dozen people over just the past year thank me because they were considering committing suicide because of a relationship in their life not going well. After hearing me speak, they realized their lives were worth much more than the failure of one relationship. ” Now, as a result of such a long and meaningful career making a difference in people’s lives, there are even Internet communities revolving around some of David’s messages. “There is a huge group on Facebook where I have 5,000 friends who interact with me often and even interact with each other. It is such a great feeling to know I have been able to have a positive impact in so many people’s lives, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity.

 

There’s little wonder why the creators of the movie Hitch starring Will Smith consulted David Coleman during the making of the film. He truly is someone who can make a difference on your campus and in your students’ lives.

 

BOOK IT! Brooke A. Sims at Coleman Productions 866-328-3762

 

 

 

Emerson Drive - Best Major Performance

 

Emerson Drive is one of the hottest country acts out there. With the perfect look, sound, and age range for the college market these five guys from Canada have been blowing up the scene.

 

It’s little wonder then they have been named Campus Activities Magazine’s Best Major Performers of 2008. We sit down for an exclusive interview with lead singer Brad Mates for a quick look into their views of the college market.

 

The band started out in high school in their small town in Canada around 1995. “It started out as just a fun thing,” Brad says. “We had no idea where this was going to take us. Obviously year after year the amount of work and energy that was going into the group eventually became a passion for us and really started to pay off. Looking back now over the last 12 years, things have gone by so quickly, these are definitely some of the best times we have ever spent and we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity. It was a tough climb for a while, trying to get a record deal and trying to get noticed but I think that all of that has paid off 10 times over, which is part of why we still enjoy doing this so much today.”

 

That climb towards the top is a tough one for any act, and for Emerson Drive it was no different. Initially playing in bars and clubs across Canada, they eventually got enough success and notoriety to make the jump to US markets. “After our third year, we started stretching out a little farther and into the US. The gigs were basically the same thing as before; a lot of bars and club rooms – six or seven days a week, five or six sets a night. We were doing that over 250 days out of the year. That was the point when we found out that this was something we may really want to do; that we could live together as a band, stay on the road and in the end really make it work. I think that is really the most important aspect of it in the long run, whether or not everyone in the group can get along on a personal level makes all the difference in the professional outcome of a band. You’ll basically have nothing to show for it if you don’t have your friends. It’s nice to know that we have found that common ground with one another and we know exactly how things work on the road with our band.”

 

Brad does say that sometimes the overwhelming success of things such as a Grammy Nomination and hit records can be somewhat daunting at times. “From the days in the beginning to when you finally get a record deal is the point where you kind of get sent back to square one again. You say goodbye to the days on the road and in the bars and clubs and your local fans and hello to the nationwide markets who have no idea who you are. To go from an unknown touring band to a signed act, being able to put singles on the radio to see how they do is obviously very exciting, but is also a little bit scary at the same time. I know we don’t have much space and it is a little hard to put a nutshell over the last 12 years, but the past seven years have been just simply through the roof. To be able to have songs that actually do well on the radio, have a fan base that continues to grow and also to have a great foothold in the university and college market over the last four years has done wonders for our career.”

 

Like many entertainers, Emerson Drive didn’t even realize there was a college market for the first part of their career. Now that they have found this niche market which we love so much, they couldn’t imagine being without it. “To be honest with you, I don’t think that four years ago we really had any idea of how big a market it was. Obviously we realize that certain colleges and universities hire entertainment for students, we just had no idea on what level. I know that we were all very excited when our agency told us they were going to try this in a couple of different areas to see how we worked for the college demographic. It’s funny how the word gets around, right across the country when it comes to entertainment and us doing these shows. Within the first two years we started doing it we doubled our dates in the college market, and I think that the third and fourth year have been just as strong or even better. I think that having students willing to see the show and giving them an opportunity to bring a country band on their campus shows that the country music market is strong and bands like ours can have a stable future among American college audiences. Thankfully, we are known for putting on a great live show and I think that is the other half of being able to sell country music to universities. We will always bring the best show and most friendly atmosphere of any genre of entertainers.”

 

Emerson Drive performs between 40 and 50 college dates per year. For major artists that are signed and currently on contemporary radio, this is impressive to say the least. Now in production for their fourth album, Emerson Drive plans on taking not only the mainstream markets by storm, but also a tour of colleges to support the record there just as strongly. Keep an eye out for this hot band to become one of the next staples in country music superstars.

 

BOOK IT! Jeff Gregg at CAA at (615) 383-8787

 

 

 

Jay Black - Comedian of the Year

 

Starting his career as a simple high school teacher, no one (especially Jay) ever imagined he would be able to make a successful career in stand-up comedy. Now almost 4 years after his switching positions, he is happier than ever and has never looked back.

 

“One day, I met a girl I thought was super hot,” he says. “I wanted to impress her, but I am not really all that good at sports and I’m not that good looking (laughs). One thing that I thought I had some talent for was is being funny, so I went to an open mic night with her. Six years later, I am a full-time comedian and she is my wife.”

 

Jay found the college market through his agent Rob Jockel of Cutting Edge Entertainment. “He saw me performing at the club and approached me telling me I would be perfect for the college market. He got me into my first NACA and APCA conferences and the rest grew from there.

 

“One of the things about performing in the club is that it is a cynical world. What I love about performing for college students is that they have an exuberance and optimistic outlook you may not find very often in the regular adult world, especially in comedy clubs. The attitude of the college students keeps me sharp and sort of helps me from falling into that darker and pessimistic world that many of us find ourselves in. So, just as in teaching high school, the kids are always the best part of my job.”

 

Jay’s style of comedy is observational, but also very personal. “I like to just sort of sit around and look at my own life to see what’s funny. I talk to students about what I think they can relate to and in the end we have all been on the same wavelength. I am incredibly grateful and so far am having the time of my life .”

 

BOOK IT! Cutting Edge Entertainment or (888) 221-6538

 

 

 

Jason LeVasseur - Best Male Performer

 

With a grand total of nine awards, four solo CD’s and a successful career with his band, Life In General, (who where semi-finalists on the 2nd season of “America’s Got Talent”) Jason Levasseur is no stranger to sitting down for an interview with Campus Activities Magazine. “If it weren’t for Boyd Jones from Winthrop University seeing Life In General playing at a club in Charlotte and convincing me I would be right for the college market, I would never be where I am today.” Boyd introduced Jason to Calico Entertainment and Life In General was submitted to showcase at a conference which resulted in the booking of sixty-five shows. “It was great to showcase and then be up and running with a full schedule right off the bat,” Jason expresses with much gratitude to the infamous Boyd Jones.

 

Since some of the band members had family obligations, Jason decided to take on any shows that the band couldn’t do as a solo performance. This gives you a prime example of Jason’s passion and determination for his music.

 

It is hard for entertainers to stay true to themselves and not fall away from who they really are while in the spotlight of stardom. But Jason Levasseur is one real, down to earth guy who is committed to what he does and knows where he comes from.

 

So what is next for Jason? Well, Campus Activities Magazine has got the scoop. His band Life In General is about to release a compilation CD with around twenty songs and Jason already has an archive of new songs ready to record. He is also working his way into a broader marketing strategy that he hopes will land his work on TV and/or in major motion pictures.

 

Congrats to Jason on his newest award of Best Male Performer.

 

BOOK IT! Bass/Schuler Entertainment or (773) 481-2600

 

 

 

Meg Allison - Newest Rising Star

 

In the past couple of years, Meg Allison has turned into an exciting new addition to the campus market. With her appearance and top 10 finish on Season 5 of USA’s popular “American Idol”- like television show, “Nashville Star”, she launched herself into the public eye. Its little wonder then, that Meg has taken the award for Newest Rising Star of 2008 in Campus Activities® Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards.

 

“I started playing music as a child. While a lot of the other kids were doing sports I was writing songs when I was really young. Eventually I went off to college and got an acoustic guitar, because I had originally trained on piano. I taught myself to play and started writing some more cohesive songs. Eventually I realized this was what I wanted to do, so when I graduated I moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming (a big tourist town) and started playing in bars.”

 

Playing mostly cover songs in the beginning, Meg played more and more original tunes as she progressed. She eventually moved back to her hometown of Chicago with hopes of bigger and better opportunities. “I started playing around the city and heard of NACA from the producer of my first album. “I submitted on my own and ended up landing all these showcases. It kind of just all fell together.”

 

Meg nearly scoffs at the notion of being able to categorize herself as a musician. “I grew up primarily listening to pop music and then when I started playing guitar I began to write songs; so my style took on sort of a narrative form. This naturally led me to country music and my voice sounds much more country than anything else. Everyone in Chicago who heard me always told me ‘You know you should really move to Nashville. You would fit right in there.’ When I finally went, I was like ‘Oh, yeah! This is exactly where I should be.’

 

“I think I’m still kind of making that transition into country music. It is a craft that you have to learn, study and embrace because the songwriting is so much different and unique from any other genre. Now I really just consider myself to be sort of country/pop acoustic singer/songwriter (laughs). I know that is five different things, but that is as close as I can get. I am the country singer for those people who don’t listen to country; I hear that a lot.”

 

Congratulations to Meg Allison for her win in the category of Newest Rising Star of 2008 in our Reader’s Choice Awards.

 

BOOK IT! Bass/Schuler Entertainment or (773) 481-2600

 

 

 

Shevy Smith- Female Performer of the Year

 

While Shevy Smith is a relative newcomer to the college scene, it is clear that she will have a big future here. “It’s amazing,” she says, “and really unexpected. You know, I am pretty much the worst campaign manager in the history of the world, so the award just completely took me by surprise. My ‘everyday’ is about smaller victories in general. Getting to the show, getting it done and making sure all of my audiences are happy is really my main focus. So when something like this comes out of nowhere it is a real surprise, and a real honor. The fact that all of my work and diligence has added up into something tangible like this award is pretty magnificent, actually.”

 

She may be a relative newcomer to the market but she has been around long enough to be pretty savvy when it comes to performing for college audiences. “ I am 25 now and I started the year I was turning 20. Since then, it has been trial by fire, man. I remember Wally (my agent), telling me at the time ‘yeah, I think we can get you a few shows.’ Before I knew it, I was playing 15 or 20 a month. Everything just kind of started happening and it was fun, it was rewarding and I was apparently reaching the right audience. ”

 

The college market is now Shevy’s mainstay venue. “I would say college shows are 10 to 1 what I perform over anything else. There is just sort of an open-mindedness about college campuses; a kind of freshness you don’t find anywhere else. They want to find something that is uniquely theirs, not something their parents turned them on to. They will to call their buddies and spread the word when they see a good act and there is just a sort of optimism you see there that makes me love what I do. I am incredibly grateful and hope to continue having this much fun in the future.”

 

BOOK IT! Wally’s World of Entertainment or (800) 476-0442

 

 

 

Recycled Percussion- Best Music Performance

 

One of the most incredible shows to ever grace the stage of a campus theater, Recycled Percussion is nothing less than awesome. Making music from an assortment of power tools, scuba tanks, barrels, step ladders and even the kitchen sink, this group takes your average garbage clutter and brings the audience to their feet. They leap on stage carrying nothing but drumsticks, two wearing crash helmets and proceed to bash, bang and hammer everything in sight (including the helmets) in a frenzied, fantastic beat. “Recycled” delivers what band member and manager Justin Spencer calls “A Mayhem Show,” and the audience is bouncing in their seats.

 

Justin Spencer, Greg Kassapis, Ryan Vezina and D.J. Pharoah make up the group, but each member has his own distinct stage presence. They pound in sync; they pound separately, but always together as they move across stage to various and sundry drills, pots and conduit. The philosophy for this group that makes their music from trash is: “Recycled tools, recycled barrels, recycled basement garbage, building site leftovers, recycled thoughts, recycled inspirations, recycled grooves and rhythms of the planet earth. According to Justin, “We are a group that makes music from trash and leaves you thoroughly funked. We build our instruments out of your junk and then we rock the house.”What these guys do is immensely physically challenging. Justin says the band works out five days a week to stay in shape for the strength and energy necessary for their show. Even so there are lots of injuries, primarily tendonitis and the cracked elbows and twisted ankles that come from banging and leaping around a set full of heavy metal objects. All the guys, Justin says, are indeed pretty healthy. Need more proof? “We are all walking around with about four percent body fat,” he says, “and we train like madmen. We have to, to be able to play the amount of drums for the amount of time (six days a week), that we do. Not only that, everyday we rehearse the whole show, every show, before we play it. If there is something wrong, no matter how big or small, we break it down right there that day and figure it out. We don’t cut any corners and strive for perfection in every show. If there is something not right we will absolutely not let it slide.”

 

BOOK IT! Quantum Talent or (843) 839-1668

 

 

 

Sean McConnell - Best Small Venue Performer

 

Sean McConnell, first featured as a brand new addition to the college market in our
October 2005 issue, is one of the most uncommonly gifted singer/songwriters of his time. Although due to his quiet, unassuming and humble nature, he may not let you know it, his credits and abilities are impressive, so there is little wonder why the readers of Campus Activities® Magazine have named him 2008’s Best Small Venue Performer.

 

“It’s pretty cool man,” Sean says with a delighted laugh. “I am just very grateful and very flattered and really stoked that students like these shows. It is good to know, because as a performer, you go out there but don’t really hear that much feedback.”

 

Sean’s appeal to college audiences resides not only in his prowess as a performer but in his highly attuned songwriting skills as well. As a matter of fact, Sean is so skilled in this art that he not only writes incredible material for himself, but also has some prospects of penning hits for the stars.

 

About two years ago, Sean signed with a division of Warner Bros. Records. “Around the same time I started touring the college market, I signed a publishing deal with Warner Chapell, so basically when I am not on the road performing at colleges or other shows, I am writing songs. The funny thing is, I don’t consider myself anything close to country. It just so happens that I moved to Nashville to go to college and started writing songs. Country music is very lyrically based music and my songs seem to translate perfectly. Right place, right time, right style. I have had some songs recorded by Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley. It has been really exciting to see my songs do so well.”

 

Two tracks were recorded by Tim McGraw. “‘Mr. Whoever You Are’ I wrote about a year and a half ago and he recorded it just recently.” ‘Let’s Fall In Love Again’ Tim also recorded. He has a record coming out and they are supposed to be on it, but you never know in this business.”

 

BOOK IT! Quantum Talent or (843) 839-1668

 

 

 

Thinkfast - Best Novelty Game

 

For years Thinkfast has been the reigning champion and defended the title of Best Novelty Game Show with Campus Activities® Magazine and TJohnE has done it again. “I think the reason that Thinkfast continues to stay fresh is that the content is always changing,” Tim tells us. Thinkfast continues to add technical and staging updates which keeps the game up-to-date. “We have clients that bring us back year-to-year and we hear all the time people telling us they didn’t even recognize the show at first because we changed the staging or updated our software.” This goes to show you how dedicated Tim John is to making sure the show never grows old.

 

“We are a very progressive company and developed the concept of Thinkfast in a touring mode and we continue to push the envelope for the future.” In recently adding a new survey feature to the software, Thinkfast can now gather information from students to allow the school to know exactly what the students are up to. This obviously allows the school to get real and personal opinions from the students while they are having a good time with a chance to win cash and prizes.“We actually help schools find out if students are really experimenting with drugs or find out how many kids are actually eating breakfast nowadays, which is very important.” These are actual questions and answers that are being incorporated into Thinkfast.

 

Thinkfast is no-doubt a one-of-a-kind show and is always changing to keep an innovative, fresh appeal. Tim gives credit to the hosts of the shows for this award. “Sometimes they work seven days a week and drive 100,000+ miles a year just to make sure the show goes on and they do an absolutely incredible job.”

 

BOOK IT! TjohnE or (616) 285-5744

 

 

 

Western Michigan University - Campus Programming Board of the Year

 

The race for Campus Activities Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Award for Best Campus Program is always a tight one, and this year Western Michigan University squeezed out ahead. The University has about 25,000 students and is the fourth largest campus in their state. The programming board at WMU consists of an executive board of 12 members and anywhere from 50 to 75 members in the general assembly. “The school started out as a teaching school and then switched over to a research institution,” says Chris Sligh, Director of Student Activities at WMU. “We are very highly involved with research and are at the highest levels of the Carnegie Foundation’s recognition of like facilities. We have over 230 undergraduate majors split apart between the 25,000 students, about 5,500 of which live on campus and are the main focus of our efforts. We do try to draw in our off-campus students a lot,” says Jacqui Volkman, student president of the activities board. “I think it is safe to say that our on-campus population makes up a majority of the attendance at our typical events here, but we do make a concerted effort to program and promote events for many of our commuters as well.”

 

With such a large campus population and such a wide variety of majors available from research science to music, there is little wonder that the demographic of students at WMU is incredibly wide. With such a variety of people to program for on a single campus, it takes a wide variety of events to keep ‘em comin’ in. “We have separate committees responsible for concerts, special events, comedy and our Miller movies.”

 

Movie nights are certainly incredibly popular at many of the college campuses across the country, but at WMU, this is so true that the movie night was the genesis for all other activities on campus. “Our activities board actually started back in 1991 based off of our Miller Movies, named for the Miller Auditorium where our movie nights are held. The auditorium has 3500 seats, so its not like a typical movie night. We will hold a movie, and on some of the more recent occasions, we have had 2,500 students or more in attendance. Those are by far our student’s favorite events. We had Superbad recently, and it was pretty much a sell-out.”

 

Jacqui says movies of all kinds are popular, and often the board will orchestrate an event to coincide with various other seasonal traditions. “It depends on when that particular venue is available as to when we can get dates, but if there is something around Halloween, we will obviously find some sort of horror movie to bring in. We do action, comedy, anything that brings a diverse group of films for our audience throughout the year.”

 

Chris adds, “The Miller Auditorium is a really neat atmosphere; it’s not as crazy as say a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” or anything, but the students do really get into it. Sometimes there is even cheering or jeering to go along with the show.” Chris relates that the quality of the experience has certainly been enhanced by the investment made into the system. “There is an almost ‘IMAX’ quality to the presentation,” he says. “We have a very large screen and there have been significant improvements to the sound over the years. You wouldn’t find the level of experience we can provide by just going to a movie theatre in town and we are very proud of the unique experience.”

 

With the initial success of WMU’s Miller Movies, other genres of entertainment were progressively introduced to the student population. “The movies sort of gave birth to all of these other viable forms of entertainment,” Chris says.

 

The Campus Activities Board (or “CAB”) has weekly meetings and sub committees and the executives meet outside these times. “We have a general assembly meeting every Monday at 8:30, which includes all of our members. We get business done then and there are a lot of different things we have to do, but we always find time to break down into our individual committees; so in essence we have our general assembly and committee meetings every Monday,” Jacqui says. These committee meetings include representatives for the Miller Movies, Bernie’s After Hours Comedy Clubs (held in the Bernhard Center), Concerts, Special Events (anything besides concerts and comedy) and a street team to help with promotions. Cap things off with the “Triple R” committee to focus on recruitment, retention and recognition to make sure members of the board are both found and appreciated.

 

WMU has a few traditional favorites they like to bring back to campus, but Jacqui says this has been a recent phenomenon. “It wasn’t until many of the recent members joined the board that we started bringing back events for consecutive performances. A handful of our very favorites include Jared Campbell, who is our only real annual person. We bring him back every year. More recently, our biggest event this year so far featured Wayne Hoffman, the mentalist/illusionist who was on NBC’s ‘Phenomenon’. He sold out and then some. We had to scramble to find an extra 100 seats just to accommodate all of the students who wanted to see him.” Traveling Max is a favorite feature of WMU’s Fall Welcome Week, which is always a big event on campus.

 

Overall, it is obvious that WMU is one school which deserves some recognition for outstanding effort in the area of student programming. And while Campus Activities Magazine wishes we could give awards to each and every one of the hard-working program boards out there that do a bang-up job year after year, this year Western Michigan University’s Campus Activities Board walked away with the Award for Best Campus Program for 2008.

 

For more information on the WMU Campus Activities Board contact Chris Sligh at (269) 387-2117.