Bob Dylan, Incubus, Green Day, Dashboard Confessional, Foo Fighters … what’s next? Actually, that’s not more than a passing thought in the minds of most Binghamton University students. Many don’t realize the behind the scenes work put forth by the Student Association in bringing big-name acts to campus, but they certainly do reap the benefits of the final outcome.
The process of bringing multiplatinum recording artists and internationally recognized comedians to campus requires an incredible amount of planning, persistence and good timing. No one knows this more than SA Vice President for Programming Sandi Dube. With two years under her belt in this position, Dube has quite a lot of experience in bringing top notch entertainment to BU students.
She outlined the general procedure as follows: Initially, the SA programming board will meet and brainstorm potential acts for the upcoming year. They throw around prospective bands, take recommendations from the populous and check tour schedules to determine which acts are a realistic possibility.
After narrowing down the selection they correspond with middle agents, placing bids to try and entice the acts to add a Binghamton date to their tour schedule. When this is successful, the result is Jim Gaffigan leaving students in stitches or a sold-out Gym Class Heroes show.
There is also a lot of speculative estimation on the part of the programming board, which has to adhere to a strict budget. They said they have to consider the asking price of the band, which for some of the biggest names is comparable to that of a new luxury vehicle. Then they must estimate how many tickets can be sold and which venue is most appropriate. Availability is also a concern. With the relatively new Events Center, Binghamton can host shows serving audiences in the thousands. The building is in such high demand, however, that there must be an equally high level of cooperation and communication.
These shows are the result of the efforts of a lot of people, making it a real joint effort. It is also hard to consider the desires of such a diverse student body, as Dube well recognizes.
“We try to mix it up, to provide for a broader audience,” she said in regards to the various acts she’s helped bring to BU.
That is one reason why there has been such success with comedy acts. Some people are very particular about their musical tastes but comedians tend to attract a wider audience.
Working on the programming board seems to have its perks: Having a hand in which acts make it to Binghamton, gaining practical experience in event planning and logistics and having the opportunity to regularly meet the entertainers. It is also a lot of hard work, however, as Dube will attest.
She said despite the satisfaction of making these events take place, she would like to occasionally participate in a concert as an audience member.
“We’re always running around doing our jobs, we aren’t able to just watch the show.”