Earworm to DJ homecoming

By Molly Chiu     10/7/10 7:00pm

Rice students asked for bigger artists on campus, and the Rice Program Council Concerts Committee has responded. DJ Earworm is coming to Rice for the Homecoming Concert, which will take place Oct. 22 in the Grand Hall at the Rice Memorial Center from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Tickets are on sale for $5 in advance and $10 at the door. They can be purchased from RPC college representatives and at the information desk in the RMC. Due to the venue's fire code restrictions, only 550 tickets will be available.

The cost of tickets is a change from last year's free Homecoming Concert. Sid Richardson College sophomore and RPC Concert Co-Chair Julia Retta said the price of tickets will help to cover the costs of hiring DJ Earworm. In a survey sent out at the beginning of this year, students overwhelmingly responded that they would pay for tickets as long as RPC booked more popular artists, Retta said.

Retta stressed that RPC wanted to bring students' favorite artists, but were greatly restricted by budget.

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"It would cost $60,000-100,000 to bring Vampire Weekend and $350,000-500,000 to bring Lady Gaga," Retta said.

DJ Earworm, at a cost of only $6,500, was within the RPC budget with the help of ticket sales. As an added incentive, free food and drink at the event will be available, Retta said.

Brown College sophomore Kathleen Barker said paying for tickets is not ideal but understandable.

"I appreciate that RPC doesn't have a huge budget," Barker said. "I understand that they have to charge to get good artists."

DJ Earworm specializes in mashups of hit songs. His most famous project is the "United States of Pop" series, an annual mashup of Billboard's top 25 songs. Last year's mashup, "Blame It on the Pop," featured songs by The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Jay Sean.

Jones College sophomore Barbara Wilson said she is pleased with the artist choice.

"I think [DJ Earworm] will be fun for people to dance to," Wilson said.

In past years, RPC has booked artists of the indie genre, such as The National, Ben Kweller, Augustana and The Wild Moccasins. Students will recognize songs featured in DJ Earworm's mashups as popular radio hits. Jones sophomore Ally Jones said she would go to the concert because the artist was more mainstream.

"More people are into mashups," Jones said.

The Concerts Committee hopes to continue the tradition of bringing new and exciting live music to campus, Retta said. Its main projects are two large concerts, one in the fall and one in the spring. Smaller shows like last night's The Kicks pre-Austin City Limits concert at Willy's Pub are also on the agenda.

The RPC Concerts Committee was formed last year after a restructuring of the RPC committees to focus on bringing live music to Rice. It is responsible for finding and booking artists and planning concerts. Retta and Duncan College sophomore Lawrence Lin, the two co-chairs for the 2010-2011 school year, were selected after applying last spring and interviewing with the RPC executive council and faculty advisors.

Retta said she applied for the position because she wanted to get involved with concert programming on campus.

"I wholeheartedly love the concert experience," Retta said.

Retta and Lin are joined on the committee by a team of eight students from various colleges and years, each of whom applied and were selected for the position by Retta and Lin. Committee members provide input and ideas and also help plan the events.

The RPC Concert Committee is already at work planning more concerts. Retta hinted that artists from Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest were on the short list. Students should look forward to bigger and more exciting names in the spring, Retta said.

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