Get Him to the Union
Haha, interesting experience-filled day to add to the memoir of my life. Today I got to learn how to handle a "rock star."
As you may know, the ASG was charged (literally) with providing the bands for Springfest 2011: and while I made recommendations such as Bruno Mars, Travie McCoy, and the Far East Movement -- in the end we ended up with Shwayze, Cisco & Urban Crush. I wasn't too pleased, my main intention was to get someone with name recognition like Kent always manages to get (Bruno Mars, Drake, 3Oh!3...) but alas, we ended up having to go with someone approved by the University's student entertainment division or something? I dunno.
The story gets interesting when newly-appointed (for the last week) ASG Vice President Kenny was looking for someone to pick them up from the airport. Always eager to help, I volunteered. I had to find 5 pals (which ended up being 3 people from ASG, a housemate, and Angela) and a Roo Express driver would take us to Cleveland Hopkins, and then we picked them up, and took them back to the University. Simple enough.
The ride there was kind of fun actually, it reminded me of like a horror movie or the real world - we were a group I feel would not normally all be in the same place, whether-lone locked into this big box of a bus. But after some two-truths-and-a-lie, we got to the airport on time -- only to find out they hadn't even left Chicago yet due to the plane being delayed. So we chillaxed on the bus in the cell phone lot for like an hour, killing time. Then when they finally landed, we picked them up, and they (2/3 of them) told us that Shwayze himself had missed the plane. (This was his bandmember and manager/other band member?)
So I call command to figure things out, and in the mean time the Driver insists on heading back to the University, and the manager-guy insists on heading to the nearest Starbucks. Meanwhile, "command" was telling me to hold tight at the airport and await instructions. As you can imagine, drama ensued.
Eventually the driver got authorization to stop at a Starbucks along the route - after offering to stop at a McDonalds, to which Mark and Cisco noted they don't come within 5 miles of McDonalds, they wanted "a level up" from their coffee. Then it became take us to a Panera Bread. While authorization was working it's way through a dozen people, the manager decided "we were going straight to the hotel." Well, the driver was not under orders to do that - he was only able to go where his supervisor authorized him to go, which was Starbucks and the Student Union. (This band was legit angry about their Starbucks. Prompting Angela to text me: "They are more into starbucks than you are.")
(During all this, I'm trying to get things working, and the others in the group were small talking Cisco & Mark.) Their topics ranged from questions they get all the time in interviews "who is your inspiration", "what do you do when your not doing music" -- to "How do you hide the smell of weed in a college dorm" o.O; apparently a way that doesn't work would be to whip around a hot, wet towel.
Anyway, my least favorite part of the day was when I reminded the manager guy that we didn't have authorization to go to the hotel yet, and he said to the driver "Listen, I don't know about these kids -- but we're being paid to be here, and we're going to the hotel first." Oh Hell to the No. ASG is the one who footed your bill Mr. Bigshot-of-espresso. Mr. Bus driver, who has been kinda rude to them the whole time to be honest (but he was just doing his job) responded with a "Alright, well I'll drive you to the place I'm authorized to drive you. And I'm authorized to drive you to the Union." The rest of my group was pretty quiet for a few minutes after this, as the once fairly friendly (if caffeine-deprived) "rockstar" people had quickly decided to refer to us as minors. I'm 22 buddy, you're 26.
I don't remember the details exactly of what happened next, but when all the adults that were on my team were fairly silenced by the previous statement -- I said something about ASG having legit influence, and having been the one to pay for the band. I didn't say it in a bitchy-come-back way to the band people, I think I said it to someone else (with the intent of them over hearing it). The way I later heard it told, was I "put the band in their place and they were quiet after that." So I'm alright with that revisionist history - lol.
After the silence eventually broke -- one of the guys that went with us to pick them up exchanged numbers with them, to "kick it" later -- which I'm assuming will involve the illegal paraphernalia they were talking about with the wet towels.
Jump ahead a few hours, guess what -- Quaker Dorm had a fire alarm go off tonight! Bahahahahaha. Wonder how that happened. Well, now I'm working the desk. Rumor on campus though, is they announced on stage that there was going to be an afterparty in Quaker! Bahaha, Oh man this has been a fun night.
I've googled the lot of them, and wouldn't cha know -- Shwayze has tweeted about landing in Ohio, (somehow I assume finding his way to the University) and having an after party at Pat's Irish Pub! Haha, oh Akron, I wonder how that will go.
Quote of the Day: As I write this, a group of residents walked past to see the Springfest fireworks saying: "Who's Shwayze? Why can't we get a band people have heard of, Kent got Bruno Mars..."
>:O I argued and pleaded for a big-name music artist. It's what the Students Want. Why will no one listen to me?
As you may know, the ASG was charged (literally) with providing the bands for Springfest 2011: and while I made recommendations such as Bruno Mars, Travie McCoy, and the Far East Movement -- in the end we ended up with Shwayze, Cisco & Urban Crush. I wasn't too pleased, my main intention was to get someone with name recognition like Kent always manages to get (Bruno Mars, Drake, 3Oh!3...) but alas, we ended up having to go with someone approved by the University's student entertainment division or something? I dunno.
 |
| He's disappointed he didn't get to meet Zippy. |
The story gets interesting when newly-appointed (for the last week) ASG Vice President Kenny was looking for someone to pick them up from the airport. Always eager to help, I volunteered. I had to find 5 pals (which ended up being 3 people from ASG, a housemate, and Angela) and a Roo Express driver would take us to Cleveland Hopkins, and then we picked them up, and took them back to the University. Simple enough.
The ride there was kind of fun actually, it reminded me of like a horror movie or the real world - we were a group I feel would not normally all be in the same place, whether-lone locked into this big box of a bus. But after some two-truths-and-a-lie, we got to the airport on time -- only to find out they hadn't even left Chicago yet due to the plane being delayed. So we chillaxed on the bus in the cell phone lot for like an hour, killing time. Then when they finally landed, we picked them up, and they (2/3 of them) told us that Shwayze himself had missed the plane. (This was his bandmember and manager/other band member?)
 |
| The people we picked up are Cisco (middle) and Mark Goodfeather (right.) |
So I call command to figure things out, and in the mean time the Driver insists on heading back to the University, and the manager-guy insists on heading to the nearest Starbucks. Meanwhile, "command" was telling me to hold tight at the airport and await instructions. As you can imagine, drama ensued.
Eventually the driver got authorization to stop at a Starbucks along the route - after offering to stop at a McDonalds, to which Mark and Cisco noted they don't come within 5 miles of McDonalds, they wanted "a level up" from their coffee. Then it became take us to a Panera Bread. While authorization was working it's way through a dozen people, the manager decided "we were going straight to the hotel." Well, the driver was not under orders to do that - he was only able to go where his supervisor authorized him to go, which was Starbucks and the Student Union. (This band was legit angry about their Starbucks. Prompting Angela to text me: "They are more into starbucks than you are.")
(During all this, I'm trying to get things working, and the others in the group were small talking Cisco & Mark.) Their topics ranged from questions they get all the time in interviews "who is your inspiration", "what do you do when your not doing music" -- to "How do you hide the smell of weed in a college dorm" o.O; apparently a way that doesn't work would be to whip around a hot, wet towel.
Anyway, my least favorite part of the day was when I reminded the manager guy that we didn't have authorization to go to the hotel yet, and he said to the driver "Listen, I don't know about these kids -- but we're being paid to be here, and we're going to the hotel first." Oh Hell to the No. ASG is the one who footed your bill Mr. Bigshot-of-espresso. Mr. Bus driver, who has been kinda rude to them the whole time to be honest (but he was just doing his job) responded with a "Alright, well I'll drive you to the place I'm authorized to drive you. And I'm authorized to drive you to the Union." The rest of my group was pretty quiet for a few minutes after this, as the once fairly friendly (if caffeine-deprived) "rockstar" people had quickly decided to refer to us as minors. I'm 22 buddy, you're 26.
I don't remember the details exactly of what happened next, but when all the adults that were on my team were fairly silenced by the previous statement -- I said something about ASG having legit influence, and having been the one to pay for the band. I didn't say it in a bitchy-come-back way to the band people, I think I said it to someone else (with the intent of them over hearing it). The way I later heard it told, was I "put the band in their place and they were quiet after that." So I'm alright with that revisionist history - lol.
After the silence eventually broke -- one of the guys that went with us to pick them up exchanged numbers with them, to "kick it" later -- which I'm assuming will involve the illegal paraphernalia they were talking about with the wet towels.
 |
| Wiz Khalifa, probably not welcome in Quaker Hall. |
Jump ahead a few hours, guess what -- Quaker Dorm had a fire alarm go off tonight! Bahahahahaha. Wonder how that happened. Well, now I'm working the desk. Rumor on campus though, is they announced on stage that there was going to be an afterparty in Quaker! Bahaha, Oh man this has been a fun night.
 |
| Shwayze's Twitter page's background. Oh jeeze... |
I've googled the lot of them, and wouldn't cha know -- Shwayze has tweeted about landing in Ohio, (somehow I assume finding his way to the University) and having an after party at Pat's Irish Pub! Haha, oh Akron, I wonder how that will go.
Quote of the Day: As I write this, a group of residents walked past to see the Springfest fireworks saying: "Who's Shwayze? Why can't we get a band people have heard of, Kent got Bruno Mars..."
>:O I argued and pleaded for a big-name music artist. It's what the Students Want. Why will no one listen to me?
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