Third Eye Blind to play Homecoming

Children of the ’90s grew up with shows like “Saved by the Bell” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” We grew up with computers and we know what it was like to be excited to get up early on Saturday mornings for cartoons. And even though we are now in college we can revisit one of the bands of our youth at the 2012 Georgia College Homecoming concert: Third Eye Blind.

“It’s just our generation and a lot of us grew up with (Third Eye Blind),” Student Government Association President Evan Karanovich said. “It brings us to a place where we can remember.”

The theme for 2012 Homecoming is Back to the Future: Time Moves Forward, Memories Remain.

Karanovich says planning for this year’s concert started in October and Third Eye Blind was signed approximately two weeks before Fall semester ended.

“Third Eye Blind met (all the criteria) and we submitted thinking ‘wow, that’s kind of early to sign a band in October/November,’” Karanovich said. “‘That would be great,’ and at first it didn’t work out. They said that it may not work with their schedule and then came back and said that it would and it’s history.”

Third Eye Blind, with hits like “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Jumper,” has been chosen to headline the show, but opening for them is the Eric Dodd Band, whose sound is a mixture of rock, country and Americana.

Eric Dodd, the lead singer, is originally from the Lake Oconee area and attended Georgia College for a time.

“Eric Dodd was an easy fit. He has done quite a bit of work in Milledgeville,” Karanovich said. “He’s done a few concerts at Capital. He does some private parties and things, but he’s really hit it big.”

 

The Release

On Jan. 5, the band choices were released on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter after Third Eye Blind tweeted about an upcoming show in Milledgeville.

“We had planned to release (the band choices) when we came back to school, but we cannot control everything that the band does,” Karanovich said. “While I think it was a good release, it happened at an okay time.”

Karanovich says, though it caught them off-guard, they were still prepared to distribute the information and it was out the same night.

“I think the hype is exactly what we would have wanted,” Karanovich said.

Some students did not like the way the band choices were disseminated.

“If you get it from a social networking site, rather than the school website it seems less reliable,” senior history major Emily Willis said.

 

Tickets and budgeting

The 2011 Homecoming contract stipulated that Georgia College could not charge anyone for admittance to the concert featuring B.o.B., Stokeswood and Playboy Tre, but this year the policy is different.

“The contract has been changed,” Karanovich said. “This is a Georgia College community event. The plan right now is to have 200 tickets that are available for outside of Georgia College community members.” That is to say, everyone besides current students, alumni, or faculty and staff.

“It’s not about selling to outside of Georgia College,” Karanovich said. “It’s not about making money. This is an opportunity for the campus to just enjoy the concert and have fun.”

If the ticket count remains capped at 200 and all are sold at $25 each, a profit of $5,000 could be generated from the sales.

Students with a valid Bobcat Card will be admitted to the concert for free and faculty, staff and alumni will pay $10 per ticket; however, if they want to bring another guest who does not fall into one of those categories they must pay the $25 for a community member ticket.

Community member tickets will go on sale on Feb. 1 in The DEN and if they do not sell out they will be available at the door of the Centennial Center the night of the concert.

The overall budget for the Homecoming concert is $82,330.

Out of that, $15,000 is being spent onHomecoming week events including: Mr. and Ms. Georgia College, Trivia Bowl, the Bobcat Ramble, the parade and all marketing.

The remaining $67,330 is being used to finance the concert. These events are sponsored by the Oconee Regional Medical Center, Campus Activities Board, SGA and student affairs.

Some students feel like the budget is too large.

“I think the budget should have been reduced based on the economic situation we are in,” sophomore Spanish major Juan Garcia said. “The resources could have been allocated more efficiently.”

 

The event

Doors open to the Centennial Center, where the concert is to be held, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9. The WGUR 88.9 FM pre-show kicks off at 7:15 and ends at 8 p.m. when the Eric Dodd Band is set to take the stage. Third Eye Blind will follow at 9 p.m.

Shuttles will be running between West Campus and the Centennial Center, stopping at the Irwin Street parking lot on the way, before and after the concert.

The student policy on alcohol and the illegal use of controlled substances states tailgating may begin three hours prior to the concert in the Centennial Center parking lot, but no alcohol is allowed inside the venue.

A list of other banned items may be found on the Facebook event page for the concert.

“I just can’t stress enough that we are excited for a good concert,” Karanovich said. “We don’t want people to be upset if it’s not their first choice, but understand that this is a time for us to not be frustrated or upset but it’s a time to really celebrate, not only the concert, but Georgia College with alumni that are visiting. This is just going to give us a great opportunity to do that.”

Posted by Bobbi Otis on Jan 19 2012. Filed under Lead stories, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.