What's all the fuss about tomorrow night at the Tall Shiva Hookah Lounge?

It's Roustabout!

Starting at 9 p.m. tomorrow, music will take all shapes at the all-ages show. Admission is $4, and the show will keep moving until 3 a.m. Bands set to perform are: Dr Zaius Transmission, Hallelujah, The Bullet Parade, The Red Light and The Car Mats.

Creator Jeff Van Fossan, who is also frontman for The Bullet Parade, organized the show, the second this semester at the Tall Shiva Hookah Lounge, 224 W. College Ave.

Van Fossan got the idea for Roustabout! two years ago, after attending similar shows in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Those shows featured an amalgamation of indie bands intermixed with DJs spinning a variety of music, from brit-pop to soul to new wave. Intrigued by the idea, Van Fossan decided to attempt something similar in State College.

"There seems to be people here into music for music's sake," Van Fossan said. "I figured rather than have to drive, I may as well have something here in the area."

Initially, Van Fossan held the shows at local bars and said they drew a decent size crowd. In an effort to make the shows more accessible to the under-21 crowd, he recently made the shift to other venues, such as the Hookah Lounge.

Word of mouth has allowed the shows to reach bands looking for a venue to play, and also helped to build a community of supporters.

According to Van Fossan, about 150 people turned out for the last show in March. All of this seems to support his idea that there is a lack of new musical styles in the area.

"I'm a big proponent of saving the State College music scene," Van Fossan said.

As with all the other shows, tomorrow's Roustabout! will feature bands playing roughly 40-minute sets, with records being spun in the interim. According to Van Fossan, this allows bands to focus on playing original material, while still catering to people who may like to hear a Rolling Stones tune or the like. Though this is only the second show this semester, Van Fossan would like to increase that number to allow for more variety in the future.

"Ideally, the best frequency to have these shows would be once a month, especially in order to rotate DJs and bands," Van Fossan said. "That makes sure it doesn't get boring."

Pat Burkholder (senior-English) will be pulling double duty at tomorrow's show, acting as temporary drum-slinger for The Bullet Parade as well as fronting Dr. Zaius Transmission. He said he's seen a lot of people supporting the shows and looks forward to it being more continually accessible by not being isolated to bars.

"People who come out now actually want to see music, not just get drunk," Burkholder said.

Preparing to graduate, Burkholder hopes to see a desire in creativity maintained, and he feels that the Roustabout! shows provide people with that outlet to foster the same types of passion that he himself feels toward music.

"There's such a need for a show like this, I can't stress that enough," Burkholder said. "It has the makings for a really good time."

With the collective enthusiasm of the people involved, Van Fossan will continue to hold more shows in the future. The only problem he now faces is whether or not impending finals will hinder a strong turnout.

"Either people will use this as one last hurrah, or no one will show up because of studying," Van Fossan said. "I'm here though and there's not much else going on. I'm just looking for a way to generate something to do."