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[ Thursday, April 22, 2004 ]

Movin' On serves a musical 'soup'

Collegian Staff Writer

Well, the wait is over. After weeks of nail biting and quite a few unfounded rumors, Movin' On has a lineup.

Along with The Eyeliners, The X-ecutioners, Glengharry Bhoys and others, goth-rockers VAST and joke-punks Bowling for Soup will take the stage Saturday on the HUB-Robeson Center lawn.

The Texas-based quartet, Grammy-nominated for its 2002 pop hit "Girl All the Bad Guys Want," is probably most well known for playing "that prom band" in Britney's cinematic venture Crossroads.

Bowling for Soup guitarist Chris Burney said that playing a big outdoor show like Movin' On is what the band is best at.

"Shows like that are really good," Burney said. "All those people drinking beer, sitting around all day, having a good time, looking at college girls."

Burney said the band-stravaganza of Movin' On isn't an unusual venue for Bowling for Soup.

"We play shows like that all the time, with country bands and stuff," he said. "We have a pretty wide appeal, I think. We're pretty confident that even if people come into this thinking we suck, they'll still enjoy the show."

VAST mastermind Jon Crosby said that, despite the 12:30 p.m. showtime, his band should blend in well with the eclectic bill.

"There's darkness in the music, but there's not this dark schtick or anything," Crosby said. "We're not a goth band. We could be playing a beach party and the music would come off."

In fact, Crosby went on to explain that he's pretty used to VAST being the odd man out in large settings like this.

"People are like, 'Why would you put yourself on a bill with that kind of band?' " Crosby said. "My question to them always is, 'What bands would you put us with?' There's probably only five or six bands in the world we could play with."

VAST, a pioneer in releasing inexpensive online music, is known for keeping its fans happy by providing access to exclusive tracks via the Internet.

Crosby suggested that perhaps Saturday's set could wind up online sometime soon.

"I mean, we can tape the show we do at Penn State, sell it for a buck online and everybody wins, us and the fans," Crosby said. "We're trying to reinvent the wheel, and it's working."

Movin' On director of public relations Nicole Reed said there will be plenty of entertainment for Saturday's event.

"I think Movin' On is more than a concert. It's more of a festival," she said. "So even if you don't like the music, there's plenty to do."

She added that, despite the suggestion that some students are somewhat unfamiliar with this year's lineup, it shouldn't hinder the future of the event.

"The lineup this year is ultimately not going to affect how people feel about the festival," Reed said.

Since Movin' On serves as something of a makeshift coronation for graduating Penn State seniors, Burney had the following advice for those leaving school:

"There's no rubric in life for what you have to do," Burney said. "If you get out of school and you want to be a janitor, you should do it. Just because you've got a piece of paper that says you took a bunch of classes in a particular subject, it doesn't mean you've got to get a job in that area."

Crosby, too, had a piece of advice for those quite literally movin' on from Penn State.

"If you believe in something, do it, because eventually the money will come," Crosby said.

He then added, "Of course, no one in our band has gone to college, so I'm not sure if I should really be handing out advice for graduates."




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