"Promoting the arts, encouraging young-adult involvement in community activities and just having fun are all consistent with the aims of the modern public library. We're thrilled that we have this opportunity," Nathaniel Rasmussen, organizer from the Schlow Library, said.
Rasmussen said the concert will be in Schlow's new Downsbrough Community Room.
"The room's not enormous, like the HUB performance spaces, but large enough for a comfortable gathering," he said. "It has a very nice warmth to it and works well because it can be made accessible after library hours, while locking out the rest of the building."
Alex Katos (senior-biology and integrative arts) is head organizer for the SOMA event.
He said there's a $2 cover charge at the door, part of which will be used for SOMA's treasury and the rest to help the bands out a little for gas and other small expenses.
He added that the group would be distributing free Monster Energy drinks "so it can get everyone hyper and dancing. Hopefully all the hippies come out to dance."
As head organizer, one of Katos' responsibilities was contacting bands.
"I've seen Alien Red play at Chuck's Farm, and they were really impressive," said Katos. "Alien Red isn't really known around here; they're from like two hours away, but they wanted some decent exposure around here. I think students here need to know more about the regional bands."
Vocalist and rhythm guitar player for Alien Red Aaron Brown described his band's sound as "a mixture of Prince and The Rolling Stones."
"We haven't played on campus, but we've played at The Brewery, and we played at the Hookah Lounge, like maybe two or three times, and that's really it," Brown said. "Personally, I've played there; I graduated from Penn State, so I played around in some of the coffee shops. I always like playing there because it's my alma mater."
Alien Red has been together for about four years, and Brown said the band always plays with a lot of energy and an open mind.
"A lot of times at our gigs, we have a lot of other people sit in with us," he said. "We try to keep it real, we try to keep it open. If someone wants to play with us and are good they can."
The "psychedelic" part of the concert comes in with the digital art visualizations, which will be running on a screen set up behind the performers as they play tonight..
"Expand the experience; take the music to the visual level," said Terry Tomei (junior-media studies), bassist and vocalist for The Junk. "I think that's what the guys are trying to do by combining music and digital art and film and all of that -- make it more wholesome."
Tomei said his band's name, The Junk, comes from a combination of jam band and funk style.
"Upbeat, kind of high-energy music is what we like to do. Dance music, people enjoying themselves, real positive," he said.
Dan Dectis (sophomore-telecommunications), a member of the band The Man, said this isn't the first time his band has participated in a SOMA sponsored event.
"We played at the first event they had back in November, SOMA Synthesis," he said.
Dectis described The Man as not exclusively any genre, but a lot of funk and blues.
"I play guitar and saxophone, and we have six members," he said. "We switch up the instruments a lot; several of us play more than one instrument. We're a bunch of bands rolled up into one because we can do stylistically anything."
Ryan Roseborough (senior-film) is the lead guitarist in the more recently formed band Mr. Domecastle, that will be performing tonight.
"We played at a bunch of parties, but this is our first show in a formal setting," he said.
The four-member band will play mostly original songs that Roseborough wrote.
"I would say it's a really eclectic. We're all into a lot of different styles, and we try not to stick to one genre or style, anything like that, but I guess a mixture of rock and funk and jazz," he said. "I don't think we're going to stop; we're just going to play straight through our whole set."
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