A bigger venue, more bands, more food and a silent auction will all be part of the celebration as Band Aid marks its fifth year in Carman on Saturday May 5, 2012 at the Carman Community Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show runs from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Returning to its roots this year as a fundraiser for students involved in music, proceeds will go toward the school’s rock band program. In the past proceeds from Band Aid have gone to Haiti relief and the Red Cross. Rock band students also organized the special fundraiser concert, Rock for Jolene.
Evan Dracass of Conspiracy Theory, the school’s rock band, says the group hopes to raise funds to buy more equipment to cut down on expenses for future concerts. “We also want to buy some equipment that we can take with us to play at other schools and use in the band room for practices.”
Joel VanKoughnet and Jeremy McGill, the students behind the first few Band Aid events graduated three years ago but they’ll still be on hand to take in this year’s event. VanKoughnet said he was pleased that five years later Band Aid still provides a means for students who are either in high school or just out of high school to perform with quality sound equipment in front of a crowd. Alex Stobbe, another former Carman student is a sound specialist for a music store by day who also operates his own sound business, Real Time Audio. He said he wished Band Aid would have existed when he went to school and offered up his equipment and crew at cost to the participants. Although McGill who has run the sound in the past will be passing over the sound reins this year he will still be helping out with the event, most importantly by again putting together the Band Aid website.
A special feature of the site is the ability to pre-order advance tickets. Simply enter your information, print out the bar code and bring it along to the event with your payment. Using this advance method will get you a ticket for $6 while tickets are $8 at the door. Special family passes are available for $20 in advance or for $25 at the door. Advance tickets are also available at the Carman Collegiate office or by calling 204-745-2001.
With the bigger show this year come more expenses. A group of students headed up by Amanda McGill and Samantha Dracass are responsible for the marketing of Band Aid and Conspiracy Theory. They have been working hard to raise funds to mount the concert by holding specialty coffee and bake sales and organizing a silent auction for the event. They will also be helping rock band staff supervisor Clint Rivest produce the home-made pizza which will be for sale at the event.
Heather Armstrong, a staff supervisor with Band Aid since its inception said she was pleased with the effort being put into the event by the students involved. “Our band members and our marketing team are learning important skills that will help them at school, in the workforce and in life. They are learning how to work together, how to fundraise, how to communicate effectively and even how to make good pizza!”
The five main bands at Band Aid this year include Wrong Generation from Sturgeon Heights Collegiate, Talent Whack based out of Sanford and Oak Bluff, and Carman-based bands Blackout, Mind Over Matter and Conspiracy Theory. Acoustic acts include four of Angela Durand’s Grade 7 guitar students - Alexander Banman, Jordan Deamel, Matthew Dennis and Tyson Scott, and singer/guitar players Eliette Rheault, Jessica Rutter and Rachel Ashley Byrka. There will also be some special acoustic performances by some of the band members involved in the concert. For more information on the bands and acoustic acts that will perform at Band Aid this year, visit the Bands page above.