The competition for choosing three student DJs to open for DJ Steve Aoki is well under way, with online voting available now. 

University Union announced last month that Aoki will be the first fall 2010 concert in the Bandersnatch Music Series. The concert will be at 8 p.m. on Oct. 11 during Orange Central 2010 in the Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center.

The event has already sold out at 300 tickets, said Trevor Elwell, the co-director of the Bandersnatch Music Series.

The top three DJs will each be given a 20 to 30 minute set before Aoki, using their own equipment, Elwell said. 

Applicants were required to submit a mix tape they made, along with a paragraph about themselves by last Friday, Elwell said.  

‘Both grad and undergrad students submitted applications. Most of them were very good. The music ranged from Beethoven to ‘What is Love’ by Dubstep,’ Elwell said. ‘I think 90 percent of the submissions contained some version of Deadmau5’s ‘Ghosts and Stuff.”

Voting will close Wednesday night at midnight, and the winners will be announced Thursday, said Emily Fine, the co-director of the Bandersnatch Music Series.

About 30 students applied for the competition. All of the applicants were skilled DJs, but about half of them were cut before online voting began, Fine said. Only nine are listed as options for online voting at www.suaokiopener.com. The website has a voting option, as well as MP3s of each DJ to help students decide.

UU has no plans right now to incorporate students into events again, Fine said. 

‘However, because of the great success this competition has had and how excited people are, it’s definitely something we will look into incorporating into shows in the future,’ Fine said. 

Drew Shields, a junior advertising and international relations major, applied for the competition, but was cut before the online voting began. Shields has been DJing for a little over a year. 

‘I use a lot of dance, pop and rap music. I’m kind of fooling around with it right now,’ said Shields. ‘I like to go with what people want to hear then throw my own stuff, too.’ 

Shields heard about the competition through a friend who received an e-mail announcement about the competition and decided to submit an application. 

‘I already had a mix that I was planning to record, and when I heard about this event, I thought I’d try my luck,’ Shields said.  

Although he was cut, Shields said he was glad to see the new level of student involvement.

‘I think this is a learning situation for everyone,’ Shields said. ‘It’s great to see that UU is trying to get different types of music to campus for students and involving students.’ 

In addition to being a DJ, Aoki is a producer and has his own record label, Dim Mak Records. Aoki released his first album, ‘Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles,’ in January 2008. Aoki has remixed many artists and bands, including Drake, Bloc Party, Kid Cudi and Robin Thicke.

The second Bandersnatch Music Series show this year will be Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. in Schine Underground and will feature Two Door Cinema Club, an Irish electro-rock band. Tickets are available at the Schine Box Office.

medelane@syr.edu

 

Published on October 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani