Aside from taking care of all necessary needs, my experience in working with Third Eye Blind was interesting, tiring and surprisingly fun!I met with Jeff Gerstein, the head of West Chester’s Major Entertainment Club, along with President John Beam, Vice- President Courtney Conigliaro and many other members of the club on the morning I arrived to help with the Third Eye Blind concert. Everyone was extremely nice while helping me do my job as the band’s “runner.” Being the runner meant when the band, the band’s crew members, or managers wanted something, I was their go-to girl.
The morning of April 17 was an early one. Arriving at Ehinger Gym at 8:30 a.m. was first on my list. After getting situated, members of the club, brothers of Beta Theta Pi, and some other volunteers and I helped unload all of the equipment off of the truck. This was not an easy task to be done, but it was done well and without any problems. Gerstein explained that “they have tripled the equipment that the band had last year.” I am glad we pulled it off.
When the band arrived, I met the most important person, the band manager. However, to me, he was just “Bobby.” Working with Bobby was not as stressful as I thought it would be, and he was great to work with. A plus with working so close to Bobby was that I got to meet and hang out with the band.
After helping with the stage set up, my first assignment was dropping off laundry. This was not a difficult task, but an important one. I had to keep reminding myself that it had to be picked up at some point during the evening.
Laundry was the first of many tasks to come. I got to pick up guitars for the band, go grocery shopping, and also drove one bus driver for a new phone. During our trip to Verizon, “J-MO,” the bus driver handed out three tickets and backstage passes to the three employees who helped him.
My favorite part of the day was when they needed me to “pose” on stage in the drummer’s seat to set up the lighting for the concert. I even got a free guitar pic that was signed by Tony, one of the band members. It was amazing to be up there hours before the band and being able to see what they see.
After all the work was finished, everyone got to do a meet and greet with the band. We took pictures and the band signed our shirts. I got a short break at this point while the band got settled in. After they were settled, I was on a hunt for the New York Times for Stephen Jenkins to read.
Dinner was the hardest part of my night. Collecting menus and taking orders from everyone was not easy. The band ordered sushi, and the crew ordered West Chester’s finest, Pizza University.
After dinner orders were in, I got to catch part of the show. It was your typical rock concert with lights, haze, and even a disco ball, and with 2,000 sold out tickets in the crowd, you could tell! Third Eye Blind was a definite crowd pleaser here at WCU.
Once the concert was over, everyone was relieved. The show and all that went into it was close to perfect. The brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon came to help load the equipment back into all of the trucks.
My night was not over yet. There was still Pizza U and drivers to be picked up. The food was ready around 1 a.m. and I delivered it to the guys on the tour bus in hopes that they would still be awake to eat! After the food was delivered and everyone was happy, I was done.
This experience was a great one and I will never forget it. I made it out alive and can honestly say I had a great time and made great friends throughout the day. I would like to thank Jeff Gerstein for letting me participate in this event and I highly recommend any student to volunteer for the job if asked.
Lindsay Fischer is a fourth year student majoring in professional studies with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at LF597031@wcupa.edu.