Students enjoy a show by the Po Boyz at the new Java venue.
The “job board” at the Java House is clean, organized and filled with names by the end of their weekly meetings on Monday at 10p.m. The house, located at 5 University Ave., is comprised of students who have a passion for music. “We all jive well together,” Quinn Delahanty ’11 said. Their cooperation is behind every successful Java show.
“Promo” is the first job listed on the board. “Usually facebook promotes the event for us, but people doing promo will create posters or sometimes the band will send their own,” Jordan Pescrillo ’12 said.
“Guest” is the next job, which entails hospitality. He or she provides food for the guest from the Pub or Dana and explains the specifics of the venue. “Our venue is a free show, so they will have to work harder to hold onto the crowd because people are always coming and going. Also, the show starts between 10:00 and 10:15p.m., but there are never any St. Lawrence kids there when [the band] gets there,” Colin Campbell ’11 said. The guest job also works to satisfy any special requests of the band.
Java members with the “food” job provide coffee, tea and snacks for the band in the green room at the Java venue. “We try to promote local [suppliers and producers],” Pescrillo said of the house’s food and beverage choices.
The people with the “set up” job make sure that everything is clean and help the band unload their equipment. “We play lots of hacky sack,” members joked. Java also has a ritual before the show in which they play a song and dance around the venue. “I love before the show,” said Sam Lagor ’13.
The last job is “clean up,” where people mop, take out the garbage and help the band pack up. There are also TIPS monitors. “Everyone in our house is required to have TIPS training as of this year because of crowds and transports in the past. We are making sure everyone is safe,” Pescrillo said.
There are also a few more specialized jobs. Tuck Hanson ’11 does all the sound. “It is a huge job and the bands all say that he is really professional,” Pescrillo said. Hanson is also in the process of teaching other students because he will be graduating this spring. “It is very valuable experience and the skills they learn can be used later,” Pescrillo said.
James Racette ’12 also has a very important job of booking all the shows. “It is a really hard job. He has to go to festivals all summer,” Campbell joked. However, Racette said that it is difficult. “It is constantly in the back of my mind. It’s like herding kittens,” he said. Also, working with the managers, rather than directly with the band can be hard.
There is a lot of work that goes into each show. “I don’t think people realize that the bands get here at 6 or 7p.m.,” Racette said. The house said that they could also be cleaning up or entertaining the bands from anywhere between 3a.m. and 6a.m. “The audience is only a small part of the show,” Racette said.
Although students only see the smooth execution of the shows, Java has some challenges. “We are really having growing pains in the new venue,” the house said. “We really liked our old venue.” However, “it has been a much better second semester.”
There has also been a surge in popularity, which they are very happy about. “We are stoked, there are lots of new faces,” Racette said. Many students from schools in the North Country and people in the area are attending. They have had great feedback from not only St. Lawrence students, but from visitors.
Java is also working to share their venue with other groups on campus, such as Ray Ross. “Java is a student space and we are figuring out ways to use it,” Pescrillo said. Java members are doing their best to open it up for bands to practice, but they have “a lot to do themselves,” so it is a work in progress.
The Java House is unique to the St. Lawrence campus. “We are all really proud and happy we can provide free music,” the house said. “I have seen no other schools with this,” Pescrillo said. The majority of members in Java did not know about the house before they came to St. Lawrence. “The school should promote it more,” Delahanty said.
Java also added they would like to thank all their supporters. The house highlighted Keely. “She really helps out. She will give us care packages,” Connolly ’11 said. They also wanted to remind students that there is no alcohol inside the venue. The main goal of the Java House is to bring music to St. Lawrence students, and they have succeeded. Each individual in the house has the same obligations as other St. Lawrence students, but spend their extra time providing us with great weekend events. The house said, “We appreciate out-of-towners, but we love St. Lawrence kids. They are what we’re about.”
