It was a battle of the bands if there ever was one. A red carpet unfolded on Marshall Street last night as musical artists gathered and vied for the attention of adoring fans. The neon lights were highlighted by cataclysmic background music, the air filled with the scent of ale and brewery.

In reality, though, the red carpet consisted of a table cloth spread across a banquet table at Darwins Restaurant and Bar. Artists were merely represented in the form of posters, pins and flyers, and the party setting was all a part of ‘Club Foot Night,’ an album-release listening party.

The showcase was made possible through the efforts of junior television, radio and film major Dan Bodansky, who planned the event in order to promote the new CD release from Kasabian, a British rock band. Over the course of a month, Bodansky has worked with Sony BMG to culminate these efforts into a promotional display of numerous bands for the Syracuse University campus.

‘The idea is for people to hear about new music, have a good time and take some free stuff,’ said Bodansky, who is the college marketing representative for Sony BMG.

Bondansky added that the display was made possible by his fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, University Union Concerts and WERW – organizations that sponsored the event, as well as the accessibility provided by an ‘over and under’ bar night.

The variety of entertainers and genres promoted at the event was limitless, ranging from the rock piano of Ben Folds to the hard rock of Kings of Leon. Other artists presented at the table included Mudvayne, The Raveonettes, The Afters and The Kills. As students scavenged and picked through promotional items like vultures at a corpse, Bodansky played a music mix of various British rock bands. During the evening, a free raffle was used to auction off three different musician packages, which included the sounds of The Kills, Ekland and Kasabian.

One of the students who attended the showcase, sophomore accounting and finance major Jeff Hirshfield, said he appreciated the opportunity to lift his head out of the books and expose himself to different music performers.

‘I wanted to get a taste of music I never heard before, and I really wanted to support Dan,’ said Hirshfield, who is also a member of A E Pi. A majority of the attendees were brothers in the fraternity, and many of them came with the goal of supporting the efforts of their fellow fraternity member.

‘I really wanted to come out and support Dan and A E Pi,’ said Paul Wachtler, an A E Pi member and undecided freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. ‘He’s worked hard on it and put a lot of publicity into it.’

Bodansky assumed his role as a marketing representative after the departure of Josh Roth, a junior marketing and music industry major, who held the position for two years. After his first opportunity to hold such an event, Bodansky commented that his ability to pull it together was greatly influenced by the contributions of other organizations.

‘If I didn’t have outside sponsorship, I wouldn’t have been able to do stuff like this,’ Bondansky said. Due to the success of the music program, Bondansky plans to organize another listening party on March 30, ‘March Metal Night,’ in which participants will be able to listen to selections from a newly released ‘Mudvayne’ album.

One of the night’s attendees, freshman sports management major and AEPi fraternity brother Steve Shur, said he enjoyed supporting Bodansky and will continue to do so for the sake of quality music.

‘I hope to take away enlightenment from the songs,’ Shur said. ‘It’s always good to hear from new bands.’

Published on March 8, 2005 at 12:00 pm