Last Thursday I met with five of the managers of Friday Night Rock to conduct an interview that I hoped would provide inspiration for this very article. Friday Night Rock, or FNR, is an independent, student-run club whose aim is to recruit alternative-rock bands to play in Fuel, the too-cool-for-school nightclub underneath Collis Commonground. Having briefly belonged to the group during my freshman fall, and having only recently been taken off the exclusive FNR blitz list, I nonetheless was surprisingly ill-prepared for the mega-interview that took place that fateful Thursday evening in Food Court.

Those managers kind enough to meet with me included Mat Brown, General Manager; Don Stewart, Booking Manager; Andrew Sandoval, Finance Manager; Brendon Bouzard, Finance Manager Emeritus; and Pam Cortland, Publicity Manager and Finance Manager Emeritus. The objective of this interview was to get a personalized account of the evolution of the group, while at the same time hopefully conveying a sense of the club’s flavor. In this latter respect especially I am pleased to report that the hour and a half long interview was an utter success. Essence of the FNR managerial staff, you are mine.

Largely because of this, I could not possibly include every comment made during the course of our epic interview, although I would like to. Also, due to scheduling conflicts, Don Stewart’s statements, while incorporated in the transcript, were not part of the actual conversation.

So, when did you guys come up with the idea for Friday Night Rock?

Mat Brown: I came up with the idea my sophomore spring. I went to Battle of the Bands; it was in Fuel. There were like three or four bands playing, and I was like, is a really good venue for a rock show. So, I basically just complained a lot, “God damnit, why aren’t there shows there all the time, that’s stupid.”

So in my junior winter, basically last winter, at that point I was in a band and we were complaining that there was nowhere to play. And I was like, we should just put on shows in Fuel. So I blitzed a bunch of people, and I was like, so let’s start a rock venue in Fuel. I talked to Linda Kennedy—I knew her through my radio work—she was like, go for it, we’ll buy anything you need—beer, snacks, go for it.

Andrew Sandoval: We’re pretty cool kids.

Mat Brown: Yeah, we’re pretty cool. Yeah, but then we didn’t talk to each other until we started Friday Night Rock. I mean, we talked to each other…

Brendon Bouzard: I have to admit, Pam, I did not know who you were. I tangentially knew who you were, I mean, I knew who you were through other people who we both knew. But I didn’t know anything about your personality.

Pamela Cortland: Same.

Mat Brown: So then we did weekly shows in Fuel. And last year it was pretty much all campus bands, like Fashion Fashion!, Oh No Dinosaur, The Wonders, Husky Dave, Quadzilla, Reaction Speaks. Oh, boy, that was important. They played our first show ever. They were like all the members of Husky Dave, but they were hardcore and wore bags over their heads.

Brendon Bouzard: What about Rightly Guided Thieves?

Mat Brown: But then when we started, we delved into this. Over Winter Carnival, our first term, we had Charlene, which is Don’s brother’s band, and they’re really good. Not that popular because they never really tried, but they’re awesome. They were up from Boston. Then we did a similar thing, had another band from that label over Green Key. So, spring we did the Chinese Stars, which is kind of a national glam hardcore. Dance punk. But they’re really great.

And so we started this precedent of bringing in bands from off campus, and we continued this throughout summer. And then you saw the fall, which was pretty much all bands from off campus, which didn’t work out at all so we shut down. Now, as far as out of town acts go, we try to only bring in really well known acts. And the reason we decided to do that was because of the Enon show, which was the only really successful show of the fall.

And so that’s kind of where we are now. We’re doing a couple of big shows a term, where one is really interesting, cutting edge sound, and the other is indie-pop.
Mates of State [from winter term] would be indie pop, Ted Leo [and the Pharmacists, the band scheduled for later this term] is definitely indie pop.

Andrew Sandoval: He’s pretty much indie rock.

Brendon Bouzard: I don’t draw any distinction between pop and rock.

Andrew Sandoval: The thing is, if it’s indie pop rock, it generally goes to indie rock.

Mat Brown: And, yeah. I think that pretty much sums it up.

What do you see in the future for FNR?

Brendon Bouzard: I think every rock band in New England is going to want to play FNR.

Mat Brown: Yeah. I think that this campus is so rock starved. For these bands, that’s a really big deal. I mean, they love that. The Wrens played for like two and a half hours…

Andrew Sandoval: No they did not. They played for an hour and a half, tops. Pam, you have the CD. They didn’t even play all the songs off their album, right?

Mat Brown: Dude, they played for a really long time.

Andrew Sandoval: I didn’t say it wasn’t the best show I’ve ever seen, because it was. But if they played for two and a half hours, I would have died. I would have fucking had a heart attack. I would have convulsed.

Mat Brown: Word has spread around that we’re a good place to play. I’m hoping to see more campus bands pop up. I don’t think we’re ever going to move out of Fuel. We thought in the fall that Fuel was kind of killing us, but then we remembered that it’s such a good music venue.

What is your favorite thing about Friday Night Rock?

Don Stewart: That I built it. That we bring good music to a campus that used to not have much—with a few misses along the way. When we started FNR we were all kind of friends or became friends very quickly, so one of the nice things about it is how it’s moved from sort of this thing that a bunch of friends did to this organization that I think is going to have some life beyond what a lot of friends did. I think it’s really nice that there are enough people on this campus who care enough about the things that we cared about when we started it to hopefully continue it in the future.

What do you think is the best thing about Friday Night Rock?

Andrew Sandoval: The best thing about Friday Night Rock, besides all the cheap drugs and hookers, well, the Wrens show was pretty much the best event of my life.

Mat Brown: I think the best thing is that it’s created a rock community where it didn’t exist before.

Andrew Sandoval: Yeah, if you can take people making fun of all the music you listen to.

Brendon Bouzard: Group hug.

Andrew Sandoval: If we had something like this when we were freshmen, we would have met a lot of the friends we met junior year from the beginning.

Mat Brown: And that’s the way it is with a lot of the ‘08s now.

Andrew Sandoval: Also, afterwards we usually throw dance parties in Fuel. And after those we have the after parties.

What do you have to say in response to what people say about you guys?

Mat Brown: What do you people say about us?

Uh, well, I mean, you know.

Mat Brown: No, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?

I mean, you know, that you guys are all emo kids or whatever. I mean. Well, what do you think they say about you?

Mat Brown: A lot of people think we’re assholes. One girl stood outside the Mates of State show telling people not to go in because she thinks we’re assholes.

Why’d she do that?

Mat Brown: Because we are.

Brendon Bouzard: That’s kind of true. We’re very elitist.

Andrew Sandoval: I hold down the asshole fort. I was challenged to a fist fight once because of things I said.

Mat Brown: People don’t really know what they’re talking about when they say ‘emo kids.’

Andrew Sandoval: Mat wants to be emo, but can’t figure it out.

Mat Brown: What? Name three emo bands that I like.

Andrew Sandoval: The Anniversary.

Mat Brown: Yes.

Andrew Sandoval: Last Days of April.

Mat Brown: Okay, but they’re not really emo.

Andrew Sandoval: Dude, they’re so emo.

Mat Brown: No, they’re not. No, they’re not.

Wait. What’s the difference between ‘emo’ and ‘indie’?

Brendon Bouzard: Emo is the people I hung out in high school with. Indie are the people I hang out in college with. But emo kids do keep on being emo kids, they just don’t go to college. They hang out in the Midwest.

Mat Brown: Indie isn’t really a genre. There’s no unifying sound—it’s an attitude. It’s an attitude of musicians.

Brendon Bouzard: Indie rock is a genre.

Mat Brown: But there’s so much else that’s indie.

Brendon Bouzard: It’s a way of life, man.

Andrew Sandoval: Don’t let these wussy Phish guys say they’re indie.

Mat Brown: What emo actually is is just really whiny and loud and three chords.

Andrew Sandoval: They just cry. All their songs are about needing girls. Anyway, I think that indie rock used to be used to describe movements, like the indie rock movements of the eighties. Indie rock is pretty much like The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., early nineties, and especially late eighties.

Brendon Bouzard: Yeah, that’s what I think of when I think of indie rock. A lot of the more recent “indie rock bands” today fall under that general what-have-you category.

Andrew Sandoval: People get really pissed when you go around talking about what you don’t know anything about. Most people in the scene will try to talk about things that they don’t know what they’re talking about. I mean its something you take pride in, having this knowledge, and it’s kind of like people shitting on it [when they talk about it and have no idea what they’re talking about].

Brendon Bouzard: When you’re a nerd who bases a lot of your own self worth on your knowledge of indie rock music, then having people come along and kind of reduce that to nothingness…

Andrew Sandoval: No.

I mean it sounds petty, but like, I mean if you’re really into sports and you’re really into the game, and I come up and just start spouting bullshit when I don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re going to get annoyed. It’s more an annoyance than anything.

Brendon Bouzard: I don’t mind sounding like a nerd. I mean, we are nerds.

Andrew Sandoval: I just don’t want to sound like an angered prick nerd. I mean, ever since I got into this, I pretty much realized I really don’t like music. I just hate music.

Mat Brown: He’s kidding.

Brendon Bouzard: So, if we can stop talking about emo for a while…

Andrew Sandoval: Because we’re not emo.

Brendon Bouzard: Yeah, this is definitely the most embarrassing part of the interview.

Andrew Sandoval: Basically, I hate everyone on campus.

How do you decide which bands will be playing each term?

Don Stewart: Starting now, I’ve kind of instituted a policy of my own. We generally have enough money to do two big shows per term. Knowing that, when I’m looking at how I want things to progress, I try to book one band that’s kind of cutting edge or experimental, something that might be a little bit less well known or a little bit less accessible, but something that’s a little more important to music today, musically; and then one band we do is kind of on the opposite spectrum. Music that will kind of appeal to everyone, even people who aren’t really into indie rock, some band that they can enjoy.

What can you tell me about FNR that most people don’t know?

Andrew Sandoval: We put on this thing in Fuel. Several times per term. It’s where a band plays for people and we give out free beer.

Mat Brown: A lot of us are really good friends. People probably don’t know that even though we’re really snobbish, we really want people to get involved.

Andrew Sandoval: As long as they’re willing to work.

Mat Brown: In the social thing, you have to have something going for you.

Andrew Sandoval: You have to at least make us look better as a group.

Mat Brown: If you’re good looking, that works for you... I get the feeling most people don’t really know how many people are involved. We have 30 people who are doing something in preparation for this show [the Xiu Xiu show last Friday night]. As this year has progressed, there has been a lot more involvement.

Pam Cortland: Friday Night Rock was not meant to be a clique. I think the idea is that people are afraid to come to shows or get involved in FNR because they’re afraid you have to be involved in the clique.

I mean, I hate it when some of my friends are like, yeah, I kind of wanted to go to that show, but it felt weird. I want it to be more of an open space. I think we’re getting a lot better at that. It really fosters people being like, I really like this band. It’s open.

Be sure to check out FNR this Friday:

Friday Night Rock Presents: Spring of 2004 (Reprise)!
with Reaction Speaks, Fashion Fashion!, Oh No Dinosaur
FUEL 10 PM
Free Admission, Food, Beverage