Punk, Rock n' Roll Club has been providing the Brandeis campus with musical nights since 2006, inviting bands from all genres to Cholmondeley's to play concerts. JustArts emailed with executive board members Adam Levitt '12 and Alexander Pilger '13 about the club's plans for this semester.

JustArts: How does the band selection process for Punk, Rock n' Roll work?

Adam Levitt: First, when the time comes around when we get our budget, we start encouraging our club members (via listserv and meetings) to start contacting bands and seeing if they can come to Brandeis and finding out how much they would cost.

Alexander Pilger: Our funding is allocated as best we can to maximize the number of shows while balancing small acts with somewhat larger ones. ... In Punk, Rock n' Roll Club, bands are selected for each semester based on a majority vote during two separate voting sessions.

AL: The presidents count the votes and choose the highest-voted bands that fit our budget. Often bands will cancel, so in that case, we pick the next highest-voted band.

JA: What do you think Punk, Rock n' Roll does for Brandeis that no other club does?

AP: The great thing about our club is that everyone who attends meetings has an equal say as to what shows they want to see at Brandeis. This has resulted in a wide variety of acts including rap groups, indie rock bands, experimental groups and much more playing at Chum's.

AL: We offer students a musical outlet. Since there's no other way to get funding for bands students want to come, it's a unique opportunity to get a band that may cost up to $3,000 without having to pay them yourself. Also, we give students the opportunity to choose who comes even if they didn't contact bands just by showing up and casting a vote at the voting meeting.

JA: What has been your favorite past Punk, Rock n' Roll show?

AP: My favorite show to this point had to have been the joint PRnR/WBRS sponsored by South Brandeis 2010, where Best Coast, Phantogram, Freelance Whales and DJ Rupture all played one mini-festival weekend in April.

AL: My favorite Punk, Rock n' Roll show was Mount Eerie last semester. Mount Eerie is my favorite band and their set was my second favorite live performance I've ever seen. This is really the power of Punk, Rock n' Roll; you can bring your favorite band to you just by talking to them and getting them voted highly.

JA: How can students get involved in Punk, Rock n' Roll?

AL: Students can get involved in Punk, Rock n' Roll very easily. Joining the listserv is probably the most important first step, since all our information is communicated to the club members through email or meetings.

AP: If students want to get involved with PRnR and have a say in what shows come to Brandeis, they can join our email list at rock-n-roll@lists.brandeis.edu.

AL: Our meetings are open to everyone, and they are held in room 313 in the Shapiro Campus Center every Tuesday night at 9 p.m. However, students can also get involved just by going to our shows­­­­—more people means more fun.

JA: What makes a show great?

AP: I think a great show requires two very important factors: the energy of the band and the energy of the crowd. If either of those are lacking or are a little off for some reason, a show is very rarely great. But when they both are, something amazing can happen. No matter what kind of music or how talented the musicians, if there's good energy in the room everyone can feel it.

AL: What I look for in a Punk, Rock n' Roll show is a performance I feel is special. It's best when you can make something happen that appeals to a lot of people too. So I think the quality of the performance and the enthusiasm of the audience are the key factors in what makes a show great.

JA: What does Punk, Rock n' Roll have up your sleeves this semester?

AP: This semester, we got a solid sum of funding from [the Finance Board] and we're going to use it to bring a bunch of acts to Chum's. We haven't made final decisions on what bands will come yet, so people can still get involved for this spring. Hopefully, I'm sure we will, get a good haul of bands that students will enjoy and remember for a long time.

AL: We had both Atlas Sound and John Maus selected to come this semester, but they both canceled. So we have Laura Stevenson & the Cans, and The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die coming so far. We will have much more in the works soon.