JustArts spoke with WBRS General Manager Jackie Benowitz '12 and emailed with Director of Special Productions Ben Schmidt '14 about the upcoming Jehuda Raveharz III: Rise of the Lawdance rave to be held on Feb. 4 in the Sherman Function Hall at 10 p.m. Benowitz and Schmidt reveal what changes they have made to the organization of the rave and what the community can expect to see and hear at this characteristically wild event.

JustArts: What are some of the events that WBRS puts on in the spring?

Jackie Benowitz: In the spring, we have about two concerts led by our music department, and I think we only have one that is set right now and that is Yacht. We also have SpringFest that we've begun discussing, and I can't really let you guys know other than it's going to be awesome. And then there's the rave.

JA: What are your respective positions at WBRS?

JB: I am the general manager—I kind of lead everything. Basically, I'm the person who makes sure ... everyone's doing their job, and we're not going against any rules, and we have events to offer people. ... It's basically the presidential position.

Ben Schmidt: I am the director of Special Productions, and I am in charge [and the] supervisor of the non-broadcast programming for WBRS, including the rave and various other events around campus.

JA: What was your role in organizing the rave?

BS: My role in organizing the rave was to ensure that the logistics of location, light show and the booking of [disc jockeys] occurred smoothly in order to put on a great event that is an improvement from last year.

JA: What is the history of Brandeis' raves?

JB: This is the third-annual rave—it was started by last year's General Manager JP Wiegand MS '12 and Aarish Sheikh '11. ... They're both still around [Brandeis].

JA: How did WBRS come up with the name for this year's rave?

JB: I think we have the most fun ... just mixing our presidential names in this.

JA: What were some of the past raves like?

JB: The first year around, we didn't really know how to do anything—we had [the DJs] out back, no one saw them. ... It was just Flaky and the Bail, ... which is [Wiegand and Sheikh]. I made this weird video thing that we realize doesn't work if you have this three-minute video without sound repeated for hours. It gets boring and ... you kind of spaz out after a while because it's so huge, so we had to stop with that.

JA: What specifically will make this year's rave better than last year's?

BS: We are taking what we thought was successful last year—the DJs (several of whom were involved last year) ... and the broad feel of the event—and have improved upon all this by adding a highlighter theme to the event itself, making a fun and exciting atmosphere.

JB: We learned to get professional lights installed rather than buying our own lights. ... We do use our own lights for some of it, but just to fill a room it's too much. We've learned to put the DJs up on the stage.

JA: What makes the rave a unique Brandeis experience?

JB: We should have a great lineup this year of Brandeis DJs, and it's only Brandeis DJs, which is pretty unique I think, and it's just a lot of fun. ... I think confetti has been discussed.

BS: Because Raveharz ... is free to the entire Brandeis campus, it is a great opportunity for the entire community to come together. It truly is an event not to be missed.

JA: Who are the student DJs that will be playing at the event and what kind of music do they play?

BS: The student DJs are Wiegand (Flaky and the Bail), Jesse Vasquez '13 (Dutch Damage), Gil Jacobs '14 (Kid Fish), Michael Hwang '12 (DJ Oktokyu). All four play techno/dubstep type of music but for Raveharz, they given totally free rein to play whatever they want, so I am very excited about this.

JA: What are you most looking forward to about the rave this year?

BS: Watching everyone's hard work pay off into an amazing and fun evening.