By: Stephanie Turaj
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Sam Adams
Sam Adams displays his humourous nature that is also apparent in his songs. Adams is most well known for a remix of a song called “I Hate College.”
After a year of musical silence from the Rodgers Recreation Center, the spring concert is back — and with a bonus concert. This year, the Spring Concert is taking a switch from the rock genre of a few years past when the band the Plain White T’s performed at Salve. Sam Adams, a hip-hop artist in his early 20s, will be this year’s headlining name at the 2011 Spring Concert. The concert is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board Concert Committee and the Office of Student Activities, and will be on Wednesday, April 13. The opening act, which has not been announced yet, is scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. and Sam Adams will perform at 9 p.m.
However, there is also a second musical treat in store, especially for those who are rock fans. The solo-artist Five Times August will perform on Friday, Feb. 18 as part of the Office of Student Activities’ Friday Night Live series. This concert will be free of charge and held in the Wakehurst Fireplace Lounge for a more intimate setting than the larger Spring Concert. Five Times August, whose real name is Brad Skistimas, said he was influenced by a lot of older music, such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys. “I fall in the line of John Mayer and Jason Mraz and other singer-songwriters.” His sound has an acoustic guitar feel to it, with songs such as “Better With You.” The video to this song is set in a school, and features flirty musings and thoughts about a relationship or crush. Matthew Martin, Assistant Director of Student Activities, described Sam Adams musical style as “electro-pop-rap.” Martin said that the selection of Sam Adams was due to the efforts of the CAB Concert Committee. The committee surveyed students in the fall about music preferences, and hip-hop was the genre that many students were interested in. After getting an idea of what the students are interested in, “we work with middle agencies, who tell us what is available and who’s in the area,” said Martin. “We give them a direction, and then they give us a list.” Other artist possibilities were The Far East Movement and Wiz Khalifa, but the CAB Concert Committee ended up agreeing on Sam Adams. Martin added that Sam Adams is a local musician, so he is known in the area. Sam Adams is a Boston native, and was recruited to play soccer at Trinity College where he is now the team captain and still currently enrolled, says Sam Adams’ website. Adams started his music career in 2009. According to William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, a summer on the island of Nantucket led Adams to a meeting that signed him as the debut artist of independent label 1st Round Records. In less than a year, Adams reached the #1 Hip Hop album spot on iTunes. According to his website, Adams has opened for the Ying Yang Twins and performed at Dartmouth and Trinity College. Sam Adams is known for his remix of “I Hate College,” by Asher Roth, and he recently came out with a new remix of Lady Gaga’s song “Poker Face.” The song features Adams rapping with cuts from Gaga’s song in the background. Other songs include “Swang Your Drank,” and “Coast to Coast,” both fun hip-hop songs that sound like they belong on the soundtrack for a fun night of partying. Martin said there are no stipulations on what Sam Adams can and cannot play because as an artist, Adams should have the freedom to play the work he has created. While Adams seems to find his inspiration making fun remixes and hip-hop party songs, Brad from Five Times August garners inspiration mainly from relationships. A lot of the songs are about break-ups from his late teens and early 20s. “It’s pretty crazy to watch these songs still carry through and still be reliable,” said Skistimas. “Break,” which is one of Brad’s favorite songs was not inspired by a breakup, but by his wife. “I had writers block for a while,” explained Skistimas. “We had bought a piano, so I asked my wife ‘what should I write about?’ She said to write a song about if she died.” When his wife returned home three hours later, Skistimas had the song “Break” waiting for her, and he said it is a special song for them both. Skistimas’ wife Kelly is also his manager. The couple runs Five Times August by themselves. Skistimas played in bands throughout high school, and began performing solo at age 18 under the name “Five Times August,” because he figured it would be easiest to promote himself as a band name. Skistimas explained that he did a lot of touring when he had his first break in 2004, and started licensing his music to television shows. His music has been featured on shows such as “Laguna Beach,” and other MTV shows. Skistimas admits that running a band is a lot of work, but he has passed up several records to stay solo and keep control over his music. Five Times August was the first unsigned act in history to receive national distribution through Wal-Mart stores with his 2007 release “The Independent.” Currently, Five Times August is on a college tour playing at many different colleges, including Salve. Skistimas says he will play whatever songs people will want to hear at the concert, and encourages students to yell out song requests. Tickets to Sam Adams are $15 for current Salve Regina University students and $20 for guests, and are available in the Office of Student Activities starting March 7.
