The lot between the Paul House and the Mu Alpha house is usually vacant. But, as in years past, Centralhallapalooza will fill the space with games, music and food for one Saturday night. The event, hosted by the Student Activities Board, marks the end of the semester and falls on April 28.
As in years past, student bands will perform during the event. Many of the bands performing this year –– such as The Gentiles and The Pickled Beats –– have performed in the past. This year, two bands stick out, not only because they are newcomers but also because they will perform unusual genres of music: Patches of Paisley and Paul and the Peptones.
Patches of Paisley, the brainchild of sophomore
Garrett Holt and senior Nate Jebb, is a self-described group of minstrels that started because Holt found a shirt at Salvation Army.
“The precursor to Patches of Paisley started one fateful trip to Salvation Army. I stumbled across a turquoise shirt with patches of paisley on it,” Holt said. “Jebb said, ‘That’d make a great band name.’”
Over a year later, Jebb’s idea came to fruition when Holt decided to form the minstrel group. He included sophomore Carl Vennerstrom on the posters he made. Vennerstrom had no idea he was involved.
“That’s why I woke up and was a minstrel,” Vennerstrom said.
Vennerstrom, Holt, and Jebb –– who retired from Patches but will return for one last performance –– have invited various musical guests to perform with them at Centralhallapalooza.
“Let’s just say that it will be an extravaganza of the senses,” Holt said. “We will probably have libations to invoke the muses before.”
“There will be a good number of people. It’s like zombie apocalypse meets orchestra,” Venner- strom said.
The second newcomer, Paul and the Peptones, will perform at Centralhallapalooza for the first time. The pep band, an ensemble of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, plans on playing a variety of songs, from modern hip hop and pop to Ray Charles.
“One day at rehearsal, Paul [Meyers], brought Centralhallapalooza up. Someone randomly sug- gested we enter,” sophomore Martha Ekdahl said..
And so, the band did. Ekdahl said the band wanted another opportunity to showcase their tal- ents to the whole school. The 20 some musicians usually play for athletic events under the leader- ship of senior Paul Meyers.
“[Paul] is our pep leader. Sometimes we call him Professor Paul,” Ekdahl said.
This year, the Student Activities Board opened up T-shirt design selection to students using Facebook. The board posted photos to the site, and the selection process hinged on whichever photo received the most “likes.” Out of the six designs, junior Tommy Lundberg’s received over 190 likes.
Lundberg’s design will be featured on this year’s T-shirts. His work portrays Central Hall plugged into speakers.
“I wanted to put Central Hall in because I remember the first T-shirt they did was really popu- lar, and it had Central on it,” he said. “I wanted to have that back in there because I thought [t-shirt design] was getting kind of random and boring.”
For the design, Lundberg used a fine ball-point Pilot pen and a Sharpie, though he started with a pencil. The project took no more than a day and a half, he said.
Fair-style foods are another staple of Centralhallapalooza. This year, Boyle said SAB will serve popcorn, frozen treats, corn dogs, and hot pretzels. In addition, the event will feature attractions, including the traditional surprise. This year, students can play human foosball, climb a rock wall, jump in a Euro Bungee, race through an obstacle course, or play lazer tag.