Landing all the way from outer space — or San Diego, California, rather — this Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Campus Center is We Shot the Moon, the four man indie–rock band headed by lead singer Jonathon Jones (former singer of Waking Ashland).
GAP will be sponsoring the performance, which will take place outside in the Gator Quad, weather permitting.
Allegheny is only one of a long line–up of college venues We Shot the Moon is headlining this season. The band played at Westminster College last Friday, and though their new release “A Silver Lining” has them touring through Indianapolis, Illinois and even Kalamazoo, according to Jones, they surprisingly just can’t get enough of the east.
“We enjoy East coast shows more than West coast because it’s a little bit out of our element,” said Jones. “It’s a good chance to transport ourselves to a different vibe. We play everywhere in the country, but there’s definitely a certain vibe on the East coast that we appreciate and have grown to love.”
If West coast indie sounds like too much of a novelty, Natalie Curtis, ’12, president of GAP, encouraged students to come anyway, for the free ice cream novelties that will be available at the concert.
“[The concert] won’t conflict with night plans, since it’s at an earlier time,” Curtis said. “It should be really nice to eat dinner outside and listen to the music.”
GAP discovered We Shot the Moon this past February at the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA).
“We met them, saw them perform, and thought they were really good,” Curtis said. “I have their CD and listen to them all the time.”
“The band puts on a lively performance,” said Kelsey Gooding, ’12, vice president of special events for GAP. “The members are really funny and cool.”
According to Curtis, while GAP does have the final say in which bands and performances come to campus, the decision is based on campus surveys that all students are encouraged to complete.
“We try to appeal to the whole campus and keep the performances diverse,” Curtis said. “We had a lot of acoustic acts last year, and we’re trying to break away from that with this band.”
Jones, in addition to his post as lead singer/songwriter for the band, also plays the piano, which adds a very distinctive feel to the group’s music.
“When I was 8, my mom told me that I was gonna be taking [piano] lessons, and I said ‘alright,’ Jones said. “I’m really thankful that she got me involved. I think my life would have been a lot different if she hadn’t opened me up to this world.
Jones said that the band actually prefers to play at colleges rather than other, perhaps bigger concert venues.
“We find that the reception of our music is a lot better…it’s a better experience all around,” Jones said. “We’re not the kind of band that carries any attitude. We like to meet different people, [including] people who’ve never even heard of our band. They’re the people we’re playing music for.”
He added that the band would love for students to come up and introduce themselves if they happen to see the members walking around carrying instruments.
“We’d love to hear about what’s going on at [the] school,” he said.
Gooding encouraged students to check out the band’s official website: www.weshotthemoon.com, which features a free sampler track listing of some of their songs, including “A Silver Lining” and “Brightside.”