Slayter Slammer returns
after hiatus
Jeremy Rea
Staff Writer
After some last minute uncertainty, the line-up
for this Saturday's 18th Slayter Slammer has been confirmed, with Days
of the New as the featured headliner.
Days of the New, a hard-edged acoustic outfit with
regional roots, replaced Dave Navarro last Friday as the headliner when
a deal could not be reached with Navarro.
"Dave was never official," said Slayter Slammer
President Derek Thomas, "he had something else on the table, and we
decided Days of the New would be a better show."
Navarro had been contacted as a replacement for
Oleander when plans to bring them to Purdue fell through.
Days of the New gained national attention after
their 1997 self-titled debut. Since then, frontman Travis Meeks has
assembled a new backup band and self-produced Days' follow-up album,
the appropriately named "2."
With Days of the New signed on, the line-up for
Slayter Slammer has been finalized.
A trio of local bands will open the show - Serenity
will start the event at 1 p.m., followed by the Slizzard Kings at 2:15
p.m. and Render One at 3:30 p.m.
Because of its absence last year, this fall's Slayter
Slammer will be the first one seen by both freshman and sophomore classes,
and Aaron Snider, one of the organizers of the event and a member of
Triangle Fraternity is confident that they will be impressed.
"I think this will be the best one; we've looked
at the details and the whole thing is a lot more organized."
Poor planning was the cause behind last year's
cancellation of Slayter Slammer, when a small turnout the year before
and weak financial structuring led to the decision to wait a year.
After it's hiatus, Slayter Slammer now returns
with the support of the Purdue administration and promotion from Lafayette's
96.5 WAZY and Indianapolis' X103.
A large crowd is also expected this year. "We're
looking to have 15,000 people, but we'd love to have the whole campus
there."
In addition to the bands, companies will be running
promotional booths throughout the day. Sponsor Powerade will feature
an artist painting a mural during the show. Toyota and Jefferson Commons
also have activities planned.
Also new this year, the event will begin at 1 p.m.
instead of 10:30 a.m. in hopes of boosting attendance because, as Snider
noted "Starting at 1, people will be out there. It's tough to get up
at 10 on a Saturday."
T-shirts for Slayter Slammer are on sale now for
$10, with portions of the sales going to next year's event, the Make-A-Wish
foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.
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