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	Vol.7, No 20, October 4, 1999
	A.S.I. won't come up with concert act  Associated Students Inc. has been trying to have a big concert in The Pyramid for at least five years. To this day, A.S.I. has yet to book a major band in the great arena we call The Pyramid. Ken Hanson Some of the various acts A.S.I. has tried to book include Tori Amos and Pennywise. Now A.S.I. President Toby Sexton and A.S.I. Administrator Robert Garcia have tried to book three bands thus far this semester.  As of Thursday, Rage Against the Machine and Sugar Ray have both declined the schoolís offer. The A.S.I. was waiting to hear from Smash Mouth to see if they accept the A.S.I offer to perform in The Pyramid. While it would be a great way to boost school spirit and revenue for the campus, it is just not likely to happen. No one really knows why the bands have declined the A.S.I. proposals, but I can guess a couple of reasons. Part of the problem is that A.S.I. wants to book major bands that have had new albums released recently.  I'm no industry insider, but most bands launch national tours after releasing a new record. And with the amount of time it takes to produce, mix and distribute an album many of these shows can be booked way in advance. So maybe A.S.I. just got to them too late. Maybe that happened. But then again, why not just make CSULB another stop on the tour? Well, if you havenít noticed, we are located in Long Beach. Yes, it is the "good part" of Long Beach, but unfortunately, our entire city is not generally considered to be a great neighborhood. Maybe thatís what is keeping the bands away. But I donít really think that is the answer, either.  More realistically, who, except for members of the CSULB community, Long Beach residents and avid volleyball fans know what The Pyramid is or where itís located? I think that is the real problem. Nobody outside of Long Beach really knows what The Pyramid is all about.    The joint was designed to hold concerts, sporting events, major rallies, ceremonies and about 5000 people.    It really is a nice place and would be great for a live concert, but A.S.I. has not been able to get any big-name bands in there.  "There is going to be a concert this year, and a 90 percent it will be this semester," Garcia has said. Honestly, that sounds like wishful thinking on Garcia's part. How can we have a concert if we canít sign a band? Is anyone going to pay $15 for a concert with no band? No.  Fortunately, A.S.I. has at least one more band to contact if Blink 182 passes on the offer.  Beck is one of the last hopes for a concert this semester. But if they take the bait, the concert, originally slated for mid-November, will have to be pushed back to December. There is a great pool of talent in the Long Beach area, and Iím sure some of those bands would jump at the $3500 payoff and the chance to play in such a large venue.  A.S.I. could get one of these local bands to play, but they might not sell enough tickets at The Pyramid and have to move the concert into the USU Multipurpose Room. At least we know that A.S.I. is working hard for us students. Maybe the characters over there can get something accomplished before the end of the semester.		A.S.I. seeks Smashmouth Football return proposed Student injures head on campus Forum will assist graduate studies Two campus centers join fight against breast cancer Italian author makes way to CSULB Theater professor aids world's disadvantaged Visiting not a right A.S.I. won't come up with concert act 'Superstar' good laugh Club soccer kicks Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.