INTRODUCTION

“AS Program Board is a student-operated non-profit organization funded by lock-in fees which aims to coordinate fun and educational events for the UC Santa Barbara community.
Appointed student board members gain hands-on experience in planning, booking, advertising, and running various events ranging from intimate open mics to 10,000 capacity festivals.” So says the Program Board website. At its core, Program Board produces events by students and for students, including concerts, movies, and more. It’s been doing this and doing it well for over 50 years. It continues to be one of AS’s most popular programs.

EXTRAVAGANZA

Extravaganza is Program Board’s signature annual event. Once again, thousands of students livened up Harder stadium for this daylong, UCSB students-only, May music festival. This year’s stellar line up was revealed by graffiti artists working at Storke Plaza. It included:

ODESZA
Rae Sremmurd
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals
Zella Day
Emancipator

This year’s line-up revealed in Storke Plaza Photo Jenny Luo/Daily Nexus

New this year, giant bamboo insects made by artist Gerald Minakawa. Gerald and his assistants at Bamboo DNA have built structures featured at Burning Man, Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, and other festivals.  The two sculptures they built for Extravaganza, “Orbweaver” and “Boots” are both whimsical and a bit scary. About 20feet tall, they towered over revelers.

“Orbweaver” Photo courtesy Gerald Minakawa

Click on these photos by Sean Lieberman.

HALLOWEEN DELIRIUM

As part of a campus-wide effort to mitigate Halloween partying in Isla Vista, Program Board produced Delirium, which included two major concerts with tickets for each concert at just $5 for Gauchos only. Fitz and The Tantrums headlined the Friday night of Halloween weekend and Snoop Dogg drew a sold out crowd to the Events Center on Halloween night, which fell on a Saturday this year. The openers were Allie X and Watch the Duck respectively.

The lines to buy tickets at the AS Ticket Office snaked around the AS/MCC building and getting into the concerts also required a wee bit of patience, but it was worth the wait. Videos from the Snoop Dogg concert posted online tell the story. And that story includes bringing people together through shared music. There were some truly moving moments in the course of the evening. Well played Program Board!

WELCOME BACK CONCERT

Each year Program Board welcomes back the old and welcomes in the new students here at UCSB. This year’s headliner was rapper Vic Mensa from Chicago. Mensa released a seven-track EP, “There’s A Lot Going On” in June. The EP addresses issues including the Flint water crisis and the shooting of Laquan McDonald by a police officer in Chicago. Mensa found a receptive audience in Storke Plaza, which is a long ways from Chicago and was filled to bursting with students.

MORE MUSIC

ROCKTOBER

To showcase local bands, Program Board presented Rocktober in the Hub in, you got it, October. After vetting local bands that submitted clips and info about themselves, Program Board chose The Hypno Rings, Savage Henry, Sun Daes, and West Swell. It was a great night for local bands to jam out with friends and for students to get to know the local music scene.

VINCE STAPLES IN THE HUB

Shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday, Program Board brought Long Beach rapper Vince Staples to the Hub. Staples released his EP “Prima Donna” in August after his debut two disc Summertime ’06 received near universal acclaim the previous year.

BATTLE OF THE DJS

For the third annual Battle of the DJs, Program Board gave all the amazing DJ’s of UCSB a chance to mix it up for the entire student body. They competed against some of the best mixers in all of UCSB in ASPB’s third annual Battle of the DJ’s. The winner, KhoaBe, opened at Extravaganza. The five contestants were HallYourBass, Comrad, Avocado Fries, Taikon, and KhoaBe. They were scored in a series of categories by a panel of judges, that included guest judge LAKIM from Soulection who also performed high energy set for about 45 minutes while Program Board deliberated to decide the winner.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

As Program Board also hosted its annual “Battle of the Bands” this year. The selected bands got to compete against some of the most talented bands at UCSB and, like the DJs, showcase their talents to the rest of the student community.

As incentive to compete, the winning band had the opportunity to record a professional 3-song music video through UCSB Amplified. In years past the winning band opened for Extravaganza, but this may well be an even better way of getting seen and heard by a world audience.

This year’s competitors were: Feral Vida, Frisson, Savage Henry, Sanders Circus, and The Donts.

STWO DJ SET IN THE HUB

Program Board presented STWO with special guests Hoodboi and Taikon in The Hub on Thursday March 3rd. STWO is a 21-year-old producer from Paris, France. Only starting to release tracks in 2013, he has grabbed the attention of millions of fans with his most recent EP ‘Beyond’ featuring “Lovin U”, and his debut EP ‘Moans’. Signed to the Huh What & Where label alongside the likes of Kaytranada, his musical style of smooth future garage bass lines, soulfully pitched vocals, and 808-inspired beats places him perfectly in the majestic bass movement du jour. C’est fromidable!

GROUPLOVE

Grouplove rocked the Thunderdome a day past April Fools! Program Board produced another great show!

GOLDROOM IN THE HUB

During spring quarter AS Program Board presented Goldroom in The Hub performing live with DJ Matt Dimona.

Under his professional nom de plum Goldroom, Legg’s found considerable success as a producer. But at heart, he’s a songwriter. His influences (the non-electronic ones) veer toward the likes of Tom Petty, Al Green and Ryan Adams. On his new EP “It’s Like You Never Went Away,” you’ll hear hints of French disco, bass lines inspired by New Order and angelic vocals layered over (as Legg describes) his “nostalgic production tones.”

It’s sonically grand, sure. But at heart: real songs, with real emotions, evoking loneliness, the ocean, the West Coast. Perfect for a UCSB “campus by the sea” audience!

ONE MORE SOLD OUT SHOW IN THE HUB-JAI WOLF

AS Program Board and UCSB Dhadkan Presented Jai Wolf in the Hub in April. This concert was for UCSB students only with a beer garden for those 21 and up.
Jai Wolf mixes a unique future sound with hip-hop and pop elements. He is gaining the attention of fans and influential musicians alike. After Skrillex saw a tweet containing Jai’s bootleg of his hit song, “Ease My Mind,” he immediately signed the remix. Since then, Wolf has done official work for Alesso, Dirty South, Melanie Martinez, ODESZA, and more. In June 2015, Jai Wolf released his first original single, Indian Summer. Within three weeks, Indian Summer hit #1 on the US Spotify Viral Charts, and has gained global recognition. He has toured nationally including pitstops at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Hard Summer, and wrapped up the year with a headlining tour in Australia.

GRYFFIN AT UCSB

Students were treated to smooth, danceable electronica with Gryfinn on May 5th. New York-based, classically trained, multi-instrumentalist Gryffin, aka Dan Griffith, spent time in the Southland studying music production at USC. He’s now topping 100 million streams online. It’s no wonder; his multilayered melody-rich style of house, and mega charting remixes, such as his remix of Tove Lo’s “Talking Body,” Maroon 5’s “Animals,” and Years & Years’ “Desire,” are the perfect blend for listening and moving to the groove.

Gryffin was joined by special guest Chrome Sparks. The show opened with Conner McCuen (comrad).

Next up was Extravaganza!

STORKE PLAZA LIVE

Although the days sometimes change, most weeks you can expect live music in Storke Plaza during the lunch hour. Program Board makes a lot of these shows happen, bringing both local and touring bands to our campus. It’s especially great that they chose performers presenting a variety of styles throughout the year, like local favorites The Olés.

The Olés

PROGRAM BOARD CINEMA

Continuing a long tradition, Program Board invited students to a year of free movies screened at IV Theater and the Lagoon Lawn. There were even some pre-release screenings. Here’s what the year looked like:

SPRING

Sisters
Concussion
Saw
Mad Max: Fury Road
Ride Along 2
Room
The Good Dinosaur
Risen

TWO SPECIAL EVENTS

SMILE NOW CRY LATER: UNDOCUMENTED HUMOR IN TODAY’S POLITICAL CLIMATE

Jose Iniguez, Julio Salgado, and Yosimar Reyes take hilarious approach as they critique high-profile and low-profile dreams in the current political climate of the 2016 elections.

Jesus: Iniguez is the co-founder of DreamersAdrift.com and a creative jack of all trades.

Julio: Salgado is the cofounder of DreamersAdrift.com. His status as an undocumented, queer artist has fueled the contents of his visual art, which depict key individuals and moments of the DREAM Act movement.

Yosimar: Reyes is a nationally acclaimed poet, educator, performance, artist, and public speaker. Born in Guerrero, Mexico and raised in Eastside San Jose, Reyes explores the themes of migration and sexuality in his work. He holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from SFSU and is an Arts Fellow at Define American, an organization founded by Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Jose Antonio.

POLITICIZING BEYONCE

AS Program Board Presents… a lecture about the one and only Queen B. Kevin Allred will be presenting a conversation with black feminist texts to open up the dialogue on Beyonce and feminism.

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is known as many things: singer, songwriter, actress, performer, half of hip hop and R&B’s most powerful couple, even fashion designer. But few take her seriously as a political figure. This course will attempt to think about our contemporary U.S. society and its current class, racial, gender, and sexual politics through the music and career of Beyoncé. On the surface, she might deploy messages about race, gender, class, and sexuality that appear conservative in relation to social norms, but during this course we will ask: how does she also challenge our very understanding of these categories? How does Beyoncé push the boundaries of these categories to make space for and embrace other perhaps more “deviant” bodies, desires, and/or politics? We will attempt to position Beyoncé as a progressive, feminist, and even queer figure through close examination of her music alongside readings on political issues, both contemporary and historical. We will juxtapose Beyoncé’s music with writings on black feminism and the black female experience in the U.S. (and beyond), to attempt to answer: can Beyoncé’s music be seen as a blueprint for progressive social change?

AND THERE’S MORE

Program Board hosted several recurring and non-recuring events including Free Bowling at Zodo’s, Bagel Days in the MCC foyer, Open Mic Nites and championship game viewings at Giovanni’s Pizza in IV, Astronomy Nights for interplanetary adventure, free Holiday Photos at the MCC, “Rain Supreme” water bar tastings and info with Oasis in Storke Plaza, “Watercolor and Chill” at the MCC, “Yoga on the [Lagoon] Lawn, a Cloud 10 Glow in the Dark Jump Night, Karaoke Nights at Otaco and in the Hub, and a Valentines Day photo shoot, and to close out the year Grad Cap decorating to brighten up the walk to shake Chancellor Yang’s hand, grab that fresh diploma, and slip into the “real world.”

And that wraps up another amazing year of events for student by students. Congrats to all the recent grads, all the best in their future endeavors. Onward and upward to the incoming Program Board 2016/17!