A few ingredients for a Bon Jovi rock and roll show include 807 kilowatts of power, 400 cups of coffee, 83 crew members and eight Ohio State students.
Eight OSU students have been selected to receive a hands-on experience with the Bon Jovi tour when it comes to Nationwide Arena May 10.
The students will work with the production team, among other crews apart of the tour, to see how the show is built from the ground up. They will be a part of everything from the building of sets, shooting video, sound checks and visuals.
“They are not so much working at the show as it’s more about speaking with different departments,” said Mike Savas, tour manager and VIP coordinator. “They get a backstage tour, they get a view of how everything works.”
Bon Jovi and his team are providing this opportunity to college students as a way to give back to the communities they visit during their tour.
“It’s great to connect with local fans and local students,” Savas said. “And roadies don’t generally get to talk to people in the area.”
This is the first year for the student outreach program with Bon Jovi and it has been a success in the previous 22 cities of the “Bon Jovi Live 2011” tour, Savas said.
“It’s an experience you cannot get anywhere,” Savas said. “It’s kind of an unknown universe.”
The students will also receive a learning experience specific to their studies.
“Whatever their major is, we try to align them with the correct department so they get the most of the day,” Savas said.
Emails were sent out last week to students in the School of Communication about this opportunity. Those interested were prompted to reply and it took only five minutes for the few spots to be filled.
Kevin Bauer is a third-year studying new media and one of the eight selected. He said being chosen was coincidental and he feels incredibly lucky.
Since receiving an email from Amy Soter, academic adviser for the School of Communication, confirming he was one of the few chosen, Bauer has been instructed to wait for an email from Bon Jovi’s camp.
“She told me a guy named Joe would be emailing me and he hasn’t yet,” Bauer said.
Currently, the students are not aware of the next step in this operation.
Another one of the selected students is Ashley Kanney, a third-year in strategic communications, who grew up listening to Bon Jovi. She thinks this opportunity is a respectable act.
“I think it shows a lot about how they are willing to give back to the community,” Kanney said. “And they really don’t have to do this. I’m really appreciative and I think it’s really big on their part.”
The students will stay to enjoy the concert that night “courtesy of Bon Jovi,” according to the email sent out to students.
No access to the band or Bon Jovi will be permitted for the students, Savas said.
Tickets to the show range from $25 to $144.50 and are still available from Ticketmaster.com.
