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The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com I Thursday, September 24, 2009
BUSINSSBehind
weekend
essentials
Sept. 24 to Sept. 27
LECTURE
Anyone who watches
news-based televi-
sion is familiar with
Mo Rocca's work. The
political satirist has
contributed regularly
to "The Tonight Show,"
"The Daily Show with
Jon Stewart" and
"CBS News Sunday
Morning." He'll be
giving a free lecture
tomorrow afternoon
titled "Making It Up
as I Go Along: Satire
in an Absurd World."
The lecture will start
at 2:15 p.m. in Blau
Auditorium in the Ross
School of Business.
SPELLING
BEE
Whether you were
the champion of your
grade school's spell-
ing contest or just love
watching Scripps's on
ESPN, be sure to check
out Friday's spelling
bee at the Union's
Pendleton Room. A
$100 cash prize is
up for grabs, so bust
out your Webster's
and start studying.
Admission is free.
Event starts at 7 p.m.
FILM
Deciphering an artist's
work is like peering
into his or her life, and
watching a documen-
tary about the artist
gives you that same
insight. With this
in mind, check out
"Superstar: The Life
and Times of Andy
Warhol" in UMMA's
Helmut Stern Audito-
rium on Saturday. The
film chronicles War-
hol's life and his influ-
ence on the art world.
Admission is free. The
film begins at 4 p.m.
r he typical college party
begins with an empty living
room, 20 or so people, and,
most importantly, a suitable
iPod mix tuned through a set
of subwoofers scooped from
the basement of one of the
tenant's parents. And while
this setting may seem to be
enough, if not ideal, for the
average party, LSA senior
Adam Lynn and Business
senior Jason Javer thought
otherwise. Instead of the
empty living room, they got
a stadium. Instead of 20 peo-
ple, 4,000 showed up. And,
instead of a dinky-ass iPod,
they got Nas. While a Friday
night party is a sufficiently
ambitious undertaking for
the average undergrad, Lynn
and Javer thought bigger.
Way bigger. .
It was last March when
Lynn and Javer brought Nas
to Eastern Michigan's Convo-
cation Center. The show was
the culmination of an entre-
preneurial journey that began
as away of coping with classic
fraternity house drama, and it
was a decisive success.
It takes a lot, though, to
make a rhyme-spitting Nas
appear out of thin air, even
though audience members
are more likely think about
the music than the work that
went in to putting the whole
event together. Lynn and
Javer, however, now
specialize in bringing
big names to campus.
Their company Social
Studyz LLC aims to
promote upcoming
concerts even grander
than their past scores.
The two students'
journey from typical
undergrads to concert
promoters and pro-
ducers has been, in
the words of Javer, "an
ongoingentrepreneur-
ial process." One of the
first times they real-
ized they had a knack
for putting events
together was when the
two were appointed
social chairs of their
fraternity, Phi Kappa
Psi, their sophomore year.
Lynn and Javier enjoyed a
semester of planning and
promoting parties until Phi
Kappa Psi was placed on
social probation.
'
"This was devastating for a clubs across Ann Arbor,
social chair where our job was throwing and promoting par-
to show everyone a great time ties. They found that they
on campus," Lynn explained. were more successful than
Lynn and Javer decided to they ever thought.
find a way around it. "We would throw a party
that was designated
for maybe 200 people
and 800 people would
V e kind of show up," Lynn said.
"So we got this little
le didea in our mind that
rea ize pre y maybe there's a profit
to be made out of this
early on this scenario"
***yThey decided to be
is ap y proactive about their
Sbig skills. Their junior
year, Lynn and Javer
founded the business
and student group
Social Studyz LLC.
-_ADAM LYNN There they began pro-
moting parties at bars
.1 ,- and clubs for a profit.
By hiring represen-
co-founder tatives from differ-
ent student groups on
campus to spread the
"It was Jason's idea. He word and bring friends, many
said, 'Well, if we can't do it at of their events were complete
our house, let's just go some- hits. Setting their sights high,
where else. Let's take our Lynn and Javer then started
party somewhere else."' looking for a more chalieng-
The two went to bars and ing, exciting and lucrative
project.
"We were constantly fill-
ing up these bars and clubs.
So from our aspect where was
the next step we could take?
That's how this whole process
came about," Lynn said.
"Thiswholeprocess"refers
to what Lynn calls "the single
hardest project of each of our
lives": bringing renowned
rapper Nas to Ypsilanti last
February.
After months of work
including advertising, finding
investors and booking a venue
for their artist, Lynn and Jav-
er's hard work finally paid
off when they met Nas and
witnessed the crazy amount
of people who came to see
him perform. Close to 4,000
people attended the concert
at nearby Eastern Michigan
University. Lynn and Javer
were ecstatic. Not only to
have met the hip hop royal,
but also to have produced
such an enormous event.
"It was ... the coolest expe-
rience I ever had," Lynn said.
But he was quick to point out
the hardships that came with
the endeavor as well.
See SOCIAL STUDYZ, Page 4B
CONCERT
Airtight, hella-crisp
and endlessly melodic,
Irish indie-electro-
rock-poppers Bell X1
are one of the most
promising imports to
come to Ann Arbor
as of late.. Opening
is the equally catchy
Wild Light. Hooks and
smiles should abound.
The show is tonight
at the Blind Pig, with
doors at 9:30 p.m.
Tickets are $12. 18+.