Putting the swing into Fling

Since the 1960s, when Spring Fling began, hordes of students swaying to music have characterized Penn's annual party weekend. Throughout alcohol bans, varying hair lengths and ever-changing food vendors, music has remained the mainstay. Some music acts have met with great success, using Fling as a springboard to greater things, while others have lived on in infamy as that no-name band who found a temporary home in the Quadrangle. And some performers have jumped at the opportunity for a raucous college party to stage their comeback. Eighties pop sensation Tiffany will rock the lower Quad this year. "I think it's great that Penn is giving an artist like Tiffany, who has had a bit of a dry spell, a chance at making it back into the mainstream," said Andrew Wilmont, a College junior. "I was a huge Tiffany fan back in the fourth and fifth grade, so much that the other boys didn't like hanging out with me because I liked to sing 'I Think We're Alone Now.'" This weekend, thousands of Penn students will pack the Quad for carnival games, food and drinking, while 33 music groups chosen by the Social Events and Planning Committee will provide the soundtrack to their memories. The bands in the Quad all play for free, receiving about half an hour of play time and a few minutes after the show to promote their CDs. "They're getting great exposure and practice in front of a large audience," said SPEC Fling Committee Co-Director Christina Chiew, a College junior. "It's a great way of promoting themselves." The Quad, with its open-air stage and thousands of carefree college students begging for entertainment, is unlike any other venue in Philadelphia. On average, between 8,000 and 12,000 students pass through the Quad gates during the daytime festivities. "We just love playing festivals," said Jonathan Klear, manager of both The Asher Kahn Band, a rock and roll group, and the Fabulous Johnson Brothers, a self-described mix of James Brown meets the Rolling Stones -- two of the bands that will perform on Saturday. "I mean how many times can you play a bar? Being outside makes the sound so fresh and it opens them up to a new audience and creates a following in a new area." Since the start of the fall semester, the SPEC daytime committee has been collecting tapes. And right before spring break, the committee held a listening party where 20 students stuffed the Student Activities Office to hear demo tapes blaring from speakers. Two-hundred bands from up and down the East Coast sent in samples. "From the 200 initial groups we weeded out that guy that plays the banjo with his feet, mainly the guys that have no talent at all," said SPEC Fling Committee Co-Director Kevin Meyers, a College junior. " One of the things we really try to instill is diversity, but we don't want to sacrifice quality to do so." Everything from funk to punk rammed the judges ears. "Anyone can come to the listening party, we don't reject anybody from stopping in. It's everyone's Fling," Chiew said. "We try to listen to every part of the song, starting at the beginning and then, if the beginning isn't so hot we move through it so every tape gets a fair shot." Yet, some students don't even realize the sonic perfection, engulfed in velcro jumping, sumo wrestling and dorm parties. "It doesn't really matter whose playing because everyone is pretty much drunk anyway," College junior Jeff Julien said. "I don't even know who's playing." Regardless, the bands -- many of whom return year after year -- say that playing Fling is worth it. College junior Jesse Rendell, of DLD -- formerly "Don't Look Down" -- is psyched for the show. His band will be appearing at Fling for the third time this afternoon. "You know you'll always be in front of a good crowd, your friends will be there and everyone will be intoxicated so they'll like you even if you suck."