February 11, 2011
To begin the spring semester, the University Concert Series (UCS) hosted the first coffee shop and concert of the semester highlighting a group of our very own professors.
The musical group called “The Profs” consists of Professor Canaan Crane on lead vocals and guitar, Dr. Brad Jett on electric guitar, Dr. John McWilliams on bass, professor Corey Fuller on drums and Dr. Andrew Armond on keys.
The group of professors played a near two-hour set of songs in the Geiger Center Friday night, pulling a large number of students and staff in attendance for the first coffee shop of the year. Monica Bonilla and Mandi Koszalka, co-chairs of UCS, introduced The Profs to the packed out downstairs GC and The Profs began with their opening number, a rendition of “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty. Throughout the show, many students stood to cheer on the professors. This included a little fist pumping, and the classic move of waving the cell phone.
The Profs played many recognizable old hits including “Summer of ’69,” “Come Together,” “Dream On,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and “We Will Rock You,” as well as many others including “Mr. Piano Man,” featuring Dr. James Vernon. They also played many newer songs such as Jason Mraz’ song “I’m Yours” and Train’s hit “Hey, Soul Sister.” Out of the 20 song set, one in particular was dedicated to the freshmen in attendance. Crane introduced the song, “Freshmen” by The Verve Pipe to the freshmen.
“I just love that these are our professors doing this show. It’s awesome,” said Evan Ogden, freshman Applied Communications major. “I’ve had Dr. Jett and Dr. McWilliams and have Dr. Armond now, so it’s cool to see them in this atmosphere just having fun,” Ogden added.
Senior Psychology/Pre-Counseling major Abby Wilson said, “It is fun to watch the energy the underclassmen have because this is kind of their thing now.” Although the large majority of the audience was freshmen, the show also had a large number of upperclassmen in attendance as well. Each member of The Profs was able to express his individual talent through the solo opportunities they each performed.
McWilliams not only played the bass guitar, but also pulled out the upright bass, harmonica and the bagpipe on other songs and Armond played the accordion on one song as well. Armond also performed a vocal solo of “Creep” by Radiohead, who he called the best band in the world and notified students in a joking way of his love for each and every one of them.
The Profs did an excellent job of entertaining the audience with jokes and talking in between songs. Junior Natural Science major Allie Lippe said she had a good time and also added, “I have a newfound respect for all these professors.”
Alyssa Henkes, senior Interdisciplinary major said, “I’m loving this experience more as a senior because I’ve had them in class before and it’s just fun to see them in a different light.”
The Profs concluded their show with an encore after a standing ovation from the crowd shouting, “One more song!”
Getting the students jumping and screaming, The Profs played the Miley Cyrus song “Party in the USA,” followed by a fun and eccentric version of the OBU alma mater, uniting students and professors together in good spirits.
Wilson applauded the song selection by saying, “I’m very pleased with the music selection. I think they did a great job of mixing the old [songs] with the new [songs].”
Jett commented after the show about the experience. “I like to see the students having a good time and it seemed like everyone was having a great time. I like some good ole rock and roll and fun,” Jett said.
The University Concert Series hosts several coffee shops and concerts throughout the semester, and is set to host a midnight movie February 11 and a Battle of the Bands on March 4.
