There will be a new bear at Bowdoin this weekend with The White Panda coming to perform at Morrell Lounge on Saturday night.
The White Panda is the combination of two mash-up artists, DJ Griffi (a.k.a. Dan Griffith) and Procrast (a.k.a. Tom Evans), two childhood friends who independently experimented with mash-up music in college.
After learning of their parallel goals, the two joined forces, launching in 2009 a single that topped Internet radio charts days later.
The duo typically create "head-to-head" mashups of popular artists, and that have released two albums so far, with a third to come out in March.
One of their most popular songs that has just recently been dropped is "Infinite Dream," where The White Panda combines songs by artists Katy Perry and Guru Josh Project.
All of their mixes have a strong rhythmic baseline that incorporates high-energy songs, giving the mixes a party-appropriate feel.
"A lot of their music is made from Top 40 and techno songs, and they are extremely good at finding the right parts of two songs to create their trademark high energy, upbeat sound," said co-chair of the Entertainment Board (E-Board) Morgan Andersen '12.
The E-Board was very adamant about getting The White Panda group to come to Bowdoin, in an attempt to expand Bowdoin's access to more popular and media-driven groups.
After an unfortunate emergency several months ago, The White Panda was unable to attend their intially scheduled concert date, however many students are actually happier about the new date.
"After they had to cancel, they indicated they were still very interested in playing at Bowdoin, and everyone on the Board was also in favor of trying to find a new date for them to perform," said Andersen.
"Regarding the rescheduling of the concert, I'm actually really glad it's happening this semester as opposed to last," said Doug Leonard '12. "I was studying abroad in France last fall and was disappointed that I was going to miss TWP. My other friends who were abroad and I have been counting down the days until the 26th for a while now."
The E-Board knew exactly what type of concert it wanted to bring to campus, and when they were certain that The White Panda was still willing to perform and that the rescheduling would be hassle-free, it was just a matter of finding the right date.
"The decision to bring them in the first place was really a group decision to look for a DJ-based show that would be fun, and create more of a party atmosphere," said Andersen. "So once it was obvious they were still interested in playing despite having to cancel, it was a no-brainer to bring them back."
"They have put on some great shows all over the U.S. as well as—I believe—a few venues abroad, at colleges, fraternity parties, clubs and festivals—these guys are the real deal," said Andersen.
Students expressed excitement for the upcoming weekend and are very appreciative of the E-Board for recognizing the growing popularity of DJs and mash-up artists.
"I'm beyond excited for Saturday. I check TWP's blog at least once a week and think that the E-Board did a great job securing them," said Leonard.
As the weekend is fast approaching the chatter about the upcoming group has only increased as students countdown the hours until Saturday night.
"I am seriously pumped to see them perform; I love their stuff and how they revision contemporary pop music," said Autumn Nelor '14.
The White Panda group will be performing this Saturday from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. in Morrell Lounge. The Neeks, a Bowdoin hip-hop group, will open for them.