The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, with opening bands Amber Pacific, Monty Are I, and New Years' Day, will perform on October 19 in the largest concert the College has sponsored in years.
"The last one that's been this size was Jurassic 5 a few years ago," said Luke Delahanty '10, co-chair of the Student Activity Board's concerts and comedy committee.
"They're a really big band right now. We're expecting a pretty heavy turnout," he added.
The Florida-based Red Jumpsuit Apparatus formed in 2003 and fuses pop-punk, pop, scream and metal styles. The band signed with Virgin Records and has since worked with producer David Bendeth, who has also produced with bands such as Hawthorne Heights and Breaking Benjamin. On The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Web site, lead singer and guitarist Ronnie Winter writes that Bendeth "really challenged us to make us a better band."
This challenge resulted in the release of the band's first LP, "Don't you Fake It" in 2006, which includes the current hit, "Face Down," a song about domestic abuse.
"Where I come from, you see it when you go to the store, you see it when you stop for a smoke, you see it all the time," said Winters.
As a victim of domestic violence, Winters was inspired to break the silence surrounding the issue through his music.
"It's something everybody sees and doesn't do anything about because they're just so accustomed to it," he said.
The band has enjoyed substantial success since the release of "Face Down."
According to co-chair of the Student Activities Board Jacqueline Abrams '08, "Face down" was the No. 1 requested song in 2006 on a Portland radio station WCYY.
"They're on the road right now, and they're all over the place," she said, adding that their music was featured in a recent episode of MTV's reality television show "The Hills."
Amber Pacific, a primarily pop-punk band, has performed yearly in the Warped Tour, an annual summer concert tour of alternative bands.
Monty Are I touts a post-hardcore style and has toured nationally with several bands, including My Chemical Romance, Sum 41 and Yellowcard.
New Years' Day is a pop-punk band that incorporates elements of emo and built its reputation through extensive promotion on MySpace.
The Student Activities Board has been working to bring The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus to Bowdoin since last spring.
"The semester before we have a big concert, the board suggests bands we'd like to see and we vote on them," said Abrams.
"We work to match student interest with different acts," she added.
Students can join the board at anytime to take part in the decision-making process.
"We always want new members to join," said Abrams.
The board offered a bid and negotiated a contract with the band in order to bring Red Jumpsuit to Bowdoin.
In addition to selling tickets at various Bull Moose Music stores around New England, Bowdoin is advertising the show with ticket give-aways through two Portland-based radio stations, Q97.9 and WCYY 94.3.
"If students want to try and win a free ticket, listen to those stations," said Delahonty.
Tickets are $10 for Bowdoin students and are available at the Smith Union information desk. The show is open to the community, and tickets can be purchased for $20 at any Bull Moose Music store.
The concert will be held in Morrell Lounge on Friday, October 19. Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the bands will begin performing at 7:30 p.m.