In print | Published October 1, 2009

Phoenix reporter Vivienne Layne sat down with current Olde Club Director Anna Zalokostas ’10 to find out what’s new in store for Olde Club.

Vivienne Layne: What experience did you have in finding and booking acts before serving as Olde Club Director?

Anna Zalokstas: I served briefly on LSE [Large Scale Events Committee], though Paury Flowers handled all direct contact with agents and artists. This is really the only position that exists at Swarthmore where you get direct contact with booking agents and bands.

VL: Do you have any favorite artists or bands?

AZ: A lot of my favorite music comes from My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain. In terms of more contemporary music, I really like The Yolks, this lo-fi, 60’s-styled surf rock band, and Pocahaunted, who make a really hypnotic, ritualistic drone music. I’m also really digging Dum Dum Girls lately — they’re this L.A. band that makes really fuzzed out, totally catchy pop music.

VL: I’ve noticed that in the past the overwhelming majority of acts at Olde Club were indie rock bands. Do you have any ideas for Olde Club this year to diversify the music scene?

AZ: I don’t think that any of the bands playing this semester are indie rock. The show we had a couple weeks ago, The Sun Ra Arkestra, was an experimental jazz show. Later on we’re having Lucky Dragons and Eric Copeland, who experiment a lot with electronics. Kurt Vile & the Violators play lo-fi music that’s inspired by psychedelic and classic rock music, Mount Eerie has roots in more folk-inspired music, and there’s an old-school hip-hop show coming up in November.
I think indie rock is something I associate with music trends, and none of the bands coming to Olde Club are really trendy. What I’m interested in doing is focusing on smaller performers who are working very specifically with certain projects. Hopefully, people will stop thinking of Olde Club as a college rock venue and instead start thinking of it as a space that showcases artistically interesting and innovative music. That was my goal for this semester.

VL: If the budget were not a constraint, what artist would you bring to Swarthmore?

AZ: Maybe Philip Glass.

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