1. What are you most excited for about this year’s LDOC?
A– Putting together a cohesive line-up that all students will enjoy and creating a unique and memorable LDOC. I’m most excited to see how much the Duke community enjoys the lineup we put together and working with lots of organizations on campus to make LDOC feel like a concert where many groups have invested their time.
D– LDOC is the biggest day of the year, so it’s really awesome to be in charge of planning it. I think I’m most excited to see what lineup we put together, and how Duke students respond to it. LDOC is a lot about hype, and I hope we can meet and exceed students’ expectations.
2. What do you think will be the biggest hurdle to overcome?
A- A lot of the behind-the-scenes aspects, particularly, signing an artist to perform. It’s a long process with contract negotiations that can take a while. Additionally, meeting the high expectations of Duke students in terms of bringing artists to campus will be a hurdle and creating an inclusive environment where all students will be happy with the artists choices.
D- LDOC is always compared to Spring Fling at University of Pennsylvania and Rites of Spring at Vanderbilt. However, LDOC is a free concert for Duke students while its counterparts cost students money. Thus, I definitely think it’s a hurdle to have Duke students understand that we are trying our best to bring the biggest names to campus while making it an inclusive school wide event everyone can enjoy going to. Also, another hurdle we are trying to overcome is the mass alcohol consumption on this day. I would love to see the number of EMS visits be significantly less than last year, but with these freshmen, this may just be a fantasy.
3. Why did you choose to be chairs for the committee?
A- Music is a major passion of mine, and running concerts is something I see myself doing one day, LDOC is the perfect opportunity for me to do that on my own. I loved the idea of leading a committee on campus that also fit my interests.
D- I love being involved on campus and have a deep passion for music, because I am a DJ after all (feel free to follow me on instagram @djdsoles). There is no other event or group that combines my two interests better than (planning) LDOC, so applying to be chair was a no-brainer.
4. Tell us something about your co-chair that no one would know.
A- David’s son is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
D- He still hasn’t had his first kiss :/
5. If both of you were in the Hunger Games, who do you think would survive the longest?
A- Easily me. Soled needs his protein gains every hour; he couldn’t survive more than a day.
D- Me. Have you seen my biceps?
6. Use three words to describe your co-chair partnership.
A- Soled’s never right.
D- I’m always right.
7. What are your favorite music genres?
A- EDM, Indie Rock, Folk, I’ll listen to anything though.
D- I’m from New Jersey so some people are surprised that I love country music. I also really like EDM and my girl Ariana Grande.
8. Tell us something unique about the behind-the-scenes planning for LDOC?
A- There’s a lot more that goes into it than just booking artists. I’d say that’s the smallest part. We do a lot more than pick artists for Duke students.
D- We have multiple hours of meetings a week during both semesters just for one day.
9. Do you have anything special that you’re working on for this year?
A- I know that’s something we will decide with the committee later on, but I’m sure there will be new surprises.
D- Wait, LDOC is supposed to be special?
10. WHO’S COMING??????
A- It rhymes with Ruce Springstein. Maybe.
D- I heard the people organizing the Super Bowl halftime show are between Rihanna, Coldplay, and Katy Perry. So whomever they don’t get, we will. But keep that on the DL…