“If I had it my way it’d be packed to the point where they have to turn people away at the door and we generate business for the surrounding bars that are trying to compete that night,” said Brandon Aull, an emerging hip-hop artist from Southern Maine had high hopes for his debut performance at the bar scene in Orono, Maine. B.Aull, Tip Whip, and The Roost collaborated to throw a “Tip Off Party with B.Aull” last Friday night, September 16th.
B.Aull might have been new to an Orono stage, but he definitely wasn’t a rookie performer. Just this past summer he opened for an EDM group named Cheat Codes at the Portland House of Music & Events, opened for hip-hop artist Chris Webby at Bingas Stadium in Portland, but most notably, performed at Hot 104.7’s Hot Summer show on the Maine State Pier in Portland, opening for big names like Fat Joe, Ty Dolla $ign, Niykee Heaton and more. Looking ahead, he will be opening for Riff Raff at the Portland House of Music & Events on October 9th. He has almost 3,000 people following his progress on Facebook, and has reached over 33,000 views on a recent freestyle post for the #SoGoneChallenge. On his come up, he decided to give his friends, fans, and future fans in the area a show for The Roost record books, with no financial gain on his part. B.Aull just, “loves being on stage” and expected to see, “nothing but good vibes all night long”. Missed it? Here’s some feedback:
Her Campus: How do you feel now that the show is over?
B.Aull: I feel fantastic! Everything about the show was as successful as I had hoped. When you get a group of your homies and like-minded people to put on an event such as that, there’s no way you can lose.
Her Campus: Collaborating with the Roost and Tip Whip was successful then?
B.Aull: Shout out to the Roost! Without them who knows if we would have made this happen. To my knowledge, Tip Whip and the Roost had record breaking nights. My homie Alex was driving for Tip Whip and asked me to tag along, from there we became friends with Spencer Wood, who owns Tip Whip. We had always talked about putting on an event. Now, we actually [put on] that event!
Her Campus: Would you like to perform there again?
B.Aull: Now that people know what’s in store for them and how dope of an event it can be, it would probably be even more successful. You wouldn’t have to ask me twice to make a part two happen.
Her Campus: What would you like your fans/people who came to the show to know now?
B.Aull: There are a few things I would like my supporters, anyone at the show, and anyone who reads this that may become a B.Aull fan, to know. If you support me and my music, I truly appreciate it more than you know! I have done shows for less than ten people in the audience and then I have done shows where there are 3,000+ people. No matter who’s in the crowd, or how many people there are, I always give it 110%. That being said, if you are looking to put on a really dope show or make your event 10x better, I’m your guy. I’m just a 21 year old kid from the 207 trying to make some noise in the hip-hop world.
Brandon wasn’t the only one who thought the event was a huge success. Dave Coffe who manages The Roost had rave reviews not only about B.Aull, but about Tip Whip and the entire collaboration. “We usually see a spike in business when we provide live entertainment, but [The Tip Off Party] was special in a way that I haven’t really seen before”, Coffe said. Along with The Roost and B.Aull, the event had the support and outreach of Spencer Wood, the owner of Tip Whip. Tip Whip is a local business created by Wood in 2014. Tip Whip has sober student drivers available to taxi other students around- strictly a “for the students, by the students” type-business. Wood continued to give B.Aull and The Roost credit, saying, “B.Aull deserves to be heard. He put on a hell of a show. I have never seen a crowd like that there and I look forward to our continued relationship with the Roost”.
It was the second time The Roost had collaborated with Wood and Tip Whip, “[I give] Spencer props. He was the one responsible for getting B.Aull to perform. [B.Aull] was really excited to be a part of it and that type of positivity is contagious. I was like ‘This guy is the real deal and he’s gonna pack the place’” said Coffe.
Which he did. “I got the opportunity to watch him perform for a couple songs and the place was going crazy for him. He is probably one of the most talented people I’ve seen in this area,” Coffe raved, “he captivated the audience the entire performance and he’s welcome back any time.”
Seems like another show might be in the works! Didn’t get a chance to make it to The Tip Off Party? A new fan? Here’s a few things you need to know about the southern Maine front-runner:
Basics:
Full Name: Brandon Michael Gregory Aull
Stage Name: B.Aull
Facebook: B.Aull @aullthat
Twitter: @AullThat
Instagram: @AullThat
Hometown: Saco, ME
Relationship status: Taken
Major: Audio Engineering
Year in school: Senior
Bests:
Best Friends: 479 Stillwater homies
Best thing to do on the weekends: Be in the studio making music, or straight chilling with the homies with a cold drink in my hand.
Best show you’ve ever seen: I saw an up and coming rapper named GoldLink absolutely kill it in Boston a little over a year ago in front of about 175ish people. Crazy dope show.
Favorites:
Favorite song to dance to at a party: Nearly impossible question to answer….but if Return Of The Mack – Mark Morrison plays by chance, I’ll lose it 100% of the time.
Favorite song to perform: I have a song called “I Bet” that everyone loves and is easy to get people involved on the hook. It’s a banger and I usually close my sets with it. So that, with my song “1994” being a close second.
Favorite genre of music: HIP-HOP. But I love R&B too.
Favorite artist: Oh god….too many. Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, Kanye West, Kendrick, J.Cole, Joey Bada$$, Drake, Logic, Russ, Jon Bellion.
Tops:
Top 3 things on your bucket list:
1) Sell out a headlining tour
2) Win a Grammy
3) Own a home in a foreign country. Maybe Italy? Yeah, I like the sound of that.
Top 3 performances of yours:
1) Opening for Snoop Dogg in 2014
2) Opening for Sean Paul at the State Theatre last year
3) Hot 104.7’s Hot Summer show this past June
Top 3 favorite songs ever: Sheesh, I don’t even know if I could do a top 30. Depends on the mood, but I suppose 3 songs I’m always in the mood for are:
1) Slow Jamz – Kanye, Jamie Foxx, and Twista
2) (See favorite song to dance to at a party)
3) Unbelievable – Biggie
As a personal friend and fan – PROUD OF YOU B!
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Images courtesy of Garrett Clare @garrettclare
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