Professors on the Jovi Crew

This was a really cool article from Deadline Digital:

Students at a univeristy in the US were given the ultimate field trip - shadowing Bon Jovi's tour crew.

The 14 students from Penn State University were given unprecedented access to the main arena floor of the Bryce Jordan Center. Their instructors for the day included Mike Savas, Gordon Hyndford, Jeremy Knight, Dan Witmyer, Carson Austin and Mark Woody – all members of Jon Bon Jovi's tour crew.

"This is our first time doing this," explained Savas, who handles publicity for Bon Jovi. "We've got the students helping us with load-in, showing them how something like this works."

The students spent time talking with the crew and observing, but they also got their hands dirty, actually working with members of the crew, Savas said.

The students are taking away more than just a cool experience, however. What they saw and did with Bon Jovi's tour crew applies directly to what they're learning in the classroom.

"This is fantastic. I get to see how things like this are actually set up, what it's really like to see a big band come and perform, and how much time and effort it takes to set everything up. It's a great experience," said Alex Ciccione, a junior telecommunications major. "Basically this shows how you can take a telecom degree, take it out on the road and be in charge of video or the audio side of creating a show like Bon Jovi's."

The students' experience doesn't end with what they did on Monday. "They'll be back on Wednesday to see how the business model, the customer-service end, works," said Savas. They'll see how we run our VIP packages. They'll also get to take pictures alongside the local media, and then stay and watch the show. It's just our way of giving back to the community."

I wonder if any of the students' moms urged them into it. Sorry guys, but yeah, college-age kids' moms are smack dab in the middle of your biggest demographic :)

~ Hath

The full article can be read here.