"I'M WITH THE BAND"

Freshman Evanne Kelley is a devoted fan of the Lafayette-based ska band The Malcontents. She tries to attend every show, especially when the band hits Bloomington. And if the 19-year-old is too young to actually get inside the bar to hear them play, she faithfully waits outside in support. \n"She's come to shows and stood outside because she wasn't old enough to get in," lead guitarist Toby Russell says. "This was a big influence on our decision to try to play a lot more all-ages shows."\nSociety has concocted a label for this brand of diehard fan -- "the groupie." This seems a fitting title for Kelley until her true associations with the band become known.\n"They're all really good friends of mine," Kelley says.\nKelley has been friends with many of the band members since high school, even before The Malcontents became an idea scribbled on a sheet notebook paper in class. \n"She's helped us promote shows, done some street team work in Bloomington and helped peddle merchandise," Russell says. \nAnother role Kelley has taken upon herself is that of publicist.\n"I help them flyer and get the word out," she says.\nSome of the perks of being a member of the band's inside circle include free shows, traveling with the band and free hotel rooms. Despite these luxuries, Kelley says the only motivation for her assistance is pure friendship.\nEvery startup band could use a little help from its friends, or girlfriends for that matter. Sophomore Liz Pendley started helping out the Anderson-based "post-hardcore-indie-rock" band, Where Planes Go Down, when she began dating guitar player Eric Farrell.\nOne of her duties was to set up for shows. On one occasion she carried amplifiers and other heavy equipment even after she had an appendectomy. The doctor's warning against heavy lifting actually applied for once, as this is when Pendley's roll shifted from fan to roadie.\n"The chick with the weight limit should not be lifting your amp," Pendley says.\nBeing a band girlfriend or a roadie can require a lot of dedication. Pendley recalls one of the most strenuous band trips she embarked upon.\n"We drove four hours to set up, play three songs, tear down and leave," she says.\nDespite all of the hard work of dating a band member, it's not all back-breaking labor. Memories are often made at the most random places -- including Waffle House.\n"We would all order random food and sit around laughing and talking and having the best time," Pendley says.\nSome other perks Pendley enjoyed were free band paraphernalia and free shows. Pendley actually earned free shows for life by purchasing cranberry juice with her meal points for drummer, Chris Nealis.\n"She gets free shows, I get good urinary-tract health," Nealis says.\nThe band web of love extends further as Nealis is currently dating freshman Christine Noland. Noland is a roadie girlfriend as well.\n"I felt really weird when I was first helping," Noland says. "But I knew the cords needed to be wound up."\nNoland never signed a contract mandating that band girlfriends meet an equipment setup quota. She's merely the type of person who, upon observing a task needing done, will simply do it.\n"I actually would rather do something than just sit there," Noland says.\nThis attitude gained Noland a vast knowledge of how to set up a sound system. She now knows more about the setup than most of the actual band members.\n"It's funny that I know what to do and they don't," she says.\nNealis, who is in charge of the sound setup, never even demonstrated to her how to hook it up.\n"I've shown all the band members at least 20 times and I've never shown her," Nealis says. "She knows how to do it in every aspect."\nNoland's sound equipment savvy actually got the band out of a potentially sticky situation at one show. There was a problem with the current sound setup and many of the other bands and fans were getting surly. The entire arrangement needed to be changed and set up with different equipment in between a set. Noland jumped right in and the task was done in record time.\n"Like lightening, she saved the day," Nealis says. "If not for her, things would've gone sour."\nThese girls go above and beyond the title of "groupie." To them, it's not just about swooning over hot band members and offering them certain "benefits." They like the music, but they provide something which a crazy, cheering crowd could never give -- a helping hand and a shoulder to lean on.