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[Photo from LadyGaga.com: The Fame Ball

If you’re a member of the Facebook group, Get Gaga to the Big House, you’ve got music in your soul.  And so does the group’s founder, Kristen Angonese, a senior in the School of Engineering majoring in Chemical Engineering and a member of the Michigan Marching Band.  She was gracious enough to do an interview with SHEI about the group.  Keep reading for her thoughts on getting Gaga to the Big House.

SHEI: What prompted you to make the Facebook group?

Kristen: Before school ended we [the MMB] had a meeting for show suggestions.  Anyone could suggest any show they wanted and we would discuss the various pros and cons to each show (feasibility, popularity, etc.) A couple of students wanted to open the year with a show to blow away the student section and suggested Lady Gaga as her recent rise to pop-culture infamy would definitely get the crowd pumped. It would also work well as a first show since the next week we’d be on the road to Notre Dame and could take the show with us.  (Two years ago we took the “Boy Bands” show and they got into it as much as our own student section.) I happen to love Lady Gaga and thought it would be sweet.  I knew she’d be touring so I thought to check to see if she was around.  I mean, what would get the student section more excited than if we had a live performer to sing/perform with us?  (When Micheal Phelps was there 2 years ago, people flipped.)  I found out she was performing in Detroit that exact Saturday and realized we had to try to get her to the Big House.  Where is there a better venue?  Where is there a bigger venue?

SHEI: Why Lady Gaga as the requested performer?

Kristen: I know Gaga adores her fans and I think she would do it if she knew about it.

SHEI: Do you feel most people have had a positive reaction to such a suggestion, or negative?

Kristen: I talked to our director, Professor Boerma, and he was open to the possibility. He informed me that she probably couldn’t sing with us because of the mechanics/physics of the microphone vs. the live sound of the band, but I thought it would still be sweet if she sang the national anthem (a Capella) and maybe danced with us during a song.  However he, like me, had no idea how to get into contact with her to even request such a thing.  I started the event with the hope to have an open forum for suggestions or possible connections.

The event grew surprisingly quickly. I didn’t really expect anyone to join.  I just made it in the vain hope that more brains are better than one.

The event has really stirred up some anger. I just assumed that if people didn’t like the idea they wouldn’t join. I was naive. Even through all of the hating or whatnot, I’m just pleased that enough people want this to happen. You can’t please everybody all the time.

SHEI: Can you give us any insider scoops about the Lady Gaga show that the Michigan Marching Band “will most likely be performing” that weekend?

Kristen: The reason I say “most likely be performing” is that it really depends on whether or not we can get the rights to play/arrange/record the song.  It also depends on how expensive the rights are.  There’s a ton of behind the scenes magic that has to happen before we even see the music.

For example, everybody wants to do a “Disney” or “John Williams” show.  However, Disney doesn’t give recording rights to ANYBODY and John Williams is about as strict, so that makes it virtually impossible.

If we can get the Gaga show, you can bet we’ll do it right.  The arrangements will be killer and I’m really hoping for a dance portion.