Yo, boom, check it: my man James "Garden City Cap Peeler" Keefe and I were cooling in Frary one night (literally: it was, as ever, fifty six degrees in the dining area) when we came across a table tent for Smiley ‘80s which, I think, is probably the single best item in the table tent or dining hall handout category that I’ve ever seen. "Remember last year?," the flier tauntingly asked, beneath a picture of a fucked up smiley face. And when I say "fucked up smiley face," I mean a smiley face with a little tongue hanging out of the side of its mouth and x’s where the eyes should’ve been. While neither of us could remember very well what we were doing on the night of Smiley ‘80s last year (James in particular, because he had x’s over his eyes), both of us knew that we weren’t at Smiley ‘80s bumping, schlumping and being the sort of people that make the club get crunk. The insinuation was clear, though: if you remember Smiley ‘80s, you didn’t experience it, dude.

But if you remember Kohoutek last year, though... well, then you’re the exception to the rule. Last year’s discombobulated and underfunded Kohoutek event was a mess, and wound up not being all that memorable. While the acts were top quality (if you know who Aceyalone is, then you were excited to see him, too), they could generously be called obscure, there were financial problems, and things fell apart, as things do.

This year’s chief organizer of Kohoutek, Ryan Sweeney PI ‘99, is not shy about bringing beef on the causes of last year’s disappointment. "CCLA screwed us (last year)," Sweeney said in a telephone interview, "Three weeks before the show, they basically decided they didn’t want to do it anymore. So they pulled their money out."

CCLA member Sesyle Moorhead ‘99 remembers it differently. "What we were paying was contingent on the bands... Kohoutek wound up changing the bands, we felt we weren’t a part of the decision-making process and (last year’s live music director Jenn Schuler ‘98 felt) that the bands weren’t what Pomona students would like. They violated the contract and so we backed out is basically what happened."

Whatever went down, Kohoutek stumbled. "These things never work unless we all work together," Sweeney said, "and that wasn’t happening last year."

And so this year, rather than going through the usual channels, Kohoutek went back to the old school DIY spirit that CCLA, once the most punk rock campus organization this side of InnerVarsity, had seemingly lost. They went back, in other words, to the grassroots.

"This year’s Kohoutek was completely student run," Sweeney said, "It sounds so basic, but it makes sense. We all reap the same benefits, anyway, so why not do it ourselves." This year’s Kohoutek committee, which had representatives from four of the five colleges (Harvey Mudd is the exception), had some problems, but nothing on the order of last year. All of these problems, for one thing, seem to have turned into blessings. For instance: original headliner De La Soul was still hemming and hawing when the Roots, on whom the committee got what Sweeney called "a ridiculous (in a good way) price," basically fell into Kohoutek’s lap.

The signing of a well-known and highly-respected act such as The Roots basically alleviated whatever funding problems existed with last year’s more underground-oriented show. Sweeney suggested that CCLA’s problems with last year’s Kohoutek were because of the predominance of hip-hop acts and that may be so, but while this year’s Kohoutek was not without its minor political squabbles, the power of an act like the Roots basically cleared up the most severe problems that could’ve arisen. It would’ve been hard for even the stodgiest fund miser to turn down a group whose album has met with remarkable critical success (not surprising: they’re probably the best hip-hop outfit on a major label at the moment, and perhaps the best, period) and surprising popular success (surprising when you consider how many people payed real money for the Ma$e album). The Roots were on board, and suddenly, things started looking brighter.

Sweeney emphasizes the power of student participation in this year’s success. "I don’t think we could’ve done anything without students from other campuses," he said. "They weren’t worried about what they would get individually, backstage passes or whatever, they were more concerned about bringing a great national act to the campuses."

And, again, things got better: Kohoutek actually wound up with two national acts. Hepcat, Friday’s headliner and Kohoutek ‘96 alums, is a ska band that promises to exceed the low, distinctly Stefani-oriented expectations most now have of ska bands. What I’m saying is that while I haven’t heard Hepcat, because I’ve never been much of a ska-head (although I do think that Ms. Stefani is a snappy dresser), they are supposed to rock the fuck out. Also, if you request "Just a Girl," they will kick your ass, and you’ll deserve it, too.

Friday’s show, which Sweeney promises will be "a totally different feel" than the more traditionally concert-style Saturday offering, "is really more Kohoutek in its festival form." Putting in a full eight hours on Friday, beginning at two in the afternoon, Friday’s lineup includes numerous other less-well-known flavors. These range from The Upbeat, another ska outfit and Hepcat’s label mates on Hellcat Records, to last semester’s Hieroglyphics openers Love and Rage (who own the distinction of being the only punk band in the area with a member of Claremont’s Camp

Sec in the group), to DJ Troubled Soul, an Irish DJ (that is, from Ireland) who ripped shit at Open Mic last year during a battle with KSPC’s DJ Phyz-Ed.

Saturday’s show, which is a bit more traditional in its concert format, boasts another diverse undercard. Among these are Culture Industry (with three ex-members of the POSA Opening musical juggernaut Nawddy Me) representing Pomona, local underground hip-hop heroes B-Boy Genre representing (at least in part) Pitzer, Mongoloid Sideshow and The Immortal Fader Fyters representing really ill turntablism, and, of course, the Roots representing the best hip-hop has to offer and, possibly, some very exciting guest appearances (I’m just saying, they’ve worked with Common and Mos Def in the past; draw your own conclusions).

While we’re on the topic of representing, though (and here in A&F we always are), it’s worth noting that this year’s Kohoutek represents a departure in another way. No, although Geggy Tah’s absence is remarkable, I’m not talking about that. This year, for the first time ever, Kohoutek is charging a nominal fee for tickets.

For 5-C students the price is five dollars per day, a move that was made necessary when an act as successful, and hence expensive, as the Roots joined the show. Five dollars, the best live band in hip-hop (am I making my point strongly enough? They rock. They fucking rock, alright) and a laid-back outdoor setting doesn’t seem all that bad, but Sweeney has still received some complaints.

"The price for Kohoutek used to be a can of food," Sweeney explains, "And now people are like, ‘can I see The Roots for a can of peaches?’" Well, can I? "Man, this is the Roots, come on!"

Tickets for the Saturday show, which are also being sold at a rapid pace off-campus, may well be gone by today, but if they’re still available, they are on sale at the Gold Center. I know it’s a trek up there, and I know that you have other things on which you planned to spend your hard earned five dollars this Friday afternoon, but, let’s be real for a moment: Natural Light sucks, and The Roots... well, you know what I think of them.