I have to applaud this year’s line-up for the concert formerly known as Rock Veishea, but I have to bring up a point that needs to be addressed.

As of Monday, there has been no talk of a local band opening the show, and that is a travesty.

Rock Veishea, or Veishea Center Stage as it is now called, is a concert that is meant to celebrate Iowa State University. There are many students on this campus who are in bands and have the ability to open for the Goo Goo Dolls and The New Radicals.

In fact, there are several bands from Ames that are much more talented than the Goo Goo Dolls and The New Radicals.

As a member of the Ames band that played Rock Veishea last year, I can tell you from personal experience that the opportunity to play at Hilton Coliseum is nothing short of a dream.

When my band got the phone call to participate in Veishea last year, many of us did not sleep for days, and quite honestly, we could not think about anything else but stepping on the stage of Hilton in front of thousands.

When local bands form, most set a list of minimal goals. The list starts with simply writing songs, then playing a few basement parties. If that works out, attempting to make your way into local clubs is the next step.

If you’re lucky, you’ll make a couple thousand dollars and hit the studio to make a record. From there, local bands pray their music is appreciated at shows and in line at the record stores.

My point is, most local bands set meager goals because of the difficulty of the music business. It’s hard to get anywhere even from a local standpoint.

I remember when my band was playing shows on Monday nights for five people, including my girlfriend and brother. But with helping hands, we have slowly reached thousands.

And one of the biggest helping hands we ever received was the chance to play Rock Veishea. I can’t even begin to describe what it was like when the lights dropped and a deep rumble of applause fell upon us.

I have played hundreds of shows, but none have given me the pure excitement and adrenaline rush that Rock Veishea did. Until last year, the chance to play at Hilton was a step that was unreachable.

The exposure a local band gets by playing in front of 6,000 people is amazing. The cash register rang in for us, which gave us money for a new CD.

Our fan base immediately grew to the point where we could count on a full house and could provide an audience for young opening bands. In essence, Rock Veishea played a huge role in making the local scene much stronger.

And then there is the personal pleasure involved.

Both my parents were in the crowd to watch their sons play at Hilton. I don’t want to get too mushy, but that touched my heart. My father has never been one to extend any kind of affection towards his sons.

He’s the tough, rugged Pabst Blue Ribbon guy, ya know.

But that night, after we played, he gave me a hug and told me he was proud of me and that he loved me. That was so huge in my life and has since helped to build more of a bridge between us.

Essentially, putting a local band on the bill is the right thing to do. I just hope that the event’s promoters understand the bottom line should not come before making dreams come true.

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Chad Calek is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Persia.