Chi Omega setting up for Slamma*Jamma

Slamma*Jamma, set for Wednesday night at Eastern New Mexico University, is first and foremost a concert. But it’s also a lesson in networking.

What started as two friends talking eventually branched into a four-band concert, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Campus Union Ballroom.

Bands scheduled to perform are Whatsoever, Last in Line, Serene and Forever Fallen. Tickets are $4 at the door, or $3 from a Chi Omega sorority member in advance.

The concert, a fundraising event for Chi Omega, has came together under the direction of Malia Rummell, the sorority’s social chair.

“The planning has been exceptional,” Rummell said. “I haven’t run into any conflicts yet. I’m really excited just to see it actually come together.”

The roots of the concert formed when ENMU student Matt Livingston, a drummer for Whatsoever, tried to get a local show going. Rummell said that the Associated Student Activities Board and the Office of Student Activities and Organizations were already booked for the year, but that Whatsoever would be welcome to play if another organization would sponsor it.

Rummell, a friend of Livingston, saw an opportunity.

“I had just got the position as social director,” Rummell said, “and I figured if anything we could sponsor a concert. I talked to my advisor and thought we could make money for the convention.”

The convention, Rummell explained, is for Chi Omega members over the summer to meet with members from other chapters. She estimates the cost for the biannual convention to be $700 for each participant, and she figures at least 15 members of the ENMU chapter will attend. Rummell is hoping to raise at least $1,000 to help defray some of the costs.

Rummell said planning has gone on since February, but admits that the bands have also done some work on the lineup.

“Whenever we get a gig, we try to get it for Whatsoever too,” Last in Line bassist Evan Berger said. “We’ve helped them with some shows, and they helped us get this one.”

A few of Rummell’s sisters suggested the concert also include Serene, which had a similar relationship with Forever Fallen.

“Basically,” Rummell said, “all these bands just knew each other and recommended each other for this.”