A new Baton Rouge tradition may have been born May 3. For the second year in a row, LSU students Adam Taylor, Brock Gomez and Brad Jenson hosted an all-day event that fused the worlds of rock music and BMX bike riding in the Backyard BMX Jam 2003.
“This is the second year we’ve done it, and it’s a vast improvement from last year,” said Jenson, a graphic design senior. “So we’re definitely looking forward to having it again and again. Brock and Tony did an amazing job promoting.”
The day originated spontaneously last year and has become exponentially larger within the span of one year.
“Last year, we did something like this, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing,” said Taylor, a graphic design sophomore. “We called and e-mailed a bunch of people we knew to come ride, and we got a band to come play. We had about 50 people out here, and it was a good time.”
This was the first year Gomez and Taylor heavily promoted, allowing the event to grow much larger.
“We started planning this year about a month in advance,” Taylor said. “And, once it got rolling, it kept getting bigger and bigger. So we got four bands to play all originals, e-mailed everyone we knew, made a Web site (www.geocites.com/batonrougebmx), and we sent out over 1,500 flyers to shops and skate parks from Houston all the way to parts of MS.”
Equipped with the ramp and enough space for the bands and all of the people, Jenson’s backyard served as a convenient location for the Jam. Members of a mountain biking group provided barbecue and drinks, while break-dancers performed between the bands’ sets.
The event has provided opportunities for the group to host a day of fun for people in different communities.
“Our initial intent was just to have fun out here riding bikes,” Taylor said. “But once it became a legit show, it became an opportunity to show the bands what we do and for us to get a look at what they do.”
They also decided to donate to a cause that directly affects them.
“We decided to charge a dollar to get in and donate all of it to BREC because they’re working on building a public concrete bike and skate park,” Taylor said. “We wanted to help them out and let them know we support what they’re doing, and we wanted to be involved.”
The four bands involved were Someday Carolina from Pineville, The Burning Issue from Bastrop, Rivers Indiana from Ruston and As Cities Burn from Baton Rouge.
“We’ve been playing with these bands from north LA for a while,” said Colin Kimble, a psychology senior and guitarist for As Cities Burn. “So when [Taylor] asked us to do it, it was only natural for us to play because we know him so well. To be able to benefit something so great, I can’t think of anything more positive to do on a Saturday than something like this.”