By Matt Murray

Students are the judges. Producers, labels and professionals mean nothing. The mtvU Woodie Awards are “the definitive awards in college music” and on Nov. 19, students will have their voices heard. The Kernel had the opportunity to see how nominated artists felt about being a part of such a progressive awards show.

Vampire Weekend: Ezra Koenig

Q. Just a year ago you guys were trying to tour and get your name out and now you’re on the Woodies. How does it feel to be blowing up the music scene?

A. A lot has changed since the beginning of the year. It’s still hard to fully comprehend it. We’ve been very happy with the amount of people that come to shows. We get people who are mainstream, we get people in their 60s and we even get kids, so a lot has changed in that way.

Q. How did you all incorporate all of the various styles in your music without having the differing elements clash?

A. It came pretty natural. We all kind of grew up listening to the different styles you hear in the music. At the same time, you get an idea that two things can sound good together and then they don’t. We don’t want anything to sound forced so we just kind of went with the things that came together quickly and naturally.

Q. How was your experience playing with Crosby and Nash?

A. It was incredible. We were playing for Music for Democracy, and we knew they were going to be there, and they invited us to play with them. We grew up listening to them and getting to meet them backstage and getting to play a song with them was really great. They came out of the ‘60s, which was a really politically active era, and with such an important election on the horizon, it was cool to be able to be a part of that with them.

All Time Low: Alex Gaskarth

Q. Do you guys ever get tired of touring?

A. For the most part it’s just a really good time. I think it just takes a certain breed of person to be touring all the time like any band does, but for the most part we just make a great time out of everything. At the end of a two-month tour you definitely get a little homesick, but if that’s the worst part of your job then it’s not too much to worry about.

Q. What challenges did you guys have getting a record deal straight out of high school, and how has that experience turned out for you?

A. The biggest challenge at the time was convincing our parents to let us do it and not go to college. It’s a big scary decision for a parent to sit back and make. Like “Am I really going to sit back and let my kid take this much of a risk?” But, I think we’ve been really lucky that it all came together, but I think making that decision was one of the biggest steps for us as a band.

Q. With all the extensive touring that you’ve been doing, has there been one particularly crazy moment or experience that stands out?

A. It’s so hard to pick just one scenario. It’s just so hard to believe I get to tour for a living. I feel like I tricked someone into letting me do this. One of the craziest things that happened was that after one of our shows I think we managed to cram about 30 people into the front lounge of our bus, which I don’t know if you know how a tour bus is laid out, but they’re pretty narrow. We literally had people standing on countertops, the couches and the table, and we were just having the biggest dance party ever. It was relatively unsafe I think.

Santogold

Q. If you could create your own tour, who would be on the bill?

A. There are so many tours that would be so fun. I have always wanted to play with Devo because they are like my ultimate favorite band. That’d be an ideal tour. But at the same time I’d love to go on tour with friends. I just did a tour with the Beastie Boys, Norah Jones, Jack Johnson and Sheryl Crow for “Get Out and Vote” and I had so much fun because I wanted to be like the Beastie Boys when I was little, not to mention that the tour was based around such an important topic, like what we thought about the election. I just love that it was for a vital cause.

Q. You’ve done so many collaborations. Do you think that has had an effect on your sound?

A. An artist collaborates for all different reasons. Whenever you collaborate with a friend it’s always a great experience because it’s relaxed and you’re just kind of hanging out. I did something with David Byrne from Talking Heads, so that was very different because you go in trying to be very professional. There are different things you value from each collaboration. As far as how they evolve my sound, I don’t think they do because within a collaboration it takes you out of your element and you kind of have to find yourself within the collaboration and stay true to your style.

Q. What is it like to be awarded by a show where winners are determined solely by college students?

A. I think it’s great because unfortunately a lot of award shows are so far removed from the pulse of actual music listeners. It seems that way to me because all of the people on award shows are so tied into the money world of music. You get artists from Disney shows and American Idol. It’s just not very in touch with what’s really going on in music and bubbling up. You don’t get a diverse perspective of artists, so when you have college students decide, they are right on the pulse of music and are far more in tune to the underground stuff. As a result, you get a more accurate picture of where music actually is and it’s excellent. How are we supposed to compete with Miley Cyrus, is that her name? None of us have our own TV show.

She and Him: Zooey

Q. Most award shows involve opinions from professionals in the music industry while this is based around the opinion of college students and their voting. How do you feel about the differences between these two elements?

A. I think it’s great because I think people are finding their unique voices at this stage in their career. I think it’s exciting just to be recognized by people who are well educated but not necessarily in the profession. It’s a big honor.

Q. How do you feel about being nominated for a “Left Field Woodie,” which basically means you’re in a generally unclassifiable category?

A. I take it as a great compliment. I think, as an artist, the more you keep your blinders on and create without thinking about what people with think of you, the more you create things out of the ordinary and the more satisfying it is as an artist. There’s a place for genre and categories, but I’ve always found it to be most rewarding to create for self-profession.