By Carleton Atwater
Although the majority of speed dating services focus on singles around 30 years old, younger adults now have an option: Rock ‘n’ Roll Speed Dating.
“I found that many groups like www.8minutedating.com appealed only to the 30-something young professional demographic,” said founder Rich Savoie. “There is this really great untapped group of young people who love to go to concerts and are interested in dating, but may feel uncomfortable with the young professional crowd.”
Rock ‘n’ Roll Speed Dating is designed to fill this void, Savoie said. The system works like other speed dating services with a twist – between each date, a different band will give a short performance. This serves as an icebreaker and provides an easy subject to talk about during the dates. The bands perform at lower volumes than normal to allow for conversations. Earplugs are also available for anyone free of charge.
Before the event, participants will fill out a quick survey about their musical preferences.
“We ask people to fill out surveys to avoid putting a country fan with someone into heavy metal,” Savoie said.
Over the course of the night participants will go on five “dates” and see six different bands.
“It’s a great way to hear some great music and meet some great people,” Savoie said.
Freshman electrical engineering major Dave Montaquila said combining dating and music provides a good basis for a date.
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Dating sounds even better than speed dating. The music would give you something to enjoy while you meet people,” Montaquila said.
Rock ‘n’ Roll dating evolved from a familiar matchmaker.
In the mid-1990s a system was developed to help Jewish singles in the Los Angeles area find partners in a timely manner, according to www.speeddating.com. Since then, “speed dating” has spawned numerous services around the country for all different types of singles under names like www.8minutedating.com, www.Fast-dater.com and www.Hurry- Date.com.
In an urban setting, the principle reasons behind the service remain true to its origins.
“It would be nice to be able to meet so many people in one night. I don’t have a lot of time for dating,” said mechanical engineering graduate student Reza Amini.
In its matured form, speed dating is a matchmaking system usually held at bars or restaurants. Participants spend generally 10 minutes speaking with a potential date they have not previously met. After time expires, the participants rotate and meet other potential dates regardless of attraction to the previous suitor or expectations for the next. At the end of the night, participants submit a list to the organizers of who they would be interested in seeing again. If there is a match, phone numbers are forwarded to each participant. Contact information cannot be traded during the “date,” to reduce pressure to accept or reject a suitor in person.
“It sounds like an idea that would be great for people who have hectic schedules,” said senior psychology major Sara Melvin.
While speed dating normally entails a 10-minute meeting, one service differs from its counterparts. HurryDate limits dates to only three minutes and provides an online personals section for participants.
“You should be able to tell if there is chemistry or an attraction, and certainly if you don’t like them in your three minutes with each person,” said HurryDate co-founder Adele Testani.
The online personals offered by the site are another dating tool that has risen in popularity during the last few years. Testani said speed dating events allow for a safe environment to meet potential mates in person they found online.
“Many dating companies have taken their businesses strictly online, [but we] believe in the importance of singles meeting face-to-face to determine which connections they would like to develop further,” Testani said.
The first-ever Rock ‘n’ Roll Speed Dating event will be held Sunday at McGann’s Bar and restaurant located at 197 Portland St. The style of music will be rock/pop and will feature performances by local groups Labb, Amalgam, Three Day Threshold and Sad Marvin.
Savoie, an electrical engineer, has been planning this event for over a month. There has already been a great deal of interest in the project he said. Several bars in the North Shore have already contacted him about holding similar events at other locations.
Although Sunday’s event is designed for heterosexuals, Savoie said he plans to hold future events designed for gays and lesbians. He also hopes to hold events featuring different styles of music.
Registration for Sunday’s Rock ‘n Roll Speed Dating event ends Saturday. The cost is $25 and the event is for those above 21. More information is available at www.RnRDating.com.
