Colleges Unite Downtown for College Fest 2013: Scare on Morgan Square Zombie Dance Party

A Scare on the Square Zombie Dance Party will invade downtown Spartanburg on Friday, September, 13, from 8 to 11 p.m. at the annual College Fest program to welcome the city’s 15,300 college students.

College Fest is targeted to college-age students and hosted by College Town of Spartanburg, a consortium of the seven colleges in Spartanburg (Converse College, Sherman College of Chiropractic, Spartanburg Methodist College, Spartanburg Community College, University of South Carolina Upstate, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) and Wofford College) and in partnership with the City of Spartanburg.

College Fest coincides with the beginning of the school year and welcomes students of the seven local colleges to the Spartanburg community. Performing at this year’s 12th annual College Fest will be The Melker Project, a “mashup and remix artist” based in New York City who takes songs people love and turns them into songs they will love even more. The Melker Project, also known as Johnny Cashin’ Out, Skeetwood Mac, Booty Huxtable, Skeevie Tricks, A$AP Scotty and Ricky Exit-Row-Zay, is the brainchild of world-renowned DJ and remixer Scott Melker.

Known for being among the first DJs to champion the mashup style using vinyl – long before the advent of Serato and digital DJing – Melker is known for his mashups and remixes, many of which have reached No. 1 on the Hype Machine Popular Chart. He released The Melker Project (full length DJ mix) in 2010, reaching more than 10,000 downloads in the first week, and his 2012 remixes and mashups “Somebody That I Used To Know vs. Dead Wrong – Gotye Vs. Notorious B.I.G. (Popped and Screwed Remix),” ”Say Hello vs. Because (Jay-Z vs. The Beatles),” and “High for This vs. Pop Bottles (Ellie Goulding vs. Birdman & Lil Wayne) are among the most popular tracks on the internet.

Melker is also known for remixing Mitt Romney’s debate gaffe “Binder Full of Women.” The Melker Project’s remix “Message In A Bottle vs. Mercy” was recently named one of the Top 25 mashups of all time by notable music blog PigeonsAndPlanes.com.

In his 16 year DJ career, he has played gigs around the world alongside notable DJs and diverse acts, including The Cataracs, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Gloria Estefan, DJ Cash Money, King Britt, DJ AM, Public Enemy, Slick Rick and Dougie Fresh, Biz Markie, Raekwon, Kanye West, Wu Tang, Pete Rock, Evil Dee, Q-Tip, Sheryl Crow, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Ne-Yo, T.I., The Ying Yang Twins, Jet Daughtry and many others. Melker was also a support act on the Summer Haze Tour in 2007, alongside G. Love, Slightly Stoopid, and Ozomatli.

The Friday, September 13, event will feature two free photo booths, glow necklaces, free Coke products and food from several local food vendors as well as a contest for best costume. Beer will also be available with valid id. For more information on College Fest, contact Rogers Brandt Settle, collegetownspartanburg@gmail.com.