Turning away brohams, a Rooftop Vigilante gears up for tonight’s Guided By Voices tribute.

I always have the best interviews with Zach Campbell.

The guitarist and singer of Lawrence’s Rooftop Vigilantes was working the door at the Jackpot on a slow Monday night when I popped into to discuss his side gig in a Guided By Voices tribute band. The group – unnamed as of the interview – will play this Friday at the Jackpot as part of a diverse bill that also includes rappers Approach, Info Gates, and Negro Scoe.

We’ll get to the GBV stuff in a minute, but first a few thoughts on being a doorman. It’s harder than I thought – and more hilarious too.

Campbell’s first task of the night is to turn away a group of gutter punks who want to check out the show for free. He tries to meet them halfway by asking how much they could ante up for the touring bands, and one girl offers a cough drop, a bass pick, and a nickel. Campbell politely tells them “no.”

Five minutes later, a broham in a Billabong t-shirt comes in and asks if the bill is full. He says his band had planned on playing at the Bottleneck, but it’s closed and he’s looking for a last-minute venue to play a “sick-ass set.” Campbell tells him that the lineup is full, but the broham is not deterred. He insists that he just wants to play a 20-minute set and “rock the fuck out.”

“I’ll play for dudes, bitches, nobody – I just want to rock,” he pleads.