COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Crew announced today that locally based national recording artists Saving Jane will perform in conjunction with the club's 2008 Home Opener, March 29 vs. Toronto FC, becoming the first act to play Crew Stadium's new permanent stage in so doing. The Crew will also honor the NCAA runner-up Ohio State Men's Soccer Team on Opening Day and Crew magnet schedules will by given away upon entry, while supplies last, courtesy of SWACO.
Saving Jane's show will immediately follow the Crew-TFC match, which kicks off at 4 p.m., and admission to the game grants admission to the concert. Tickets are on sale now at the Crew Stadium Box Office and all central Ohio Ticketmaster retail locations, via Ticketmaster phone at 614-431-3600 and on-line at TheCrew.com and Ticketmaster.com. The opener is also part of all full-season, half-season and 5-pack ticket plans, which are available by calling 614-447-CREW (2739) and at TheCrew.com.
Saving Jane is a rock band headlined by former Ohio State University student Marti Dodson. While a junior at OSU, Dodson first met future bandmate and talented guitarist Pat Buzzard at a campfire gathering for local musicians. The duo performed on the local band circuit and eventually hit the studio to start the recording process, along with drummer Dax Goodman. Happy with early results, the trio decided to form a band and eventually came up with the name "Saving Jane," the title of a comic strip sketched by Marti on a blank notepad. Since its inception, the band has seen several members come and go, but the original trio has always remained the same. Saving Jane is now currently made up of Dodson, Buzzard, Goodman and Jeremy Martin on the bass guitar.
In October 2005, Saving Jane released its debut full-length release, "GIRL NEXT DOOR," on Toucan Cove Records, and began its introduction to the world outside of Columbus, which helped the band build a grassroots following and score regional radio exposure, which led to regional tours. Armed with the title track, "Girl Next Door," a defiant female anthem from the girl who never gets the guy, Saving Jane started 2006 climbing the radio charts and in February 2006 made its debut on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart. The label caught the attention of Universal Records and returned to the studio to add a few more tracks in anticipation of the re-release of "GIRL NEXT DOOR" for April, 2006, which went on to sell 100,000 copies, propelled by the smash title track.
It became a hit on both radio and iTunes, where it was downloaded some 600,000 times. The gold-certified single became the theme for MTV's Tiara Girls, and was included on the hit compilation "Now 22." It has helped the band register more than 2.5 million profile views on MySpace, where the song has been played more than 7 million times. It also brought Saving Jane to the country's attention. Since 2005, Saving Jane has toured nationwide, opening for the likes of Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, All American Rejects and The Fray. It has been featured in Billboard and Teen People and performed on Live with Regis and Kelly. Dodson, meanwhile, has become a spokesperson and model for the Wet Seal clothing brand.
"With its national stature and ties to the area, Saving Jane is an excellent act to christen our new stage," said Crew General Manager Mark McCullers. "At the same time, we look forward to honoring head coach John Bluem and his history-making Ohio State men's soccer team that afternoon. Both enhancements promise to add excitement to an already compelling home opener that features the burgeoning rivalry between the two teams and their fans."
The Ohio State Men's Soccer team is coming off the most successful season in program history, one in which it went 17-4-5 and advanced to the NCAA Men's College Cup (final four) for the first time. There it defeated Massachusetts, 1-0, to advance to the national title game, in which it scored first, but ultimately fell to Wake Forest, 2-1. The team and its achievements will be recognized at halftime of the Crew game on March 29.
Founded by American sports pioneer Lamar Hunt, the Columbus Crew is Ohio's Major League Soccer club, anchoring a diverse sports and entertainment enterprise. One of the league's Charter Members and U.S. Open Cup champion in 2002, it will open its 13th season overall and 10th in first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium on Saturday, March 29, when it plays host to Eastern Conference-rival Toronto FC.
