Main Squeeze to play Super Bowl

For Bloomington band the Main Squeeze, Sunday was a waiting game.

“We just wanted to call the contestants to make sure you were by your phones,” band member Ben ‘Smiley’ Silverstein was told. “You’ll get a call in 20 minutes if you win.”

Nineteen minutes later, Silverstein said he was a nervous wreck.

“Twenty minutes pass, we get no call, 23 minutes pass, still no call, finally, 24 minutes later, we get a call saying: ‘Congratulations,’” Silverstein said.

The call was from Rolling Stone magazine, and the praise was for winning the “Rolling Stone and Volkswagon hosted Fan Tailgate Contest.” The Main Squeeze will be playing at the Super Bowl and opening for the Roots and Jane’s Addiction.

Silverstein said the band could not be more excited.

“There were 250 bands in the contest, and we all have mixed feelings,” Silverstein said. “Corey is from Indy, so it really feels like a home-town thing for him. Max is from New York and he’s a Giant’s fan, so he’s really emotionally invested. I just had a blank mind and, once the call came, my heart dropped, I closed my eyes and it was the perfect moment.”

The contest was co-sponsored by Rolling Stone magazine and Do 317, an Indianapolis marketing firm. More than 250 bands entered the competition, and only the top three groups were considered to play the event. Winners were chosen through a fan-based voting process, and finalists were hand-selected by members of Rolling Stone.

“We went to the library and passed out Snickers, Nerds, big Reese’s and little slips of paper to everyone we saw,” Silverstein said.

The contest ended at 8 p.m. and, within the last 60 seconds, the band qualified for the top three by four votes, the same number as the amount of band members together when they got the winning phone call.

“They really liked that we’re really dedicated to take the next step and become a national act,” drummer Reuben Gingrich said. “It’s amazing that the guys from Rolling Stone, which I’ve read since I was a kid, picked us to do it.”

The band found out about the contest through an email from Silverstein’s girlfriend’s mom and entered immediately. A week later, they went from being a popular local band to one that will open for one of wthe biggest sporting events in the country.

“It’s fate, I think,” Silverstein said. “We were meant to get this. The fact that we won by four votes was perfect, and the Roots is one of our biggest influences.”

Gingrich said now all they can do is wait, anticipate and do their best Sunday. 

“The four votes thing is crazy,” Gingrich said. “I don’t know if it’s fate, luck or if it was meant to happen but, regardless, now that it’s happening we’ve just got to go out and go for it. I’m so excited for Sunday.”