I love Isla Vista in the springtime. The bright sun, the warm air – no more thin polyester sweaters at night. The mating calls grow louder and more frequent under the influence of herbal, liquid and powdered lovage, and what it all boils down to is this: Butt-sniffing season is definitely in. So, what better way to celebrate butt-sniffing season than with a free show? Enter Extravaganza.

Now, I know most of you have wondered what Associated Students has ever done for you besides bicker and maybe deny funds to your student organization. Well, a small handful known as A.S. Program Board have been working hard to bring you a shameless display of I.V. exhibitionism. Which isn’t to say that the Extravaganza lineup has always been great – with rare exception, it’s left me the same way every spring: stuck at home loving myself while there’s a party I don’t want to go to and everyone’s coming. This year should prove somewhat different as modern rockers and hip hoppers alike can sit on opposite ends of Harder Stadium and enjoy the fruits of Program Board’s labor.

I talked to Dave (formerly Trugoy) from De La Soul and Ben Osmundson from Zebrahead – two of this year’s main acts – about what they’re doing by coming ’round our neck of the woods.

Osmundson said Zebrahead is busy writing songs for a new album and “trying not to stray to [sic] far from home while working on the new album, [and] Orange County is pretty close.” Plus, having fun can always be a perk of the job. “Why the hell not if The Breeders and De La Soul are playing?” he said.

Dave expressed a similar happy-go-lucky attitude. “You know, we were invited to come and we took the offer up. … We’re just tryin’ to do some shows out here [on the West Coast] since it’s been a minute, and we thought, ‘Why not?'”

And this open-minded, easygoing attitude pervades into why these acts are even around. Osmundson doesn’t even consider his musical career to be real work. “I haven’t had to work in about 6 years,” he said. “What better job could you ask for [than] touring the world and playing music? That isn’t work.”

Dave too, has a positive attitude about his career. “We just do music … because that’s what we like to do – that’s what we enjoy, and we happen to be on a label that puts it in the stores,” he said.

Of course, even a job as enjoyable as a music career isn’t without changes. Tommy Boy Records – De La Soul’s label of more than decade – recently folded.

“They gave us the freedom to do what we wanted to do,” Dave said. “Finding ourselves in the midst of being on another label like Elektra … we found that the freedom wasn’t as loose.”

But both De La Soul and Zebrahead are still having fun and going in new directions. Recently, De La Soul released two volumes of its Art Official Intelligence series, a personal challenge to evolve.

“In the rap game … it seems to get boring sometimes for us … it’s not as adventurous as it was back when we started,” Dave said.

De La also cut a track for Playtation 2’s Parappa the Rapper 2.

“I’ve played the game before – my daughter had it – actually the first version of it. … We definitely like to try different things. … Something fun, you know,” he said.

As for Zebrahead, I heard someone in class ask, “They’re still around?” Osmundson apologized for this.

“Sorry it’s taking us so damn long to put out the new record, but yes, it will finally be out late this summer or early this fall,” he said.

Both these bands are excited to be here on Saturday. Osmundson just wants to “have some fun. That’s really what I look for from any show,” he said.

And Dave looks forward to seeing “what Santa Barbara is all about.”

While they may not get to see too much of what Santa Barbara is all about, they’ll definitely get a taste of some Isla Vista lovin’. With the Breeders and the Shapeshifters adding to the aural orgy- maybe even I’ll get a little taste of some free love, at least at Extravaganza.

It’s springtime, I.V.! Butt-sniffing season … is in!