Attention all star-struck NIU students!

At 8 p.m. tonight in the Music Building, Raw Zeus Productions will hold its first talent showcase in efforts to get new talent signed with major record labels.

Chuck Scott, producer of Raw Zeus Productions said, “The purpose of this showcase is to find new acts and give them a boost in the music world.

“Some might say this is a talent show but we prefer to call it a showcase,” Scott said. “Because all the groups have talent, we are simply giving them a chance to show off their talent and hopefully they will be signed by a record company.”

Realizing the difficulty of succeeding in the music business, Scott said Zeus is acting as a liaison between the featured acts and the major record companies.

Scott said the president of Mercury Records will be coming to see the new talent. In addition to Mercury, Polygram Records and Perspective records will be in attendance looking to sign record deals with the best groups.

Raw Zeus Productions is very confident with the quality of talent they have selected for the showcase.

“We have held auditions here at NIU and I have a musical background. I work with a lot of groups from Chicago and we also opened the search to Aurora, Rockford and Joliet,” Scott said. “We feel that there is a lot of talent at NIU inside the black choir and throughout campus.”

However, not all the featured talent is from NIU. There are approximately 12 acts on the musical line up, five of which are from NIU.

Dion Jackson (alias Spank da Madhatter), sophomore at NIU and member of the group “Hott Damn!,” is scheduled to appear on the showcase tonight.

“This program gives NIU students a chance to express themselves to the music world and prove that there is talent in a small area,” Jackson said. “I hope that ‘Hott Damn!’ has a positive influence on the record companies so that I can exercise my hip-hop culture to the fullest and get paid in the process.”