­5­

It’s not every Vocal Jazz Ensemble that

spends their weekend camping in the cold, wind and

rain. Recently, the Lyons Vocal Jazz Ensemble, or

LVJE, did just that.

Directed by Mr. Wlodarczyk, the LVJE is

made up of a select group of students who auditioned

last June. This year’s LVJE includes sopranos Alicia

Sieling (12), Johanna Stoep (12), Chanel Brown (11),

and Paige Durham (9); altos Kristen Williams (12),

Rebecca Wallis (11), Stacie Detorio (11), and Emily

Stoep (9); tenors Darius Greene (11) and Greg

Maddock (10); and basses David Cheney (12) and

Brian Sieling (9). Accompanying the ensemble on the

bass guitar is Tiffany Graham (10) and on the drum

set, Olivia Maddock (9).

The weekend of October 15

th

and 16

th

, the

LVJE spent the night at the Cheerful Valley Camp­

grounds. The weekend included pitching tents, cook­

ing meals on the campfire, playing games and other

activities, and, of course, singing. The first night ended

with thought­provoking questions and s’mores

around the campfire. Luckily, everyone was in his or

her tent for the night when it started to rain!

The purpose of the weekend was not only to

improve their singing and performance quality, but

also to develop a special bond within the ensemble.

The weekend proved successful.

The LVJE performs at every choral concert.

At the concert on Tuesday, October 25, the LVJE

performed

“Taking a Chance on Love”

and

“Java

Jive”

. The next performance for the LVJE will be at

the Winter Choral Concert.

This

was

going to be a CD review of

Deady’s

latest release

Commencement

, but I found the band

quite interesting and couldn’t help but praise them in every aspect. First, I’ll give you a brief history on these

guys:

Formed in 1995, they wrote most of their songs in that time period. Between then and 1999, two

albums were made but never released. Finally, in 2002, they released the phenomenally well­made CD

Commencement

. Their music video for

The Key

To Gramercy Park

was shown on MTV shortly

thereafter. Their longtime bassist, “The Beast” Craig,

left the band and was replaced by their current bass­

ist, Craig Riker, AKA Creature. Deadsy is currently

signed with Dreamworks/Elementree Records.

Deadsy’s genre is called Undercore, a word

the lead singer Elijah Blue devised to represent the

band’s musical style and form of operation. His defi­

nition of Undercore is: A low, dissonant sound with a

fierce commitment to excellence. As far as that’s con­

cerned, they’ve done a superb job at keeping up that

title. So then, you know their genre; now, let’s move

on to their instruments.

The musicians themselves are incredibly tal­

ented. Carlton Megalodon, one of the band’s guitar­

ists, plays a type of synth guitar called a Z­Tar. I ac­

tually had to look it up to understand exactly what it

was. A common synth guitar looks basically like a keyboard with a neck. There are synth adapters that you

can attach to a normal electric guitar as well – my father has one on his Schecter. Megalodon’s Z­Tar

produces a sound that is very hard to explain in words. The normal guitar sound undermines an electronic

enhancement that almost gives it a Nine Inch Nails industrial sound.

Ren Hawkey, AKA Dr. Nner, is on the synthesiz­

ers. More specifically, a very tall keyboard set. If I

remember correctly, it kind of looks like one of those

foldout tackle boxes, three shelves that can fold down

and such. I do believe he has four instead of three,

but I am going by memory. When teamed up with

Megalodon, Dr. Nner can create an insane barrage

of those ping­pong synth notes I so praised in my last

review of

Mindless Self Indulgence

. His keyboard

work consists of high pitched, wavering notes that

can last up to thirty seconds. Alone, this would be

annoying, but when weaved into the drums, guitar, Z­

tar, and bass, it creates a mesmerizing melody that you have to hear to truly understand what I am saying.

Craig Riker, AKA Creature, occupies the Bass guitar in outstanding performances. He basically

adds the “oomph” factor to the synth instruments played by Megalodon and Dr. Nner. Alex Puro, AKA Alec

Pure, delivers a fantastic performance on drums. From slow, rhythmic beats to insanely fast mayhem, Alec

Pure is up in the ranks of Danny Carey (Tool) and Joey Jordison (Slipknot). And lastly, their vocalist/guitarist

Elijah Blue, a mysterious, enchanting man whose intelligence is very well reflected in the beautiful lyrics he

writes. AKA Phillips Exeter Blue, his voice is somewhat Manson­esque.

By now I’m sure you’re wondering why they all have nicknames. Or maybe you’re not, but it

doesn’t matter; I’m telling you anyway. Each member represents an Entity, and has their own symbol. For

instance, Exeter’s symbol is a Blue Book, Alec’s is a Tennis Ball, Creature’s is the Hockey Mask, Dr.

Nner’s is the Medical Staff, and the Shark Jaws are for Megalodon. All this is based on the band’s collective

theory that humanity is driven by a force that is divided into five distinct parts. Such entities are Academia

(Exeter), Science/Medicine (Nner), Leisure (Alec), War (Megalodon), and Horror (Creature).

All of this personifies what Exeter calls a ‘Concept band’,

“A band which incorporates imagery, phi­

losophies, complicated systems, and deeper meanings into their art. If you ‘get’ the band, it’s a lot

easier to enjoy.”

(Quote from a fan that

really

knows Deadsy to the point of being creepy)

Commencement

is phenomenal, and they have a second CD on the way called

Phantasmagoria

.

Deadsy gets bonus points for naming an album after my favorite word. For those who don’t know the word:

poet Edgar Allen Poe commonly used Phantasmagoria, and its two variations, Phantasmagorian and

Phantasmagore. Its basic meaning is a barrage of surreal, dreamlike images. I don’t know why it’s my

favorite word; I guess it’s just fun to say.

Overall, Deadsy’s sound is one of a kind. Although the band name sounds like they’re a heavy

group, most of their songs have beautiful melodies (especially

Winners

,

Brand New Love

, and

Mansion

World

). The combined forces of the lyrics and the music creates a somewhat surreal state of mind that

invokes a happy emotion that stays with you for the rest of the day.

Mane Event Reviews

Singin’ in the Rain

Gregory Maddock, Sophomore

Band Review

Deadsy

Rocktoons.com

How Bad

Do You Want It?

by: julie oehme

How bad should you want Tim McGraw’s

latest work of art? The opening track

How Bad Do

You Want It?

sets the mood for what is a classic,

and what, for me, was an unexpected journey back

to what can be considered a more typical country

sound than his last album. As a true Tim McGraw

fan, I will be the first to admit that it took several

good listens to this album before I warmed up to it.

But, McGraw has yet again managed to give his fans

a collection of humor and heart wrench that you can’t

help but want to listen to again and again.

Having viewed McGraw’s last album,

Tim

McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors,

as having a

sound more appealing to the masses while managing

to uphold the fundamentals of country music, I feel

Live Like.

.

. is an album that will appeal more to the

true country music fan verses a “cross over” fan, with

tracks like

Do You Want Fries With That

and

Back When

. It is in finding the fun and intended hu­

mor in songs such as these that allow for virtually

anyone to appreciate them in some way.

What makes McGraw such a phenomenal

performer, country fan or not, is his ability to take a

simple lyrical composition and, in the delivery of it,

burn it beautifully into your memory before you even

realize what’s happened to you.

Blank Sheet of

Paper

and

My Old Friend

are both simple songs

that McGraw makes warm and memorable and are

tracks that you will play over and over again.

I am giving this album a 3 out of 5, not be­

cause it isn’t a solid collection of songs, but because

it does not match the magnitude of appeal and lon­

gevity of his last album.

The Mane Event is always looking for people to write

reviews about music, movies, books, games, etc. If you’re