Unknown Artist: Jake Ousley

Written by: Elizabeth Prieskorn '14

      A smooth voice and a sweet country sound, Jake Ousley is a prodigious singer and songwriter. Jake lives in Nashville, Tennessee and attended Belmont University.

      During his time at college, as he was writing songs, he became friends with Dave Barnes and Matt Wertz. They were just two local musicians who were setting out to tour and play across the country. Seeing Jake’s talent they threw him in the bus with them and they were off.

      After the tour was over, Jake left Nashville, and left behind writing songs. He moved to Michigan in 2008 and started to become very involved in Young Life.

      Being involved in Young Life, Jake started to write songs again. He performed concerts at Young Life Camps. Spending a summer at Wilderness Ranch he saw how people reacted to his music and how much people enjoyed it.

      Talking to his buddies back in Nashville, he came back and did what they told him to do. Make music. Jake continues to make music and has many plans for his future musical career.

The Georgie James band

Written by: Michael McElwain '12     

      Although indie pop music is not necessarily the most hip, trending music, Georgie James is a band everyone should check out. I personally have never been a fan of indie music, but when I stumbled upon Georgie James I couldn’t help but get into the beat.

      The Georgie James band is composed of John Davis and Laura Burhenn. Burhenn and James met while in Washington D.C., coincidentally following the breakup of James’ previous band, Q and Not U. After realizing that they had similar taste in music, Burhenn and James agreed to work together.

      The two came to an agreement in which Burhenn would be the musician, whether he is playing the drums, electric piano, or the guitar, and Burhenn became the vocalist who would translate the bands messages and serenade fans. Noticeably, Burhenn’s voice stands out and is very unique. The lyrics that she uses have strong emotion and passion behind them, causing the listener to have serendipitous feelings while enjoying the catchy jingle.

      Georgie James produced its first CD, which consisted of a seven-song demo showing off the bands pop style. The demo was self-released it in 2006. And in 2007 the bands hard work paid off. Burhenn and Davis received a wonderful message from Saddle Creek Records recording department, offering the band the chance to sign a record contract and tour Europe in efforts to promote their new album.

      Georgie James music can be found on Amazon, MySpace, and Pandora. With its diverse voice and lyrics, I recommend that all music fans check out the Georgie James band.

UNKOWN ARTIST: Michael Henry & Justin Robinett

Written by: Michael McElwain '12

            Michael Henry and Justin Robinett are two amazing vocalists who have come together to record mesmerizing cover songs which range from Adele’s “Someone like you” to Maroon 5’s “Never Gonna Leave this Bed”.

Both Robinett and Henry had an interest in fine arts from a young age, Robinett was able to play piano, guitar, and the drums by age 13, and Henry had taken a couple years of piano lessons, as well as being able to play the drums in his high school’s band.

Although Justin and Michael both displayed a passion for music, neither of the two had ever explored their talent for singing, which suddenly changed during their two years they spent at Texas Tech, where they would share a dorm and play for the school’s drum line. Justin had received some equipment to record amateur songs and Michael, being slightly curious, asked Justin if he could have a go at things.

Out of pure luck, the two decided to record a song and post it to YouTube, where it would become an instant hit. They had originally uploaded it for their friends and family to check out, but soon found that YouTube users worldwide instantly became fans.

Although the two remain unsigned, their popularity has continued to grow. Robinett and Henry have created a wide range of cover songs in response, as well as sharing a few pieces of their own. Michael and Justin recently started a website where fans can stay updated, www.mhjrmusic.com. As well, Robinett and Henry have also announced that their songs are now being published and distributed via iTunes.   

UNKOWN ARTIST: Horrible Crowes

Written by: Elizabeth Prieskorn '14

           

            The Horrible Crowes have a captivating sound that pulls you in and makes you want to listen to more. A two-man band of Brian Fallon and Ian Perkins have traveled around the world playing music together.

            Their first song as the Horrible Crowes, “Behold the Hurricane”, was released and streamed on RollingStone.com on July 13^th. They have one album called Elsie, which after 17 days of recording, was finally released by Side One Dummy Records on September 6^th, 2011. Their album includes 12 songs and one song was even featured on iTunes as a free song of the week; Go Tell Everybody. As well as their first song “Behold the Hurricane”, their album Elsie is also streaming on RollingStone.com.

            Shortly after their release of their album Elsie, Ian and Brian headed over to Europe for the Fall Revival Tour. The Revival Tour was the first tour where Brian and Ian actually played together live as the Horrible Crowes.

            Currently they don’t have any shows booked for 2012 but The Crowes have many expectations. Their expectations would include playing in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the U.K.

            Their first shows ever were just in September. On September 8^th they played in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom. Their second show was Troubadour in LA on September 14^th. At their first two shows they played the whole album of Elsie as well as a mixture of covers.

            Brian and Ian hope 2012 will be as successful as 2011 and hope to excel farther in their music career together as the Horrible Crowes.

Unknown Artist: Jen Sygit

Written by: Elizabeth Prieskorn '14

         Jen Sygit’s music is a good blend of acoustic and folk. Jen is from Port Huron, Michigan and grew up in the small town of Marysville. Throughout her life, Jen has always had a strong love of music and musical instruments. During elementary, middle, and high school Jen could be found writing songs at any time throughout the day and playing them in her parent’s basement on their beat up organ.

          Seeing her gift with music, her parents encouraged Jen to audition for the Interlochen Fine Arts Camp in Interlochen, MI. Jen was accepted and spent several years at the camp studying voice, visual arts, piano, and trombone. Interlochen is an outstanding music camp which has creative writing, dance, motion picture arts, music, theatre, visual arts, and academics. It’s quite an accomplishment to be accepted into the school and to study there.

           In 1999, in order to attend Michigan State University, Jen moved to Lansing. She quickly surveyed the area and the musical scene that it had. She scoped out the top blue jams and open mics in the neighborhood; and soon enough had her first gig. She started out as a front woman for a band called Murdawg who played more blues-rock music.

          During her time with Murdawg, Jen started working at Elderly Instruments; a world-renowned music store in Lansing. Most of the workers at Elderly Instruments are musicians so it was a perfect opportunity for Jen to make some money as well as to expand her knowledge of music and instruments. She worked there for three years and Jen enhanced her acoustic sound as well as learning how to work and play other instruments.

          Jen has come a long way from playing the organ in her basement, and now has three albums, Here to There, So Long Pollyanna, and Leaving Marshall St. Jen is a well-known local at Dagwood Tavern in Lansing and has been performing there for a good five years. At this point, Jen is part of a band called Stella! They have been working on their new album in Brooklyn, NY. Stella! is a 4 person band consisting of Jo Serrapere, Tahmineh Guermany, Katie Grace and Jen Sygit.

           Stella! has performed on Dave Marsh’s Sirius/XM show, ‘Kick out the Jams’. So Long Pollyanna was also played on the show.

          Jen Sygit has come a long way since her childhood and is planning on a long continued career in the music industry.

Movie Quote of the Month

"One, two. Freddie's coming for you.
Three, four. Better lock the door.
Five, six. Grab your crucifix.
Seven, eight. Gonna stay up late.
Nine, ten. Never sleep again."


- Nightmare on Elm Street

Music Review: Tenacious D

Written by: Ryan Hayward '13

      Tenacious D is a rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by two very eccentric people. Created by Jack Black (JB, Jables) the lead vocalist, and Kyle Gass (KG, Kage) the lead guitarist. They have released two albums and a rock opera movie. The albums include the self-named Tenacious D (2001) and Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny (2006).
     Their music is described as vulgar, and innapropriate as they sing about drugs and their sexual prowess. Although that is not only thing described in their music, they also describe their unbreakable friendship and their battle against demons and even Satan himself. Almost all of their songs are short stories about something they have done or has happened to them or people they know.
     "Tenacious D" was not their first and only band name idea, they had also thought of naming the band "Pets or Meat," "Balboa's Biblical Theatre", and "The Axe Lords Featuring Gorgazon’s Mischief"(supposedly Gass' favorite). While performing at a bar they had people vote on possible band names. "Tenacious D" did not win but was pushed through by JB and KG.
     Unique as Tenacious D may be, they have been ifluenced by a few very popular bands including Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Tony Robbins. Tenacious D themselves, have influenced people such as All Shall Perish, The Lonely Island, and Kanye West.
        If you would like to experience this unique band live, they will be performing this year in December at The Masonic Temple in Detroit.

Secret Millionaire shares that giving back trend

 Written by: Becca Waters '11

The television network ABC has picked up on the growing trend of giving. On Sunday, March 6^th, the network aired a new show: Secret Millionaire. Secret Millionaire is also shown in the United Kingdom and has been aired since 2006, with this year being the shows sixth season on the air.

In 2008 the television network Fox gave Secret Millionaire a try but the show was only able to produce an average of 6.7 million viewers so the network cut the show from its schedule.

ABC, however, has had a much more successful run with the show.

The title, Secret Millionaire, gives the plot away. Some of America's most successful, self-made millionaires will spend a week in the country's poorest areas and ultimately reward some unsung community heroes with hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money.

The “secret millionaires” will reside in local housing on welfare-level wages, and will try to find the most deserving people within the community and reward them with the financial help that they need. In some cases the millionaires give money and items that some of the organizations are in need of.

The trend of giving, giving back, or paying it forward, as it’s been called, has become increasingly possible within the last three or four years. Many television shows have made a point of proving that good natured human’s still exists among the tragic and less sustaining ways of our nation.

As of March 20^th three episodes of the show have aired. Dani Johnson was the first millionaire, a self made millionaire who built two companies and manufactured and developed a nutritional product line.

 Johnson donated money to The Love Kitchen, Joy of Music School, and Special Spaces. They were all organizations that Johnson spent time with learning about and bonding with people from each organization. Johnson gave a total of 100,000 dollars to the organizations in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Marc Paskin, the millionaire of the second episode. Paskin became a multi millionaire through real estate purchasing and selling. Paskin grew up poor and knows how it feels to struggle with finances; it wasn’t until his adult life that he came into money.

Paskin lives in San Diego, but he left the comforts of his beach house for the run down and suffering areas of Detroit, Michigan. Paskin is forced to live on less then ten dollars a day, the amount that an average single male on welfare in Detroit survives on.

                Over the course of Paskins stay in Detroit he finds three organizations that touch his heart: The Man Network, is a group of volunteers that patrol Detroit neighborhoods to prevent crime; Young Detroit Builders, an organization that helps young adults transform their lives through schooling and by learning how to build homes; and Really Living, an organization that offers Detroit's uninsured medical patients free transportation to their appointments.

                Paskin gives 110,000 dollars of his money to the people in Detroit that he spent his “secret” week with.

                The third episode to air of Secret Millionaire was the millionaire James Malinchak. Malinchak became a self mad millionaire first as a financial advisor then a motivational speaker.

                Malinchak resides near Las Vegas, Nevada, and for a week he lived in the steel mill town of Gary, Indian. Malinchak donated a total of 105,000 dollars and tools to the Adonia Community Service program; a non-profit organization that collects trash and picks up liter throughout the city Gary. Malinchak also gave to Urban Faithworks, an organization that provides a safe haven for children and teenagers after their school days.

                The foundation that touched Malinchak’s heart the most though, was the Baylor Youth Foundation. Baylor Youth Foundation is a non-profit organization formed to provide a safe, nurturing and engaging environment where at-risk urban youth are encouraged to develop their full potential through participation in athletic competition.

                Through the journeys that the millionaires ventured through they were all able to realize things about themselves and the world in which we all are living. Giving yourself, your time, or your money for someone in need, is always an honorable feeling.

Word of the Month: LUCIFUGOUS

Jake Ghaffari '11: "A bad name to call someone."

Tori Davidson '12: "A silly person."

Mike Kitsmiller '13: "Flem in  your throat."

Hailey Simmons '14: "An allgergy."

Definition: avoiding light.