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I had doubts in my mind about how they were going to act due to the other bands I have met before. Everyone knows the stereotype of the egotistical musician. Band mates of Bury Your Dead completely defied them. Tour manager Bryan Knudsen said he would wrangle up all the guys to start the interview. When it was mentioned they were working out, Knudsen said, “Just head on out and tell them who you are. They’ll be cool with it.” The general ritual for band mates of Bury Your Dead for before shows is a hard work out. Outside of the Orbit room, singer Myke Terry, guitarist Chris Towning, bassist Aaron “Bubble” Patrick, and drummer Mark Castillo were doing pushups; sit ups, pull-ups and even lifting weights. Terry said, “It’s what we do when we’re at home, so it’s what we do when we are on tour. It gets us ready because we have to have a lot of energy on stage.” During the interview onlookers would have thought we had known each other for years. They were cool, collected and overall awesome guys to interview. They were all joking around, laughing and telling about their past. Although the lineup has changed since the start in 2001, the guys were all linked in some way. Patrick said, “It originally started out as Mark and Brendan “Slim” MacDonald.” Over time the others ended up joining in different ways. From the current lineup MacDonald was missing from the show because of a car accident the band was in a few weeks back. Overall the guys agreed that Europe was their favorite place to tour. Terry said, “It’s cool to be there and see the different cultures.” They all went on to reminisce and tell about their favorite bands to tour with. Castillo knew instantly what band he was going to say. “Hell yeah was my favorite to play with. Those guys are awesome.” Singer Terry took a bit longer to think about it, then said, “Machinehead, Dillinger Escape Plan, Ghost Inside and Unearth.” I was always curious if stage fright was something that stuck forever. Castillo said “Some days I’ll get nervous.” They all agreed and added in, “We just go out and have fun.” Onstage during the concert, the band mates had the same ease that they had during the interview. It seemed like it was second nature for each of them. Whether it was drumsticks in hand, bass, guitar or microphone, they all looked natural doing what they love. 2008 Grand Awards have arrived Every year the theatre community comes together under one roof to recognize and award some of the most distinguished in the theatre. The event was held at Grand Rapid’s Civic Theater on Sunday October 5, 2008, and over five hundred supporters and performers in the theater community came out to celebrate dressed in prom attire. “I thought it was a lot of fun, especially dressing up,” GRCC student, Ellen Pike said, “not to mention, I had no idea how big the theater community was and how talented students are at GRCC.” Over twenty different awards are given to the most deserving college and community actors; including directors and technical designers. This year GRCC’s production of Blue/Orange, was nominated for ‘Outstanding Production’. Darius Colquitt and Michael Sali, were both nominated for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor’ and Brittany Risner for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actress’. All of which are students at GRCC. Both Brittany Risner and Darius Colquitt walked away with Grand Awards this year for their respective categories. “I was in total disbelief, did they really just call my name?” said Darius Colquitt, winner of ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a College Production’. “Then my heart just stopped and my feet started moving towards the stage and I wasn’t even doing anything.” Colquitt was up for nomination against two other actors from local college productions in which he dedicated his award to. “I really have to thank God for everything. Without him, I wouldn’t be here tonight,” said Colquitt. After the awards an ‘After Glow’ party is held where all the award winners from the community and their guests come together for entertainment, refreshments and food. It was held at St. Cecilia’s, two blocks from the Civic Theater. Grand Rapids Trolley Company helped guests get to and from the event for free of charge. All proceeds from the event go towards a combined theater scholarship which started back in 1992 through the Grand Rapids Community College Foundation and people have celebrated this event for over ten years. Sons of Anarchy is Simply Shakespearian Hamlet has been reinterpreted many times, but FX took it to a new level with its new show, Sons of Anarchy. The show centers around Jax (played by Charlie Hunnam), who is constantly questioning the direction of the Sons of Anarchy, a motorcycle club his father created. Jax's life is thrown into a emotional tailspin when find his ex-wife giving birth to his son prematurely because of her relapse into amphetamine use, and a rival gang steals a shipment of assault weapons from a Sons of Anarchy warehouse. To make matters even more complicated while searching for items for his new son, Jax stumbles upon his fathers 'ghost' in this case a detailed journal about what he intended for the club, which Jax quickly learned had nothing to do with selling assault weapons to inner city gangs. Ron Perlman plays Clay, the stepfather, one of the original members and the Club president. He has absolute control over the clubs violent tendencies and does not seem to mind murdering rivals, blackmailing the police and threatening everyone who steps in his way. He is the definitive King Claudius character. Gemma is the slightly psychotic mother, and unofficial queen of the Club, played by the ever beautiful Katey Sagal (of Married with Children fame), who would do anything to protect the Motorcycle Club. Sagal, plays the role perfectly, she does all she can to make sure Jax's mind is in the right place so that he can take over exclusive control of the Motorcycle Club. Sons of Anarchy is written by Kurt Stutter, one of the long time writers of the Shield. So the style of the two shows are very similar. This show is not for the squeamish. The shows only fault is that Kurt Stutter adds a lot of shocking content for no apparent reason. Yet for all the shocking content Stutter adds, he also adds a dose of dark comedy, making it hard not to fall in love with even the most violent characters. Sons of Anarchy is rated Mature and shows Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX, previous episodes can be watched for free on Hulu.com. Review rating 4.5 of 5 stars. Sex Ed for college students Like many classes, sex education gets more exciting too. It’s not just about the basics of baby making, but a tutorial on, well anything from sex toys, to how to experiment in the bedroom. Standout’s first uncensored sex forum on Sept. 25 was not the average sexual education seminar. “Its good to teach abstinence, but it is also helpful to teach the other side, just in case.” Said Jaimie Powell, a GRCC student who attended the forum. The event opened with drag queen Ariez Iman dancing to the hit song, “Let’s talk about sex.” Her outfit was complete with a black miniskirt, glittered eyelashes, and the heels to match. Planned Parenthood educator, Kym Duursma followed the act. Duursma answered questions that had been anonymously written by the audience before the event began. From prostate health to the misunderstandings of the morning after pill, she addressed a wide variety of topics. At one point, Iman referred to Duursma as the “sex Mary Poppins.” She also showed the audience some of the products she recommended to solve their sexual dilemmas. From dental dams to “Great Head,” a product by Pure Romance, Duursma seemed to have it all. “I want people to feel ok about where they are sexually, and feel good about themselves as a sexual being.” Duursma said. Due to an advertising crunch, posters for the event didn’t reach GRCC’s halls until Tuesday, two days before the event was scheduled. Despite this Garret Imhoff, president of Standout felt the event went well. “It’s a great way to kick off the semester.” Imhoff said. “It was what we hoped. People didn’t take it seriously, that’s the point.” Pure Romance and Planned Parenthood had tables outside the event to answer any questions. Planned Parenthood provided more than answers. Free condoms and other information about its services were available. “It provides a realistic view, and a place to get your questions answered.” Said Ashley Paulson, a GRCC student attending the event. As for what the future holds, Imhoff was unsure if an event like this would happen again. Pillow Mob hits Rosa Parks Circle At 2pm on September 28 a horn sounded at Rosa Parks Circle signaling the start of the most massive pillow fight Grand Rapids has ever seen. Men, women and children from all over West Michigan began arriving at Rosa Parks Circle as early as 1pm. The idea was to wear a solid color shirt, the people with the same color shirt as you were your teammates. Around 1:45pm people began to get into teams and surround the circle. At 2pm sharp after the sound of the horn hundreds ran to the center of the circle in war paint and battle cries with pillows in hand. “I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was still pretty extreme.” said Steven Knight, a former Grand Rapids Community College student and pillow fight participant. This is not the first time a giant pillow fight has been held. This has been done in citiesaround the world including: Sanfranciso, London, New York City, Paris, Vancouver, Washington DC, Beijing, Seatle and many others. On March 22nd 2008 cities around the world even held “Pillow Fight Day.” Some cities now have pillow fight leagues. Rob Bliss, a Grand Rapids Community College Student, organized this event and said “I had seen other people try to do small groups [of pillow fights.] I wanted to see what I could do with larger groups” “It was Intense.” said Jenna Bartolotti, a Grand Rapids Community College student and pillow fight participant. “It felt, once you got towards the center like you were in a mosh pit” There were a few minor injuries during the fight. “One person got a bloody nose and I got stepped on and hurt my toe.” said Charlie Streidl, an East Grand Rapids High School student and pillow fight participant. Rob Bliss created an organization that holds events like these called “The Rob Bliss Urban Experiments” which he describes as “seeing what mass mobs of people can do in a small space.” He also organized “Zomb” in which 150 or more people get together for two hours in the dark and act out a zombie outbreak. On October 30 Rob Bliss is going to make an attempt at organizing the world’s largest zombie walk. It starts at 9 pm at Rosa Parks Circle and will end at The Bob. Anyone can be involved. You can search for both organizations at www.facebook.com.
Survivor returns with its seventeenth season Back by popular demand, eighteen Americans begin a wild adventure in “earth’s last Eden” as CBS’s seventeenth installment of Survivor makes its way to Gabon, Africa. Survivor was based on the Swedish television series, ‘Expedition Robinson’ created in 1992 by Charlie Parsons. On May 31, 2000 the American version, produced by Mark Burnett, was released to television screens across the nation on CBS. Since then, Survivor has accumulated its share of fans ranging from the casual viewer to hardcore enthusiasts. On the show, contestants are stripped from their everyday comforts and placed in a remote location. Just like past seasons, they must fend for food, water, fire and build shelter for themselves as they compete in challenges for rewards and immunity from being voted off the tribe in progressive eliminations.At the end of the show, the last one remaining who is deemed the best player will walk away a millionaire. Survivor Gabon brings in a colorful group of contestants this season ranging from an egotistical photographer, a pinup model from Los Angeles, a high school physics teacher, a professional gamer and an Olympic gold medalist. “It’s hard to get a good feel for the contestants this season,” said Todd Herzog, winner of Survivor: China, “some are so blah while others have big personalities that are so out there.” Herzog has been an avid fan of the show Survivor since his teen years that ended up winning the sixteenth season of Survivor which took place in China and aired late last year. Gillian Larsen, who was voted out second this season, has applied for every season and was finally cast as a contestant for Survivor: Gabon. “I was so thrilled to be apart of this season,” said Larsen. “I just wish I could’ve lasted a big longer.” The concept of Exile Island is brought back this season but with a twist. This season, players who are sent to Exile will have a choice of receiving a clue to a hidden immunity idol or they’re tempted with a comfort item. A difficult choice like this could ultimately affect the outcome of their game. Throughout the season, selected players, from the losing tribe, will be exiled away from the rest of the players. Tune into the latest edition of Survivor on Thursday nights at eight o’clock, CBS. The premier aired on September 25, 2008 with back to back episodes. A&E Briefs for October 15, 2008 Electric Six with Local H, Golden Dogs and The Outer Vibe will be at the Intersection October 18.The doors open at 7pm and the show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $15. Must be 18 or older to get in. Sweeny Todd will be performed at the Devos Performance Hall October 21. Show starts at 7:30pm. Ticket prices range from $32-$62. The Grand Rapids ballet will be performing Aladdin at the Devos Performance Hall on October 17. Ticket prices range from $17-$53. Show starts at 7:30pm. Wealthy St. Theatre will be having a tribute to Motown concert on October 17. Show starts at 7pm. All reserved seats are $19.68. The Civic Theatre will be showing Bunnicula based on the “Rabbit-tale Mystery” novel by Deborah and James Howe October 17-26. Adult ticket prices range from $8-$14. Children and student prices range from $8-$12. Doors open at 7pm show starts at 7:30pm. Speak Out! Have something to say? Sound off to The Collegiate at grcc_collegiate@yahoo.com for your tips or views on the current news, sports, arts & entertainment and opinion. Letters to the editors: The Collegiate is very interested in your opinions, so send your letters in. The
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