by Anna Rogers | Nov 18, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
The Contemporary Music Program is a fairly new department. Since its start just last year, the department has nearly tripled in size. Because of this, the department split into three ensembles to perform their fall concerts on different days in different locations. The first group performed Nov. 7 in the Flatt Amphitheater. They showcased a lot of talent from the freshmen new to the program. The second group’s performance took place Monday night on the steps of Collins Alumni Auditorium. The final group performed in the Collins Auditorium Thursday night. All of the students thought it went extremely well. “It went better than we were all thinking,” sophomore Jacalyn Thompson said. “You do these things with all this adrenaline thinking about all the things you have to do, but as soon as you’re on stage, everyone comes together with the same mindset that we’re gonna make this the best show that we can.” The nights not only showcased the talent that each group possesses, but also the sense of community they felt after doing what they love together. “I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to come together with my best friends and play music,” Thompson said. Sophomore Freddy Schuler agreed, saying that the final night of music brought each group together as a community and as a department. “There was some good energy that mixed beautifully together. I think it all kind of culminated during the last song.” The group thanked Director of Contemporary Music, Charlie Peacock, for his direction. “We have phenomenal leaders who prepared us very well,” Thompson said. “They’re really great people to work with.” After the final performance, the...
by Anna Rogers | Nov 12, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Friday night was a memorable night for the band RAINEY, as it was their last-ever performance. The band is comprised of Lipscomb’s alumna Lana Rainey, alumnus Ben Siebold, senior Trevor Ault, senior Landon Woods and sophomore Andrew Grasso. The indie-rock pop group announced their split over social media, where they also advertised dates and times for their final concerts. Opening for RAINEY’s concert were two other Lipscomb groups: The Vangos and Nordista Freeze. The Vangos opened first and featured many of the University’s contemporary students including senior Jasmin Bridgeforth, sophomore Riley Adkisson, sophomore Zach Daves, Grasso and non-Lipscomb sophomore Trent Briden. Following The Vangos, Freeze performed his usual set and announced his upcoming annual music festival, “Freezefest,” in April. “There are 200 bands on the bill,” he said. “I’ll probably have to narrow it down before then.” After Freeze and his peers finished, the small house packed even more. Many fans had come, not just from Lipscomb, to see RAINEY’s last performance. The band hardly stopped performing to talk to the crowd, other than to thank them repeatedly for their love and support. “We’ve used music as a creative outlet for these past few years,” Wood said, “and it’s hard to see that go away for us as a group. So thank you for supporting us while we could make music together and giving us that...
by Erin Franklin | Nov 12, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb’s jazz ensemble performed its first jazz improvisation workshop concert, featuring guest artist Tyler Summers, on Thursday night in Shamblin Theater. Charlie Peacock, the director of contemporary music, opened the show with a few words about the improvisational style of the concert, as well as introducing the guest performer, jazz artist Summers. “This allows the students to see that most of the world’s music is made extemporaneously,” Peacock said. “Although here in our school of music we value notation and written music tremendously, we also know that there is a place and a time for people to do both. Tonight you will hear them as they have memorized these charts, but also improvising individually and in a group setting as well.” The concert featured 16 students, plus Granny White Green Grass, which featured Jeff Taylor and Matt Combs, and Summers with Miguel Alvarado, Doug Moffet, Evan Cobb and Chris West. Summers played a variety of instruments and pieces during the concert, including his own Justin Bieber remix. Summers said his musical style can apply to music outside of jazz. “I think it’s a combination of jazz but still accessible and singer-songwriter oriented — intelligent singer-songwriter,” he said. Summers commented that he is starting to learn his way around Lipscomb after he recently played at the Dove Awards and also at the concert Thursday night. Summers said his biggest piece of advice to students is to “always show up on time to gigs,” but he noted that it’s also important to explore other musical styles and make them their own. “My one piece of advice is always try to spend some time every day listening to what’s...
by Charissa Ricker | Nov 12, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Friday night in Shamblin Theater, the Department of Visual Arts hosted “Artist Talk” which featured guest speaker, Disney animation artist Andreas Deja. Deja has animated characters for several well known Disney movies including Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast”, Jafar from “Aladdin”, Scar from “Lion King” and several others. Deja has also had the chance to work alongside some of the most famous animators at the Disney company. These core animators and directors are known as the “Nine Old Men,” nicknamed by Walt Disney himself. In honor of the legacy and animations these men have created, Deja recently published a book detailing the animation styles and techniques of the animators. Deja’s book, “The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration from Disney’s Great Animators,” gives a detailed analysis of animations by Les Clark, Wolfgang Reitherman, Eric Larson, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, John Lounsbery, Marc Davis and Ward Kimball. Deja decided to write the book in order to focus on the animations and not simply the artists’ backgrounds. “It just fell into my lap. There already is a book, but it leaves you wishing for more visuals,” said Deja. “There is a lot of great text, but we want to see more art.” These artists have animated characters many know and love such as Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio, Bambi and many more iconic Disney characters. The artists were not given one character to animate, but all created different aspects of every character. “It’s not one person’s work; at Disney you work in a team,” said Deja. Deja spent the evening showing sketches and animations from...
by Charissa Ricker | Nov 10, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
The holiday season is full of fun, food and for most American families, drama. “Almost Christmas” tells the story of the Meyers family as they gather for Christmas in Alabama for the first time since the death of their matriarch. The two-hour film stars Danny Glover (“Lethal Weapon”), Gabrielle Union (“10 Things I Hate About You”), Jesse T. Usher (“Independence Day”) and several other top-billed cast members who make the movie a highly-anticipated film. The first few scenes show the montage backstory of Walter (Glover) and Grace as they grow old together raising their four kids and three grandchildren. As time goes on, the opening tastefully shows the sudden death of Grace 10 months before Christmas. Despite the family’s great loss, Walter tires to honor his wife’s legacy by visiting the town’s homeless shelter, where Grace spent most of her time, and he helps serve the single mothers and their children. He attempts also to recreate his wife’s famous recipes, especially her signature sweet potato pie, as the family starts arriving for the holidays. First to arrive is Grace’s sister, Aunt May (Mo’Nique) with her colorful personality. Soon after, Walter’s son Christian (Romany Malco), his wife Sonya (Nicole Ari Parker) and their son and daughter arrive. Though eager to spend time with family, Christian is pulled away throughout the movie due to his progressing Congress campaign that may jeopardize the town shelter that his mother loved. Walter’s two daughters, Cheryl (Kimberly Elise) and Rachel (Union), arrive next, bringing their long-lived sisterly feud making the following scenes amusingly awkward. Rachel, a strong-willed, single mother, and her quick-witted daughter show up ready for family time amidst...
by Charissa Ricker | Nov 5, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
The College of Entertainment and the Arts hosted the annual event, “Artist Talk,” with actor Jason Matthew Smith on Wednesday night in Shamblin Theater. Smith started his Hollywood career in the movie Airborne released in 1993. Since then he has worked in several popular shows including ER, Bones, CSI and Sons of Anarchy. He also worked with Harrison Ford in Hollywood Homicide released in 2003. Smith is best known for his role as “Cupcake” in the Star Trek reboot directed by J.J. Abrams. The Midwest-football-star-turned-actor shared his journey in the entertainment industry and gave advice to students pursuing careers in acting, directing, writing and animation. Though he originally started his acting career to impress a girl, Smith’s first play, The Wizard of Oz, turned into a serious profession. “I couldn’t decide on what I wanted to do, so I did everything,” Smith said. “That’s why I became an actor.” Smith detailed his experience moving across the country to pursue acting, and how much of a culture shock it was living in a place so different from home. “When I got to Los Angeles, I was freaked out,” Smith remembered. “It is like the biggest market you can ever imagine. It it overwhelming for someone from the Midwest.” With 17 years of Hollywood acting under his belt, Smith did not hesitate to stress the difficulties in the industry and the low points that come with the profession. “You think that you’re unique, but you walk into a room out in Los Angeles for a role that is being cast, and you’re going to see people who look just like you, and it’s really weird.”...
