The Gusher - Taft Union High School

Volume 94, Issue 2
The Gusher
Taft Union High School, 701 Seventh St., Taft, Calif. 93268
The Voice of the Wildcats
Since 1912
November 30, 2006
Sen. Feinstein visits Taft,
speaks to student assembly
In her first visit to
Taft, the three-term
senator tours the
school from which her
father graduated in
the 1920s, calling it a
“roots trip.”
By Lacey Chappelear
Features Editor
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein speaks to the TUHS student
body about fulfilling their potential during a 4th period assembly on October 19. Photo by Megan Chappelear
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein
(D - CA) paid a visit to Taft and
Taft Union High School on October 19.
“It is a roots trip,” Senator
Feinstein commented in her
motivational speech to the student body during 4th period
Her father, Leon Goldman,
attended TUHS in the 1920’s.
Goldman was an outstanding
student, participating in sports,
both the newspaper and year-
book, many plays, the debate
team, and the first CSF club.
After high school, he went on
to become a successful surgeon.
Goldman is being considered
for induction into the school’s
new project, The Walk of Fame.
Senator Feinstein toured the
halls of the main building and
visited the classroom of Karen
Hillygus before going to the auditorium for her speech.
“I went into a classroom
and it was interesting. I wonder
if my father could have been in
that classroom,” Feinstein told
students.
During her speech, Feinstein told the history of her family. Her grandfather emigrated
from Poland and eventually
found his way to San Francisco.
After the great San Francisco
earthquake in 1906, her grandparents moved to Taft during
an oil boom and founded Goldman and Sons Supply.
“Only half of them went to
school,” Feinstein commented
about her father’s siblings.
Goldman was one of the lucky
ones. He eventually went on to
attend UC Berkeley and became
Chief of Surgery at the UC Medical Center in San Francisco.
The topic of Senator Feinstein’s motivational speech was
being the best you can be.
“Life gives you a lot of very
hard knocks,” Feinstein said. “I
believe you have to be a little bit
like a phoenix to face the defeat
after defeat life brings you.”
Feinstein encouraged students to “find out what you
do best...read those books, better yourself, and become that
phoenix.”
Feinstein also talked about
global warming and its effects
and possible solutions.
At the end of her speech,
ASB President Ashlei Bryant
continued on page 3
Fall Renaissance Rally has
fun honoring Top Cats and
those with good attitudes
By Nathan Lampkin
Staff Writer
On October 25, the first Renaissance Rally of the year
made its “Hollywood” debut
on the red carpet with Greg
Goossen, the new Renaissance
advisor, hosting the event.
The Renaissance Rally opened
with the national anthem, sung
by the choir. Goossen then introduced himself and gave
an inspiring, heartfelt speech
about succeeding in life by setting goals and accomplishing
them.
Soon after, the local band
Ferdinand the Bull took the
stage in front of the jam-packed
crowd, performing their own
songs, such as “At the Bottom
of the Ocean,” “Last Train,” and
“Keep on Runnin’.”
Following a few hints as to
the identity of the Staff Member
of the Year and Most Improved
Student of the Year, the students
participated in the first game of
the rally.
Students were given foam
apples, and the object was for
each class to get as many of the
apples as they could into a trash
can within the time given. The
senior class crushed their opponents, making almost twice as
many as any other class.
The Top Cats, students with
a GPA of 4.0 and above, were
recognized and awarded with
a trophy of appreciation. There
were 26 Top Cats all together.
Again, more hints were given
to help people figure out who
the Staff Member of the Year
and Most Improved Student of
the Year were.
Finally, after one more set of
hints, the mystery was revealed.
Campus Supervisor Mary Miller was declared the Staff Member of the Year and junior Chad
Cruz was awarded Most Imcontinued on page 4
The Homecoming queen candidates after the crowning. L-R: Sara Kidd, Emily Graves, Queen
Toni White, Ali Matthews and Kelsee Melton. Photo by Jordie Hood
Homecoming Week activities stir up spirit
By Sam Gonzales
Staff Writer
Taft’s Homecoming Week
stirs up excitement throughout
the student body and awakens
school spirit all over campus.
The Homecoming football
game and dance on Friday
night, October 27th were the
culmination of a week of activities. Nominees for Homecoming Queen were Emily Graves,
Sara Kidd, Ali Mathews, Kelsee
Melton and Toni White. King
nominees were Michael Gonzales, Fernando Romo, Junior
Sefo, Taylor Unruh and Shawn
Wynn. Following the JV football game the Homecoming
Court was announced, with
Toni White crowned Queen and
Fernando Romo crowned King.
The senior class prevailed in
the float competition, with Gianna Hampton, James Yeley,
Josh Webb and Lacey Chappelear making major contributions to the senior float. Sopho-
mores followed close behind in
second, with freshmen in third
and juniors in fourth place.
Team momentum was at an
all-time high as the varsity football team shut down the Wasco
Tigers in a 63-0 win.
Earlier that day the Homecoming Rally was held in the
stadium. Rally commissioners
Toni White and Ali Mathews
got the crowd pumped up. The
football teams were introduced,
continued on page 3
News & Opinion
Page 2
November 30, 2006
Superstar students earn 1st Quarter GPAs of 4.0 and above
Seniors: Front row, L-R: Lacey
Chappelear, Michelle Perales,
Alexander Franzen, Raquel
Garcia, Tanner Suthard. Middle row: Kelsey Meadows,
Malinde Hoffman, Amy Magee, Patricia Unsoeld. Back
row: Emily Graves, Gianna
Hampton, James Pearson,
Shiloh Mayfield. Not pictured:
Sarah Cook, Alyssia Matthews, Aaron Payne. Photo by
Jim Carnal.
SENIORS
JUNIORS
FRESHMEN
SOPHOMORES
Juniors: Front row, L-R: Matt Griffing, Jessica Hall, Allen
Hickernell, Melissa Hoffman. Second row: Beatriz Aguilar,
John Chamale, Selene Frausto, Jennifer Gonzales. Back row:
Zakary Krigbaum, Jeremiah Twisselman, Maria Uriarte, Noel
Zarate. Not pictured: Megan Chappelear. Photo by Jim Carnal
Sophomores,
L-R: Daisy
DeLeon, Tyler
Garrison,
Loren Kolb,
Jessica Martin. Not pictured: Hannah
Bozarth. Photo
by Jim Carnal
Freshmen: Front row, L-R: Mayra Aguilar, Bryanna Bacot, Juliana Campos,
Chelsey Coke, Chase Comfort, Angela Dickard. Middle row: Anthony Carino,
Chesney Doak, Emmanuel Medina, Sarah Knox, Hannah Koerner, Monica
Solis, Anthony Thompson, Karlie Twisselman. Back row: Jordan Mead, Blake
Emberson, Melissa Miller, Paige Schoneweis, Eric LeClair, Alexis Long, Marissa McMahan. Photo by Jim Carnal
Letters to the Editor
When I read “Battle of the Sexes: Female Fashion” in the last issue
of The Gusher, I expected to see an
honest, well-thought-out opinion.
I was shocked to find it incredibly
contradictory, sexist and offensive.
By pointing out specific people and
calling them names, seeing women
as people who should be pleasing
for men to see and saying people
dress for attention, but claiming to
want these same people to dress
for the attention of the opposite
sex, Aaron Rolls is definitely being
unfair.
I see this issue as a fairly easy
one to solve. It is recognized that
boys mature later than girls and
by the time we’re in high school,
the male population still has a lot
of growing up to do. In an article
titled “Boys in Jeopardy at School,”
Kevin Wack and Beth Quimby,
staff writers for the Portland PressHerald, state that, “The achievement gap between boys and girls
emerges before kindergarten, continues through ... high school, and
becomes most acute at the college
level.” Thus, at this point, boys are
not as focused on school but rather
on the female body. This can cause
tension and uneasiness.
Girls should not be influenced
by what guys think about how they
should dress. Most girls are above
this. We don’t need short skirts,
low-cut tops or other clothing that
has already been banned by the
school Dress Code to get boys’ attention. Also, being experienced
in what I can or can’t wear, how
I dress currently is in accordance
with the Dress Code. So whether
you are attracted to someone just
because of the way they dress or
look is completely irrelevant.
As we are becoming mature
adults, we need to realize the future and plan for it. We need to be
working hard towards success in
life and not be so worried about
what to wear in high school.
I must also say that Jordie
Hood made some excellent points
in saying that girls shouldn’t take
so much time to get ready just for
school. School is for learning, making new friends and preparing
yourself for the real world, not for
finding a boyfriend or girlfriend.
In conclusion, I don’t see
a problem with the way anyone is
dressing if they’re abiding by the
school Dress Code. I’m not looking
for a life-partner, I’m here for the
education.
Kt Parker
Junior
To submit a letter to the editor, give
a copy to any Gusher staff member,
place it in Adviser Bill Wolfe’s mailbox or email it to [email protected].
ca.us. Your name must be included.
No anonymous letters will be published. We reserve the right to edit
letters for content or length.
The Gusher
Taft Union High School
701 Seventh Street
Taft, Calif. 93268
(661) 763-2300
[email protected]
The Gusher is a monthly publication of the journalism class at Taft
Union High School. The Gusher is an open forum for students, faculty
and alumni of TUHS. The opinions and views expressed in The Gusher
are the sole responsibility of the staff and do not reflect the views of
either TUHS, the TUHS District, or the Board of Trustees.
Editor-in-Chief/Photo Editor
Jenny Gonzales
Sports Editor
Barbara Eveland
Managing Editor
Megan Chappelear
Entertainment Editor
Jordie Hood
News Editor
Joshua Webb
Staff Writers
Brianne Carroll, Sarai Espinoza,
Lillie Gervacio, Samantha Gonzales, Billy Johnson, Jestin Korsgaard, Nathan Lampkin, Jessica
Lemmons, Aaron Rolls
Features Editors
Lacey Chappelear
Courtney Glendening
News
November 30, 2006
Page 3
Top Cats: Students with GPAs above 4.0 in spring 2006 were honored for their accomplishments at the Fall 2006 Renaissance Rally. Photo by Jim Carnal
Campus supervisor Mary Miller receives
Staff Member of the Year award at rally
By Lillie Gervacio
Staff Writer
Junior Chad Cruz and his family react to his award for Most
Improved Student at the rally. Photo by Jim Carnal
Chad Cruz named Most Improved
Student at Fall Renaissance Rally
By Joshua Webb
News Editor
The Renaissance program
prides itself on honoring academic achievement, especially
students who greatly improve
their academic performance.
Chad Cruz was named this
year’s Most Improved Student
at the Fall Renaissance Rally.
He improved his GPA from 1.57
in the fall of 2006 to 3.43 in the
spring of 2006.
“It’s because I was lazy,”
Cruz said about his low GPA.
“I just didn’t feel like doing the
work.”
Once he realized that his low
GPA would prevent him from
being able to participate in any
sports program, however, Cruz
became determined to rebound
from his previous setback.
“I just wanted to play
sports,” he admitted. “So I had
to work harder.”
The challenge for Cruz now
is to finish strong and keep his
grade point average at its current level. That doesn’t seem to
be much of an obstacle for him,
however.
“It’s not a big deal,” he said.
“It’s actually not that hard [to
get good grades].”
Coming in the next issue of The Gusher
Winter sports coverage, girl bullying, cool cars,
Ferdinand the Bull, quinceaneras, teacher profiles,
fascinating photos and much, much more
Mary Miller, campus supervisor, mostly known as “Mary”
throughout the student body,
was voted Staff Member of the
Year at the fall Renaissance Rally in October.
She has been working at Taft
High for 22 years. Throughout
the years, she has devoted herself to helping keep students on
the right track.
“My favorite part about my
job would be working around
the students,” she says. “We try
to help them, but we can’t save
them all,” she sighs.
Feinstein visit
continued from page 1
presented her with her father’s senior picture and yearbook.
After her speech, Feinstein
held a brief press conference
outside. She said she felt a
change is coming in Washington.
“I believe it’s happening
right now. People want change,”
she said. She also talked on the
U.S. government’s policy with
North Korea.
“We need to sit down with
them,” Feinstein said.
After a few more handshakes and conversations with
faculty and students, Senator
Feinstein left TUHS for a luncheon at the Fort.
In spite of the clues given
at the rally, being voted Staff
Member of the Year still came
as a pleasant surprise to Miller.
“I was very surprised. I
thought they had said the
wrong name, that they had the
wrong person and that it was
a mistake,” she says, thinking
back to the moment.
“I guess I didn’t believe it
because I’m pretty stern.”
“I think it’s amazing,” says
junior Ruby Moreno. “She really
is a nice person, you know, except when she makes us change
our jeans,” she joked.
Homecoming
Week activities
continued from page 1
and the coaches described
how well their seasons were going.
Then the cheerleaders performed a dance routine. Other
activities included the Wildcat
Spell-Out, which the seniors
won, and a student participation game.
One of the most popular features of Homecoming Week is
Dress-Up Days. Monday was
“Dress Like a Famous Person”
day. “Dress for Success’ was
Tuesday’s theme. Wednesday
found young men on campus
dressed in a more feminine
Mary Miller holds some of
the goodies she received.
Photo by Jim Carnal
style than usual, because it was
“Opposite Sex”day.
Students brought out their
cowboy boots and hats for
“Cowboy” day on Thursday.
Friday brought out school spirit with “Blue and Gold” day,
which was the most popular of
the Dress-up Days.
Senior
activities
during
Homecoming Week also involve gender role reversals.
On Monday night, senior boys
were divided into Blue and
Gold teams for Tough Guy
Volleyball, coached by senior
girls, with Gold victorious. On
Wednesday night, senior girls
took over the football field for
Powder Puff football, with the
Blue team winning.
News
Page 4
November 30, 2006
AVID students demonstrate their
skills at debut of Parents’ Night
By Jestin Korsgaard
Staff Writer
AVID held its first annual
AVID Parents’ Night on October 9 to better help parents
understand what AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program’s nature
and benefits it offers. The night
started with opening remarks
by AVID teachers Bill Wolfe and
Debra Popejoy, as well as AVID
counselor Tammy Sutherland.
Afterward, parents were split
into groups to rotate among
four presentations put on by
junior and sophomore AVID
students.
A tutorial presentation using
college tutors and Socratic questioning was led by head AVID
tutor and TUHS alumnus Josh
Tofte in the library. The Socratic
Seminar (learning to use group
discussion techniques) was led
Junior Cari McMillan makes
a point during Philosophical
Chairs. Photo by Alexcia Perales/
The Derrick
by Popejoy. The Philosophical
Chairs discussion technique
dividing students into those
who agree with a statement and
those who disagree. It requires
students to articulate their position in an effort to persuade the
Band, Colorguard perform
well in recent competitions
By Courtney Glendening
Features Editor
The Taft High Band and
Colorguard have finished their
competition season, having
placed well, and are planning
for future public performances.
The Colorguard and band
finished in first place at the Garces High competition on October
28, while the drumline came in
second place. The Drum Majors
took fourth place. At West High
on November 4, the Colorguard
placed second and the Drumline finished third.
“The students played very
well. It was very competitive,”
said Band Director Mark Howard.
With the competitive season
over, the band is starting to prepare for a Christmas concert.
Renaissance Rally
continued from page 1
proved Student of the Year.
The Taft High cheerleaders
performed a few routines, and
students from the new dance
class performed their choreographed steps to perfection.
Football players Tony Savaii
and Junior Sefo sang a rap song
in tribute to their grandma, who
recently passed away.
“They’ve made a lot of improvement and have came a
long way from Band Camp to
here,” Howard comments.
“We did pretty good,” he
says of the season. “We could
have maximized a little bit
more, but overall they did very
well.”
On Saturday, November 18,
the band traveled to Fresno for
“Fresno State Band Day.” The
TUHS band performed during
halftime of the football game,
along with about 1300 other
band students. They were able
to observe the Fresno State
marching band rehearsing, and
after watching the Bulldogs
defeat Idaho, viewed Fresno’s
“61 Minute” post-game performance.
“It was awesome,” said
Howard enthusiastically.
Freshman Jimmy Golden then
lip-synched Weird Al Yankovic’s “White and Nerdy,” a parody of the hit song “Ridin’” by
hip-hop artist Chamillionaire.
A group of teachers concluded the rally by singing the 80’s
anthem “We Are the World.”
Debra Popejoy and John Kopp
stood out as Tina Turner and
Kenny Rogers, respectively.
other group. Finally, the Cornell Notes seminar on how to
take college-style notes in class
and from reading was led by juniors Brianne Carroll and Sam
Gonzales for three of the four
sessions and by Cari McMillan
and Leslie Saltiban in the fourth
session.
The AVID program was
started by an English teacher
from San Diego in 1980. The
program was designed to help
average to above-average students prepare for college with
a rigorous curriculum and academic support. AVID came to
Kern County eight years ago
and is established in most junior
highs and high schools. Recent
research shows that, of students
who participate in AVID for
four years 95% go on to college,
with 81% going to four-year
universities, whereas only 35%
of non-AVID seniors statewide
Junior Brianne Carroll teaches parents about Cornell Notes in
the IRC Lecture Hall. Photo by Alexcia Perales/The Derrick
go on to college.
AVID is in its third year at
TUHS. Approximately 145 students participate, with Wolfe
teaching two junior classes and
Popejoy teaching three freshmen classes and two sophomore classes.
“I’m pleased with how the
evening went,” said Wolfe. “We
had a good turnout of interested parents, an the students
did a nice job of demonstrating
some of the skills and strategies
they’ve learned in AVID.”
Popejoy, who is in her second
year of teaching AVID, was very
excited about the outcomes of
the event. “Parents were surprised by how much their students must do in AVID. They
realized they have much more
requirements” said Popejoy.
All of the parents who attended were quite pleased with
the event.
Science Fair winners move on to county competition
By Jordie Hood
Entertainment Editor
Where do you find
a replication of the solar system in a shoebox, bridges made of
popsicle sticks and a
step-by-step
example of how a murder
scene is investigated?
Taft High’s Science
Fair, of course.
This year’s fair
Junior Robyn Roland explains her project, “Can
had a wide variety of
a Crime Scene Be Solved Using Only One Foexciting displays. The
rensics Technique?” Photo by Jordie Hood
winners were chosen
by teachers from the
science department, with the 19 bobank Convention Center in
The
finalists moving on to the Kern Bakersfield on March 21.
way to
County Science Fair at the Ra“It was fun. I was happy ment.”
with my project and
the overall turnout,”
says junior Tyler Garrison.
The
contestants
weren’t the only ones
impressed by their
achievements. Fellow
students also had positive comments about
the event.
“The projects were
extremely impressive
this year,” says senior Jessica Lemmons.
“Those kids make me
want to be a better
person.”
Science Fair is a great
have fun and “experi-
2006-2007 Science Fair Winners
Jordan Burell: “Testing the strength of wood”
Jordan Mead and Cory Kidd: “Windex, the miracle cleaner”
Ashley Lynch: “Nails for breakfast?”
Nick Hickernell: “Do oranges gain or lose vitamin C after being picked?”
Matt Davis: “How does a cell phone affect motor skills and reaction time?”
James Gunter and Braxton Walters: “Relative strength of truss designs”
Monica Solis: “What effect do soda, coffee, vegetable juice and water have on radish seeds?”
Anthony Carino: “Which plant creates the most oxygen?”
Melissa Hoffman: “What is static electricity?”
Megan Jaske: “Is rusting endothermic or exothermic?”
Tony Anaya and Kt Parker: “What emits the most CO2?”
Tyler Garrison and Daisy DeLeon: “What type of water is more corrosive to nails?”
Alexis Long and Erica Miller: “Which color affects the rate of evaporation of water?”
Robyn Roland: “Can a crime scene be solved using only one forensics technique?”
Features
November 30, 2006
Page 5
Faculty Spotlight for November:
Science teacher Wendy Berry
By Billy Johnson
Staff Writer
Energy drinks may provide
more than students expect
By Barbara Eveland
Sports Editor
Many people have heard stories about energy drinks being
unhealthy, even dangerous.
Ironically, the rumors of danger
from drinking these beverages
only increases people’s desire
for them. They are popular not
only among adults but teens,
too.
“I drink two or three a day
most of the time,” says senior
Alex Dewing, “because they
give you energy when you are
tired.”
“I drink one about every
three months, when I want
to stay up late. They keep me
awake,” notes sophomore Tyler
Garrison.
Senior Robby Kimble admits
to drinking one a day, sometimes two. “I like the taste. They
are really good. Drink them,”
he encourages.
“I drink one about every
two weeks. I just drink them
because I like the taste,” notes
sophomore Mark Nearn.
Most teens like to drink them
for such reasons as weight loss,
increased endurance and the
sudden rush of caffeine, which
some say is like a legal high.
Energy drinks are not recommended to quench thirst or
while exercising. Short studies
have shown that energy drinks
can improve attention and verbal reasoning.
The three most popular energy drinks are Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar. Many energy
drinks contain arantine, caratine, ginseng and taurine, all of
which can have side effects.
Another negative of energy
drinks is that if you drink them
while you are driving, you may
get pulled over if a policeman
thinks you are drinking a “tall
boy.” This happened recently to
one of our senior students here
at Taft High.
Most producers of energy
drinks say that they knew teens
would find them “cool” and
think they are a great alternative to alcohol or drugs.
The problem is that energy
drinks are addictive, somewhat
like coffee. After the initial rush
from drinking one, most people
get the craving for another.
Some physicians state that
consumption of too many energy drinks can lead to kidney
and bladder infections and also
kidney stones due to the high
levels of both sugar and caffeine.
“I don’t think they are bad for
you, nothing bad has happened
to me,” Kimble offers.
“I think if you drink over a
certain limit, then they can be
bad for you,” admits Nearn.
“I drink them all the time and
nothing has happened to me
yet,” says Dewing.
“You have to know when
enough is enough,” concludes
Garrison.
Liz Applegate, a sports nutritionist at UC Davis, recently
told CNN.com that she thinks
energy drinks are a bad idea for
athletes.
“They should not be consumed during exercise,” she
says. They’re too concentrated
in sugar. That’s going to slow
down the body’s ability to absorb water.”
Cardiologists are concerned,
too. The drinks can even cause
“racing heart beat, elevation of
blood pressure and even potentially a heart attack,” according
to Dr. Laurence Sperling of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
If you saw a roller derby girl
skating around campus on Halloween, then you got an awkward glimpse of Taft High’s
own Wendy Berry.
Berry has been teaching at
Taft High for six years.
“I sort of fell into the profession. I got my masters in marine
biology, became a substitute
teacher and couldn’t really do
anything else with it, so here I
am,” Berry explains.
She graduated from Taft High
and attended many different
colleges like Cuesta, Cal Luthern, CSUB and UCSD.
Berry has coached volleyball
for three years, softball for four
and cross country for two during her teaching career.
“I love coaching, but I’d
rather spend time with my own
family,” she says.
Berry’s latest achievement isbeing hired as a college teacher.
“I was offered a job teaching
at Taft College. I’ve been teaching over there for three semesters and I like it because the kids
who attend actually want to be
there. There aren’t any tests or
state standards. I just teach.”
Berry is happily married with
two kids. In her spare time, she
enjoys running, hunting, scuba
diving and spending time with
her family.
Wendy Berry is well known for her willingness to dress up in
order to show her school spirit. Photo courtesy of Janet Miller
Winterguard aims for higher profile in ’07
By Lillie Gervacio
Staff Writer
They perform with the band
during halftime, they placed in
every one of their competitions
during their Colorguard season
and yet still many times they
go unnoticed or unappreciated.
The Colorguard are working
hard to raise their profile this
year.
During the Colorguard season the girls placed second at
the Simi Valley competition,
first at Garces and second at the
West competition.
But now that they have started their Winterguard season, the
girls have become determined
to make the best out of this year
and strive to bring home first
place at the PPAACC competition, as they did in 2005.
They placed second at the
last PPAACC competition, losing first by only one tenth of a
point.
“It really takes a lot of physical and mental ability,” says
third-year member, junior Tina
Erdie.
The girls practice every
Tuesday and Thursday from
5:30 to 8 and frequently practice
on Saturdays.
“It really is hard work when
you have to do run-through after run-through. You need a lot
of hand-eye coordination,” explains junior Alyssa Alonzo.
Along with Alonzo and
Erdie, the team is made up of
captain Selene Frausto, Katie
Dubois, Mereelle Bartlett, Jennifer Webb, Sandy Martin and
instructors Jennifer Harris and
Danielle Hutchison, who themselves have been involved in
Colorguard for many years.
“Even though the guard is
pretty small this year, they still
have potential,” says Hutchison.” We’re constantly improving, but once you master one
thing, soon you have something
else to master.”
Throughout their Winterguard season, they will be
performing to Cher’s version of
“Walking in Memphis,” originally a hit for Grammy award
wining singer-songwriter Marc
Cohn.
Features
Page 6
November 30, 2006
HOMECOMING WEEK ACTIVITIES
Dress-Up Days!
Opposite Sex Day
Dress for Success Day
Junior Casey Dean and senior ‘girlfriend’
Ben Cooper lovingly hold hands on Opposite Sex Day. Photo by Brianne Carroll
Senior Morissa Fisher, freshman Andrew Smith, senior Don Webster
and junior Kristina Smith indulge their career fantasies. Photo by Jenny
Famous Person Day
Gonzales
Senior Courtney Glendening as
Nicole Ritchie. Photo by Bill Wolfe
Seniors Morissa Fisher and Amy Magee examine
each other on Dress for Success Day. Photo by Jenny
Gonzales
Seniors Maclane Cramer and Ashley Neal experience
the manly feel of football uniforms on Opposite Sex
Day.
COWBOY DAY
Seniors Fernando Romo, Andrew Brown, Tyler Sevedge and Ethan Morris (standing) get in touch with
their inner cowboy on Thursday.
Junior Austin Gallegos and senior
Erica Thompson as Johnny Knoxville
and Jessica Simpson in The Dukes
of Hazzard. Photo by Brianne Carroll
Features
November 30, 2006
All for Fun
Senior Michelle Perales and freshman Chesney Doak strain to reach the
circles during a game of Twister. All for Fun brought their super-sized
activities to the San Emidio lawn during the extended lunch hour on
Thursday of Homecoming Week. Photo by Bill Wolfe
Page 7
Blue and Gold Day
Juniors Brandee Garrett, Gina Higginbotham, Brianne Carroll, Andrew LeClair,
Sam Gonzales, Colton Hudson and Andrew Matthews scream the Wildcat Spellout at the Homecoming Rally. Photo by Billy Johnson
Homecoming Game Festivities
The Freshmen doing a penguin dance to Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”
for their Homecoming float. Photo by Jordie Hood
Students scramble to fill up their coffee cans using sponges during a
water game at the Homecoming Rally. Photo by Billy Johnson
Toni White reacts with joy to being named Homecoming Queen, as
Kelsee Melton, Shawn Wynn and and 2005 King Eli LeClair look on.
Photo by Jordie Hood
2005 Homecoming Queen Kayla Hillygus returned from UC Santa
Barbara to crown Toni White as her successor. Kelsee Melton, Fernando Romo and Shawn Wynn share the moment. Photo by Jordie
Hood
Sports
Page 8
November 30, 2006
Megan Thompson, only a freshman,
chases after cross-country records
By Nathan Lampkin
Staff Writer
Seniors on the Blue team get caught up in the challenge and
excitement of volleyball. Photo by Jennifer Gonzales
Tough Guy volleyball
gives senior boys some
“bumps” and bruises
By Barbara Eveland
Sports Editor
On Monday, October 16th senior guys got a taste of what the
girls on the Taft High volleyball
teams go through every year.
Some senior girls got together and showed the guys some
useful volleyball techniques, although most of the boys thought
they already knew what they
were doing.
Reality hit when most of
them found out they didn’t
even know how to bump, set or
spike a ball!
The boys played three games,
with the Gold team playing hard
and winning the first one 25-14.
The second game was a close
one with the Blue team fighting
back and winning 25-23.
The crowd went wild as
senior Alex Dewing made ten
serves in a row, scoring for the
Gold team and winning the
third game.
Freshman
cross-country
runner Megan Thompson has
been a star athlete since she
could tie her shoes. She ran for
the Westside Recreation’s track
team in long distance for two
years and went all the way to
the state championships during
8th grade year, placing tenth.
“She’s the best girl crosscountry runner I can remember in my nine years here,”
exclaimed Jim Carnal, TUHS
Public Information Officer and
yearbook advisor from 19982006.
Believe it or not, this is her
first year in cross-country. She
placed first in 98% of her races
until she sustained a hip injury,
which slowed her down only a
little.
“She has done excellent,”
says her sister, Taft High senior
Erica Thompson. “I wish I could
run like her.”
Thompson has already broken a track record at Tehachapi
and set the first course record
at the Valley Rose golf course
against Wasco. She took second
at the Wolfpack invitational at
Hart Park.
“She would have taken
first,” says cross-country coach
Berry Jameson,” but she got
lost.”
Senior girls clash in memorable Powder
Puff game, Blue wins close contest 14-12
By Billy Johnson
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, October 18,
the annual clash between Blue
and Gold turned into one of the
best Powder Puff games in Taft
High history.
Shortly after Blue won the
coin toss, running back Maclane Cramer led Blue in for the
first touchdown of the game.
After Blue failed to run in the
ball for the two-point conversion, Gold took over, but got off
to a rocky start. They managed
to earn a couple first downs
with the help of running backs
Justine Stevens and Megan Pe-
ters, but the drive ended with a
turnover.
Blue quarterback Jennifer
Ramirez scored another touchdown. Ashley Neal scored a
two-point conversion in the second quarter, making the score
14-0, which placed a heavy burden on Gold. But Gold running
back Megan Peters rejuvenated
the team’s momentum with a
63-yard run before halftime.
In the second half, Gold took
possession and hammered Blue
with several passes to tight end
Kelsee Melton and receiver Emily Graves. Sara Kidd ended up
scoring two touchdowns. Gold
failed on both extra-point attempts, which left the score 14
to 12 when time ran out.
Blue showed up prepared
and had a successful game. By
the time Gold came together, it
was a little too late.
“Practices were fun. The
coaches were taking things too
serious at first, but the girls confronted them, so they loosened
up,” explains Caitlin Ray, who
was a player for Blue.
“Everyone had a good time,
and that was the point of the
game,” says Gold coach Taylor
Unruh. “Milk did them bodies
good.”
Thompson leads the way in a recent race. Photo courtesy of The
Derrick
The first question that comes
to mind when one thinks of
cross-country is who in their
right mind would want to run
for pleasure. But Thompson really seems to enjoy what she’s
doing.
“It keeps me in shape,”
Thompson says.
Thompson says she
wants to go to trade school and
become an ultrasound technician.
Other than running long
distances, Megan likes to talk
on the phone, go out with her
friends and hang out with her
boyfriend.
Girls’ tennis standouts lead
the way in transitional season
By Courtney Glendening
Features Editor
The Lady Wildcats have
played well and finished the
season with two standout performers.
The girls split their matches
with Arvin and Tehachapi, defeating Arvin but losing to Tehachapi, on October 17.
Tess Robbins and Leslie
Cook extended their season an
extra day by placing third in
the overall doubles competition
in the SSL Championships on
October 19.
“The season went pretty
well,” comments Cook, who
plans to improve her serves and
backhands next year.
“It is no surprise that the
two most dedicated and hardworking girls on the team enjoyed the most success,” Lady
Cats coach Mike Cowan told
the Midway Driller.
The Wildcats ended their
season with an overall record
of 6-9 overall and 4-7 in league
action.
“I’m really excited for next
year. A lot of the girls are playing tennis all year, in the off season,” said Cowan.
Sports
November 30 , 2006
Page 9
Wildcats finish second in SSL, lose close game in playoffs
Close losses to Arvin
and CVC end a great
season on a frustrating
note.
By Barbara Eveland
Sports Editor
The Taft High varsity football team vanquished Wasco
on Friday October 20 in the
Homecoming game. Taft held
Wasco scoreless through the
whole game while racking up
63 points, thrilling the home
crowd.
Taft fought hard in their
game against Bakersfield Christian on October 27, winning a
close contest by a final score of
24-17.
November 3 was a hard day
for the varsity football team.
Their loss to Arvin cost them the
SSL championship. The score
was 19-17 in the last few minutes but Arvin scored a touch-
down to end the game, making
the final score 25-17. This is the
second year in a row that Arvin
has taken the title away from
the Wildcats. Never-the-less the
Wildcats were seeded number
two in the CIF Central Section
Division IV playoffs.
Junior and outside linebacker Steven Spoonemore sums it
up well.
“The Arvin and CVC games
were both really big disappointments. The better team didn’t
come out on top.”
“We were riding high on our
emotions and they caught us off
guard,” says senior Matt Fuller.
Coach Steve Sprague explains, “We never had the lead
in the Arvin and CVC games,
and you’re a heck of a lot tougher when you have the lead.”
“We should have stayed focused,” adds Fuller.
The boys got a week off
before playing their first playoff game against Central Valley
Christian from Visalia.
In a defensive battle, CVC
held Taft scoreless and managed to score one touchdown,
winning 6-0. The boys’ loss to
CVC ended their season.
“It was good season and I
really enjoyed playing football
with the seniors,” observed
Spoonemore.
Sprague enthusiastically recalls that the most memorable
moment of this season was
when, “we scored a touchdown
in the last 15 seconds to beat
Tehachapi. The crowd went
nuts!”
“I think we had a really
good team and we did good
this year,” says junior and wide
receiver Tommy Halphin, “We
started coming together more
and more as the season went
on.”
“We have an empty feeling
because we didn’t achieve everything we wanted to achieve,
but 8-3 is a pretty respectable
record,” Sprague concludes.
Christian Ramirez breaks free for a run in a recent game. Photo
courtesy of The Derrick
Girls’ golf season reaches
18th hole in good shape
By Brianne Carroll
Staff Writer
Taft and Arvin runners try to break away from the pack at a meet this season.
Photo courtesy of The Derrick
Cross-Country charges across finish line
By Samantha Gonzales
Staff Writer
Taft High’s cross-country
teams finished the season on
a positive note. Runners prospered throughout the season
and showed immense improvement in continuing to push their
times down.
After a season of many struggles and first-year runners, new
additions proved to be crucial
to the team roster. Small numbers continued to be a problem
throughout the season, but the
team was not bogged down by
this setback.
At the Valley Championship in Fresno on November 15
junior Melinda Magee finished
fifth out of 70 runners, while
senior Tanner Suthard finished
44th out of 113.
Magee also competed at the
State meet in Fresno on November 25.
“I think I placed around
114th out of at least 300 girls,
and I think I did pretty well,”
Magee says.
The biggest struggle the team
faced was “having such a small
team, which made it impossible
for us to win anything,” notes
Magee.
Team morale continued to
be encouraging to members of
the team and motivated them to
do the best they could.
Taft High runners ended up
with a generally satisfying season under their belts.
Ending another season
with high spirits, the girl’s
golf team went undefeated
in league, making them the
SSL Champions for 2006,
their fourth title in the past
seven years.
“Every single player
worked really hard to get
where they were, and it
showed on the course,”
junior Gina Higginbotham Junior Gina Higginbotham prenotes. “We had a great sea- pares to make a putt at a recent
son and hopefully next year match. Photo courtesy of The Derrick
will be even better.”
They won their match
this season. “And everyone got
at Arvin on October 17 while along, so it motivated us to go
shooting a 587 as a team; Shafter out and do better every day.”
came in second with a 642 and
Taft competed next in the
Arvin placed third with a 695.
Southern Area Championships
Ashley Neal shot the best on October 23 at North Kern
score of the team with a 91, Golf Course and came away
her best score of the year. Ash- with a victory. On October 30
ley Young was second with a the girls ended their season at
105 and Gina Higginbotham the Rio Bravo Country Club in
next with a 120. Kayla Minyard Bakersfield, finishing third in
ended with a 130, Megan King the Valley Championships.
came out with a 135, and ShawAshley Neal finished the
na Crane ended the team scor- season as the number eighting with a 158.
ranked golfer in Kern County,
Neal, Young, Higginbotham, and number 25 in the entire valand Minyard all made the SSL ley. She also set a new school reAll-League Team by placing in cord with a one-over-par 73 at
the top 10 at the SSL Champi- North Kern.
onships.
Coach Robertson has a posi“Nobody had really played tive outlook. “Taft was a young
before but we all kind of just team with only one senior on
caught on,” Minyard said of the 10-player squad, so look for
her team’s accomplishments a strong season next year.”
Features
Page 10
November 30, 2006
Information Technology department keeps our
high-tech campus online and in business
By Jordie Hood
Entertainment Editor
When most people think of
Tech Support, they usually think
of it as the people who come to
the rescue when their computers “stop working.” There’s so
much more to it though. Without Tech Support, technology at
Taft High would cease to exist.
Two members of this technological entourage are Billy
Long and Tom Brown, whose
main jobs are keeping the servers up and running and making sure the Internet is safe for
the students. And yes, their accounts are filtered too.
Long is also skilled in sound
and lighting and recently applied these skills in a school assembly when U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein graced us with
her presence on October 19.
The ladies of Tech Support
are the little rays of sunshine for
the group. Stacy Meadows, IT
manager, oversees the department and makes sure things get
done when they’re supposed to.
She also plays a key role in the
Aeries attendance program and
maintains the student information system.
Jodi Jackson is active in software support and, like Meadows, also helps maintain the
student information system.
In her 10 years working at Taft
High, the majority of it has been
No matter
what, though,
on Thursday
mornings you
can usually always find the
crew in line
for the cinnamon rolls that
the cafeteria
workers prepare for the
faculty.
“Cinnamon roll day
is cool. That’s
my favorite
part,”
says
Jeff Miller.
One
of
the
biggest
Janet Miller supervises the Tech Support side changes the
of the IT operation. Photo by Jordie Hood
department
has
underspent with technology. You all
gone
this
year is the
merger
of
IT and Tech
Support.
With both
teams in one
room,
it’s
much more
convenient
when problems arise,
whereas
last year the
two departments were
located
at
opposite
ends of the
campus.
“It’s nice
Tom Harris, Jodi Jackson and Jeffrey Miller
having evtake a break from technology to have some fun
eryone toon Halloween. Photo by Jordie Hood
gether.
It
know her from the work she
has done in the LRC.
“I don’t miss AR days,” Jackson says with a laugh.
Janet Miller and Jacob White,
like Brown and Long, share
many of the same traits and
tasks. They support classroom
technology and administrative
servers. Miller describes herself
as White’s first line of defense
when something goes wrong.
And last but certainly not
least, there’s “the techies.” Jeff
Miller and Tom Harris do a
little bit of everything. They fix,
transport and take inventory on
computers all over the campus.
Jeff Miller puts a laptop back together
after completing some computer surgery. Photo by Jordie Hood
m a k e s
things
e a s i e r, ”
says Janet
Miller.
It does
have its
d o w n s i d e ,
however.
Because
both departments
n o w
share one
large office, Harris
and
Jeff Miller
no longer
have their own desks and now
have to share a table.
“I miss my desk,” says Miller with a sigh.
Spending the day with Tech
Support not only made me
laugh, but also made me see
that if even the smallest thing
goes wrong, an entire day can
be ruined. One glitch can delete
hundreds of Milestone Essays
and leave students disappointed. Luckily, that hasn’t happened yet, and it doesn’t look
like it will if these folks have
anything to say about it.
Three cheers for the lifesavers in Information Technology/
Tech Support.
IT/Tech Support at a Glance
Jodi Jackson is active in software support and, along with
Stacy Meadows, maintains the student information system.
Photo by Jordie Hood
Staff members: 8 (six full-time and
two part-time)
Number of servers on campus: 31
Number of desktop computers on
campus: approx. 700
Computer-student ratio: 1.3 : 1
Temperaturer in server room: 67 F
Tons of A/C in server room: 7.5
Server backup power: 4 hours
Fiber optic connections from
campus buildings to IT: 140
Some of the more than 30 computer servers in the server
room, the IT control center. Photo by Bill Wolfe
Features
November 30, 2006
Page 11
Midsummer
Night’s Dream
production
overcomes
obstacles
By Jordie Hood
Entertainment Editor
Guardian is latest in string
of Sparks’ romantic dramas
By Courtney Glendening
Features Editor
If you like romance stories
with a suspenseful plot, then
you’ll love Nicholas Sparks’ The
Guardian.
Twenty-nine-year old Julie
Barenson is widowed after her
husband, Jim, passes away. Julie receives a Great Dane puppy
randomly one evening with a
letter from her husband, stating that he would always watch
over her with the help of this
puppy to keep her company.
Julie and Singer, the Great
Dane, grow together and manage to become best friends.
When Julie is ready to start dating again, she meets Richard
Franklin, a refined, attractive
man who takes her on extravagant dates.
However, Richard is not
the only one interested in Julie.
Mike Harris, Jim’s best friend,
becomes close friends with Julie
and falls in love with her.
After Julie detects some obsessive jealousy from Richard,
she decides to back away from
starting a relationship with
him, and begins to initiate one
with Mike.
Richard, unable to deal with
Julie’s rejection, starts to act
more than infatuate with Julie.
She begins receiving mysterious
phone calls and feels as though
she is being watched.
After a few more confrontations with Richard, Julie realizes that he is bad news and
could be her potential stalker.
Once Mike and Julie become an
exclusive couple, she informs
Mike of Richard’s compulsive
behavior and they immediately
inform the police. However,
without enough evidence and
accurate background of Franklin, the mystery and suspense
portion of the novel begins to
come into play.
Sparks, a New York Times
bestselling author, has a reputation for appealing romantic
novels that have proven themselves and are well-loved.
Unlike Sparks’ other novels,
The Guardian is a deeply rooted
love story that is overlapped
with a dramatic, exciting thriller that provides entertainment
and emotional intrigue.
This year’s first drama production, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, experienced a rocky road on the way
to opening night, but the cast
arrived at closing night none
the worse for wear.
The last-minute withdrawal
from the play of male lead Ryan
Coulter, who transferred to a
Bakersfield high school, forced
the cast to find a replacement.
Freshman Mason Chapman
saved the day.
“Taking his place was tough,
but fun because I got to meet
new people,” said Chapman. “I
think we did well with what we
had.”
“It was a challenge, but
we did the best we could. It
could’ve been worse,” says junior Monika Manuz.
Performances ran from November 9-12 in the auditorium
under the direction of first-year
drama teacher Kelly Morris.
“Mrs. Morris did the best
she could with what she had
available to her,” explained junior thespian Alexcia Perales.
Coming up
in the next issue
of The Gusher
Reviews of recent CDs
by Incubus, The Beatles
and McFly, plus a review
of The Black-Eyed Peas
in concert
Crichton’s Timeline blends
past and future into thriller
By Lacey Chappelear
Features Editor
The essence of many genres
can be found in Michael Crichton’s Timeline. At first it appears to be science fiction. The
primary topic of discussion is
quantum mechanics and how
Robert Doniger’s company is
using it. The story quickly turns
into historical fiction as several
history students and “The Professor” study the medieval fortress of Castleguard.
Abruptly, it shifts again into
the quirky combination of sci-fi,
history, adventure, mystery and
thriller that Crichton does masterfully.
The story follows Marek,
Chris and Kate as they attempt
to rescue the Professor. The
team finds help messages from
the Professor...carbon dated to
be 600 years old. Doniger, the
inventor of a quantum time
machine, had sent him back in
time. The three heroes are sent
after him, with two of Doniger’s
people to protect them, making
their number five.
Right off the bat, things begin to go wrong. Two characters die, and one more is separated from the group. To make
it worse, they have 37 hours to
get back to their own time.
Finding the Professor turns
out to be the easy part. Free-
ing him is more difficult. Two
warring Lords want the information he has concerning a secret entrance, and both will do
anything to get it. Not to mention the heroes make a startling,
dangerous discovery: someone
else is there from their time and
has no intention of letting them
go back.
But the problems aren’t limited to feudal France. Back at
the lab, the transit site was destroyed. Luckily, they had been
working on another, so they
had most of the needed materials. But the glass tanks that hold
water, a safety precaution when
time traveling, are flawed.
David, another of the historians who did not travel back in
time, and the team of scientists
frantically try to arrange for the
return and decide whether or
not the tanks will hold when
filled with water. They make
some last minute decisions and
hope it works out.
Meanwhile, the team in Castleguard is desperately trying to
return. They are in the middle
of a massive battle with many
people trying to detain them.
However, only three of the expected six return to the present.
Timeline is a wonderful book
that leaves you on the edge of
your seat, anxiously turning the
pages.
Advertisers target teens with alcohol ads, but many aren’t buying it
By Jessica Lemmons
In September 2003, the National Research Council and
Institute of Medicine recommended an eventual goal of
removing alcohol advertising
from TV programs. Fifteen percent or more of viewers were
underage.
More than half of the
money spent on alcohol magazine advertising could be found
in 24 magazines with youth
audiences (ages 12 to 20) exceeding 15.8 percent. In fact, 25
brands placed all of their magazine ads in such publications.
Nearly a quarter of the alcohol ads on TV were seen by
audiences dominated by the
youth audience. Many of these
ads appeared on the perennial
favorites of teenagers, sports
programs and sitcoms.
Aside from the fact that underage consumption is illegal,
the consequences can be serious. Alcohol plays a significant
role in the three leading causes
of death among young people.
The average age at which
someone takes his or her first
drink is just under 13 years old.
What is so appealing about alcohol? Students and staff offer a
variety of opinions on why they
oppose teen drinking.
“It’s really stupid when they
come back on Monday and tell
me about how crazy or wild
their weekend was,” says senior
Anthony Wuco of students who
engage in underage drinking.
“Drinking and driving is
just stupid. If you’re going to
be lame and drink, then at least
have the common sense not to
endanger other people,” says
junior Alexcia Perales.
“If you’re going to drink, be
responsible!” reminds senior
Vanessa Gonzalez.
English teacher Jane Andreatta disapproves of teen
drinking. “I think it’s very dangerous,” she intones. “When
you drink you think you are
better than you are, and you
make wrong choices. When my
daughter was a teenager, she
lost friends who were extremely
close. It’s very dangerous!”
So ask yourself: What are
you getting out of underage
drinking? Is it worth the risk?
Entertainment
Page 12
November 30, 2006
The Listening Station
Are these recent CDs worth downloading into your iPod?
The Killers
Sam’s Town
The Killers have come a long
way since the electro-pop sound
of their first album Hot Fuss.
On their second album, Sam’s
Town, the Las Vegas quartet
has channeled classic rock’ n’
roll artists such as Bruce Springsteen, U2 and The Cars. However, the boys are unable to pull
off the rock-anthem sound of
their inspirations and, as a result, Sam’s Town falls flat.
The album starts off with the
title track “Sam’s Town,” which
has a sound identifiable to
traveling towards a childhood
home: familiar and cheerful.
From there, the album goes
to “Enterlude,” which of course
has its counterpart at the end
of the album, “Exitlude.” The
song begins with the lyrics “We
hope you enjoy your stay,”
which sounds more suitable for
a hotel. The band attempts to
slow down their sound on such
tracks as “Uncle Johnny,” which
becomes dreadfully repetitive
and dull.
The largest problem with
Sam’s Town is lead singer, Brandon Flowers. While the other
three members of the band (guitarist David Keuning, bassist
Mark Stoermer and drummer
Ronnie Vannucci) grasp the full
effect of their newfound rock
sound,
Flowers drones away almost nonstop on every track.
Stoermer and Vannucci keep
the beat going, maintaining a
dance-like tempo throughout
the album, and guitarist Keuning generate some excellent
guitar riffs.
Flowers spends so much
time vocally on each track that
his lyrics become unnecessary
and cheesy: “My brother, he
was born on the Fourth of July,”
“I woke on the roadside/In
the land of the free ride.” And
when Flowers isn’t droning on,
he’s straining his vocal range attempting to sound rock’ n’ roll.
The problem? He can’t sing.
The entire album isn’t without hope though. The first single off the album, “When You
Were Young,” is a youthful love
song with some mysteriously
haunting lyrics that hits all the
right notes.
Second
single “Bones”
is
undoubtedly the best
track on the album, stylishly
blending pop
with
synth
horns
and
rock ‘ n’ roll.
“Sam’s Town”
and
“For
Reasons Unknown” also
shine through.
Sophomore
album Sam’s
Town is quite
simply a filler
album
comprised of a few
excellent singles surrounded by several
completely
forgettable tracks.
-- Jestin Korsgaard
Starsailor
On the Outside
When lead vocalist James
Walsh sings “I don’t see myself
when I look in the mirror/ I see
who I should be/ I don’t see myself when I look in your eyes/
thank God for that,” in the first
verse of “In the Crossfire,” the
opening song on Starsailor’s
new album On the Outside, you
know that you’re in for a melancholic 43-minute ride.
On the Outside is a bit more
personal than the other Starsailor records (Love is Here-2001 and
Silence Is Easy-2003). In contrast,
the band had a change of direction and put to rest some of the
piano that reigned throughout
their earlier songs and opted for
aggressive guitars and organs
instead, giving the music more
energy, a bit like a more folky
and mainstream Muse.
“Keep Us Together” focuses
on California: “Folks from California/ They can’t live without their sun/ They’ve actor
politicians/ To infiltrate their
young,” which seems to mock
the Californian lifestyle.
The key track on this album
is “Jeremiah,” a depressing ballad. “Went off to another land
this evening/ For to find some
inner peace/And to see a better way of living/ He only went
to try to change something/
His poor young life was pulled
from under him,” are some of
the mournful lyrics in the dark
memoir based on the true story
about a friend of the band’s.
Starsailor is now touring
with James Blunt. The band is
working hard and beginning to
show up on America’s radar.
-- Lillie Gervacio
one thinks of Jet, one automatically thinks of “Are You Gonna
be My Girl”, “Rollover DJ”,
“Cold Hard B****,” and “Look
What You’ve Done.” Those four
songs from their first album Get
Born put Jet under the spotlight
in 2003 and still
people can’t pull
it out of the stereo.
Well,
those
people are going
to have to make
room for Jet’s
new album, Shine
On. Anyone with
common
sense
can hear the influence that the
Beatles, The Rolling Stones and
AC/DC installed
in their minds.
When one listens to “L’espirit
D’escalier”
or
“Bring It On
Back,” they hear
the Beatles. “Put
Your
Money
Where
Your
Mouth Is” recalls The Rolling
Stones. And “Stand Up” brings
to mind AC/DC.
Jet’s lyrics are typical for rock
n’ roll, songs about freedom,
girls and good times. In “Stand
Up” and “Rip It Up,” it feels as
though the band is encouraging
people to be their own individuals, to be who they are and what
they want to be, to follow their
dreams. In “Bring It On Back”
Jet asks: If you had the chance,
would you take anything back?
Overall, Jet’s work has been
energetic and relaxing at once.
The quartet kept that attraction
and recorded it on Shine On. After listening to their first single,
“Put Your Money Where Your
Mouth Is,” you’ll find yourself
wanting more. You can either
buy the album, or go to their
website to satisfy your curiosity.
-- Billy Johnson
My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade
Jet
Shine On
When one thinks of the continent of Australia, one automatically thinks of rock n’ roll;:
AC/DC, INXS, Wolfmother
and last but not least, Jet. When
Emo/neo-punk band My
Chemical Romance is back with
their third full-length album,
The Black Parade. As a concept
album that tells the tale of a
young man with cancer known
as “The Patient,” the album
deals largely with death. The
irony is that despite the dark
subject matter of the album,
most of the songs have an upbeat and cheerful sound.
The album starts off, quite
ironically, with “The End,” a
somber story of the funeral of a
young person complete with a
flat-lining heart monitor. Continuing the theme of moving in
reverse, the next song, “Dead!”
picks up with a punk rock/pop
sound and heavy guitars that
builds up to singer Gerard Way
breaking into a chorus of “la-lala’s.”
“Teenagers,” one of the best
songs on the album (and the
most controversial) expresses
the frustration of being a young
adult in today’s society. “They
said all/Teenagers scare/The
living $#!+ out of me/They
could care less as long as someone will bleed,” shouts Way,
before guitarists Ray Toro and
Frank Iero break into a crescendo of wails and screeches similar to any rock guitar from the
1970’s.
“Mama” tells the story of a
young soldier furiously raging
against his mother, alternating
between heavy modern rock
and a Yiddish sound, “Fiddler
on the Roof”-type melody that
suggests the band respects the
scores of Broadway musicals.
Liza Minelli, playing the part
of “Mama,” duets with Way on
the track for two whole lines,
only to be cut off by his cries of
anger.
The only song that doesn’t
fit on the album is “This is How
I Disappear,” which sounds
more suitable for the band’s
sophomore album, Three Cheers
for Sweet Revenge.
The Black Parade excels in telling it’s story of death, pain and
sadness, still keeping their upbeat sound to avoid being too
depressing. Overall, it is one of
the best rock albums of the year
and by far the best album yet by
the New Jersey quintet.
-- Jestin Korsgaard