volume 2 issue 3 of the falcon

6
A Keen Eye For News The Falcon Monday, January 28th, 2012 Volume 2. Issue 3. thefalconat.tumblr.com News College Night page 2 page 3 UM Welcomes two new Art professors e signs have been unveiled CROSS CAMPUS Submit announcements facebook.com/ thefalconmontevallo Clinton: What difference does it make? Family Day February 16th Campus Wide Mr. and Ms. Montevallo Elections January 28, 8am – 9am Blackboard Yo La Tengo visits Workplay IN THIS ISSUE A minor victory in a war torn Mali College Night Soccer Game February 2 2pm Intramural Field by Andrew Meechum Associate Editor College Night Ticket Sales January 30-31 SAC This past Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Clin- ton appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee to provide testimony in relation to the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya. The attack, which left Ambassa- dor Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead, has been a hot button topic for Wash- ington republicans. Clinton spent over five hours on Cap- ital Hill defending the Obama administration’s handling of the Beng- hazi attack. The attack was initially blamed on a spontaneous protest in relation to an anti-Mus- lim film made in Cali- fornia. It was later de- termined that the attack was not spontaneous and was in fact a delib- erate attack by terrorists against U.S. interests. In her opening statements to the Sen- ate committee Clinton choked up when she said, “I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children,” during the ramp ceremony at An- drews Air Force Base. Tempers flared when Sen. Ron John- son (R-Wis.) question Clinton on the why Americans were led to believe the attacks were a result of a protest and not a coordinated at- tack. Pounding her fists on the table Clinton re- sponded with, “What difference, at this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do ev- erything we can to pre- vent it from ever hap- pening again Senator.” Clinton went on to say, “It is, from my perspective, less impor- tant today looking back- wards as to why these militants decided they did it, than to find them and bring them to justice and then maybe we’ll figure out what was go- ing on in the meantime.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) called Clin- ton’s actions inexcus- able in reference to her not reading cables from Ambassador Ste- vens and stated, “I would have relieved you of your post.” When asked by Rep. Joe Wilson (R- S.C.) why she didn’t ap- pear on the Sunday talk shows following the attack, Clinton replied with a grin, “Going on the Sunday shows is not my favorite thing to do. There are other things I prefer to do on Sunday mornings.” Wilson also stated it was unfortu- nate that Susan Rice ap- peared multiple times to disseminate incor- rect information to the public when Clinton could have provided more accurate details. Despite her testi- mony before Congress, the American public is no closer to finding out the truth surround- ing the attack in Beng- hazi. Three State De- partment officials who were found to be at fault in their handling of the event have since been placed on administrative leave. Despite being re- moved from their jobs, they are still being paid. The Mali- an military aided by French troops entered Timbuktu today. This marks the recaptur- ing of the city after ten months of al Qaeda rule. The problems started when The Tu- areg, a nomadic people that are known for cara- vanning goods across the desert, began to feel marginalized and under- represented. With the help of now deceased Muammar Gaddafi, the Tuareg or the Azawad as they are known in Mali by Kyle Jones Editor-In-Chief returned to their coun- try battle hardened with a point to prove. Aza- wad along with anoth- er Islamist dominated groups launched a series of attacks that pushed the Malian government out of power in the North. The country is now filled with domestic and foreign Jihadi fight- ers vying for control. With the gov- ernment in the South being in shambles since March and constitution- al rule being ignored since. The French have thus deployed 2,500 troops in the past few months in an effort to help their former colony and secure their finan- cial interest. The French maintain the strongest western military pres- ence on the continent with permanent bases in Chad and Gabon, as well as a strong financial presence which is cru- cial to French interest. The exiled mayor of Timbuktu, Halle Ousmane Cissé, said today via phone interview that “Tim- buktu has fallen.” With French Prime Minister François Hol- lande adding, “Now, the Africans can take over.” Reports say that the Is- lamist have destroyed historical treasures in the ancient city. Includ- ing burning books at one of Timbuktu’s most important libraries, which holds thousands of well-preserved hand- written manuscripts from the 13th century. The city is also home to hundreds of tombs of Sufi saints. These extremely important historical African sites have reportedly been smashed by the Islamist. The last remaining city of significant size Kidal is still occupied by reb- els. The French have not stated whether they will continue their ef- forts but Hollande al- ludes that the job will be left to the Africans. Mr. and Ms. Montevallo Elections January 29, 8am – 9am Blackboard Mr. and Ms. Montevallo Elections January 30, 8am – 9am Blackboard

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Volume 2 Issue 3 of The Falcon

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Page 1: Volume 2 Issue 3 of The Falcon

A Keen Eye For News

The FalconMonday, January 28th, 2012

Volume 2. Issue 3.

thefalconat.tumblr.com

News College Night

page 2 page 3

UM Welcomes two new Art professors

The signs have beenunveiled

CROSS CAMPUS

Submit announcementsfacebook.com/

thefalconmontevallo

Clinton: What difference does it make?

Family DayFebruary 16thCampus Wide

Mr. and Ms. Montevallo Elections

January 28, 8am – 9amBlackboard

Yo La Tengo visits Workplay

IN THIS ISSUE

A minor victory in a war torn Mali

College NightSoccer Game

February 2 2pmIntramural Field

by Andrew MeechumAssociate Editor

College Night Ticket Sales

January 30-31SAC

CN Sign RaisingJanuary 22 6pm

Farmer Hall

This past Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Clin-ton appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee to provide testimony in relation to the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya. The attack, which left Ambassa-dor Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead, has been a hot button topic for Wash-ington republicans. Clinton spent over five hours on Cap-ital Hill defending the Obama administration’s handling of the Beng-hazi attack. The attack was initially blamed on a spontaneous protest in relation to an anti-Mus-lim film made in Cali-fornia. It was later de-

termined that the attack was not spontaneous and was in fact a delib-erate attack by terrorists against U.S. interests. In her opening statements to the Sen-ate committee Clinton choked up when she said, “I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children,” during the ramp ceremony at An-drews Air Force Base. Tempers flared when Sen. Ron John-son (R-Wis.) question Clinton on the why Americans were led to

believe the attacks were a result of a protest and not a coordinated at-tack. Pounding her fists on the table Clinton re-sponded with, “What difference, at this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do ev-erything we can to pre-vent it from ever hap-pening again Senator.” Clinton went on to say, “It is, from my perspective, less impor-tant today looking back-wards as to why these militants decided they did it, than to find them and bring them to justice and then maybe we’ll figure out what was go-

ing on in the meantime.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ken.) called Clin-ton’s actions inexcus-able in reference to her not reading cables from Ambassador Ste-vens and stated, “I would have relieved you of your post.” When asked by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) why she didn’t ap-pear on the Sunday talk shows following the attack, Clinton replied with a grin, “Going on the Sunday shows is not my favorite thing to do. There are other things I prefer to do on Sunday mornings.” Wilson also

stated it was unfortu-nate that Susan Rice ap-peared multiple times to disseminate incor-rect information to the public when Clinton could have provided more accurate details. Despite her testi-mony before Congress, the American public is no closer to finding out the truth surround-ing the attack in Beng-hazi. Three State De-partment officials who were found to be at fault in their handling of the event have since been placed on administrative leave. Despite being re-moved from their jobs, they are still being paid.

The Mali-an military aided by French troops entered Timbuktu today. This marks the recaptur-ing of the city after ten months of al Qaeda rule. The problems started when The Tu-areg, a nomadic people that are known for cara-vanning goods across the desert, began to feel marginalized and under-represented. With the help of now deceased Muammar Gaddafi, the Tuareg or the Azawad as they are known in Mali

by Kyle JonesEditor-In-Chief

returned to their coun-try battle hardened with a point to prove. Aza-wad along with anoth-er Islamist dominated groups launched a series of attacks that pushed the Malian government out of power in the North. The country is now filled with domestic and foreign Jihadi fight-ers vying for control. With the gov-ernment in the South being in shambles since March and constitution-al rule being ignored since. The French have thus deployed 2,500 troops in the past few months in an effort to help their former colony and secure their finan-cial interest. The French maintain the strongest western military pres-ence on the continent with permanent bases in Chad and Gabon, as

well as a strong financial presence which is cru-cial to French interest. The exiled mayor of Timbuktu, Halle Ousmane Cissé, said today via phone interview that “Tim-buktu has fallen.”With French Prime

Minister François Hol-lande adding, “Now, the Africans can take over.” Reports say that the Is-lamist have destroyed historical treasures in the ancient city. Includ-ing burning books at one of Timbuktu’s most important libraries,

which holds thousands of well-preserved hand-written manuscripts from the 13th century. The city is also home to hundreds of tombs of Sufi saints. These extremely important historical African sites have reportedly been

smashed by the Islamist.The last remaining city of significant size Kidal is still occupied by reb-els. The French have not stated whether they will continue their ef-forts but Hollande al-ludes that the job will be left to the Africans.

Mr. and Ms. Montevallo Elections

January 29, 8am – 9amBlackboard

Mr. and Ms. Montevallo Elections

January 30, 8am – 9amBlackboard

Page 2: Volume 2 Issue 3 of The Falcon

The Falcon Page Two

news “A word to the wise is infuriating” -Hunter S. Thompson

by Matt SanderlinArts & Culture Editor

UM welcomes two new Art professors

Feinstein proposes new gun ban

by Andrew MechumAssociate Editor

Monday, January 28th, 2012

On Thursday Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D-Calif.) publicly an-nounced a new assault weapons ban (AWB) bill targeting 158 rifles, shotguns and handguns.According to statements made by Feinstein, “No weapon is taken from anyone. The purpose is to dry up the supply of these weapons over time. Therefore there is no sunset on this bill.” The sunset she is referring to alludes to the 1994 AWB, which included a sunset pro-vision of 10 years. The original ban was spurred by an attack on a Califor-nia elementary school in 1989 that left five children dead and 29 others wounded. Ac-cording to a University of Pennsylvania study in 2004 the ban had little impact on over-all gun related crime. As a result of the continuing push for gun control sher-iffs across the nation are collectively putting their foot down. Many of the sheriffs say they will refuse to enforce any new gun legisla-tion if it contradicts the 2nd Amendment. In all, sheriffs from over 18 states in-cluding 30 of the 33 county sheriffs in New Mexico have pledged to defend the Constitu-tion and ignore any new gun control legislation. Even if Feinstein and her cohorts are successful

in getting the new AWB passed states like Wyo-ming are taking steps to nullify their efforts. W y o m i n g ’ s Firearm Protection Act (House Bill No. HB0104) states, “An act relating to firearms; providing that any fed-eral law which attempts to ban a semi-automatic firearm or to limit the size of a magazine of a firearm or other limita-tion on firearms in this state shall be unen-forceable in Wyoming.” The bill also has provisions for arresting, jailing and fining any federal agent who tries to enforce any new fed-eral gun laws in the state. Despite the me-dia blitz coverage of shootings like the one in Connecticut that have reinvigorated gun con-trol debate, little atten-tion has been paid to overall crime statistics. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report 2011, the murder rate per 100,000 people dropped from 9.3 in 1992 to 4.7 in 2011. This amounts to a 50 percent drop in the murder rate. Additionally the violent crime rate per 100,000 dropped from 757.7 to 386.3 over the same period. Again, a 50 percent drop. With such a marked decline in crime it begs the question: Why are politicians so enamored with tak-ing away 2nd Amend-ment rights and not touting their success in fighting violent crime?

by Mandy SteadmanStaff Writer

The University of Montevallo is known to give students and teachers a supportive learning environment. The Art depart-ment has welcomed two new professors this year. Professor Lee Somers and Professor Michael Willett are two of the newest members of the Montevallo family. Willett is a University of Monte-vallo alumni. He re-ceived his Bachelor of Fine Arts here and then moved on to gradu-ate school at the Uni-versity of Cincinnati. Somers received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Alfred University. He said he went on to teach ceramics in Beijing, China for three years and then taught and did adjunct work before coming to Montevallo.

Willett said his main focus is two-dimensional design. “I'm teaching primar-ily in Foundations. Drawing I, Drawing II, and Two-Dimensional Design,” said Willett.Somers teaches a dif-ferent medium than Willett. He teaches three-dimensional de-sign using ceramics and wood carving. Somers said, “I am kind of mixed media, it’s mainly three-dimensional. Ce-ramics is really at the core of what I do.” Somers said he has directly quoted Chinese landscape im-agery into his art. He also receives a great influence from Chinese ceramics and paintings.Somers and Willett both said they find the University of Monte-vallo to be a positive

teaching environment. Somers said he has re-ceived so many ideas from his students and it is helping him grow even more as an artist. “I have been to a lot of schools and it is just a special thing here with the faculty and students. I can’t imagine working with a more supportive group of colleagues. Every-one is very enthusiastic and supportive of what you are doing then also working with a more kind of upbeat and ener-getic group of students. I mean the students here are wonderful. The general spirit here is re-ally good,” said Somers. Willett and Somers both have some big plans in the future to help broaden the ex-periences offered to art students. Willett said, “This summer I am

hoping to introduce a collage-based class that is not media specific.” Somers has some major technologi-cal changes in the works for the Art department. “I think the biggest thing I have to offer is I’ve had a little bit of experience in digital fabrication processes so using computer gener-ated models and equip-ment that is essentially robots that make your work and we are in the process of purchasing some of that equip-ment,” said Somers. The Univer-sity of Montevallo Art Department is display-ing some of Professor Somers’ and Professor Willett’s art pieces in the Bloch Hall Gallery. Be sure to drop by and see the mixture of mediums that these professors have to offer.

Professor Lee Somers

A piece from Professor Willett

Photos: Mandy Steadman

The Falcon Playlist

Page 3: Volume 2 Issue 3 of The Falcon

Excitement and signs are raised

The Falcon Page Three

College Night 13’

The College Night season is in full swing with the reveal-ing of the signs. The signs for each side hold clues to what each side’s musical is about. The sign rais-ing started off with each side performing their cheers and the leaders pumping their members with enthu-siasm and excitement. The Purple side sign is crafted like a three-dimensional spaceship with two cow astronauts. What really makes this sign stand out is the buttons on the inside of the spaceship, which light up in differ-ent colors. They really make the piece special. The Gold side sign is made like a candy skull with a young man sat in front and a lever to his side. There is a piece of candy in the shape of a lion’s head on the left. The bright col-ors of the candy against the black contrast of the wood really makes the wheel stand out. This year’s sign raising will be inter-esting to judge. Both signs are creative and colorful, but this year

by Mandy SteadmanStaff Writer

the judges with be judg-ing the entirety of the signs. This includes front and back, side-to-side, and up and down. The Gold side sign may have a dis-advantage because only the front part of their sign is decorated. The Purple side sign is decorated in all aspects and sides of the sign, so Purple side may have the advantage with that and the fact that their sign partially lights up. However, the Gold side sign has such vibrant colors and really stands out in the light and dark. Who do you think will win the judg-ing for best side sign? Let us know via Facebook.

Photos: Mandy Steadman

They say mon-ey doesn’t buy happi-ness, but a study from Princeton Univer-sity's Woodrow Wil-son School says that it does, and the amount is $75,000 a year. Though, the study is quick to point out that mak-ing that amount a year doesn’t improve your emotional well being, but what it does im-prove is your all around satisfaction with life. Another com-mon saying is, “money is the root of all evil”. So for something that is essential to modern life, only figuratively makes us happy and is rooted in evil how does it fare in making us happy? Money is typi-cally the most elusive object in a college stu-dent’s possessions.

by Kyle JonesEditor-in-Chief

The Falcon Guide to Happiness: Money

While money does not bring happiness, pov-erty surely does not make it any better. Though there are ways we can attribute our limited “wealth” to in-crease our happiness. Studies have shown that spreading the wealth is directly re-lated to our own overall happiness. Making char-itable donations or buy-ing presents for friends and family have more of an impact on than simply spending on our-selves. The “high” that is felt after making a big purchase on something for yourself provides a false sense of life en-hancement and is only temporary. The feeling increases overtime as it becomes more and more difficult to fulfill your wants and desires,

which leads to feeling of fear, anxiety and envy. The problem when it comes to money and happiness is how we spend it, manag-ing our money prop-erly and choosing the right way to spend it has great effects on how we feel afterwards. Research shows that spending your money on things like experiences over mate-rial things provides a greater sense of hap-piness. Travelling to a new place or spending money on amazing ex-periences such as sky-diving provides us with more bang for our buck. The feelings and mem-ories that are created are substantial in rela-tion to the limited high of material purchases. Though memo-

rable spending does not negate material pur-chases. Spending on the small things rather than one big large purchase attributes to daily hap-piness. This can range from buying a favor-ite snack to seeing a movie with a friend or significant other. Money may not buy happiness,

but rather the way we manage our money in-creases our general day to day happiness, but with something with so many variables and ups and downs, mon-ey is not a very stable happiness perpetuator. Money may open many doors to av-enues of joy but there are those in this world

that have nothing and live a wonderful stress free life. What drives them to bliss? Join us next week as we plunge deeper into the pool of happiness to find ex-actly what truly makes our generation happy.

Monday, January 28th, 2012

Page 4: Volume 2 Issue 3 of The Falcon

arts&culturePage FourThe Falcon

From fade to freak-out: yo la tengo at workplay

Album Review:The Joy Formidable-“Wolf’s Law”

by Jake SmithStaff Writer

by Reed StrengthArts & Culture Editor

Monday, January 28th, 2012

Imagine for a moment the sound of a thousand explosions coming together to form a perfectly tuned power chord and you may be on the right track toward under-standing the sounds that Welsh trio, The Joy Formidable have crafted on their sopho-more LP, “Wolf’s Law”. In 2011, the band garnered mass critical acclaim for their debut, “The Big Roar” by creating an incendi-ary and anthemic, arena-ready sound that thrust a breath of fresh air into an increasingly coy mu-

Yo La Tengo, an indie rock band from Hoboken, NJ, played at the Workplay Theatre in Birmingham Sunday night. With no open-ing band, the group divided their concert into two distinct sets. The first was a mellow, mostly acous-tic performance of the various ballads and slower songs that band’s large repertoire contains. Guitarist Ira Kaplan was seated on a stool on the right side of the stage. Drummer Georgia Hubely played small a drum kit placed in the middle, with bassist James McNew completing the line by standing to the left. The band’s newest album, “Fade”, was highly represented throughout the set. Al-bum opener “Ohm” was the first song played. The band performed a stripped down version of the song, the hyp-notic electric guitars of the original replaced with hushed strums and soft harmonies. Other high-lights included the Hub-ley sung “Cornelia & Jane”. The song was able to retain its warm

sic industry. Fortunately for fans of the debut, that sound remains mostly intact on “Wolf’s Law” while adding new and exciting elements that broaden the re-cord’s appeal and keep it from turning stale. These changes are noticed immediately in the album’s opener and lead single, “This Ladder is Ours” which begins with a dramatic string intro before slam-ming with bone-headed ferocity into a speaker-demolishing riff. The song is the quintessen-tial example of what this band does best, rock. The trend of heavy riffing and arena-style choruses continue into nearly every song as the band shows a mastery of the tried and true soft/loud dynamics originally popularized by bands like The Pix-ies and Nirvana. How-

ever, this is not to say that the album becomes repetitive and exhaust-ing. Rather, the band finds new ideas within this dynamic choice. “Tendons” finds the band exploring an electronically-pro-cessed bass lick before flipping into a grandi-ose, U2-like chorus. Similarly, with “Little Blimp” the band rides on the strength of a fist-pumping bass riff. Yet, rather than slam into an anthem, the band takes the song into more pro-gressive territory with a guitar lead reminiscent of Arabian folk music. This song, driven by the energy of its riff and the eclecticism of its melodies, ends up as the highlight of the album and one of the most eas-ily repeat button worthy songs to be found here. Of course the album has its missteps,

minor as they may be. “Bats” begins with an admittedly obnoxious electronic vocal before settling into a much more satisfactory rock n’ roll groove. “Maw Maw Song”, for all its Zep-pelin-esque power, has a way-too-far extended guitar freakout that ends up sounding more like a robot sick with a stom-ach virus than a solo. Biggest among the offenders though is “The Turnaround” which takes the band’s subtle use of strings found earlier in the al-bum and expands them to Phil Spector levels. A strong vocal melo-dy becomes drowned in a melodramatic wall of sound that ul-timately adds noth-ing to the song. By the song’s end the listener is physically exhausted. Fortunately this otherwise disappointing

finale is remedied by the title track which is hid-den after about a min-ute’s silence following “The Turnaround”. The song is driven by a gor-geous piano while Ritzy Bryan’s vocals soar over a slowly transforming background. The song is a blueprint for building up a tune and the perfect way to end an album that built itself upon the grand and the powerful.

“Wolf’s Law” leaves the listener with an excellently crafted and enjoyable rock and roll album in a tradition of anthemic bombast that is becoming increas-ingly rare to find in to-day’s music landscape. For any number of its flaws, there are at least twice as many positives to be found here. The Falcon gives “Wolf’s Law” an 8 out of 10.

beauty, despite her in-ability to reach all of the high notes it required. Kaplan at one point played a surprise rendition of “Pablo and Andrea” from the band’s 1995 album “Electr-O-Pura.” The inspiration came after a fan told him before the show that the album was “one of the finest records ever crafted.” Throughout the set, the band remained calm and cordial. Be-fore playing a song, they would ask and acknowledge if they were all ready. Kaplan kept his audience com-mentary brief and cor-dial, while Hubley and McNew barely ever spoke. The band treat-ed the show more like an evening program than a rock concert. The band’s first set ended with “No-where Near” from 1993’s “Painful”. At the song’s middle, Ka-plan lightly dropped from his stool to shake and throttle his guitar with light feedback. After about three minutes, he clicked off the effects’ pedals and began to play the song’s light riff once again. The trio took about a twenty min-ute break only to come back once again for their “loud” second set. Hubley’s drum kit was moved further back and the band lined up in a more traditional fashion. They kicked the second set off with the

uneasy “Stupid Things”, the first single released from “Fade”. While the song’s midtempo pace perked things up from the languid first set, the organ led “Here to Fall” from 2009’s “Popular Songs” was a much bet-ter introduction to Yo La Tengo’s noisier side.The band upped the ante further in the set with “False Alarm” from “Electr-O-Pura”. While McNew grounded the song with a strange bass lick, Kaplan yelped and screamed the song’s strange lyr-ics as he mashed and mangled droning feed-back from his keyboard. He would slam his whole arm down on the keys, bobbing his head as he con-jured noisy walls of electric squall to an enthusiastic crowd.Kaplan’s feedback fights with his guitar remain one of Yo La Tengo’s most exhila-rating live elements. The band performed “Ohm” again, this time clos-er to the studio ver-sion heard on “Fade”. Near the end of the song, Kaplan shook and bent his gui-tar around his body to produce caterwauling distortion and feedback against Hubley and Mc-News’ steady rhythm. This was brought to even greater effect on fan favorite “Sugarcube” and clas-sic cut “Drug Test”. The band was

brought back for an en-core after their perfor-mance of 2009’s “More Stars Than There Are in Heaven”. As Kaplan walked over to his place on stage, he looked to the front of the crowd. He found a leather jacket clad fan beneath him, and asked her what she would like to hear next. She told him and requested the “loud” version as Kaplan put it. The band played it,

as well as a McNew sung rocker. The trio closed quietly with a lullaby sung by Hubely. They thanked the audience for spend-

ing the evening with them and after a few waves, walked off stage. “Just gorgeous,” a fan muttered near the exit.

Photos: Reed Strength

Page 5: Volume 2 Issue 3 of The Falcon

The Falcon Page Five

A Falcon Exclusive:From the Depths, There Is A Patchwork of Light

by Mandy SteadmanStaff Writer

New music is added every week.

Come listen to what we’re talking about...

White Cardigan Club Winter Play Festival hits UM

Monday, January 28th, 2012

Have you ever wanted to try to create a world that is entirely your own? Have you ever wanted to just see your imagination come to life right in front of your eyes? The White Cardigan Club gives stu-dents a great opportuni-ty to share their thoughts and allows the possi-bility of bringing their stories to life onstage. The White Car-digan Club (WCC) is a unique organization where student play-wrights have the oppor-tunity to showcase their one-of-a-kind plays. The club is sponsored by Professor Tammy Killian of the Monteval-lo Theatre Department and is run by students who have joined to share and support each others’ writing skills. The WCC is a creative outlet for art-ists with hidden talents in writing, acting, di-recting and managing. Many student ac-tors have said the WCC has helped them grow as artists and has given them the kind of experi-ence that will help them in their creative journey. The club usu-ally starts its prepa-ration for the Winter Play Festival by hav-

The sophomore effort from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea of Mobile, Alabama is nearly upon us. The band consists of five members. Frontman David Maclay handles the vocals while Alan Anderson plays the organ. Jonathan Ash-ley beats the drums, and Chris Rodriguez scratches out guitar.Virginia Phillips plays bass in 20K Leagues and is a junior art ma-jor here at the Univer-sity of Montevallo. She agreed to meet for a quick interview about the album and the band’s future plans. Phillips and the rest of the band sought the help of fan and friend funding for their next album through project site Kickstart-er. The money raised was used on recording as well as vinyl press-ing at United Record Pressings in Tennessee. The Kickstarter was launched in Oc-tober, and reached its funding goal about a month later. Phillips says the band still needs a bit more money to

by Reed StrengthArts & Culture Editor

cover everything, but the amount of support received via Kickstarter “blew our minds”. Phil-lips said the band would excitedly send pictures of the rising funds over text message. In the detailed summary of the band’s project on Kickstart-er, a list of the band members was includ-ed. There were eight names, three more than seen at the local shows the band has played here in Montevallo.Phillips said that the core five members, the ones seen on the album cover, were decided two days after the launch of the Kickstarter. The project doesn’t allow the user to change any of the text once the proj-ect has been launched, so the band wasn’t able to establish its core membership until now. Phillips revealed that the new album, “Patchwork of Light”, has a kind of “spooky surf rock feel” and marks a departure from their first album. She said the band recorded the entire album in one day. The album was mixed and mastered by John Paul Foster, the lo-cal No Cool Studios pro-ducer who has produced

and mastered several local bands’ albums. On 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’s first album, sever-al horn parts were a ma-jor part of the musical backdrop. Phillips says that horns are a part of “Patchwork of Light” as well, but most of the ar-rangements are “simpli-fied” to what the band can perform on stage. “We have the same sound in studio and live now, which is what we’ve been needing for a while”, says Phillips. In a Falcon ex-clusive, Phillips gave us two songs from the album as a preview. The first, titled “Dance, Dance Claire”, will be the first single from the new album. The song harkens to the forebod-ing sound of “Colors” from their debut al-bum. A waltz beat is introduced with guitar and horn as Maclay sings in a bleary tone about a dreary scene at what could be a bar. The other song, titled “Endless Rever-beration”, is a much hazier bit of work. A beautiful organ intro is smeared into crack-ling noise, guitar soft-ens the song’s rough edges and a bass line

from Phillips provides a steady heartbeat to the tune’s noisy hypnosis. The title “Patch-work of Light” comes from an older song that Maclay wrote when the two were living in New Orleans in 2009. Phil-lips said the song was something that the band no longer plays, and was “long and ridiculous” but fantastic nonethe-less. According to Phil-lips, the album’s title fits with the “past year, year and a half” and repre-sents “all of these crazy

parts of our lives kind of like, pieced together.” Unlike their first album, which was sev-eral recordings pieced together over time, “Patchwork of Light” has a singular sound with “variations in mood.” Phillips ex-pressed enthusiasm in the band’s decision to press the album to vi-nyl. “I think we’ve had to stop telling people, because people will say like ‘What’s going on in your life?’ and we’re like, ‘Oh, we’re press-

ing an album to vinyl!’” According to the band’s Kickstarter, the album will be available for purchase at local record store Jingle Records. According to Phillips the record will be pressed to black vi-nyl, with a possible lim-ited edition of “colored or mixed colored.” Phil-lips said the band plans to do a summer tour, and are currently play-ing shows in Mobile “every other weekend.”

ing meetings during the spring, summer and fall. During these meetings student writ-ers, actors and directors come together, perform a reading of the new plays and discuss what can be done to make them better. This allows the playwrights to hear their written words and understand how to make a line flow better or how to better get their mes-sage across to audiences. Once the plays are polished and printed the playwrights pass their works on to the directors. The directors then hold an open au-dition for Montevallo students interested in performing. Rehearsals begin after the casting is finished and the cast has received their scripts. This year the WCC Winter Play Festi-val had seven plays pre-miering at the Chiches-ter Black Box Theatre. The genres in-cluded horror, drama, comedy and serio-comedy. Plays covered several topics including psychological symbol-ism and a man’s unfortu-nate demise at the hands (or wings) of a duck. The festival concluded with a ques-tionnaire, which was hosted by Killian. This gave the audience a

chance to ask the ac-tors, directors and play-wrights about the shows and to clear anything that might have been confusing. The play-wrights were also given the opportunity to ask the audience for their opinions of the plays and get a general idea of what they can do to improve their abilities. White Cardigan Club offers students an opportunity to try new things and explore the playwriting process. It gives audi-ences and cast mem-bers a chance to ex-perience and create memorable moments. If you are in-terested in hearing more about the White Cardigan Club and be-coming part of this creative group check out the university’s website, http://www.montevallo.edu/thea.

Peter Strickland & Toryn Vanshawn Washington

Falcon contributor Rosie Maguire

Photos: Mandy Steadman

Page 6: Volume 2 Issue 3 of The Falcon

The Falcon Page Six

the staffnext year’sissue-S3 vs The Iphone 5- The “U Review”-WoW Wing Challenge-The Super Bowl-College Night Sports-Music-Politics-Happiness

and more... February 4th, 2013

is accepting articles and applications for staff positionscontact us at [email protected]

Webwww.facebook.com/[email protected]

EditorsEditor-In-Chief:

Kyle Jones

Associate Editor:Andrew Mechum

Art & Culture Editor:Reed Strength

Staff WritersMandy Steadman

Neal EmbryMatthew Lord

Clarke StackhouseJake Smith

Contributing WritersTedie Taylor

Monday, January 28th, 2012