The second-annual Launch Music Conference, founded by Rick Gadd (of Decadent Suite Records) and Jeremy Weiss (of CI Records), was a combination of networking, live entertainment, and an extensive amount of music industry knowledge led by many notable professionals in the industry.

Launch had something for musicians and non-musicians alike. Fans could hang out, talk to bands one-on-one, and stick around for several shows later in the day. Music industry professionals had the opportunity to catch up with one another and meet up-and-coming artists. Students were provided with an educational view of the industry and the opportunity to connect with bands and professionals on an informative and intimate level.

A few of the bands included Sudden Ascent, Digital Elvis, Johnny Action Figure, Darry Miller and the Veil, Texas in July, An Early Ending, Free the Fallen, With Life in Mind, This or the Apocalypse, The Beggar Folk, Greene Reveal, Kingsfoil, Ace Augustine, and more. A few Millersville University student bands were also included in the lineup on Saturday evening – Yesterday’s Listeners and Ghost House.

Speaking to bassist Matt Corey of “Greene Reveal”, he was thrilled to see how popular the Lancaster music scene was. He was also grateful that such an extensive conference was held to promote local and state-wide bands.

Panels, workshops, and seminars were held by industry professionals in an effective and informal manner – many of these individuals were open to all questions and genuinely wanted feedback from audience members. A few of the many speakers included Tom Bejgrowicz from Man Alive Design (who designed for bands like The Fray), Matt Friction from “The Pink Spiders,” David Silbaugh (the Rock Committee Chair and Chapter – Board Advisor for the Grammys), and Bruce Warren (WXPN Program Director and Executive Producer of the World Café). The speakers were honest, blunt, and refused to sugarcoat their responses. They were also incredibly approachable and open to meeting people post-discussion.

The informality of the conference is what made the weekend so memorable and beneficial. The connection made between students, fans, professionals, and musicians was the whole point to the conference. It was an excellent opportunity to expand knowledge of the music industry, share stories with others, and support local bands. It was an ideal weekend to join with those who share in the passion and love of music.

Launch Music Conference was something that should not have been missed. The excitement could be felt through every live performance and seen in every face. It was a busy weekend, but I cannot wait to see what Launch has in store for next year’s conference. For more detailed information of the 2010 Launch Music Conference, including a lineup of speakers and musicians, please visit www.launchmusicconference.com

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Born in 1928 in Detroit, jazz singer Sheila Jordan grew up in Summerhill, Pennsylvania. Restless and wanting to go back to her roots, she returned to the motor city in the early 1940s. Once there, she found her footing as a singer and performed in the trio Skeeter, Mitch, and Jean (she was “Jean”—her middle name is Jeanette), circuiting the jazz clubs of the era.

In 1951, the singer moved to New York City, where she studied music theory under Lennie Tristano and Charles Mingus, some of the greatest jazz composers of the day. By the early 1960s, she was a regular at places like the Page Three Club in Greenwich Village, and had made it enough to earn a living out of jazz music. In 1962, her debut album Portrait of Sheila was recorded under the Blue Note label.

After that success, Jordan withdrew from the music scene to take care of her daughter. For years, she worked as a legal secretary, putting the artist in her by the wayside. In 1975, she revived her career with the release of Confirmation, only her second studio album. Since then, she has released twenty solo albums, some of them live recordings of club performances. Known for her talent with lyrics, she has remained a staple in the jazz scene. Commentator Scott Yanow has hailed her, “one of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers.”

Most recently, she has been performing. For the latter half of March, she had a tour of Germany. A couple weeks later, she was doing gigs in New York City. After giving herself a second to breathe, she now finds herself at the Millersville campus.

To top off her residency, she is headlining a concert on Wednesday night. At 7:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room of the Student Memorial Center, “Sheila Jordan and Friends,” a musical collaboration between Jordan and the Millersville Jazz Band will begin.

It will be an exciting musical event; along with her countless experience in jazz music, Jordan is especially known for her skills with lyrical and vocal improvisation, always a valuable skill in the unpredictability of jazz rhythms. For someone with her level of expertise, students should expect quite a show.

Tickets are free for Millersville students, $5 for seniors, $10 general admission, and $20 for club seats.

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Jeff Wolfthal, a junior, plays Henry, a man who has been through struggles in his life that have caused him to distance himself from life and people. He lives like a hermit in Alaska, leaving only to work on an oil rig. Rosannah, played by sophomore Mariah Mammas, is lost and confused. She has just left her wedding, and shows up at Henry’s door looking for salvation from the blizzard.

Throughout the course of the play, Henry and Rosannah reveal to each other, as well as the audience, why they are the way they are. Struggles and tragedy are definitely the source of this drama. What is interesting is that the characters seem to be meant for each other, even if they do not realize it at first.

The lights really add to the show, you could tell when a character was in an emotional state because a blue or red light would encompass them while they were speaking. The wind played on and off throughout the show, during certain monologues, it really added to the feeling of eeriness.

Both actors are very talented. They had the audience’s full attention as they told their stories. Both Mariah and Jeff have been seen on the Rafter’s stage before, but this was, for both of them, the first time in a starring role. As the stage manager I have seen them both progress so much since auditions and I am confident, although maybe slightly biased, in saying that these two actors were by far the best choice for these roles.

This show was directed by Michael Swanson, who is a professor at Elizabethtown College. His knowledge and visions for this show were very inspiring and the show definitely shows this. He pushed the actors to feel their characters, which is evident in the final product.

Another very interesting part of the show was the involvement of stage combat. For those of you out there who may not be so into theatre, I think the stage combat really gives this show something extra. Rosannah isn’t afraid to throw Henry around, which is something Rafter’s has not seen in quite some time.

Opening weekend was a little slow, ticket wise, but the actors put on a show for the audience that was as if the house was packed. If you missed this past weekend’s shows, you are still in luck. There is still time for you to catch a show next weekend. Rafter’s theatre will be showing Brilliant Traces again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and on Sunday at 2 pm. If you miss this show, you are not only missing a good story, but the last chance at theatre for this semester, so do your best to make it out.

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Nowadays it seems like most adolescent films have the same plot: unpopular kids try to get laid. “Youth and Revolt,” a film adaptation from the original novel by C.D. Payne, has a similar plot, but with a different approach. Nick Twisp, a 16 year-old loner played by Michael Cera of “Super Bad,” lives with his sexually active mother who is dependent on his child support.

Nick is invisible to women, never having a girlfriend and never experiencing sexual pleasure. It seemed as though “everyone was getting action,” according to Nick, who is surrounded by the sexual drives from his mother and father. Eager to break out of his lonely state of being, he decides that he doesn’t want to die a virgin. It isn’t until a group of sailors come to his house after finding a banana stuck in their engine that Nick goes on an early vacation with his mother and her boyfriend (played by Zach Galifianakis of “Hangover”) that would give him this opportunity.

After arriving at their destination, Nick becomes instantly attracted to a girl, eventually gaining the courage to invite her to the beach. He has so much interest in Sheeni Saunders that he wants to write a book about her, and when it all comes down to it, he would do anything for her. Unfortunately for Nick, after spending days with Sheeni Saunders, his vacation comes to an end, but that isn’t going to stop him from seeing her again. He is willing to get kicked out of his house for her, but in order for that to happen he has to be “bad.” This is where his alter ego comes into play, where he makes his first “bad” move by destroying a police officer’s car, resulting in Nick getting kicked out of his house. He is sent to his dad’s house and while there he visits Sheeni at school. In the midst of an intense make out session he gets caught by a female patrol officer at her school.

Ever so determined, Nick concocts a plan to get Sheeni kicked out of school by sending her close friend sleeping pills so that she would fall asleep through her classes. As his plan fell through, Bernice begins to fall for Nick herself, and in no time Sheeni is expelled from school. Days pass, and on Thanksgiving, Trent, Sheeni’s previous lover, exposes Nick forcing him to leave the house. Everything seems to go downhill from there, but the movie gives hope for awkward people everywhere looking for love.

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On Thursday, the production of “Only A Girl” was presented at 7 p.m. in the Bolger Conference Center. This play, presented by Lightkeeper Productions, was based on the true story of Irene Gut Opdyke. Opdyke was a Holocaust rescuer, who saved hundreds of lives during World War II at the age of seventeen. The play incorporated real interviews with Irene herself as well as visited memories, film images, and original music. The play carried the audience through Irene’s childhood in pre-war Poland to her time in the Polish Resistance and onward.

Dr. Glazier of the Anthropology department introduced the small cast of two who were to represent Irene Gut Opdyke, her husband, family, and friends she made throughout her life. At the age of 16, Irene acquired a job with the Red Cross and later dreamed of becoming a nurse, which led her to travel to the Ukraine to receive training in the spring of 1939. During this time, changes were occurring in Poland such as the persecution of the Jewish population and the growing threat of war. In the summer, Irene returned home to find that the attacks on the Jewish population had increased and was begged by her family to not return to her schooling. In August of the same year, she left again for the Ukraine. On September 1, 1939 Poland was invaded by Germany and many of the cities were evacuated. Upon her return, Irene was unable to find her family.

She volunteered to help the Polish citizens that were injured and joined the Polish Resistance. In the winter of 1940, Irene Gut (as this was her name at the time) was beaten and taken by Russian soldiers to a Russian hospital to be put to work. Later, she was able to escape the doctor under whom she worked. After a year in hiding, she was able to locate her family.

Six months later, German soldiers came to Irene’s home and forced her father to leave with them and work in a ceramics factory. Her mother and younger sisters left as well and Irene was made to stay at home with her sister Jeanina. One morning, Irene attended church alone and the church was later surrounded by German soldiers. The congregation was divided in half. Irene was forced to watch as the soldiers shot and killed half of the people. She and the other half were then forced to work in an ammunition factory in Germany. When a German officer found that she could speak German, she was forced to translate for his cook. During this period of her life, Irene’s job was near a Jewish ghetto, fenced off from the rest of the city. She felt compelled to help these people and proceeded to pass food to them under the fence every day, until the ghetto was deported and destroyed.

In January 1942, Irene was moved to another job under the same German officer in a hotel in the Ukraine. Here, she was to serve meals and was in charge of the Jewish laundry workers in the basement. She vowed that she would help them escape and survive.

Using her position and her ability to speak German, she listened to the plans of the officers and found that another extermination of the Jewish population was planned for June. With great courage and immense faith, Irene transported all of the Jewish laundry workers and others to a safe haven which was right under the German officers’ noses.

Meanwhile, she continued to send food and supplies to Jewish people finding refuge in the Ukranian forest. Finally, in 1944, the Russian army was able to push the Germans out of the Ukraine and the war ended a couple of months later.

After the war, Irene Gut joined the Polish Resistance again and found that her father and mother were both killed by the Germans. At this time, she could not find information on her sisters. She was then able to acquire papers, change her name and dye her hair for her protection. Irene then moved to America where she married and became Irene Gut Opdyke.

Irene became a United States citizen in 1949 and gave talks throughout her life of her plight and of the hundreds of people that she helped save. In 1985, Irene was finally able to reunite with her sisters in a free Poland. Irene Gut Opdyke died in 2003 and is honored in the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. on the Wall of Remembrance. “Only A Girl” celebrated the courage, faith, and love of a Holocaust survivor and rescuer, and allowed Irene Gut Opdyke’s voice to be perpetuated.

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The band seems to have started with Davis jotting down some lyrics at a young age and having a desire to inspire and create something for people to enjoy. Now with Kingsfoil, Davis as well as three other band partners have the ability and success to do so. Currently with a few small EPs and single albums out, Kingsfoil plans to have their first full length album, “On Our Own Together,” out by June of this summer. The band appears to be as excited for this event. Kingsfoil provided a sweet sound and satisfied the musical taste buds of the full house that attended the performance. “They sound awesome and I cannot wait to see them again,” audience member Giovanna Sobrinho said. Following Kingsfoil’s performance was another new hit rock band know as Find Vienna.

A four member band and friends of Kingsfoil, Find Vienna is led by vocalist and guitarist Patrick Mencel. Mencel’s older brother Paul plays the bass and backup vocals for the band while Mark McGuire provides the band with percussion and Greg “Fishtank” Fisher, a former MU student, supplies the band with guitar. The rock/pop band is originally from the North Wales area but enjoyed playing in Millersville.

The energetic band was formerly known as Clarity, but after some copyright complications it was in the band’s best interest to change their name. The name Find Vienna was later created by the Mencel brothers and has the further meaning that you should find refuge and comfort in what you love. Although it’s important to have a name, to Find Vienna it was more important to them to have a band at all. Influences of the band include The Police. This was obvious after the band did “One of the best cover-ups of Message in a Bottle.” Jeremy Mann said.

The four members were energetic as they ran around the stage while performing their set list and seemed to get along with the audience pretty well. You could tell the band was having a good time by their movements and the mood was contagious. The performance showed similarities to the previous band and they also share the same producer. Each band provided a great performance and was enjoyable to those that were present. More information on the bands can be found on their MySpace or their Facebook pages.

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Ritchie has a formidably witty script that does not get bogged down by its vanilla, “Bondesque” story line. Lord Blackwood wants to take over the world with black magic. Ritchie compensates for a limp plot with special effects and “Matrix” style violence.

The only thing that actually works in this movie is the fresh dynamic between Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law). Adaptations have failed in the past by making Holmes too cold and calculating and Watson into a bumbling idiot. So instead of having a Sherlock Holmes who just uses his head, we have Robert Downey Jr., who can take on Jaws with his bare hands.

Holmes and Watson both have powerful minds, but Holmes is the more insightful of the two. Watson appears less like the intellectual foil he has in the past and more of an emotional foil, treating Holmes like a child who can’t actually confess his true feelings. Their relationship almost borders on homo erotic, with Holmes caring a bit too much about breaking up Watson and his fiancee and not enough about Rachel McAdams being lit on fire. McAdams plays the debonair Irene Adler competently, but her role in the story feels a bit tagged on. Adler, a criminal mastermind, is the only woman with wits to match Sherlock Holmes. She’s the Catwoman to Holmes’ Batman, leaving Watson with the small mask and yellow cape.

Jude Law, for perhaps the first time in his career, plays a character that you don’t want to punch in the face every time he opens his mouth.

Robert Downey Jr. is the main reason the film was a popular success and not a critical success. Had they casted a Sherlock Holmes without sex appeal, the movie would’ve taken on a more reserved tone in line with Doyle’s series. However, having Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes proved to be a smart move, as he succeeds in exuding Holmes’s grace, intellect and wit while at the same time bringing a raw energy to the character.

Reviews for the film have been a mixed bag. Some think the movie is a dumbed down, populist insult to the Sherlock Holmes series while others think it’s a refreshing touch-up. Even the classiness/tackiness of Rachel McAdam’s outfits can not be agreed upon. Perhaps if the film had a smaller budget, eschewing over-the-top distracting action scenes, Ritchie would have a movie on his hands that could be a classic. While it’s unlikely to stand the test of time, “Sherlock Holmes” does hold your attention and prove an entertaining addition to a series that has fallen by the wayside.

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The story centers around a young Viking named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) as he tries to earn his place as Viking by killing one of the dragons that frequently attack his village. However in his attempt to do this, he inadvertently meets and befriends a dragon.

While the plot has its fair share of clichés and the overall outcome of the story is obvious to adults, it really does not effect the enjoyment of the movie as a whole. What made “Avatar,” so popular despite the bombardment of movie critics is that even though the story had been done before, the story and the characters were presented well. In “How to Train Your Dragon,” Hiccup earns his spot as the main character by being very entertaining. His dialogue is very humorous and incredibly relate-able to all ages.

Over the course of the movie, Hiccup develops and grows immensely from just wanting to fit in and follow the crowd, to standing up for what he believes is right despite the fact that he is standing alone. However, Hiccup’s character could only go so far without the real star of the movie. The dragon Toothless, given this name since he can retract his teeth at will, stole the movie with his mysterious entrance and lovable personality. Whenever he is relaxed on screen he seems more like a big dog or cat rather than a ferocious dragon. In a way, it fits the story perfectly since it is a lack of information that has led to the Vikings’ misunderstanding of the dragon’s true, peaceful nature.

Over the course of the movie, the friendship that is formed between Hiccup and Toothless is played out very naturally. While initially distrustful of each other, they allow their curiosity to break down the barriers of hatred and begin to learn more about each other. It is also because of his growing friendship with Toothless that causes Hiccup to learn more about the other dragon species, which he attempts to teach the other Vikings.

A very intriguing aspect of the movie that would appeal to dragon-lovers were the distinctions between dragon species. While Toothless is one of the many different species of dragons that exist in the film, all of the types that are shown in the movie are described and given their own powers and characteristics. It made the dragons much more realistic through the fact that they have been encountered many times before and for the most part have been studied as far as the typical Viking understanding permits.

The characters were really what held the film together since the action was on the decent end but nothing to write home about. There was one aspect of the movie that would be enough to draw people back for a second time: the flying sequences. Several movie critics have already commented on how the scene that takes place in the sky is near identical to Avatar’s flying sequences in terms of quality. That comment does not hit to far off the mark. Even watching the scenes in 2-D leaves little to the imagination of how incredible it would look in 3-D. The animation and choreography of these scenes capture the complexity and beauty of flight.

This film may not be for everyone, especially those who are coming to for an original story since it is pretty much nonexistent. However, the presentation, characters, and flying sequences more than saves the film from its predictable story. It doesn’t try to be an exciting adult movie and its not supposed to be, but it does include humor that will make the adults laugh just as hard as the children. As an overall opinion, I would highly recommend this movie if you are a fan of dragons or are just in the mood for a cute and entertaining movie.

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This describes Coheed and Cambria’s newest album, “The Year of the Black Rainbow,” released April 13. This is their fifth album, and is a prequel to their first four albums about the rock sci-fi story called “The Amory Wars” written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez.

This American rock band started in 1995 and went through many changes with band members. The current roster of the band members is Claudio Sanchez on lead vocals, Travis Stever on lead and rhythm guitar, Michael Todd on the bass, and Chris Pennie on the drums. They get their influence from Led Zeppelin, Pink, Floyd, The Police, Misfits, Queen, and Thin Lizzy.

“The Year of the Black Rainbow” has 12 tracks, most of which are very fast paced. The album is a mix of metal, progressive rock, and sci-fi sound effects.

The first track, “One” is instrumental. It is dark, creepy, and strange, but still it is fun to listen to. The end of “One” leads into the beginning of the second track called “The Broken.” Sanchez’s vocals are strong and sound like something right out of 80s metal in its prime. The lyrics throughout most of the album are confusing but interesting, “I followed your every move in a stride that wills disguise/ A little markings clue the find/ Your red lips speak of painted figures/ The teeth of mangled little listeners/ The thoughts that hide your rusty scissors there/ And hooded men swinging honesty across this violence/ Obscurity has no hero.” I enjoyed trying to puzzle out the meaning of the cryptic lyrics, but that is not fun for everyone.

The songs are very fast paced and frantic, especially with the percussion. In the third track, “Guns of Summer,” the drums are so fast I thought I was hearing things. The only soft track is number nine, “Pearl of the Stars.” Because it is slow and mellow, the Sanchez’s talent is highlighted, as well as the acoustic guitar skills of Stever. The lyrics in this track are fantastic, “I’d give you everything/ if only I’d have known you’d take it/ but you don’t, cause you’re you/ That’s why I’ll always love you/ My Pear of the Stars.” Thankfully, the talents of Coheed and Cambria kept this song from becoming a sappy boring ballad.

My favorite track is number eight, “Made Out of Nothing (All That I Am).” It has the best melody of the album, is very catchy, and it also uses strange sci-fi sound effects in the background.

I am delighted by this entire track. Although the lyrics are difficult at times, the vocals and instrumentals more than make up for it. Not a single track is boring or poorly constructed. I love this album and highly recommend it to any rock and roll fan.

The last song, “The Black Rainbow,” gave off a feeling of closure. It was not as fast as the other songs, and its lyrics add to the sense of the album ending with the chant, “It’s over, it’s over/ It’s all coming apart/ While you were sleeping, we were stealing your home/ It’s over, It’s over/ It’s all coming apart/ Now I never let this go, I say/ It’s over, it’s over.” This song also uses weird sci-fi sound effects in the background, which makes it creepy yet cool to listen to. None of the sound effects are jarring or overbearing, but help add flavor to the song.

Other albums from Coheed and Cambria include “The Second Stage Turbine Blade” (2002), “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3” (2003), “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness” (2005), and “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow” (2007). For more information about the band, go to www.coheedandcambria.com. They are also on Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace.

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According to Dr. Seigworth, this film changed the way sci-fi was made and was an intriguing combination of science fiction and film noir. This film also demonstrated one of the first uses of CGI or computer generated imagery.

Based on by Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” Blade Runner shows a vision of a future in which man has created human clones called replicants who were meant to serve human colonies outside of earth with a short life span of four years.

In 2019 Los Angeles the story of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) begins. Deckard is a Blade Runner; a cop who specializes in terminating replicants. Deckard had retired but was dragged back into the force when four dangerous Nexus-6 replicants escaped from an offworld colony back to earth. These replicants were invented by Dr. Tyrell who also creates an experimental female replicant named Rachel (Sean Young), with whom Deckard falls in love. Rick Deckard is on a quest to destroy these replicants.

Directed by Ridley Scott, Blade Runner was initially misunderstood, but was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and two International Fantasy Film awards. This movie was something very unique. The industrial feel of the film as well as the depiction of what the future was thought to hold in 1982. The creators seemed to have envisioned a future of uncertainty and bleakness. They call into question what it is to be human and why life is so precious. It was also interesting to view CGI in its infancy with the depiction of flying cars and a sprawling, industrial, metropolis Los Angeles predicted to be an overcrowded, polluted, dystopia. Harrison Ford plays a great character in this transition film between his epic role as Han Solo in “Star Wars” and the legendary character of Indiana Jones.

I recommend this film to anyone who does not fully understand science fiction films. This film has a film noir ambiance, which at some points makes you forget that you are watching a sci-fi flick. Harrison Ford plays a great role and the characters are, literally, out of this world. Deckard gets involved in an adventure that is mesmerizing throughout the entire film.

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