Interview With The Franchise

National Spotlight

News Breif

Concert Preview

Concert Review

Department to Present Faculty Recital

Stanley Chytil (with trumpet), Patrice Stribling Donald (at piano) and Susan Parton Stanard

PRESS RELEASE

The Music Department of LC will present a faculty recital at 7:30 pm on Mar. 7 in the Benjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel. Performing will be Patrice Stribling Donald, pianist; Stanley Chytil, trumpet; and Susan Parton Stanard, mezzo-soprano with Michael Frazier accompanying.
The evening’s first performer, Donald, is LC’s director of Music and Cultural Programs. Donald, a concert pianist, will perform the third and fourth movements of Schubert’s Sonata in A Major, D. 959.
Donald began her professional career at the age of 12, and has appeared in concerts throughout the United States and Canada. Donald holds a Masters Degree in Musicology and Piano Performance from Smith College and is currently completing two doctorates in music at the University of Memphis. For the past several years, Donald has served on the music faculties of Southwestern Illinois College, McKendree College and Southern Illinois University.
River Bend audiences will have the opportunity to hear the Schumann Piano Concerto when Donald appears as a featured soloist with the Alton Symphony Orchestra in a November Concert later this year.
Chytil will perform pieces by Schubert, Leonard, Haydn and Anderson on trumpet and flugel horn. Chytil is the College’s Assistant Director of Music and has earned his Masters Degree in French Horn Performance and Music Education at the Conservatory of Music in Ostrava, Czech Republic. While living in Europe, he performed under the baton of conductors such as Herbert von Karahan and Hindrich Pravecek. He also played with the Czech Military Symphonic Orchestra and the Moravian Chamber Orchestra. Chytil served as Brass Instructor and Band Director of the School of Fine Arts and Music in the Czech Republic before moving to the United States in 1989.
Stanard, mezzo-soprano, will perform a variety of art songs, operatic arias and Broadway favorites, including works by Bellini, Bizet, Copland, Wagner and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Stanard has appeared in concert throughout the United States and Europe. She holds a degree in Voice and Opera and a Masters Degree from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla. As an educator at the secondary school level she was the co-director of vocal and choral education at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, an arts magnet high school in Jacksonville, Fla. Stanard has served on music faculty at Jacksonville University and Florida Community College. Raised and educated in Alton, she returned to the area in 2002 to conduct the Concert Choir, Community Choir and Vocal Studies at LC.
The audience is invited to meet the performers at a wine and cheese reception, which will be held in the Atrium of the Ringhausen Music Building immediately following the recital. For additional information, please call Susan Travers in the LC Music Department at (618)468-4731.
 

Top

Wrestling With Reality: The Franchise

ANTHONY GREFF
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Shane Douglas, aka “The Franchise” helped revolutionize pro wrestling in the 90’s with notable runs in the “WWF,” “WCW” and “ECW” federations. After the buy out of “WCW,” Shane seemed to disappear out of the nationwide spotlight. Where has he been and what has he been up to? We have your answers to these questions and more in the exclusive Bridge interview with Shane Douglas.
Bridge: Shane, what was your environment like growing up?
Shane Douglas: I grew up in a poor neighborhood called the Polasky home’s house projects in Pittsburgh. We grew up fending for ourselves. Fighting was a daily process for us. It taught each of us how to take care of our own.
B: How did you get into pro wrestling?
SD: When I was about 4 years old, I used to watch WIIC in Pittsburgh, which featured wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino. They used to have live wrestling in the studio every Saturday night. I loved wrestling but I never thought I would end up there. I later went to college and preceded to get my master’s degrees in both education and biological science. I was accepted in Medical school back in 1993. I graduated from there, but there weren’t any job openings. Then a wrestler by the name of Eddy Gilbert called me and offered me a job, wrestling in the UWF. Which as it turns out, was the predecessor to what ECW and XPW would later become. I thought that I would wrestle till a “real job” would come up. Here we are 22 years later and I’m still waiting for that “real job.”
B: What was your first professional wrestling match like?
SD: It was on Thanksgiving Day in 1982. It was a barbed wire match that had me paired with Dominick Dunuchi against Bigfoot and Bill Burger. I got myself stuck on the barbed wire when I was first entering the ring. I was paid $14.50 for my efforts.
B: What do you say when people ask if pro wrestling is fake?
SD: The word fake to me is such a poorly applied word to describe wrestling. Fake implies that getting slammed on a concrete floor doesn’t hurt because it’s all smoke and mirrors. When you got to a movie and see Hannibal Lector eating someone’s brain, you don’t sit there laughing and say that’s fake. You get engrossed in the movie and go along with it, causing you to be grossed out by it.
B: What is your inspiration to go out there and perform?
SD: I get high on the performance. There is no greater feeling then making the audience really cheer or really boo you. When the crowd is in your hand constantly wanting more, it’s an incredible pump.
B: What caused you to go to your current federation, XPW?
SD: I had met the owner, Rob Black way back when one of my co-workers brought him to a show in New Orleans. He and I would later become friends over the next several years. This company has had a very lurid past, due to it’s sister company being involved in adult films. As far as its wrestling is concerned, it’s like a blood a guts federation. They use light bulbs and other objects as weapons. He told me, he spent $375,000 on this company and took it as far as he could go. He needed someone who can take it to the next level and that’s where I came in. In the three to four month’s that I’ve been there, the size of the company has quadruped. In six months, I plan on adding another four to six cities to our programming. At a time when the WWE is cutting back, we are looking to grow.
B: What exactly is your position with the company?
SD: I’m the president of everything. I’m actually the booker for lack of a better term. I add my ideas to the group discussion about what we should do with the federation.
B: Is there anything you want to say to your fans or fans of wrestling in general?
SD: I want wrestling fans to give our federation a fair chance. Don’t give us anything except an opportunity. If you give us an opportunity, and like what you see, give us a pat on the back. If we do a crappy job, by all means criticize us and let us know we didn’t live up to your hard earned entertainment dollar.

Graphic courtesy of cooldudesandhotbabes.com

Top

The 10-Second CD Reviews
THE BRIDGE REVIEW STAFF

Rating System:

Jahiem ****
“Still Ghetto” WB

Now I know how I was brought into this world. Jahiem makes music for the hood like no one else can. He made my mother go crazy with his soulful lyrics.

Christina Aguilera ****1/2

“Stripped” RCA

Christina has an awesome voice and a special feel to music that is all her own. This combination makes the album a worthwhile listen. This CD goes where her earlier works would dare not go with tracks like “Fighter” the emotional song about Christina’s relationship with dad. “Dirrty” has a smooth sound with hip-hop star Redman, and her current radio anthem is “Beautiful.” If this doesn’t sound like enough, add in special guests Lil’ Kim and former Jane’s Addiction member Dave Navarro; you got a force to be reckoned with.

Hot Action Cop
****

 “Hot Action Cop” Lava

Picture the sounds of 311 mixed with Bloodhound Gang’s humor. This CD shows a poppy rock side with tracks like “Fever for the Flava” and “Club Slut,” but slows down to a lighter form of rock on other tracks like “I’ll Show Her.” The tracks lack a cohesive organizational arrangement, and it can be too much to listen to the CD all at once. This band shows a lot of promise and is, above all, fun and leaves you with the question, “Do you think that I can get some? Chickie, Chickie.”
 

Field Mob ***

“From Tha Roota to the Toota” MCA

When I look at the cover of the CD, I thought these guys were a joke. After listening to “From Tha Roota To Tha Toota,” I realized it was a breath of fresh air to true hip-hop heads. They remind me of a poor Nappy Roots. I’m looking forward to hearing more from Field Mob.
 

JAY-Z ****1/2

“Blue Print 2” Def Jam

Biggie must still be living because listening to the “Blueprint 2” reminds me of the Notorious One. Platinum once again for “jigga man.” I love how he brought so many people in to produce this album. No one can beat the King. Bringing Rakim and Dre for “The Watcher” was gear for the “R.”

Sevenwiser ****1/2

“Sevenwiser” Kik It Records

Rock band out of NY hits hard with their debut CD. The band has toured with SR71, Nine Days and has played radio shows with the likes of Bowling for Soup and Avril Lavigne. Their sound is really something to listen to. After you play it a few times expect to be hooked like I am, especially with track number three, “We’re Sad.”

Seether ***1/2

“Disclaimer” Wind-Up

Seether has caught rock fans attention with their radio hit “Fine Again.” If you look past that song, there’s not very much left worth listening to besides “Driven Under.” I was disappointed in this CD because the band has potential but they waste it on songs like “69 Tea” where they bash Christian beliefs. Once these guys get things straightened out a little bit they, could be awesome.

Blackalicious **

“Blazing Arrow” MCA

It takes a true hip-hop junkie to appreciate these sounds. It’s easy to lose sight of what Blackalicious is trying to do… I’m still not sure…

Concert News Brief

Anthony Greff
Entertainment Editor

Linkin Park has announced they will be doing some club dates, including a St. Louis stop on Mar. 18 at The Pageant.
Ozzfest has announced their 2003 tour lineup, which includes: Ozzy Osbourne, Disturbed, Chevelle, Marilyn Manson and Korn among others. Also this year Ozzfest is offering a select number of $10 lawn seats for the show. The St. Louis show is scheduled for July 15 at UMB Bank Pavilion.
Eminem protégé 50 Cent will be hitting the road for an upcoming tour along with Clipse. The concert is scheduled for April 3 at The Pageant.
A New Found Glory will be hitting the road with Good Charlotte and MxPx for the Honda Civic tour, which will stop at The Family Arena in St. Charles, May 20.
For your immediate concert needs, check out our concert calendar.
 

TOP

3 Doors Down Concert Review

Anthony Greff
Entertainment Editor

Canadian rockers Theory of a Deadman started off the show with a thump. The band came out dressed not in fancy stage outfits, but in jeans and t-shirts. That attitude matched the sound produce. The set was purely striped down rock music, which received a moderate reaction from the crowd.
As I would discover later, the band was more popular than I thought, as shown by merchandise sales. Overall, their set was entertaining to listen to, harder than you would expect after listening to their CD.
Next came the main band of the nigh, 3 Doors Down. The venue was going strong for these guys, which came to a tip when the band performed three sing along songs with the crowd.
The crowd’s reaction really hit lead singer Brad Arnold. He looked like a kid in a candy store. It’s not something one would expect with professional singers, especially at local concerts.
The band performed songs from both their albums “The Better Life” and their new album “Away From The Sun.” Also unveiled at the show was the band’s new drummer Daniel Adair who was added to the lineup after their second album “Away from the Sun” was produced.
Rating: 5/5

Graphic Courtesy of launch.yahoo.com