WILDCAT LEGENDS NEWS PDF Free Download
1 / 14/14
100%
September 25, 2023
Rains High
School Gears Up
for Homecoming
Festivities
From Staff Reports
Rains High School is
buzzing with excitement as the
annual Homecoming (HOCO)
festivities draw near. The
Student Council (STUCO) has
been hard at work, and Coach
Laura Jenkins, who also serves
as the Student Council Sponsor,
recently shared a series of
important announcements and
dates for students, faculty, and
the entire community to mark
on their calendars.
Join the STUCO Google
Classroom
Students interested in
becoming a part of the Student
Council are encouraged to join
the STUCO Google Classroom
link. Coach Jenkins emphasizes
the importance of having
notifications turned on and
checking in regularly to stay
informed about upcoming
events.
Officer Position
Elections
For those aspiring to run for
an officer position within the
Student Council, the Google
Forms for submission are
available in the classroom. All
submissions must be completed
by Thursday, September 21.
This includes the submission of
two teacher evaluations.
HOCO Court and
STUCO Officer Elections
On Tuesday, September 26,
the Rains High School
community will come together
to cast their votes for both the
Homecoming Court and the
Student Council Officers.
HOCO Court Winners
Announcement
The winners of the
Homecoming Court will be
revealed on Thursday,
September 28, adding to the
anticipation and excitement
leading up to the festivities.
HOCO Parade
The Homecoming Parade, a
beloved tradition at Rains High
School, will take place on
October 9. All members of the
Homecoming Court are
expected to participate, riding
in style on parade floats.
Community Pep Rally
Mark your calendars for
Thursday, October 12, when the
community will gather for a
spirited pep rally. The highlight
of the evening will be the
crowning of the Homecoming
King.
HOCO Football Game
The HOCO football game
will be held on Friday, October
13, drawing fans and alumni to
the stadium to cheer on the
Rains Wildcats.
HOCO Dance
The grand finale of
Homecoming week, the HOCO
Dance, is scheduled for October
14. Tickets will be available for
$20 per person, and the event
will take place from 8:00 PM to
11:00 PM in the RHS Cafeteria.
This exciting evening is open to
all students in grades 9-12, and
ticket sales will commence on
October 2.
Dress Up for Theme Days
Coach Jenkins expects
STUCO members to participate
enthusiastically in the HOCO
theme days. Additionally,
students are encouraged to stay
informed about the Red Ribbon
Week days.
For any questions or further
information, Coach Jenkins
invites students and parents to
visit her in room 115 or to reach
out via email.
As the countdown to
Homecoming begins, Rains
High School is alive with school
spirit, eager to celebrate its
traditions, and create cherished
1
September 25, 2023
memories that will last a
lifetime. Stay tuned for more
updates as HOCO 2023
approaches!
PSAT and ACT
Test
From Staff Reports
The PSAT will be taking place
on October 17th. It is a test that
is free for all 10th, 11th, and
12th graders. The PSAT is a
wonderful- and in plenty of
cases, mandatory- addition to
any college application. It
covers core subjects, and is
meant to prove college
readiness. Students who want
to take the PSAT will need to
sign up before September 28th.
The test will be administered
October 17th. There are QR
codes posted in the front office,
the library, and in room 104.
Likewise, the ACT
bootcamp will take place
September 28th. This bootcamp
is first come, first serve. The
bootcamp is not mandatory to
take the ACT, but will help
greatly. The test itself will take
place October 31st. The ACT is
$37. Seniors who have not used
their one free test may use that
to pay off the cost. Students will
need to register with the ACT
website, at actstudent.org. The
RHS code will be provided in
the google form that students
sign up with.
College Career
Fair
By Caroline Howdeshell
RHS counselor Ms. Harris
gets interviewed Monday
September 18 on the up and
coming college and career fair.
This is the first college and
career fair hosted by Ms.
Harris. The college and career
fair is a chance for all students
to meet and network with
colleges and careers.
The college and career fair on
September 25th 8:30 A.M - 10
A.M and there will be Colleges,
universities, trade schools,
trade programs, and military
recruiters from Texas and all
across the world will be
represented.
“I started working on the
College and Career Fair in July
just securing a date and then
also working with colleges.”
stated Ms.Harris.
The college and career fair for
this year has been in the
making since July because of
the new policies. These policies
include the new business that
will be networking and giving
the students an actual
opportunity to talk to
businesses. For more
information contact Ms.Harris
at Harriss@rainsisd.org.
Landon’s Guitar
By Colton Mott
This week, Rains High School
student Landon Illingworth
showed off his guitar playing
skills as well as his Schlechter
Diamond Series Griffin electric
guitar.
Schecter Guitar Research,
commonly known simply as
Schecter, is an American
manufacturing company
founded in 1976 by David
Schecter, which originally
produced only replacement
parts for existing guitars from
manufacturers such as Fender
and Gibson
During the interview,
Illingworth recounted how he
found his guitar at a thrift shop
for 200 dollars, Illingworth
stated the reason he started
playing the guitar was finding
an acoustic guitar in an attic of
his new house when moving
into his previous home six years
ago. He also said he played
piano, however due to how hard
it would be to move the piano
2
September 25, 2023
from his old house to his new
house, he decided to leave the
piano there.
Along with his guitar
Illingworth showed off his amp
and pedalboard which had a
looper pedal on it, which is used
to record and replays the
sounds the guitar makes,
providing a backing track.
Illingworth stated the kinds
of songs he played on his guitar
which included songs from
grunge rock bands such as
Nirvana, and spanning
outwards into shoegaze prague
metal. Illingworth finished off
the interview by playing two
songs that he composed himself
on his electric guitar
“Cheeseburger”
Speaks on County
Fair Auction
By Sammi Houchins
The Rains County fair mech
auction took place this past
Friday, November the 15th.
Justin “Cheeseburger”
Castleberry, secretary of the
FFA and an agriculture student
who participated in the auction,
reports that he and his peers
had spent hours upon hours of
their free time to prepare for
the event, creating pieces from
log racks to smokers.
Castleberry estimates a
personal total of 20 hours of
overtime spent building his
piece, a firepit which went for
around $500 after the $250
spent on its construction. He
mentions putting in time after
school and on the weekends,
even staying until 8pm one
night, to complete the project.
Of course, welding projects
were not the only thing
showcased at the fair that night.
Castleburry states that many of
his peers had pigs, goats, lambs,
cows, and even flowers to show.
“A lot of people put a lot of
time into it,” Justin says, “and
once you have an animal that
long… It’s hard to see it go after
you’ve spent all that time with
it.”
Castleburry says that the
students are already planning
their projects for next year’s
fair, and look forward to
another fruitful auction.
The Grand Finale
By Piper Besherse
Set It Off is a pop-punk
band who started releasing
music in 2008, with their three
greatest hits “Wolf In Sheep’s
Clothing,” “I’ll Sleep When I’m
Dead,” and “Partners In Crime,”
which you could likely
recognize yourself! Their music
usually has a deeper meaning
behind the lyrics you get at face
value. These next few weeks I
will be going over songs off of
their album Cinematics.
The Grand Finale is a song
off of Set It Off’s album,
Cinematics(Deluxe), which was
released in 2012. This song
genre is Alternative/Indie Rock.
This is one of my personal
favorites from the band as a
whole. If you like bands like
Fall Out Boy, Waterparks and
Pierce the Veil, this may be just
for you.
The Grand Finale explores
the feelings and emotions of
people that are faced with the
end of the world, whether
metaphorically or literally. It
portrays a scene of destruction
and chaos happening around
you and it goes into thoughts,
3
September 25, 2023
fears, and finding meaning in
complete oblivion. It starts off
with the protagonist reflecting
on desires and longings, looking
at the beauty of everything as
the world starts crumbling
down under them.
The pre-chorus starts
urging people to leave behind
their material possessions, with
lyrics specifically talking about
dollar bills, how the value of
money becomes meaningless
when everything is crumbling
down around you. This signifies
the unimportance of your
material possessions once
everything starts falling apart.
The chorus starts talking about
how people think of everything
good and bad leading up to this
very moment, it’s a moment of
reckoning before the ultimate
finale. The pre-chorus repeats,
telling the listener to “sit back,
and enjoy the show” telling you
to just give up, suggesting a
dark irony. This depicts the
impending, unavoidable doom
amongst you. In the second
chorus the protagonist starts
holding onto anything they can,
trying to keep a sense of
normalcy in chaos, trying not to
let life pass them by. The bridge
goes into how there are no
answers to this situation and
that the characters need to
accept the end, being doomed
to watch the end together. This
is where the realization that it
truly is the end happens,
knowing that it’s over.
In the final chorus, the
song reiterates searching for
shelter and holding onto what
little life you have left in this
destruction, falling smoke and
ash emphasizing the true
nature of your situation. This is
where you start to truly reflect
on everything in your last
moments.
Overall, The Grand
Finale is a song that goes
through the emotions and
reflections of people during the
complete end of the world; the
holding onto what little good
you have left in your last
moments. It goes into
acceptance of the end times, but
the desire to still find answers is
still inevitable.
Pokemon Sun
By Hayden Dekeyzer
Pokemon Sun is a Nintendo
game where you have to
traverse four islands that make
up one big region, called Alola,
and beat a bunch of island trials
to get crystals to boost your
Pokemon’s attacks, so you can
beat a big boss at the end.
Along with the island trials
and challenges, there are also
two villainous teams you must
fight against throughout the
game. One of those teams is
Team Skull, who are essentially
pokemon thieves that are closer
to being annoying pests than
anything remotely dangerous.
With that being said, you
must also battle against the
Aether Foundation, who want
to change the status quo and
bring powerful, giant, and
dangerous Pokemon from
another dimension into this
one, which will only cause
chaos and destruction.
Although you have to do a
lot of running around, there are
a lot of new things to discover
and do. There are a lot of new
kinds of Pokemon to discover,
along with different versions
and forms of old favorites, such
as Sandshrew, who is normally
a ground-type, but is now an
ice- and steel-type.
All in all, Pokemon Sun is a
fun, story-based game that
many people have enjoyed
playing.
Cars Movie
Review
By Madeline Howdeshell
4
September 25, 2023
The movie Cars was
released June 9, 2006, and was
directed by John Lasseter. It
was produced by the Walt
Disney Pictures Pixar
Animation Studios. John
Lasseter stated that the story
came from a cross-country road
trip he and his family had
recently gone on. Cars is
considered to be a sports
comedy film production that is
about an over-confident sports
car named Lightning McQueen
who gets stranded in a rundown
town called radiator springs
where he learns humility and
friendship. I felt that the movie
greatly demonstrated the
importance of being humble
and the creation of friendship.
For example, I liked that
McQueen at the start felt as
though friends were pointless,
but after being stranded and a
little bit of humbling he learned
how important it can be to have
friends. Seeing McQueen race
and hearing “Life is a
Highway,” as Mac, his driver,
acts odd is truly hilarious.
Overall, I loved the movie Cars
and I think you would love it as
well. I strongly recommend
watching it. It's really funny
and Mater and McQueens
friendship is truly inspiring and
hilarious.
Album Review:
Layover- V
(Taehyung)
By Kaylee Oertwig
Big Hit Music K-pop group
BTS member V, aka Taehyung,
released his solo album,
Layover, on Sept. 8th, 2023.
This album was highly
anticipated by fans, as it is his
first solo album since his group
BTS has been put on hiatus
while other members fulfill
South Korea's mandatory 18-21
month military service. Layover
sold about 1.67 million copies
on the first release day alone,
breaking the Hanteo Charts
record for the first-day sales.
This album is a little over 17
minutes and has a total of six
songs: “Rainy Days,” “Love Me
Again,” “Blue,” “For U,” “Slow
Dancing,” and “Slow Dancing
(piano version).” The genre of
Layover is a mixture of pop
music, Jazz, and Contemporary
R&B, all genres perfectly
reflecting V’s deep and
enchanting voice. My personal
favorite song in this album is
Rainy Days because
I think that it really suits his
voice and it’s just a really
calming and chill song. All in all
I give this album 5/5 stars.
Juice WRLD’s-
“The Party Never
Ends”
By Ethan Villarreal
Over the last few years,
we've received many singles
from Juice’s team since his
passing on December 8, 2019.
Some of these singles are
“Bye-bye,” “Rental,” “In my
Head,” and, “The Light.” We’ve
received 2 album drops as well,
including “Legends Never Die,”
the first posthumous album,
and “Fighting Demons,” The
second posthumous album and
the soundtrack to his
documentary, “Into The Abyss”.
Unfortunately, the 3rd and
final album planned to release,
“The Party Never Ends,” has
been postponed for 2 years in a
row, and we're hoping to get it
this year.
It was originally teased with
a trailer and the song, “Go Hard
1.0,” as the summer 2021
album. It was postponed to
2022 due to the documentary
and “Fighting Demons,”
releasing.
In 2022, it was further
teased numerous times with
many songs and trailers such as
“Iron On Me,” “Cavalier,”
“Biscotti in the Air,” “Toxic
Humans,” and many other
unreleased songs, but it was yet
again postponed due to too
many unreleased songs leaking.
However, it's expected to drop
at Juice WRLD day 2023, as it
has been played many times by
his record label, “Grade A
Productions.” The owner, “Lil
Bibby,” says it's dropping this
year, but due to the previous
setbacks, the community doesnt
think this is likely.
As far as we know, the
tracklist is:
Sick
Way too many
Ronald ft: playboy carti
Ferrari Spyder
Party By Myself
Caviler
5
September 25, 2023
Double R’s*
Biscotti In The Air
KTM Drip
Been through this
Oxy in the dark
Lost in the abyss
Off The Rip
Kill all my troubles*
Condone it
Confide
Forget me not
Split my brains
You get the point, it's a lengthy
list.
This album has been labeled
with parental advisory. This
tracklist is not to be listened to
or heard by children.
Improv Night
By Nathan Hemphill
Last Thursday, Sept. 21 at
7:30 P.M, an improv night was
held at the cafeteria stage. The
night was a huge success with
actors acting out Midsummer
Night’s Dream.
A Midsummer Night's
Dream Summary. Four
Athenians run away to the
forest only to have Puck the
fairy make both of the boys fall
in love with the same girl. The
four run through the forest
pursuing each other while Puck
helps his master play a trick on
the fairy queen.
The next improv night is
Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Improv is
also more than just for fun, as
Improv can actively aid an
actor's skills. Training their
abilities as an actor in the
process, improving their ability
to project emotion onto their
act, as Improv is almost purely
random, it helps keep the
reactions genuine. If you decide
to come, you can watch the
chaos and goofy shenanigans
ensue from the pit, or the stage
if you get called up.
Galileo Galilei
By Joshua Holm
I’m going to be talking
about Galileo Galilei, He was a
famous mathematicians,
Galileo studied speed and
velocity, gravity and free fall,
the principle of relativity,
inertia, projectile motion and
also worked in applied science
and technology, describing the
properties of pendulums and
"hydrostatic balances". He
invented the thermoscope and
various military compasses, and
used the telescope for scientific
observations of celestial objects.
His contributions to
observational astronomy
include telescopes and he knew
a lot of stuff about space.
In his early life, when
Galilei was eight, his family
moved to Florence, but he was
left under the care of Muzio
Tedaldi for two years. When
Galileo was ten, he joined his
family in Florence and there he
was under the tutelage. He was
educated, particularly in logic,
from 1575 to 1578 in the
Vallombrosa.
We learned that
Galileo's discoveries about the
Moon, Jupiter's moons, Venus,
6
September 25, 2023
and sunspots supported the
idea that the Sun, not the Earth,
was the center of the Universe,
as was commonly believed at
the time. Galileo's work laid the
foundation for today's modern
space probes and telescopes.
‘Out Of My Mind’
Book Review
By Sharlita Kulp
I will be doing a book
review on a book called, “Out Of
My Mind”. This book is written
by Sharon M. Draper. People
say this book is too sad for
people under 10 years of age to
grasp. This book is about a girl
who is trying to overcome a
disability she has had since
birth, how other people treat
her because of it and how her
disability affects her life. She is
unable to speak but the book is
from a point of view where you
can hear her thoughts and she
is extremely smart. She is
unable to control her body also
and she is in a wheelchair. You
can read about her thoughts
saying how much she hates
herself for having a disability
and how she wishes she could
say at least one word.
This book is extremely
emotional and I would
recommend reading it because
it can really change how you
view other people. It's a really
good book, it's actually my
favorite book. I found it in Mrs.
Harrison’s room at Rains High
School. If you want to read this
book you can go look there for
it. Overall this is an amazing
book and I really recommend
you take the time to read it.
Born in the
Winter
By Jared Vail
Chris Travis is a rapper
from Memphis, Tn. His album,
“Born in the Winter,” was
released in 2013. This album is
a psychedelic masterpiece that
has 18 songs in total. Chris
being the only person in the
production of this album is just
incredible.
The low frequency and
buzz to the whole album can
bring deep nostalgia to the
listener. With the first song
being, “I’m Winning,” which is
a slow beat tempo with Chris
singing instead of rapping while
the beat slowly gets more
complex and ends with a simple
beat at the end. Intro songs for
Travis are like a walk in the
park for him. The last song
being “Waterboys Inc.” which
leads the album to a beautiful
end. The last song really brings
a lot to the theme of the whole
album, too.
Overall the album is
excellent with all the different
sounds used in the beats. The
highs and lows of the album
just bring to light how amazing
he is at creating good music and
producing ambient beats and
melodies from his studio.
Kingdom Come
Deliverance
Review
By James Hill
Kingdom Come
Deliverance is a first-person
RPG set in medieval Bohemia,
and was originally released on
February 13th, 2018. The game
stands out from its peers (Elder
Scrolls, Dark Souls, etc.)
because it is in a medieval
setting but is not a fantasy
game. The majority of the game
is fairly realistic, and there is no
magic of any kind. This may be
concerning to some, but it
actually allows the game to do
things the Elder Scrolls and
Dark Souls series cannot do,
7
September 25, 2023
such as somewhat realistic
stances with melee weapons.
The game achieves this in a way
that may be familiar to those
who have played For Honor,
with a reticle appearing on
enemies with a star around it.
By selecting an arm of the star
you can change where you are
attacking and blocking from,
which makes the combat
require you to attack where
your enemy is not blocking and
allows you to do feints. This
sounds like it makes the skill of
the player important but in
reality the stats of your
character are all that matters.
Everything from stabbing a guy
to buying something is done by
comparing your skill with a
random number against the
other guy’s skill and random
number. You must level your
skills to use a weapon
effectively which poses a bit of a
problem since you have to use it
effectively to level the
associated skill. The game
doesn’t quite make this clear
which makes the early game a
little annoying, but once you
figure this out and practice with
the NPC who teaches you how
to do combat (in exchange for
in-game money) you will have a
much better chance. I haven’t
gotten very far in the story yet
but from what I’ve seen bad
guys show up and you want
revenge so you join your lord’s
army to find a guy who did
some bad things (don’t want to
spoil it). The game does have
alcohol (with good drunkenness
mechanics), tobacco, adult
themes, and blood with mild
gore (low-detail viscera on the
ground). This game is not
recommended for kids. Overall
I would rate the game a 7.5/10,
as it has a good bit of small
issues and scuffed mechanics.
A/V Updates
By Stolas Roberts
The RHS A/V crew will be
filming short films during
Fridays throughout these next
few weeks. The group plans on
filming two short films during
this time, the one currently
being worked on titled, “Case
File Fellas,” written by Piper
Besherse.
The team’s filming schedule
reflects that of a professional
company’s schedule, being an
eight hour endeavor. The days
consist of costuming, makeup,
setting up cameras and audio,
finding filming locations, and
only then beginning to film.
Locations range from inside the
school building to out in
Sulphur Springs.
Students work towards
achieving these films outside of
filming hours as well. Actors
will hold off on haircuts and
dying their hair until the
filming is complete, people will
make their own costumes at
home, and sometimes people
will cook or bake whenever food
is needed as a prop.
Free snacks and water are
provided to the actors and crew
by Jonathon Lance, the theatre
and A/V teacher. Typically
around noon, the group will
pause for lunch, usually
stopping by a fast food place.
The team decided to start
filming on Fridays due to
having busy schedules during
regular school days. From
filming the weekly news to
producing YouTube Shorts, the
A/V classes are booked.
Every Monday, Lance’s
second period A/V- which
stands for audio/visual- class
films the weekly news. Led by
Junior student Lauren
Strohbusch, the news is broken
down into segments, and doled
out amongst students. The class
will brainstorm who to
interview for each news
segment, as a way to get
everybody involved.
The written news is
handled in a similar way, with
Stolas Roberts distributing the
job evenly amongst other
students.
The class’ other form of
writing, script writing, is
handled by AJ Soto. Soto takes
four of the remaining students,
and guides them through the
process of formatting and
writing screenplays. The goal of
those students is to get one
script per student written a
week, and to get three of them
filmed and published.
On the video editing
side of the class, Senior Wiley
Steele guides one or two
underclassmen through the
process of editing videos. They,
similarly to the script writers,
are expected to publish three
videos per week to the school’s
YouTube channel, Wildcat
Legends.
8
September 25, 2023
Sonic.exe Review
By Josh Holm
The game I'm going to talk
about is a popular Roblox game
called Sonic.exe The Disaster.
Sonic.exe The Disaster is a
survival horror game that
involves teamwork and survival
skills, that game includes
Tails, Knuckles, Eggman,
Amy, Cream, Sally, Rouge,
Shadow and Sonic.exe. When
you get in the game you must
vote for a map to play on then
you must select a character.
When you get in the game you
start in a random spot in the
map then the game begins.
Sonic.exe is faster then
everyone in the game,but
everyone has certain abilities to
use to stun sonic.exe.
My favorite characters to
play as is either Knuckles or
Amy just because they can hit
sonic twice and or block an
attack from sonic.exe.If you get
unlucky enough that sonic.exe
kills you you have a chance to
come back as an exe and help
sonic.exe kill the remaining
people that are still alive.
Overall this game is the best
Roblox game I've ever played in
my life.
Final Fantasy
VII:remake
By Conor Jackson
Final Fantasy is a long
running franchise with fans
worldwide this particular entree
to the series which first released
in 1997 on the PlayStation®,
FINAL FANTASY VII
celebrated its 25th Anniversary
in 2022. The game is
universally regarded as a
hallmark title of the RPG genre.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake
is a 2020 action role-playing
game by Square Enix released
for PlayStation 4 in April 2020.
With an enhanced version,
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Intergrade, was released for
PlayStation 5 and Windows in
2021.
The remake was released for
these following platforms:
PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4,
Microsoft Windows with the
initial release date being April
10, 2020 musical composers for
the piece being Masashi
Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki. The
developers of the game are
Square Enix, Creative Business
Unit I, and it is a single-player
video game. FF7 has won
awards for the following, The
Game Award for Best Role
Playing Game, The Game
Awards for Best Score and
Music.
The Final Fantasy VII remake
will be released as a trilogy
where as the original story was
only one game this is due to the
remake having had new content
and added as well as old
content being removed the
second installment of this
trilogy will be, FINAL
FANTASY VII REBIRTH which
launches on February 29, 2024
for PS5.
Review:
A Man Named
Otto
By Milo Kulp
This week we will be
discussing the Tom Hanks
drama “A man called Otto”. You
can watch this movie on Netflix,
it is 2 hours and 6 minutes long.
This film is about an old
man who is “cold hearted” and
“mean” and when a family
moves in next door it changes
his ways a bit. It's hard to
explain what its about without
spoiling it. This movie is
actually pretty sad. I almost
cried about it but its really
sweet at the end. I would
definitely recommend making
some time to watch this movie.
It goes in detail about why he
acts the way he does and his
past. Sometimes the family
reminds him of his past and he
does not like them but after
up’s and down’s everything
works out. This movie was
released January 13, 2023 so it
is quite recently published. The
director is Marc Forster. This
movie goes so deep into
emotion and how your past can
affect you even when you're old.
I think it's really sweet. So
definitely make some time to go
watch, A man called Otto.
9
September 25, 2023
Review: Cannibal
Corpse Album
Release
By Landon Illingworth
New York death metal band
“Cannibal Corpse” will be
releasing their 16th studio
album “Chaos Horrific” on
September 22, 2023. Starting in
Buffalo New York, 1988,
Cannibal Corpse has had a
reputation for brutal music and
album covers, and their overall
atmosphere is the definition of
brutality. With the album
having 10 tracks, 2 singles, and
a runtime of 39 minutes. That
leads to a song averaging
around 4 minutes.
Material for the album was
written shortly after the release
of their studio album “Violence
Unimagined” coming out in
2021. They recorded Chaos
Horrific in Runa Mana Studios,
in Florida and described it as
“Smoother than ever”, by Runa
Mana Studios. The album was
named by drummer Paul
Mazurkiewicz, Who felt that it
was an appropriate name that
represents them. Guitarist Rob
Barret said that their
songwriting skills had evolved
in a way that made every song
feel unique. To bassist Alex
Webster, the record felt like a
continuation of “Violence
Unimagined”
Music reviewer
A&P-REACTS, with 77.5
thousand subscribers on
youtube, says that the album
was “very compact and very
narrow”, and that the songs
stay consistent the entire length
of the album. The also notes
how the album has a very
forward motion and is very
fluid in the direction of the
album. So will this album be a
top seller seeing how they’ve
been “on the top of the death
meal food chain for over 35
years” By Bree Halmtad of
“MetalSucks”
History of Tally
Hall
By Halle Dunn
Many are familiar with Tally
Hall for their side projects such
as Miracle Musical which has
had multiple songs trending on
Tik Tok, some of their projects
from Disney Channel, many of
which have also been popular
on tik tok such as the song Yin
& Yang from Happy Monster
Band, and many of each
members personal projects,
including (but not limited to)
Rob Cantor's songs I’m Gonna
Win, and Shia LaBeouf Live,
and Joe Hawleys song
Aristotle’s Denial.
Beyond these small projects
that have been created,
however, Tally Hall has two
released albums titled Marvin's
Marvelous Mechanical
Museum, and Good & Evil,
which are significantly less
known; some songs off of these
albums, such as Ruler of
Everything, Hidden in the
Sand, Turn the Lights Off, The
Bidding, and more, have
trended on various social media
platforms, but are hardly
10
September 25, 2023
recognized as being from Tally
Hall.
The band originated in Ann
Arbour, Michigan. It started in
2002, when Andrew Horowitz
met Rob Cantor at the
University of Michigan, and
decided they wanted to start
music as a side hobby while
they studied. Andrew Horowitz
was not originally from
Michigan, however. Rob Cantor
had been friends with Zubin
Sedghi, and had also
participated in Joe Hawleys
film production AnonyMous.
While Andrew Horowitz had
been studying composition of
music, the other 3 hadn't been
studying music at all, but rather
various sciences. At this time
they had all come together to
form their little group, and had
included Steve Gallagher as the
drummer, another friend of
those who were from Michigan.
The name Tally Hall was not
the original, there were various
different ideas, but eventually
the band chose Tally Hall
because for the ones who grew
up in Michigan together, there
had been a small type ordeal
with trinkets and it was called
Tally Hall. Eventually, due to
what is believed to be creative
differences, Steve Gallagher left
the band and was later on
replaced by Ross Federman on
drums.
For the next few years, the
band created some songs and
demos, even an EP titled
Complete Demos. They
performed at their college often
and would also perform at local
bars and scenes, slowly gaining
more traction. In October of
2005, the band finally released
their first complete album,
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical
Museum, but they did
re-release the next year under a
new label. They then went on to
perform their song Good Day
on The Late Late Show on
August 2nd, 2006, as well as
appearing in MTV's segment
You Hear It First in September
2006. The band appeared at the
2007 South by Southwest Music
Festival, and Then in the same
year, they were signed to
Atlantic Records and
re-recorded their first album
which was released on April 1st,
2008. In August 2008, Tally
Hall was a performer on the
BMI stage at Lollapalooza. Tally
Hall was invited back by The
Late Late Show with Craig
Ferguson on September 16,
2008, to help promote the
launch of Tally Hall's Internet
Show. They performed
"Welcome to Tally Hall”. The
band worked on several
projects after the completion of
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical
Museum, including covering
the song "Smile Like You Mean
It" by The Killers.
The band was managed by
The Hornblow group, who also
manages bands like They Might
Be Giants, and Oppenheimer,
but switched in 2010 to Stiletto
Entertainment. When the band
formed Joe Hawley was
working on a comedy sketch
group called AnonyMous, and
made several Tally Hall songs
into videos with his group. In
addition to music, the band has
also created numerous movies.
The best known of these videos
is the music video for Banana
Man. In August 2008, the band
performed a three-song live
video set for LiveDaily Sessions,
including the songs Good Day,
Be Born, and Greener,which
premiered on August 28, 2008.
They have appeared on Fearless
Music several times, playing
songs such as Be Born, Ruler of
Everything, Misery Fell, Good
Day, and Banana Man. These
recordings can be found on
YouTube. In July 2014, band
member Rob Cantor released a
video in which he seemed to
perform his song "Perfect" by
singing spot-on impressions of
29 celebrities. In the video,
Cantor is accompanied by
another band member, Andrew
Horowitz, on piano and backing
vocals. The video received more
than 7,000,000 views in 10
days. Shortly thereafter, Cantor
revealed the video to be an
elaborate hoax.
Tally Hall was gaining a
fanbase, not very big, but big
enough to create a fan website
over the Tally Hall lore, called
HiddenInTheSand.com. There
were also multiple chances for
11
September 25, 2023
fans to interact with the band:
Tally Hall created a word for a
genre for themselves, and
though it started off a joke, fans
now refer to the music as
Fabloo (essentially just wonky
rock). Along with this, due to
the Ties that the band members
wore (red, blue, yellow, green,
and gray, all respective to each
member), the fans were
encouraged to wear purple ties
to their shows in order to show
support.
In March of 2010 the
band went on tour with
Jukebox the Ghost and Skybox,
but it was without Joe Hawley,
as he had backed out of the tour
and was temporarily replaced
by Casey Shea, who wore a
black tie in order to signal this.
In March of 2011, it was
announced that Joe Hawley was
back with the band. Then in the
same year, the band changed
back to their original record
label, Quack!Media, and
released their second album,
Good & Evil. Following the
release of Good & Evil, the band
went on a complete hiatus. But
some of the members went on
to create their personal
projects. In 2012, Andrew
Horowitz, under the name Edu,
released a solo album called
sketches 3D. Joe Hawley
returned to school, but released
a concept album alongside
Federman and Bora Karaca,
Hawaii: Part II, as part of his
musical side project ミラクル
ミュージカル (Miracle Musical).
Tally Hall members Sedghi and
Cantor appeared on the album
on the tracks White Ball and
Time Machine, respectively.
Ross Federman has made
occasional appearances as a
producer, percussionist, and DJ
under the pseudonym "Mr. F",
although his main focus has
been school. Zubin, aside from
appearing in Hawaii: Part II,
shifted his focus towards his
personal life. In 2014, Hawley,
again under ミラクルミュージカ
ル, released Hawaii: Part II:
Part ii, an album containing
demos and samples from
Hawaii: Part II. Cantor released
his solo album, Not a
Trampoline, on April 14, 2014.
In addition, he has made
several viral videos on
YouTube, such as Shia Labeouf
Live. He also records songs for
Disney Junior Musical Nursery
Rhymes. In 2015, Tally Hall's
Bandcamp page was updated
with a demo LP entitled
Admittedly Incomplete Demos,
in reference to their earlier
collection Complete Demos.
The LP included demos of
songs from Good & Evil as well
as unreleased songs and live
performances. It also included
studio versions of covers for the
songs Just A Friend and The
Minstrel Boy. Later in 2015,
Hawley (ミラクルミュージカル)
released Hawaii Part ii, an
album containing 8-bit
renditions of select Hawaii: Part
II songs. In mid-2016, Hawley
announced a comedy hip-hop
album Joe Hawley Joe Hawley,
which was released in October
of that year. In 2019, Hawley
released γɘlwɒHɘoႱγɘlwɒH
ɘoႱ, a reversed version of the
album. This was due to the
large amounts of sampling he
used, and to avoid copyright.
Eventually, the album was
released in its original state in
2020. It is assumed Joe Hawley
gained clearance for the
samples used on the album, as
all songs but one are available
on the official release.
Immersive
Adventures in
Night City: A
Love Letter to
Cyberpunk 2077
By Cameron Fouse
When Cyberpunk 2077
was first announced, I, like
many gamers, was filled with
excitement and anticipation. As
a fan of the cyberpunk genre
and CD Projekt Red's previous
work, my expectations were
sky-high. Now, having spent
countless hours traversing the
neon-lit streets of Night City, I
can confidently say that
Cyberpunk 2077 has not only
met but exceeded my
expectations in many ways.
12
September 25, 2023
Cyberpunk 2077 is a
sprawling open-world RPG that
thrusts players into a dystopian
future where technology and
humanity collide. At the center
of it all is V, a customizable
protagonist whose journey in
Night City is shaped by the
choices players make. From the
moment I created my V,
choosing their background,
appearance, and skills, I felt
deeply connected to this
character, which set the stage
for an immersive and personal
experience.
Night City is a character
in itself. The level of detail and
craftsmanship poured into
creating this metropolis is
nothing short of astonishing.
The towering skyscrapers,
bustling streets, and seedy
alleyways make Night City feel
alive and brimming with
personality. Whether I was
exploring the upscale
neighborhoods of Westbrook or
diving into the danger of
Pacifica's combat zones, every
district had a distinct
atmosphere and story to tell.
One of Cyberpunk
2077's standout features is its
storytelling. The main
questline, featuring the
enigmatic Johnny Silverhand
(brought to life by Keanu
Reeves), kept me engaged
throughout, but it's the side
quests and characters that truly
shine. These stories are not
mere distractions but deep
dives into the lives, struggles,
and aspirations of Night City's
inhabitants. I found myself
emotionally invested in the
fates of characters like Judy
Alvarez and Panam Palmer, a
testament to the game's
exceptional writing and voice
acting.
Choice is at the heart of
Cyberpunk 2077, and the
consequences of those choices
ripple through the game's
narrative. Whether it's deciding
the fate of a gang leader, forging
alliances, or handling moral
dilemmas, my decisions carried
weight and shaped the world
around me. It's a game that
encourages multiple
playthroughs to explore
different outcomes, and I
eagerly accepted the invitation
to see how my choices could
lead to entirely new
experiences.
In terms of gameplay,
Cyberpunk 2077 offers a wide
range of options. I
appreciated the flexibility to
tackle situations stealthily, guns
blazing, or through dialogue.
The gunplay is solid, and the
variety of weapons and
cyberware upgrades keeps
combat fresh and engaging.
However, the game did have its
share of bugs and performance
issues at launch, which marred
the experience for many. It's
worth noting that CD Projekt
Red has worked tirelessly to
address these issues through
patches, and the game's
stability has improved
significantly since its rocky
debut.
From a visual
standpoint, Cyberpunk 2077 is
a visual feast. The attention to
detail in character models,
environments, and lighting is
stunning. Night City truly
comes to life at night, with neon
signs and holograms bathing
the streets in an ethereal glow.
Accompanying this visual
splendor is an exceptional
soundtrack that perfectly
captures the cyberpunk vibe,
with tracks from artists like
Refused and Grimes setting the
mood as I roamed the city.
In conclusion, my
journey through Night City in
Cyberpunk 2077 has been
nothing short of remarkable.
Despite its tumultuous launch,
the dedication of CD Projekt
Red to improve the game has
not gone unnoticed. It's a
testament to their commitment
to delivering an unforgettable
experience. The stories,
characters, and the world of
Night City have left an indelible
mark on me, making
Cyberpunk 2077 a game I will
cherish and revisit for years to
come. It may have had a rocky
start, but this is a game that has
evolved into a true masterpiece
of the cyberpunk genre.
13
September 25, 2023
If you're a fan of
open-world RPGs and enjoy
rich storytelling, immersive
worlds, and the allure of
cyberpunk, then Cyberpunk
2077 is a journey you won't
want to miss. So, grab your
cyberdeck and dive headfirst
into Night City – adventure,
intrigue, and unforgettable
memories await.
This week
in history
September 25, 1789: The
U.S. Congress passed the Bill of
Rights, which included the first
ten amendments to the United
States Constitution. These
amendments protect individual
liberties and form a cornerstone
of American democracy.
September 26, 1960: The
first-ever televised presidential
debate took place between John
F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
This event is considered a
turning point in American
politics, as it showcased the
power of television in
influencing public opinion.
September 27, 1905: The
Battle of Tsushima during the
Russo-Japanese War
concluded. It was a decisive
naval battle in which the
Japanese fleet defeated the
Russian navy, significantly
impacting the course of the war.
September 28, 1066: The
Norman Conquest of England
continued with the Battle of
Stamford Bridge, where King
Harold II of England defeated
Viking invaders led by King
Harald Hardrada of Norway.
This battle preceded the famous
Battle of Hastings.
September 29, 2008: The
U.S. stock market experienced a
severe crash, resulting in the
largest single-day point loss in
Dow Jones Industrial Average
history. This event was part of
the global financial crisis.
September 30, 1938: British
Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain signed the Munich
Agreement with Adolf Hitler,
which allowed Nazi Germany to
annex the Sudetenland, a
region of Czechoslovakia. This
policy of appeasement is often
criticized for failing to prevent
World War II.
October 1, 1949: The People's
Republic of China was officially
proclaimed by Chairman Mao
Zedong, marking the end of the
Chinese Civil War and the
establishment of communist
rule in mainland China.
October 1, 1961: East and
West Germany officially
reunited as a single country,
marking the end of the
post-World War II division of
Germany.
October 1, 1971: The Walt
Disney World Resort in Florida
officially opened to the public.
14
