The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 26, Ed. 1 Friday, November 21, 2008 Page: 5 of 12

                                
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ArtsFriday
November 21,2008    __________________ _________________ __    Page 5A
Gritty ‘Wedding’ sends subtle message of sensitivity
Swing the Lead triumphs in first round of Dallas Battle of the Bands
Far Left: Emily Rankin as
Frankie, Michelle Alex-
ander as Berenice and
Corban Gililland as John
Henry share a moment.
Left: In a fit of jealousy,
Rankin chases Jamie
Patterson and Melanie
Godsey, as girls from the
neighborhood club, out of
her yard.
By Joel Dallas
Contributing Writer
Swing the Lead, a local band
composed of four ACU stu-
dents, rocked The Door venue
Saturday, winning a regional
Battle of the Bands competi-
tion in Fort Worth. The band se-
cured an opportunity to grasp
glory and kick it around in the
final round, which should hap-
pen some time in late January.
With only five minutes to
set up between shows, Swing
the Lead rushed to get amps
plugged in and drums ready
for a quick sound check be-
fore it kicked off its all-origi-
nal show. The players quickly
energized the crowd with their
powerful stage presence. They
doled it out with furious beats
laid down by Andy Munoz and
growling riffs by Zak Zein-
ert on lead guitar. Matt Tate
rumbled away on the bass and
backed up non-screaming vo-
cals by Stephen Munoz.
The bands were judged on
originality, stage presence and
by the popular opinion of the
crowd. Swing the Lead car-
pooled 19 AQJ fans along with
them to the show, while the
other bands brought crowds of
50 or 60 fans. To put matters
into perspective, 80 percent of
the competition was judged on
the audience’s votes, which by
logical extension means Swing
the Lead swayed a biased audi-
ence to vote in its favor.
Lead singer Stephen Munoz
said, “We definitely played our
best show yet. We were nervous
at first, but the venue was well
organized with excellent sound
technicians. It all came togeth-
er, and afterwards the people
said we sounded awesome with
their votes.”
The Battle of the Bands also
was a stellar way to kick off
their first tour, which will play
in Abilene Dec. 12, and travel all
across Texas during the Christ-
mas break. The band hopes
to get a carpool organized for
its Battle of the Bands’ finals
round performance in Dallas
sometime after the break. The
stakes are high with $1,000,
studio time and musical equip-
ment as the first place prize.
So, after strutting their mean,
punky stuff, Swing the Lead
won, putting metal and hard-
core competing bands in their
angry rightful places. The band
now stands with a good chance
at winning in the final round.
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Fulfer
Matt Tate, junior art major from Dallas, and Stephen Munoz, junior business
major from Escondido, Calif., rock out with their band, Swing the Lead.
Tour dates and locations are
posted at www.myspace.com/ _
SWingtheleadmilSiC.    E-mail Dallas at: jmcnetwork@acu.edu
“The challenge of this play is that
what makes it exciting... are the
things that are going on with the
characters on a psychological level,”
said Rachel Carter, assistant profes-
sor of theatre and director of The
Member of the Wedding. “Developing
that takes a lot of time and work out-
side of rehearsal, on the actors part,
and they have all been really good
about doing their character work and
coming in very prepared.”
The show, which will run Nov. 20-
22 and Dec. 4-6, features the work
See Play page 7A
By Lydia Melby
Arts Editor
Carson McCuller’s The Member
of the Wedding, which the ACU De-
partment of Theatre opened Thurs-
day night, is a frank portrayal of the
suffocating atmosphere in a small
southern town in the World War II
era. Frankie Addams, a lonely, fan-
tastical 12-year-old girl, whose only
companions are her maid Berenice
and her young cousin John Henry,
desperately longs to be part of a
community and becomes obsessed
with her brother’s wedding and the
future he has planned.
Photos By Zak Zeinert:: chief photographer
y