2007
Features
Students travel to hot spots for summer vacations
L exi W elp
Staff Reporter
This summer many
people took time off from
their school schedules to
take a deep breath, and go
on a vacation. Whether they
went to a tropical paradise
or on a European get away,
these people all had one
thing in common: they loved
their time off.
Aaron Osborn,
sophomore, flew to Hawaii
with his family, which
includes his mother, father,
and brother. They traveled
to Kona and island hopped
to Maui as well.
"I loved going to the
beaches, all the islands were
awesome," Osborn said. His
favorite part of the whole
experience was snorkeling
off of Cape Cook in Maui.
Osborn and his family
stayed at the Hilton hotel on
both trips.
"We stayed in really
expensive hotels, but it was
okay because my dad's boss
paid for it," Osborn said.
They stayed in a regular
room, not a suite, but the
whole experience was still
amazing, according to
Osborn.
Arlene Inama, freshman,
left the country on August
1st to visit family in Panama
City, Panama. Inama
traveled with her sister,
Angela, and her mother,
Vielka. The trio stayed
in a house with Inama's
grandmother for the whole
month of August.
"The weather was humid
and cloudy," Inama said.
This weather was perfect
for riding bikes because
she spent a good part of the
month riding her bike along
the beaches.
"My favorite part was
watching the boats on
the dock-pass by," Inama
said about her visit to the
Panama Canal. Her favorite
foods were the many
cultural meals her family
prepared during her stay
such as arroz con leche.
Also traveling to a distant
place to meet family was
Nadine MacBale, junior. She
traveled to Palestine with
her mother and little brother.
She stayed there for three
weeks with her extended
family.
spent a lot of time hanging
out with friends. During her
stay she also attended her
Jazz Choir and band members explore the city of Venice while in Italy.
The group of 13 traveled in July with an organization called The Oregon
Ambassadors of Music, where they performed in several different
countries. Third from left are seniors Jessica Johnson, Katelyn Delph
and Lauren Woody.
Photo submitted by Jessie Johnson
Her favorite part of her
experience was "being a
part of a different culture."
According to MacBale, when
people go to a place like
this, most of the time there
is very little to do, so she
uncle's wedding and really
enjoyed it.
In July, Jessica Johnson,
senior, received an
opportunity to travel all over
Europe with a group called
The Oregon Ambassador
of Music. The group flew
to seven countries across
Europe, starting with
England, followed by
France, Switzerland, Austria,
Germany, Italy, and finally
Liechtenstein.
She traveled with 350
people; 150 were in the
choir and the rest were
in the band. The group
performed everywhere they
traveled. There were six
West Linn choir students
including Johnson that went
on the trip and seven band
students.
The group stayed in a
hotel to start with, but as the
trip progressed from country
to country, they started to
split up and stay in smaller
hotels somewhat like bed
and breakfasts.
"They were so small but
really nice because they
were owned by families
and they were well kept,"
Johnson said. She added that
the views were "gorgeous."
Johnson's favorite things
to eat while she was away
were crêpes, and she really
enjoyed the Nutella.
The art of DJing: It's not as complicated as it looks
D alton K uepker
Columnist
You're walking
downtown, admiring the
Buildings when you hear
loud, thumping music
coming from one of them.
You wonder what is going
on in there, so you end up
walking inside. Eventually
you walk into a huge
room with a huge stereo
system, lasers, lights, people
dancing, and of course, a
disc jockey (DJ). You might
envision yourself behind
the speakers, in control of
the music, and making the
audience dance. This vision
can be a reality.
A reality? How? Well it
can be quite simple, but
remember: You will need a
lot of patience and you will
find yourself practicing a lot
in order to be a good DJ.
But what is DJing? A
disc jockey or DJ is a person
who selects and plays
prerecorded music for an
audience.
There are different types
of DJs. First there are radio
DJs, who talk, chatter, and
play music on the radio. You
hear them every day. Like
Gustav on 94.7.
Then there are hip-
hop DJs. They play their
records on turntables (and
sometimes CDs) and then
scratch sounds (or samples)
over a beat. It probably
takes the most talent due to
their extremely impressive
scratching skills.
Finally there are club DJs,
which is what I am going
to focus on in this article.
They play their music on
turntables (record players).
mmmammmmmmmm
■■■■■
Sometimes they use what is
called a "CDJ" which is like
a turntable, only it plays
CDs instead of vinyl records
They usually play Techno or
House.
But how exactly do you
DJ?
It's quite simple.
You
start out
"It's important to watch the
crowd and try to get a feel
for what mood they're in,"
he said. That is very true.
You don’t want to play
elevator music to a bunch of
excited teenagers and expect
them to dance to it.
Practicing with your
another
record on
the other turntable. Then
you try to match the beat
of the second record to the
first record you're playing
by changing the pitch and
starting the record on time.
Finally you try to "mix" in
the second song with the
first one by fading it in.
It does sound complicated
at first, but once you practice
you'll get the hang of it. It's
also good to mess around
and fiddle with every knob
you see so you know what
effect it has on the sound.
Who knows, it could make
people pound the dance
floor!
I got the chance to
interview Brian Bailey about
DJing. I asked Brian what
you need to know about
when they're spinning vinyl.
friends and family and
building as large of a
collection of music as
possible is his advice for
people starting out. Maybe
you have some spare
records/CDs lying around.
Use them in your mixes!
Then practice as much as
possible. Remember, practice
makes perfect!
It can and will be
quite expensive if you're
serious about DJing.
You'll need to buy a pair
of decent turntables, a
mixer, headphones, and a
microphone.
Some DJs argue which is
better: CDs or vinyl records.
Having only experience
with vinyl I am not sure. I
do recommend CDs for the
beginner. They are cheaper
and cost effective. Another
plus with CDs is that you
can simply bum them to
add more songs to your
collection.
Vinyl is a different
story. It is the best choice
for people who care about
sound quality, and it's
the first choice for DJs.
Unfortunately records
do cost a little
more than CDs,
and they
are rather
fragile. But
there are
a lot of
songs that
were
only released on vinyl that is
very hard to find on CD or
the internet. The choice is up
to you.
For the best of the
best in VINYL turntables
I recommend Technics
turntables, due to their long
and successful history. On
craigslist.com they cost
around $500 for a used
pair. For CD turntables, I
recommend the Pioneer
CDJs. They set the club
standard for CD turntables,
and they're pretty easy to get
the hang of. Unfortunately,
they are quite expensive, at
around $1,000 for a pair.
All in all, DJing is a very
fun hobby to get into. It can
also be very expensive.
For more information,
check out these web sites:
www. dj forums .com
Great community for DJs,
beginner or experienced!
www.dj-tips-and-tricks.
com Another website made
by a DJ, for DJs.
www.craigslist.com
Great site to buy
equipment at a very low
price.
Musical to open in November
continued from page 1
Other tech opportunities
include Lighting and Sound,
which take place during the
week in preparation for the
musicals debut and Running
Crew, in w hich students
work behind the scenes dur
ing performances.
"So many people today
never have an opportunity
to learn to build things by
hand, so this is a great way to
learn some excellent hands-
on skills that will make your
parents envious," Jon Ares,
technical theatre adviser,
said.
Tickets for the musical
will be available on Oct.
16 both online and in the
box office. They will cost
$7 for students and $10 for
adults.
"This is a funny, fabulous
fairy tale that all high school
students and their families
will love— come see what
they can do!" Murray said.