Jeanine Noce, A & E Editor
behrcolls@aol.com
Christian rock resides at Behren
by Jeanine Noce
Ms & Entertainment Editor
Who says Behind doesn't rock?
The Christian rock group Spencer is loaning Eiehrend one of
its members. Josh McGuirk, a freshman from Linesville,
is focused on earning his plastics engineering degree along
with the influence of Christian rock
However, recently the band has gone from five to three
members. McGuirk and fellow member, Janet Acklin,
have decided to part from Spencer indefinitely.
"We left because of college," said McGuirk. "God's
place for me now is here."
Spencer was together for three years before college be
gan. McGuirk has fond memories and wishes the best for
the remaining three members.
"God brought us together for a reason," McGuirk said
about the influence of his band. "These are five different
people that had different musical knowledge that came to
gether to be well organized."
McGuirk played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, aux
iliary percussion and vocals for the group; Janet Acklin,
who is attending RIT, played piano, keyboard and vocals.
Currently, Nate Sutliff plays lead electric guitar, acoustic
guitar and is the lead on vocals, Joe Boyd plays bass guitar,
acoustic guitar and vocals, and Dave King, an Edinboro
graduate, plays percussion and vocals.
Spencer was organized in June of 1999 and has kept
.
extremely busy by performing mom than 50 conceits a ,encer pL ee , rs on lg. a.m
year The band has played from Lockport, N.Y. to Nash-
LAKEFEST. The concert will be held at Lakeside E.C. Church in Transfer, PA.
.
ville and everywhere in between along the East coast. Nash- Greg Menza is the band's booking agent. He has worked for
vine was the band's largest accomplishment by being included Christian bands such as DC Talk and The Newsboys.
in the Nashville New Music Conference event. The NNMC "Menza is an agent who discovers bands that usually make it
had many bands showcased from around the country. big," said McGuirk.
CRITIC'S CRITIQUE BY DANIEL J. STASIEWSKI
The Scorpion King 'Rocks' theaters
by Daniel J. Stasiewski
staff writer
Anybody who's seen a Hulk Hogan
film knows popularity in the profes
sional wrestling world doesn't neces
sarily make a great movie or even a
good actor (Suburban Commando,
anyone ) ). For Dwayne "The Rock"
Johnson, the former still holds true.
"The Scorpion King" is as chaotic as
an action movie can get without fall
ing apart. However, The Rock's abil
ity to detach himself to from his wres
tling persona makes "The Scorpion
King" stronger than this messy spec
tacle might have been.
When the vicious tyrant Memnon
(Steven Brand) enslaves a prescient
Sorceress (Kelly Hu) for the ultimate
military advantage, a small group of
surviving nomads hires Mathayus
(The Rock), the last descendent of the
ancient Acadian warrior race, to as
sassinate the Sorceress before they
too fall to Memnon's forces. Instead
of carrying out his task, a smitten
Mathayus only kidnaps the Sorceress,
but the damage is still done. Weak
ened by the absence of his mystic,
Memnon prepares his forces for an
all-out assault on the one man who
can bring down his empire.
In order for "The Scorpion King"
to succeed on any level, it had to make
people forget two things: the WWF
and "The Mummy." The Rock proves
he's more than just a charismatic
wrestling character in this mammoth
Movies Video* Music* DVD*
- `Jason X' -Tehind Enemy -Kenny Chesney - `Freddy Got
- `Life, or Lines' -Cee-Lo Fingered'
Something - `Metropolis' -Q-Tip - `Angels in the
Like it' Outfield'
- `Acceptable Risk'
If Spencer sounds familiar to you, it could very well be that
you have seen the band perform. Spencer has played at several
coffeehouse s in Erie such as The Hangout and The Revolution
Café. They have also played at the First Assembly of God
Church and several other churches in the surmunding area.
action move. He's got the buff exte
rior of any action hero and solid
enough acting chops. The only time
I actually thought of him as The Rock
instead of Mathayus was after he body
slammed a city guard.
Yes, The Rock does raise his eye
brow, which wrestling fans affection
ately call "the people's eyebrow."
However, that eyebrow could easily
become his gimmick, not as a wres
tler, but as the action star he certainly
proves he's destined to be.
So, the WWF doesn't stick its ugly
little head up more than once during
"The Scorpion King." What about
"The Mummy?" The mark of
"Mummy" creator Stephen Sommers
is unmistakable. His characterization
style and historical fascination are
very obvious. If, for some reason, an
audience member familiar with "The
Mummy" film didn't know this
movie is a "Mummy" spin-off, they
would still be able to tell.
Aside from having a Biblical pe
riod setting, "The Scorpion King"
seems as though director Chuck
Russell was doing a film-by-numbers
production of Sommers' popular cre
ation. Every character, from the stub
born female lead to the strong-arm
partner to the goofy sidekick, is the
mirror of a character from "The
Mummy." The characters aren't ap
palling, but they do lack the original
ity that a successful spin-off needs.
Even with the character parallels,
it's the conflict between a hardcore
0
t:'
,'
action film and a goofy-fun adventure
that really hurts this movie. Many
scenes ooze with more testosterone
than the professional wrestling from
which the film's star is gained. No
five minutes go by without The Rock
viciously slaying someone, and there
isn't a fully dressed woman in this
movie
From there, the film then slides to
a cheesy slapstick routine that worked
in "The Mummy" and "Indiana
Jones" only because they were closer
to the present. I have to compliment
the filmmakers for using a lumbering
camel for The Rock's ride instead of
a galloping horse, but the modern,
sitcom-esque humor, complete with
a comedic score, fails to enhance a
movie that had its problems just as a
frenzied action flick.
Truthfully, I was more impressed
by The Rock's auspicious transition
into action star than the rest of "The
Scorpion King." The Rock obviously
has the talent and the attitude to suc
ceed in where names like Hulk
Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and
Andre the Giant have fallen short.
There's really no reason to make a
final comment about to the rest of the
film, because the real story is The
Rock. Without him, "The Scorpion
King" would have never existed.
ART'S 4 .
KENT
Friday, April 26, 2002
out of 4
Spencer is considered Christian pop rock, but performs all genres
of music.
"Everywhere from acoustic rock to heavier rock is what the band
plays," said McGuirk.
Spencer has opened for several well-known Christian rock bands
such as the Canadian groups
Capstone and Fear of God. The
group has played at festivals,
including Abbapalooza, with
many big name Christian rock
hands as well.
the band believing that they are self pmclaimed.
"God gives us the option to be self-pmclaimed," said McGuirk.
"Calvary" is named after one of the songs on the album. Calvary
was the hill where Christ was sacrificed and the song is about the
'American Bandstand's 50th...
A Celebration!' airs Friday
Commemorating halt' a century
of musical history, ABC-TV will
present a two-hour prime-time
special, "American Bandstand's
50t1r...A Celebration!," with Dick
Clark hosting, on Friday from 8
p.m. until 10 p.m.
The special will feature a
"Who's Who" of .musical stars
performing live or via film clips,
both recent and vintage. The se
ries debuted regionally in 1952,
and American Bandstand began to
air on the network in 1957. Clark
became the host in 1956.
Performing live will be Michael
Jackson, Cher, Alanis Morissette,
Brandy, KISS, Stevie Wonder
with Babyface, Village People,
KC & The Sunshine Band and A
Taste of Honey.
Also live will be a musical su
pergroup of top musicians led by
Little Richard singing "Good
Golly, Miss Molly." Members of
the supergroup include Jim
Belushi (harmonica), Stanley
Clarke (bass), The E Street band's
Clarence Clemons (saxophone),
Alabama's Jeff Cook, Leif
Garrett, "Spinal Tap's" Michael
McKean, Ray Parker Jr., Johnny
Rivers, the Go-Go's Hane Wiedlin
and Susanna Hoffs & Debi
Peterson of the Bangles on gui
tar.
Also performing are Ricky Mi-
The name Spencer means
servant. The first name chosen
by the five was 24 Elders, but
another band had the name
copyrighted, they had to
choose another. "We decided
to pray for a name and Spencer
was given," said McGuirk. "We
didn't know what it meant until
a few months later when we
looked up the name."
As of right now the band has
released two CDs, "Self Titled"
and "Calvary." Each of the al
bums have been sold at concerts
and local stores. National
Record Mart and local Christian
book stores, such as Gone
Fishin', sell both. "Self Titled"
was named with the intention of
nor (who will play guitar and also
serve as musical director), Sheila
E (percussion), Mick Fleetwood
(drums), James Ingram and Billy
Preston (organs), and members of
Chicago's horn section: Lee
Loughnane (trumpet), James
Pankow (trombone) & Walt.
Parazaider (saltophplie),, f , bi if )
Among the many stars making
special appearances will be
Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson,
Lenny Kravitz, Jennifer Lopez and
'N Sync.
The special will also include film
clip performances by other stars
who have glittered in the past half
century, among them: Bryan
Adams, Pat Benatar, Blondie,
Michael Bolton, Boyz II Men,
Captain & Tenille, Kim Carnes,
Chubby Checker, Deßarge,
Doobie Brothers, The Doors,
Gloria Estefan, Connie Francis,
Aretha Franklin, Gloria Gaynor,
the Go-Go's, Jan & Dean,
Jefferson Airplane, Chaka Khan,
The Kingsmen, Gladys Knight &
the Pips, Kool & the Gang, Patti
Laßelle, Huey Lewis & The News,
Madonna, The Mamas & The Pa
pas, Martha & The Vandellas,
Olivia Newton-John, Linda
Ronstadt, Diana Ross, Britney
Spears, Rod Stewart, Donna Sum
mer and John Travolta.
The Behrend Beacon
sacrifice which he made. The single "For You" was writ
ten
by McGuirk. The remainder of the songs have been
a group effort.
McGuirk and Acklin plan to sing vocals while having
piano, guitar and electric music in the background. The
music will be mostly instrumental and electronic on the
CD that will be recorded this summer. A full Christian
orchestra can write and help record songs at several dif
ferent locations in Grenville. Both McGuirk and Ackliii
have begun writing lyrics but do not have names of songs
as of yet.
McGuirk decided to get into music because his clad
listened to classic rock. The largest influence was after
he had taken guitar lessons for two years before the band
was started.
"My calling is to proclaim Christ and the medium hp
gave me to do it with is music," McGuirk said.
McGuirk was connected to the band by the fact that ail
five love the music, but at the same time it is what Gott
commanded the group to do. "We were getting paid to
do what we loved anyway." said McGuirk.
When asked about the future, McGuirk replic.xi, "It i t s
not likely that all five will come back together." He be
lieves that the remaining three (Sutliff, Boyd and King)
will be playing for a long time. "They love what they dti
and are incredible," said McGuirk.
McGuirk and Acklin, the two who broke away from
the band, both love to play music. "Whether o► not we
sell or get recognized, we will always play," said McGuirk?
Anyone is able to sample Spencer's music on their
website. Merchandise, such a T-shirts, CDs, stickers and
posters are available at www.spencerband.com.
Save the
Date! It's
roOfficiaL
The Grammy
Awards are re
turning to the Big
Apple. The 45th
annual ceremony,
scheduled for
Feb. 23, 2003, will
also mark the first
time the kudofest
will be held on a
Sunday. The an
nouncement was
made at an early
morning press
conference at
New York's
Madison Square
Page 15
Garden.