Minorly different from Anything else

So Monday at the Pajaronian, Alanna hands me a press release about this Christmas concert composed and preformed by this guy, Rhan Wilson and she recommended that I give him a call to get some quotes and some information I could put into the article, so I could turn it into a story and put my name on it. So I typed up the release and found the number for this Rhan Wilson and while the phone was ringing, I was thinking to myself, 'Rhan? What kind of name is that? Is like that Ron? Or like Ryan?' Suddenly a voice comes on the other line, a friendly "Hello?" I asked if this was "Rhan Wilson" and he said yes. I then told him that I was from the Register-Pajaronian and that I was doing a little piece on his An Altared Christmas concert on Friday. He was delighted and said he would love to talk to me about it. And talk to me he did. What the show was is that he took all this Christmas music and put it all in the minor key instead of the normal key. So it sounds all dark and jazz sounding.

I got some really good quotes from him and we talked for like twenty minutes about the show and how fun it was to compose and explaining to me about this new song that he was completely 'over the moon' about it. 'I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus.' Where instead of an innocent little girl or boy singing it in a playful mood, it was sung by this old lady in a mental hospital who's remembering something that happened to her when she was little: saw her mommy kissing Santa Claus. And in her mind she started to believe that her mom was having an affair with Santa Claus without her father knowing and keeping the secret has slowly driven her insane. At this point, over the phone, I had tried to keep in my laughter, being professional, but once he was done explaining it, I had to break out laughing, I couldn't keep it in anymore. After apologizing to him for laughing, he actually encourage me to laugh, saying that's what he wanted out of people. We talked for at least twenty minutes about what the show was and I understood what he had made it to be, this dark Tim Burtonish sort of deal. I understood so much, he then asked, 'Well you want me to comp some tickets for you?' I was a little flabbergasted to answer, not really knowing if I should or not, but then he explained that sure he wanted to make money out of the show, but he really wanted people to be there that understood it, "and it sounds like you really understand it." So I agreed and he took down my name and said he looked forward into meeting me.

I had just gained two free tickets to a 25 dollar a piece show. I couldn't stop myself from having a little chuckle. Benefits of being a reporter, I thought to myself. So I finished the article and told Alanna and the rest of the crew what had happened and she was really stoked for me, saying that I have to tell them how it was. So apparently I made the right decision. But I told them how embarrassing it was going to be to tell him that he comp tickets for an intern, but Todd, one of the reporters, said that I was a reporter too, to not demote myself.

And the right decision I did make. The show was amazing... words really can't explain how great the music was, it was *exactly* how he described over the phone. The place was PACKED and I was sitting there, thinking that I got free tickets and couldn't stop smirking. But for some reason, I couldn't place which member of the crew was Rhan, none of the people on stage matched the person who was in the picture in the press release, so I thought that I'd figure out that later and enjoyed the show. So after the first half, this man came on stage with an electric guitar in this silver looking leather suit with a purple vest and a large hat with two long feathers sticking out, playing the beginning to a jazzy minor version of "Carol of the Bells." I knew THAT had to be Rhan Wilson.

So after the show, he came out and was swarmed by people all meet and greeting him and knew that I had to meet the guy, he had given me over 40 dollars in tickets, I should meet the man. I will admit, I did have some butterflies in my stomach since this was probably one of the more famous people I've met in a long time, but I put on my best smile and charged into the crowd, weaving through and once he looked at me, I smiled, shoved my hand forward and said that I was Corie Jurisch from the Register-Pajaronian that we spoke over the phone. He knew exactly who I was, 'OH yes, yes, hello, how'd you like the show?' And I told him it was amazing and that it was everything he said and how much I enjoyed it and thanked him greatly for the tickets.

His music is now the only Christmas music I'm listening to at Christmas for now and always.

http://www.altared.com/live/

What I've "soaked" up

I guess now I'm suppose to tell you guys what I've learned this semester in journalism. Hm. That's a good question. Well I've learned that there were great experiences in that class and there were frustrating ones were I was very much thinking of acting out violently, towards someone in-particular I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about. I honestly think that in-between the overly zealous Voice crew, the two passionate journalism teachers trying to slam every bit of information into our heads and my internship where I got to get my feet wet in the huge career pool that I wanted to swim in. With Tarmo teaching me everything he knows about crime reporting, taking me on Media-ride-alongs with the CHP and practically running the police blotter at the Pajaronian. In just this semester alone, I've learned and received a crash course in what a career in journalism is like. Then it came down to one simple question: is this *really* what I want to do with the rest of my life. And I didn't even need to think about it and answered back: yes. It is.

Meeting Brad's friend John Glionna, the L.A times correspondent, really made me want to get into journalism even more, being inspired by his stories and just about his career. For years I was holding onto an journalism idol who's been dead for three years, soaking up his work like a sponge, even trying to duplicated his gonzo style, but deep in my heart, I knew that wasn't possible. But meeting Glionna made me realize that if I'm going to expand in a career in journalism, I'm going to have to loosen my grip on Doc a bit and expand into something more than just being a Thompson fan. "I knew I was going to be a writer because I'm not good at anything else." I have a lot of the tools I need when I make the jump from Cabrillo to SAC State, but not before one more round in The Voice team. I'm praying that we get more people because it would such an mistake if we had to cut the program because of the lack of people interested. Hopefully Emily's cry for help in the last copy of the voice has rallied people to come and join in on the fun.

Despite what someone said about her, I believe Emily has done an amazing job, especially with the problems that came her way, she didn't crack under the pressure and kicked all our asses into gear to produce a great paper. I really hope that certain individual isn't in the class next semester and if he is, I'm going to tell him for him to be Editor-in-Chief and to do all the work himself because I'm positive that *no one* will want to work under him. So he'll single-handedly bring down the journalism department because of his paranoid everybody is out to get him attitude and the fact that he truly thinks that everyone is under him and when someone knows more than him, he thinks they're flashing around being "experts." *Shakes head* I'm surprised I've done this long before finally cracking down and hitting him over the head with a chair.