Reviews

Twenty One Pilots does artistic fantastically

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Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun make up the band, Twenty One Pilots, which can be described by one word: artistic.

The two band members do things a little differently in regards to music and shows; for example, wearing a ski mask while performing as a way to symbolize the removal of the wall in between who we really are and who we portray ourselves to be.

Joseph and Dun refer to their fans as a clique and focus heavily on the needs of their fan base. The duo even went as far as changing their classic, thick line symbol to a thin line, text version because their fans used the text version in their biographies on social media.

Keeping the clique in higher spirits, Twenty One Pilots realizes the impact they can have on the lives of those listening. Joseph writes lyrics which discuss conquering anxiety and depression.

The band has worked on keeping listeners alive and happy since 2009 where Joseph formed a band with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih in Columbus. Salih and Thomas eventually left because of their busy schedules in 2011, which lead Joseph to find current drummer, Dun.

Self­-titled album, “Twenty One Pilots,” was released in 2009 and is the only project Salih and Thomas worked on. The album was independently released and introduces Joseph’s powerful songwriting abilities.

“You like to sleep alone. It’s colder than you know because your skin is so used to colder bones. It’s warmer in the morning than what it is at night. Your bones are held together by your nightmares and your frights,” Joseph wrote in “The Pantaloon.”

These lyrics emphasis the need to address a problem rather than continue to ignore it and allow room for the issue to grow and become worse.

The second album released ceased availability. Titled, “Regional at Best,” the album made an appearance in 2011. “Regional at Best” is commonly known amongst longtime, more dedicated fans because a copy of the album is difficult to find or listen to.

Although “Regional at Best” is hidden among the other albums produced, the songs on the album are the rough drafts of what would soon be remastered and put onto their third album, “Vessel.” A popular song, “Kitchen Sink” was not remastered and features Joseph’s brother, Zack.

“Vessel” was released in 2013 and is the band’s first produced album through a record label, Fueled by Ramen. The label helped the success of Twenty One Pilots expand, but the band remained the same as they were before signing with Fueled by Ramen.

A favored and powerful song on “Vessel” is “Holding on to You.” In this song, Joseph sings of taking control of the demons inside and removing the pain rather than letting the problems take over.

Joseph writes, “Fight it. Take the pain; ignite it. Tie a noose around your mind loose enough to breathe fine and tie it to a tree and tell it, ‘You belong to me. This ain’t a noose. This is lease, and I have news for you: you must obey me.’”

The band is also working on a new album titled, “Blurryface,” which is rumored to explore the darker side of Joseph and Dun. A single, “Fairly Local,” was released recently with the album set to release on May 19.

Following the release of their single, Joseph tweeted, “If you think you know what is coming after hearing one song, nope.”

Twenty One Pilots will start their world tour following the release of “Blurryface” and will play at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Sept. 18.

News

Joshua’s looks for live entertainment

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 The high school is fortunate to play host to its very own restaurant, Joshua’s. Joshua’s is open to all students and staff, as well as members from the community.

   The staff of Joshua’s has recently decided they would like to bring in more student talent to showcase in the restaurant. The high school has many students associated with different talents that could be featured in the restaurant.

   “Our high school has a wealth of talent in music, arts, vocal, theater, as well as other gifts.  We want Joshua’s to be a showcase for not only our culinary students but high school students who want to showcase their abilities.” Joshua’s culinary team member Tracey Lee said.

    Joshua’s has a large customer rate, with not only students dining and working there but also parents and members of the community deciding to eat there. The culinary team consisting of Tracey Lee, Teresa Ursetti and Chef Giangaspero decided that they would like to allow these people to witness firsthand some of the many talents of students at the high school.

    Currently, Joshua’s restaurant already hosts pieces of art from Mrs. Surrena’s up-cycled art class and Mr. Pierce’s photography class. Surrena’s students made flower balls out of skewers and old books, some of which are hanging in the restaurant for decoration. Pierce’s students also have some of their photography on the walls around the restaurant. The staff is always on the lookout for more talents to showcase, whether they be in art, photography, or other specialties.

    The culinary team is always looking for more students to show off their talents. The team would like to welcome any talent from any student in hopes of making the restaurant welcoming for everyone. They ask students who are interested to contact Tracey Lee Chef G or Teresa Ursetti.

Entertainment, News

Speech & Debate hosts Battle of the Bands

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The Speech and Debate team provided a chance for students to express themselves and show off their musical talents.

On Fri., March 20, Battle of the Bands took place at SMFHS at 7:00 p.m.

This night was put together by The Speech and Debate team. There was a fee of $5.00 to enter to listen to the bands.

There were three judges. These judges were Shawn Denton, Alex Norman and Jacob Konicek. Denton is a bus driver, and Konicek is Stow Alumni.

The judges had categories to make scores in for each band. These categories were: originality, visual, entertainment value, musical quality and audience response.  Each of these categories was an equal percentage in the final score to be tallied up by each judge.

There were two bands and a solo who participated in this event. They performed in the commons with a circle of chairs around them that everyone sat in.

The first performance was a solo by Adam Murray.

Adam Murray had announced that his brother was originally supposed to perform with him but was not able to make it. He first sang one of his favorites, “Eighteen.” After he sang and played his guitar to that song, he sang, “Thumb Thumb Thumb” by The Naked Brother Band. The third song he decided to perform was, “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. This was an audience catcher. When he announced this would be his third and final song to sing, he said the song is a common song that everyone would know. He was right. As he was singing deeper into the song, people in the audience joined in.

The second band that performed was a two person band, “Working Class Boys.” All three of their songs performed were all created by their selves. One band member, junior Charles Blair, sang and the other member, junior Jason Rozak, played his guitar.

The third and final band that performed was, “Close Call.”  “Close Call” consists of four band members. The four Band members are senior Taylor Herring, senior Zach Alberez, who actually attends Hudson, senior Jonas Dorton and junior James Brownrich. Herring sang, Alberez and Dorton played electric guitar and Brownrich played the drums.

This band was as announced by lead singer, Taylor Herring, as “untraditional” music style. The music style would be labeled as heavy metal. They only performed one song and that was created by themselves.

The winner of first place was “Working Class Boys.”

“I feel happy and shocked that we won first place,” Blair said.

His band mate, Rozak also had something to say about winning first place.

Rozak said, “I Feel excited that we played our first show and happy that we won it. I loved the reactions we received from the audience.”

In second place was “Close Call,” and in third place was Adam Murray.

Even though “Close Call” came in second place, Dorton said he was glad for the experience received, as well as Taylor Herring, lead singer, said, “I feel pretty good still, I think we did a good job.”

News

Science Olympiad qualified for states

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The High School Science Olympiad team qualified for the State Level Competition at Ohio State University on Sat., April 11.

Like any good success story, there is far more to the teams achievement than a simple victory. Their advancement to the State Competition almost did not happen despite the efforts of the team. Senior Kate Borthwick was reported to have placed in three of her four events but the team still made it by the skin of their teeth.

Despite placing in nearly all of their events, the high school Science Olympiad Team only proceeded because of a simple formality.

“We were called for seventh place, but only the top six teams qualify. But since Revere had two teams that qualified and only one could go, we won the sixth place spot by default,” senior Mia Hamilton said.

This is a fairly common yet odd situation. The similarities between the last time Stow succeeded to the State Level Competition and this latest success are striking. When the middle school Science Olympiad team went to the State Competition in 2010, it was because of this exact reason.

“I went to the State Competition [in middle school] and it was really fun. I got to be really good friends with everyone on my team and made a lot of memories in the process. [It is] really taxing, but the effort is worth it,” senior Schuyler Morris said.

In the end, the group proved that a positive attitude, hard work and a little bit of luck can really pay off in the end. Now, they are able to realize their potential even further.

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