MUSIC:

Sleigh Bells @ The Beaumont Club July 12 7 p.m. $20

Sleigh Bells’ trademark ear-splitting drum beats and guitar assaults provide an interesting backdrop to the gritty yet mellifluous vocals of Alexis Krauss, who formed Sleigh Bells in 2008 with guitarist Derek Miller after meeting in a Brooklyn restaurant. Since then, the duo has already released two albums. Sleigh Bells’ aggressive music style is exemplified in the heavy guitar riffs and screamed lyrics of the song “Infinity Guitars,” whereas their more mellow side is exposed in the slower, but equally powerful, “Rill Rill.” Sleigh Bells’ publicist described the band’s newest album, “Reign of Terror,” as “the sonic equivalent of a beautiful shotgun to the head.”

Walk the Moon @ The Granada June 12 8 p.m. $12

With only an EP out–a shorter length album–Walk the Moon’s catchy guitar rifts, upbeat lyrics and memorable bridges have earned them a steady stream of followers, including a crowd of thousands at last year’s Lollapalooza. Their brand of fist-pumping, feel good alterna-pop is a cross between Two Door Cinema Club and The Killers. Walk the Moon’s energy comes out in their live performance as well as their music. The trippy melodies of “Anna Sun” are expressed in the even tripper face-painting that occurs ritually before each show. Walk the Moon will release their first full-length album on June 19–seven days after their Lawrence show. Come hear the songs before the rest of the world.

“Come find us out there in real life!” Walk the Moon invites you, as expressed on their website, “We want to party with you. Like, wild-rumpus-style.”

MOVIES:

“The Hedgehog”–Liberty Hall Coming in June

Don’t worry–a vintage cardigan, large-frame glasses and skinny pants are not required to watch a film at Liberty Hall. Many of the movies shown actually have universal appeal, such as “The Hedgehog,” a film coming to Liberty Hall in June. Receiving many accolades from various international film festivals, “The Hedgehog” details the life of a precocious but bored 11 year-old girl, Paloma, who plans to end her life on her twelfth birthday. As the fateful day approaches, she forms friendships with two adults who ease her disgust of growing up. “The Hedgehog” is a French film with English subtitles, but emotion is not confined to languages.

Many of you have probably noticed that Page 7 of this newspaper no longer stars Miranda Davis’s bright hair, brighter smile and even brighter ideas, nor does it capture the perfectly Photoshopped images of Ryan Loecker’s brief stints as a police officer, a fortune teller and a water aerobics junkie. Our senior staffers have logged off of their newsroom computers for the last time and are currently basking in the 100-degree Kansas sunlight of summer freedom.

As barren as the newsroom seems now that we’re down 11 wonderful senior editors, reporters, photographers and designers, the 2012-2013 Free Press staff members are already clicking their pens to kick off the coming school year.

The unbeatable duo of Hannah Moran and Sarah Whipple will be taking the offices of copy editor and design editor, respectively, and Sam Boatright and I will be stepping into Miranda and Ryan’s spots as next year’s co-editors in chief. We’ll try to keep you entertained.

Our first order of business for this issue was to redesign the paper, one step at a time. In brief, we have expanded our news section to offer a more in-depth look at events in the school, community and nation, including a rapid-fire news brief section for those days when you want to impress your social studies teacher with your knowledge of current events. We’re also working to give Firebird athletes a bigger spotlight on Page 8, and we aim to continuously keep readers up to date on recent scores and upcoming games.

As always, our website (fsfreepressonline.com) will offer additional content in the coming school year, so be sure to check it out and follow us on Twitter to stay in the green and silver loop. If we have another #bombthreatthursday, you’ll be the first to know–after us, of course.

Next year, this little box of space I’m currently filling up with words will be home to a column of old-fashioned letter-writing. So, to all of the good samaritans out there (and also to the parking spot thieves, the bathroom stall artists and the people who monopolize the microwaves for eight minutes to heat multiple Lean Cuisines): we’ll be in touch.

Of course, writing a letter involves using the words “I” and “you” with reckless abandon, so this column of mine will inevitably violate Journalistic Rule #2: Never write in first or second person. Whoops.

(In case you’re wondering, Journalistic Rule #1 is, “Always bring something to write on in case your recording device dies in the middle of an interview.” Unsurprisingly, that’s also one I’ve broken in the past, and karma won’t let me forget it.)

With so many bent and broken rules in my printed history, it’s a bit of a mystery as to how I came to write this column as a co-editor in chief. Perhaps one of my future columns can delve into that labyrinth.

Or perhaps not. Twists and turns are what make newspaper a nonstop thrill ride.

Thanks for reading, Free State, and I’ll see you next August.

Katie

~Your new co-editor-in-chief

The past year, colleges have been sending me a large amount of literature. For each college letter I receive, I am increasingly puzzled; these colleges are inquiring about information that I do not know, as if they expect me to be deeply in touch with myself. However, their questions are not odd in their demands: they simply want to know about me. Well, who am I?

When examining such a broad question–one found on poorly printed job applications or tedious college entry essays–it is easy to fall silent. The question, so simple yet so dynamic, makes me wonder how it is I fail to answer.

High school is about identity. It’s about the superficial and the deep things that we value, and our flexible yet often unwavering personalities. While I seem to understand myself emotionally, it’s the materialistic interests that I am unsure about, yet that often have the highest stake in building high school relationships.

It’s the musical tastes, the fashion senses, the academics that I am talking about. All these concrete things that defined me at one point are now changing, and I find myself stuck in a superficial “no man’s land.” I feel torn between all these interests that were valuable to the whole of my identity and all these interests that I think I need to like–and that I legitimately think I like–but am struggling to fully accept.

This separation stems from high school’s natural design to open one’s mind and thrust many distinctive influences and choices upon a person. As I meet new people, I am opened up to new thoughts, ways of life–which is a powerful, positive thing; but, most prominently, new material interests of these new people. And I aspire to be these people; I aspire to like these things that these new people like, to change myself in their image. This transformation requires a sneaky mind trick to convince my brain–and my heart–that I sincerely like these current trends and interests, as opposed to my more traditional interests.

The point is–and this is where we come full circle–that I should not fret about being unable to answer such an immense question when deciding which college suits me best, such as, “Who am I?” If there’s an “undecided” option for interests, then that’s the one I would choose. Being “undecided.” The term carries a romantic air to it, a professed, open-minded spirit.

Maybe the things that make me “me” are not always going to be definite and yet the fact that they are always growing a is part of my uniqueness, part of who I am.

I would like to think there were a simple answer to such a difficult question dealing with who somebody is. But perhaps the fact that it is so hard to answer says something about the beauty in our complexities and the depth of our personalities.

Free State will be getting a new associate principal and guidance counselor. Patrick Kelly will be the new associate principal and Bryan Duncan will be the new counselor.

“[Bryan Duncan] has the skill to push students beyond their comfort zone while providing the necessary supports for success,” Principal Ed West said. “I believe Bryan’s skills will assist us as we work to match each student’s goals with the high school coursework required to achieve each goal.”

Duncan is an English teacher and the girls basketball team coach. However, starting next year he will be a full-time counselor.

“As an educator, both jobs are about working with, and helping, students,” Duncan said. “After 16 years of teaching, it will be a challenging but exciting time. I have enjoyed Free State and hope to stay for quite some time.”

Duncan has been teaching at Free State for 15 years but is excited to take the job.

“I look forward to learning from the other counselors and seeing our education system from another perspective,” Duncan said.

He plans to shadow other counselors and spend time in the summer learning more about the position.

Patrick Kelly will be brand new to Free State’s staff, but Principal West has the utmost confidence in him.

“Patrick Kelly brings an excellent array of skills to the associate principal position,” Principal West said. “Kelly is a dynamic public speaker, works long hours and can organize large-scale events. He is a people person who expressed a strong desire to get back to the building level.”

Kelly’s current job is as a curriculum specialist in charge of performing arts and careers in technical education.

“I taught high school for 12 years and enjoy working with teachers and students to prepare them for their next step in life, no matter what that is,” Kelly said. “I hope that my actions will inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.”

“From the teachers to custodians, administrative assistants to counselors, the team at Free State is phenomenal,” Kelly said. “I want to be part of that team. I hope to create strong relationships with the Free State community that will support the work we will do to improve teaching and learning for all students.”

“A core value I have is that every student should be prepared for their future. Beyond that, I need to learn more about Free State and visit with students and staff. It is important for a leader to have a vision and goals, but if we shape that together, our probability for meeting those goals is much higher.”

However, others are considering a different path: early graduation.
While seniors graduating early seems like a common affair, typically only about “four percent of the senior population go through with it,” guidance counselor Tina Mitchell said.
With graduating at semester comes obvious advantages, including being more independent with regards to time management and being able to work more often to save money for college.

But with all this freedom and extra money comes immediate responsibility.

Molly Morgan is one of many seniors who graduated early this year.

“I wanted to graduate early so I could get an early start on my education,” Morgan said.  “It was good to graduate early and get money coming in like I did.”

While Morgan notices the advantages of graduating early, she also agrees that there are downsides as well.

“I got separated from my class and I wasn’t up to date on things that were happening with my peers,” Morgan said. “However, I am still very satisfied with graduating early.”

Senior Jazzy Stewart also graduated early this year.

“I wanted to graduate early because my parents own a catering business and my mom recently just got diagnosed with fibromyalgia,” Stewart said. “She was tired and sick all the time so that left my dad with a lot of work. Graduating early let me work full time and help them.”

Similar to Morgan, Stewart agrees that there are positive and negative aspects to graduating early.

“[Some] graduating early pros for me were not waking up early, [not having] homework, [being able] to save money, and [being able] to help my parents,” Stewart said. “ [Some] cons were definitely that I lost touch with most of my friends, and I had to grow up a lot faster than most seniors did.”

Stewart did not realize she was graduating early until the end of her junior year.

In Kansas, a student must have 21 credits to graduate. This includes four credits of English, three credits of mathematics, three credits of science, three credits of history/government, one credit of physical education, six credits of electives and one credit of fine arts.

Since seniors must achieve this set amount of credits, this meant extra classes her senior year.

“My senior year I had to take two English courses, two social studies [courses], and two math classes in one semester,” Stewart said. “Talk about overload.”

Morgan and Stewart did not graduate early for the fun of it; they had plans. And, as Mitchell said, “Anyone wanting to graduate early needs to have a plan and consider why they want to do it.”

Lane transferred from Bishop Seabury Academy during the middle of his sophomore year so he could experience basketball on another level. Bishop Seabury is a 1A school, while Free State is 6A.

“I wanted to play 6A basketball because it’s really big and I feel like I could get better here,” Lane said.

Although it was a big step coming here, Lane is adjusting well.

“Coming from such a small school where everybody knew each other, I was kind of scared that I wouldn’t be able to make new friends,” Lane said. “But it’s turning out to be great.”

The reason for his transfer at such a weird time is that according to Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA), an athlete has to attend a school for at least 18 weeks to be able to participate in sports.

“I just wanted to make sure I can play a full season of basketball,” Lane said.
Basketball is Lane’s passion. He has been playing since he was in first grade, when a group of friends got together to form a YMCA team.

Colleges have already been taking the opportunity to talk to Lane. Some of the schools are: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Colorado, Creighton, Missouri and Wichita State.

“I like competing,” Lane said. “I just like that the harder I work, I can make myself better at anything I really need to be.”

Lane isn’t the only person who is looking forward to next season.

“I think he will be a fine addition to the team because he knows how to be a good teammate,” boys basketball coach Chuck Law said. “He knows how important being a part of team is to the success of the program and to his own success.”

Law has not been able to watch Lane play in a high school game, but he has been present at AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) tournaments.

“He is a great athlete with some real upside potential,” Law said.

As the next season comes around, the Firebird basketball team will be welcoming not only freshmen, but a junior as well.

“I think he made a great decision that will positively impact his future,” Law said. “As well as the future of Free State basketball.”

She did not come to Free State to speak about government policy, new legislation or the path to becoming a congresswoman. Instead, she came to congratulate seniors Lauren Nus and Hannah Whipple on the first and third place wins, respectively, in the 2012 Annual Congressional Art Competition.

“This unique competition allows members of the United States House of Representatives an opportunity to showcase the artistic talents of high school students within their districts,” Jenkins said in a statement.

Every April, students across the nation are invited to submit artwork to their representatives to compete for a coveted section of wall space in the U.S. Capitol building, where their work will hang for one year. The winner in each state receives a free trip to the nation’s capital to see his or her framed work on display.

Nus created this year’s winning pastel drawing of a Victorian-style mansion last summer in a local art class. She says the piece was inspired by Lawrence’s very own downtown.

“I got third place in the contest my sophomore year, and so I met [Jenkins] at that time,” Nus said. “Meeting her again is kind of nice. The cool part is that I get to go to Washington, D.C.”

Art teacher Carolyn Berry is excited to have two students place in the 2012 competition. In fact, it was Berry who first told Nus that she had won first place.

“And it was on her birthday,” Berry added.

Free State’s last first-place winner was Drue Davis in 2009.

“Usually every year we have someone place,” Berry said, “but we’re not always the winner.”

Whipple’s digital imaging entry, titled “Heart Murmur,” won third place and will hang in Jenkins’ office for one year, along with the second- and fourth-place works.

“It’s basically, as it sounds, a heart with a big hole in it,” Whipple said. “And there are doors on the sides, and there are strings going through the heart hole to symbolize repair.”

Jenkins came to Free State just nine days before the seniors’ graduation ceremony. With high school behind them, both winners are off to college—Whipple to Wichita State University, where she hopes to study forensic science, and Nus to Ringling School of Art and Design to study computer animation.

GEORGE CLINTON 5/18 @ CROSSROADS KC
(psychedelic-funk)
At age 70, George Clinton is still bringing the funk. If the name doesn’t sound familiar, go listen to “Atomic Dog” and you’ll know who he is. Accompanied by the P-Funk All Stars, Clinton is sure to set the stage for an awesome night of psychedelic-funk music full of positive vibes.

ACTIVE CHILD / BALAM ACAB 5/18 @ JACKPOT
(electronic pop / indie)
Two mellow electronic pop artists, in one very small room. The opener, Balam Acab generated some buzz after Ellen Page told the New York Times that she had their music on her iPod. Active Child’s attention came after their song “Hanging On” appeared on the Adult Swim Singles Program. Although this concert will involve a lot of laptop clicking and button pushing, the meditative sounds and accompanying visuals are sure to make it worthwhile.

CURREN$Y 5/20 @ GRANADA
(hip-hop / rap)
The name says it all. If you haven’t heard of Curren$y, you probably aren’t a fan of rap music. The 31-year-old New Orleans native gained notoriety after his 2010 release “Pilot Talk.” Both the die-hard rap enthusiast and casual hip-hop listener will be attracted to Curren$y’s stellar flow and low-key instrumentals.

DESTROYER 6/10 @ GRANADA
(indie / alternative)
Don’t let the name be misleading, this is not a heavy-metal concert. After releasing a steady stream of college-rock albums, Destroyer made a breakthrough with their jazz infused, indie rock album, “Kaputt.”

WES ANDERSON’S ‘MOONRISE KINGDOM’ COMING SOON TO LIBERTY HALL
If the name Wes Anderson doesn’t stand out, the movies “The Royal Tenenbaums”, “The Life Aquatic” or “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” should. The famous director / writer / producer / actor’s newest movie features Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, and Bill Murray in a search to find two runaway children.

Doodle Jump: Doodle Jump is one of those games that a player can’t keep their eyes off of. It’s also extremely addictive. The objective of the game is to keep landing on steps, until the player gets higher and higher, therefore receiving more points.

Homework Helpers
Flashcard: Studying is not an easy task. Many people go through a lot of trouble making study guides and flash cards that take up more time than actually studying for that crazy test coming up. The flashcard app makes studying that much easier. It’s a wonderful app that allows anyone to make flashcards without the hassle of actually making them. It also takes almost no time at all and is a fun way to get studying started.

Calculators: Many phones have ordinary calculators, but there are scientific calculator apps that can be helpful to high school and college students.

Entertainment
Dear Blank Please Blank: Created purely for entertainment purposes, Dear Blank Please Blank offers a multitude of creative letters. Most are funny: teenagers complaining about girls with no morals or siblings sharing the stories of their younger brothers or sisters. Some, however, are serious. These letters cover a variety of topics, Harry Potter, day-to-day life, love, childhood. There are letters that can make anyone in the world laugh or cry.

Pinterest: Pinterest is a website where anyone can look up and pin pictures of basically anything they want. There are many options that range from hair and makeup to different recipes for yummy snacks. Be careful, though, because this app has been known to be extremely addictive for the use of new ideas and fun pictures.

Music
Pandora: Pandora is an app that is used on smart phones so that anyone can look up and listen to their favorite songs, without going through the trouble of downloading each song separately. It’s a great app that’s helpful for people to listen to their favorite songs that they might have forgotten to download.

The spring influx of bands touring through Lawrence has arrived, acting as the harbinger for, hopefully, a sonic summer of stunning sounds and brilliant bands.

Because there are just too many amazing bands gigging in Lawrence this Spring, writing about all of them would be wordy and troublesome. Therefore, this edition of the Lawrence Guide will break down all the concerts by venue, price and date so you can get the most comprehensive view of the upcoming months in music, including concerts outside the date range of this paper. We do all the work so you don’t have to.

VENUE:

Granada:

April 14–Cults–$12*-14

April 18–Bowling for Soup–$15*-17

May 1–M83–Tickets sold out (for now)

May 3–Quiet Corral–$7*

May 12–Polyphonic Spree–$18*-20

May 21–Mayer Hawthorne–$16*-18

May 27–Best Coast–$17*-20

May 29–Heartless Bastards–$14

June 10–Destroyer–$15*

Jackpot:

April 14–My Brother the Vulture, Icarus the Owl, The Faded Age and more–$5

April 21–Woods w/ MMOSS–$12

May18–Active Child–$10

May 22–Xiu Xiu–$12

Replay Lounge:

April 26–Oberhofer–#

Bottleneck:

April–The Bastard Suns w/ The Faded Age

April 28–Real Estate–$13

May–Bella Muerte w/ The Faded Age

The Beaumont:

April 18–Tyga w/ Lil Twist and YG–#

April 24–Snow Patrol–#

May 2–The Wombats–#

Uptown Theater:

April 20–Cake–$80

April 22–Rachel Maddow–$35

*Advanced Ticket Purchase

# Tickets not available yet

DATE:

April 14–Cults–Granada

April 18–Bowling For Soup–Granada

April 18–Tyga–Beaumont

April 20–Cake–Uptown

April 21–Woods–Jackpot

April 22–Rachel Maddow–Uptown

April 24–Snow Patrol–Beaumont

April 26–Oberhofer–Replay Lounge

April 28–Real Estate–Bottleneck

May 1–M83–Granada

May 2–The Wombats–Beaumont

May 3–Quiet Corral–Granada

May 12–Polyphonic Spree–Granada

May 18–Active Child–Jackpot

May 21–Mayer Hawthorne–Granada

May 22–Xiu Xiu–Jackpot

May 27–Best Coast–Granada

May 29–Heartless Bastards–Granada

June 10–Destroyer–Granada

PRICE:

$7–Quiet Corral–May 3

$10–Active Child–May 18

$12–Xiu Xiu–May 22

$12–Woods–April 21

$13–Real Estate–April 28

$12*-14–Cults–April 14

$14–Heartless Bastards–May 29

$15–Destroyer–June 10

$15*-17–Bowling for Soup–April 18

$16*-18–Mayer Hawthorne–April 21

$17*-20–Best Coast–May 27

$18*-20–Polyphonic Spree–May 12

$35–Rachel Maddow–April 22

$80–Cake–April 20

#–Tyga–April 18

#–Snow Patrol–April 24

#–Oberhofer–April 26

#–M83–May 1

#–The Wombats–May 2

*Advanced Ticket Purchase

#Tickets Not Available Yet