Ska IS NOT Dead!

Story and photo by Melinda Wilcox

The name of the tour might be confusing, but ska is not dead. Last night kicked off the fourth Ska is Dead tour. First up was Chicago’s own rock steady band Deals Gone Bad. It never disappoints with there reggae roots and old Motown feel. Definitely a must check out band. Next up was California’s Voodoo Glow Skulls with its mix of west coast hardcore punk and ska. The crowd had a huge circle pit going with Spanish song “El Cu Cuy” and a cover of “Charlie Brown." Next was the legendary East Coast band, Toasters, which has been performing for nearly 30 years, and has show no signs of slowing down. Last up was Mustard Plug, which organized the tour. Hailing from Grand Rapids, the guys of Mustard Plug are amazing , playing upbeat ska for more than 15 years. From songs about psychopathic killers like “Mr. Smiley” to forbidden love like “Lolita," this band will even teach you how to Skank in 4 easy steps in their song “Skank by numbers.” “1. get off your seat, 2. stomp your boots to the beat, 3. throw your knees in the air, 4. like you don’t care." So give it a try cause I assure you ska is not dead.

Michigan's Newest Football Team Might Actually Win

The Muskegon Thunder, a member of the Indoor Football League, announced
its plan to move to Grand Rapids and become the West Michigan ThunderHawks. The team will play its 7 home games in the DeltaPlex Arena when the season kicks off in March. Rich Baylie, the arena's executive director, says he believes "in this team and I am proud that they'll be calling the DeltaPlex their home."

The Indoor Football League currently has 19 teams ranging from Alaska to Texas to New York to Colorado. Michigan has one other team, the Saginaw Sting. Indoor football is played in a similar style to arena football, in an 8-on-8 format with 50 yard fields and walls for sidelines. The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team, but the Arena Football League went bankrupt in 2008. The original IFL existed for one year, from 1999 to 2000 before going under. It was recreated in 2008 out of a merger between two smaller indoor leagues.

Season tickets can be purchased now; individual tickets will be available in December. For tickets or more info, visit the ThunderHawks' Web site.

New Found Glory's all request hour

Story by Elena Nieman
Photo by Melinda Wilcox

Why isn’t there more pop/punk these days? After thinking to myself for a long time I realized that it is one genre not many local or national bands are playing lately. This is unfortunate because the New Found Glory show at the Intersection reminded me of just how fun music can be when it’s not all politics and money.

Armed with high energy and NO set list, New Found Glory let the fans choose the songs it played. Being completely honest about not knowing some of the songs requested, the band members played on anyway, joking with the crowd that we were attending band rehearsal and that it was New Found Glory's all-request hour. Everyone had a great time and giving the fans control over what songs they played was a crowd pleaser.