Entertainment
The Wichitan October 14, 2009
7
DALLAS COWBOYS
Cheerleaders
‘Making the Team’ makes its way into hearts Cora Kuykendall For the Wichitan
Do you love the Dallas Cowboys? Well, it’s time to find out whose hard work and determination paid off and put them on the team. And no, I’m not talking about the football team; I’m talking about the cheerleading squad: the members of the Dallas Cowboys family who never let you down, always provide entertainment and look good while doing it. “DCC Making the Team� takes the audience behind-the-scenes of the grueling four-month process they must go through before the chosen ones get to put on the popular white and blue starred uniforms. For six weeks, you will relive every moment of the four-month long competition, which started in May and ended in August. The show shines its spotlight on about twelve girls, some veterans hoping to reclaim their spot, and other new hopefuls. Last Saturday, we were introduced to some of the girls the show will primarily focus on during this season, including two sisters from Louisiana who will both be appearing in next
The Dream
Photo Courtesy The hopefuls dream of putting on the famous blue and white uniform and doing the jump splits on the field.
week’s episode. Unfortunately, it’s not the same story for the two Texas sisters. One had to say goodbye to her sister in last week’s episode before she continued on to the next round of tryouts. This year, we get a little more personal with the girls, making it seem like we are in their shoes. Later in the season, we will pick our favorites and cry with them when they get cut, and become ecstatic when they make it to training camp. We will also see what the candidates have to endure throughout the audition process. They
must excel in categories such as: knowledge about football and the Cowboys, personality and pizzazz, dancing, the physical strength to do the kicks and tricks and maintain their perfect, size two bodies. The CMT show takes you behind the pom-poms and pretty smiles and really proves that it takes more to being a cheerleader than standing there and looking pretty. This show has many appeals. It’s family friendly, unlike other reality TV shows that are aired on cable, “DCC Making the Team� has no foul language, sex
or alcohol and drug use. Which brings in the younger viewers (pre-teen girls) who want to become cheerleaders themselves one day. But, it still has the dramatic appeal thanks to Kelli Finglass, Judy Trammel and Jay Johnson, the decision makers of the squad. Kelli Finglass, who used to be a DCC herself, keeps the competition going and knows exactly what to do to get the inner DCC out of all of the candidates. Judy Trammell, the DCC choreographer, has certain challenges that make it easy to spot whether or not the judges have potential DCC material on their hands. Drama alert: her daughter, Cassie, is a veteran and is fighting to keep her spot on the team. Lastly, Jay Johnson, former Army drill sergeant, provides entertainment with his army-intense conditioning, strength and attitude boot camp. These three judges shatter hearts and make dreams come true, starting with the 1,000 girls in May, cut down to the 45 who make it to training camp, then
Photo Courtesy The girls auditioning must perform for the judges, showing off their dance talents and personalities.
Photo Courtesy The hopefuls sit eagerly, waiting to hear their number called to advance to the next round of tryouts.
the final 36 who actually make the team and get to cheer on the sidelines. “DCC Making the Team� airs
at 8 every Saturday night on CMT.
‘Deflorate’ falls short of killer expectations Chris Collins Managing Editor
The Black Dahlia Murder. There’s a lot of ways to describe the music they play. Some people call it melodic death metal, others call it technical black metal, others say it’s a genre of its own. But the five-piece from Detroit (which sounds like it should be from Norway), haven’t changed their sound much since they produced “Unhallowed� in 2003. A few lineup changes have occurred since, like this year’s replacement of lead player John Kempainen for Arsis guitarist Ryan Knight. The band’s newest release, September’s “Deflorate,� doesn’t change the normal Black Dahlia formula much. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Though the group thrives from the technical, classical style, one has to wonder when they will get tired of doing basically the same thing. Don’t get me wrong – “Deflorate,� weighing in at 10 tracks and 34 minutes – is a sick beast of an album. It’s just that besides newbie Knight’s contribution, it’s mostly just the same old thing. You decide if that’s good or bad for yourself. The CD kicks off with a no-
Photo Courtesy The Black Dahlia Murder consists of five members from Detroit.
holds-barred harmonized riff in typical rhythm player Eschbaum fashion. As far as song patterning is concerned, the band’s sound has stayed pretty much the same. Rhythm guitar work is still very upbeat heavy, and most song structure is still in “classic rock� format (intro – verse – chorus – verse – bridge – chorus, etc). Regardless, the band has tried – though maybe not quite hard enough – to spice up their recipe for structured slaying. Vocalist Trevor Strnad’s lyrics are predictably morbid and bleak in the recent release, alluding to
Photo Courtesy The Black Dahlia Murder released their fourth album, “Deflorate,� in Sept.
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fictional wars, the apocolypse, and even a deformed scientific experiment gone awry on “A Selection Unnatural.� But he shows his poetic, metaphysical side on “Death Panorama,� one of the album’s fastest, least compromises offers. “All pieces are key to the sum of the being,� Strnad sings on the track. “A strobe of emotion,
vivid, extreme/ What kind of man does the assembled puzzle read?/ Soul spread open, I contemplate my destiny.� The vocalist’s approach has stayed much the same since the band’s first release, switching schizophrenically from shrieking highs to bruising lows. The all-world bellower throws some mid-ranges into the mix (usually as a quick change-up from his tell-tale highs), but these sound a little forced. Honestly, none of the vocal parts sound quite as good as they did in 2007’s “Noctural.� But you can’t sing death metal for over 10 years and expect it not to take a toll on your vocal chords. Drummer Shannon Lucas, formerly of All That Remains, accents Strnad’s vocals with near-triplet crashes that he seems to sneak in at the very end of some measures. This is one facet of his unique style – one that won’t interfere with his blistering blastbeats and machine gun double-bass hits. He, along with bassist Bart Williams lay down a respectably sick low end for the CDs duration. No doubt listeners were expecting something a little bit different from BDM’s fourth release. “Nocturnal� saw them
mastering the art of structured, melodic death metal. But some fans – including myself – wish they had tried to expound on their tried and true formula a bit more than they did. Lead player Ryan Knight’s solos may be the highlight of the album; they breathe new life into the band’s riffing and solo sections. He explores some new fret territory that former lead player Kempainen did not. The only problem is that the solos are too short, and at times seem to be a little bit contrived. Not that they lack creativity – it sounds like some quick tapping and arpeggio work is being used here very cleverly, like in the blazing 32nd note runs in “Necropolis.� New and old BDM fans alike are going to dig the new guitar flavor. It gives character and definition to the sometimes blurred, monotonous chug-tremolo trade-off approach Eschbaum is known for. And this is a real travesty, too; Eschbaum’s fingers can solo for days, but he’s confined to four or eight bars when his sections could be twice as long. It might do the band well to try to accent Knight’s solos with vocals and drums, too. This is a great CD, but it could have been a lot better. Hopefully next time the band will thing more outside the box, while still staying true to their original sound.