Tuesday March 6, 2012
Volume CXXXIII Issue 6
Elan Lea makes first apperance in United States at Embry-Riddle Daniel Morgado
Guest Reporter Elan Lea performed for the first time in the United States last Thursday, March 1, at Embry-Riddle’s ICI Center. This was a free concert opened to the ERAU community and to the general public. Elan is a famous South African POP/ ROCK singer, songwriter, and sex-symbol. When asked, he mentioned that he has been involved in the music industry for about 19 years. Starting at a very young age, he learned how to play on his grandparent’s piano which gave him more incentives to start writing songs. His first song “Hold Me In Your Arms” took his talent to the top 40 radio in Johannesburg which then spread throughout the whole nation. He launched his first record label, Mutha Deer and earned his Business Management college degree. Later in 2006, he launched his first full album which brought him some troubles in the music industry. All of those troubles were
then surpassed when talent managers from France saw his work. According to his website, “Among those meets was Full Phatt Productions in the U.K., in the persons of Matt Ward and Dean Gillard, who were eager to work with Elan. The latter is a consultant with Universal Records – and that intro led to the singer’s signing by the major label for his 13-song album, “My Only Excuse.” During early February, Elan’s music was launched to U.S. radios. This launch was before plans were even under way to come to ERAU. Mr. Richard Stickney, the director for the University Office of Diversity Initiatives and Stephanie Moore, his Administrative Assistant, were then contacted to introduce Elan to our community. Without hesitating, the DI Office team managed to organize this event in a little less than a week. Elan’s concert was to start at 7pm. He had the opportunity to practice a few hours before and to rest in one of the room in the ICI Center. Due to a delay from commut-
ers coming from other Universities, the concert was delayed to 7:30pm. During the half hour, the audience had the opportunity to listen to Peter Aguero, one of the Student Assistants for the DI Office and an Acafella member. Stickney then introduced Elan by saying that “here at Embry-Riddle we introduce new talents and give people the opportunity to strengthen their careers. That is exactly what we are doing tonight, launching Elan’s talent to the American public.” Elan then started the concert with 32 people in the audience, including visitors from Bethune-Cookman University and Stetson University. Even though the number of the audience was minimal, Elan said the it was a good start and felt more comfortable and intimate. The concert took approximately 50 minutes to an hour and was cut off by a blackout. He had just finished singing “Hallelujah” when the ICI and the entire West side of our campus became dark. Minimal energy immediately became available through the
generators which allowed for Elan to sign autographs and take pictures with his now fans. The audience and Elan then decided that it should be a great idea for him to write a song about this occurrence. Many also asked for his CD, but none were available, therefore they will soon be shipped to ERAU to be sold. Altogether, Elan’s visit to ERAU and to the Marc Bernier radio show were just the first steps of Elan’s introduction to the American people. In his website, Elan says that “Coming to the States is like landing on the moon for first time. It’s definitely uncharted territory for me. I’m arriving with a clean slate. No one knows me, which gives the music an opportunity to speak for itself.” Elan then departed saying that he loved to be here at ERAU and that he would come back whenever it would be possible. For Embry-Riddle it was an honor to have his first debut in the U.S., hoping that someday he will be able to perform in front thousands of people instead of a small audience.
DANIEL MORGADO/GUEST REPORTER
EcoEagles green things up Cassie Jameson Guest Reporter
The EcoEagles EcoCAR 2 team is making things a little greener on the West Lawn on Thursday, March 8 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. How do you man up for the environment? How do you “Green Up?” The EcoEagles want to know. Launching their “Green Up” campaign, the EcoEagles will be hosting their first “Green Up” event in partnership with
Ignite, the Environmental Awareness Committee, Clean Energy Club and various engineering and research student organizations. The event will consist of free food, giveaways, music and activities. Register for the “Design the Wrap” competition for the EcoEagles EcoCAR. Learn ways you can positively improve your impact on the environment. See what student organizations are doing to make a difference on and off campus. The average American’s daily commute is twenty-six miles. Our car can go over
forty miles on all electric. Every time you eat in the Student Center, you are providing fuel for the EcoCAR. Whether we like it or not, we all make an impact on our environment – you get to decide if it’s a negative one or a positive one. Be entertained and learn something new, stop by the EcoEagles “Green Up” launch. The “Green Up” launch event is the first of many events for the EcoEagles’ “Green Up” campaign. For more information about the event, or to have your organization on display at the event please contact Cassie Jameson at cassieejameson@gmail.com.