Viar set to remain president of ARC
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
May 3, 2012
The Santa Barbara Community College District’s board of trustees concluded its nationwide search for a new president on April 26 with the appointment of Dr. Lori Gaskin as superintendent-president, according to a press release from SBCC’s Public Information Officer Joan Galvin. In addition... Read More
Viar up for top position in Southern California
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 18, 2012
Dr. David Viar, president of American River College, is in the running to become the next president of Santa Barbara City College according to the president of SBCC’s board of trustees, Dr. Peter Haslund. Viar confirmed his candidacy in an April 12 interview with The Current. “I am one... Read More
Religion’s future lies in hands of spiritual youth
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 18, 2012
According to recent statistics published by The Pew Forum, 44 percent of young adults entering their freshman year of college are regular churchgoers. By the time young adults enter their junior year of college, the percentage drops down to 25 percent. In a nation where 70 percent of the population... Read More
Thompson Square’s Keifer Thompson opens up about touring, trophies and diggin’ ditches
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 16, 2012
Country music’s newest sensations, Thompson Square, are the married duo of singers Keifer and Shawna Thompson. Their self-titled debut album released in 2011 was the No. 1 Most Played Record of 2011 (according to Mediabase), has won three American Country Awards, scored two Grammy nominations... Read More
Country’s most buzzed about new band Thompson Square excites Sacramento crowd out-performing headliners Lady Antebellum
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 16, 2012
Although Lady Antebellum may have been the headliners of a trio of country acts that performed in front of a sold-out Sacramento crowd on March 29, it was a husband-and-wife country duo named Thompson Square that captured the evening’s most enthusiastic reception. Shawna (a dead-ringer... Read More
Secondhand Serenade rivets Sacramento audience who can’t help but fall for them
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 15, 2012
John Vesely, better known as the one-man band Secondhand Serenade, performed a captivating nine-song set to a packed crowd of “emo-ites” at Sacramento’s Ace of Spades club on March 19, 2012. The charismatic Bay Area native, who was raised and still lives in Menlo Park, Calif. (a small... Read More
Secondhand Serenade’s John Vesely dishes about his fans, touring with Boyce Avenue and his upcoming album
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 11, 2012
Prior to a March 19 tour stop at Sacramento’s Ace of Spades club, The Current’s Mark Lewis was given the chance to sit down opposite John Vesely who you may know better as the one man band Secondhand Serenade. Vesely is an extremely popular musician who’s accomplished yet grounded and... Read More
ARC president Dr. David Viar in running to become next president of Santa Barbara City College
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 11, 2012
Dr. David Viar, president of American River College, has been named one of four finalists to become the next president of Santa Barbara City College according to the president of SBCC’s board of Trustees, Dr. Peter Haslund. Viar’s office said Wednesday that he would be in a board meeting... Read More
Recording artist Alyssa Graham talks jazz, Jersey and Whitney Houston
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 8, 2012
Have you ever heard of Alyssa Graham? If you haven’t – you’re probably not alone. Here’s your chance to discover an artist on the cusp of notoriety. In an exclusive interview with ARCurrent.com, singer-songwriter Graham sits down with Mark Lewis on March 17 at San Francisco’s... Read More
Alyssa Graham: Precisely what you’re missing
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
April 8, 2012
Alyssa Graham hit San Francisco’s Hotel Utah on March 17 to perform for an intimate crowd of 50 people lucky enough to be granted the privilege of listening to one of music’s best unknown artists. In 2008, powerhouse online music retailer iTunes named Graham, a soulful singer-songwriter,... Read More
“The Voice’s” Dia Frampton speaks exclusively to ARCurrent.com
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
March 26, 2012
The second season of NBC’s hit television series “The Voice” premiered immediately after the Super Bowl to a record 39.6 million viewers. The singing competition featuring coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo Green, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine is a cultural phenomenon and The Current’s... Read More
American River College meets “The Voice’s” Dia Frampton
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
March 26, 2012
Fan favorite runner-up of last year’s inaugural season of “The Voice” brought the only thing that mattered to a sold-out March 15 crowd at Sacramento’s Power Balance Pavilion – her pipes. The 26-year-old Dia Frampton performed a six-song opening set for headliner Blake Shelton whose... Read More
311 dials in an indecent performance
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
March 15, 2012
The alternative funk rock band, 311 (pronounced three-eleven), played Sacramento’s Ace of Spades on March 7 to a sold-out crowd spending a mere 90 minutes performing a 23-song set that was an “ugly disaster,” to put it in terms that 311’s aging fan base can easily identify with. The... Read More
Preparing for ARC’s Associated Student Body elections
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
March 14, 2012
American River College’s Campus Life Center is in full preparation mode for the upcoming Associated Student Body elections next month. If you’re an ARC student interested in participating in or becoming a part of the campus’ next ASB, Campus Life Coordinator Tanika Byrd would... Read More
Andy Warhol exhibit opens to packed crowd at ARC’s James Kaneko Gallery
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
March 13, 2012
It was standing-room-only in the James Kaneko Gallery on March 13 during a reception for the campus’ newest exhibit “Warhol’s New York,” which features rare photos by the famous artist. More than 130 students, faculty and community members attended the noon event that featured refreshments... Read More
AeroShot inhalant new caffeine mix
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
March 7, 2012
If you’re tired of waiting in line 15 minutes every morning at Starbucks for a cup of coffee, then you’re in luck because your ritualistic morning caffeine fix is about to undergo a revolution. Introducing the AeroShot – the world’s very first caffeine inhalant. An AeroShot is a lipstick... Read More
Big Time Rush excites and entertains a sold-out Sacramento audience
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
February 24, 2012
Current boy-band sensation Big Time Rush offered up an evening of pop precision for a largely female-loaded audience at the group’s Feb. 20 concert at Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium. It was a show that time warped the audience back to the early 2000s, when young women notoriously fainted... Read More
The Fray tells their ‘Stories’
Mark Lewis
February 22, 2012
After being honored as the 84th most influential band of the last decade by Billboard Magazine, Denver, Colo.’s The Fray released their third studio album – the first of this decade — on Feb. 7. The Current was recently given the opportunity to speak with the band’s guitarist, Dave... Read More
Whitney Houston missed at Grammy ceremony
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
February 22, 2012
LOS ANGELES — On Feb. 12, the 54th Grammy Awards began with a solemn LL Cool J taking center stage at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Seated three rows away, I watched as LL Cool J stated, “We’ve had a death in the family.” LL Cool J then removed a handwritten note from... Read More
Wilco sonically mesmerizes local audience
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
February 9, 2012
For close to two hours, Wilco sonically mesmerized the extremely diverse crowd of fans whose ages ranged from their late teens to 20s, 30s, and 40-somethings (I was seated next to that man who hawks hot dogs at Yankee Stadium for a living). Wilco, whose named is derived from a combination of... Read More
Los Rios chancellor set to retire
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
February 8, 2012
After 16 years of service as the chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District, Brice Harris announced his retirement on Jan. 12. The 63-year-old Harris earns an annual salary of $390,000, making him the highest paid chancellor in the state until he officially ends his tenure on Aug.... Read More
Coming soon: Sacramento’s Whiskey Dawn turns California country
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
February 4, 2012
Country music is alive and stomping in Sacramento and The Current’s Mark Lewis sat down recently with Sacramento-based country music band Whiskey Dawn to discuss their inventive form of “California Country” music, exciting live performances and even who takes the longest to... Read More
The Fray talks to arcurrent.com in advance of Feb. 20 tour stop
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
February 4, 2012
After being honored as the 84th most influential band of the last decade by Billboard magazine, Denver, Colo.’s The Fray is set to release their third studio album – the first of this decade — on Feb. 7. For fans of The Fray, the excruciating wait from 2009’s self-titled second... Read More
Trapt’s rock not enough to set you free
Mark Lewis, Web Editor
January 30, 2012
Trapt, the veteran hard-rock band from Los Gatos, returned to The Boardwalk (Orangevale’s sole intimate venue for live music enthusiasts) to deliver a pulse pounding 80-minute set to a capacity crowd of just more than 450 people on Jan. 26. The group, consisting of lead singer Chris Brown,... Read More
We Bought a Zoo
Mark Lewis, News Editor
November 30, 2011
Cameron Crowe’s “We Bought a Zoo” is an inspired film with earnest emotion that’s not schmaltzy, visually striking production values and superb acting throughout a triumphant story of courage and love. With “Zoo,” Crowe returns to the highest echelon of modern-day filmmaking. “’All... Read More
Cosby’s memoir falls flat
Mark Lewis, News Editor
November 14, 2011
Every single time I mention the name “Bill Cosby” to an acquaintance or close friend – I get these ridiculously bad impressions of them channeling Cosby saying “J-E-L-L-O” or “JELLO pudding pops” I’m absolutely convinced that these responses are hard-wired into the brains of... Read More
New policies create new obstacles for ESL students
Mark Lewis, News Editor
November 9, 2011
American River College students requiring course work in English as a Second Language now have less federal student aid to help them reach their educational goals. It used to be that students could receive 30 units of ESL instruction that wouldn’t be counted as part of the previous year’s... Read More
Bill Cosby hasn’t lost his infamous charm
Mark Lewis, News Editor
November 9, 2011
One of the greatest comedians of the last half-century, Dr. Bill Cosby, treated me and 4,904 other Sacramentans to what may be one of his final local comedy routines on Oct. 29. The 74-year-old Cosby entered Sacramento’s Community Theater and sat down on a lounge chair to a raucous applause... Read More
Matt Nathanson uses charm and wit to please Sacramento audience
Mark Lewis, News Editor
November 3, 2011
Sacramento’s Ace of Spades club was enlivened on Oct. 28 by a singer-songwriter probably best known for his cover of James’ “Laid” that was featured on the “American Wedding” movie soundtrack a few years back. I can best describe Matt Nathanson, an undeniably likable entertainer,... Read More
Sugarland show leaves a lot to be desired
Mark Lewis, News Editor
October 29, 2011
In the midst of their “The Incredible Machine” cross-country mega-tour, the normally vivacious country mega-stars Sugarland shuffled onto Sacramento’s Raley Field on Aug. 25, 2011. The Grammy-winning duo consisting singer-songwriter Jennifer Nettles and guitarist-vocalist Kristian Bush... Read More
Sacramento kick-starts Panic! at the Disco’s US Fall Tour 2011
Mark Lewis, News Editor
October 21, 2011
I’ll be the first to admit that seeing a concert at a club or small venue can best be described as that stereotypical “box of chocolates” – I just never know quite what to expect. Rarely does anyone get the chance to see artists or bands that are currently nestled at or near the top... Read More
Patrick Stump Current Q and A
Mark Lewis, News Editor
October 21, 2011
Mark Lewis, News Editor sits down with Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, to discuss the band, his solo career, and his new album “Soul Punk.” Mark Lewis: Patrick you’ve acted on television, been the lead singer of an enormously popular punk band, produced music, learned... Read More
Incubus delivers great show at Raley Field
Mark Lewis, News Editor
October 11, 2011
Once thought to be a musical genre dead and buried, progressive alternative rock lives on! Case in point – Incubus’ Oct. 11, 2011 performance at Sacramento’s Raley Field was an inspired two hours of pure heart-pounding rock and roll. Twelve years after Incubus helped helm the creation... Read More
Student admits to bomb threats
Mark Lewis, News Editor
September 29, 2011
Matthew Todd Gibbs, an American River College student during the spring 2011 semester, has pleaded no contest to the charge that he made a false report of bombs planted in Davies Hall – a felony according to the California Penal Code. In an e-mail to The American River Current, a remorseful... Read More
Taylor Swift impresses Sacramento audiences
Mark Lewis, News Editor
September 14, 2011
The singer-songwriter, more popular now than ever before, has big expectations to live up to on her “Speak Now” tour. Taylor Swift brought her 2011 “Speak Now” tour to a sold-out Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 3, leaving no stone unturned in a two-hour performance. Explosions,... Read More
