Battle of the Bands at Relay for Life

Loyola University holds a "Relay For Life" marathon every year to benefit cancer. Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Relay is staffed and coordinated by volunteers in more than 5,200 communities and 27 countries. Volunteers give of their time and effort because they believe it's time to take action against cancer.

How Relay Works:

Relay is a team fundraising event where team members take turns walking around a track or designated path. Each event is 6-24 hours in length and each team is asked to have a member on the track at all times to signify that cancer never sleeps. Cancer patients don't stop because they're tired, and for one night, neither do we.

Each team sets up a themed campsite at the event and continues their fundraising efforts by collecting donations for food, goods, games, and activities. This money will count towards their overall team fundraising goal.

 
At the marathon, WLOY throws an annual "Battle of the Bands" (BOTB). This consists of three or more Loyola-Affiliated bands competing to win the best band. By Loyola- Affiliated, this can be students, employees, and even professors. Battle of The Bands usually takes place around 8pm, and is held in McGuire Hall. This year, there were a total of four bands competing, including:

Of Tomorrow

Say La Vee

Euro K (Winners)

The Squeebs

Open Mic Night WLOY X BSA

WLOY host at least four open mic nights per year. These open mic events are exactly what the name suggests, a night with an open mic free to anyone who would like to share. In the past, we have seen singers, rappers, instrument players, poets, comedians, and more!

For specific Open Mic Night, WLOY teamed up with BSA to host the fisrt "Open Mic Night WLOYxBSA." The crowd was a heavy one, as it was a mixture of WLOY's supporters, as well as BSA's. WLOY provided a line up of poets and spoke word artists, while BSA provided a few poets also. The floor was also opened up for anyone who wanted to share their talent.

The night was an enjoyable and successful one, as there were over 60 people in attendance, and the aura seemed to be filled with both power and enjoyment.

A normal week as WLOY's GD

What does a normal week as WLOY's graphic designer look like? Well, a lot of people do not know that we stream more than just music 24/7 through Boulder and Iggy's. WLOY has a staff of 23 employees, in addition to over 60 djs. Our station is located in the bottom of Bellarmine Hall on the west side of Loyola's campus. The station features four studios, an extensive music library, and a main lobby.

Every Thursday night, we host a weekly event, either in the Starbucks area or McGuire hall. So what is it that I do, you ask? In order to raise awareness of the event, I create flyers, posters, digital signage, Instagram posts, Facebook covers, and even quarter sheets for that specific event. During the week, I research the artist or band that is to perform, listen to some of their music, and try to gain knowledge of what that artist stands for. From there, my creative juices begin to flow.

I begin to design using colors, shapes, pictures and more that provide a feeling of welcome, as well as the aura for the event. I really enjoy doing this because it is my passion, and people appreciate my work. Last year at WLOY, there were two graphic designers which included another student and myself. This year, I was the only graphic designer, so my workload definitely increased. I am loving every minute it of it, especially because of have been receiving countless compliments, recognition, and appreciation of my work. That is part of what keeps me going.

Stacked Like Pancakes

Stacked Like Pancakes is an American fourth-wave ska band from Towson, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. The band was founded in 2007 by singer, song-writer, and instrumentalist Kellen McKay, who is the sole original member currently in the band. Other members include bass-trombonist Zach Foote, trumpeter Alec Leventis, guitarist Michael Busch, trombonist Andy Dawson, drummer Kevin Goren, and bassist Will Lopez.  They have two self-released albums including We're Not Insane (2011) and THIS IS US (2015).

What's up with the band's name, might you ask? Well, according to an interview of the band, When asked about the origin of the band name, McKay says "There is absolutely no meaning whatsoever. It was the result of 30 seconds of brainstorming upon the inception of the band, and we just stuck with it." The band actually cooks and flips pancakes on a skillet during their performances.

This semester, Stacked Like Pancakes came to visit Loyola, they gave a great performance and the audience loved them. They came for a Late Night Concert in McGuire that was pajama-themed, and featured a breakfast buffet. They also cooked pancakes which I was able to taste! They were quite delicious might I add. I of course had the pleasure of designing the poster for the event, which I had a lot of fun with. I used the color scheme orange, blue, and white, which is featured on the SLP logo. The band actually loved the poster and was cool enough to sign all of their names on them.

Seeing the world differently

I always express to my family and friends that I am special. That can be interpreted in many different ways but when I say this, I mean that I see the world differently than others. Often times I notice things that others do not. For example, I focus on things that are not the intended focus. This used to frustrate me, and still does, however, I see it is me using my artistic binoculars.

There is a myth that artists use the left side of the brain, as opposed to the side that the world is know to use, the right. I am in fact an artist, and I sometimes feel as though I am missing a point or viewing something differently. According to BBC News, Artists have structurally different brains compared with non-artists, a study has found. Participants' brain scans revealed that artists had increased neural matter in areas relating to fine motor movements and visual imagery. The research, published in NeuroImage, suggests that an artist's talent could be innate.

Son of Nun

Son of Nun,  a former Baltimore City high school teacher and a cancer survivor, is a spoken word artist who is very active in the BLM movement. This school year, Loyola has had the pleasure of having Son of Nun perform at Starbucks twice. He is a very powerful performer, and engages with his audience by having them stand as he closely recites his material.

Son of Nun doesn’t just entertain, he empowers. His lyrics are rooted in the movements he’s fought with; he’s at the meeting, the protest, the action, and the mic.

S.O.N. has rocked shows with Prophets of Rage, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, The Coup, Tom Morello, and Rage Against the Machine. He’s shared the stage w/ activists like exonerated former death row inmates Shujaa Graham and Darby Tillis, Black lives matter student leader Makayla Gilliam-Price, and the late great historian Howard Zinn. As an activist and organizer, he has rolled with student leaders of the Baltimore Algebra Project, the United Workers, the Right to Housing Alliance in Baltimore, among others.

“My goal has always been to maintain my humanity in the face of challenges life has to offer,” he says. “In practice it’s creating, building relationships, organizing, learning, and taking care of my health. It’s fighting white supremacy and capitalism without letting my identity be solely defined by either.”

S.O.N. has released two albums, Blood and Fire, produced w/ DJ Krimson and The Art of Struggle w/ DJ Mentos. Most recently he used his skills as a paramedic to operate as a street medic during the Baltimore Uprising.

What is Graphic Design?

 
To me, Graphic Design is my passion. I have always been interested in art and more on the artistic side, however, I was unsure what kind of art I wanted to pursue. After taking a few photoshop and commercial design classes in high school, I knew I found my passion. Ever since I had that realization, the path to my passion has been so much clearer. I am the 2nd Year graphic designer at WLOY, and currently seeking graphic design internships, while doing free lance work on the side.

What exactly is graphic design though? By Definition.

Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving using one or more of typography, photography and illustration. The field is considered a subset of visual communication and communication design, but sometimes the term "graphic design" is used synonymously. Graphic designers create and combine symbols, images and text to form visual representations of ideas and messages. They use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to create visual compositions. Common uses of graphic design include corporate design (logos and branding), editorial design (magazines, newspapers and books), wayfinding or environmental design, advertising, web design, communication design, product packaging and signage.

Graphic design in the United States began with Benjamin Franklin who used his newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette, to master the art of publicity to promote his own books and to influence the masses.