If you Google Louden Swain you’ll find a few links about “Vision Quest,” a movie released in 1985 that chronicles one point in a high school wrestler’s life where he has to do something significant. Picture the “Karate Kid,” but replace the karate gi with a Spandex leotard and the Japanese headband with wrestling headgear, and you’re on target. The similarly named Los Angeles band Louden Swain’s new album, “A Brand New Hurt,” wrestles with the same idea. And though… Read more

For singer, songwriter and CSUN business management major Michelle Andria, the night of Sept. 26 was bittersweet. On the lot of CBS studios, she was presented with an award acknowledging her as an outstanding entertainer at the 2009 Pamana Awards, an annual event recognizing Filipino artists. “The claps were like thunder for me. It was just amazing,” said Andria. After the awards ceremony, Andria went home and started to surf the Internet. “On Facebook, YouTube — everybody is talking about… Read more

Clouds slowly skipped across the sky and scattered the grey daylight revealing only sporadic spots of blue and muddling the colors of the boats bobbing near the docks below. It was nearing 5 p.m. and water lapped against the hull of the “Sinister Smile” as members of the CSUN Sailing Club worked to get the boat ready for a 6 p.m. race near the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey. “Sheets are what we call ropes that control… Read more

He made his claim to fame when joining the emo-rock group Evanescence before starting his own band, Trading Yesterday, but singer-songwriter David Hodges has spent the last several years writing music for other bands. Hodges has penned songs for the likes of American Idol’s Kelly Clarkson and David Cook, three-time Teen Choice Awards winner David Archuleta and rock band Dashboard Confessional, but now Hodges is once again out in front slamming keys and belting out vocals. Hodges’ new EP, “The… Read more

He tested positive for HIV in 1992, was paroled in 2007 and as a result 41-year-old Michael Dilley has tried to help others combat addiction and prevent HIV. “Like four months after my diagnosis I was in a school talking about it,” said Dilley, a health education student. Since Dilley was paroled in December of 2007, he has been working with the Tarzana Treatment Center, the largest taxpayer supported treatment facility in Los Angeles. Dilley was reluctant to discuss his… Read more

As part of the Fall 2009 Freshman Common Reading Program, CSUN will adapt, “The Soloist,” the account of Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez’ encounter and sustained relationship with Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man with schizophrenia and a love of music. Lopez chronicled the encounter for the Times in 2005. He explained the difference between that work and the “The Soloist.” “The columns are just in the moment and the book has a beginning and a middle and an end,”… Read more