NewsPacblog

Is someone yacking in the parking lot? The flu is going around, but it could be for other reasons. Many people have a very big secret to keep. More parking lot vomit is likely.  Two or three other people could pass out, including the replacement emcee, who has just come aboard.  Welcome to the LBCC talent show. The school talent show ended with the student crowd raucous, impatiently chanting, demanding they wanted their way at the Tripp Auditorium on Feb. 19 2026.  “You knew, maybe 20 minutes before it happened.” Emcee Zhaine Raymundo recounts the circumstances behind her unexpected recruitment as the event host. “I wanted it to go well because I was really excited for it. I was like, you know what? I'll pop a Tylenol between sets. It's OK. I had little flashcards with what acts there was, but everything else was just on the fly. Other than that, I just kind of winged it. The next day I crashed. I kind of pushed myself a little bit too much.” Even the host has got talent....

A surprising turn of events that Haywood never expected.  LBCC talent show turns romantic. Read how it happened. Haywood spoke with The Commuter about the Talent Show and their special love story. “He's not walking, so what's going on? Please don't throw up. Because he was so pale and shaking. And I'm like, please don't get sick. Please don't pass out. Please, please stay upright. If you fall on me, we're both going down. The only reason that I thought anything was going on was he put his guitar on the ground. And I've never, in our nine months of being together, watched him put his guitar on the ground. Like, that thing is his baby. He would never. Then I got really confused. I thought something was wrong.   He was a little scared. Because he could feel my heart rate drop. And I was like, if I pass out…It's not that rare of an occurrence for that to happen.  I (could hear) distinct voices of people that are like, oh my God, what the hell's going...

Learn how Daniel Amezquita went from a tough job, to training for an unexpected new career.  Daniel Amezquita heard about LBCC’s Talent Show because he helps publicize SLC events. He loves his new nursing program. He is making friends which is also making the challenging coursework more manageable. He spoke with The Commuter about the Talent Show and his path to LBCC. “Oh, man, so before coming to college, I was working at a farm. And I think that was really where my personal curiosity for faith grew. Because it's tough work.  I would put on music and I started getting interested in different gospel music. I started listening to Hope 107.9. I would get in the car, drive to work, and it would just make me feel, like, ready to work and it would boost my mood and everything.  (“The Goodness of God”) was one of my favorites on there. You'd go out there, you'd be, like, freezing in the morning. So you'd work winters, too. You'd have to have rain gear on pretty much all t...

 What: Summer concerts Who: ZZ Top, P-Funk, Bikini Kill, Rilo Kiley  Where: Cuthbert Amphitheater and Grand Lodge  To the mulleted, shorn of sleeve, tethered to Kenny f'n Powers shades, with domestic foamer in hand and charred tube-meat sputtering over open flame: old ZZ still tops whatever over-studied twangers you got coming out of your speakers.  Death-nearing gruffness and arthritic plodding actually made the band seem more metal live. The singer is still clamoring for a suitor to "Gimme All Your Lovin'" and his long fixation with industrious "Legs" continues, but based on its absence in the set list, old Billy has finally given up on looking for some "tush." And for those wanting the roots of hip hop, well before the Garylord Opry Mall got their mitts on it-- throw on some George Clinton. You will hear Dre and Snoop and all the 90s thug rap. For P-funk is the foundation on which they were based, or more accurately--bassed.  You will also see a...

There is, according to the internet, “Not Green Day UK.” There is also a band named “Not. Green Day.” I suppose the dot should really be emphasized, otherwise delusionally optimistic speed readers might erroneously suppose the hall-of-fame rockers unwittingly booked an old movie theatre in Corvallis, instead of a stadium.  One band features a genuine British singer simulating a Californian’s fake British snarl. This universal British punk voice is something like the all-purpose southern accent so many country-seemin’ folks use, no matter if they are northerners in paved and populated multi-national strip mall-strewn municipalities. The other tribute cover band, the one that appeared in Corvallis on October 3rd, doesn’t strive to impeccably mimic singer Billie Joe’s (now there’s a good country name) imperfect voice. I will hereby refer to the domestic recreators as “Dot.”  “Dot” are from Washington state and opted to recreate Cali pop punk rather than the local grunge of the er...

Though you may look at him and think, hey, he turned out OK, an LBCC student wonders aloud as part of the Civil Discourse series, “Could I have turned out better” had he not been so reliant on devices throughout his childhood? Phones at the Corvallis Museum are off or tucked away. A full house of community members sit together, giving their attention to each other on a Wednesday night in January. They have come to consider cell phone usage in schools –Should students be able to have their phones in class?  Still, at the time, as a child, the student held resentment against his dad, whom he deemed strict for regulating his access. Ultimately, now, he has sided with his dad – “He was trying to look out for the best for my future.” Numerous unidentified speakers from the crowd shared their opinions throughout the evening. On the other side of the argument, the pro-cell phone users hold resentment too – against teachers. To make classes interesting teachers need to AI-cheat proof their...

 “The whole time (I’m) thinking don’t start crying. Holding that back was very hard.”  Kaelynn Carroll is recounting her performance at “LBCC’s Got Talent” in the Russell Tripp Performance Center on Feb. 19. Her song, “In the Stars” by Benson Boone, was “about grief, how he lost someone and being left here while they’re (passing) through a different world. They’re never going to see each other again.” “I definitely went through a lot of hardships during high school. I lost two family members. So being able to sing something very powerful through grief, definitely made me emotional. There were times when I was singing it in rehearsal and I would get emotional and choke up at the end. But being able to embrace that, embrace grief, and get through hardships and know that in the end it’s going to be OK, I feel like that connected a lot with the audience, because you never know what people are dealing with.” “Being able to be in the moment” with the audience, that’s why Carroll lov...

  “One thing about being a musician that I've really come to appreciate and own is that it really is an adventure and no two days are the same. Like bouncing from place to place or having these little epiphany moments here and there,” says musician Chris Rorrer of the band Macrofocus.  “I've just learned to really enjoy the process,” he adds. “There was an inkling that I might be moving back to Oregon, after really cutting my teeth down in LA.”    To which the band’s drummer, Kevin Van Walk, responds with the classic quote: “We’re gettin’ the band back together” to describe the Macrofocus reunion. “One of my absolute favorite musicians to work with,” Rorrer smiles at his bandmate’s exuberance.  The duo have varied musical resumes. Rorrer, along with being the singer, songwriter and guitarist of Macrofocus, has played cello at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the Los Angeles Symphony. A favorite performance involved an EDM orchestra – a DJ along with live string...

  Old World, New Talent A punk bass solo about the geologic spectacle of an ancient glacial flood, followed by a primal mash inspired somehow by both Motorhead and Peter, Paul, and Mary. I’m surrounded by sandwiches. Flying fingers belied the bassist’s claim that this was the first time he had played the instrument in five years.  The Old World Deli’s mic is open. The sign-up sheet has been swarmed.  Fairly high profile this was for a warm-up refresher. How fleet would Mr. Bassman's finger fretting be with regular practice? Obtuse backstory perhaps, but swift skill. Another debut performer, Rachel, threatened to lecture the crowd. But only because her previous experience in front of an audience has so far only been professional and educational. I don’t know how she is with a TED Talk, but next speaking engagement she can now threaten the opposite. Should a lecture falter, she can now safely spice it up with her sweet and easy vocal stylings of Nora Jones light jazz. ...

 Vlad Standcescu viewed “LBCC’s Got Talent,” a public performance in front of more than a hundred of his peers, as warm-up practice for his real, most important audience of one – his mom.  Still, Standcescu  got third place in a fierce competition, featuring over a dozen student performers at the Russell Tripp Performance Center on Feb. 19. Running is his sport. Standcescu could maybe use a physical therapist himself, which he plans to be after graduation, as he currently has an injury. Music is a salve during his recovery. Check out Vlad’s music: Vladz_guitar  on Instagram After the talent show Standcescu sat down with The Commuter and explained how and why he wanted to show LBCC that he had talent. “I was in the bathroom and I saw this flyer saying ‘LBCC’s Got Talent.’ That gave me an idea, Oh, I should try that out. It just gave me the mindset, Hey, if I don’t try it, I feel like I’m going to regret it. If I do try it, I tried, you know, even if I do bad, I still ...

 My mom went back to college, and she’s like, hey, you should come do this. It’s really great. And I was like, you know what? I think I could go into animal technology. That seems achievable. We actually started around the same time. And we’re both nontraditional students. It was actually kind of nice having my mom be here because she already got to figure out all of the ins and outs of what you do at college, and I didn’t have to go through that transitional period. But I am seeing those students that are going through that transitional period and the struggling that it takes to do that. I’m grateful, but how can I bring that to these other students as well? Because it’s hard coming back as an older student.  You hear so much negativity about college. It’s gonna be so hard. The professors are gonna be so rough. And that’s actually what stopped me from going when I was younger was the stigma, look at all these barriers.  If you don’t do this, then you’re not gonna succeed...

 I chose to come to LBCC because it’s more flexible. Especially with the two-year system. I also came to LBCC because of the ease of transferring to OSU. I think it’s pretty good with civil engineering, which I’m going for. Plan A would be something to do with urban planning, municipal engineering. Plan B would be material science, if I don’t get into that.  It’s actually better than expected. Because a lot of people have been saying, oh, community college is not how people expect college to be like. But because I’m putting myself (out there) and getting involved in many things like SLC, it has not been boring at all, and I really enjoy it right now. But college, you know, ups and downs. I am starting to feel a bit nervous about homework and all that. I expect everything will get harder. I would like the challenge, but I do feel tired sometimes. For my next term, I already checked out the course schedules. I have to wake up around probably 6 to commute to Albany from Corvallis...

 I came to LB because I’m a nontraditional student. I was in the workforce for a long time, specifically in geriatric care. I wanted to advance my career prospects, whether it be through direct care in nursing or policymaking in public health. That’s why I chose LB because it’s really good for working students. It’s a much different, a much better experience. I went directly into a university the first time around. I was younger. I didn’t truly know what I wanted, and so I jumped around a lot. I also didn’t have the focus and the drive that I do now. I find that I’m a much better student now, than I was back then. I’ve had really good experiences with the teachers here. They’re very helpful. They’re very accommodating, which is really nice, especially if I’m, like, away for a leadership conference with the Student Leadership Council. (SLC) has been fantastic for me and for my development. Because I have tried to lead teams before, and I tend to be a bit of a doormat. I don’t like t...