ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE from SEAN VICHINSKY – DIVINE CHILD HIGH SCHOOL Eight students, their adviser,and a handful of student photographers huddled around a table in a recording studio, staring at their microphones nervously. The voice of the young singer popped over the speaker, prompting everyone’s stomachs to twist over in anxiety. The first student, Isaac, nervously swallows and inches toward the microphone. “What’s it like to be an eighteen year old in an industry saturated with older artists?” he asks. There’s only a moment’s hesitation before the singer, Rachel Farley, fires away. “I don’t see too much of an age barrier here, and it certainly isn’t an excuse to be good or bad…if you’re a good artist, just be a good artist.” Isaac thanks Ms. Farley before the students continue with their questions. Rachel, only a year or so older than any of the students, answers each question without delay, dealing out lengthy responses to even the simplest of questions. “You tweeted yesterday that you hit a parked car,” asked Cordelo. “Is everything okay with that situation?” “I totally hit a parked car yesterday and felt really bad.,” Rachel said with a laugh. “I’ve never hit a car before…and had to leave a note.” But not all of the questions were delivered lightly. “Are you afraid of(becoming washed up) down the road?” asked Sean. “I’m personally not afraid of it…at the end of the day, the most important thing in your life is the people who love you from the beginning, and the people who are there for you.” The heaviest question was saved for last, when she was asked about her late father and the impact of his death on her songwriting.Half of the students clenched their hands worriedly. How would she respond to such a personal question? Bluntly? Emotionally? Would she hang up? She did none of those things. “One thing that I never quit was music,” she instead answered. “We made it work. My dad was super supportive and super proud of me and never wanted his…struggles to get in the way of that….your life isn’t over, so you have to keep going.” REVIEW – SEAN VICHINSKY “Ain’t Easy” – Rachel Farley Rachel Farley’s debut single, “Ain’t Easy,” clearly intends for itself to be an all-around track – some rock here, a pinch of techno there, and a heaping of country to fill your plate. That being said, the debut track from her upcoming debut album clearly establishes Farley as an all-around artist, even if it does initially come off as country. But look deeper into the lyrics, and you see an artist who not only produces all-around music, but is an all-around person: “Fight like hell/And love like an angel/Pray like a saint/ And run like a rebel/Live each day like there’s no tomorrow/ Speak my mind/And act like a lady” In an industry juiced up with mainstream pop and techno, a nice, refreshing glass of all-around country akin to Shania Twain is just what we need, and“Ain’t Easy” is the perfect way to deliver that, catering to audiences of multiple genres. ************************************************************************ ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE from CORDERO MacNEAR – L’ANSE CREUSE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL Rachel Farley An abnormal chili day in July at Michigan State University sets the atmosphere for a phone conference with rising country star Rachel Farley.Young reporters from across the state of Michigan walk into an empty dorm hall,cutting several corners and rounded walls and downstairs into an almost secretive music studio where there are suddenly people active. Clerks are hard at work and the studio is set and ready for Farley’s interview. With only five minutes until the conference, the interviewers quickly took their seats around the round table and barely reached a full round of practice before the call from Farley’s end came in. Being so young and already at fame, Farley was not only asked questions about her career, but also things that she tweets on Twitter. “Today I hit a car. That wasn’t moving. In a parking lot. Had to leave an ‘I’m sorry.Call me.” Note. What have you done today?” Farley tweeted late Sunday night. During the phone interview, the tweet was brought up in sympathy and Farley said with laughter, “I felt really bad. I’ve never hit a car before.I was hoping that I’m leaving a note they would be like ‘Oh that’s so nice and honest and wonderful. We won’t call her…we’ll just pay for it, it’s fine’ but that didn’t happen.” Farley said her insurance would have to cover it, and all would be well. Unfortunately it comes to the conclusion of many young artists is that during their early days of fame, tragedy erupts. Although Farley has higher hopes and does not see that as an issue for herself and her career. “I view my personal life and the relationships with my family and those very close people to be insanely important to me,” Farley said. “Good luck with whatever it is you’re wanting to do,” Farley said,“Do what it is you want to do and say what it is you want to say,” Farley gives advice to her audience and youngsters to not give up on their dreams.Considering Farley’s father passed when she was 16 years old. Farley’s father was diagnosed with a rare cancer and soon died in August of 2011. Farley’s father played a major role in her life and was very supportive of what she was accomplishing. “He’ll say sing loud and don’t suck,”Farley said; quoting her father as if he were still here today. REVIEW – CORDERO MacNEAR Rachel Farley – Ain’t Easy Music Review Rising country star Rachel Farley has her biggest hit yet, Ain’t Easy. With nearly 200,000 views on YouTube, the 19-year-old has high hopes for greater hits in the future. Ain’t Easy is one of only a few of Farley’s produced songs, others are simply acoustic. For Farley’s young age, she has a strong country-voice that kick-starts her song, placing listener’s into their groovy country mood. Not only is her voice strong, but the lyrics are as powerful –which has gotten her fans bragging and others talking. “Loving a girl like me ain’t easy,” and “Fight like Hell and love like an angel. Pray like a Saint,and run like a Rebel,” are popular quotes from this independent song. Giving listeners a positive, up-lifting affect. The near four-minute song is a moderate-weighted song with a poppy groove that sets listeners to dance to the hit. Singer Pink, being her biggest inspiration, and Farley’s strength to recover from her father’s death two years ago, a successful future looks promising. ************************************************************ *********************************************************** ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE from ROBERT MITCHELL – GRAND LEDGE HIGH SCHOOL Rachel Farley, a 18 year old country singer from Nashville Tennessee, she has only recently released her first single “Ain’t Easy” in early 2013, and has been gaining popularity since, you can feel her rich southern heritage in her music, the way she describes her life, her goals,her home, and not to mention in her voice, with her strong southern accent. Her style is a sort of sassy, confident, gritty, southern country, and she embraces this description of her music, saying “I think that kind of touches on what my music is, I like the work raw, because I don’t like being fabricated, I’m not much of a fabricated person,” she went on to say “I’m not opposed to crossing over… I don’t see genre lines really,you know, being creative is all about not seeing [genre] lines” She got her start at 13, playing her first show to mostly friends, it didn’t go well and most of the people that came to see her never went to see her again,although this did not deter her from wanting to go on stage again, “I knew it was going to be tough, because I had never done it before.” Farley said “things like that, when they go wrong, it makes you want to work harder… shows are never going to go flawlessly… the best thing you can do is make a joke out of it and move on” She has played hundreds of shows since her first, and even two at the grand Ole Opry, “it’s a surreal thing when they call you and want you to play there, and even more surreal to actually get on the stage” she went on to say “I’m still not really convinced that it happened.” Rachel Farley has certainly been working her way up from the bottom, and for good reason, she is a talented singer, with emotion that can certainly be felt, If you enjoy country music, or southern rock, this is defiantly an artist worth keeping an eye out for. ******************************************************* ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE from DIAMOND LEDFORD – CASS TECH HIGH SCHOOL At MSU’s Impact radio, MIPA’s young entertainment coverage journalists had a chance to hold a phone interview with up and coming Rachel Farley. The phone began to ring as the journalists looked around the room, ready for anew experience. Rachel cheerfully, but professionally answered the phone. The MIPA Entertainment Coverage instructor, Jamie Flanagan, started introduced the nervous journalists to Rachel and then immediately turned the segment over to them. Each journalist introduced themselves and asked one question each. Rachel Farley is an 18 year old up and coming country singer who has definitely had experiences not common among young ones pursuing a music career. When asked about her age and how she is pushing through an industry saturated with older artists, she commented, “It’s exciting. I don’t see too much of an age barrier, and [its] certainly not an excuse, you know, to be good or bad.You know if you’re a good artist, then you have to just be a good artist. You can’t be good for 18, or good for whatever….Part of the challenge is to not use your age as a crutch. You learn to be a professional really quickly, regardless of your age.” She went on to explain that her experience performing at the Grand Ole Opry was, “so exciting. It’s a huge honor. In country music that’s the mother church, of country music, it’s the big beetle, so I’ve always wanted to play there….I played there for the first time back in March, and im still really not convinced that it happened and still not convinced that its happening again tomorrow night !” Performing at such a respected avenue, did not seem out of the question, even when her debut did not go as planned. Rachel recalls, “I knew it was gunna be tough because I had never done it before and I didn’t even know enough music to fill up the two hour set that I had booked. I knew it was gunna be difficult and I made it work. When things go wrong it makes me wanna work harder”. Although Rachel is plowing her way to fame, she is still an 18 year old girl.On July 28, 2013, she tweeted (………). The journalists showed “deep concern” and asked if she was OK. Rachel immediately began to laugh, as she said, “Awww! I really appreciate your genuine concern! I’m glad you didn’t ask that to make fun of me. Yeah yesterday I totally hit a parked car yesterday. And, uh, I felt really bad. I’ve never hit a car before, so I felt really bad and I had to leave a note. Amid her progressing success, Rachel has experienced a personal tragedy. Her father, one of her biggest supporters passed away two years ago. Chests tightened as Rachel recalled the events surrounding that fateful day. The interview did not end on a sad note, though. Mr. Flanagan skillfully returned the interview to a lighter one. Then, the phone line went dead and the young journalists had accomplished their feat: interviewing for entertainment coverage. These article and other work from the week long MIPA Summer Workshop originally appeared on each author’s individual blog. Here are the links to keep up with each of them: Sean goes to Divine Child : http://seanvichinsky.weebly.com/ Isaac is from Grand Ledge: http://isaac517.weebly.com/index.html Cordero is from L’Anse Creuse HS North: http://corderomacnear.weebly.com/ Sara from Wayne Memorial: http://sarapristavu.weebly.com/ Austin from Grand Haven: austinwritesaboutstuff.weebly.com AJ from Rochester HS http://prisciandaro.weebly.com/ Diamond from Cass Tech: http://thebrillianceofdiamonds.weebly.com/ Bobby is from Grand Ledge: http://robertjmitchell.weebly.com/reviews.html