Biola band in key with ministry

Lauren Francis, staff writer

While most college-aged students are cramming for midterms or making late-night coffee runs to stay awake all night, David Ottestad, Chris White, Johnny Hamilton and Nick Green spend their days recording, playing live shows and meeting fans. As members of the band The Workday Release, these men are foregoing class for fame.

Ottestad begun at Biola University as a freshmen, but soon after meeting the other members of the band, they knew their lives were heading in a different direction.

The “different direction” turned out to be the recording of a concept album called “Farther from Familiar,” which is a seven-track portrayal of the book “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson.

The album follows the book’s character, Ordinary, as he is called to leave his life of being a Nobody and to become a Somebody outside his world called Familiar. He faces trials along the way, but is eventually able to start a new life after denying his old one and looking forward to what he could be.

The album is Ordinary’s journey composed into a half-hour beginning with ambient melodies that flow into heavier, guitar-driven rock pieces

“Everyone can identify with Ordinary’s story. We ask big questions like, what is my purpose? Is there a God? What is life all about? The purpose of this album is to present life as we know it and dare to ask ‘is there more?’” Ottestad said.

The album begins with “A Distant Shore,” which parallels the initial call to adventure for Ordinary. It ends with the track “Await the Sun” which is the listener’s final look at where Ordinary is in his life journey.
The band released their second album on Feb. 28 at a show in Anaheim, and tickets went fast as about 500 of their fans came out to see the show.

The Workday Release is trying to use their music as a ministry tool to spark thoughts in listeners about God’s calling for their own lives.

Ottestad’s favorite part of being a musician is talking with people and getting to know their different stories.

“We know that [Christ] has been the forward motion of this band since its beginning and are honored to know that he has given us this new record for the purpose of showing kids their place in his story,” Ottestad said.

March is a busy month for the band as they begin a hometown tour with shows in Irvine, La Mirada and an acoustic show at Trinity Baptist Church in Downey, Calif.

To check out music from The Workday Release or to see show dates, visit their website theworkdayrelease.com or www.myspace.com/theworkdayrelease.

Spartan banter: first time showing a success

Savana Koteita, staff writer

Combine the heads of twin brothers, a Vanguard degree and enough dry wit to change the reputation of an epic drama—then put on your toga. Alumni Daniel and David Holechek’s full-length film “305″ has premiered on campus.

“As many young professionals in the film business will tell you, it can be very challenging to find opportunities to create your own content. In this case, we decided to make our own opportunity,” Daniel said.

Together in the summer of 2007, the Holechek brothers sought out fellow co-workers and friends to create a spoof on the Warner Bros’ blockbuster “300″.

Their goal was to create a short comedic film and post it online to explore their skills and strengths in filmmaking and visual effects. The outcome was a five-minute parody called “The 305″. The short follows five inept, misfit Spartan warriors whose job is to guard a goat field, an opportunity given to them by Leonidus himself.

“We are all huge fans of ‘The Office’ and its dry, witty humor, and when looking for a way to spoof the over-the-top visual style of “300″, the mockumentary format just seemed a perfect fit,” said co-writer, star, and Vanguard alumnus Brandon Tyra.

This short film quickly became an internet phenomenon. In July 2007, the spoof became the #1 most-viewed comedy and the #2 most-viewed video on YouTube. It was spotted on CNN, was featured on VH1’

s “Best Weekend Ever”, and made headlines on many local news shows. It was then that the Holechek brothers were approached to create a full-length film, which made its debut at both the Palm Beach International Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival in spring 2008. It was released onto DVD that summer.

On Friday, Feb. 19th, Vanguard hosted a screening of the film in light of Homecoming week. Many faculty, students, alumni, and friends came in support of the comedians of Vanguard’s past.

“Vanguard’s always been very supportive of everything we’ve done. It was nice to come back to VU and show it off,” Daniel said.