George Fox University - L'Ami Yearbook (Newberg, OR)

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BENNY HESTER IN CONCERT by Mark Coterill After all the short people jokes are said and, thank goodness, done, Benny Hester emerges the emmisary of love through music. On Friday night, October 21, Benny Hester and his band played to a large audience in Bauman Auditorium. Hester plays rhythm guitar and sings lead. He is backed by Jeff Lams who plays keyboard and sings harmony, David Coy on bass, Paul Bahn on percussion, and Tona Sena who plays lead guitar and sings harmony. Hester has been immersed in music since he was four years old. In high school he played bass guitar for a rock band that played mostly copy music, but he felt that people need- ed to hear songs with a more positive message. He began writing songs for the band to perform. He was not a Christian at the time. I wrote them thinking that the songs I was writing would be more positive, not knowing that the ultimate message was the message about Jesus Christ, Hester says. After high school, Hester went to college where he became a classical musician. I learned about orchestras and all that, he says. In 1972 Hester arrived in Las Vegas and signed with CBS records as a songwriter. He never worte any songs that were famous or that anybody heard of, but he was able to make a living. Then he was invited to a concert at a church. I expected a choir or a quartet or something, but it was a real band, he says. At the concert Hester found himself criticiz- ing everything about the band — un- til it came to the message. He saw himself accurately portrayed in the lyrics of the songs he heard. That night he became a Christian. Eventually, after three years of attending Bible studies and church, Hester found himself speaking to thousands of people each month. Yet he candidly admits he never wanted to be a singer. I never wanted to be the guy out front, he says. I wanted to be a songwriter. Now Hester is both singer and songwriter. He has released three albums, the newest entitled Legacy. This album is what Hester calls a summation of his life. He says, It is the strongest statement I ' ve ever made musically and lyrically. One of the songs on the Legacy album is Melody Man. Along with being the next single release for the album, Melody Man will also be the theme Hester will use during the next year. At present he is working on a video clip of Melody Man. In December 1983, a new book titled Melody Man will be available at bookstores and at all concerts. The book will contain 120 photographs, 18 of Hester ' s songs, and a story about Hester ' s life and the Legacy album. The 1984 Hester tour will be called The Melody Man Tour. Hester ' s group will do a three week tour in Canada this year perfecting the show, arranging and rearranging, until it says what they want it to say. Then in ' 84 The Melody Man Tour will begin in the United States. Let ' s hope it does not bypass George Fox College. Mark Coterill — 13 —

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STEVE CAMP IN CONCERT by Ed Kidd Those who attended the Steve Camp concert on November 12 in Bauman Auditorium were treated to an entertaining evening of music and ministry. Steve played both guitar and piano during the course of a two- hour, solo concert, performing songs from all of his albums including his latest, For Every Man, and his up- coming spring release, Fire and Ice. Steve also sang a wide variety of songs by other artists such as Keith Green and Larry Norman as well as satirical versions of selections from the Doobie Brothers and the Beatles. Highlights included a hilarious Beatles medley, Keith Green ' s haun- ting Asleep in the Night, and Steve ' s own number one, Christian hit, Run to the Battle. Like most Christian artists, Steve spoke on the need for repen- tance, revival, and God ' s love. But his ministry extended further than just the surface level God loves you! and Don ' t sin! sharing of many Christian concerts. Steve spoke uninhibitedly on many intense subjects from the horrors of abortion to the personal struggles of his own life. Steve revealed a humanness in his personality rarely shown in per- formances by most other Christian artists. I sin too, said Camp on stage. Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite when I ' m on stage speak- ing about a sin I have problems with also. The crowd saw a man who spoke with conviction, yet who was honest enough to admit his faults. As senior Matt Simonis said, This was — 12 — the most edifying concert here in re- cent memory. But only around 500 attended the concert in the 1,100 seat Bauman Auditorium. Because of low ticket sales earlier that week, the ASCGFC Central Committee voted to sponsor a free concert to increase attendance. The committee hoped that a free-will offering at the concert would recover lost revenue from the cancellation of ticket sales, but this was not the case. It is estimated that the ASCGFC lost $1,000 sponsoring the concert. But this did not detract from an excellent night of music and praise for those who attended. Steve Camp proved himself to be an exceptional musician and a man with a testimony of integrity. Ed Kitt Ml

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EAST MEETS WEST by Kris Croly I had always wondered why a bunch of girls, or guys for that mat- ter, would get together to roll around in the mud chasing after an odd shaped leather object. In the big leagues they do it for money. Even some college students do it for money in the form of scholarships. But I just couldn ' t picture myself get- ting all muddy, risking injury, just to have a little fun. When I arrived at George Fox College, I had visions of sugar plums dancing through my head, not mud raisins. Funny how one day I found myself out on the track field fumbling to catch a little pigskin . I have yet to figure out how they bribed me onto the field, but there I was with 22 other girls, all with wonder-filled eyes, as Coach Allen Hilton explain- ed our strategy. It made no sense to me. Coach Hilton tried repeatedly to convince us that the West was strong and had not only the brawn but the brains to back it up. The daily practices to strengthen our bodies quickly transformed them into steel, or so we liked to think. Each practice Coach Hilton and his assistant coaches, Ben Hickenlooper and Neil Hall, taught us new plays and formations. By the time our last practice came, we knew that a miracle had been performed during our week of training. We were now a lean, mean, fighting machine, ready to take on anything or anyone. Saturday arrived and greeted the excited powder puff players with a gray drizzle. I began to have doubts. This was not the glorious weather I had seen most of the pros play in.