Latest news with #Gowan
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Styx Announce New Album Circling from Above, Unveil Lead Single 'Build and Destroy': Stream
The post Styx Announce New Album Circling from Above, Unveil Lead Single 'Build and Destroy': Stream appeared first on Consequence. Styx have announced their 18th studio album, Circling from Above, and have released the lead single, 'Build and Destroy.' The album arrives everywhere July 18th, but fans can score a vinyl/CD copy early at Styx's merch table starting Wednesday (May 28th) at the band's tour kickoff show in Greenville, South Carolina, or via their online shop. The co-headlining trek with REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin runs through late August, and you can get tickets here. Get Styx Tickets Here Circling from Above marks the first Styx album since 2021 and boasts 13 tracks spanning 41 minutes. It features contributions from all seven members of the band, including founding guitarist/vocalist James 'JY' Young, guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, longtime drummer Todd Sucherman, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, guitarist/vocalist Will Evankovich, and bassist Terry Gowan. The LP's first teaser, 'Build and Destroy,' sees the band settling into a groovy prog boogie that showcases an abundance of instrumentation and Styx's signature vocal harmonizing. Gowan, who sings leads on the track, elaborated on the recording in a press release, explaining that it came together in just a day and a half, late in the album sessions. 'That little melody, I kept singing 'Build and Destroy,'' Gowan said. 'Even though we don't sing over that part, I kept thinking that would be a good title. It's thematic. The melody feels like a little 'Star Trek' or 'Twilight Zone' thing — just a small tag that reinforces the title.' He added, 'We knew it was strong. Even though it was the second-to-last song we finished, it felt like a quick way into the album's overall theme.' Limited vinyl/CD copies are available for purchase via Styx's online store, ahead of the July 18th digital release. Stream 'Build and Destroy' and see the artwork and tracklist below. Artwork: Tracklist: 01. Circling from Above 02. Build and Destroy 03. Michigan 04. King of Love 05. It's Clear 06. Forgive 07. Everyone Raise a Glass 08. Blue Eyed Raven 09. She Knows 10. Ease Your Mind 11. The Things That You Said 12. We Lost the Wheel Again 13. Only You Can Decide Popular Posts Billy Joel Diagnosed with Brain Disorder, Cancels All Upcoming Tour Dates Man Wearing Nazi T-Shirt Gets a Beatdown from Fans at Punk Rock Bowling Fest The 30 Best Action Movie Stars of All Time, Ranked Freddie Mercury's Alleged Child Revealed in New Biography Is The Who's Farewell Tour in Turmoil? Zach Braff to Return for Scrubs Reboot Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Gowan embracing three-down opportunity
The Canadian Football League is full of reclamation projects. Tay Gowan is more than that. The man known as 'Gowan Island' on the football field is just as thankful to be at Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp as he was to find a bed to lie in for most of his life. As a child and through high school, Gowan and his mom bounced around homeless shelters and surfed couches in Covington, Ga. Sometimes, it was easiest for them to recline the seats in her Jeep. CAMERON BARTLETT / WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie defensive back Tay Gowan (23) is adjusting to the CFL rulebook from his four-down background. 'My mom actually stayed in the dorm with me at Miami-Ohio (University). People don't know that. She slept on an air mattress in my dorm room,' Gowan said Tuesday. There wasn't much he could do as a kid to pull them from struggle, but as he grew older and his talent on the football field blossomed, his mission became reaching the National Football League and making enough money so that they wouldn't ever have to wonder where they'd sleep again. 'I don't even want to make it like a sad story, but yeah, we went through all that. And I definitely kept my grades up, I didn't get in no trouble. If we ever needed money, I just kept my head focused on what I wanted to do, and I can eventually provide,' he said. 'I'm still chasing that dream, though.' You could write a book on Gowan's path to three-down football — he's already doing that, though. At 27, he is already older for a first-year defensive back. Gowan didn't start until his Grade 12 season, but a strong campaign earned him First-Team All-State honours and several offers at the next level, the best of which came from Miami-Ohio. A bad shoulder required surgery, though, delaying his college debut by two years. Little did he know at the time, lost years would become a theme in his career. In 2018, Gowan transferred to Butler Community College in Kansas, where he faced a similar challenge to what's in front of him with the Bombers — proving himself. A six-interception season vaulted him to the top-ranked defensive back in the National Junior College Athletic Association and earned him all-conference honours. He was recruited back to NCAA Division 1 by the University of Central Florida, an offer he accepted due to its proximity to home. Another strong campaign with the Knights had Gowan projected as a second-round talent in the NFL draft. Then disaster struck before he could play his final year of college. Gowan tested positive for COVID-19, which he passed to his girlfriend, newborn daughter — who was born prematurely and weighed just two pounds — and his mom, who had to be hospitalized with strong symptoms. Gowan pushed football aside and didn't play in 2020, which tanked his draft stock. In 2021, he declared for the NFL draft, despite having just one year of tape at the highest level of college. He was eventually drafted, but had to wait until the sixth round to be selected by the Arizona Cardinals. 'I just heard in a song, 'God, he not gonna put more on you than you can bear,' so everything he put on my plate, he's already prepared me for,' he said. 'I don't regret anything. My daughter is more important than football to me. I gotta just prove myself again.' After showing some promise in the pre-season with Arizona, Gowan was traded to Philadelphia four months after being drafted. For one reason or another, he didn't latch on after that, lasting one season with the Eagles before bouncing to Minnesota and Tennessee's practice squads. It's now been nine months since he's played in a game, which makes the Bombers' first pre-season contest against Saskatchewan on May 24 a big one — as long as Gowan is still with the team. 'I might be emotional because I ain't played in so long. My type of talent, my type of calibre, it's kind of frustrating sitting out a whole year and wondering if I'm gonna play again, but Winnipeg called me and gave me an opportunity, and I was so grateful, so thankful. So I'm just leaving it all on the field for the guys,' he said. CAMERON BARTLETT / WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie defensive back Tay Gowan made an interception last Tuesday at rookie camp. At 6-2, 185 pounds, Gowan stands out in more ways than one. His multi-coloured visor reflects the very receiver he's mirroring, and his 4.49-second 40-yard dash speed makes him one of the fastest on the field. 'He's got good size, and I think even more than the football stuff, he's just a good dude. And I think that's what stood out to me the most — a man of God,' said Marquise Bridges. 'He leads us in prayer at the end of every practice, and he's a good player, man. He's just going to get accustomed and try to get used to what's going on here.' Gowan, who stood out in rookie camp last week, had an interception during the receiver-defensive back period of Tuesday's session. He put himself in a perfect position to catch a throw that was bobbled by receiver David Wallis and ran for what would've been a touchdown. 'I ain't had one in so long. I ain't touched that ball in so long,' he said, relieved. 'It was just so great, that's why I ran all the way to the end zone. I was like, 'You know what? I gotta go.'' Gowan is still adjusting to the rules that come with the Canadian game. There have been bright moments facing the waggle on a bigger field, and there have certainly been lessons. Making it easier is seeing a familiar face in quarterback Chris Streveler, who was his teammate in Arizona. Gowan said he locks in a bit more each time they face each other, because he knows he'll hear about it if he allows a completion. 'It's kind of hard to get that confidence back, but as I went through rookie camp, I realized I'm still Gowan Island, that's still who I am,' Gowan said. 'Sitting out a year, it's going to take me a couple of days, but once I get back into rhythm, I'm going to show the team who I am.' Gowan referenced the story of Greg Brooks Jr., a former safety and captain at Louisiana State University, whose football career was taken away from him due to a brain tumour, and how it relates to him. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. This winter, the Bombers inquired about his availability, but he didn't accept a training camp invite immediately as he waited for another opportunity from the NFL. It's something that he had to sit with for a while, which he now feels foolish for not doing sooner. It's a chance to revive a career that once looked so promising. 'It was very selfish of me to not even be thankful for this opportunity,' Gowan said. 'So right now, I'm fully embracing it. I'm happy to be here. I'm enjoying the team. 'That's how I want to look at my life. I want to be thankful for opportunities because somebody would've died to be right here.' Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
NZ Herald
27-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
‘Schools are asking for more': Rangitīkei children benefit from Bikes in Schools programme
Gowan said the programme had been rewarding. 'We have had a great time coaching the kids and meeting the principals and teachers,' Gowan said. 'The benefits of the programme go far beyond cycling as it builds confidence and self-esteem that flows through into the classroom. Whether it's seeing a learner or child with disabilities ride for the first time or accomplished riders learning new skills, having fun is the reward for us.' Sport Whanganui community connector Libby Rayner said the Rangitīkei initiative grew out of the 2024 Do A Duathlon series, when organisers noticed a lack of participants from certain schools. Kym Skerman of the district council secured a grant from NZ Lotteries, which was used to buy 22 bikes, helmets, repair kits, a trailer and a storage container. Additional funds were granted from Sport New Zealand's Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa Funds. Bulls School acting principal Megan Syme said the progress made in four sessions was amazing. 'I assumed our children both owned bikes and rode bikes regularly. I was shocked when I discovered this wasn't the case and approximately 18% of our kids had either never ridden a bike or couldn't ride a bike. 'Approximately 22% rode regularly and displayed efficiency of skill and safety. These statistics highlight the dire need ... for further skill development and safety learning – safety being essential as our tamariki live in a town with two state highways. 'The delight on the faces of our children and the improvement in their ability was amazing.' The accessibility of bikes led to an increase in participation in the second Do a Duathlon in February and March, with 85 children taking part and an increase in participants aged 5 to 8. The next steps are to seek funding to extend the Bikes in Schools programme to younger students and look at how to continue to develop the Do a Duathlon series in 2026. 'The programme has been so successful that our schools are asking for more,' Rayner said. 'They want their 5–7-year-olds taught the same skills as the older students, and they want the older students to be taught how to ride safely on the road. 'The number of students riding their bikes to school has increased considerably, so they now need to learn how to do this safely without putting themselves and other road users at risk.'
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Quiet clash over Afghanistan may presage more US-China tensions at the United Nations
The US and China are facing off at the United Nations over control of Afghanistan policy and aid, with the outcome likely to set the tone for relations between the two giants at the global body, analysts said. "An obscure diplomatic dispute over who should draft United Nations Security Council resolutions on Afghanistan is turning into a major row between the United States and China," said Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group. The debate, he said, had significant implications "not only for how the UN engages with the Taliban in Kabul, but also for how Beijing positions itself as a leading power in the Security Council". Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Tension has been brewing for months, Gowan said, but escalated after the new Donald Trump administration took office in January. At issue is who should initiate and guide UN resolutions and mandates, which in turn influences how the Security Council handles peace operations or sanctions regimes. Beijing has significant interest in Afghanistan, and not only because of the central Asian nation's location on its southern border and history of hosting restive members of China's Uygur minority. Afghanistan also has rich resource potential, with an estimated US$1 trillion worth of mineral deposits, including copper, iron, gold, lithium, and rare earth elements. "The Taliban have been forced into a very pragmatic posture, since their Chinese and some non-Chinese interlocutors are chomping at the bit to start expensive drilling into what are mostly unknown geologies," said Gordon Feller, a global fellow with the Smithsonian Institution. "The main impediment comes down to simple math: what money will come to the regime, and the numerous others who want a piece of these deals." Like most countries, China does not recognise Afghanistan's Taliban government, which returned to power as the US withdrew in 2021 after a two-decade "forever war" that cost Washington an estimated US$2.3 trillion. But in late 2023, China was among the first countries to host an ambassador from Kabul and is a main source for the modest number of tourists visiting Afghanistan. That has raised Western fears that Beijing is edging toward full diplomatic ties despite Kabul's dismal human rights record and treatment of women. "China clearly has strategic interests at stake in Afghanistan - spanning counterterrorism to mineral extraction and infrastructure investment under the Belt and Road Initiative - that make Beijing especially keen to play a leading role in bringing Kabul in from the international cold," said Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group. "It is not surprising that US-China competition has also bled over into the UN, where Beijing's push for a greater role in multilateral forums is pushing up against the US resistance to cede any influence to China," added Chan, formerly a US diplomat posted in Shenyang. "It is more notable that China is attempting to play a leading role at all on Afghanistan than that the US is wary of ceding influence to Beijing." Neither China's UN consulate nor the US State Department immediately responded to requests for comment. The UN's presence in Afghanistan, maintained since 2002, continued after the US withdrawal three and a half years ago. It provides aid and seeks to prevent terrorism, safeguard regional stability, curb opium production and promote human rights. "This is the complex and challenging context in which we work," Roza Otunbayeva, the UN special representative for Afghanistan, said in December - characterised by limited international leverage or influence. But, she added, "isolation is not the solution, and we must continue to engage to build trust for the benefit of the Afghan people". China and the US are among the five permanent members of the Security Council, but Beijing has rarely taken the lead on resolutions, known as "penholding" in UN-speak. Of the 24 issues focused on a specific country that the council considered last year, the US and Britain each led on six and France on seven. "Experts on China's behaviour at the UN have long wondered when Beijing would try to pen a resolution," said Gowan in a report for Just Security, the online policy and rights forum. "The answer came last fall." At that time, in a break from its usual diplomatic approach, Beijing signalled it wanted to take the lead on Afghanistan, according to Just Security. But the US has opposed that action, both during the Joe Biden administration and now during Trump's. Two weeks ago, China and Pakistan circulated a draft resolution on extending the UN's assistance mandate in Afghanistan for another year, prompting the US and South Korea to respond with their own version. The "duelling drafts" are essentially the same, with Washington's version reportedly containing some slightly different human rights language. Earlier this week, the Security Council tried to find a compromise behind closed doors but deadlocked as both sides refused to back down. The main issue is not what is being said, Gowan noted, but who is saying it. "However this diplomatic game is resolved, it is obscuring the question of how the UN can best engage with Afghanistan," he said. "The current debate will not help." This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
South China Morning Post
14-02-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Quiet clash over Afghanistan may presage more US-China tensions at the United Nations
The US and China are facing off at the United Nations over control of Afghanistan policy and aid, with the outcome likely to set the tone for relations between the two giants at the global body, analysts said. Advertisement 'An obscure diplomatic dispute over who should draft United Nations Security Council resolutions on Afghanistan is turning into a major row between the United States and China,' said Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group. The debate, he said, had significant implications 'not only for how the UN engages with the Taliban in Kabul, but also for how Beijing positions itself as a leading power in the Security Council'. Tension has been brewing for months, Gowan said, but escalated after the new Donald Trump administration took office in January. At issue is who should initiate and guide UN resolutions and mandates, which in turn influences how the Security Council handles peace operations or sanctions regimes. Beijing has significant interest in Afghanistan, and not only because of the central Asian nation's location on its southern border and history of hosting restive members of China's Uygur minority. Advertisement Afghanistan also has rich resource potential, with an estimated US$1 trillion worth of mineral deposits, including copper, iron, gold, lithium, and rare earth elements.
