If you’re anything like me — just one of the staffers here at Demon Tracks — you sink your teeth into any memoir or historical non-fiction book. So you may be curious to check out a new release from Andrea D. Lyon, clinical professor of law, associate dean of Clinical Programs, and director of the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at DePaul.

Here’s the skinny on the book and where you can catch the author in 2010:

Lyon is kicking off the release of  “Angel on Death Row: My Life as a Death Penalty Defense Lawyer,” with several appearances around the country. According to her website, the book is “the story of the first woman in the nation to serve as lead attorney on a death penalty case.”

Andrea Lyon

Chicago
Jan 14- 6:00 p.m.
Flossmoor Public Library
1000 Sterling Ave.
Flossmoor, IL 60411
Contact: dicastroj@flossmoorlibrary.org

Jan 20- 6:00 p.m.
Barnes and Noble
Introduction by DePaul President the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M.
1 East Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60614
Contact: dliebow@depaul.edu

Detroit
Feb 4- 7:00 p.m.
Ann Arbor District Library
343 South Fifth Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Contact: grimest@aadl.org

Want to read an excerpt? Get the ebook chapter, A Mother Accused, from the Amazon Kindle, Sony eReader and iTunes stores.

Consider checking out the Goodman Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol, where The Theatre School at DePaul is very well represented.

From The Theatre School, here’s a rundown of the DePaul alums/faculty performing and working as crew for The Goodman:

KATIE JEEP (BFA, Acting, ‘00) plays Abby and Mrs. Dilber
ADAM POSS (BFA, Acting, ‘07) plays Percy and the Undertaker
LARRY YANDO (MFA, Acting, ‘88 & Faculty) plays Ebeneezer Scrooge.
MICHAEL BEGORA (BFA, Theatre Technology, ‘05) is the Assistant Technical Director
STEPHEN GEIS (BFA, Theatre Technology,’90) is the Shop Carpenter NAMBI E. KELLY (BFA, Playwrighting, ‘95) is this year’s Playwrighting Fellow
KARL KOCHVAR (BFA, Lighting Design, ‘80) is a Resident Scenic Artist
DAVID NAUTON (Faculty) is the House Audio Supervisor
BIRGIT RATTENBORG-WISE (Faculty) is the Head Draper
KRISTIN TORGRIMSON (BFA, Stage Management, ‘10) is a stage management intern
ROCHE SCHULFER (Faculty) is the Executive Director
ALDEN VASQUEZ (Faculty) is the Goodman Theatre’s Production Stage Manager

Check out the latest Time Out Chicago for an interview with DePaul alum Brad Smith, a grad of The Theatre School, whose song “Help Yourself” is featured in the new George Clooney film Up In The Air. The song plays a big role in the film and scored Smith some early Oscar buzz.

from Time Out Chicago:

Oscar blogs began buzzing that “Help Yourself” would be a contender for Best Original Song. Smith later admitted to having some of the chord structure and the melody before Reitman contacted him, a violation of the strict Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stipulations for the category. “Paramount explained that other studios are going to be seeking to get you. And so I didn’t want to be bogged down with having to explain stuff when I knew that the reality was, under the strictest definition of the rules, it didn’t qualify. It’s still eligible for the Golden Globes,” he says, grinning. “Which would be something.”

Dashed Oscar hopes aside, congrats and good luck, Brad!

A belated congrats to alumni Philip Jones (LAS ‘92), who, along with the Bridges Media Group. recently won an Emmy from the Chicago/Midwest chapter of National Academy of Arts & Sciences for his work on the production team for video “Journey to Sunda.”

From the Bridges Media website:

“The story details Dec and his Rockit Ranch Productions partners Gomez and Young as they traveled throughout the Japan, China and the Southeast Asian Island region finding inspiration for the yet un-named restaurant while documenting the cuisine and culture of their visits through photography.”

Check out the video here:

Mark Buciak (COM ‘83, MBA ‘88) has run 52 marathons, including 29 consecutive Boston Marathons. This fall, he’s in a different kind of race: He is in the running for Chicago Athlete magazine’s Athlete of the Year.

From Buciak’s biography on the Chicago Athlete magazine website:

From flickr user Danielle Walquist

Most people who complete their first marathon slap the “26.2″ bumper sticker on their car and pat themselves on the back for a job well done. Mark Buciak is a different story. Not even heart surgery could stop this man from continuing his streak of consecutive Boston marathons. Seriously.

Vote for Buciak, who ran track for DePaul, or your favorite Chicago athlete. 

Buciak was honored as the magazine’s May Male Athlete of the Month, which qualified him for the Athlete of the Year nomination.

We recently received word that DePaul Political Science professor Scott W. Hibbard is a recipient of 2009 – 2010 Fulbright Scholar Grant, lecturing in American studies at American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Congratulations, Professor Hibbard.

From murielanderson.com

Virtuoso guitarist and composer Muriel Anderson (MUS ’82), has no shortage of achievements on her resume:  multiple CD’s and DVD’s, film soundtrack credits (including Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcalona) a packed touring schedule, and the distinction of being the first female winner of the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship in 1989. But like many DePaul alums, Anderson is not content to rest on her laurels and regularly uses her talent and recognition to give back to others.

Each year, Anderson returns to her hometown of Downers Grove, IL to put on a fall benefit “Hometown Concert” for the Music For Life Alliance, a non-profit that supports music education for children.  The 18th Annual concert, held each year at the Downers Grove North High School auditorium, is a neighborhood tradition.

Her generosity doesn’t end there; Anderson will be returning to DePaul to share her knowledge and talent with  the public in a guitar masterclass on January 26th, 2010.

Muriel Anderson’s 18th Annual Hometown Concert benefit takes place on Saturday November 28  in Downers Grove, IL and starts at 8:00 pm.  This year’s event features special guest Andy Wahlberg, an award winning harp-guitarist from Florida.   For more information on the benefit, go to murielanderson.com.

Muriel’s DePaul’s  master class will take place January 26th from 7:00 to 8:45 in the DePaul School of Music Recital Hall on the Lincoln Park Campus. DePaul guitar students will participate and it is open to the public. Come back to Demon Tracks in the coming weeks for more information on the class.

Stay tuned for a feature profile on Muriel coming soon to the DePaul Alumni and Friends website early next month!

As the Chicago Sun-Times reported today, DePaul’s School of Music and Theatre School are one step closer to having “the world-class facilities to match their top-notch talent.”

More from the Sun-Times article:

Without a word of dissent, the Chicago Plan Commission signed off on DePaul’s ambitious plan to build new schools for theater and music, a new academic center, and to redevelop Fullerton Avenue with a hotel, student housing and market-rate housing….

“Those two schools have some of the finest faculty in the world and some of the finest students in the country. And they’re literally performing in spaces with dropped ceilings and walls that bleed sound,” said the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, DePaul’s president.

“It’s not where you learn how to play an instrument. It’s not where you learn how to sing. We need a space where musicians [and actors] can be properly trained.”

The buildings will be funded through a variety of sources, including philanthropic support.

DePaul student Brian Ernst and other students from DePaul University’s Digital Cinema program created this short video documentary of Chicago journalist and social media maven Nancy Loo. It’s a good looking video, check it out:

Great job, Brian!

Cheer on the DePaul men’s basketball team as it opens its regular season Tuesday night against the Columbia Lions. The game, which is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m., begins the team’s 30th season at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.

Get tickets through the DePaul Blue Demons ticket information center. And while you’re at the game, donate non-perishable items to the food drive organized by the DePaul Captains’ Council in support the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry.

For a peek at the action, check out a video of DePaul’s Eric Wallace jumping over a defender on an alley-oop that turned into a three-point play at last Friday’s game (video courtesy of DePaul Athletics Communications):

If you want to feel the excitement of Blue Demons basketball but can’t make it to the Allstate, you can watch the action in Chicago on Lakeshore Public Television (LPTV) or listen to the play-by-play on radio station WSCR (670 AM). In New York, the game will be shown on SportsNet New York (SNY), ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com.

Need more options for DePaul basketball? Live audio and live stats are available at www.depaulbluedemons.com. You also can follow the game via @DePaulSID on Twitter.

The women’s basketball team is already two games into its season, winning against both Central Michigan and North Dakota State.