Deacons

Dan Deacon "America" Domino Recording Company Rating: 3 stars (out of 4) If Dan Deacon's first album, 2007's "Spiderman of the Rings," was too cartoonish and short-sighted and his follow-up, 2009's "Bromst," was too dense and insular, then the Baltimore indie-pop maestro has concisely melded his split personalities on "America" (ironically his first release for the London-based Domino Recording Company). Deacon recently said he left D.C.'s Carpark Records for Domino because his growth in Europe had stalled.

A longtime deacon at a Fullerton church was charged Friday with possessing "numerous files of child pornography," Baltimore County police said. William Steven Albaugh, 67, a deacon at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church on Belair Road, was arrested at his Nottingham home at 7:45 a.m. Police had searched Albaugh's Treadway Court home and said they found images of children on his Verizon Online account and on thumb drives. Police do not believe that children at St. Joseph's were victims.

Seed: No.1Record: 24-5Conference: Atlantic Coast (12-4, tied for first)Last NCAA appearance: 1994 (lost in second round to Kansas, 69-58)NCAA history: 16-12.Rank: No. 3Highest rank: No. 3.PLAYERS TO WATCH:Randolph ChildressPosition: GHeight: 6-2Weight: 188Strengths: Can penetrate or shoot from the perimeter as well as anyone in the nation. He thrives on carrying Wake Forest, especially looks for shot late in the game.Tim DuncanPosition: CHeight: 6-10Weight: 238Strengths: GRabs half of his rebounds on the offensive end. He is considered to be one of the most fundamentally sound big men in the country, recording an ACC-leading 18 double doubles.

Dan Deacon, along with John Eaton, will host a "fun free dance party" on Wednesday at "The Space Formerly Known as the Zodiac" (1726 N. Charles St.). The party kicks off at 10 p.m., and will include DJ sets from Deacon and Eaton. There will also be a set from DJ Regional Barbecue - which isn't just the greatest DJ name of 2013, but it's also the moniker of Future Islands bassist William Cashion. It's 21+, and again, best of all - it's free. For more details and a look at who could be there, check out the Facebook event . wesley.case@baltsun.com twitter.com/midnightsunblog

FIVE MEMBERS of St. John Baptist Church were ordained as deacons Sunday in a service with the theme "Ordained to Serve, Equipped to Lead."New deacons Harold Dickerson, William Harris, Earl Johnson, Francelia McKendra and Ostein Truitt trained for a year under the church's pastor, the Rev. Robert A. F. Turner and members of the Deacons' Board.Nathaniel Alston is acting chairman of the Deacons' Board. The church is at the Interfaith Center in Wilde Lake.Wilde Lake reunionMembers of the Wilde Lake High School class of 1986 are organizing a 10-year reunion, and they're in search of classmates.

The hands and feet of God have come to town.More than 1,500 Baptist deacons from 17 states have been meeting this week at Marriott's Hunt Valley Inn, participating in prayer meetings, Bible study and panel discussions on the church's role in solving contemporary problems. They are delegates to the 65th annual gathering of the National Baptist Deacons Convention of America, which wraps up today.In the Baptist church, deacons are lay people who assist a pastor by serving in a ministry."The deacon is a spiritual leader," said James H. Taylor, a member of First Baptist Church in South Richmond, Va., and a past president of the Deacons Convention.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Last week they proved vulnerable. Yesterday, they proved beatable.What nearly happened here Wednesday night against Virginia after falling behind by nine points in the second half finally happened this season for second-ranked Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons lost to 11th-ranked Maryland and in the process showed weaknesses they hadn't demonstrated since last year's season-ending loss to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament."The only team that has pressed us so much in the past was Kentucky, and we lost both times we've played them," Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said after Maryland had stunned the Demon Deacons, 54-51, at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest's Nicole Levesque hit a three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining last night to give the Demon Deacons their biggest win in women's basketball history, a 67-65 ACC upset of No. 7 Maryland.With the score tied at 61, Levesque made the front end of a one-and-one with 1:07 remaining to give Wake its first lead in more than 12 minutes. Maryland's Katrina Colleton countered with two free throws for a 63-62 Terrapin lead with 58 seconds left.Wake called time to set up a driving lay-up by Levesque that put the Deacons back in front, 64-63 with 41 seconds to play.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Name that team.This Atlantic Coast Conference program has become a fixture in the NCAA tournament, but it had to replace an All-American who gave it four great seasons. A veteran guard got benched, and the players have been accused of lacking a killer instinct. In a defeat of historic proportions, Duke demolished them on their own floor.That description fits both Maryland and Wake Forest, and if the Terps (10-5, 3-2 ACC) could rebound from a shaky start in the ACC, so can the Demon Deacons.

As Navy's football players gathered in front of TV sets to watch their Thursday night road opponent, Wake Forest, open its season at Air Force yesterday, they suddenly understood the somewhat bizarre scrimmage they had been put through the night before.Before a captive audience of plebes, jumping for joy because they were being allowed off academy grounds for the first time, and the school band playing as loudly as possible, the team was put through a scripted drill."Chaos, that's what we were trying to produce," said coach Charlie Weatherbie.

Dan Deacon and his ensemble were confined to the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" stage last night, a rarity for the acclaimed Baltimore electronic musician. (If you've been to a Deacon show, you likely know he prefers the floor, with the crowd by his side.) Rules may be rules, but Deacon still made his unique connection with the audience through the Dan Deacon smartphone app . As you'll see in the clip, Deacon - broadcasting from an iPhone - instructs viewers at home to play along, too. It's a strong performance from Deacon and his ensemble, as "True Thrush's" pop sensibilities naturally shine.

(UPDATE: "Jimmy Kimmel Live" begins at midnight, not 11:35 p.m. Thanks for heads up, Alex.) Dan Deacon, arguably Baltimore's best known electronic musician, will make his national TV debut tonight on "Jimmy Kimmel Live. " He will perform the "America" single "True Thrush" with an ensemble. The show starts at 11:35 p.m. midnight , but in typical late-night talk show fashion, he won't perform until the end of the show. The studio audience will use the Dan Deacon smartphone app during the performance.

As it prepares to open its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule Saturday against Wake Forest, Maryland is in an unaccustomed position. The Terps - who lost their last seven conference games last season - find themselves as favorites to beat the Demon Deacons and avenge a 21-point loss last season. The Terps (2-2), who were beset by early-season injuries, are as healthy as they have been all season. In Wake Forest (3-2, 1-2 ACC), they will encounter a team ranked near the bottom of the ACC in most statistical defensive categories.

Dan Deacon , a Baltimore electronic musician and composer, is known for his participatory shows, where he involves the audience in his performances. Now, the artist has an iPhone app to hook his fans in even more. The Dan Deacon iPhone app is a free download and it can be used at Deacon's shows, even without an Internet connection. The app turns the iPhone into a kind of smart sensor that detects the music that Deacon is playing, and can synchronize the app screen, with changing lights, and the camera flash.

If electronic musician Dan Deacon is anything, he is fiercely loyal to his adopted hometown of Baltimore. Last night's sold-out show at the Ottobar wasn't so much a coronation; that ship has long since sailed. Rather, its familiar dance party feel, high energy and many nods to Charm City made it seem more like a warm hug from an old friend. As he and his three-piece backing band worked through old staples and many of the songs from his most recent album, "America," Deacon's performance showed the dynamical qualities of his newest works and the maintained ability to create ecstatic dance parties with manic blasts of electronic noise.

Dan Deacon's live shows have always incorporated the crowd, whether it's a dance battle among fans or a call-and-response chanting session. But now he's taken the crowd interaction a step further with his first app. Available for iPhone and Android systems, the free app turns a user's phone into a color-changing glowstick. The app - developed by Deacon and other Wham City members including app-programmer Keith Lea, Patrick McMinn, Alan Resnick and Robert O'Brien - is available now, and it doesn't require Wi-Fi or data usage.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Maybe Maryland will be ready for No. 2 Duke on Wednesday, because the Terps surely weren't mentally prepared for Wake Forest.No. 4 Maryland was on the wrong side of one of the major upsets of the college basketball season yesterday, as the sleepwalking Terps never awoke from a 10-0 deficit and lost, 85-72, to the heretofore slumping Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.A 36-point swing from their Dec. 3 meeting at Cole Field House was hardly the manner in which Maryland (19-3, 7-2)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J -- Oklahoma State got a typically great effort from its defense and a typically strong showing from its inside-outside combination of center Bryant Reeves and guard Randy Rutherford. But the Cowboys are headed to the Final Eight for the first time in 30 years because some unexpected players grabbed the spotlight with the season on the line.Reserve guard Chianti Roberts made two key defensive plays and converted a huge layup in the final two minutes, and point guard Andre Owens forced Wake Forest star guard Randolph Childress to commit the night's biggest turnover, as Oklahoma State overcame a six-point, second-half deficit to take a 71-66 victory in the East Regional semifinals last night before a sellout crowd at the Meadowlands Arena.

Dan Deacon is obsessed with apocalypse. From a dilapidated couch in his Station North practice space, the city's best-known electronic musician and composer quickly rattles off a list: the United States' "growing military stronghold," drone warfare, genetically modified foods, fracking to produce oil and natural gas. "We're living in constant flux, and there's this growing stranglehold on our individual liberties and our collective liberties," Deacon,...

Dan Deacon is obsessed with the apocalypse. From a dilapidated couch in his Station North practice space, the city's most well known electronic musician and composer quickly rattles off grim crises: the United States' "growing military stronghold," drone warfare, genetically modified foods, fracking to find oil. "We're living in constant flux and there's this growing stranglehold on our individual liberties and our collective liberties," Deacon,...