Plugs

PLUGS is a band, hailing from Peckham, that has only one song up on their myspace, that sings about phone numbers and that is not doing much at all in the foreseeable future. I'm not even certain if they are a real band or just a hobby. And still, I've been a little bit in love with them for about 3 years now.
Perhaps it's because their brand of slightly psychedelic, melodic pop with nice male vocals really reminds me of Hot Chip. Or maybe it's because their lead singer, who used to be in Does It Offend You, Yeah?, has a brilliant name: Morgan Quantaince. All I know is, the moment you put on that song on their myspace, "Imaginary Friend", the beat grabs you and drags you down into an excitingly eerie little world...

Here is their song "All Them Witches".


Plugs - All Them Witches

PLUGS | MySpace Music Videos

Rodarte x JOYCE (+ Maggie Cheung)

Collaborations are awesome. This is just a fact.
Particularly so is the collaboration between Rodarte, Maggie Cheung (actress) and JOYCE (a boutique based in Hong Kong), which has resulted in a short film- beautifully short by Wing Shya and accompanied by a compellingly haunting melody courtesy of  Peter Kam. Most importantly however, is the fact that, for every view the short film gets on YouTube, JOYCE donate HK$1 to UNICEF.
So watch it now! Enjoy the designs in this spellbinding piece while feeling good about yourself for helping those less fortunate...

Olivia Brittain, Casting Director

If you haven’t heard about her already, no doubt you will soon be seeing her name in the credits of your favourite films. Yes, I’m talking about Olivia Brittain, the 19 year old Bournemouth Film School student who is already running her own casting business (Olivia Brittain Casting) as well as running Straight From School. http://www.straightfromschool.org/ is a brilliant website that Olivia strarted up with her twin sister Alice (who is studying acting) and it is stuffed with brilliant advice for performers, film and tv casting gossip and details of open auditions –  it’s quite addictive so I recommend you finish up here first before getting sucked into SFS.

There is also the Straight From School Youtube Channel to get hooked on, where she not only gives more advice for aspiring actors but does short and funny film reviews. Check it out:

She has worked on the casting of St Trinian’s 2 and Dagenham Girls, amongst various other projects and is currently working on her first feature film (in between shooting pieces on 16mm film for her degree) but she still kindly took the time to have a chat and tell us about everything from her serious brownie making skills, to her invaluable advice for aspiring casting directors and actors alike...

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your casting experience.
I'm Olivia, I'm 19 currently balancing life between Film School and getting work in the world of casting in the film industry. After my GCSEs I knew I had to get into the film industry so I got work placements in local TV studios to build up my knowledge of it all. I was 17 when I worked at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios and got some great experience but it was really when I was 18 and got a summer internship with Lucy Bevan Casting that I knew where I wanted to go!


What made you want to be a casting director?
My family are all actors so I was also going to end up in that side of things! It was really when I came across an interview with casting director Jina Jay (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0419605/) a few years ago that I settled my decision. In the article she spoke about the challenges of the job and how she could fight for actors sometimes, if they were newcomers or someone unproven. Something about getting to meet different people every day is a bonus too. I cut the article out and still have it stuck on my wall, and it's been my inspiration ever since.


Are there any other people who inspired you?
Casting directors like Lucy Bevan, Pippa Hall, Nina Gold and particularly Mary Selway who was legendary within the film industry.


What are your favourite films (particularly in terms of the cast)?
Atonement (cast by Jina Jay) in terms of casting was brilliant and is definitely one of my favourites for that! I love Withnail and I, Emperor's New Groove, The Truman Show, Empire of the Sun, Some Like It Hot - I have so many favourites it's hard to pick just one. I will say my favourite directors include Christopher Nolan, Edgar Wright, John Hughes, Shane Meadows and Wes Anderson and would love to work with all of them (bringing Hughes back from the dead of course!).


What is the most difficult thing about the job?
The stress and high pressure to get a project done with a tricky deadline. If you get sick, everything grounds to a halt. Hours are long and when you leave the office the work doesn't stop! But there are perks that overshadow the difficult aspects!


While we're at it, what is the thing you love most about casting?
Meeting so many new great actors! Discovering new talent and taking risks with unknown faces. Trips to the theatre, seeing as many new independent films as possible as well as establishing great relationships with agents, producers and directors. My dream job basically!


Are there any up and coming actors that you are really excited about?
Many. I'm always on the look-out of course! Most aren't 'names' but if I have to say the most well-known actress I'm looking forward to seeing in more projects is Lucy Boynton and Charity Wakefield.


Any advice for people who are considering getting into casting?
The first thing I would say is to get experience as an assistant and to get to grips that it's hard work and no glamour. Checking out the Casting Director's Guild website is a must!


What is the best advice you've received?
To follow everything up. For example, when I had a work placement in a casting office I managed to lose £10 worth of stamps. It sounds small right? But I made sure I sent a thank you card including some replacement stamps. I definitely think that had I just left it I doubt I would have been asked back for an internship. Follow everything up - agents and producers will remember you and it's important to maintain good relationships.


What makes you personally really sit up and take note of an actor (apart from, of course, brilliant acting)?
Tough question, because it's hard to put your finger on it. An actor that has the right attitude, charm, initiative to take risks as well as a strong belief in their interpretation of a character is one to keep an eye on! Their performance must be captivating. If they believe it, I'll believe it.


What are the top 5 things you hate to see when you meet an actor (or even when you are approached by one, like through email or letters etc)?
I don't want to say I 'hate' certain things that actors do - so I'll safely go with little annoyances because there can be a few! My number one annoyance is when actors appear desperate. I get dozens of messages and emails from teen actors along the lines of 'plz im beggin u, can u help me get a agent?'. That depicts to me laziness if they can't be bothered to research the work themselves. Bad spelling is a natural turn off anyway, as is the desperation! Any CV and headshot submissions that type text speak get deleted straight away.

When actors don't read the breakdown properly it can cause problems too. For example if I clearly state 'Caucasian 16 year old, one headshot submission only', I can receive emails that start with 'I know I'm not Caucasian or 16... but I thought I'd submit anyway!' along with a dozen huge files attached that freezes my inbox! If you can't read the breakdown properly, how can you read the script properly or turn up to an audition on time?

In an audition too much make up is a turn off. I want to scrub it off so I can see what they look like underneath!

Triple chocolate cookies or brownies?

BROWNIES! I make some mean brownies. They have to be crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle. I add chocolate chunks to melt in the middle. Yum!

Top 5 BELONGings:

As boring as it is, I couldn't leave the house without my phone and my work would DIE if I lost my laptop! My diary as well as I honestly wouldn't know what I'd be doing for a day without it. Chocolate. My book of actors. Every actor I see in a show I will jot down for future reference. It's a bit of a bible...

How do you (if you do) want to change the world?

Change the world huh? I'll just say a little bit of kindness goes a long way - how about forcing everyone to believe in karma?

Sounds like a plan...

Zarif

This is Zarif.

She has toured with Alesha Dixon and Beyoncé, as well as having performed with John Legend and the Nextmen. Sometime within the next few weeks I will be interviewing her and putting a video of it up on youtube! So, I won't say much about her right now except that: as well as producing her own funky music (www.myspace.com/zarifmusic) she does beautiful covers and makes funny comics...

Interview with...The Looky Looky Posse

“Creativity is just an excuse for not being the math and algebra hero...”

“Inspiring is watching people or stories...”

Meet Conny, Julia and Luise - the LookyLooky Posse. They are three funny and brilliant Berliners with an inspirational attitude to life, and I got their thoughts on everything from brownies and cookies to photography and the Berlin music scene. If you haven’t seen the great clothing that these talented ladies make (where the hell have you been?!) click here later, but right now let’s hear from the posse...

How did you guys meet?

Conny: I met Luise 10 years ago in a skate park where she was teaching me how to do an ollie right. Hm, and I guess it was 5 years ago that Luise introduced me to Julia and that’s where all was starting somehow.

Julia: I met Luise probably 5 or 6 years ago. We both worked for a skate contest in Berlin. Half a year or 1 year later Luise introduced me to Conny, after she came back from a long surf trip in Australia.

Luise: It was exactly like this...


What were you doing before Looky Looky?
Conny: I was working in the German countryside for a jeans brand.

Julia: I worked for a magazine in the sales and marketing department.

Luise: I worked for a PR agency.

Could you sum up the Looky Looky Posse in one sentence?

Conny: CREW LOVE IS TRUE LOVE

Julia: CREW LOVE IS TRUE LOVE

Luise: CREW LOVE IS TRUE LOVE


Why did you choose the name LookyLooky?
Conny: It was Luise who discovered the name LookyLooky.

Luise: I thought it is important to be not so edgy, limited and cool...bring something funny, light in it.

Julia: She thought about a name, and few seconds later she said LookyLooky. And we were all like: perfect! Fun is a huge aspect! So the name looks good and sounds good but at the same way it is funny.

Have you been inspired by any other labels?
Conny: There is no label where I would say –that’s it- but if you see a good idea on a label of course it pushes you. Inspiring is watching people or stories and stuff like that. My friends are quite inspiring and photos do the job for me.

Luise: It’s like Conny said also for me it’s more the people who inspire me...not other brands.

Julia: I think we are really into Stüssy. But i don't think that we take this label as an inspiration. It’s only a label which we love and love to wear besides LookyLooky. We get inspired by a lot of things and yes, mostly friends and photos!


What do you love the most about LookyLooky?

Conny: the crew love is true love thing, being a strong bunch of friends supporting each other in any way.

Luise: exactly how Conny said, or how we say in our hard German: EXAKT. It’s about this posse thing. In a big city like Berlin, you need good friends and even more in facebook times, haha.

Julia: Nothing more to say. Crew love is true love.

Finally, what advice can you give to people who are thinking of setting up something similar to Looky Looky?

Conny: If you have an idea and it feels good? Do it.

Luise: When you think of starting something, don’t ask other people...they always seem to know everything better, but it’s not true. They don’t know anything but telling you your way it’s the wrong way. And believe in what you are doing!!!

Julia: Don't talk about it - do it.

Everyone creative seems to be doing about a hundred things at once. There are so many people who are “Photographer/Writer/DJ”s. Do you guys have other things going on as well as the label?
Conny: We would like to use LookyLooky as an agency to do work for other people’s magazines and stuff like that. I wouldn’t say everything that we do is creative in the end it's just a fun thing what we do together. Creativity is just an excuse for not being the math and algebra hero...

Julia: Of course the 3 of us have a "normal" job where we earn our money. It’s the goal to earn money with the one thing that we love - LookyLooky. The jobs we are doing now are only the first steps to be better, to learn more and to get the right contacts to put it all into LookyLooky. So everything we do is in the end of every day for LookyLooky.

Luise: There is a new creative platform in Berlin called "MADE". It’s opening in march and I work for this now from January on. Besides that we create t-shirts for other labels and do a lot more creative stuff for other brands...

MADE in Berlin from Made Blog on Vimeo.

I see from the photos on your blog you must love the cyber sampler cameras- are you all really into photography?

Conny: It’s a mood thing sometimes I am not leaving the house without a one way/disposable camera.

Luise: I love this- playing with pictures! I’m more into Polaroid, but it’s so expensive...

Julia: I always try to take a camera with me; sometimes it works, sometimes not. But I am really into tumblr. On Sunday I’ll check a lot of tumblr blogs to find new pics.

I hear you guys have your own lingo...?

Conny: I would say every group of friends have their lingo, it comes by the time and has their fashion too.

Luise: When you always spend time together, you have your own style and we don’t really care how we say things because you don’t have to explain so much to tell friends what you mean when you are really close... so first of all we did the blog for us and our friends so this is the language we still have.

Julia: It’s a puzzle that fits from different fields. Movies, TV series, music, friends and the Berlin dialect which Conny and Luise dominate because they are from Berlin.

How is the music scene in Berlin?

Conny: The music scene is quite colourful maybe cause of the low price apartments and studios and stuff? Berlin is a broke city which is good for any kind of art or music. I start liking techno music a bit more and quite good DJ and producer is Santé.

Luise: It doesn’t matter what kind of music you like, you can always find clubs, people and spaces in Berlin to share it with friends... Also a good friend of us is Adam Port, who is also doing fantastic electronic music. But I’m more into this rap thing and like the live demo parties very much. They are a mix of live and DJ music...very good concerts and very nice people behind it.

Julia: you have to listen to all the DJs and producers of the small independent label Keine Musik! Besides that, there is also good hip hop music in Berlin. I really like the fact that all the musicians in Berlin don't take themselves that seriously. They are very grounded and down to earth. And it’s quite interesting how many musicians from other cities are living in Berlin, like Peaches, Zombie Disco Squad and so on. And yes, I also think that it’s because of the prices here in Berlin and tons of really good clubs in Berlin, like Berghain, Panorama Bar, Bar25 or Golden Gate. And another point, in Berlin there is no closing time. A lot of clubs are open from Friday till Monday or Tuesday. I think tats one huge point why a lot of electronic DJs and producers love Berlin.

Top 3 BELONGings
Conny: Our crew, our crew, our crew.

Luise: Haha I don’t know if a crew is really a belonging, but when yes, that’s the most important thing! Besides that my phone and lap top.

Brownies or triple chocolate cookies?

Conny: brownies but with vanilla ice cream

Luise: triple chocolate cookies with a lot of cream...maaaamaaaacitaaaa.

How do you (if you do) want to change the world?
Conny: Is this the point to say world peace?

Julia: I’m not that emo or so, but yes world peace would be fantastic. Mmhh, how to change the world? Start with a smile and always be honest.

Ava Luna

                                                                                                                                                                                      

This Brooklyn-based group mix the kind of uplifting gospel-type singing you might hear spilling out of the jubilee churches with electro and somehow it actually isn't a train wreck. The soulful front man and doo-wop backup singers mesh with incredible bass lines to make this grinding post-punk sound that you won't be able to stop yourself from shaking to even just a little bit. Honestly.

www.myspace.com/avalunaband

Theatre Review: ENRON

ENRON- The Play (www.enrontheplay.com)

At the Noel Coward Theatre until Saturday 14th August 2010

Tickets from £12.50-£50.50, £25 seats released daily at 10am

Written by: HANNAH MARSHALL

Pouring over the theatre listings in The Independent last Saturday (in a slightly desperate attempt to get out of watching my mother squeal like a fourteen year old over Olly Murs at the X-factor live tour) I wasn’t sure if ENRON was the play for me. For one thing, I’ve never decided to compose songs about the stock market, or dressed up as a businessman with a large plastic animal head for that matter. I’ve (sadly) never fought anyone with a green lightsaber, and as you can probably guess I’m not the CEO of a multinational energy corporation who keeps a pet dinosaur in my underground office.

Barbara Frankie Ryan Interview!

** Sorry this took so long to put up, problems with new laptops and blablabla boring stuff **

Barbara Frankie Ryan does her own thing:

“At my school the art teacher was like the trunchbull and everything had to be drawn from life and tonal. A camera can do that, what's the point? I think it's way better to come up with something from your head.”

Barbara Frankie Ryan (yeah, I just kind of feel the need to say her full name every time) : 17 years old, Londoner, owner of a brilliant zine called BFR mag (www.bfrmag.blogspot.com). Oh, and she used to be a DJ but she “just kinda stopped when I started sixth form it was probably the distraction of boys to be honest. I went to an all-girls school for five years and now I go to an all-boys school with around 120 boys and about 40 girls so there was a lot of adjusting to be done.” Despite being exhausted from having just done 2 hours solid at the gym (! Exercise is my kryptonite!), she still managed to be witty and wonderful. Well, see for yourself...

Barbara? Barbara Frankie? BFR? Babs?
My name's Barbara, my middle name is Frankie, but at my current school everyone calls me Babs. And I sort of love initials and that's what BFR is for - Barbara Frankie Ryan. Not so simple eh?

What made you want to start your own zine?
I've always kept notebooks (moleskines to be exact, because they're the best). And I guess I just put all my poems and drawings into it. I wasn't really aware of what a "zine" was until other people started to refer to my mag as one. And I love magazines full stop. Even the ones you get free in the sunday papers.

Do you plan to continue BFR mag and perhaps build it up to a magazine one day?
YES! That would be brilliant, all glossy and available in WHSmith! Fan-tas-tic. But I'm not too sure about that. I wouldn't mind working in fashion journalism whether it is for myself or someone with a similar mindset and ideas. But, I'll definetly continue. Every few months I go through a "i'mgonnastopmakingbfrmag" phase, but then one of my friends will ask me when the next issue is coming out or I'll get a cool email from someone and then I get into the mag even more so.

Speaking of fashion journalism, you’ve had a few internships with fashion magazines, right?
My Dad is so cool, (he's an artist and does lots of illustrations and collaborations with mags) so he managed to fix me up with internships at ELLE, Rubbish/The Daily and Eley Kishimoto (fashion designers) and I'm really greatful for it.

What were they like?
I guess being an intern, you just have to be really down to earth and helpful, no one wants a grumpy girl who would rather pick her split ends than archive past editorials. Like at ELLE everyone was soo lovely, I was in the art department. And it wasn't like the Devil Wears Prada or Anna "from hell" Wintour nonsense if you get me?

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Working in a magazine perhaps?
Crikey, I don't even know what I'm doing next weekend! Next year I'm doing a foundation in Art & Design, which I'm really excited about and I'm really looking forward to. I'm not sure if I'd want to work in a magazine that soon (I guess I’d be 27), at the moment I'm thinking more of an illustration or fashion design route, but nothing is certain. Yet.

Are there any artists/designers that really inspire you? In particular, the people (or even places or things) that have inspired your art and writings?
I guess you can draw parallels between me and Daisy de Villeneuve's work (check her out she is awesome). David Hockney is awesome, "A Bigger Splash" is my favourite painting. In terms of inspiration Marc Jacobs always gets my heart thumping- he's something very special.
And I guess like if I’m at a party and someone says something really funny or witty, I'm like that would make a sick picture and then I play with the words and make a picture in my head. Or sometimes I'm pissed off with people or really happy with them. I guess people are just really good at fucking around with your emotions and I love that. That's what I like.

How would your perfect day go?
Wake up, no alarm clock, sunshining. then me and my parents would have fry up and the best bacon in London from the farmers market. Then I would go to school and all my lessons would be cancelled and we'd hop on the 148 bus to Hyde Park and play twister and have waterfights. Then we'd go to Patisserie Valerie for lunch and then i'd come home and watch the Come dine with me omnibus. And I would eat lasagna for supper and go to bed full. I think I'm easily pleased.

Name your top five BELONGings.
(see what I did there)
That was cool.
1. My 2009/2010 diary. has everything in it.
2. Coats. The barbour + the fake fur. Essential for the nightbus home.
3. All my harry potter dvds (I'm such a loser)
4. My phone, I have a blackberry but I'm not one of those annoying people who are on them all the time
5. My glasses - 'cause I would be blind without them.

Triple chocolate cookies or brownies?
I'd pass and go for a rockyroad.

How do you (if you do) want to change the world?
Less hungry people and less greedy people.

BFR RECOMMENDS...

Places in London
I love Pimlico for charity shops and all the mad people who live there.
I like Covent Garden for shops, as it has everything you need and not too busy.
I like Columbia rd for things you want but don't need.
Holland Park for skiving lessons.
And anywhere near to the river.

New bands
My mate Sam is in a band, which I guess I should plug. Called the Myth Machine. They make lovely sounds from violins and ukuleles and xylophones and do covers of Andre 3000 and kelis and sean paul and stuff, but it sounds really beautiful even though it's songs you'd usually bump and grind to. http://themythmachine.tumblr.com/
I'm always raving about I Blame Coco. She's sick, but I like most things.

Vinyls
Firstly, I love 7"s because they're cheap as chips. I’d rather pay like £3 for something I can hold with a lovely cover than pay 79p for something with no substance off iTunes. The sound is special. But it's quite annoying at the moment, I need to change my needle, so I'm currently playing no records in fear of scratching them up.

Zines
Verity Pemberton (she's wicked, she's like 20 and makes costumes for Florence + The Machine) she makes a zine called Don't Know Yet which is really really fashion-y and ridiculously cool. Also the Eel and ME magazine

Magazines
Like every month I always buy Vogue, i-D, ELLE and TeenVogue. Then others are LOVE (twice a year), POP (if I have money) and The Economist (which is really good). But my dad has subscriptions to Vogue Italia and Harpers so I steal those off him!

Making A Zine
Don't make it similar to BFR! Haha. Just do it how you want, don't want to sound cheesy. But if you're into collecting stamps make your zine about that.

1. Always carry one with you, because when people hear "oh yeah I have a blog" they switch off because everyone has one these days. But if they have something physical they can read on the toilet they're more likely to remember you.

2. Find your target audience. I wanted pretentious kids, so I left mine inside 7"s in rough trade off Brick Lane and so on. Also leave them around school. That’s always good.

3. Send them to everyone you know. find the editors of all your fave magazines and send them a copy of your zine and a suck up letter and who knows you may get a reply!

4. Don't make it about money. ’Cause your mind-set will change. You probably will make a loss, but if you love doing it who cares!

5. Make friends with the school librarian so you can get mates rates photocopying.

End of.


see previous post: http://thisiswherewebelong.blogspot.com/2010/03/barbara-frankie-ryan-and-why-she-is.html for extracts from her zine or, more sensibly, just head over to her site now for the entire things http://www.bfrmag.blogspot.com/ .

Free (Music) Friday -on Monday, I know, whatever.

So, Free (Music) Friday (on Monday) anyone?

The nicest track I've found being given away for free recently is Under Construction by Solange. Do not call her the other knowles. She's brilliant in her own right. Her music is not like Beyoncé's, although her voice kind of is, and she is just fabulous. She also writes her own songs. I love people ten times more when they actually came up with the material they put their name on by themselves. This said, I still love Beyoncé's music, but I'm really in love with Solange right know.

Head over to her "Damn Blog" (http://www.mydamnblog.com/) now to get it!! It's lovely.

Don't Miss This!

We will be chatting with the extremely talented artist Miss Led very soon!!!!! (can you tell I'm excited?)Here's 6 reasons why she's amazing (plus, ofcourse, the fact that she is our first- and only atm- follower):

See more of her work here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_joanna_h   and here: http://missled.co.uk/

A Letter To... My Schoolmates

Send in a letter about something you want to get something off your chest.
(After the sweetness of my last post, I suppose it's time balance that out. Don't take this too seriously if you go to my school and have somehow found your way here)

Dear Schoolmates,

There are so many things I’ve always wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how to put my feelings into words. I wish we could have gotten along better, spent more time together. Maybe then I would have had the courage to say all these things that have just been burning up inside me. I’m writing to you now because it's hurting too much to keep this from you. I'm writing because I can't take the thought of saying this out loud and I don't know any other way to let you into my heart. I hope you understand and know that I will always love you*. Here goes…

The thing is, Uggs are not the only shoe. I’d go on to say please stop constantly fucking up your outfits with this boot, if it wasn’t for my next point which is-

Abercrombie and Fitch, and Jack Wills are not the only two stores in existence. There’s a whole world out there. I’d be happy to show you.

Twilight and New Moon, the books and films, were not that good. Robert Pattinson is also not that hot. You totally saw him in Harry Potter and you didn’t give a crap about him then so why now? It’s because you’re projecting your fantasy of a dating hot, pasty 107 year old boy onto him, that's why. And don't you think that’s kind of weird? So please stop wearing hoodies that say “Property Of Edward Cullen” and ink tattooing yourself with the words “Bite Me”. You’re making all the sane people feel deeply uncomfortable.

I wish you would stop pretending to be more drunk than you actually are at parties just so you can kiss that guy your friend likes and do c-raaaaaazzzy things so you can have “great” stories to tell on the next school day. More than that, I pray you stop talking about what a wild night you had and how wasted you got, ’cause everybody knows you only had half a drink.

Listen carefully: "gay" is not an insult. Don't make me slap you.

I know we’re in an all-girls school, but you don’t have to gain respect by talking about boys like you’re an authority on the subject. Going on about how much easier they are to hang out with than girls because they’re "so much more chilled out" is just insulting given that your audience is entirely composed of girls. It’s also plain stupid since we've all seen that you're that girl - the one who acts annoyingly flirty when hanging out with guys, which simply makes them want you to piss off, ’cause they’re trying to chill out here, alright?

Schoolmates, I'm sorry to end on such a sad note, but there is one last thing that I need to tell you because it's weighing down on me so heavily I fear it may crush the last breath out of me if I don't say to you now: please stop deluding yourselves that omfg Skins is just sooooo amazing cos its just like a breath of fresh air on british tv you know i mean like it just actually represents the lives of us teens and its like totally not afraid to show what we get up to....  Um, WHAT THE F---?!! Seriously guys? Seriously. As much as I loved Skins (series 1 & a bit of 2), it does not represent your life, don't lie. If you lived in that world you would not be sitting on your ass on a thursday night watching fictional kids have a wild time, you'd be coked up somewhere getting wild yourself. And y'all know it.

*not all of you. And not always for some of you.

Six Sweeteners

 Because this world should be more delicious like patisserie.

1. Draw someone without them knowing. Give them that drawing. It’s nice to know someone is paying attention to you when it’s so easy to feel invisible in the world. But try not to be too stalkerish about it, okay?

2. Smile at people until at least one person smiles back, even if said person’s a crazy.

3. Give that food you know you’re gonna end up wasting to your local soup kitchen. Better yet, go out and buy them some Krispy Kreme doughnuts for desert.

4. Find something you like about a person you’ve never really talked to and tell them.

5. Make someone a mixtape of your favourite music of the moment for no good reason. Maybe even leave the mixtape (with a note attached) somewhere an unknown person is likely to pick it up.

6. Sing aloud in public. People need to know it’s okay to act like you’re in a musical once in a while.

Camera Chic

Blogs, facebook, twitter, flickr, tumblr (anything else ending in -er?) and all the general wonderful sharing ways of the internet mean everybody's a photographer all of a sudden. Illustrating our lives is apparently essential.
If you are one of those people who takes photos of everything and everyone almost every time you go out, I say ditch the boring cameras (especially if you use a camera phone, agh!) and get yourself a hot one to complement whatever look you're rocking.
But attempting to follow the above philosophy was actually rather difficult when I realised that ill cameras are not that readily available. After far too much time spent searching, here are a few of the cute and daaaamn good-looking cameras I found:

Lomography cameras also take seriously beautiful pictures:

Oh and, Jacobs - that cracker company- once made cameras as well (wtf? Interesting promotional tool, I guess...):

Know of any worthy cameras? Email a pic to zita.thisiswherewebelong@gmail.com with "Camera Love" in the title.

Do Something Brilliant, or maybe just so-so (part 1/2)

I suppose you'll have heard about Chile. And before that, Haiti. And many other disasters before that (if not, then stop pissing around and pay attention to the news once in a while, yeah?).
Perhaps like me, it makes you want to do something to help them. Maybe something more than just donating £10 (or less, you cheapskate) online? Well, how about setting up a charity gig?
(Haha, I just read that back and realised how much it rings like a bad advert...)
Anyway, I'm here to help you raise money and enjoy music (and meet bands, the best part of organising this kind of thing, I suspect. Other than the rewarding feeling of doing something good of course). So a while back I was determined to set up a charity gig for the Amnesty International Youth Group I used to run. That dream died fast. Mainly due to my laziness but whatever. Anyway, when I was all about that I got plenty of good advice on how to go about setting up a live musical event from Rob Alderman of the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang nights. The back and forth emails between us are below, no point in letting that all this knowledge go to waste, huh?

Dear Rob,

My name is Zita[....]and I run the Amnesty International Youth Group at [my school]. We want to hold a benefit concert in aid of Amnesty. I love a lot of the amazing bands/artists you've had at your KKBB nights such as:

New Cassettes
Lightspeed Champion
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Johnny Foreigner
Pete and the Pirates
and The Holloways (even though they haven't performed yet)

and I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me some information on how to go about booking these bands and how much it would cost?

Thank you very much for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Hi Zita,

Sounds like a cool idea!
With all of the bands you listed (except New Cassettes), they have an agent which is the person you'll need to contact about gigs. Most agent details (usually an e-mail address) can be found on the myspace or website of the band. There are 3 or 4 main agencies - Primary, WMA, ITB and Coda but there are others out there too.

So, contact the agent who looks after the band. They'll usually want details of the gig (where it is, what date, what capacity the venue is etc etc) so I'd put this in the first e-mail to stop e-mails going back and forth. When you first e-mail them, I wouldn't mention any money, it's best first to see if the band are available. Also, do a bit of research into the band you're booking (i.e. do they already have a gig on the date you want them? Will they suit your target audience?). This all helps when contacting the agent. To warn you, agents can be quite blunt. They obviously get hundereds of e-mails every day asking for bookings so often reply with a quick yes or no and quick explanation (sometimes not even that much). Also, it's probably worth writing out a list of a good 20 bands and split them into first choice bands, 2nd choice etc. I'd e-mail maybe 3 or 4 in the first instance as not all agents will reply...you don't want to throw all your eggs in one basket and wait to hear back when a reply may not be forthcoming.

Once you've e-mailed, if they e-mail back (and the band are available), they'll ask for an offer. As you're not a "regular customer" to them, this may be a slightly higher price than other promoters that often use them to book bands. It's difficult to judge the price of a band these days as cost has gone up. It's difficult for me to say what you could offer without knowing your budget so maybe if you e-mail through your budget and the bands you're thinking about, I can give you an idea of where to aim for.

Once the offer has gone back, if they accept, you'll then go through the stages of having a contract which will need signing and returning. Also, by law, you'll need to fill out a Terms of Business with the company you're booking through as, legally, they must do this to deal with you (this will all be sent to you). They often ask for 50% of the fee to be paid as a deposit also.

When thinking about your budget, don't forget to add everything in. Most bands charge VAT and will want a rider (food and drink), which, on average, can cost about £50-£100, depending what they're asking for. Add sound equipment, sound man, lights, staging etc to that just to make sure you're budget can cover the gig.

Bands also will send through a tech spec with their rider. This details what sound equipment they expect to use when playing. They can be quite particular about what sound equipment they use so, if you plan to book a bigish band, make sure you're not using cheap equipment because otherwise the band can refuse to play or you will have to hire the equipment they request (we learnt this the hard way) and you can lose the deposit as it is your responsibility as a promoter to make sure the venue meets the requirements in the contract.

Sorry for the essay. I don't mean to bombard you! Just a lot more than you realise to think about when you book a band of certain level.
I hope it is of some help.
Feel free to e-mail me on this address again for help. It's good to see people getting up and doing something cool for the music scene around these parts!

Good luck!
Rob

Do Something Brilliant, or maybe just so-so? (part 2/2)

By The Way: THIS IS NOT A COMPREHESIVE GUIDE. But I'm sure you know that already.
(Also, do not take the bands and artists I mention here to be indicative of my music taste. Many I still love, but I have grown and changed.)

Rob,


Thank you so much for the "essay"! It has been very helpful in making me realise what goes into planning a gig. You are right, booking a band takes WAY more than i realise (I admire you greatly).
Its a lot more confusing, complicated and generally difficult and expensive sounding than I realised, but I'm still going to try to do it because it could be great, and its for charity too...

So I hope you don't mind if i ask you a few more questions.
I have a very long list of mostly indie bands and artists who I was planning to ask, and I actually emailed some of them before I received your email back, so I wish I had waited.
Some of them were just "NO"s but some had explanations which was nice.

I am being considered by:
Johnny Flynn
The Metros
Lo-Fi Culture Scene
Athlete

but they all want "more details"!
but I still haven't got emails back from:
Pete and the Pirates
The Holloways
Gold Teeth

and I have yet to contact:
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
TV On the Radio
Laura Marling
The Whip
The Courteeners
Noah and the Whale
Crystal Castles
Golden Silvers
...and some others.

So before I send emails out to any of the other bands on my list please could you help me with these questions:

1. I was going to hold it in the school hall, which is a very nice place for a school but it does only fit about 600 standing. Do you think the bands will refuse to play for only 600 people?
Would it be better to hire a local venue? (like the [...] which can take 1000 people standing. and has had bands like Hadouken and Foals playing there).

2. The Lo-Fi Culture Scene's people said that they would cost "a couple hundred". does that mean just £100-200 for the band, excluding the "rider" and the equipment.

3. Do I have to BUY their equipment? Are you kidding? Can't they just bring it them selves... How much does equipment cost?
4. When you say "sound man" would that be a sound man that they brought with them or one that I would have to hire?

5.Please please please guesstimate what it might cost altogether (excluding food and drinks for the audience).

6...Can I hire a "promoter" or someone to do all this for me? But then again they would probably cost hundreds as well.

7. Will the agents that have replied be a lot less inclined to agree to a gig if I don't reply straightaway giving them these elusive "more details" that they speak of?

I know you are probably extremely busy booking bands for KKBB, so please just reply whenever you can.
Thank you very much

Zita,

I'm happy to help. I'll try and answer all of your questions...

More details will be what I said before. Say what the event is for (charity wise), where it'll be held, the capacity of the place etc. etc.
1. 600 is fine. Our capacity is 250 upstairs and about 400 down so 600 should be plenty for what you're aiming for. But, the Civic probably has a good quality PA in place to use for gigs so may be worth giving them a shout to see if they are open to hiring out the venue and at what price.

2. Sound like £200 flat. They may then ask for rider on top. Not sure if they are a big enough band to be VAT registered so I'd guess at £200 + rider

3. No no! Not buy haha. I'm talking as in the PA system. They will bring their own guitars/amps/drums etc but you'll be providing the PA system for them to play through.

4. Most venues have an "in house sound man" who does the system. Bands the size of Lo-Fi Culture Scene wouldn't have their own sound man so you'd need an experienced sound man to sound check them. Bigger bands (such as The Holloways and Pete and the Pirates) will have their own sound men but this is never confirmed until after the band are booked and a fee agreed.

5. All depends on the band really! Athlete will be very expensive I imagine. Difficult to guess but I'd say close to the £2000 mark (possibly more). It really is difficult to say but I think you have to judge it against your budget. So if Lo-fi Culture Scene are saying £200, Holloways will be more than that...sorry, I know that's vague but it really does vary and also depends on what the agent is holding out for!

6. You could try and involve a local promoter. Find out who promotes the gigs at the [local venue] and see if they'd be interested in helping out. Remember, it'll help their profile as well.

7. Try and reply asap. They tend to lose interest/forget things easily! Just try and keep the replies quick and readable so they're not looking at a massive bunch of text!
Any time, any time. As I say, it's nice to see someone getting involved in promoting. And don't let what I wrote above, put you off. It's tough but it can all come together with hard work and a bit of negotiating!

Keep at it!
Rob.

Hey, Theatre Junkies

Here's your fix for the week: two theatre related opportunities I've come across lately, both of which are pretty damn awesome. The first is for the writers, the actors, the directors and producers. It also serves as a holiday. The second is only for the writers. The second is . Get on it people. Deadlines are coming up fast!!! And getting into any aspect of theatre is tough, there aren't opportunities like these just lying around all the time. Both are in association with IdeasTap http://www.ideastap.com/ so you need to get an IdeasTap account to apply. But it's free and you'll find out about more opportunities through it so it's all good. (Plenty of interviews with film, tv and theatre professionals giving great advice on there too by the way)

1. Kevin Spacey's (yeah, Kevin Spacey) TS Eliot Exchange

This coming April, 50 actors, writers, directors and producers will travel from London to New York to engage in a week of cultural activity and artistic development, hosted by The Public Theater, an NYC institution and home to some of America's most exhilarating theatre. The following month, 50 American artists will travel to London to take part in a similar program at The Old Vic, the legendary home of Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, and now under the artistic direction of Kevin Spacey.

During The TS Eliot US/UK Exchange you will spend a week living, learning, and developing theatre in a vibrant and intense city. You will be able to build your contacts within the theatrical industry and have the chance to learn from some of the finest and most successful people in the business.

http://www.ideastap.com/newsdetails.aspx?articleid=879




2. WordPlay Script Competition
Being a fledgling writer can be a lonely business. It's all late nights at the computer and sitting alone in front of empty pages wondering when you might get your first big break. But sometimes, all you need is a nudge in the right direction.

That's why the National Youth Theatre is looking for new writers who need a bit of guidance. They'll invite five writers to attend a two-day development workshop with professional mentors and directors. From that workshop two of the writers will be selected to have their plays put into full production at a London venue as part of NYT's 2010 season. The plays will be performed by members of the Playing Up 2 course, part of the National Youth Theatre's Creative Learning Programme.
Fifteen further writers will be chosen to receive written feedback on their work.

For now we don't need the full play, just an outline of your idea and some indication of how it will work. You need to fill out an application form (link to form here) which will ask you for the following:
- A detailed synopsis of your idea for a play. It should relate in some way to one of the four topics below and be no more than 500 words
-Detailed character breakdowns for 10 defined characters or a detailed description of how your play could be performed by an ensemble of 10
-A draft of four completed scenes of your play. We need to get a feel for you as a writer so we would like at least 10 pages in total.

We're looking for ideas that best represent the experiences of the Playing Up students so we'd like to see work around the following themes: mental health, asylum seeking/immigration, the rise of political nationalism in Britain or class conflict. Feel free to use more than one of the themes and to interpret them literally or abstractly. They're just a pointer to some of the work the students have been exploring so you don't need to stick to them too rigidly.
There are 20 members of the Paying Up 2 course, so we're looking for two ensemble plays that offer strong character roles to at least 10 performers. There are no restrictions in terms of gender, and the National Youth Theatre encourage you to think creatively and experiment.

 http://www.ideastap.com/briefdetail.aspx?briefid=103

Good luck.
P.S. NYT plays get reviewed by The Times and the like. It's no Kevin Spacey but still pretty damn good