The Geek Muse

‘Bromford Dreams’ Mural as Unemployed Youth Paint Alongside Muslim Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:34:00 +0000

From the 13th-17th February unemployed young men from the multiply deprived Bromford estate in east Birmingham will be working alongside the ‘urban spiritual artist’ Mohammed ‘aerosol’ Ali, The Hub youth centre and Dr Chris Shannahan of the University of Birmingham to design and spray-paint their dreams for their community onto a huge cube. After the unveiling which will take place as part of a community event on Saturday 18th February at 12 noon the ‘Bromford Dreams’ Cube-art will be on display in the streets of Bromford, after which it will be exhibited in different locations across the city of Birmingham.

Mohammed ‘aerosol’ Ali is an award winning artist who has painted murals in major cities including New York, Chicago, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne and Dubai. His work seeks to bridge the gap between different faiths and cultures (www.aerosolarabic.com). Mohammed Ali will lead the young people on a week-long journey, visiting his studio-gallery in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham and touring the inner-city murals he has painted across the city. The journey aims to inspire them to develop their own artwork and understand his approach of painting for social change. Mohammed said: “We have problems in our society, 2011 saw the riots in our city, we see divided communities. It’s time to inject some creativity into our efforts with dealing with these issues.”

Worth Unlimited is a faith-based charity working with socially excluded young people across the UK. At its heart is a commitment to ‘building hope, unlocking potential and realising worth’. ‘The Hub’ youth centre in Bromford is at the heart of Worth’s work in Birmingham (www.worthunlimited.co.uk).

Dr Chris Shannahan is a Research Fellow in Urban Theology at the University of Birmingham. His work focuses on the changing face of faith in the city, especially amongst socially excluded young people (http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/tr/shannahan-chris.aspx). He said: “This is a big coup for the University of Birmingham. To be involved at street level and to be delivering such a project is very exciting.”

The unveiling of the ‘Bromford Dreams’ Cube will take place at

12 noon on Saturday 18th February at The Hub youth centre,

146 Bromford Drive, B36 8TY Birmingham

Art…..Music….Points of View….Food….A Chance for Interviews and Photographs…

For further details please contact Chris Shannahan at
c.j.shannahan@bham.ac.uk or 0121-414-7192.

This project is co-funded by the University of Birmingham, Arts Council England and

Worth Unlimited

The impending demise of rock music?

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:52:00 +0000

I’ve been aware of a few stories circulating recently lamenting the decline of rock music. Some of it is seriously apocalyptic stuff, for instance The Independent ran an article today pointing out that ‘only three of 2010's 100 bestselling singles were guitar-driven’. That’s pretty bleak. But when I think about it, I can’t remember the last time I heard rock music on a mainstream radio station, in fact it has been noticeably absent. Just try to name some rock bands appearing in the mainstream charts right now. Not easy, is it?

This morning Kristofer Dommin, lead singer of the band Dommin, asked the following question on his Twitter:

“What do YOU contribute the decline of rock music in the landscape to? Is rock guilty of not evolving? Is it just a trend?”

The question made me sit back and wonder what on earth could be contributing to this sudden apparent apathy. Is it something that we are doing as music listeners? Or are we, the rock bands, guilty of cutting our own throats somehow? This decline in interest is particularly worrying for those of us in bands who are slogging our guts out in rehearsal rooms each week. Is there any point in carrying on if no-one wants to listen to us? Maybe if we can uncover the source of the problem then we can figure out whether it’s just a passing phase or a long-term, serious threat to the genre itself. The first step is to consider whether the problem is with supply or demand...

• Supply

Perhaps there are fewer new rock artists out there to feed through into the mainstream in the first place? Maybe the talent just isn’t there? If this is the case then we need to investigate the cause of this breakdown in supply. There are, for example, huge cost issues involved when playing in a band as instruments, petrol to drive the band around, rehearsal rooms and recording costs don’t come cheap. Maybe it is difficult in the current financial climate for new artists to afford to play? I also wonder whether new artists become disenchanted when they make their first foray into the world of live music because it is not the instantly glamorous lifestyle that the media leads us to expect. Carrying heavy instruments around, playing hideous dives in the middle of nowhere to three drunk locals, sitting in the rain outside a locked venue, sleeping in the back of a tiny van with hung-over bandmates - the early days are not pretty. Some ‘pre-packed’ rock bands seemingly appear overnight without this history behind them and if they have history then it has been clearly swept under the carpet, so the reality of gigging in the early days may come as a shock to some new artists.

An expectation of immediate success is also fostered by reality TV shows that distort our concept of the music industry’s mechanism for finding talent. Reality TV is the whipping boy for a great deal of our cultural grumbles, but it’s true that such shows teach young artists that there is no need to tout yourself around back-street pubs and clubs playing to empty rooms and sending audition tracks to labels. You just upload a video to YouTube or enter a competition and you are plucked from obscurity and fast-tracked to the top of the charts. As the X Factor auditions demonstrate, some singers haven’t even stood on a stage before and in a blink of an eye they have a number one hit and they’re booked to play Wembley arena. There must be oodles of sublime talent sitting around in bedrooms waiting to ‘be discovered’ on Youtube rather than booking gigs in local venues and getting their music out there.

Yes it might be getting tougher for new artists to stay active and the channels feeding them into the mainstream may be changing, but when I consider fellow artists that my band and I meet on the Birmingham circuit alone there doesn’t appear to be a rock famine out there. There are plenty of gigging bands that fulfil the criteria for a bona fide rock band and they are desperate to break into the larger market. So the problem cannot be with supply, it must be with demand...

• Demand

As music listeners, what do we expect from the music we listen to and where could rock music be falling short?

Some rock bands that have broken through into the public consciousness in the past few years have arrived on the scene pre-packaged with readymade scripted personalities and posters, t-shirts and stationary sets waiting in the backrooms of department stores. We all secretly suspect that merchandise and the saleability of a band is higher up the shopping list of the music industry than the actual noises a band makes. And, if true, then this saleability would be massively affected by the artist’s appeal to the mass market. This mass market - and the music industry in turn - has become increasingly squeamish when it comes to signing raw artists that push boundaries and it is noticeable that our music has become increasingly sanitised and child-friendly. It’s sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll after all, right? Not anymore. Take mainstream pop singers like Rihanna and Britney Spears for example. How many times have they been blasted recently for being too raunchy? We need to stop for a second and think about the real target audience here. If your ten-year-old is pole dancing in the front room then maybe it’s time to take the Rihanna CDs off her, but kiddy-related fears trump our adult tastes every time and without fail the party is ruined for the rest of us.

And it’s not just sex that gets our disapproval; it’s violence, drugs and all the general ‘unsavoury’ elements characteristically (although often unfairly) associated with rock too. Take the whole Marilyn Mason/Columbine High correlation. Without resurrecting the debate, the US branded Manson as the influence behind the killings and the entire Western world went on censorship red alert as a result, fearing that any guitar track would cause their teens to start committing violent crimes. Hence rock music took a huge knock that it has since struggled to recover from (interestingly, how many serial killers relaxed to classical music before going on a rampage? Should we stop all teenagers listening to Debussy or Chopin in case it stirs psychotic tendencies in them?). And finally, I’m not condoning drug or alcohol abuse by any means, but the very second a musician is caught in a room with something mildly dodgy, drinks a little too much or has more than one woman in a hotel room they are vilified and ostracised from the industry with no second chances. No ifs, no buts. I’m with the censors on the drugs issue to be fair, but a small part of me wonders how many influential bands we would have lost if we had taken this approach back in the 60s and 70s?

It is difficult for a genre of music that is so closely associated with pushing boundaries and ‘living life on the edge’ (even if in lyrics alone) to thrive in a climate of oversensitivity that increasingly panders to delicate sensibilities that might be offended by explicit lyrics or a tiny bit of raunchiness. So maybe it is the kindly-killjoy brigade that is responsible for marginalising rock to the point of death?

One final option is that rock is simply seen as out-dated in a world of movie-set music videos, epic stage designs and pre-packaged artists that are carefully selected and briefed to fill a desirable hole in the market and then plucked, vamped and painted with the brightest gloss shine. The stereotypical dirty-gritty, spit-on-the-stage rock artist is very difficult to conform to this ideal and perhaps the sight of a group of people on stage playing instruments live is seen to be somehow amateur and undesirable. If this is true then it is a crying shame because, besides from various possible side-effects like kids will stop showing an interest in learning to play instruments, an essential part of the glorious experience of discovering a new artist and enjoying their journey is unearthing their history, the funny anecdotes, the people they’ve met while gigging, their on-the-road-grown quirks and idiosyncrasies and most importantly what drives them to share their music with their fans and fellow musicians. Many new artists look great on the screen, but they do not come with these attractive extras to flesh them out. Pre-packed musicians will write boring as hell biographies....

If I take a step back and look at my own band, Turn Off The Sun, then I can’t understand why - if the newspaper reports are to be believed - bands like us will be condemned to the scrapheap before we’ve even plugged in our amps. Yes, we’re feisty on-stage and we put energy into our performances, but we’re not deliberately offensive to the average music listener; we don’t use lots of foul language in our lyrics, condone violence or take drugs so we’re pretty ‘safe’ (apart from our drummer Neil who has a tendency to fling his drumsticks across the stage, he’s pretty dangerous) so we’re not going to cause any riots or turn your children into psychotic monsters. We come with an interesting back-history, silly anecdotes and all the ‘DVD extras’ that appeal to a fanbase. We’re fairly pretty and take good photos so we tick all the shallow, superficial boxes to keep the poster printers happy. We, and many bands like us, are poised on tenterhooks for an opportunity to make our donation to the music landscape, champing at the bit to flesh it out and make a contribution worthy enough to wrench music back from the teetering precipice of a trashy, pop-driven cesspit of linear crap. And this is what confuses me about the whole situation more than anything; how can something die when there are so many like us - musicians and music lovers alike - who are desperate to feed it?!?

The Honey’s Revenge: Lana Del Rey, Adele and the Vilification of Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:02:00 +0000

Back in July 2011 I stumbled across the mesmerising video on Youtube called ‘Video Games’ by Lana Del Rey. Haunting is a word that has been overused to describe it, but it really is. I fell instantly in love with the melody, Lana’s voice and the kooky imagery in the video and posted it wherever possible on Facebook, Twitter etc for my friends to hear. She climbed up my most-played iTunes list, muscled in on my iPod airplay and I was first on the phone to book tickets to see her when she toured at the Birmingham Academy. I always reserve judgement on an artist until I’ve looked in the whites of their eyes and heard them sing live and I was very impressed by Lana’s vocal range, her ability to hit those top notes, her husky-glamorous style and the overall ambience of her performance. She turned a sceptical girl into a fan. So I’m very confused as to why some reviews of her new album Born To Die, due for release on Monday, are so critical. And I’m doubly confused as to why there appears to be a problem with her pouting, girl-next-door-turned-gangster-moll character. I suspect, unfortunately for Lana, that even if she sang like a cherubim on God’s right hand her fatal weakness is this - she is a woman in the public eye who is prettier than the norm and not afraid to flaunt it. #popularityfail

It all started a few years back when it become cool, socially acceptable (and even encouraged) to ridicule women who had gone to extreme measures to alter their appearance and make themselves look more attractive, whether it be through breast implants, botox, surgery etc. Prominent public figures like Jordan and Jodie Marsh bore the brunt of the public aggression while ‘ordinary girl on the street’ celebs like Lily Allen, Adele etc could do no wrong. You could be the sweetest woman on earth, but once you passed a certain level of prettiness it was assumed that you were a fame-hungry harridan hell bent on burning the earth to the core. The trickledown effect has over time fed into the wider society with this derision being directed at any woman, celebrity or not, who is even mildly attractive. (The most recent incident was on Celebrity Big Brother 2012 – the final of which is tonight. Admit it, the second you saw Natalie Cassidy - the ‘average girl on the street’ - you assumed that she would be a lovely girl, a laugh and a joy to be around. Yet when the ‘honeys’ arrived - the Playboy twins, Nicola McLean etc - you naturally assumed that they would be bitchy. Am I right? Although we didn’t know the housemates and based our judgments on first impressions alone, guess which ones we cheered and which ones we booed…).

On the flip side to this ‘honey vilification’, I caught Adele Live at the Royal Albert Hall a few weeks ago and cringed so hard that I had to switch off after the first ten minutes. Yes, she’s a good singer (albeit with a limited vocal range…listen for it…) and she’s knocked out some good tunes (well, we’ve been brainwashed into liking them at least), but I was shocked by what was, essentially, the sight of a chavvy fat lass slurping on a cup of tea and swearing like a trucker. It was over-the-top, exaggerated chaviness on a monumental scale that almost felt like it was put on for the cameras. Get some decorum girl! And yet she’s lauded by, well, everyone. Why are we not trying to clean up her act? Is this the kind of cringingly awful chaviness that we view as the societal norm? I suspect that we adore and foster this type of crass personality because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Adele is safe, familiar, unthreatening, resembles every other ‘girl on the street’ and slurps tea and curses like the rest of us. Perfect, she’ll do, stick her on the radio. Lana Del Rey, on the other hand, is a larger than life character who is different, pretty, classy and edgy (a pseudo-edginess that Adele tries to emulate by swearing her way through a setlist) and that is very unsettling to your average ‘girl on the street’. And before you say it, looks and size are irrelevant. It’s true that beauty is predominantly a state of mind– it is classy, refined and has self-respect. That certainly isn’t on Adele’s stage. Take a step back and consider which singer you would prefer to act as a role model for your daughter…

As a disclaimer at this point, I must say that I consider myself to be pretty average looking and by no means a ‘honey’, but I have some friends who are very easy on the eye and they regularly encounter anti-beauty discrimination in their everyday lives. One recently remarked to me that she would feel much more accepted in society if she had tracksuit bottoms and a cap surgically attached, swore/drank/smoked like a docker, tried her hardest to resemble a man and took no interest in her appearance whatsoever. Then, and only then, she felt that she would be accepted by society for who she is rather than belittled and disregarded for how she looks. We must remember that taking a dislike to a woman because we consider her to be more attractive than us is equally as offensive as taking a dislike to a woman because we hate her skin colour, weight or age. I would like to think, in an ideal world, that our veneration of the crass and vilification of the beautiful plays no part in forming opinions with regard to new faces such as Lana Del Rey, particularly as some critics appear to have formed an opinion before she even opens her mouth. I would honestly love to believe that, but I have one eye on the seething anti-beauty subtext that is bubbling beneath the reviews whenever a pretty face hits the headlines. We really need to keep this in check before it becomes a problem…

Cirque Du Spiceal is Unleashed on Bullring

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Imagine a circus like no other. A twisted circus some might say. Include a handful of peculiar performances and then add eight divine restaurants to the mix for good measure. Cirque du Spiceal arrives at Spiceal Street, Bullring, this January.
Between 23rd – 28th January visitors to Birmingham’s new dining destination, Spiceal Street, will be able to experience a unique phenomenon – a twisted circus – whilst enjoying the city’s ultimate socialising hotspot.

Think gentleman chimps hosting an unusual tea party, killer clowns on the loose and spectacular fire performers, whilst a twisted ringmaster takes centre stage as Spiceal Street is transformed into the setting for Cirque du Spiceal. During the whole week diners at the eight restaurants at Spiceal Street – Browns Bar and Brasserie, ChaoBaby Thai Restaurant, handmade burger Co., Jamie’s Italian, Mount Fuji, Nando’s, Pizza Hut and wagamama – will be treated to an array of eccentric teaser performances before the grand finale on Saturday 28th January.

The ‘Caravan of Lost Souls’ will be unleashed on St Martin’s Square between 8pm – 10pm on Saturday 28th January with an array of twisted circus acts, including fire breathers, contortionists and a one man band, performing tricks and illusions.

Louise Hamer-Brown, Head of Marketing at Bullring, commented: “Spiceal Street is the city’s new social dining hotspot so we wanted to do something really special to welcome in the New Year and in true Bullring tradition something that is completely unexpected. Cirque du Spiceal will offer shoppers and diners a completely unique experience and a programme of atmospheric night time entertainment right in the heart of the city.”

Cirque du Spiceal is hosted in conjunction with Kerrang! Radio. To find out more about Cirque du Spiceal and how you can book a table in at the restaurants during the event please visit www.browsebullring.co.uk/cirqueduspiceal.

Birmingham Band Turn off the Sun to support Funeral For A Friend, 17 December 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Turn off the Sun are proud to announce that they are to share the stage with internationally renowned rock band Funeral For A Friend.

Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh
post-hardcore band, from Bridgend. Formed in 2001, they have released five studio albums, seven EPs, sixteen singles, one DVD, and one compilation album.

The show is to be held on the 17th of December 2011 at the Stourbridge Academy, a new 700 capacity venue in a West Midlands town well-known for its connections to rock history.

The Facebook event for the show can be found by clicking HERE

Tickets are available online at www.stourbridgeacademy.fatsoma.com.

Guitarist Wanted for Birmingham band Turn Off The Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Below are two new videos from Turn Off The Sun for your delectation. Both videos were shot by our good friends at Future As Technology Tells Film (FATTfilm.co.uk).

The first is a quick edit of the EP launch night for those of you that missed out on an excellent night. The song is Cardiac from ‘Armor Plated Tongue’ (download for free at facebook.com/turnoffthesun).

The second is a short insight to the band and the making of the latest EP.

It's with regret that the band announces that our guitarist, Ed, is leaving the band at the end of October. Ed had been an important part of the band since we started and we're gutted but respect his decision. If you or anyone you know might be interested in joining us, please contact us directly at turnoffthesun@hotmail.co.uk or see the band ad at http://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/guitarist-wanted-for-established-alternative-band-t263580.html

The quest for a new guitarist begins! xx

Birmingham Band Turn off the Sun Release New EP ‘Armour Plated Tongue’

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:48:00 +0000

Apologies, guys, for the radio silence, but August has been a crazy-busy month for Turn Off The Sun.

The first week of the month was spent at the legendary The Lodge Studios in Northampton recording our forthcoming EP 'Armour Plated Tongue'. You can download the single ‘Let The Right One In’ for free from our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/turnoffthesun (and don't forget to 'like' us!!). The EP is set to be launched on 5th September 2011 and it will be available for free download from the Turn off the Sun Facebook site after that date. Free copies of the CD will be available at the launch party taking place on the 7th September at The Rainbow venue in Birmingham, supporting hotly-tipped London band Turbogeist who are fronted by Mick Jagger's son Jimmy.

We poured our heart and soul into the latest EP and we really hope you enjoy it. It’s difficult to encapsulate our on-stage energy in a static recording, but I think that we - with the help of the fantastic engineers at The Lodge - have pulled it off big-time. If you enjoy 'Armour Plated Tongue' then why not catch us at a gig for the live, full-on Turn Off The Sun experience!

Our friends at FATTfilm came along to the recording of the EP and they are currently in the process of putting together a short film documenting our time in the studio. Here is a short trailer to give you a taste of the finished product...

Details of forthcoming Turn Off The Sun gigs can be found on the band website at http://turnoffthesunband.tumblr.com, on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/turnoffthesun or you can follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/turnoffthesun1.

Chez Lloyd: For the Food and Wine Lover Extraordinaire

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:58:00 +0000

If you are an avid foodie or wine lover then please check out this new blog written by Lloyd Petersen, my very good friend, fervent oenophile and proprietor of Chez Lloyd.

Lloyd will be documenting his travels around the country eating and drinking at various restaurants in the UK (and I expect far beyond) and offering comments and insights from his vast knowledge of fine dining and the world of wine.

The blog compliments a series of services offered at Chez Lloyd. Lloyd holds the Advanced Certificate from the Wine & Spirit Educational Trust (WSET) and the website offers a range of wine tasting packages to suit all needs.

You can also follow Chez Lloyd on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Chez_Lloyd

Enjoy!

Stella Artois Black presents ‘The Black Diamond'

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:04:00 +0000

2 lovers. 1 diamond. A thief. A curse. A classic film noir movie coming straight from late night Paris in the 1960s.

And you. You are the spectator, but also the actor. Only you will discover the secrets of The Black Diamond.

Set to be this summer’s must-attend event, Stella Artois Black’s latest immersive theatre experience builds on the success of last year’s The Night Chauffeur. Filled with alluring characters and one-to-one interactions, The Black Diamond will place audience members at the centre of the performance, involving them in a sophisticated tale of love, desire and deception.

Commissioned by Stella Artois Black and drawing on the creative expertise of acclaimed immersive theatre producer Felix Barrett, The Black Diamond is a dramatic mix of online experiences and real-life cinema in locations across Shoreditch.

The Black Diamond will run from 3rd – 21st July, offering just a few thousand lucky invitees the chance to be part of this unique immersive theatre experience. The story will develop simultaneously online, giving a new depth to the production and offering an additional interactive perspective for the audience, whether they’ve attended the experience or not.

James Watson, Marketing Director, Stella Artois Western Europe said: “The sophisticated world of The Black Diamond will deliver an experience rich with taste and refinement, reflecting the distinguishing attributes of Stella Artois Black. Whether people attend the events in London or take part in the story online they will discover a unique experience unlike anything they’ve tried before.”

Drawing on 600 years of brewing heritage, this blonde premium pils lager is crafted exclusively in Leuven, Belgium and imported to the UK. Joining the Stella Artois brewers’ respected range of quality beer, Stella Artois Black is matured for longer for a rounded, full-bodied flavour and a refreshing aftertaste at 4.9% abv.

To apply for tickets and to experience The Black Diamond online go to www.stellaartoisblack.com. The Black Diamond is open to over 18’s only.

Birmingham Charity Seeks Help For Charity Event, 9 October, Cannon Hill Park

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 11:24:00 +0000

A friend of mine, Shelley, is a social care worker based in a Birmingham community care home supporting people with learning difficulties and she is helping to organise a charity event that will be held at Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham on the 9th October 2011. Shelley is hoping to raise enough donations from this event to fund a sensory room based at the care home in which she works, but she is also hoping to raise enough to provide help across all the services that Trident Reach offers.

Trident Reach: The Peoples Charity is a Midlands based charity that provides support to many individuals in a variety of areas of care such as learning disabilities, the elderly, homeless, young offenders, domestic violence support and lots more. The charity maintains the services that it offers by raising funds for equipment, transport, sensory rooms, sensory items and other resources that are necessary in order to keep achieving its goals and providing support for all the people that it helps within the community.

The event at Cannon Hill Park on 9 October will include a sponsored walk, auctions, raffles, stalls, fun outdoor games and live music. My friend tells me that although people have kindly come forward to give their time and help with organising the event, the charity is desperately seeking companies and business who are willing to sponsor the event or able to donate items for auction, raffle or competition prizes or goody bags (i.e. stationery, badges, hats with your company logo on etc).

Shelley tells me: ‘We are a charity organisation and would appreciate any help that you can give us. If you could donate anything towards the event and/or provide any help to this worthy charity it would be appreciated immensely by both myself and the individuals we help and support. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I hope we can count on your support ‘

This is hands-on, grass-roots charity work at its best and this event will make a real difference to local people in need of these services and their friends, families and carers. I know first-hand that Shelley is passionately committed to her care work so I can’t express enough how much I hope this event is massively successful for everyone involved. Please please, if you think you can help, write to me at this address (click here) and I will put you in touch with Shelley and her team.

Thank you xxx

http://www.reachthecharity.org.uk/

Pavilions Vintage Fair, Birmingham, 25-26 June

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:03:00 +0000

If you’re a sucker for all things vintage *raises hand* then you’ll love this…

Head to Birmingham’s Pavilions shopping centre on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th June for the ultimate shopping experience. To complement the summer’s hottest high street trends from the likes of Hobbs, Monsoon and M&S, Pavilions Birmingham will be transformed in to a haven for all things vintage with a city centre vintage fair. Search for hidden gems and beautiful bargains at over 60 specialist vintage stalls which include everything from crafts, couture and collectables. For more information visit
http://www.pavilionsshopping.com/

Saturday 25th June 9.30am – 6.00pm
Sunday 26th June 11am – 5.00pm

Free entry

The Show: Dolls House Arrives in Birmingham in Spectacular Fashion

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sat, 28 May 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Visitors to Bullring were today taken on a whimsical adventure through the beautiful, enchanting and exhilarating trends of summer as The Show: Dolls House arrived at the centre of Birmingham.

Thousands of shoppers gathered on the balconies overlooking the elaborate Dolls House set on the Lower West Mall of the Bullring whilst 100 VIPs took their seats as eight models emerged from their house to glide down the garden path showcasing this summer’s key trends.

We were taken on a whirlwind escapade through a mesmerising spectrum of colour from Selfridges before falling head over heels with the beautiful Fairytale Romance trend. Summer garden party chic was up next with a host of sophisticated floral prints before the models raided the dressing up box to uncover the season’s most-coveted accessories.

A trend inspired by the great Stella McCartney was next to hit the runway as fruit salad prints came out to play, followed by an explosion of stripes and polkas from the likes of Henry Holland and Reiss. And for the grand finale the audience was treated to a true celebration of fashion with an eruption of colour and patterns for a truly show-stopping look. And to complete each look dreamy hair styling and effortlessly stunning make-up was provided by Regis and YSL at Debenhams.

For those of us lucky enough to bag a VIP lanyard the fashionista experience didn’t end there with access to Bullring’s exclusive VIP area after the show. Treats from Nails Inc., YSL, Clinique, Benefit and Regis at Debenhams were available and we were treated to music from a live DJ.

The Show: Dolls House will also be showing on Sunday at 12pm, 2pm and 3:30pm. For more information about The Show: Dolls House, where you can buy the looks and for a behind-the-scenes blog please visit http://www.browsebullring.co.uk/

If you didn't catch The Show today then get yourself down to the Bullring tomorrow! If you've missed it then don't fret, here is a taster of some of the key pieces that caught my eye...

Nude Pleated Maxi Dress - COS

Butterflies and blooms print dress - Wallis

White short sleeved T - Gap
White maxi - Gap
Belt, shoulder bag, brown leather carry bag - French Connection
Tan leather strap heel shoes - French Connection

White crocheted bikini, white loose batwing jumper,
brown belt, fabric embellished bag - Next
Brown suede fringed ankle sandals - H&M

White Ibiza crocheted dress - 1971 Reiss
Cream and gold round bag - Reiss
Stone chain detail sandal - Reiss

White casual dress shirt, white wash jeans - Reiss
Pendant Heart pendant, Skull with horns pendant - Thomas Sabo
White smooth Dr Martens - Cloggs

Lemon print dress, mini lemon print top,
mandarin wedge - Red Herring at Debenhams

Tangerine Peplum top, citrus lemon full skirt, belt - COS
Palm tree pendant, pineapple pendant - Thomas Sabo
Tangerine satin bow shoes - Red Herring at Debenhams

Cherry print dress, lime belt,
red and white gingham check shoes - New Look

Citrus lemon strapless dress - H&M
Pink corsage wedge - Carvela at Kurt Geiger

(left) Pink short sleeve T, blue cotton trousers,
yellow belt - COS
(right) Jade green short sleeve T, orange shorts - H&M
Orange, brown and yellow print scarf - Vero Modo
Linetta-yellow wrap around watch - Swatch

White, blue and green striped dress - Karen Millen
Green framed sunglasses - Next
Hot Stuff sandals - Office

Red and white polka dot dress - H BY HENRY HOLLAND at Debenhams
Red and white striped jacket - Red Herring at Debenhams
Red and white checked shoes - New Look

(left) Pale blue cotton dress, straw hat with floral corsage - Oasis
Natural heeled brogues - New Look
(right) White short sleeve shirt with pocket detail, blue and white striped blazer,
matching shorts, sand suede brogues - G STAR RAW

Red and white striped shirt, navy and white striped shorts,
straw hat, brown brogues - Reiss

Red and white striped T, blue jeans with braces,
navy suede high top trainer - G STAR RAW

(right) Long graphic print kaftan - Wallis
Coral fabric collar necklace, multi wooden ball necklace - Miss Selfridges
Orange T bar sandals - Wallis

Kaleidoscope print dress - Warehouse
Multi colour crocheted waistcoat - Forever 21
Acid yellow espadrilles - Gap

And of course an extra special mention to the ladies who provided

entertainment between the scenes!

The Show: Dolls House Arrives at Bullring Birmingham, 28-29 May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Sit back and prepare to be taken on a whimsical adventure through romantic flowing fabrics and textures. Revel in colours that explore every shade of the rainbow. And immerse yourself in some of the most enchanting trends for the season ahead as The Show: Dolls House arrives at the UK’s most visited shopping centre, Bullring.

During the weekend of 28th/29th May Bullring’s Lower West Mall will be transformed into a beautiful Dolls House and garden setting. Beautiful summer trends will be bought to life live on-stage as eight models emerge from their Dolls House and glide down the garden path showcasing this summer’s ultimate feminine chic. Fashion and make believe will collide as stunning pieces and divine gems adorn the stage.

The Show: Dolls House is free to attend so ensure you secure your spot one of the balconies overlooking Bullring’s Dolls House for an enthralling view or visit http://www.browsebullring.co.uk/ for your chance to win a true VIP experience for you and three friends complete with exclusive seating alongside the catwalk.

You will be able to immerse yourself in beautiful flowing fabrics with a hint of fairytale romance and take note of the key pieces you’ll be wearing this summer. Colour explosions, sophisticated romance and fruit salads as inspired by Stella McCartney will awash the stage. And the boys won’t be left out either, as they’re shown how to embrace their preppy side and let loose with colour, fiesta style. The looks will be completed with dreamy hair styling by Regis and effortlessly stunning make-up by Debenhams.

The UK’s only Forever 21, ever-chic COS and iconic Selfridges are amongst the retailers contributing looks to The Show: Dolls House, making Bullring the ultimate fashion haven this May Bank Holiday Weekend.

Show Times:
Saturday 28th May: 11.30am, 1.30 pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm
Sunday 29th May: 12pm, 2pm, 3.30pm

For more information about The Show: Dolls House please visit http://www.browsebullring.co.uk/.

The Microsoft virus/computer hoax and how to have fun with malicious phone calls

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sun, 15 May 2011 11:52:00 +0000

I've been receiving phone calls from scammers claiming to be calling from Microsoft on a daily basis now. The caller tells me that I have a problem with my computer (a virus, malicious software or the computer is simply performing too slowly) and I need to follow his/her instructions in order to fix the computer. If an unsuspecting recipient of such a call follows these directions will find that they have, at the very least, downloaded a virus onto their computer or given the caller immediate access to the information on their hard drive, as this article in the Guardian explains:

‘The puzzled owner is then directed to their computer, and asked to open a program called "Windows Event Viewer". Its contents are, to the average user, worrying: they look like a long list of errors, some labelled "critical". "Yes, that's it," says the caller. "Now let me guide you through the steps to fixing it."

The computer owner is directed to a website and told to download a program that hands over remote control of the computer, and the caller "installs" various "fixes" for the problem. And then it's time to pay a fee: £185 for a "subscription" to the "preventative service".

The only catch: there was never anything wrong with the computer, the caller is not working for Microsoft or the internet service provider, and the owner has given a complete stranger access to every piece of data on their machine.’

Now most recipients of these calls will catch on that it’s a hoax straight away and put the phone down, but there are many computer users out there, particularly the elderly, who fall foul to these hoax calls and find themselves considerably out of pocket as a result. So the purpose of this post is two-fold: a) to spread the word that these calls are malicious, and b) to absolve any guilt that you may feel when you vent your weekly stress buildup at them. Occasionally I feel guilty when I’m short with the workers in call centres – yes cold calls are a pain, but if they’re doing the legitimate selling thing then it’s just annoying, not malicious. But these guys are different. They're not only trying to rip you off but they’re doing it right to your face. They may as well walk up to you in the street and try to mug you.

I believe that the illegal nature of these calls gives us the right to be as aggressive, abusive and offensive as humanly possible, but if you’re bored then you could try entertaining yourself with one of the responses below. See it as a game and have fun, please feel free to add your own…

Tell them you’re 15 years old

Keep repeating ‘hello?’ as though you cannot hear them

Ask them to wait while you fetch your husband, wife, partner or get a pen, then put the phone on the table for an hour or two

Tell them your troubles. Why do they think your ex sent you that text out of the blue?

Give the phone to your toddler

Tell them that the person they are calling for is dead

Speak another language (or gibberish)

Invent a religion and try to convert them

Tell them you’re suicidal and they need to talk you out of doing the worst

Alternatively, learn this script verbatim…

Biscuit Eating World Record Attempt - Turn Off The Sun

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Mon, 02 May 2011 10:41:00 +0000

I’ve heard a great deal about the blood, sweat and tears that Turn Off The Sun put into recording the Montesa EP at Montesa Audio studies in Spain last October (just before I joined them) and I believed them until I saw this video of Andy (vocals and bass) trying to break the world record for the amount of biscuits eaten in one minute. Hard work and toil my arse…

(Warning: Language and graphic biscuit abuse)

Thriller In The City: Birmingham Flashmob Gets Its Zombie On

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:41:00 +0000

A mass Thriller flashmob took place at 1pm this afternoon in Victoria Square in Birmingham city centre. The event was promoted via thrillerinthecity.com and instructional dance videos and free dance lessons were provided for members of the public wishing to take part.

Flashmob-wise the event was a big let-down, but maybe my expectations were too high having seen examples of other flashmobs posted on the Internet. I’m no expert, but rule one of a flashmob appears to be that the dancers should be spread out as far as possible and interspersed amongst the public. The public will move aside when they realise what is happening and the group can then make use of the maximum space available. In this case the dance began with a few people (some wearing bright red Thriller at the Hippodrome t-shirts, duh) dancing to a Michael Jackson mash-up and this attracted a large crowd which instantly killed the spontaneity of the flashmob and blocked most passers-by's view of the action. Consequently when the opening bars of Thiller fired up and the other dancers joined the group (NB special thanks to the music guy for being very helpful) the dance space was confined to a very small area and it was impossible to see anything from - what we thought was - a pretty good vantage point. I was balanced on a high wall right opposite and could barely make out the dancers (see my attempt to record the dance below). Shoppers were passing by seemingly unaware of and uninterested in the small group of people putting on a contained and far from spontaneous show in the corner of Victoria Square. So not much 'flash' going on. And not much of a 'mob' either...

Had I been unaware that the flashmob was taking place, I would have guessed that this was a group of kids from a local school who were putting on a show to entertain the Saturday shoppers. But I suppose that’s no bad thing. Although we didn’t see much of the dancing itself, it was a stroke of genius to involve the public in order to promote the Michael Jackson LIVE musical at the Birmingham Hippodrome in April. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, there were plenty of grinning faces around Birmingham afterwards and it’s *always* great to have a boogie to MJ on a warm, sunny afternoon…

Shamone muthafreaker!

Couldn't resist doing this (sorry...)

(Birmingham should have taken its cue from Stockholm. Now *this* is a flash mob....)

Tiger Blood, Charlie Sheen and How to Market a Meltdown

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:49:00 +0000

We all love a good public breakdown and Charlie Sheen’s recent antics have certainly stoked the fires of media frenzy with sound bites from his ‘The Today Show’ interview littering the internet, spoof vids appearing on Youtube and #winning #fastball and #tigerblood hashtags popping up all over Twitter. As always when a celeb ‘goes bad’, they quickly acquire a large following of fans that wait with baited breath for the next outrageous pronouncement from the person concerned (Sheen has outclassed his predecessors on this front with his Twitter account being the fasted ever to reach a million followers). On the whole we tend to get right behind these individuals because we love it when a big name says ‘f**k it’, flips the corporation the bird and walks out on the comforts of celebrity, becoming ‘one of us’ for a second and lounging about at home ranting about the big bosses.

But there’s something about Sheen’s rage that I’m not quite buying. While he’s slouched in front of a webcam blathering on about s**t (albeit entertaining s**t) at the same time he’s coherently planning world domination via the Internet. Links on his Twitter page lead to a site recruiting interns instructed to keep his social media profile ticking over and attract more followers and his website has an online shop selling t-shirts with slogans taken from the ‘Today Show’ interview.

That doesn’t sound like a man on the edge. That sounds like a man who knows exactly what he’s doing.

Oh Charlie, I’m disappointed. I expected you to rip the ass out of Hollywood but that’s not tiger blood pumping through your veins, it’s good old-fashioned fame-hungry, corporate American greed at its worst. You would have made the perfect ‘f**k em all’ anti-establishment poster boy if these sentiments were real but you’re really about as rock ‘n’ roll as a middle-aged suit with a wife called Bunty who sells insurance at weekends. Either man up, sack the interns, unplug yourself from the media cashcow that you’ve created and commit to leading an anti-industry troll rebellion or stop this half-assed charade, get clean, apologise to everyone concerned, sign the deals and get back to your sitcoms pronto…

Turn Off The Sun: Walking Wounded Official Video

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:45:00 +0000

It’s finally here! *drum roll*

Ladies and Gentlemen, Turn Off The Sun are proud to present the highly anticipated music video for ‘Walking Wounded’.

As explained in my previous post The Making of Walking Wounded, the filming took place at the world famous Winspers Kickboxing Gym with the help of kickboxing champions Matt and James Winsper and was shot by filmmaker Craig Martin.

Our thanks to everyone involved with the making of the video and we hope that you enjoy watching it! Further information about the video and Turn Off the Sun (plus a free download of Walking Wounded and other tracks) can be found on the band website here.

The Problem with Modern Comedy: or The Day The Laughter Died

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:31:00 +0000

Red Nose Day is just around the corner and I’m braced for an evening of distress and upset. No, my sadness has nothing to do with the unrelenting scenes of starving children in third world countries or disadvantaged youngsters in the UK. I’ll be breaking out the tissues because the best comics will be paraded on our screens all evening and, no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, British comedy just isn’t the big, furry ball of fun that it used to be.

Comedians aren’t concerned with cracking gags and making people laugh anymore, they’re concerned with appeasing the masses, siding with the majority and sneering at political parties or hate figures in a very middle-class, superior, Oxbridge kind of way. It’s all fake intellectualism and social commentary. Comedy should be an invaluable form of escapism, especially in today’s social and economic clime. I want to go and see a comedian, pay my ticket money, have a laugh and forget how shitty life is. Instead I’m paying to be lectured and preached at.

Take Charlie Brooker, for example. Charlie contributes to modern comedy is little more than a live-action Beavis and Butthead-esque commentary on popular culture. Any student across the county can do the same in front of his own TV in his own front room (and I suspect that many of them can do it in a less self-righteous ‘I’m speaking the mind of the populace, honest’ annoying kind of way). Just count how many times he criticises popular hate figures in some kind of desperate attempt to win the puppy-love of his audience. What happened to the rebellious comedians who would shock audiences by bucking the norm and being outrageous and un-PC? Even so-called ‘offensive’ comics like Frankie Boyle tap into the common viewpoint of their audiences for laughs and they have a slightly superior tone which makes them sound painfully self-righteousness.

So why are new comics so eager to show allegiance with majority opinion? Perhaps it’s all to do with popularity and getting the public on-side (after all, those live DVDs aren’t going to sell themselves) or maybe comedians are too afraid to be un-PC in case there is a backlash, ala the recent Top Gear Mexican incident, and they find themselves accused of racism/sexism/homophobia and losing their credibility and fan-base - in which case thanks a lot, neo-Victorian Britain, for squeezing every last drop of freedom of speech and consequently humorous banter out of comedy. I tell you what, let’s just ban TV altogether and gather around the piano for a sing-song in the evenings instead shall we? Or does that offend a minority? Overworked pianists?

It really galls me to say it because I admire(d) them both, but Eddie Izzard and Russell Brand are both guilty of sacrificing laughs for self-importance and self-opinion. Both started out as ambitious, exciting new stand-ups but ambition has overtaken their humour and their desperation to crack America and appear in the latest Hollywood blockbuster is sucking every last drop of real comedy out of them. I can’t remember the last time either of them did anything remotely amusing. Are they even classed as comedians anymore? Russell Brand’s downfall as a comic will come in the form of his over-inflated ego (and I think he’s at peace with that), but Eddie’s downfall will be in his newly-found messianic status as a political commentator. The very second that his twitter feed fell suspiciously serious and political agendas started appearing I could feel the distance between him and his fans growing by the second. This is very dangerous game. The comedian who aligns him/herself against certain portions of society runs the risk of alienating themselves from fans who had previously been unaware of their strong views. Personal opinions are best kept of the stage, I feel.

British comics need to realise that they are not rock ‘n’ roll stars or culture pundits, they are jesters. There’s nothing shameful about standing on-stage with a mic and telling a silly joke. They need to stop desperately showcasing how well educated, knowledgeable and popular they are and start throwing custard pies at each other asap before society becomes entirely embittered and cynical and we forget how to laugh at ourselves and each other. And thank God there are some individuals who keep the flag of genuine comedy flying - I’m thinking of comedians not afraid to take a pie to the face and roll out the silly Christmas cracker gags such as Lee Mack, Harry Hill, Tim Vine and Peter Kay (I’m sure there are many more if I put my mind to it). Interestingly, although Jimmy Carr plays the superior, educated role for laughs, his on-stage humour is quite the opposite and he is one of the most popular comics in the UK as a result. Jimmy has achieved the perfect balance between silliness and offensiveness, without the mere whiff of self-indulgent intellectualism. In fact, I detect a slight piss-take of that type of comedian. While his humour is occasionally witty enough to shoot over the heads of his audience, he is also not afraid to dip down to the generic, Christmas cracker level humour. And his shows are completely devoid of preaching. Jimmy realises that he is a jester paid do a silly dance for the masses and he is more than happy to play along. And he’s reaping the rewards in ticket sales (long may it continue).

So here’s a suggestion to you budding comedians out there - maybe there’s a greater satisfaction in a belly-laugh than lighting your torch and leading your army of fans to the gates of the latest hate figure for a mutual tutting and finger wagging session. Try breaking from the (rapidly approaching) norm and saying something genuinely funny for once. Go on, gamble those guaranteed DVD pre-orders.

Turn Off The Sun: The Making of Walking Wounded

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:51:00 +0000

If you’re thinking that the blog has been quiet throughout January then let me reassure you that I’m still here! I’ve been buried away in a practice room for most of this month, fiddling with cables, knobs and buttons and trying to find the right sound for my first gig with Turn Off The Sun (the December gig was cancelled due to an apocalyptic amount of snow dumping itself on the venue overnight). It has been an eventful month – radio and newspaper interviews, our track Lay That Ghost To Rest is being prepped to be used on a promotional video for a leading mountain biking company, we set up a new website and our drummer Neil somehow managed to tip his car upside down when reversing at 10 MPH... *ahem*…

We also set about recording a music video for the track Walking Wounded at the world famous Winspers Kickboxing Gym with the help of kickboxing champions Matt and James Winsper who between them have won an array of world titles. The music video, shot by filmmaker Craig Martin, is still at the editing stage and the final version will no doubt be posted here soon, but in the meantime check out this 'making of' film made by Ben Hyett.

PS I don’t intend to harp on about the band all the time, but please indulge me this time. And if you haven’t heard a Birmingham accent before, brace yourself….

The Pitfalls of Celebrity Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:39:00 +0000

Yesterday lunchtime I was munching a sandwich and trawling through my Twitter timeline when I spotted a comment that made me smile and prompted me to hit the reply button. The reply was, I thought, an inoffensive quotation from Oscar Wilde that was slightly sarcastic but, given that the author of the original tweet was a comedy actor and writer, I hoped would make the recipient smile in the same way. But how wrong could I be. A swift counter-reply came with a hint of sarcasm in which I detected that I had somehow offended the tweeter. So, priding myself on being a generally inoffensive kind of gal and having never written a tweet in anger or to intentionally offend, I was quick to respond with two tweets indicating that I had intended my reply to be sarcastic, complimenting the tweeter and attempting a very weak joke. Then came another reply in which it became apparent that I had caused deep offence and – worst of all – it wasn’t a straight ‘f**k off and die’ kind of reply (which would have prompted exactly the same response) but a sad, reflective kind of comment that made me feel horrifically guilty, as though I had drop-kicked a puppy across a field.

The incident made me realise two things about Twitter, particularly celebrities on Twitter. First, Twitter messages are subject to the same dangers of misinterpretation that text messages are wont to suffer. Who hasn’t sent a text message that sounds all tinkly bells and giggles when you type it, only to discover later – when face-to-face with the recipient - that they are convinced that you have fallen out with them, or even worse, that you’re about to hunt them down and viciously beat them? Second, there are two types of celebrities on Twitter. The first is the genuinely pleasant individual who finds him or herself unnecessarily bombarded with crap from hecklers 24/7. How many tweeters out there spent hours trolling twitter with the sole purpose of sending offensive messages to celebrities just to upset their day? And how do these celebs cope – how does anyone cope – with a shedload of criticism dropping into their inbox each time they fire up Twitter? Stephen Fry, for example, is inclined to quit Twitter and reappear at random times. And who can blame him? He has millions of followers and I’m pretty sure that not all of them are nice-as-pie internet users who send complimentary and amusing observations about his travels in Africa. He must get more trolls than anyone. Matt Lucas handled an offensive tweeter very well earlier this week. When confronted with a tweet criticising a recent project, Matt ‘accidently’ retweeted the offending tweet to his followers, thereby opening the comment up for discussion. Touché, Mr. Lucas! I would be inclined to do exactly the same!

I have, however, noticed that there is a second type of celebrity on Twitter that has a much lower tolerance level for any whisker of disapproving sentiment. There are certain celebrities on Twitter who seem to be entirely incapable of accepting criticism in any form. These incidents do not usually come to my attention unless an argument kicks off between two individuals in my timeline (and I’m not on Twitter very often at all) but once in a while it becomes apparent to everyone that a tantrum is being thrown. It appears that some individuals have their twitter feed mainlined straight to their ego and bask gloriously in praise from their fans, only to spectacularly throw their toys out of the pram the very second that someone asks a question, raises a difficult issue or suggests some kind of improvement to a project or their modesty. From what I can tell there are very few celebrities who suffer from this kind of ‘Twitter ego massaging’, but they are out there. And in these cases I relax my sympathies. They deserve the reality check.

To make matters worse in my particular case, I hear that the tweeter I replied to yesterday is now threatening to quit Twitter. How much more terrible do I feel now?! I realise that I am not the cause of this and the individual must regularly receive a number of offending tweets that have led to this decision, but I can’t help but feel (unintentionally) partly responsible. While it is difficult to determine whether the individual in question belongs to the ‘genuine nice guy/girl’ or ‘ego massaging’ breed of tweeters, I have apologised profusely because I realise that I am to blame and I hold the individual in high esteem and adore their work – which was exactly why I was following their tweets in the first place! I can only hope that this show of contrition convinces them that it was an ill-judged joke and I’m not a random cretin hell-bent on sending deeply offensive comments every hour of the day and night.

So take my advice and think twice before tweeting someone in the public eye. If they are of the ego massaging variety then fire away - you are entitled to your opinion and no twitterer should be shielded from criticism, as long as it is an honest sentiment and not deliberately engineered to cause offence. But bear in mind the genuine, Fry-eque characters on Twitter. Not only can inadvertently offending these people lead to crushing guilt of magnificent proportions, but if these individuals in particular become offended, disillusioned and leave, then the Twitterverse is going to become a very boring place…

Happy New Year 2011 and a Little New Year Ditty

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 09:47:00 +0000

Belated Happy New Year everyone! Here’s hoping that Santa bought you everything that you wanted, family arguments were kept to a minimum, no-one was sick through food/alcohol intoxication and your Christmas/New Year week was enjoyable, if not tolerable. In order to celebrate the rather sudden dawning of 2011 I am posting a version of the New Year’s Day song that I wrote for Dave Stewart a month or two back and that he kindly recorded a demo for. I am responsible for the lyrics only, Dave’s massive musical genius provides the melody and accompaniment (and I apologise in advance for my Armagnac-laced warbling on backing vocals).

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 07:59:00 +0000

Happy Christmas one and all! I hope you are warm and well and sat beneath the Christmas tree busily wrapping presents in readiness for the big day. Who am I kidding? You’re either fast asleep in bed with the flu, desperately running around the shops in sub-zero temperatures trying to find that last elusive present or rowing with your partner about whether it’s acceptable to boot Auntie Vera out of your house on Boxing Day.

Well, whatever you’re doing, I wish you all a very happy Christmas (‘Happy Christmas’, that is. The next person to wish me ‘Happy Holidays’ gets a punch in the mouth. There’s something warm and welcoming about ‘Happy Christmas’ – or, even better, ‘Merry Christmas’ – that shouldn’t be vac-packed and sanitised. But back to the jovial, seasonal spirit….)

The last two weeks have been chaotic, to say the least. I fell foul of the flu for a week or so and then the snow apocalypse arrived, cutting me off from civilisation for quite some time. Thank God for broadband, that’s all I can say. The heavy snow fell on the morning of my first gig with Turn Off The Sun and the gig was cancelled, so I’m still waiting to make my debut appearance on stage with them. Further proof that God hates good music…

I thought that I would share a piece of advice with you this Christmas-time, simply because you never know when the hordes of the undead might strike and I would hate to see your festive plans ruined by an animated corpse with designs on your Christmas tree. Keep safe everyone, have a great day and keep that shotgun handy.

Turn Off The Sun: The Band That You Need To Hear

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:27:00 +0000

Photo: Rob Lawrence @ 616 Photography

Halloween 2010 was a particularly scary time of year for me and it had nothing to do with ghosties and ghoulies. It was particularly scary because on 31st October this year I joined a Birmingham-based band called Turn Off The Sun as their new keyboard player. Now this is a big deal for me for a number of reasons: 1) I’m a very busy soul – hell, I’m single because I don’t even have time for a relationship! - so putting aside time for such a massive project is a big commitment, and 2) I’ve played the piano since I was a child and playing professionally at grade 8 standard for about 15yrs now but, although I love playing live, I have never been inspired to join a band. I’ve been asked numerous times – anyone who has ‘pianist’ on their myspace page knows that it opens up your inbox to all kinds of requests – but I’ve never found a band that has inspired me to want to join. That’s partly because I’m a massive – and I mean massive – music whore. I have consumed and continue to consume so much music that I’m now ultra picky about what sounds right. I’ve heard your competition. And I make Simon Cowell look tolerant. So bands have to work pretty damned hard to impress me these days.

But one band has impressed me to the point that I was compelled to sign over my soul this Halloween. I’m notoriously schizophrenic with my musical tastes; some days I prefer quiet, acoustic tracks and other days I like to rock out until my ears bleed, so finding a band that caters to all of my needs has always been like searching for gold-dust on Brighton beach. So thank God for these guys. Turn Off The Sun are a Birmingham-based alternative band that possess the raw power and aggression that can hit the dizzy heights of hysteria, but they can also slip gear and mellow out a room in seconds. The manner in which they move seamlessly between the two is the stamp of real musicianship. Each member of the band is an accomplished musician unto themselves, but together they are a creative tour-de-force that is not only mesmerising to watch on stage but also churning out savagely addictive tracks in the studio that would make the most seasoned industry song-writer sick with envy. Their new EP Montessa has long taken reign over my iPod, booting some of my favourite bands way down the playlist. I have been to their live gigs and watched them instantly ignite a room and make strangers dance like their ass is on fire, while at the same time demonstrating a high level of technical expertise and professionalism that rarely goes hand-in-hand with such energy and emotional intensity on-stage.

If you want to hear them for yourself, their new EP Montessa is available for download for free – yes, FREE – at http://www.facebook.com/turnoffthesun

FIND TURN OFF THE SUN ON

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/turnoffthesun

REVERB NATION: http://www.reverbnation.com/turnoffthesun

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/turnoffthesun1

MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/turnoffthesun

"Sharp guitar playing, tight, driving drums and raw, passionate vocals. Birmingham band Turn off the Sun take no prisoners. They have all the hallmarks of a really storming live band."

Tom Robinson - BBC Radio 6

www.bbc.co.uk/6musicintroducing

"This is modern, exciting and every now and then you catch a whiff of what it would have been like if the Foo Fighters had been angrier, edgier and louder. It’s the sort of music that would see arms, legs and hair flailing wildly, joyously and out of control in a sweaty room."

Tom Hocking - Raw Reviews

http://www.rawreviews.co.uk/

Photo Shoot at New ID Birmingham

noreply@blogger.com (Helen) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 11:37:00 +0000

My godmother’s son bought my mother and I a voucher for a Deluxe Makeover and Photo Shoot for Two at New ID Birmingham back in February. Mindful that the voucher was due to expire in December, we booked our appointment with New ID, packed two bulging holdalls of clothing and accessories and headed off to the studio on Thursday morning.

First of all, I can’t compliment the venue and the staff enough. The rooms were clean, the décor was fresh and modern and the staff couldn’t do enough to help. Sadly there was no complimentary glass of Buck’s Fizz on arrival, but I was repeatedly asked if I would like a drink. The options were tea, coffee or orange squash and I didn’t see a glass of anything remotely alcoholic in the hands of any of my fellow clients all day. But enough about the refreshments, its no biggy and I’ll sound like a wino if I keep grumbling…

First stop was the haircut. I had a brief consultation with a stylist who, despite looking a little nervous at first, proceeded to give me a fantastic cut that measured up to the standards of my regular T&G stylist. It wasn’t all that different to my original cut, but it had a lot more bounce and va-va-voom. Very impressed. My mother has very short hair so she opted instead for a tidy up and blow-dry. The products used left her hair noticeably shiny and, again, she was very pleased with the result.

Next came the makeup session. We were shepherded into an adjacent room with three make-up artists working simultaneously on three clients. My make-up artist, Karen, worked freelance and had a lot of experience in the business, branching out into TV and movies and even special effects make-up. She asked for my preferences at every point of the make-up process, from the colour of my nail varnish to the overall effect that I was hoping to portray, achieving the perfect balance between her own creativity and my vision of the final look. I was well aware that make-up is always overemphasised for a photo shoot, but I was pleasantly surprised when the session was over. The look was exactly what I had asked for – smoky and dramatic – and the layers of make-up were substantial enough to be effectively captured on camera, but also subtle enough that I felt comfortable going out to meet friends that evening without having to remove a single brushstroke from my face. The cosmetic products were available to buy on the day and through the website, but New ID is really missing a trick by not having the nail varnish on sale. I loved the colours and the polish itself is very tough.

Then came the photo session itself and this was the point at which my individuality took a back seat. We were taken into a studio with a photographer and left alone to change into our first outfit. The photographer was lovely, she put us both at ease immediately and appeared to be very skilled at her profession, so I have no criticism of her whatsoever. However we were quickly rushed through a series of predetermined poses that seemed to take no account of our personalities or elements of our outfits that would normally be emphasised by a photographer. Most of the poses were cutesy or felt unnatural and only one shot was taken of each pose so it had to be perfect first time. The whole session lasted only 15-30mins, including time for outfit changes, and felt very rushed indeed.

We were then taken into a room and shown the photos on Photoshop. The lady who took us through the shots was very friendly, impartial to whether we liked a shot or not and certainly not the high pressure sales harridan that had been described in some reviews of New ID. The shots were fantastic, but we deleted quite a few because they just didn’t look right. The complimentary shot of my mother and I was a difficult choice because, although I didn’t say it at the time, we both looked very washed out. The lighting was weak and we sat awkwardly on the floor looked for all the world as though we were sat on a bathroom tiles after a long night out. Plus we both had both chosen ‘rock’ish outfit – mum in a leather skirt with an amazing studded belt and me in purple suede platform boots. Unfortunately rather than capturing the attitude of the outfits, we were positioned staring lovingly into each other’s eyes. Photographer fail. The belt and boots never made it into the final cut – which greatly disappointed me – and we finally settled for a photo that I could have recreated in my front room at home to greater effect. Needless to say, it's not worth uploading to show you.

The array of backgrounds and props available for use was very impressive and these added extra dimensions to the photos. The shots of mum against these backgrounds in particularly were stunning and the photographer clearly chose each one carefully to match the outfits.

But it was obvious that it wasn’t until halfway through when the creative juices started flowing. I had been looking forward to seeing the results of shots of me seated on the floor in a short sequin US flag dress specially chosen for Thanksgiving, but again the photos looked very washed out and because only one shot had been taken of each pose it was one option or nothing. Almost as an afterthought during that session, the photographer had suddenly snapped into action and started adjusting filters and digging out a wind machine for added effect. Finally! These photos were awesome, but I had hoped to show the dress in its entirety with shoes (ala the candid shot by mum later that evening, below right) and there were no full length shots by that point. So I ended up opting for a portrait shot looking off camera (below left) and was sorely disappointed that a full length wind machine shot didn’t make the final cut. Again, the elements that would normally capture the imagination of a photographer had been ignored.

Mum and I eventually settled on a complimentary shot of the two of us and ten singles – five each. The shots were not airbrushed and we were not offered this option, although they would have needed very little work anyway (though I say so myself!!). All the options were explained and there were no high pressure sales. In order to buy the copyright for the images we were told that we needed to purchase the images on CD, so in the end the whole experience cost just over £500.

To anyone considering a New ID Birmingham photo shoot I would suggest the following: 1) think carefully about the overall look that you are hoping to achieve and ensure that your photographer is aware of this, and 2) set yourself a budget but be prepared to pay handsomely for a set of photographs. This is not a cheap day out and if you are buying a voucher as a gift then please be aware that it could turn out to be a costly gift for the recipient. My only criticism of the shoot would be that the prices of the photos seemed a little excessive considering the lack of individuality and input into the shots. For such a high price I expected a lot more consultation in the studio and a greater number of shots to choose from. I almost certainly would have purchased more photos if that had been the case! If it’s a standard point-and-shoot photo session that is being offered then the studio should only offer point-and-shoot prices, perhaps with a more expensive option available for clients wishing to put together a modelling portfolio. After all, I took these two shots with my iPhone when we were getting changed back home and they cost me nothing…