http://everyonesmixtape.com/
Stop what you're doing.
Go to this site.
Do it now.
Right now.
You will not regret this.
You will not pass 'Begin' and collect R200 because you'll never leave this site again.
'Everyone's Mixtape' is such a lovely idea and perfect for the holidays. Actually, it's perfect for any occasion. Thanks Debbie for being all London and cool and sharing this.
Ah, the gift of (free) music. Enjoy homies! <3
Tomboy fun with a cocktail dress feel... Little trinkets of wisdom. Things I click LIKE to in my head. Musings and nuances. Thought-gems. Illumination. Other cryptic crap.
Friday, 23 December 2011
Thursday, 22 December 2011
My Year at a Glance
Oh, why hello Blog! My my it's been quite a year. I'm proud to report I've been buzzee (with two zee's), and I'm not in the least bit uncomfortable about reporting this directly to you, Blog, who is in fact me. Awkward.
So 2011, the less-shiny middle child of 2010 has been surprisingly awesome! Maybe it's because I didn't expect anything. Maybe it's also because 2010 sucked for me. Nevertheless, it's been my year of opportunities: new projects, new people, travelling (in a big fish, small pond kind of way) and possibly too much time at Bob Rocks.
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Who are we kidding, we love that place! |
This year saw me forge stronger friendships with old acquaintances...
'Pirate Day' at Zoo Lake. |
... and make new (amazing) friends altogether. Can I say, TEQUILA SLAP?! Not forgetting all the other gems who were already in my life (you know who you are).
I cut my hair. This is news because it was pretty freakin' long okay. Think Asian Mia Wallace.
I started DJing (enter Lil' Bow - boss track selekta but janitor-skilled CDJer).
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Please ignore my techno-fail and pretend this is rotated. |
Smooth. |
I started writing for the Revolution website, a tie that's just grown stronger - hello Jozi contributor.
Check it out here http://www.revolution-daily.com/
This is rad because a) I love what Revolution is all about having grown up in the skate, music and art scene and b) My whole reason for starting a blog this year was to get me writing again, for myself, in different mediums (and not just my day job copywriting), so this is exactly the kind of opportunity I needed.
The iconic Revolution fist. |
Somewhere along the way I discovered the world of branding and my love for it (through a random Vitamin Water job), which prompted me to leave my job at M&C Saatchi Abel in search of new challenges, not to mention all the people I love (M&N&N for life). That was one of the hardest decisions I've made to date.
The crew, yo. |
On the party side of things, I organised two events - one mine, a small scale Tarantino birthday party with a best friend -
It's scary how much I look like John Travolta. |
the other, a large scale punk show called THROUGH THE BEST OF TIMES.
I learnt buttloads from this show. |
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Camps Bay, April. I was 'the surprise' for my friend Bun's birthday weekend. |
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Greenpoint, December. |
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Josh and I bonding over rock 'n' roll, April. |
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December - check how he's grown! |
This was partly due to the FIVE weddings I got invited to this year (there's something in the water I tell you).
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St Francis, for the other Lauren's beautiful wedding. |
St Lucia, for my cousin Jade's wedding. She was a proper chilled, DIY bride and I was the lax bridesmaid chillin' in the backseat. |
Watching the vert finals with Mick and Nick. |
Hello NIKKI SIXX, my future flatmate, ex-art director and ying to my yang going full motorboat/platter puss. |
Wait, no. Still ridiculous. |
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In studio, getting groovy. |
And look at the fun we've had! Every Mac deserves a handmade zombie friend. |
Hmm, what else have I done repeatedly this year..? Oh right! Early on in the year, I discovered my new party band - P.H.Fat. There's been many a drunken, bass-grinding, (phantom) flat-peak wearing night out to their beats. The novelty's worn off a bit (maybe 'cause I've killed them, well, it) but it's fun to lose your shit and mutate into your alter ego Laquonda. Or so I've heard.
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P.H.Fat at The Alex Theatre. Hollaaaaaaa! |
I didn't do many festivals this year. In fact, I did only one but I think it's the one that counts - OPPI!
Out of focus Diana picture courtesy of my homegirl Mica. We were drunk already. Who stays focussed anyway? |
Villagers 'Becoming a Jackal'.
This song is really doing it for me right now.
Angus and Julia Stone 'Just a Boy'.
This song's been in my iTunes for almost two years now but I've only (really really) starting enjoying it now.
So yes, I love pretty music now. There! I said it!
Perhaps this mellowing out is also a part contributor to my new approach to shitty people - I'll kill you (with kindness). No one can be a hater when you don't talk shit about them (even though you really really want to), smile and greet them. It's maturity or something, coupled with brown, gold and a mom bum? High waisted shorts will do that to you.
BREAKING NEWS ON THE BODY FRONT! I GOT TATTOOED!
In other self-indulgent news, this was not the first time.
After a two year delay, I added to my back piece. Having found an amazing NEW artist I'm so excited about (and having just spent five hours with her this past weekend), my tattoo project is just four (painful, uncomfortable, mock-bravado) hours away from being complete which will bring the grand total to 13 hours ink time, yikes!
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Before. |
After! |
I highly recommend these guys...
The Body Architects, Cape Town. |
But fo'real, I love them dearly, and here's to the next 10 years!
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At our annual Christmas dinner last night. Trying to get us all in one shot proved difficult (especially after some Pimm's). The blur, the lighting, damn you Blackberry and short arms! |
Work comes to an end tomorrow and Christmas is in three days; I'd say that's a pretty good time to sign off.
See you, Blog, in 2012. Stay classy (more a general note to self about the perils of holiday drinking at old man pubs) x
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
This is me, with arms akimbo!
Check, my arms are akimbo. |
Everyone nods in unison at the un-earth shattering, common-knowledge-as-fuck statement and wonders collectively if she's channeling Dr Phil.
Lauren Obvious continues, her fire stoked by the agreement: "It is shared. It is bought. It is owned. So the little free time that I do have I guard fiercely, like a mamma bear."
Everyone applauds her never-before-used simile. 'Mamma Bear'? No one saw that coming.
She adds with more gusto, "Don't fuck with mine!"
Everyone exclaims, for lack of a better term and the energy to be sarcastic, "Amen sister!"
Lauren then reopens with a clanger: "Don't waste it."
Everyone 'oohs and aahs' at this fresh new take on not wasting time. Real out-the-box stuff.
Gathering Juggernaut-momentum, Lauren gets brave: "If I don't feel like coming to your birthday, I'm sorry, I'm tired. Tired of trying to be everywhere all the time to please other people."
Everyone shifts uncomfortably. She pulled the birthday card.
She then really throws a spanner in the works with her unforeseen rhetorical questioning: "Would you do it for me? No? I wouldn't even hold it against you."
Everyone stares with gaping mouths, shocked at how controversial she's being.
She pauses for breath, dramatically, then adds: "Unless you're my best friend."
Everyone waits in antici-PA-tion.
She sucks her final breath for the one liner: "And I'm pretty sure I don't have 711 best friends."
Everyone appropriately responds with 'BOOM!' followed by a Z-click.
Monday, 21 November 2011
something NICE to say about something NICE (Invisible Cities 1/12 Review)
Invisible Cities - A Sunday afternoon sunset spent schmoozing, boozing and swinging from a rooftop in the Jozi CBD.
Iâm a total fan of doing things in town. As terrible a clichĂ© as it sounds - and I canât believe these words are about to sail off my tongue - town makes me feel... alive (insert rampant butterflies and unicorns and the opening beach score from Grease). Town reminds me why I love Joâburg so much. Playing with friends under that skyline? It really is something.
Itâs also a nice escape from the Stepford-esque lawn and mushroom-complexes of my hood.
So receiving an invite on trustly olâ facebook bearing a picture of a burning piano with the venue boldly displayed in blue: REVOLUTION HOUSE, I knew I was in for something, well, alternative. âArtyâ as my dad would say. I scanned the line up: The Frown and The Brother Moves on, two bands Iâd heard plenty about but hadnât yet clapped eyes on. This was a no brainer.
Click. Lauren Bow is attending Invisible Cities.
Revolution House greeted me with the earnest smell of dust and a rickety staircase. Iâd encountered this staircase before, my old nemesis. Blundering through the most strenuous work out Iâd had since, ever, I just kept vying for the light. Rage, rage against the dying of the light!
I made it. I won. And illuminated as far as my shaded eye could see: drinks in parody-sized cups, bonfires, Canon G12s, Ray Bans, brogues, a burning piano projection, The Frown, plastic bag performance art (I think), The Brother Moves On, gold spandex, Chinese lanterns and winterâs tight grip around my throat.
I left at dusk; content, positive and with the ever pertinent existentialist question churning in my mind: What did I do with my scarf?
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
THROUGH THE BEST OF TIMES (and the jarring realisation that I've grown up).
Poster designed by my good friend Nikki Taylor.
I got the INCREDIBLE opportunity to try my hand at organising a punk show with a dear friend (you know who you are - thank you for this). This was the first time for me and my hand felt, well, little. I called it 'THROUGH THE BEST OF TIMES' as a personal tip of the hat to Baby, I'm an Anarchist by Against Me!
This is how I remember it: excitement/last minute line up changes/stress/no sleep/phone bill/emails/learning/saying no/saying yes/sweating the small stuff/sweating/letting the small stuff go/sticking to my guns/seeing the bigger picture/manners/sentences punctuated with fuck. fuck! fuck?/the importance of the double stamp/backstage/band rooms/R10 shots/plus ones/clinger-ons/friend requests/kind words/true colours/charlatans/DIY photo booth/distracted conversation/familiar faces/high fives/good sound/pretty lights/frozen computer/one CD on loop/tequila bottle fun starter/nostalgia/new-age crusties/whiskey/neo-punk-hipsters/evolution/stagnation/furrowed brow/fun/pride/music saved my life/tears
the same but different. this time i was in high heels.
i'm proud to say i did this.
Copy from the facebook event:
THROUGH THE BEST OF TIMES
Through the best of times, through the worst of times, through epic shows and venues closing downâŠ
âŠAnd weâre still standing, still going, still loving the music which brought us all together in the first place.
True love (for the music and an unexplained love for anti-clockwise circles).
True love. The kind that gets your feet tapping, fists thrown in the air and summons that smile on your face⊠you know THAT smile, the one that curves upwards in a peculiar way because of the lyrics youâre singing with all your heart.
This show is a tribute of sorts to honour the bands (some veteran, some new) made up of all the gems who have always played for the sheer passion, the love. No fancy pay checks, no rock star attitudes, no god complexes.
Just raw, genuine music.
Letâs recreate the memories we hold dear and make some new ones. Letâs bask in the nostalgia weâll feel watching the legendary ATFN (All This For Nothing) and The Slashdogs â both reforming on the night â and get amped for the new generation, raising our glasses to Pistolwhip 45, The Stellaâs and The Mean Streets.
Letâs give them some glory.
Letâs put them on the main stage.
Letâs give them the best sound.
Cheers to them. Cheers to the good times. Cheers to friendship.
THROUGH THE BEST OF TIMES.
Line Up (upstairs):
9 â 10 The Stellaâs
10 â 11 Pistolwhip 45
11 â 12 The Slashdogs
12 â 1 The Mean Streets
1 â 2 ATFN
DJs (downstairs):
The Klassikist
Bryan Pieters
Ian Moran
Doors open at 8pm.
Entrance is 60 bucks.
R10 tequila and Jagermeister ALL night!
SPONSORS:
Free T.U.K vouchers and Smells Like Psycho merchandise up for grabs.
Free tattoo vouchers from Letter Thirt13n Tattoo Studio (formerly Living Art Tattoo Studio).
PHOTO BOOTH
By Christy Aviendha Raper (Risky Raper Photography)
Screen Shot (yes I'm sentimental and want to record this):
Thanks to all involved. I used to be the little girl concocting big plans and fancy lies to get to (and into) shows like these (see my piece entitled 'Mad Circle'). It was surreal being on the other end of it, as a 24 year old working lady (with a fully valid ID). It truly is a gift to witness life coming full circle.
Monday, 17 October 2011
Mad Circle
I wrote this piece as part of a creative writing assignment in my Honours year (2009) and, having organised a punk show lately (my first), felt it relevant once more. 'Mad Circle' is based on an experience I had with my best friends when we were about fifteen. It was the first of many adventures together and ten years on, we're still friends and still adventuring. This experience even found its way into a song many years later when they formed a girl band. These memories take me back to a time of All Stars, studded everythings, safety pins and unnatural hair colour. Much love to them and to my roots: punk rock <3
Mad Circle
It all started with a note. A hand-written, step-by-step master plan concocted on a piece of paper torn out from my school exam pad. The red margin and feint blue lines, as hard as they tried, could not contain my excited, static scrawl to their allocated boundaries. This note, or letter, folded in a specific way - triangles and squares - eventually secured itself as a tight little bundle of paper with a flap mimicking a clasp as one would see on a diary. It was addressed to Dee Dee, Mandy and Angie, with bold black lines carrying the hollow warning: âYour Eyes Onlyâ.
I canât say it was all my idea, but I like to think I got the ball rolling with this piece of paper. Luckily we were all in the same class for Grade 10 biology, which ensured the poignancy and longevity of this letter as it could be passed around, undetected, gaining momentum and new ink for the entire double period. Mrs Waspe, our usual sharp-sighted teacher was absent that day, and drowsy Mrs Robbins filled in for her. If Mrs Waspe had been there that day then I doubt this letter wouldâve gone any further. At least until we got to second break where we could break our verbal silence and freely communicate by talking over each other, at the same time, and having to repeat everything a few times because no one ever caught the first draft.
The exhilaration and school-girl giggles this letter inspired carried over to second break anyway, only this time the four of us chose to sit away from the rest of the group. Not out of spite, but the more people in on our plan the more risky it became, plus there was only limited space in the taxi. I always resented second break being considerably shorter than first break. It was a Thursday. We really needed this extra time to finalise our plans, run over what we would tell our parents, and mutually reassure one another that this was: (a) not a stupid idea, (b) we would not end up in a gutter in Newtown, and (c) it would be the best night of our lives. I suppose we had nothing else as exciting to compare it to so (c) was a fair statement. The bell rang signaling the end of second break and I couldnât help but feel the frustration and understated anxiety creep in, despite putting on a brave face (which others often confused with a serious disposition). This just meant that the planning would have to continue this evening over the phone, in hushed whispers in case our parents heard, but not too quiet as to warrant suspicion - and the game of broken telephone began. I phoned Dee Dee. Dee Dee phoned Mandy. Mandy phoned Angie. Angie in turn phoned me. And so it went. Thursday drew its curtains and retired. Colleen was adamant she was sick, but we secretly knew she just couldnât go through with it. Our usual five was down to a noticeable four.
Friday approached. All through that school day I could taste my anxiety, it lingered in my taste buds - the food from the tuck shop didnât taste good. Or bad. Or anything. The Fizz Pop I ate at second break irritated my tongue and I threw half of it away. The butterflies in my stomach were so unbearable I wanted to set them free, but held onto them in case they took my entire stomach with them and I lost my nerve. The final bell resonated in my ears a little longer than it should have.
Friday, today, now, is a hot, sticky summerâs day in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, the kind of day where your school shirt sticks to your back unkindly, and your collar feels like a thermostat. Iâve never considered myself a rebel, but something about living the sheltered lives we did, and surrounded by the rugby playing, square-toed-shoe-wearing, Durban accented boys and their surrounding Americana cheerleaders (with actual pom poms) synonymous with our school, made this little adventure just that much more appealing, as well as the fact that we were going to see our undisputed favourite band. The same band I would listen to later that day as I was carefully choosing my clothes and deciding which shoes were more punk rock - classic black All Stars or something with skulls on. Maybe I could draw skulls and the anarchy âAâ on my plain white slip onâs? DIY is definitely more non-conformist.
A few final smses are sent amongst ourselves. Relief drains the colour back into my cheeks. Everyoneâs still on board! My speech is choppy and punctuated with a slight excess of spit, a dead give away of the excitement welling up inside me which will explode if I donât keep my calm. The narrower canal of my neck acts as a temporary constriction, perhaps foreshadowing the Black Label Iâd drink later that night which some stranger would purposefully tap with his Black Label - the mouth of mine connecting with the foot of his - to cause it to fizz out violently due to the high carbon concentration and bottle-neck, reverse funnel effect.
The thought of my dad finding out what Iâm actually up to makes me feel sick, as I look over at him in the car as he drives to drop me off at âmoviesâ at Monte Casino. He asks again where Iâll be sleeping and whoâll be fetching me. âMandyâs parents are fetching us and we are all going to have a slumber party at her house after movies. Iâll phone you in the morningâ, is my rehearsed response. My dad loves me. Iâm his only daughter, his only child. The lie sits in my throat like a ball of rubber bands. When I speak Iâm almost afraid heâll smell the rubber on my breath. He asks again why itâs necessary for me to take a backpack with to the movies. I remind him itâs because Iâm sleeping at Mandyâs house and need clothes and my toothbrush. In reality I have no intention of sleeping at all that night, and the clothes in my bag are actually a change of clothing to wear that evening. My dad already doesnât approve of my grubby, anti-ladylike, hand-drawn shoes. The other three have all told their parents the same thing, minus Mandy whose parents think sheâs sleeping at my house. My dad pulls into the drop-off zone and drives right up to the entrance where everybodyâs standing. Why does he always have to drop me off so close? My cheeks burn, I kiss my dad good bye and sidle out the car, not making eye-contact with anyone and hoping my feet will smell their way to The Three.
The four of us, all burdened with back packs, are a relatively odd sight at a casino - a world of glittery clutch-purses - like misplaced pilgrims on our journey to enlightenment in a parallel universe. Once inside the pseudo-Tuscan bathroom, the excitement is unbearable and practically oozes through our adolescent pores. I swap my conservative jeans for an army skirt with relatively no shape and yank a pair of fishnets on. Glancing around I see the transformation take place and The Four re-emerge with ripped stockings, studded belts, tartan, safety pins and band badges pinned all over us as if we are dependent on them for keeping our clothes together. In Mandyâs case, she is. I end my call and place my sturdy Nokia 3510 into my backpack - our Rose Taxi is on its way! Now we wait. Our next stop will be Carfax, Newtown, Johannesburg CBD.
The four of sit in the back of an old, beige Mercedes despite the vacancy of the passenger seat. The leather of the seats is well worn and split in some places to reveal the rotting interior. With each corner He takes, our bodies slide zombie-like in the opposite direction. Normally I like my space but tonight I donât mind sitting so close. My hands are like the outside of a cold bottle with condensation dripping down the sides and my heart is thumping in my chest like a bass drum without the steady rhythm. The unease has set in. All the doubts and legitimate concerns Iâd suppressed until now have simmered to the surface all at once. Eerie silence and mannequin-like postures confirm The Three are feeling the same as me: young, stupid, worried, and both connotations of delirious. What if our parents find out? What if my dad tries to phone? Mental note: switch off phone and tell dad battery died. No wait, then how will I phone him in the morning? Dee Deeâs phone. But what if she doesnât have airtime? I know Mandy doesnât and Ang doesnât have a phone. Iâm going to have to leave it on. I tell the driver, whose mutual silence adds to the taut atmosphere, to head towards town.
This drive is taking so long. I cannot take my eye off the metre, shamelessly counting away and simultaneously draining our wallets. He looks over his shoulder at what seems directly at me as Iâm sitting in the middle. âWHERE in town?â he says. âCarfax, Newtownâ I reply, trying to steady my voice and seem confident. I meekly ask him if he knows how to get there. âPimp Street?â He says. This thickens the rubber ball in my throat, my old fiend, as it reminds me, jarringly, about the dangerous, âdodgyâ situation weâre voluntarily driving right into. I canât help but think, judging by his look and almost mournful expression, that he too is a father with a daughter my age and doesnât approve of what Iâm doing. Or perhaps Iâve superimposed my dadâs generic expression of disappointment onto his face out of guilt. âNoâ, I reply and try swallow a rubber band that has come loose from the ball - âI think itâs Pim Street. Pimmmâ, I say with added emphasis on the âmâ and lack thereof of a second âpâ. He nods and the silence continues. Iâve never been to Carfax let alone Pim Street and I have no idea how town works. It dawns on me weâre about to be abandoned in the middle of nowhere, or at least the centre of somewhere. Why donât any of us have older boyfriends with cars? One day when Iâm a parent my children will be able to tell me anything, and wonât end up in hazardous situations like this. My feelings are misplaced: anger for worry; blame for regret.
We arrive on a dark, industrial street. The taxi stops, so does my heart. The driver speaks. My heart beats again but from my stomach. âAre you sure this is the place?â I ask while looking around and seeing how barren the street looks. âYesâ He replies, âPimp Street, Newtownâ. Maybe that second âpâ is not unintentional. Okay. He must be right. We pay Him. He leaves. Where is the motley crew of people weâre used to seeing? All we can see are large, rusted doors leading to what looks like a warehouse. After a mild panic, we realise thereâs another entrance and briskly, and as a parody of vigilance, walk around to the other side, four abreast. And desperately hoping ID wonât be checked.
We get in and are greeted by mohawks, dread locks, leather jackets, blunt spikes, suspenders and pork pie hats, tutus worn with Doc Martins, tattoos, piercings, unnatural hair colours - we have arrived! And itâs painstakingly obvious how young we look. We have none of the above. We look like school girls trying to fit in to not âfitting inâ. Vegans, atheists, anarchists, vegan-atheist-anarchists, Rude Boys, drunks: the scene collective. Someone thrusts a Profane Existence âzine into my hand. Upon reading this later I encounter, for the first time, Black Bloc and other distant organisations.
The interior of Carfax is almost how youâd imagine an underground club of this variety to be, yet itâs difficult to describe and the atmosphere is hard to pin down and label neatly. Itâs dark and it feels dark. Itâs smoky yet thereâs a constant, cold breeze coming from somewhere. Real x-rays of broken bones (perhaps from broken homes) roguely decorate the bar area and the unisex bathroom toilets are made purely out of metal and donât have seats. I later find out this is to prevent people from doing drugs on them.
The band, our band, has just started. We walk, impulsively, in the direction of the surging skank circle or âmad circleâ in some circles. From the outside itâs complete lunacy: people skipping in an anti-clockwise ring, punching the air, shouting âoiâ regularly, with exaggerated movements and genuine smiles. A warped, disfigured ring-around-the-rosies. And sweat, so much sweat! Thereâs the occasional spot of blood - if you fall down, get up as quickly as you can or youâll get stampeded over. It looks violent and silly. But by standing on the fringe, you take a lot more misdirected punches and foot tramples that leave green bruises. Chaos. Wayward, sprawling bodies, whole bodies contributing to the part. Rings and rings of people heading in a definitive direction, leaving a hollow in the middle. If one saw this from above it would look like the eye of a storm, of a great oncoming hurricane. The centre offers a brief calm from the storm. The guy next to me, with wood glue or gelatine or something equally adhesive in his hair to keep up his 30 centimetre spikes, taps my Black Label, causing it to rush up like the clenched fists punching the air, and shouts into my ear: âIf you canât beat âem, join âem!â, and with that pushes me in and watches as the fast current sweeps me away.
Once inside, the madness intensifies but the lunacy makes perfect, rational sense. I donât feel silly and Iâm not getting hurt. Donât think, just go! If I fall down thereâll be at least five sets of hands to pull me up instantaneously as they complete their round. You can get lost in here but not be lost at all. What a way to react to a band. Not only do you hear the music and see the band, this circle allows you to feel the music. It personifies it, giving it an actual presence you can touch, smell, and taste (on occasion). Organised chaos. Hands, feet and smiles - many parts making up the unified whole.
The heart pumps blood around the body. Blood is made up of many little parts namely cells, many many cells, which move a-round through the veins. A-round and a-round. Constant flow, constant motion. Fast. All that is stationary becomes a blur. Biology class is a lifetime ago.
The band is the heart that pumps us around. Our fluid body, surging in and out and chanting âfreedom is a state of mindâ and âska, itâs who you areâ criss cross next to the heart, some cells removing themselves and joining the heart to stage-dive back in. Heart and body are one. Their lyrics are our lyrics. Their ideas are our ideas. They make the beats but we own the rhythm.
The band finishes. The whole is broken down into its parts again. People start to leave. We drain the party as much as we can without being the last people there. We still have to wait for a taxi to come collect us. Back to reality. Harsh, cold reality. Where are we going to spend the night? Itâs only 2am, we expected this show to go on for at least another 3 hours! Regardless, we need to get back to Fourways. We agree that we should go to Fontanaâs (because itâs open 24 hours) and see from there. A slight deviation from the plan. We get dropped off, fork out whatâs left of our money, and face our long night at a fast food restaurant. The smell of chicken is nauseating. Chicken pores right through my skin. We go sit in the bathroom. Thank God for free sanitation! I fall asleep sitting upright against a cubicle door. The Threeâs voices fade...
Iâm awake again. Thereâs a new plan. We will walk to Fourways Mall and wait there rather. That way it might be safer and in the morning - the later, lighter morning - we can phone our parents and tell them we went for breakfast and they must fetch us from there rather. Iâm tired and cold and donât really want to leave my cosy spot on the cold, hard floor. But majority rules.
Itâs still very dark. My ears are ringing as a side effect of the loud music, but the ringing is physical proof this all actually happened. Weâre scared. Iâm hungry. My stomach starts to growl like a beast disturbed of its slumber. We start our journey. Two are hand in hand, one nervously smokes (but doesnât inhale) a menthol cigarette, and one clutches a pink, plastic casing of pepper spray. A parody of protection. We walk to Fourways Mall, our Mecca, and it seems to take another life time. I keep telling myself that the sun will come up at any moment and soon, soon, Iâll be in my warm bed sleeping. A nearby, hoarse voice asks what the time is. I check my watch. 4.20 am. This reality check and the dejection that comes with it is a whiplash of reality and I almost resent her for asking. We still have HOURS to go until we can phone our parents, let alone go home! I feel aligned to the clichĂ© that light brings hope, but clichĂ©s are overused for a reason. I wish the sun would rise.
We finally reach our destination and are almost surprised to find an open door. We enter at the bottom side of the mall by the movies, take the stairs to the left of us, go up two flights, turn left into a corridor, and right into the bathroom. We know this place well. They were right, this does feel safer.
I wake with a start again. The Three are vaguely awake and slapping their tired mandibles together at an attempt at conversation. The mall is coming alive! From our little sanctuary I feel like we are inside the great machine. People start to arrive, dropped off early by ârealâ taxis before the retail day starts. I can feel the inner workings of the machine as it starts to grind into motion. Iâve lost all sense of time. Artificial lighting, especially artificial lighting in a white walled and floored, near-sterile environment tends to do this. My heart rises out of my stomach (having dropped a second time) and pumps fresh blood through my veins - the sun must be up! It is Saturday morning! Weâre alive! I look at The Three and feel this unspoken bond between us strengthened by our pilgrimage.
I catch sight of my phone - no missed calls - and catch sight of my reflection in the mirror, having stood up. Smudged black eye-liner, crispy hair and stained skin. My teeth are furry and my clothes are so smoke-infused Iâm tempted to throw them away. I change into my âmovieâ clothes, wipe my face with 1-ply toilet paper and try brush the crystallised beer out of my hair. The Three do the same. We work together like an assembly line. I use Angieâs toothpaste to give my teeth a finger brush. Dee Dee borrows my hair brush. Mandy never brushes her hair so ties it into a disorderly bun. Ang borrows my deodorant. Dee Dee, oblivious that Iâve already sprayed myself, tells me to âliftâ (in which case I automatically raise my arms) and thoroughly sprays my body with her deodorant. I choke. Itâs amazing how one spray, to us, will mask a whole evening of thought-out lies to our parents. And in my case, I need double the amount and conflicting scents to mask my own rubbery scent underneath, - the ball of rubber bands, although considerably smaller, is back in its usual place. Now I donât mind checking the time. Wimpy will be open soon! We wait until weâre sure it is, and bid our backpackers lodgings farewell.
The four of us sit at Wimpy, starving but only able to order a large plate of chips between us and a cup of coffee each, due to insufficient funds. The waiter gives us a knowing sort of look as if to say ârough night?â. We laugh. We yawn. I look down at my beer-smudged, hand-drawn shoes and smile. We talk all over each other about the time of our lives. We scrape all of our coins together and whatever dirty, crumpled R10 notes we can find. Copper appears on the table like shrapnel. I dig into my backpack looking for lip-ice and pull out a black and white, cut and paste sort of flyer.
Show at Horror Café, Newtown. Two weeks from now.
A tree is cut down for a new seed to be planted.
It started with a piece of paper, and ended with a piece of paper. But an ending marks a beginning, like a circle, which has no beginning and has no end. A mad circle.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Looky what I found!
This was a little interview (my first) I got to do back in 2009 for Purity Magazine. Although this piece was never published (with the subsequent and sad demise of Purity) I thought I'd haul it out, dust it off and air it out for the first time. There were pictures too, perhaps they'll surface one day when the time is right.
Um, I was kinda heavily into theory of lit' and Jacques Derrida's Deconstruction ('The Critic as Host') at the time of writing this hence my constant reference to these seemingly random things. Moving on...
BAND INTERVIEW: A FEATURE PIECE ON THE ATARIS AND THEIR FIRST SOUTH AFRICAN TOUR.
Being grown up isnât half as fun as growing upâŠ
âŠOr touring South Africa!
So now Iâm grown up, or at least thatâs what my ID states. Having two international bands over the same weekend (The Ataris and Haste the Day), is perhaps indicative of the South African music scene growing upâŠ
After hearing Iâd get to interview an international band, the initial excitement subsided as it came to my attention that I only knew two Atarisâ songs, and the commercial ones at that. Guilt aside, I convinced myself that this would be âalrightâ as it would insure my objectivity and reduce any fan-related bias. This is what I thought at first but after meeting with the boys, or should I say âmenâ of The Ataris - Kris Roe (vocals, guitar), Chris Swinney (guitar), Brian Nelson (bass) and Jake Dwiggins (drums) - this notion was thoroughly disproved. I caught up with Chris Swinney at the Sunday show at Tempos, the final leg of their South African tour.
Words that come to mind when I think of The Ataris: friendly, down to earth, fun, warm and hospitable. Yes hospitable. To the lurking Critic out there whose brow has just furrowed in protest, I am fully aware of what âhospitableâ means, and although these guys may not have been in their own country (so essentially, how can they be âhospitableâ?), this is exactly what they were. Iâve personally never been a fan of working definitions anyway, so bear with me Critic for the sake of this extended metaphor.
Take some foreigners (cue: The Ataris), place them in deep, dark Africa, and watch as they conduct themselves (unexpectedly) as the perfect, polite hosts. From how they interacted with the media and fans alike, their on-stage personalities, and even how they allowed two complete strangers (dubbed âThe Jacosâ) to come up on stage at Tempos - their figurative home and rightful territory - and let them play a song live (using The Atarisâ guitars and all), is about as accommodating as a band can get! If this wasnât enough, they nailed a few Misfits covers in true crowd-pleasing zest. This virtually heroic act won over even the most sceptical in the crowd, or at least those old enough to appreciate The Misfits, and subsequently watered down my objectivity to a slight shade of the converse.
I glance down at my Misfits shoelaces and look up at Chris in awe, who chuckles and mentions that the Misfits, along with Iron Maiden, Black Flag, Metallica and Alexisonfire are some of his favourite bands. Not to mention that he is a âhuge Bob Marley fanâ. This answers my question relating to the music they listen to and if it influences the music they play, which Chris confirms by saying: âIf itâs good, I listen to it. Thereâs no politics, thereâs no bullshit. If itâs a good song itâs a good song. You gotta keep expanding to keep growing. If youâre a musician and youâre stuck in a rut, youâre deadâ. I nod my head in full agreement. The Jonas Brothers aside, no musician wants to stagnate and commit creative suicide.
Now, for this articleâs sake, take the conventional notion of âhostâ and âguestâ and subvert them. The results? A genuinely down to earth attitude where â[They] care about [their] fans and donât even think of them as fans, theyâre friendsâ says Chris. And if you donât believe me, âhit [him] up on face book and [heâll] keep in touchâ. They donât have a publicist, they do everything themselves. As Chris reiterates: âIt takes five seconds to talk to somebody, and bands that donât do it are stupidâ. Talking âthe talkâ is one thing, but actions speak louder than words and through their choice of playing small, intimate venues and their personal correspondence with fans (or should I say âfriendsâ) prior to coming here, resonates rather strongly in their favour.
The Ataris, although not in their home country, possess a âhow can we help youâ modus operandi, and before the aforementioned Criticâs eyes light up, this must not be confused with arrogance. These boys did their research on our country and still assumed the role of the âguestâ by partaking in some âtouristyâ activities. They saw lion cubs in Lanseria, penguins and seals in Cape Town, great whites in Durban, and maybe even a rock spider here and there. They even knew a thing or two about South Africaâs very own J-Z. Chris adds: âFor a band like us to be at this level, and be able to come to a country like South Africa, we wana talk to everybody, we wana meet everybody, thatâs why weâre walking around. Weâre not gonna hide in the dressing room, and itâs a nice dressing room [laughs], but I donât wana use it because Iâm not gonna see everybody for a long time probably, and I wana make sure that Iâm talking and taking pictures and doing whatever anybody wants to doâ. Chris adds nostalgically: âWe have done pretty much everything [we] wanted to do which is insane, because weâve only been here for a week. It feels like a big dreamâ.
The interview felt more like a conversation and it flowed. We chatted like old friends, we shared some jokes, and I was as comfortable as if stretched out on a couch, toasting marshmallows by the fire place. In reality, I was sitting on a rickety chair in a dark, greasy corner of Tempos with the sound of pool cues scraping nearby tables. Regardless, I felt like a well looked-after guest. But scepticism quietly crept into my thoughts and this warm, fuzzy feeling evaporated slightly - where does the line end between enjoying yourself and overstaying your welcome? The guest who doesnât know when to leave takes on the role of the parasite. What a nasty term, and if my high school biology serves my memory correct, a tapeworm or tick is not what I wanted to be, nor how I wanted South Africa to be seen.
South Africa, along with many other countries who donât have easy access to international music, have to download instead, and this could be seen as parasitic. In response to this, Chris smiles wryly and says ânobody except Metallica or Elton John make money off their albums. So for us, if you want our album bad enough youâre going to steal it? We want you to have it. We want you to enjoy it.â He later adds with a touch of irony, âComing from where you guys come from, the internet weâve had here has been a little slow, but if thatâs the only way you can get it other than waiting months to mail order it, then go for it. Steal all our stuff, weâre totally into itâ. So, my fellow parasites, we can breathe a sigh of relief and raise our downcast, shifty eyes because âstealingâ music is done out of necessity! Sharing music IS a matter of survival. Darwinian thought will not contest this - it is survival of the fittest! With that in mind, The Atarisâ new album is set to be released in July.
I donât want you to get the impression of the apron-wearing, oven glove-wielding host either. These boys have a colourful array of tattoos emblazoned on their skin, especially Chris. I canât help but glance down at my stark, somewhat monochromatic skin, and think how nice it must be to have a day-job like theirs, a job they âfeel blessed and honouredâ to have. After SA they head back to the States for the Warped Tour, and then theyâre off to South America and the UK. With all the countries they get to see, and acting as âhostâ at their shows, âIf weâre gonna treat the people who like the band like crap, weâre stupid because theyâre the ones that made us what we are, theyâre the ones that let us come hereâ says Chris, the grateful guest incarnate.
The Ataris: guests in a country but acting as hosts at their shows - confusing? Yes. So to restore âhostâ and âguestâ to their natural order, I am proud to report that The Ataris have ânot met one person who has not been perfectly nice to [them]â in SA, their host country. With 2010 looming, this is a refreshing piece of information.
I know that I am not grown up yet and neither is South Africa. If the DIY-ethics of The Ataris are anything to model our own âsceneâ on - in the sense that they are currently not signed to a label and, according to Chris, are recording and âspen[ding] all [their] own money on [the new album]â - then weâll âgrow upâ sooner then we expect and will be able to host many more international bands in the not too distant future. And in turn, I have no reason to doubt that our talented local bands, our friends, our âfamiliaâ, will be ushered in as guests overseas. To sheepishly quote one of the two Atarisâ songs I know: âThe only thing that matters is just following your heartâ (In This Diary); and to add my brand of clichĂ©d sentiment; home is definitely where the heart is.
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