Fanbase Music Mag Issue 22

C o n t e n t s Issue 22 — November 2012 GOODLUCK.

♦ Editors Note ♦ Team Profile ♦ The Writing is on the Wall ♦ Featured Bands 

Brent Harris & Thee Jam



Goodluck



Gang of Ballet



Volume Conflict



Lucy Kruger



Justin Serrao



Sindulgence



Messiah Complex



Shout Hey

BRENT HARRIS

♦ and in other news ♦ Danni’s Punk Pit ♦ The Simone Factor ♦ Ryno’s Full Metal Panic ♦ Togger of the Month ♦ Contact Page

Lucy Kruger

Volume Conflict

I

t’s another jam packed issue for this month. Can you believe that we are already into our

nd

22 issue, and I’m happy to say things are looking good for us. Our team is growing with new members contributing and helping to make Fanbase Music Mag as special as it is. Remember last month we introduced Simone to you. She will be doing a column every month, well I am happy to announce we also now have a new guy on the block, ladies and gentleman I give to you, Ryno de Lange. He will be taking care of all your “metal” needs. So all you head banging metal heads out there, be sure to check out his section every month which will be called “Full metal panic” for all your metal articles, news and interviews. He is so good he might even throw in a metal C.D review now and again. Welcome on board Ryno glad to have you.

Editors Note

Last month saw a lot of happenings, with Ard Matthew’s Johannesburg Album launch. Rocking the Daises in Cape Town. It’s been a good month for music and you can bet we had our team at each of the gigs mentioned, so you can read all about them in our various gig reviews.

Our front cover this month is Brent Harris, you may remember Brent from Just Jinjer, well these days he has been working hard on his solo project called Brent Harris and Thee Jam. I catch up with him to find out all about this new project. I also catch up with the very talented and beautiful Lucy Kruger, if you haven’t heard of her yet, then you got to check out this interview, this girl is making her mark in the world quick and fast. Don’t forget to catch her Johannesburg album launch at Tanz Café on 8 th November. I also catch up with Volume Conflict who in my opinion is one of the hardest working bands out there, we’ve featured them before in the mag but it was cool to catch up and find out what they’re up to, and I am happy to say Grunge is not dead. Go read this cool interview. I also get to interview Gangs of Ballet who invited me to the Emi Studios recently. Go check out this cool interview and find out about them signing up with Emi. In Danni Punk Pit she interviews Justin Serrao—what an awesome interview it turned out to be.

Our Togger of the month is yet another talented photographer who goes by the name of Caitlyn Pulford.

Well as you all know by now we have some big names visiting our shores, with Lady Gaga, Linkin Park and Red Hot Chilli Peppers all performing in South Africa, it is with great excitement to announce that Rodriguez has been added to that list. Very exciting times for us South Africans Put the 9th of November in your calendar because, although this is very sad it is something you won’t want to miss, Son of 1000 will be doing their last show in south Africa for a long time, they have decided to pack up and move to hopefully greener pastures overseas to try and break into the international market. We at Fanbase wish them well and hope all their hopes and dreams come true while they wave the South African flag high.

Don’t forget to check out the album reviews on Freddie van Dango and Dividable Grand.

Well that is it for now, as always I would like to thank my awesome team for all their hard work they put into this issue, and welcome again to the new comers of the Fanbase team, you guys all rock.. Danni, Marisa, Crystal , Ryno, Simone and Mom. Thanx for all your hard work - I love you guys

TEAM

Full name:

Duwyne Clayton

Full name:

Daniela

Full name:

Crystal

Nick name:

Duzz

Nick name:

Danni

Nick name:

Crys

What is your occupation at

What is your occupation at

What is your occupation at

Fanbase Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Mag?

Editor in Chief

Journalist/assistant

Photographer and cover layout/design

What do you like about Fanbase

What do you like about Fanbase

What do you like about

Music Mag?

Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Mag has become a very great and unique platform for local bands. Although we love and support international acts, We are really passionate about South African music.

Fanbase Music Mag has the best team who help every month to put our awesome issues every month. We are not a team, we are a family!!!

Our Team <3

The awesome interviews, articles and people involved with the mag! And the gigs off course.

What is your favourite band at the

What is your favourite band at the moment?

Green Day (obviously;)) What is your favourite quote?

Anything that comes out of Billie Joe Armstrong's mouth is my favorite quote!

What is your favourite band at the moment?

Red Hot Chili Peppers What is your favourite quote?

moment?

Being in this business I come across such great talent daily, but one that practically comes to mind is Volume Conflict What is your favourite quote?

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are” ― Kurt Cobain

“Damn the man, save the empire” Empire Records.

PROFILE

Full name:

Marisa Horn

Nick name:

Marisa HippieHeart Horn

Full name:

Simone Factor

Nick name :

S Factor

Full name:

Ryno de Lange

Nick name:

Mr. Ryno

What is your occupation at Fanbase

What is your occupation at

What is your occupation at

Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Mag?

Promoter/Researcher/Assistant Editor

Columnist, freelance contributor

Full Metal Panic / Writer

What do you like about Fanbase

What do you like about Fanbase

What do you like about

Music Mag?

Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Mag?

Fanbase Music Magazine is colorful and fresh. It has a great team of editors, music lovers, promoters and photographers .

I love it because it is a total celebration of local music and shows all the strength and possibilities of our musical community.

Who is your favourite band at the

Who is your favourite band at the

moment?

moment?

Fanbase is passionate about the music scene and promoting and spreading local music throughout South Africa.

Fanbase also gives all bands and musicians a fair chance to be feature in the magazine.

There are so many great bands out there…so many genres. It’s impossible for me to single out ONE favourite. I would however like to mention a few of my favorite local artists in various genres of course and in no particular order: The Paige Mac Band (Paige Mac Mahon), Volume Conflict, Brendon Shields, The Yoo and many others

ISO

What is your favourite quote?

“I do believe Music is the highest form of art”

What is your favourite quote? "today you are you , that is truer than true , there is no one alive that is youer than you " Dr Seuss

Who is your favourite band at the moment?

Zombies Ate My Girlfriend - Local. Metallica (early days) - International.

What is your favourite quote?

Fortune Favours the Brave.

WRITING IS ON THE WALL Just read the latest Fanbase mag. I LOVE your style and the featured interviews with the Zone crew are amazing. I know them all personally, and in every article I can actually hear them speaking !! Well done, it's an awesome mag!!!

Sent in by Judy Roberson Duzzy replies: Thank you so much for kind words Judy. It’s so cool to receive positive feedback.. Featuring the Zone Radio peeps is one of my fave parts of the mag... Zone Radio rocks!!!

Hey Duwyne Clayton and the Fanbase Team— well done on this month’s issue, you guys are going from strength to strength. Keep up the great work, and keep those issues coming!!!!

Sent in by Riaan Vorster From the Riff mag Duzzy replies: Thanks again Riaan And can I say The Riff is also looking awesome. I love the new website... Keep it up guys, together we’ll put South African music on the map!

Just wanted to say that you're a superb team and that you're doing a great job! I'm a true rocker and I have been reading most of your publications! You must know that you have a true fan amongst many others!

Proud of you! Proud, loyal fan. B. P.S Daniela, you're hot! P.S.S Duwyne, your mom is a kick ass creative artist. Much love and respect!

P.S.S.S Duwyne, you rock man! God bless! Yea. Sent in by : Bongani Morgan

Duzzy replies: Wow thank you so much Bongani. It’s really awesome and an honor to receive so many compliments. Thank you for being a devoted reader and we look forward to giving you many more issues to come. You rock!!!

Hey everyone out there—don’t be shy, drop us a note for “The Wall”.

Would luv to hear from you all !

The Fanbase Team

Every now and again, I get to interview someone whom I really look up to. Brent Harris along with the rest of Just Jinjer has been an inspiration for me.

It gives me great pleasure to catch up with Brent Harris and talk about his solo album and his time in Just Jinjer.

Enjoy the interview.

Interviewed by: Duwyne Clayton Photography by: Sherene Hustler- Inner eye Photography

Thanx so much for doing this interview with Fanbase Music Mag Brent, It really is a dream come true for me, where did it all start as a musician? Did you come from a musical background?

My family wasn’t really that musical orientated, I got an uncle who plays guitar and a cousin who plays drums but it was pretty much just me, at the age of 5 years old I was banging all the pots on pans and driving my parents insane so they bought me a drum set, I think it was to save all their crystal ware and that is pretty much where it all started for me and went on a downhill spiral for my parents hehe

How does it feel like playing for such an awesome successful band like Just Jinjer, you guys took the South African music industry by storm?

“I don’t think Just Jinger has broken up—we’re just taking a well deserved break”

It is and always will be a very proud thing for me. It’s a band I put together. I got Ard Matthews in the band and I also wrote a few of our first hits such as Paradise in the summertime and Stayed a boy etc so it’s kind of like my baby and it still very precious for me and special to me. And fortunately at the time we were still having time nothing was tried. We were not trying to be anything big and we were just doing what we loved and enjoyed and it ended up being bigger than anything that anyone of us expected it to be, so it is an honour to be in Just Jinjer.

You guys are all concentrating on solo stuff, in your opinion will Just Jinjer get together again, or is it all solo from now on?

I don’t think Just Jinjer has broken up, I think we have just taken a little long deserved break while Ard and I do our solo things and we trying to weigh up the pros and the cons and see what is the best strategic move for Just Jinjer and I think a new album is crucial. We have a couple of tracks and we’ve got a lot more things to do together, we might do a couple of gigs in December if all goes according to plan, but the band hasn’t broken up and the band isn’t going anywhere and we have always been going back and forth overseas so as far as South Africans are concerned they never really knew what was happening with Just Jinjer because we were overseas for ten years then next thing you know we back and doing 20 shows so it is difficult and the confusion is there, but we have lived in so many countries around the world trying to break the music market and fly the South African flag aboard which is easier said than done and very experience . So we’re back home now. I had a little boy in L.A and he had to come back home to meet his grandmother hehe so the move back was good.

But I don’t think Just Jinjer will ever break up, I most definitely hope not, so we will be doing some stuff together as a band by next year.

I think it’s cool you still help and support each other, like you still drum for Ard on his solo album launch at Tanz so there is no bad blood between the guys.

Yes it’s just one of those things. We dig each other and we will always have a love for each other, we are like brothers and have these last sixteen years gone through some things most husbands and wives haven’t gone through. We’ve been through so much together and it’s just one of those things.

Speaking of going solo, you are currently doing your Brent Harris and Thee Jam project. What can you tell us about that and it’s set up, who are the band members?

It’s myself and Denholm( bassist for Just Jinjer) funny enough who is playing guitar for me now. I was playing with Nick Rush who was with Watershed for 8 years and we will still be doing the odd gig together but that is why I called this project Brent Harris and Thee Jam because various musicians are going to come in and jam with us. It’s never going to be a set amount of people.

.At the moment it is me and Denholm, which makes a lot of sense because we know each other so well and its basically having fun. At the moment it’s a lot of covers and when I say covers there is nothing we don’t do, we play any kind of genre under the sun from metal, to punk, so reggae to serious corporate stuff back round stuff. You know I’ve basically had to mould myself into whatever business is out there. Corporate is very popular at the moment. So if I go into a gig with my little rock attitude, I am not going to get as many gigs as I will with being able to play other genres as well. I’ve been lucky to be kept very busy in the corporate circle now. We aslo play all the RnB stuff as well, quite well, I am surprised haha

When can we expect an album release?

Dude that is a very good question, the album has been done for quite a few months but I have just been trying to sort out my deal and the best strategic move going forward. It’s always a risk, I still don’t know what label I’m going to go with. I might do it from home, but I just need a good financial backing, I need to find out who exactly is going to back me, what money are they going to throw behind me and see what the strategy is. So I’m hoping within in the first few months of next year the album will be physically out there but it’s on Soundcloud and its on Facebook and there is already a couple of radio stations playing it.

Congrats on your newborn, Shelby, with this being your second child, and you have done some of the song writing in Just Jinjer, how has having children changed your perspective to make music?

Well I haven’t written anything yet, she has just really been a part of my life for such a short amount of time that the time has to be right for me to want to write a song for her but now that I have a daughter, you know what they say about fathers and their daughters. I am going to be very protective of her haha

2nd Jinjer album, there was just like a lot of Greenday happening and that is why I wrote the song, it was just that vibe, we were playing clubs so before the album was out we were playing covers so if we were going to be playing a club especially in front of 800 people you want to do original songs and you don’t want to empty the dance floor. So I wrote Paradise in the summertime specifically for that kind of vibe. So to answer your question, influences I suppose Kings of Leon I love, I have always been a fan of bands that are going to leave a long legacy. Counting crows, Pearl Jam, Stone temple pilots, Soundgarden. As a drummer I’m very influenced by these bands but maybe not as a songwriter

As a musician do you still get nervous on stage?

I don’t really get nervous but about a month ago we were doing this melody for a corporate and I felt a little out of my comfort zone. I knew what they wanted but there were a lot of words that I had to remember. When you play for a corporate gig, I normally play to a sequence, so if you mess up you’re screwed. You can’t go back and fix it or follow a live band and fall into place again, but once I got through that melody I was okay again and the nerves went away.

Do you have any rituals before going on stage?

I normally have a double ,Sambuca it’s good for the voice, but it tastes like sh*t but it’s good for the voice.

If you could have written a song from any other musician. Who and what would it be?

You know on my album there is a track we did that I have always liked as a kid and it’s a Beatles song called “And I love her” without sounding to cliché it is dedicated to my wife.

She’s been with me through thick and thin for over 16 years, and lived in like 8 countries with me and at one stage Just Jinjer had 5 band members and for a woman to share a toilet with five guys, is not that easy. She gave up her job and her townhouse to travel around the world with me. Also as a kid my Dad used to play it so I have always loved it and now it just has more meaning to me because of my wife. So that one I always kind of wished I had written.

Who are some of your musical influences?

I think people who I have loved over the years whether it be Radiohead, Counting crows. I don’t know if I have been very influenced as much by the ones I’ve loved the most or generally by a sound I hear, it’s weird because when I wrote Paradise in the summertime for the

Finally what does the future hold for Brent Harris?

I wish I knew, I guess just wake up in the morning and try really hard to make things happen. I do my best but it’s not always that easy. I try and get gigs, get my songs played on the radio stations and try and get stuff sent overseas. So I just want to get my stuff out there. Whenever I do a gig people like it and they buy the CD’s.

How can people get hold of the new album?

Well its on Facebook but you can also get it from my gigs and all my gig info can be found on Facebook.

Thanks so much for doing this interview?

Cool man thank you very much

A Stroke of luck!

Since the release of their self-titled debut album in April 2011, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been hearing more and more of GoodLuck on the South African airwaves. So much so that 5 tracks off the album have gone to number one on the Radio Charts, making GoodLuck number one in chart-topping singles off a debut album in South African history surpassing superbands like the Parlotones, Prime Circle and the electronic super-group Goldfish. We caught up with this unique band and asked them all the stuff you want to know. Enjoy the interview!

Interviewed by: Duwyne Clayton Photography by: Hareth Tayem

First of all thanks so much for doing this interview, where did it all start as a band? Did you all come from a musical back ground?

We’ve all been in separate bands before GoodLuck and naturally came to know each other in the melting pot of the CT music scene – PLUSH, jacSharp and 7thSon. Jules and I started playing electronic remixes of songs from our previous band in small clubs around Cape Town and began incorporating Raiven as the project developed and we found ourselves playing in environments where the Sax just fitted in perfectly, that coupled with Jules’s live vocals over my production and with a bit of percussion on the side - we had to give our show a name. So GoodLuck was born.

For those of us who don’t know about the band, tell us about each member of the band?

Juliet Harding writes all the lyrics and sings most of the songs; Raiven Hansmann plays saxophone and keys in the live show and Ben Peters (me) produces the music – basically like a bit of a chef combining ingredients from all of us and some of CT’s amazing musicians to make the songs that we release.

How would you define your music?

Electro-pop… if you take into consideration the amount of radio success we’ve had – otherwise its electro-swing most of the time.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Kruder and Dorfmeister, Gramophonedzie, Moby, Trent Moller, Goldfish (of course!), Krushed and Sorted, Dusty Springfield… it’s a long list - I can continue indefinitely!

If I was someone who has never been to one of your live gigs, what would I expect?

An electrifying, interactive, LIVE performance of rad dance music.

Tell us about your debut album, where can people get hold of it?

Debut album was actually meant to be a bit of test to see what songs and what style people re-acted the best to – Jules and I had never set out to make GoodLuck a band with a style and a specific sound, so we were really just looking to see what took off. I’d never produced anything before or recorded anything for that matter – so it was a steep learning curve for me which included building a studio and figuring

out how to use the neccesary equipment! We never would have guessed that we would end up with 7 singles off the album and 5 top 40 number 1’s! The support and excitement for this album has been mind boggling! If you want to get your hands on a copy – it’s available in all the music stores, its available as a download at Look &Listen and it’s on iTunes – where its currently sitting at #11 on the Netherlands download chart – which has completely bowled us over!

Where did you get inspiration from for your song writing?

I’m going to pass this one on to Jules – hang on…

Jules: It just strikes without warning to be honest – often I’ll write songs when I’m at a club or driving around, my little trick is just that I record everything into my iPhone and then Ben and I sit in studio and check out what ideas are worth keeping. I think a lot of the inspiration for my lyrics comes from life experiences, all the little things that affect us on a daily basis – that and nature is a big inspiration for all of us!

You have shared the stage with some big names in music? What is it like to share the stage and be a part of that?

Nerve racking! You’re being held up against world class acts who’ve performed thousands of shows around the globe and you have to really pull out all the stops to make sure that you live up to that comparison! It’s probably one of the best ways of developing as a band and we might find it scary but it’s an incredible experience!

What does the future hold for Goodluck?

Well for the rest of the year we’re working on our Lucky Packet events which go hand in hand with our latest release – The Lucky Packet Mix Tape, which is a compilation CD featuring some of our remixes and our most favourite electro-swing tracks – it also comes with some amazing prizes which our fans can win when they buy the CD – either 1 of 10 pairs of Ray Bans or 2 months behind the wheel of the crazy Mini Roadster!

We’ll be hitting the road in summer taking the Lucky Packet show around SA with 4 events in JHB and Cape Town and 2 in Durban. Then this week we’re preparing to head back to the Netherlands (on Sunday! Eeeek!!) where we’ve been asked to perform at ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event) which is the biggest EDM conference in the world alongside the biggest names in dance – Guetta, Afrojack, Calvin Harris – the list goes on for quite a while! So we’re super honoured and excited about that and are working our bums off to make sure we represent SA proudly!

How can people get hold of you?

We’re on Twitter and Facebook and love chatting with our fans – I’d have to say a large portion of our day goes into that and it’s so awesome to connect with them every day! Everything is goodlucklive so if you’re having trouble finding us – tweet us @goodlucklive or check out the website atwww.goodlucklive.com ☺

Thank you so much for doing this interview?

Thank you for taking the time to write it!!

“An electrifying, interactive, LIVE performance of rad dance music” That’s us ……...

Why not place your ad here !!!!!

Inspired by pop-punk legends (including the likes of Blink-182 and Motion City Soundtrack), Shout Hey! set out on a quest, with the goal of making music, unaffected by the boundaries of genre labels.

After leaving their previous 6-piece band, Army of Tomorrow (due to playing too many Nickelback covers), the three founding members (Matt, Tim & Jay) of Shout Hey! launched themselves head-first into the Johannesburg music scene, hoping to make an impact on their audience's perception of indie/alternative/pop-punk bands.

It wasn't long after they'd started gigging (with their notable stupid jokes and energetic stage presence) that Shout Hey! found themselves one percussionist short, as the much-loved drummer, Jay, left due to unforeseen circumstances.

Following Jay's departure, primary songwriters and vocalists, Matt and Tim took some time to work on new material, while they searched for a new drummer, whom they found in their good friend, and previous Army of Tomorrow bandmate, Brogan.

Naturally, having played in a band with Brogan before meant that the two would work easily with him, and the next few band practices proved that being in a band is about more than just performing - it's about friendship, trust and loyalty.

As mentioned before, Shout Hey! have somewhat of an aversion to genre labels, and prove this, not only in their diverse musical upbringings, but also in the contrast of gigs they play. From their full-on, explosive live shows to their laid-back, mellow unplugged acoustic sessions, Shout Hey! are constantly experimenting with instrumentation and arrangements.

Shout Hey! have played at various venues in Gauteng including The Bohemian, OddCafe, various schools and festivals, Tanz CafĂŠ, Shivas Rock, Rumour's, Hugo's Place, Cool Runnings, The Black Dahlia and more!

They know their way around a mixing desk, and have had some experience in recording - having released their first single, 'Insomiac', after tracking it in a bedroom, 3x3-metre (mildly acoustic-treated) room and a lounge, using a free demo trial of a nameless DAW and dodgy microphones. Needless to say, they have come a long way in their studio work, and plan to release a short EP with an accompanying acoustic set.

They have recently (thankfully) gone into studio, to record a second single, 'End of the World', with the drummer from acclaimed South African band, Zebra and Giraffe, Michael Wright.

With a great response to 'End of The World' including a free download, Shout Hey! Are currently continuing their work in studio!

In December, Matt, Tim and Brogan plan to set out on their first Cape Town tour including 2 interviews with 2 Oceans Vibe and Zone Radio!

Check Shout Hey! out on: facebook.com/shoutheyband twitter.com/shoutheyband soundcloud.com/shouthey reverbnation.com/shoutheyband myspace.com/shouthey boom.fm/shouthey Shout Hey! continue to make music and are constantly working on making a name for themselves in music industry.

Recent news: Free download of single 'End of The World' here: soundcloud.com/shouthey/end-of-the-world-shout-hey In studio to release 2nd single 'Bedsheets Are My Favourite Colour' Shows: SAT 13 OCT - Shout Hey! live @ The Black Dahlia, Boksburg SAT 27 OCT - Shout Hey! live @ Rumours Lounge, Weltevreden Park SAT 3 NOV - Shout Hey! live @ Shivas Rock, Pretoria SAT 8 DEC - Shout Hey! live @ Beeg Day Out Festival, Kempton Park

Volume Conflict has to be one of my fave bands at the moment. They are a grunge band from East London and in my opinion one of the most hardest working bands in the country. They were recently in Johannesburg so I caught up with them to find out about what the band has been up to recently. Enjoy the interview peeps.

Interviewed by : Duwyne Clayton Photography by: Tiandi van Niekerk

Hi guys thanx so much for doing this interview with Fanbase Music Mag, this is your first time in Jhb what do you think of the city so far and how has the touring been?

It been a blast, we actually dig the place a lot, I mean you get so much information beforehand what it’s going to be like and you should watch out for certain spots but when you get here we were really, really impressed, it such a good place and we going back home with such good memories man. Our friends have shown us around a bit too which was pretty cool. We have seen a few sights and it’s been so great.

With Woodstock being cancelled and it being the main reason why you guys came down to JHB did you manage to do other gigs in the area.

Yea well we had a private gig here and we had an interview with Barney Simon on Tuks FM so it wasn’t completely wasted but we tried to get other gigs to do but it was to short notice and most of the clubs etc had events already going on, but we would of liked to be able to play more here and at least this gives us a reason to come back to JHB hehe Well I am still yet to experience a Volume Conflict gig, what can we expect at a VC show?

You will enjoy it man. It’s very energetic but it’s not to organic you know, we don’t get bold, but its real and it’s a very raw and we like to put on a show, this whole thing of a band getting on stage and just standing there, it almost doesn’t matter how good the music is you playing, you should at least be interactive with the crowd, so you will see man we will just break out, especially stitch our bassist, he freaks out on stage, he is like up and down all the time So after your trip in JHB is there any more road trips for the year. Where are you heading to next?

Okay cool, well the plan is now we actually heading to east London and we going to play at Raggies there.

Then the plan is to put in a P.E gig and Grahamstown gig and then in December we going to be in Jbay, Plettenburg Bay, Knysna, Mossel Bay & then direct from Mossel Bay we will make our way to Cape Town for the Western Cape leg of the tour. So it’s going to be a lekker December coach tour here and there and if people want to know where we’re gonna be they can just join our Facebook page for dates. If all goes well we want to play “Rock the river” which is going to be cool but that is still yet to be confirmed, so then that is it for the year then first thing in February we will punt ourselves in every festival we can, and then we want to start putting ourselves

out there by touring as much as possible but that will all depend on finances and stuff, but we defo going to start touring annually and the album is also on its way, the previous lead singer of The Finkelstiens “Wang” is helping us record the album because he has his own studio (Drop & Roll Recording Studio) and if you hear the quality of his recordings, that guy is actually so good so we are definitely going to be working with him, and also we have the music video next year which is going to be awesome.

When is the music video going to be coming out and when will it be on YouTube?

Somewhere next year, we don’t quite know when, but we working on it, doing the whole thing independently which takes time but we actually finishing the last shots now so we hoping for the video to be out in February or march Well in JHB you had an interview with the Legend Barney Simon on tuks FM, how was that meeting and being interviewed by someone like Barney. Were you nervous?

I think the cool thing with Barney is he has been doing this for so long, he makes you feel relaxed during the interview. So yea, there were a little nerves but he is so cool and it was just such an honor to talk to him. I mean the information and his knowledge for music is amazing, hehe but Snowy our guitarist

You entered and won The Ernie Ball ( Warped Tour ) Battle of the Bands in Las Vegas but you couldn’t go to Vegas due to your visas not been granted etc. Are you going to enter again next year?

actually blanked out for a moment there when asked who’s his favorite guitartis and he just had too many to answer immediately hehe...

Barney asked him a question and it was like just silence hehe so that was quite funny but luckily not a major tank hehe You’re an independent band at the moment, would you consider a record deal if it was to come your way?

Definitely, definitely, but it will also depend on the terms but we know we have to sometimes compromise but we have also done our homework and have some conditions that we need met with a label but all in all, we know there are labels out there that will be interested in who we are & what we doing and if they don’t try to change us too much then it will be very cool if we can just get signed, and we will defo go with that, because that will just give us the opportunity to permanently start touring and give us that financial back up we need to showcase our music out there, so that is a goal of sorts for us that we want to achieve, be it with a label or not.

Yes we are defo going to try again. The organisers actually encouraged us to enter again because they felt so bad about the visa story. They did not know that we were from South Africa and would have problems with our visa applications. We received such an awesome response there and even though we just kind of entered for the fun of it to see what will happen and then we ended up doing so well so we really want to enter again. I think we have a good chance and following over there in America.

We got something like 16000 votes and we were only one of four bands out of 20 000 that went through to the finals.

How do you feel about the music scene in South Africa, with clubs being closed down and festivals being cancelled last minute?

It’s sad and a very scary situation, because here we are a band, we do this for a living and this is our lives and basically the less opportunities there are for us then we can’t really make a living from it, so from that point of view it is pretty sad, I think artistically there are always going to be bands who work their fingers to the bone and try and make it try make a living from it. So I think if it’s going to keep going on like this then the scene will just decline. The South African music scene has so much talent but a lot of work needs to be done to expose that talent.

That is the sad thing though, we have so much talent right here but our artists are forced to go overseas just because the situation is so hard to make a living from it?

Yes exactly people don’t understand it’s not just the big business and corporates that need to make a living, it is also the cultural and arts social scene out there in this country that will take a knock. There will be no backbone for something so important for this country and its going to die down and we will all to lose out. We’re not a political band but it has to be said that this country is dying in this department, we not growing. That is why I think it’s quite worth mentioning stations like Tuks FM, Knysna FM and Zone Radio who are going out of their way to playing the bands, playing alternative music and giving us a voice and a chance to do our thing in this country.

What festival will be next on your bucket list that you will just love to play at?

We would love to play the Download festival, that will just be a dream come true for us. Snowy would like to play the FHM festival haha can you imagine playing with all the FHM models dancing around us haha and just for the love of it. Also the Reading festival just because Nirvana played there . Oh and Warp tour would be cool to play at.

Music videos, albums, road trips, touring, all this costs money. Let’s face it, it’s not cheap to be successful in a band, do you guys have a website or way of contributing financially to help VC out?

We so glad you asked that question because people don’t realize how much help we need financially to make things happen. You can go to www.volumeconflict.webs.com and there is an option for donations to the band for this very reason. And also just support us by buying our music. You can go to the site and purchase the songs there which help us out a lot to be able to tour and play around the country etc.

“people don’t realise how much financial help we need to make things happen”

I was invited to attend the Johannesburg album launch of Ard Matthews.

You may remember Ard Matthews from Just Jinjer fame; he has now brought out his debut solo album “First Offerings” It was definetly a night to remember and what made it even more special is that John Ellis joined him on guitar giving the gig an exciting touch. Joining on drums was Brent Harris almost completing the original line up of Just jinjer. With Denholm Harding supporting in the crowds a lot of people were wondering if he would also join in on stage to complete the original line up of Just Jinger, and I am happy to say they did not disappoint. With Denholm joining on bass for “Sugarman” which Just Jinjer covered in the early 90’s.

But this event was not about Just Jinjer. It was Ard Matthews’ night and the celebration of his new solo album and he did not disappoint. I must say my fave song on the album is “One day my lover” and hearing it live was really an awesome experience. Ard’s unmistakable song writing and song arrangements make for good listening pleasure. If you weren’t already a fan of Just Jinjer then his solo stuff will defo convert you. Seeing him perform the songs live was great!

Ard is such a great performer and him playing bass for the gig just showcased his many talents as we normally see him play electric guitar or acoustic. His interaction with the crowd was very good making all who was there laugh sing and dance throughout the show.

Ard Matthews Joburg album launch had talent and variety all making for a good evening all round You can find Ard Matthews album in all good music stores or you can purchase it on his website www.ardmatthews.com Well done Ard Matthews on a great new solo album and a great Johannesburg album launch.

Review by : Duwyne Clayton Photography by : Crystal Rees-Gibbs

Album Launch / Gig review

Ard Matthews

I was recently invited to the EMI studios to catch up with new Durban super band “Gangs of Ballet” who just recently signed with EMI. These boys are taking the world by storm and having already made an impact with their E.P with tracks such as Breaking the silence, I can just imagine what they have planned when they record their 1st album with EMI. There seems to be great things happening with this band. Having recently opened up for Switchfoot during their South African tour this band has what it takes to go places. Enjoy the interview

First of all thanks for doing this interview, it really is awesome featuring you in Fanbase Music Mag, where did it all start as a band? Did you all come from a musical background?

Brad: Well we( Josh and Brad) are bothers and our Dad is a drummer and our Moms a pianist so we kind of been encouraged from a very early age. Our parents used to buy us these cassette players and remember at a very young age just sitting with this thing on my chest listening to kids songs and as early as I can remember we had music in our life. Our Dad used to go play gigs and we used to go along and watch. So from our side we had music from a very young age.

Jono: My Dad put glasses in water and I would hit them to get different sounds and he taught me to play Mary had a little lamb. And he said I could do it so from there my Dad could see I had something hehe. So they sent me for piano lessons at the age of 8 or 9 and I hated it hehe all my friends were playing guitar or they were hiding around playing hide and go seek and I was in piano lessons and I hated it hehe. I think I only started to take it really seriously the last couple of years, but going through school was weird because it’s not cool to play piano. It was always electric guitar hehe but that is kind of how it started for me to start playing keyboard.

Hardus: My parents bought me an acoustic guitar, when I was very young. But I didn’t touch it and I left it in the cupboards and it stayed there for a couple of years till I was 15 someone started playing guitar and I really wanted to learn also so a mate of mine started playing a couple of chords and I started going for lessons. But no one in my immediate family plays an instrument but my uncle plays and sings a bit. But I am probably the biggest one in my family who really took it

seriously. And I picked it up quite easily. Even my friends say yoh how do I learn it so fast when I was just starting. My Dad used to listen to a lot of music, although he can’t play anything but he knows what sounds good etc so I grew up listening to bands like Pink Floyd and so on which was a big influence for me Brad: So I guess you want to know how it all comes together as a band right. Hehe well the bottom line is we have all been involved in music in different levels. But never took anything seriously, we from Durban and you know the vibe there everything is so chilled hehe so we tried to push through that and become something more with this band to what we’re doing now compared to now. We have also worked hard to get this band where it is today.

How would you define your music?

We kind of go for songs. We can say we’ve got energy or a certain vibe it also depends on the song. We spend a lot of time crafting songs and they don’t always sound the same, and the type of songs we want we have written for bigger venues which is quite cheeky but we are kind of aiming for the end product, we don’t want to play for only 200 people all our lives so we have made songs and music to reach a bigger audience. We want our music to translate to people and they can engage with and that has kind of been primarily our goal that people leave with a lyric or memory of our music and songs. So the term we have kind of used is anthemic alternative rock Josh: Yea we want to create an experience at our shows with our songs, we don’t want people to come and watch then leave... we also want to get the crowd involved.

Who are your main influences?

Hardus: I think Cold Play has been a big factor, Muse and Radiohead.

Josh: Killers, or Switchfoot has been a huge influence for us. I think particularly John Forman, that guy is a genius and a machine Jono: I think we all have our own personal influences and they might not be a direct influence on the band but they influence on what we bring to the band as individual members. So I think we’ve all got our own influences and they show come out in the band somehow.

Brad: Three of us have studied Jazz and that is a hectic genre to be involved in I think even in this band you can hear the influences of that in our songs.

Hardus: I am the only one that didn’t study jazz, so there was this one song of ours that we were crafting and putting it together and the rest of the band started playing around with slightly different jazz elements and to me it sounded off and although I wasn’t sold on influencing much into the song I was still able to come along and play even though it has a lot of Jazz elements to it and after playing it over and over I actually think it sounds quite cool.

Josh: I think the cool thing about studying jazz is it opens up your ears and mind to a different approach to making music.

If I was someone who has never heard your music, what experience would I get going when going to one of your gigs?

Lots of glow sticks hahha we love glow sticks Brad: We did a media show last night with EMI and what is interesting is we want people to feel easy and connected with the band at the end of it. We do play with a lot of energy and hopefully we hope that the songs are as good as international quality, so we practice hard to put on a good show. We want people to engage and be a part of it, and as cheesy as this is going to sound, we want people to feel good after the gig. So we hope we give that off at a live show.

Who is the songwriter in the band and what is the process like?

Josh: Mainly it has been Brad and myself, but what generally happens is that someone will come up with an idea, we present it to the guys and if we all dig it then we work on it. I think we work well as a band.

Brad: We’re still a new band so in the beginning it was myself and Josh but recently the rest of the band has also been having an input here and there. It takes a lot different things to make a song work. So where as I may be stronger in one point I still need a backbone and someone to write the arrangement of parts of the songs and that is where we all work well together.

This question is for Brad and Josh, you two are brothers, how is the relationship working in the band, is the sibling rivalry like the Boys of Oasis?

We have a great relationship. That is why we work so well together in writing, but sometimes we have different opinions. But it is good though because it’s all positive.

We don’t have a go at each other but generally when we do bicker over something it’s for the material of the song.

We don’t go and say you suck at each other. We just sometimes have difference of opinions and it shows but nothing to hectic, we both very honest with each other but overall we have a great relationship.

Do you ever get nervous before you go on stage?

Yea a little bit, it depends on the show like when you playing to a lot of people that haven’t heard you before and you don’t quite know the vibe. That can be intimidating.

Do you have rituals before you get on stage?

Now for the big one, well done first of all for signing up with EMI. How did that come about? What is the story behind signing up with such a big record company?

Josh: I think when “breaking the silence” hit top ten and that is when all the action starting taking place, we had a couple of deals on the table and had a lot of things to think about.

We met with Kevin from Emi and he was so passionate about the E.P and us as a band and just the small stuff he had seen, he was just flipping his lid and getting so excited for us, which is always a great sign and out of all the labels we spoke to he was just the most honest. We have always wanted to work with the industry and EMI had a very new school approach.

We did not want someone forcing something old school on us because the industry changes and EMI could see that.

Brad: I think another factor is it is the small things EMI have done for us. We had our E.P Launch in March and Kevin flew down to Durban and he didn’t have to do that but he came

Brad: We just kind of get together and talk about the set and make sure all the starts and ends are right. Make sure we’re all on the same page. We get together as a band and have a quick prayer. I personally like to walk around for ten minutes and get my voice right and zoned in.

You had the opportunity of opening up for Switchfoot, which must have been so much fun, how was it to open up for such a great band?

Josh: I think we’ve all been listening to Switchfoot for ages. My mind couldn’t quite get around it, first of all that they were coming and second of all that we would be opening for them. We really enjoyed it.

Brad: As people they made a very big impact on me. Yes the music is awesome and they don’t play with tracks. So that was really good but as people they are so humble.

Jon Forman, for me, was so interesting. When we met all the band members they all shook our hands made eye contact and really made an effort to get to know us and interested in what we say. The more we got to interact with them the more I was impressed with Jon, he craves human contact; I was really taken a back. He just seems really honest and real and it really inspired me.

Jono: They have so much time for everyone. There was never a moment where you felt they could not chat to you now etc. They just engaged in us so much. They are awesome people and it was an honour to open up for them.

because he wanted to. Also we didn’t come into the deal without having any knowledge and we also had some of our own conditions which some of EMI met. It wasn’t like, we now own you and this is how it’s going to be. They are really good to us.

So when can we expect an album out with EMI? Hardus: It’s difficult to say because for the next two months we’re going to carry on crafting and working on songs for the album so I think late January we’ll try and get into studio.

How can people get hold of you?

You can get hold of us on Facebook and Twitter and we are busy working on the new website but for now all our info is on Facebook on Twitter.

Thanx so much for doing this interview with us.

Thank you so much for the interest. It’s been really good

“and in other news! “ Holly You have heard the track on Gagasi FM and you have seen the video on Channel O. Now you can Download the track on the MTN and Vodacom Networks.

To get the Fulltrack of "Holly" "Inhliziyo Yami" at R10 SMS "3242168" to 083 123 686. TnC and data charges apply.

MTN Subscribers only.

Foofighters Foofighters front man Dave Grohl addresses fans in a letter and talks about the band taking a break Hey everyone...

Dave here. Just wanted to write and thank you all again from the bottom of my heart for another incredible year. (Our 18th, to be exact!)

We truly never could have done any of this without you...

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Foo Fighters would make it this far. I never thought we COULD make it this far, to be honest. There were times when I didn't think the band would survive. There were times when I wanted to give up. But... I can't give up this band. And I never will. Because it's not just a band to me. It's my life. It's my family. It's my world.

Yes... I was serious. I'm not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again. It feels strange to say that, but it's a good thing for all of us to go away for a while. It's one of the reasons we're still here. Make sense? I never want to NOT be in this band.

So, sometimes it's good to just... put it back in the garage for a while...

But, no gold watches or vacations just yet... I'll be focusing all of my energy on finishing up my Sound City documentary film and album for worldwide release in the very near future. A year in the making, it could be the biggest, most important project I've ever worked on. Get ready... it's coming.

Me, Taylor, Nate, Pat, Chris, and Rami... I'm sure we'll all see you out there... somewhere...

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Dave

STORIELIED A Unique Afrikaans production, a live DVD and CD! A first for Luna Paige A first for the SA music industry “Luna Paige deserves standing ovations. More so – she deserves full houses… Up till now she mainly sang in English and her first full length Afrikaans production has been much anticipated. It was all and more than expected… This journey with Paige comes to an end way too fast. It is one of those productions one wants to experience twice, even a third time”. - Review by Mariana Malan (Krit 2012, KKNK) [translated] Storielied is a must for bookworms and music lovers! Storielied is Luna’s 4th music release and a first in Afrikaans. It is a unique concept album and promises to blow the minds of all literary and music lovers.

Luna Paige will be releasing this live DVD and CD on a national level. Her tour kicks off at the Centurion Theatre on the 26th of October, after which she will be heading to Nelspruit, Pietermaritzburg, Durban, East-London, PE, Jeffreysbay, George and Mosselbay. She will be concluding her tour in her home province – the Western Cape (on the 25th and 26th of November 2012). Alongside the DVD/CD release, Luna will also be launching her new website. Fans will have access to all kinds of interesting reading-, watching- and listening material. www.lunapaige.com will be launched after the 19th of October.

This musical masterpiece is not exclusively aimed at Afrikaans speaking audiences. It is aimed at all lovers of music, stories, literature and Africa. Although the lyrics are Afrikaans, the music speaks the universal language we all understand. She lets the feet “jiggle”, inspires one to burst into song, she brings her audience to tears, stirs curiosity about other cultures, she glides through history and inspires all to read in Afrikaans.

For a taste of what Storielied has to offer, have a look at one of Luna's live performances here: http://twitter.us2.list-manage.com/track/ click?u=3fee8dd6bd2a0ad35b01bc088&id=a80e1ed8a9&e=b8cf2565a2 (Korhaan man is based on a short story by Elias P Nel) Click on the link below to view/download Luna Paige's English press release: http://twitter.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3fee8dd6bd2a0ad35b01bc088&id=f15e6cdfa1&e=b8cf2565a2 Click on the link below to view/download Luna Paige's Afrikaans press release: http://twitter.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3fee8dd6bd2a0ad35b01bc088&id=7422d5e5bd&e=b8cf2565a2 Click on the link below to view/download a high res photo of Luna Paige: http://twitter.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3fee8dd6bd2a0ad35b01bc088&id=602254c732&e=b8cf2565a2

UP THE CREEK MUSIC FESTIVAL BROUGHT TO YOU BY 4TH STREET, SWELLENDAM: 31 JANUARY – 3RD FEBRUARY 2013.

One river, three stages, four days, loads of music and comedy and festival goers with a passion for some of South Africa`s best music in common – get ready for Up the Creek 2013 brought to you by 4th Street.

At Up the Creek everyone comes together. From 31st January to 3rd February, the usually quiet campsite close to Swellendam will once again be transformed into a slightly surreal spot of revelry, raging rock and soulful tunes, performances from another planet and shenanigans of the type you can only pull off when you`re safely tucked in next to the mighty Breede River for four days. No VIP nonsense. No pretence. No cliques. Just a beautiful river; three epic stage; thirty awesome live bands and some of our country’s coolest comedy acts.

Pull in on Thursday 31st January for a chilled out preview gig at the Rolling Stone SA stage. You can choose the best spot for your tent and kick start the weekend`s carousing so that the place is cooking by the time your friends arrive.

The line up for Up the Creek 2013 is going to be nothing short of fantastic and will be announced in November 2012.

In typical Up the Creek tradition we will be running live music on 3 stages throughout the weekend: The 4th Street Main Stage, the MK River Stage and the all night long Rolling Stone SA stage.

But remember, we will be running only one stage at a time, so that you don’t miss out on your favourite acts.

Think about it, where else can you float on a river, headbang to sick, soulful rocking tunes and sip on a Titanic. (Up the Creek`s special signature cocktail.

Tickets at www.ticketbreak.co.za or on our FB page: Thursday – Sunday: Presales: R600.00 – Gate: R650.00 Friday – Sunday: Presales: R550.00 – Gate: R600.00 Saturday – Sunday: Presales: R450.00 – Gate: R500.00 Kids 13 years and younger: free entry.

Heartbreak Motel: If you want to rock out in a little more comfort, then the Heartbreak Motel is for you. There are various options of pre-pitched tents, hot showers, clean toilets, buffet breakfast and other luxuries. For more info and bookings go to: http://www.heartbreakmotel.co.za/ Competitions: We are running various exciting competitions for Up the Creek 2013. Check out our Competitions page on website for all the details: Up the Creek Competitions Good luck with your entries!

Social Media: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UpTheCreek.MusicFestival Twitter: @Upthe_Creek.

Website: www.upthecreek.co.za The line up for the weekend will be released in November 2012.

So remember it doesn’t matter if you have big biceps or skinny jeans, or an ironic moustache, or a non-ironic one, at Up the Creek you can be yourself. And get together.

General queries: annie@redhotevents.co.za and Media queries: liny@lkmediabook.co.za Up the Creek Music Festival is organized by Red Hot Events and Blue Moon.

RED HOT EVENTS:

Red Hot Events offers a range of services dedicated to creating unique and memorable experiences. Due to the fact that we are perfectionists obsessed with every detail of event management, we start at spectacular and take it up a few notches. This is why we have a reputation for thinking outside the box, making creative use of space and going the extra mile. Whatever you have in mind, we`re ready to rise to the challenge. Visit our website for more information: www.redhotevents.co.za.”

BLUE MOON:

Blue Moon, based in Nelspruit, is a fully equipped functions and music venue with a dynamic sound system and all the accessories, 2 bars, kitchen, stage lighting etc. Known to the music industry countrywide as the best venue of its kind in South Africa, Blue Moon is a totally unique indoor/outdoor venue. Visit our website at www.blue-moon.co.za

Up the Creek 2013 would like to thank our sponsors: 4th Street, MK & Rolling Stone SA.

This document serves to give you all the information you will need in order to ensure that you have a comfortable experience at the Linkin Park concert.

Show Date: Saturday 10th November 2012 Venue: FNB Stadium City: Johannesburg Gates Open: 17.00 KONGOS: 20h00 Linkin Park: 21h00

Please note that support artists and times are subject to change without notice.

We have split this document into three sections to help you with any queries you might have about attending the Linkin Park concert: Before the concert Getting to the concert At the concert

BEFORE THE CONCERT

If I bought my tickets through the Linkin Park Underground Pre-Sale where do I collect them from?

The delivery and collection of pre-sale tickets purchased via Linkin Park Underground shall be arranged directly with you. You should have been sent an email from LPU with all your ticket details. If not please email customercare@bigconcerts.co.za so we can assist you. If you have purchased your ticket through Linkin Park Underground you will have early access into the stadium. You should have been sent a laminate in the post.

If not you should bring the printout of your receipt. More information will be put on the Linkin Park Underground site regarding meeting point times soon.

Can I purchase tickets at the Stadium?

No. The concert is sold out.

Can I resell my tickets or use it for commercial purposes such as advertising, promotional competitions or to promote the sales of other goods and services?

Tickets cannot be resold or offered for resale (including on-line auction sites) or used for commercial purposes including advertising, promotional competitions, or to promote the sales of other goods and services. If this condition is breached the ticket may be cancelled without refund and the bearer of the ticket may be refused entry.

Is it safe to buy someone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tickets?

In order to be certain that your ticket is not counterfeit/fake you should purchase it directly from Computicket only. Our security staff are trained in spotting counterfeits, and even though you might believe that you purchased a legitimate ticket from a tout/friend/gumtree you might find yourself denied entry into the venue (without a refund), or even arrested for possession of a fake ticket voucher.

If the tickets are lost or stolen will they be replaced?

Should you have lost or misplaced your ticket, please contact Computicket customer service PRIOR to the show date. Tickets are considered legal tender and as such we cannot replace or refund lost or stolen tickets at the venue.

GETTING TO THE CONCERT

The traffic management plan to the stadium will broadly replicate that used during the Soccer World Cup. Gates will open at 17:00 and the show will start on time. As the transport and entry systems will be pressured with this very large crowd, fans are strongly encouraged to allow enough transport and entry time so as not to miss any of the show.

There are three options in place for fans attending the concert:

Park n Ride Tickets are R160.00 per ticket (return) from any one of the three Park n Ride locations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Northgate Shopping Centre, Birchwood Hotel and Menlyn Shopping Centre. All Park n Ride facilities will open at 15h00. There will be no additional payment at any of the park-and-ride facilities and you are NOT EXPECTED to pay any security or parking attendance staff.

After the show busses will leave the stadium for the Park n Ride centres as and when each bus reaches capacity.

Parking at the stadium A limited number of parking tickets within Soccer City precinct are available from Computicket.

Please remember to car pool if you have purchased a parking ticket. If you DO NOT have a parking ticket you will not be allowed near the FNB Stadium.

Is there disabled parking?

Yes. Disabled fans in possession of a Disabled Parking Ticket will be directed to parking conveniently situated close to the stadium entrance. These parking tickets can be purchased from Computicket.

How do I get to FNB Stadium?

Please do not attempt to approach the stadium by car, unless you are in possession of a Computicket issued parking ticket. Roads in the Soccer City precinct will be closed from 06:00am on Saturday 10 th November 2012, and you will not be allowed entry unless you have the prerequisite parking ticket.

Directions from O.R Tambo Airport to FNB stadium (Johannesburg) Take R24 towards Johannesburg Follow N12 and take Exit 113 to Germiston/Durban Keep left at fork and follow N12/N3 Take Geldenhuys exit (108) towards Germiston Keep right at fork and follow M2/Johannesburg Drive to end of freeway (12km) and turn left into Main Reef Road (R41) After 3kms, turn left into Nasrec Road, and keep left at fork Follow road to Soccer City

AT THE CONCERT

How long will it take to get through the gates/security checks?

As with any major event you should allow yourself ample time to get through the gates and security checkpoints. Gates are expected to open at 17:00. Depending on the time of day crowds and security checks may take some time. There is only one main public entrance and you will enter through the turnstiles.

What are the gate opening and closing times?

Gates are expected to open at 17:00 and fans are strongly encouraged to arrive early. The concert will end before midnight.

Is there a support act?

Yes. KONGOS will be supporting Linkin Park

Are there pass-outs from the venue?

No. Once you exit the gates (after entry) you will not be permitted to re-enter.

What should I bring with me on the day?

Ticket(s), adequate cash, mobile phones (with charged battery), photo ID as proof that you are 18+ years of age (if you intend to consume alcohol), suitable clothing and footwear.

There are no ATM machines within the venues.

Will the concert go ahead if it rains?

Yes the concert will occur come rain or shine.

Is the concert a non smoking space?

Absolutely â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in terms of smoking legislation smoking is strictly not-permitted unless in designated smoking areas.

Will I be searched on arrival?

Yes, you may be subject to a personal search and/or search of your personal possessions at the time of entry to the venue.

If you refuse to comply with a security check will you be denied entry?

Security procedures are in effect for your own safety and as a consequence you may be requested to submit to a search of your person and/ or property. Failure to comply will mean you will be prevented from entering the event.

What are the consequences to disruptive and offensive behaviour?

Appropriate standards of behaviour are expected of all fans attending the event and persons deemed to be behaving in a manner that is dangerous or unacceptable will be refused admission and/or removed from the venue with no refund on the ticket.

Are activities such as stage diving, moshing, climbing and crowd surfing allowed?

Activities such as ‘stage diving’, ‘moshing’, ‘climbing’ and ‘crowd surfing’ are strictly prohibited for your own safety.

To be served alcohol do I need a valid ID? Patrons wishing to consume alcohol must have a valid Photo ID in order to prove that they are above the legal age to consume alcohol. We are prohibited by law from serving liquor to under 18s and intoxicated persons.

Will alcohol be available at the venue?

Yes there is a full bar facility in operation selling Beers and Ciders (NO hard liquor is available). The bars will begin operation when the gates are opened and will cease one hour prior to the end of the performance, unless otherwise instructed by the safety and security officials.

Is there a lost property area?

If you find property that someone else has lost, we request that you hand this to one of the security managers at the main pedestrian entrance. All lost items are can be identified and collected from the Big Concerts office.

Can I take pictures of the performance?

Professional photographic, audio and video equipment is prohibited in order to prevent unauthorised infringement on the publishing, music and other rights owned by the artist. You will not be allowed to capture the show unless you are an accredited photographer/videographer with a recognised publication or media owner. Non-Professional and cellphone cameras are acceptable. However iPads are not accepted.

Where can I get a backstage pass?

You can’t, unless you’re part of the working staff employed at Big Concerts. And why would you want one anyway – it’s not as glamorous as it seems.

Can I bring my young child with me?

Yes, but it is your responsibility to provide children with proper hearing protection – these concerts are very loud. Minimum age may vary. Tickets for children are charged at full price regardless of their age.

What bathroom facilities are there available?

There will be ample toilet facilities onsite including facilities appropriate to the mobility impaired. For fans that arrive early at the stadium, we will ensure that toilet facilities, as well as food and beverages are available.

Is there food available to purchase?

Yes there is a wide selection of food available to purchase, both within the stadium and outside in the queuing areas.

Is there Mobile Phone Coverage?

As a consequence of the high attendance at this show, there is likely to be congestion across the mobile phone networks and therefore coverage will be extremely limited.

What if I injure myself - is there medical personnel/first aid available?

Yes, there are medical personnel on site. Directional signage will guide you to these facilities

Is there wheelchair/special needs access?

At every Big Concerts we work to ensure that access is as easy as possible for concert goes requiring assistance, including the provision of facilities for the mobility impaired to aid the enjoyment of the concert. For the best possible service please email info@bigconcerts.co.za for direct assistance.

Will there be merchandise available?

Yes, a large range of tour merchandise will be available to purchase within the stadium.

Will I be able to withdraw cash from an ATM on site?

Unfortunately, due to the risks of carrying cash on site, there is no ATM located at the venue. We suggest therefore that you bring sufficient cash with you in order to purchase food, beverages and merchandise.

What items are you not allowed to bring into the venue?

Glass bottles or containers or other heavy and/ort sharp objects , which could potentially be used as projectiles (excluding sunglasses, binoculars and prescription or reading glasses) Any illegal drugs Skateboards, scooters, roller blades or bicycles

DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW

EMBARGOED UNTIL: Thursday 25th October 2012 at 9am Big Concerts is excited to announce that the legendary Rodriguez will return to South Africa this summer for live shows in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The two performances are scheduled on Friday 15th February at the Big Top Arena, Carnival City Johannesburg and Wednesday 20th February at the Grand Arena, GrandWest Cape Town. The tour will be produced by Big Concerts, and presented by Talk Radio 702, 567 CapeTalk and M-Net. Tickets and tour details are available from www.bigconcerts.co.za.

The Mexican-American singer-songwriter known simply as, “Rodriguez" had been working on his music career in Detroit since the early 1960s. He recorded an album in 1969 that many believed was going to secure his reputation as one of the greatest recording artists of his generation. Instead, Cold Fact bombed and the Rodriguez seemingly disappeared into obscurity, even being subject to rumours that he had committed suicide by setting himself on fire onstage and other imaginative tales. The album took on a life of its own when a bootleg recording found its way into our own South Africa. Banned by the Apartheid government, the album became a nationwide phenomenon over the next two decades, and the soundtrack to a resistance movement of liberal African youth. Back in Detroit, living a hardscrabble life, Rodriguez was totally unaware that he was not just a folk hero but a household name thousands of miles away.

Eventually, two South African fans then set out to find out what really happened to their hero, and their investigation led them to a story more extraordinary than any of the many myths they’d heard. Their story forms the basis of the recently released documentary Searching For Sugarman which was a big hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the world documentary audience award and a special jury award, and it received fantastic reviews at this year’s SXSW, Tribeca film festival, Sydney film festival and several others around the world. He has since appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and Rodriguez was recently featured on the television program, 60 minutes.

Stunning. One of the greatest, and most moving documentaries ever made." ***** Q magazine "The all-too-credible story of a superstar that never was." **** Empire “The buzzworthy Sundance documentary” - Yahoo!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to see the iconic Rodriguez live in South Africa performing his classic hits in support of ‘Searching for Sugarman’.

Tour Itinerary Johannesburg – Presented by Talk Radio 702 and M-Net 15th February 2013 Big Top Arena, Carnival City Tickets from R225 – R520 Cape Town – presented by 567 Cape Talk and M-Net 20th February 2013 Grand Arena, GrandWest Tickets from R310 – R520 Tickets available online from www.bigconcerts.co.za or at any Shoprite, Checkers or Computicket Store

RODRIGUEZ Additional Johannesburg and Cape Town performance added Due to an overwhelming demand for Rodriguez tickets, with 3 sold out performances, Big Concerts have added another performance date in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The new dates are 18th February at the Big Top Arena, Carnival City Johannesburg and 21st February at the Grand Arena, GrandWest Cape Town. Rodriguez is also scheduled to perform at the Big Top arena on the 15th and 16th of February and in Cape Town at the Grand Arena, Grand West on the 20 th of February 2013. The tour will be produced by Big Concerts, and is presented by Talk Radio 702, 567 CapeTalk and M-Net. Tickets and tour details are available from www.bigconcerts.co.za.

The Mexican-American singer-songwriter known simply as, “Rodriguez" had been working on his music career in Detroit since the early 1960s. He recorded an album in 1969 that many believed was going to secure his reputation as one of the greatest recording artists of his generation. Instead, Cold Fact bombed and the Rodriguez seemingly disappeared into obscurity, even being subject to rumours that he had committed suicide by setting himself on fire onstage and other imaginative tales. The album took on a life of its own when a bootleg recording found its way into our own South Africa. Banned by the Apartheid government, the album became a nationwide phenomenon over the next two decades, and the soundtrack to a resistance movement of liberal African youth. Back in Detroit, living a hardscrabble life, Rodriguez was totally unaware that he was not just a folk hero but a household name thousands of miles away.

Eventually, two South African fans then set out to find out what really happened to their hero, and their investigation led them to a story more extraordinary than any of the many myths they’d heard. Their story forms the basis of the recently released documentary Searching For Sugarman which was a big hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the world documentary audience award and a special jury award, and it received fantastic reviews at this year’s SXSW, Tribeca film festival, Sydney film festival and several others around the world. He has since appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and Rodriguez was recently featured on the television program, 60 minutes.

Stunning. One of the greatest, and most moving documentaries ever made." ***** Q magazine "The all-too-credible story of a superstar that never was." **** Empire “The buzzworthy Sundance documentary” - Yahoo!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to see the iconic Rodriguez live in South Africa performing his classic hits in support of ‘Searching for Sugarman’.

Johannesburg – Presented by Talk Radio 702 and M-Net 15th February 2013 – SOLD OUT 16th February 2013 – SOLD OUT 18th February 2013 – TICKETS ON SALE NOW Big Top Arena, Carnival City Tickets from R225 – R520

Cape Town – presented by 567 Cape Talk and M-Net 20th February 2013 – SOLD OUT 21ST February 2013 – TICKETS ON SALE NOW Grand Arena, GrandWest Tickets from R310 – R520

Tickets available online from www.bigconcerts.co.za or at any Shoprite, Checkers or Computicket Store

Presents Kicking of summer in style is the festival we have all been waiting for. Synergy Live 2012 is back with a killer line up that will once again make it an unforgettable one with The Prodigy headlining this much anticipated festival. Riversands Farm, in Fourways Johannesburg on Saturday, 1 December is the place to be!

With 25 million records sold, a string of number 1 hits and a musical career spanning over 20 years you can be assured that when The Prodigy bring it, they bring it harder and faster than any other act on earth! Constantly evolving, distorting, and contorting the way we understand music, The Prodigy bring with them an almost godly presence. After recently headlining the 2012 Download Festival in the UK another rip roaring success was enjoyed by the band when they we're dubbed “The Greatest Dance Act of all Time” by an overwhelming public vote in MixMag magazine.

In the early 1990’s The Prodigy stormed the world's festivals, headlining stages usually reserved for the rock establishment and walked like Gods where other press-friendly artists feared to tread and dance artists were previously uninvited. Hits like ‘Firestarter’, ‘Breathe’ and ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ dominated the airwaves and firmly cemented that The Prodigy was a force to be reckoned with. The Prodigy returned to their “old school but cutting edge roots’ on their 2009 album Invaders Must Die, the album charted at number one in the UK and Australia blowing away all their previous albums. Hits like Omen, Warriors Dance and Take Me to the Hospital enjoyed rotation on 5FM spawning a whole new generation of The Prodigy fans.

With the much awaited sixth album ‘How To Steal A Jet Fighter’ anticipated for release in 2013, The Prodigy has delivered time and time again, with SA fans eagerly awaiting the band’s captivating return performance on home soil.

SA’s own The Narrow headlines the SA contingent on Synergy Live 2012 with the rest of the main stage lineup including the likes Zebra & Giraffe, Desmond and the Tutus, Lark (Electro), Wrestlerish, Gangs of Ballet, Bittereinder, Man as Machine and Newtown Knife Gang with the Red Bull Studio Live stage featuring Dr Khumalo, Minx, King Rat, Phizist VS Kid Robot, Twelv & Thesis, Tommy Gun, Double Adapter, Reepa and Rudeone

Synergy 2012 Details Saturday, 1 December 2012 Riversands Farm. William Nicol . Fourways GPS Coordinates: Latitude:25º57′38.58″S`

Longitude: 28º1′32.78″E

Ticket Details R 380 - General admission Online at Webtickets R 450 - General admission on the door R 600 - VIP Tickets Online at Webtickets Tickets available from www.webtickets.co.za MORE INFO Check out www.synergylive.co.za or www.facebook.com/synergylive for bands, info and schedules For all media queries, please contact media@synergylive.co.za

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – OCTOBER 29, 2012 AT 8:45AM

BON JOVI BECAUSE WE CAN – THE TOUR **** BAND TO BLAZE A TRAIL ACROSS THE GLOBE IN 2013 *** South African Stadium Dates for May 2013 Presented by 94.5 KFM, 94.7 Highveld Stereo and MNET October 29, 2012 – The best just got bigger. Bringing their signature brand of rock ‘n’ roll back to the people, Bon Jovi will hit the road in 2013 to fill stadiums and arenas worldwide with “BON JOVI Because We Can – The Tour.” Blazing a trail across the globe, the tour will kick off in North America in February, just in time for Valentine’s Day, and travel throughout Europe, the Far East, Africa, Latin America and Australia. The band’s return to the road in 2013 will cap an incredible run which has secured Bon Jovi’s status as the essential live rock band – having performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 35 million fans, and earning the #1 grossing worldwide tour twice in just three years.

“Because We Can – The Tour” will also debut brand new songs from new album What About Now, due out in Spring 2013, loading even more ammunition into the band’s huge arsenal of hits including “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” “It’s My Life,” and many more.

With one of the greatest catalogues of songs in the history of rock n’ roll, Bon Jovi has sold more than 125 million albums and racked up a stellar resume of career accomplishments.

South African Tour Dates: Tuesday 7th May 2013 – Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Presented by 94.5 KFM and MNET Saturday 11th May 2013 – FNB Stadium, Soccer City Complex, Johannesburg Presented by 94.7 Highveld Stereo and MNET For more information on all things Bon Jovi, visit www.BonJovi.com.

Ticketing Information: Tickets go on sale for the Johannesburg show (web, outlets and call centers) – Thursday 1st November 2012 (09:00 – local time SAST) Tickets go on sale for the Cape Town show (web, outlets and call centers) – Friday 2nd November 2012 (09:00 – local time SAST) Tickets available online from www.bigconcerts.co.za, or Computicket.

A limited quantity of exclusive pre-sale tickets opportunities are available beginning Monday 29 th October 2012 from www.BonJovi.com, www.bigconcerts.co.za and Computicket.

Pre-sale tickets are limited to 35% of the available stadium inventory and will be available strictly while stocks last!

About BIG Concerts: BIG Concerts (Pty) Ltd., founded in 1989 by Attie van Wyk, is South Africa’s premier live entertainment company and consistently rated as one of the best in the world according to Pollstar magazine’s annual list of global music promoter’s (Big Concerts was rated #20 at the end of 2011).

Amongst many past accomplishments, Big Concerts staged the first international concert held in celebration of the lifting of the cultural boycott of South Africa in 1992 featuring Paul Simon. Since then, Big Concerts has been involved in almost every significant international live music event promoted in South Africa during the last two decades and have promoted over two hundred major international tours, featuring more than 500 artists (including The Killers, U2, Michael Jackson, Robbie Williams, Metallica, Elton John, The Eagles, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Usher, Coldplay, Neil Diamond, Sting, Kings of Leon, and Bon Jovi), as well as major international theatre productions such as Mamma Mia!, Lord of The Dance and Tap Dogs, and various other global live entertainment events, including Live Earth, World Wrestling Entertainment and Dunhill Symphony of Fire. Over the past two decades, Big Concerts has entertained more than 10 million people.

CONTACTS Dionne Domyan (Johannesburg, and National publicity) +27 (0) 833261776, prwork@iafrica.com Gwen Ironsi (Cape Town publicity) +27 (0) 726561906, gwen@pamberi-communications.co.za Wendy Verwey Bekker (Universal Music - International Rock & Pop Product Manager) +27 (0) 8444 22216, wendy.verwey@umusic.com

Lucy Kruger

There’s a new star bursting out of Cape Town, and she goes by the name of Lucy Kruger. This talented musician is fast taking the S.A music industry by storm. After a very successful Album Launch at the Mercury in Cape Town, Lucy is busy touring around the country to promote her new album and you can catch her at Tanz café in Johannesburg on 8 th November 2012 with Justin Serrao and Sub- Urban roots as support acts.

It’s going to be a great gig. Check out this interview and get to know one of the most talented musicians this country has to offer. Enjoy the interview and Thanx to Lucy for having this Interview with us.

Interviewed by : Duwyne Clayton Photography by : Francois Visser & Patrick Ryan

First of all thanks so much for doing this interview, we at Fanbase music mag think you are so talented? Did you come from a musical back ground?

Thank you for having me.

I can remember being very young and singing ‘Diamonds and Rust’ harmonies with my Uncle while he and my Dad played guitar. Most of the family who play instruments are self-taught and do so for the love of it. I think in some way that is a far greater influence and inspiration than the technical knowledge behind the particular instruments.

That is not to underestimate the importance of theoretical knowledge or classical training but to highlight the importance of the deeply rooted love for music that my family has given me. The curiosity that comes from love will lead you to explore the technicalities and then it won’t feel much like work.

For those who don’t know you, tell us how it all started as a musician?

I have always sung. It is funny for me to think of ‘discovering’ singing. It has always been a very big part of my life and I always knew that I wanted to take it further but wasn’t sure how.

I did not want to be a copy cat or have to sing to backing tracks my whole life. I started to play guitar when I was about sixteen/seventeen for that exact reason. I wanted musical independence. The guitar gave me a means with which to accompany myself as well as to create original material. I began writing as soon as I began playing. Singing my own songs meant that I could discover not only a unique writing style but also a unique performance and singing style. I think that has been invaluable to me in giving me confidence as an individual and as an artist. I began to perform here and there in Joburg while I was still at school. When I moved to Grahamstown to study at Rhodes I carried on performing at different events and student venues. It was a wonderful space in which to practise performing and being in front of crowds with original material. It is small enough to not be completely overwhelming. It does not feel like ‘industry’ but rather like friends sharing. This meant that when I came to Cape Town at the beginning of the year to record and start gigging, I had quite a clear sense of who I was musically and where I wanted to go.

How would you define your music?

That is to date one of the hardest questions for me to answer. One of the best descriptions of my genre of music came up in a recent review by Malcom McArb from Peer Music who describes it as “music based on a wistful blues and a worried alt.pop”. That is certainly better than I could have done.

Who are some of your musical influences?

“Joni Mitchell was a great inspiration to me as a songwriter”

This is the second hardest question to answer.

I know I am influenced by a great number of different artists but none of them are conscious influences. I get nervous to put forward artists that I presume I have been influenced by as then people immediately put you in that category. It is like writing a note in a theatre program that is not quite right and the audience is forced to see it the way you have described as opposed to being able to experience it as they want to. Having said that… Growing up we were constantly surrounded by music and encouraged to make our own discoveries. I think I have had a very healthy musical education.

When I first began writing Joni Mitchell was a great inspiration to me as a songwriter.

If I was someone who has never been to one of your live gigs, what would I expect?

An honest and engaged performance. I do not offer tricks. I love performing very much. It always feels like a privilege and never like a chore. I hope that the audience experiences the joy I get from sharing with them.

Depending on the gig I will either perform solo or with a band.

“I’ve been writing and playing for a long time now”

Tell us about your debut album “Cut Those Strings”, how did you come up with the album title?

I have been writing and playing for a long time. ‘Cut those Strings’ is the first time I’m sharing that music with people (other than close friends and intimate audiences). ‘Cut those Strings’ is a line from the opening track, ‘Little Puppet’ and is a kind of personal declaration of independence. This is not a path whereby there are any rules or guarantees. It is a brave new adventure.

Where did you get inspiration from for your song writing for the album?

Very simply, from my love for melody meeting with human experience. I do not try and over complicate or over analyse the music or the story flowing from that.

What is your fave song off the album?

Poor songs. It feels so terrible to have to choose – like favouring a sibling or child, but of course I do have my favourites – although they have shifted quite a bit throughout the process. The one connection that has remained throughout the journey is the one I have to ‘Four White Walls’.

You have been on Expresso and also Hectic Nine 9.

How has it been to be on TV? Strange, very different to live shows. Although you are aware of the fact that there are people engaging with your performance, they are not with you in the space.

You cannot feed off their energy or indulge in the intimacy. It is a fun thing to do and the exposure is fantastic but I miss the faces and the feelings of a live audience.

What does the future hold for Lucy Kruger?

At this point I want to get my music to as many people as possible. It is finding the means to share it that is my current challenge. I will of course continue to write and look forward to the next album.

Website: www.lucykruger.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ LucyKrugerOfficial Twitter: www.twitter.com/lucy_kruger

Hey kids!!:) so it's November already...wow this year has just flown by!! I hope you are all getting ready for the December season and saving up;) Good luck to all of you writing exams..I want to send big loves to Billie Joe Armstrong who is currently not feeling so great at the moment, I know he will make a full recovery and I'm sure that he can feel all the love and support from all his fans around the world! Keep it Punk :) Danni x

Coffee Shop Poetryâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś Hi, Remember me?

I was the person you called everyday...

The one that let you spew your guts to me so you could vent, The one who held your hand when people tried to get you down...

But you don't know me anymore right?

No...don't try and compensate by giving me a few fake smiles and general sh**ty conversation.

See you in the next lifetime.

-Frantic Frenzy

I've been listening to Justin for the past few weeks every time I get on my lap top. I think you all should do the same because this character is rad AND talented! Go check out his interview:) xx

Interviewed by : Daniela de Almeida

"My Eye On The World" Photography

Photography by : Nikki Lynn McNamee

So Justin, when did you realize you were so talented??? (Don’t be modest!!!!)

I think I started to focus on music when I was 13, I had a punk bank 74% stupid and we used to win a lot of battle of the bands and that’s when I thought I might have a chance at this.

What is your average day like?

Wake up at 8 deal with admin, emails, promote shows and find new contacts.

Then go teach guitar until 5 try write songs in between, do more emails and Facebook. Get ready for show. Do sound check, make contacts, perform, try sell as many CD's as possible! Then watch the other acts and go home.

Do you have any lucky charms or rituals that you perform before going on stage?

In my band Smash & Grab Hotspot we have a ritual called the chain it’s a handshake that we do just to bring all the members together before the show. Otherwise as a solo artist vocal warm ups.

When is your next gig?

1 November 2012 - Frosties, Randpark 3 November 2012

- ON THE HILL, Muldersdrift

8 November 2012 Album Launch)

- Tanz Cafe, Fourways (Lucy Kruger

10 November 2012 -

Tanz Cafe, Fourways (Dan Patlansky)

15 November 2012 - Tanz Cafe, Fourways (Die Heuwels Vantasties) 22 November 2012

- Cafe Barcelona

26 November 2012 - 5 January 2013 - Tour The Coast

Alex Wolf Photography and www.Natespaints.com

Photography by :

Tell us about your inspirations?

Inspirations for me is God and Life, Family Friends Good Times and bad, k*k situations and lucky streaks. Musically my inspiration comes from bands like Wonderboom, Dashboard confessional, Cat Stevens, Dave matthews band, RHCP, Blink 182, JOURNEY, Switchfoot, Elvis, Boston, Anthony Hamilton and many more

What direction do you think SA music is going in?

It’s definitely improving as more festivals are coming up, unfortunately we are losing a lot of venues in JHB so there aren't many places to play at so a band can over play an area. I think our radio stations should stop playing 95% international music and start supporting our locals. I think MK should be more open to our English artists. Also sponsors should come on board for our artists. I'm lucky enough to have a full endorsement by MUSIC CONNECTION and I'm a Custodian of freedom for Feiyue shoes. These are the people that are backing me so these are the brands and shops we should be supporting!

get caught up in drugs its everywhere in this industry. Keep your mind on God and follow your dreams. I would recommend trying out for Idols I did it and learned a lot it also helped build my confidence and helped me to work in front of a camera. Do battles and competitions.

Write, write, write record! Trial and error.

Work on your live performance, this is where the money is, and be humble nobody like's a d*ckh**d. Keep it real!

When was your happiest moment in life?

Packing out venues. Launching my debut solo album "Touching Toes Without Clothes", spending time with family, living my dreams and realising I'm alive

How do you keep motivated?

Motivation comes when you have that one rocking show and it can change people’s lives when fans sing back the songs and say the album has been playing non stop. When someone tries to reach their dreams because they see you doing it!

"Choose to bring your dreams alive are you dead or are you alive"

Descibe your music?

Story telling of my day to day happenings good and bad time's heartaches and wonders, somewhere in between Dashboard, Cat, Dave, Goo Goo Dolls, and Boxcar Racer. Each song is different depending on the mood when writing. Go have a listen at www.JustinSerrao.com

Have you got any advice for anyone who wants to get into this industry?

If you’re really ready for this and you believe 100% in yourself, be ready for the hardest job out there. Yes there are good shows and you get fans and people buy you drinks and there are plenty of stories that you can experience and tell.

But that's 20% of the time man. You really gotta give it everything. Do everything yourself so it gets done. There are a lot of sharks in this game and wanna be managers. If somebody offers you an opportunity wait until it’s in your hands then speak about it. Make as many connections as possible be nice! Don't get drunk on stage. Don't

“you really have to give it everything you’ve got”

Quote of the Month â&#x20AC;Ś..

How could I have been anyone other than me?

Dave Matthews Born January 9, 1967 is a South African-born American singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. He performs mainly with acoustic guitar and favors rhythm rather than solos in his playing. His band Dave Matthews Band sold more tickets than any act from 2000-2010.

Review Done by: Dave Baretta Owens Photography done by: Tarryne Rautenbach Rock out with your Bloc out It was with great anticipation and excitement I set out for Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown Johannesburg on Friday 5th October to witness not only an awesome international act from the UK in the form of indie rockers Bloc Party, but to also finally see live in action, the great zef phenomenon sweeping the planet, our very own Die Antwoord.

The Vodacom Unlimited “In the City” party kicked off with recent SAMA Award-Winning rock act Shadowclub. These guys know how to throw it down with a nice mix of foot-stomping old-school rock ‘n roll.

They have managed to take the basic building blocks of what makes rock great, and define their own sound rather successfully. Perhaps a little too much so in fact though, as their new tunes they performed seemed to blur a bit into their current album styles a bit too much, I was hoping for something in a slightly different direction perhaps.

Up next was Tumi featuring Yesterday’s Pupil. Now understand that I am a HUGE fan of Tumi and the Volume (I saw them support Blackalicious early 2000’s) and have been following his movements ever since. I was a little disappointed by his set; it just felt like something was missing for me and... oh wait, there was something missing... HIS BAND. Then, with great hype and ceremony, Die Antwoord appeared on the stage. Here they were – the world champs of zeffdom, the reason I had cut the sleeves off my jacket in zef support, I waited for the magic to happen... but I was to be completely disenchanted by what can only be described as complete kak. Granted, the big hits are BIG, but for the most part, all we got was a wash of mediocre outdated techno drivel drowned in foul language. Just because you drop in a swear-word on every line, does not make you cool dudes. If that was the case, just change your name to Die C**TWOORD, and be done with it. Next.

All I can say is thank the gods for Bloc Party coming to save the day. These boys know how to throw it down HARD and really get a crowd going. They did not disappoint and delivered exactly what the crowd wanted, a non-stop party jam of note! They performed most of their massive hits from previous albums (with the obvious exception of The Prayer which I waited for all night – small cry). Their new material is seriously kick-ass with the new album showing a heavier side to an already wide range of awesomeness. Front-man Kele Okereke has a great connection with the crowd. His impressive vocal range is mesmerising, and despite his beach-going attire of t-shirt and short pants, there is nothing laid-back about his performance. The band gave it their all, and

ER ADV E TIS .

……

R U NO

G A M

E N I AZ

ss / e n i s ur bu o y s at e u s t ti r c a adve cont o e t ill be s e a w k e i l l e nd w ould e ine, p a z w a m u g nabl a o o c . s m l i a If yo r gma ry re n ou i e @ v y g t b a hob te, a sicm o u u m q e as you a e fanb v i g y to p p a h s. price

I

Full Metal Panic

Hello all, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Ryno de Lange, a 23 year South African heavy metal music promoter and event manager as well as a freelance writer, descending from the mother city, Cape Town. Welcome one and all to the latest addition to Fanbase Music Magazine; Full Metal Panic. An entire section dedicated to local heavy metal.

Each month I will be interviewing bands, writing Album/EP reviews and loads more. So sit back and relax, after all music soothes even the savage beast.

Sindulgence - Metal That Matters – By Ryno de Lange.

South Africa; home to various different cultures and life styles, vibrant and beautiful this we all know. What a large number of South Africans don’t know is that our country has given birth to a small, diverse underground culture; the South African metal scene. Which over time has grown into a more well established scene with a good amount of supporters, yet to be honest; not all aspects of the South African metal scene is pleasant and improvement is needed, also seems to be at times somewhat over crowded with every other band trying the same old thing the next Joe is doing and even a small group or two gnawing on each others throats to get the lime light, that doesn't actually exist.

With all this said, we have the cream of the crop as well.

Bands that dedicate themselves to not only improving themselves as musicians and as professional business men and woman but as individual members that constantly thrive to better themselves as musicians and band members. In each month’s Full Metal Panic I will be writing a short account of some of the experiences I have shared with bands that I have had the pleasure of working with, I thought that it would be pretty cool to share some of these experiences and to write about about what went on behind the scenes, also to give credit to these hard working musicians. Welcome to Full Metal Panics “Metal That Matters” introducing the metal readers to Cape Towns experimental metal band Sindulgence.

In 2011 Sindulgence headed down to “Die Plaateland” Robertson, during The Wacky Wine Weekend to play Soundwaves Festival, a small once off show I hosted to bring a dosage of metal and rock to new un-tainted lands. This was the first time I had laid my eyes on Sindulgence and heard their strange blend of metal. At the time Sindulgence were still establishing their sound and testing the grounds of their music abilities. If memory serves me correct, the first time I met Sindulgence, their guitar player and manager Ryan Eberlin may have groped my buttocks, I have been told he likes to test people in this manner. I seemed to have past he’s strange test. Sindulgence performance at Soundwaves was quite raw, their music had depth and was well written yet one could tell that the band had not settled into their sound and was very much at the time exploring their music as a band and as individual members. Soundwaves is a distant memory today with all the recent endeavours we have had experienced together, though the memory of Muller Van Niekerk, Sindulgence vocalist who that night of the performance was cornered by an over excited and somewhat aggressive Robertson local who seemed to have an alternative agenda in mind, that is one memory that I will not forget any time soon. One tour show with Out Of Nowere at Aandklas in December 2011 and the mind-blowing performance at 2011/2012 Rock the River NYE later, I was set to start my journey with Sindulgence for 2012 and very much excited at the time.

Ryan asked me to assist the band to organize and manage the Sindulgence “Recollections” album launch. I gladly accepted and thus our journey panned out. Ryan informed me back then; all very hush hush that he and the band had been hard at work for almost two years putting together the concept and writing material for their début album release, two years is quite the time to plan and execute ones plans, this is just a testament to Sindulgence dedication. Sindulgence wanted to release an album that is a lot more than twelve tracks and a fancy album cover. They wanted to release an album that would explore deeper and darker subjects; taking a look at how society has changed through the ages, how many things in life change and others don’t and the unjust of those in power and the elite. Sindulgence took to a private studio, at the helm of the mixing and mastering was Dean Hammond, somewhat a legend for he's quality recordings amongst the scene, now what surprised me is how fast the album was recorded, yet it was not rushed, in Deans words “The band knew their stuff” and that made it substantially easier to record. During the recording of the album the members had to juggle school, jobs and looking for jobs. As our local metal bands don’t get offered distribution deals they had to raise the funds to pay for their albums and studio time by themselves, so you could think of how busy they were. During the process of the recording of the album, Sindulgence and I ran several fund raiser events, some were successful and others were not at all, the problem within the metal scene and a fundraiser, is that they do not actually work as well as one would expect, the reasons, Ill keep for another story. The band had a lot dangling from a thread at the stage as well as the monumental album launch which Sindulgence and I organized and managed together. I have witnessed Sindulgence transform from a group of young musicians with heads full of dreams, ideas and aspirations to the well established band who accomplished what they had set out to do. When I say well established, I am not referring to how many fans they have or that they are at their peak, well established in the manner of how they write material, conduct business and carry out their performances, Sindulgence has set a standard of professionalism that younger metal bands can learn from. It was refreshing to see new and old faces at each of the events I hosted with Sindulgence, it was clear that with each gig the boys played, fans were made and they wanted more. So now I have told you all a small amount about what me and the Sin boys experienced together, I would think its time to shed some light on how their music has improved since our first experience at Soundwaves. I have personally seen this band struggle and prosper. With so much accomplished along with a successful and monumental album launch, not too mention a home made DVD shot and mastered

by Sindulgence. From a raw performance at Soundwaves and a somewhat confusing set during the Out Of Nowere tour at Aandklas to the well conducted and well rehearsed set at the "Recollections" album launch, Sindulgence has exceeded themselves in a shot manner of time. Their music is vast and takes the listener on a wild river ride; the motions go from a calm stream to a rapid river leading to the sudden drop of ferocious waterfall.

Their music does not have a constant consistent pace, but a constant progressive change which incorporates many style of music and some very tricky timing involved as well. Sindulgence do not tie themselves to any one metal genre or sub-genre. They explore the old, the new and somewhat absolute strange and blend it into their own, unique and twisted style. Each band member brings something completely different to the music. Bass player, Byron Dinwoodie brings a bit of old school elements and melodic clean vocals which adds a sombre and acid rock feel, this may not be as prominent to some as it is to me, perhaps my personal opinion. None the less, breathe taking. The calm and mellow Rodney Dosson on guitar, it’s actually hard to describe this guy. He's very relaxed on stage with precision fingers and he's smooth flow of playing, Rodney also brings the band back to earth after those outrageous and eccentric melodies created by fellow guitarist Ryan Eberlin, who might I add has the coolest stances on stage, wild black hair flying around, a tight musician who actually knows how to use he's instrument to its full potential, its more than a guitar to this guy. Exploring as many ways as he can to get he's guitar scream and squeal or whatever strange sound he is looking for to contribute to the vast horizons of Sindulgence. The youngest member of the band, Michael Snyman, dubbed as the “human metronome” by he's fellow members for he's constructive and well arranged drumming; the kid is a beast behind the kit, calm and content with a zombie like concentration. I am amazed at how disciplined a drummer he is at he['s age, in a few more years to come he will be a muse in he's field. To end it off all is Muller Van Niekerk, the storyteller at the helm of the band. It took me a short while to get used to Muller's vocals, as they are as unique as the rest of the member’s abilities. Deep and low growls soaring over the instruments to complete a very disciplined, heavy and pleasurable metal listening experience. I for one am looking forward to watching Sindulgence grow as a band and to see how their music takes form in the years to come.

Join Sindulgence on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SindulgenceOfficial

Wargrave returns to the local metal scene with Frontline - The Battle for Long Street on the 16th of November 2012 after a long break. The band’s been recruiting and rebuilding their metal machine and are ready to unleash their wrath upon their beloved fans at Zula Bar, Long Street. Justin Ross, Wargraves guitarist took some time to answer some questions on what the band has planned for their special come back gig.

Wargrave has been inactive for the majority of 2012, where did Wargrave disappear to and what was going on within the band at the time?

Unfortunately we suffered from the departure of two of our members at the beginning of the year. While we haven’t been actively gigging, we’ve been far from dormant – we’ve got some newer material that we are eager to unleash as soon as we are gigging again.

The bands line up has changed slightly; can you introduce us to the new members and shed some light on where the former members went to?

Yeah we lost 2 of our members: our vocalist Chris Hall felt he was unable to stay with us due to time commitments and ensuring the running of his band Infanteria. They’ve got an album coming out soon that I’m sure will blow us away. Our drummer Lourens Meyer got a job offer from Meinl Cymbals as the national brand ambassador, which required his relocation to Joburg. It’s a great opportunity for him and he’s got some instructional videos in the works too.

Our new vocalist is Heinrich Kollner, former guitarist for Suiderbees. He’s got an awesome voice and contributes to the song writing, so he’ll definitely have an input on upcoming material. We haven’t found a permanent drummer yet, so filling in for us in the meantime is our good buddy Jason Jardim of Wildernessking.

Wargrave is returning to the stage for their return gig on the 16th of November 2012 on Frontline - Battle for Long Street at Zula Bar, what has Wargrave prepared for this self-organized gig and who has been chosen to support Wargrave?

Obviously my main intention with this gig is to introduce our new vocalist to as big an audience as possible, but I also really wanted to bring metal shows to venues that don’t normally accommodate them. I sometimes get the feeling that our scene has become stagnant – a lot of the time bands seem to be playing the same clubs to the same faces. If this gig is successful I’ll definitely look to organise more shows at different venues, and there are a number of bands I’d like to play alongside.

Credit for the poster design goes to Stephen Green from Axxon, he did a really great job and I’d definitely recommend him to any bands looking to get artwork done.

The lineup for this particular show is quite diverse; Wildernessking have really impressed me with the quality (and quantity) of recordings they’ve been putting out recently, I think they’ve found a unique sound. I’ve always liked the groove and brutality of Suiderbees, great music to headbang and consume hideous amounts of alcohol to. And finally Axxon, who I’ve only witnessed twice, are forging a sound that I don’t think has been attained locally before.

Tell us about the bands philosophy and general messages spread through the bands music?

If anything the songs probably reflect my poor attention span. Nah I write most of the music and usually decide on a concept that the song should revolve around. Our lyricist Michael Gill expands on this and turns the concept into lyrics, which our vocalist then revises and works into the song.

Has the band been working on any recordings?

We’ve got a few demos that we’ve recorded and mixed ourselves, these will probably be uploaded soon. It’s too early to say anything more than that, but we’ll definitely look to record properly in the near future.

The South African metal scene has a long way to grow, what in your opinion are the highs and lows of the music scene?

I think being in a band is financial suicide. Our scene is too small for anything other than having a good time. But there are some great bands and I’ve met a lot of people through going to gigs.

Give us an idea of what it is like to be involved in the SA Music Scene as a heavy metal band?

Spinal Tap with less spandex.

From the time that Wargrave has been active until now, how have you seen SA Metal grow?

Well we haven’t really been around for very long, we were only active towards the latter half of 2011, but it seems there are definitely more outdoor festivals with stages accommodating metal than there were in recent years.

What are your expectations for the Frontline event?

As mentioned earlier, if the gig is a success I’ll look to organise more alongside bands I enjoy.

Wargrave is an independent band, does the band want to stay independent or is there a possibility that Wargrave may seek out national or international management?

I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.

What are Wargrave's musical roots; the primary influences that lay the foundation of the band?

Predominantly 80s thrash with too many guitar solos, and maybe a hint of prog or tech death. We’re looking to bring more dynamics and acoustic elements in the newer stuff though.

I had the pleasure to see Wargrave perform at 2011/2012 Rock the River NYE Festival; can we expect to see Wargrave at any other festivals in the near future?

We’re quite possibly playing this upcoming Rock the River too, but other than that we don’t have much lined up.

Can you give the fans a short description of each of the member’s personalities?

Geez that’s quite tough, but here are the first thoughts that enter my head: Brendan – castle draught.

Eugene – blue t shirt.

Heinrich – too many guitars!

Jason – Delft main road.

Myself – A.D.D. Many bands have day jobs to survive and balance their music careers at the same time, does your personal life and music career clash?

From time to time, but the day jobs buy the guitars and beer.

Why did the band choose the name Wargrave?

It was actually a road around the corner from my mom’s house, just seemed too good to go to waste.

Who would Wargrave like to give thanks to?

Anyone who’s taken time out to attend a gig or listen to a track of ours.

Interviewed by : Ryno de Lange

This month we are going to take a look back at an earlier EP release of 2012, something to spark those memories, I will be seeking out previous EP/Album release every other month as I cant help but want to write about what I have missed out on in the past. This month I contacted Alex Wiese, Messiah Complex’s front man to get to know more about their self titled EP release "Messiah Complex".

Messiah Complex recorded their four track EP in January 2012 with Dualine Records, which was released shortly afterward in March/April 2012, like most underground metal bands Messiah Complex released their EP for free download on the internet. Now its no secret that I am in fact not much of a core-metal fan, yet I find myself with a locked jaw and tensed neck after listening to Messiah Complex EP track by track. It is prominent that Messiah works extremely hard on creating their music, the intro of Messiah’s EP entitled “Ascension” is a 1:52 minute instrumental which gradually blends into Messiahs first actual full length song on the EP, Reckoning, and what a drop into a song it is, with extremely tight drum blasts and melodic guitar screeches followed by Alex’s immense and somewhat scary vocal style. Messiah do not concentrate on the over-use of break down after break down that most core-metal bands in the local scene do, they set a solid melodic heavy wall of guitars and bass with a solid foundation of diverse drum patterns.

It is safe to say that with each track that I listen to on the EP, Messiah Complex latches onto a person and eats away at the soul like rust wither away metal. The range and spectrum of the mood which their music sets is phenomenal, one cannot look past their music abilities or the emotion that is fueled into their music. Ever song on the Messiah Complex self titled EP is exponentially better than the last.

Now we have covered a bit of what the band sounds like, and an idea of what to prepare the ears for, its fitting to take a look into what the bands is all about, the concept of the EP and what demons and skeletons they unleashed into their EP. I decided to ask Alex (vocalist) what it is all about, as hearing it from the horse’s mouth is always more fitting; “Messiah Complex is about life and what everyone goes through on a daily basis, the struggles, hardships and good times, but it is always about pushing through and that is what determines true strength. Our lyrics are very personal, but also open to interpretation; I think that every single person that reads them will relate to them in a different way”. As one can see, Messiah have a positive message and meaningful message to spread through their music, I find that some younger metal bands lyrical content somewhat misses a direction and meaning. It is refreshing to hear and see such bands, as Messiah Complex spread a positive message to the ever increasing metal younger metal fan base.Messiah Complex took a while to decide to record an EP, what started as just a single recording of one song and shortly after decided to do a proper recording with more tracks and to show the fans what they had to offer. After the bands participation at Rock the River NYE 2011/2013 they started recording virtually straight afterward which gave the band a definite idea of what songs to record.

Messiah Complex self titled EP is available for download/stream on Facebook or YouTube.

What do you like about Zone Radio?

The owner and the trust he has in us to make Zone Radio the best radio station.

What made you get into radio?

Tyyran Paulse from Radio Good Hope, he told me my personally and voice is perfect.

What’s your fave genre of music?

JaZz

What would be your dream play list if you had to play your top 10 songs of all time?

Joy and Pain by Maize, Where the wind blows free by Bj4, Can’t help it by Will Downing, For the love of you by The Isley brothers, If I gave you my soul by Garth Taylor Love is where you’ll find it by Richard Ceaser Magic by Zamajobe, What’s going on by Marvin Gaye Gentle thoughts by Herbie Hancock, Whatever it takes by Michael Buble

If you weren’t in radio, what would you be doing?

I only work part time on radio.

Full name: Alister Jos’e Harrison

Nick name:

Now is your chance to sell your show for Zone Radio...

Tell us why we should tune into your time slot...123 go!!!?

We are a team (3 guys) we keep you entertained with day to day happenings, with listeners having the chance to have their say.

We play jazz that you won’t hear on other stations.

AL

Our listeners are invited to join us when they visit the V&A

Occupation:

We play the Jazz that our listeners want to hear.

Technician

Your show name and time/day: Jazz Zone, 7pm till 9pm Thursday

Lastly at 8pm Barry takes us to the Promise land with a Gig Guide full of fun and mistakes.

Zone Radio is the best radio station….why?

Because all our presenters do their shows with passion and keep the listeners informed and entertained.

Any last words for the readers and your listeners?

Our show is only on a Thursday for two hours, but we post our show on Facebook from Tuesday, which gives our listeners a chance to chat to us before the show on Thursday. This creates great excitement before our show starts. Every week more and more listeners tune in and the following week they are back. Many of our listeners are from SA but live overseas.

They say our show makes them feel like they are back in Cape Town again.

What do you like about Zone Radio?

The different types of genre. The music selection or requests that you don’t hear every day. Zone Radio gets me connected with people, family & friends around the world.

What made you get into radio?

My personality and passion for music and comments from people complementing me on my voice.

What’s your fave genre of music?

Jazz & RnB

What would be your dream play list if you had to play your top 10 songs of all time?

Everything by Michael Buble; Whatever it takes by Michael Buble;

Full name: Barry Lee Moses

Nick name: Barry Moses

Occupation: Wedding DJ & MC

Your show name and time/day: Jazz Zone, Thursday 7-9pm

Time of my life by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes; Just the way you are by Harry Connick Jr; Need you now by Lady Antebellum; Would I lie by Charles & Eddie; I just wanna be your everything by Bee Gees; You’ll never find by Lou Rawls; We’re in this love together by Al Jarreau; I want you by Cee Lo Green.

If you weren’t in radio, what would you be doing?

DJ & Karaoke

Now is your chance to sell your show for Zone Radio... Tell us why we should tune into your time slot...123 go!!!?

We play a genre of music that is loved by most listeners.

From Jazz, classical to not-so-commercial. We create an atmosphere of happiness, laughter, awareness and most importantly, promote our local South African talent.

Zone Radio is the best radio station….why?

I think the most rewarding thing is that we’ve created a “Zone Family” with our loyal listeners that tunes into our show from Cape Town, Johannesburg, PE, the UK, NY, New Zealand, Netherlands and Saudi Arabia and growing everyday…That’s why we are the best!

Any last words for the readers and your listeners?

If by reading this, it’s the first time you’ve have heard of Zone Radio, your next step would be to log onto our Facebook page and click “Like” and then tune in and have a listen, request a song and catch the Jazz Zone Team for great jazz and good clean fun! “Where the music does all the talking…”

How did you get into photography?

I’ve always loved taking photographs even as a child. Then in my teens I took photos of friends just for fun because I loved it. People always complimented my photographs. You know they say in life to be content and happy with your "job" do what you love, and I love having a camera in my hands. A special friend got me my camera I have. Now I would love to take photos for every occasion. I'm building my portfolio with such a lovely large variety and people are inquiring and book with me via word of mouth from my friends and previous clients.

What camera are you currently using?

A Fujifilm Finepix, yes it’s not a Canon or Nikon but its an amazing camera and takes awesome photographs I love it! It’s easy to use but has so many features. Its not all about your tools its the artist that uses them who creates the masterpiece!

What do you like Photography?

I love the idea of capturing a moment that will last forever. There is nothing better than looking at a photograph and memories flooding back. Some bring a smile some a tear but by just one photograph you can remind yourself of 100s of little details you thought you had forgotten, especially silly unexpected pictures. Every moment happens just once, then its gone, being able to capture a moment makes it last forever!

What style of Photography do you like?

I don't think I have a style hahaha I love taking photos when people are unaware of my camera most especially with children, you can't force those beautiful innocent smiles!

Two people can look at the "same" thing and see totally different things.

Where do you see you’re self in five years, in terms of your photography?

Interviewed by: Duwyne Clayton

In five years I would love to mainly be a traveling wedding/event photographer in conjunction with many other offerings like event organizing. (Watch this space ;-))

Who is your favorite photographer and why?

I don't have a favorite photographer however I am inspired

by Zandra and Wade Conways photography as well as Natasha Neimand. All locally here in Durban. I'm also inspired by any photograph that grabs my attention and touches my heart, when you look at a photograph and you sigh and think wow! There are so many photographers to be admired for their skill, passion and bravery, each have amazing talents!

Describe a day in the life of a photographer?

A lot of planning, organizing, setting up, following up, thinking, editing, selling of yourself and of course fun while taking the photographs while concentrating really hard!

What advice do you have for upcoming photographers?

Patience is a must! Do it because you love it not to make money off of it but also don't let people take advantage of you just because you love what you do.

How can people get hold of you?

You can email me caitlynpulford@yahoo.com or my cell 072 969 4517 and bbm 26D44D65 check out my facebook group Caitlyn Michelle's Photography http://m.facebook.com/ profile.php?fc=0&id=377704135633099&ref=stream&_rdr

Caitlyn Pulford

Good Gig / Bad Gig ???

Sound!!!

When speaking to various bands and artists, the question that will definitely come up is: “What is your sound?” The genre, the music, the character, the life of the band.

Artists spend endless hours on perfecting their signature sound, only to arrive at an event where they have to leave their hard work at the ears and fingertips of……… The Sound Engineer and his equipment. Unfortunately the result is not always complimentary to the bands hard work.

Having been actively involved in the music industry in South Africa as well as abroad, as a musician and engineer, from my experience here are a few basic pointers to look out for when planning your next Gig: Enquire as the qualifications and experience of the sound engineer provided by the venue or event organizer.

Make contact with the engineer at least 3 weeks before the event.

Give him as much information on the band and “your sound”, even if it seems irrelevant.

What backline (guitars amps etc) do you use or do they provide?

What do you need to hear in your monitor (wedge or in-ear)?

If you have a recording/EP/CD, let him have a copy to familiarize himself with the band.

All of the above are very important and could even be made easier with the use of the bands own sound engineer. He will get to know the sound and in and outs of the band, creating a standard for each event.

At the end of the day, good sound = good gig, bad sound ….. well, bad gig. Your sound system is as good as your weakest link which hopefully is not your main vocalist.

Every bit of equipment is important. From a good microphone selected for your voice, the instruments (in tune hopefully), DI boxes, cabling, mixer, amp and speakers to the sound engineer.

At Clear Sound, we strive for giving you the best for every event, because you give your best. Feel free to contact us for a consultation, advice or to book us for the success of your next event.

Till your next gig, Rock on!

Nic Fourie Clear Sound 072 695 1788 www.clearsound.co.za Follow us on Twitter: @fourienic Facebook: Clear Sound Corporate AV

The “Simone” Factor It’s been a busy month I won’t lie. First there was a festival ( see my review on Rocking the Daisies) which I needed at least another two days to recover from, then there was the constant debate and conversation on whether it was actually summer yet in the Mother City or not.

So deep and intense these conversations were (many of them occurring on Facebook) that I feel spent, burnt out and weary with longing for those hazy sunny days. I’ve also been juggling a very busy broadcasting schedule at Zone Radio with a crazy work and social life. Yes I’m pretty exhausted but I need to rest up as November looks set to be super amazing and is only a prelude to the hectic silly season Cape Town has coming its way. Being busy is good and I do enjoy every bit of my life. I wouldn’t change darn thing, well, except the weather of course. A particularly great highlight for October was my gift from Natasha Meister. Remember my column from last month? Well after a recent interview on Zone Radio word got round to her that I was a huge fan. Now she’s follows me on Twitter! She even left an album for me at the studio, the perfect music for chillaxing! Look out for next month’s column as I have found a new band to obsess over and lookout for more tales of my adventures into sound.

Rocking the Daises –There is a first time for everything.

When I browse through my giant coffee table book that I bought in London a few years ago that documented in photographs the 1969 Woodstock Festival I often try to image myself there, being young, free spirited and in love with music. I would fantasise about plaiting flowers through my hair, donning bellbottoms and rocking out to Jimmy Hendrix as he ended the festival to the Star Spangled banner. In reality it was an overcrowded mud filled, drug fuelled mess but for some music lovers it was the start of something and it will forever go down in history books as the moment when “the festival” was born. Times have changed but the spirit of the youthful rebellion has never died out and finally after some time it had made its way around the world and to our own very shores in the form of Rocking the Daisies.

South Africa is fast leading the way to a standard of entertainment that rivals if not betters other major music festivals the world over. Rocking the Daisies is one of those events and it is evident from the moment you enter the gates of that magical little valley where it is held, known as Cloof wine estate in Darling. There were no long queues to get in and no aggression from security staff that might or might not have searched your bag. There was ample parking and camping space although this year tickets sold out in record time. There was a huge array of comfortable places to eat, drink and be merry and yes, even a beach.

I had never been to a festival before so I did not have the faintest of clues as to what expect other than what I had gathered through the grapevine of urban legends that have grown up around this annual event.

One of the rumours of course is the “beach” that every festival goer talks about and how awesome it is. It was in fact a small dam that the organisers made look like a real beach with actual beach sand and a great white big tent with a sandy dance floor that sold an array of delicious cocktails. The “Mainstay” tent was indeed totally awesome and lived up to its reputation as being the hub of the festival. It hosted some of the top local and international dance Djs who kept the crowd with a more discerning musical ear wildly entertained with the sexiest deep and minimal electro tech house beats. My absolute favourite Dj of the whole festival was Cocoloko from Durban who made the vibe what it was supposed to be on the Saturday afternoon but Dean Fuel also blazed a path in the set before and I now have major respect for this so called commercial Dj who in fact totally brought the house down with a more underground sound. At night the electro tent which housed thousands of people, kept the crowd amped with acts such as Pascal and Peirce, Goldfish and special international Hip Hop Dj Grand Master Flash. Even if you wanted to sleep there was none to be had as the throbbing of the electro tent and the fat bass drops could be heard from miles and messed with your beta waves sufficiently enough to have you believe you were two steps from the sub woofers.

As far as the bands went, the best rock act of the night for me was ISo band or Isochronous as they are sometimes known. Their live performance on Friday night was outstanding and the way they owned the stage nobody could say they were not impressed. It’s no small wonder that they will be opening for Linkin Park at the end of this year. Everyone waited in anticipation for the headlining act Bloc Party to play on the Saturday night and yes they did the festival justice but I think our home grown acts were even better and really gave me the feeling that I could have been at any other major European festival. Other fantastic bands who kept every one’s hands in the air were acts like The Rudimentals, Shadowclub, Machineri, Desmond and the Tutus and Southern Gypsy Queen.

Another totally impressive act was the Kongo’s who’s locally flavoured sound was the perfect backdrop to a festival just getting warmed up .

And yes we needed as much warming up as possible when temperatures plummeted and sent festival goers streaming back to their tents in droves to cover up and get kitted out for a frozen night of partying. This will be my one and only complaint about the festival. The nights were simply just too cold. While the days were suitably warm and golden, the nights were a challenge of note. Thank goodness I had packed extra warm clothes. I didn’t know I had intuition for hyperthermia but thank heavens it revealed itself before I left my house that Friday morning.

I along with so many others felt that the festival should have been held closer to November just to give our weather a little time to truly catch up. Global warming was the word on everyone’s lips when the constant moaning about temperatures was the greeting of choice, which brings me to the next point.

At least we could party without a guilty conscience. The whole festival is deeply passionate about responsibly utilising the environment and minimising the carbon footprint festival goers create.

All around the campsites recycling bins were stationed where one could throw all their cans, plastic bottles and waste into. Festival organisers even promoted walking or cycling to the daisies for a discounted ticket price and suggested car pooling. It really is a small thing to ask when you get an entire weekend of world class music acts in return.

When I look back on my weekend at the festival I can say with conviction that I was blown away and completely impressed by the efficient and organised manner in which everything was executed. It thrills me to know that we were spoilt for choice with all the superb music acts that were booked for the weekend. I managed to camp and party with finesse, which I was worried about because I had never camped before and when the weekend was done I felt a sense of achievement that Id managed to survive a weekend of no showering and porter loos. All that is quickly forgotten though when I think of the many laughs and good times my campmates and I shared. That’s totally worth a whole weekend of using port loos.

Simply put, it’s a massive party and will live in my memory for years and years. Every music lover needs to go to a festival at least once in their life time, think of it as something like a pilgrimage and I cannot wait for next year and to start planning again. I will have to be there. After all, if I’m going to start my own coffee table book for future generations of South African music lovers to cherish I need to be there. No, it’s nothing like Woodstock was and my fantasies have now taken on a totally different shape. In fact they have gone to another level altogether.

COMPETITION WHAT IS “Movember”?

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health.

COMPETITION Fanbase Music Mag will be holding a competition.

The best “Movember” photo will win the title of “Mr Movember 2012” and a prize.

HOW TO ENTER Grow a Movember mustache during the month of November and send a pic to fanbasemusicmag@gmail.com, by the 25th November 2012 and the person with the best Movember will be the winner.

So get those Movembers growing and send a pic to fanbasemusicmag@gmail.com by the 25th November 2012.

FAN BASE music mag

@fanbasemusicmg Email address : fanbasemusicmag@gmail.com