ISSUE 2 DEC’ 10 •••
FREE
ROGELIO NARITO Graphic Designer. Based in Liverpool. Available for freelance work/collaborations in: Design/Print/Photography Site: www.rogelionarito.com E-Mail: ricky@rogelionarito.com Blog: www.rogelionarito.com/57DukeStreet
CONTENTS ISSUE 2 DECEMBER ‘10
EAR WAXXX 6 CREAM
DOLCE
4-5
18
• A review of what has been making us dance this month.
• Is he for real or taking the piss? Is he that much of a twat or is he too cool? Love him or hate him, he doesn’t give a fuck. This scenester gives us an insight into his average week.
• A preview of the Boxing day extravaganza including Eddie Halliwell, Afrojack, John Dahlbäck, Gareth Emery, Kim Fai, Gareth Wyn, Andy Mac, Anthony Probyn, Lee Ellis, Jemmy and Rob Harnetty. CHIBUKU - Waxxx caught up with Mr Chibuku Rich McGinnis to talk about the highs and lows and his major dilemma on whether to book John Peel or Chas and Dave!
10-11
LIVERPOOL SOUNDS LIKE...
• Local lad and Chibuku DJ Paul Hutchinson or Mr Paul (as he is better known) describes one the best new nights Liverpool has to offer. WAXXX LAUNCH PICTURES - Pictures from our magazine launch party and in which we hosted Danger, Late Of The Pier DJ’s Zarcorp and Kazimier’s own Dogshow DJ’s
A STREET URCHINS NUTRITION GUIDE 14-15
• Ste Baxendale still hasn’t learnt his lesson from being a Booze Hound. He has been out again, however this time he documents the legal highs.....and lows in a street urchins nutrition guide.
17
TOPMAN CTRL
• Waxxx caught up with Topman CTRL who are proud to announce their final masters and commanders for the year, The Futureheads, will be delivering their signature post-punk sounds to mark their newfound territory with a gig at The Shipping Forecast in Liverpool on December 7th.
20-21
LIVERPOOL LOOKS LIKE....
• Fixed gears, beanie hats and American Apparel hoodies? We got fucking bored with taking pictures of people like that almost as much as you did looking at them. This section shows the another side of Liverpool.
22-24
LOST ARTIST
• Skateboard.....check.....bobble hat.....check.....Lost Art t-shirt.....check. Waxxx interview Russell Longmire who let’s us know his inspiration behind his designs currently flooding Liverpool.
26-27
WAXXX ON FILM
• New recruit Charles McIntyre delivers a new feature which gives you an insight at what to watch and what to avoid this Christmas as well as a review of the animated film Chico and Rita which can be seen at FACT cinema.
28-29
ART ATTACK
• Pedro lets us know what’s coming up in the art world to keep those Biennial blues away.
30
JOSH OWENS INTERVIEW
• Scouse Youtube sensation Josh Owens let’s us know about how calling Buzz Lightyear a “Fish-Bowl Head Twat” has opened new doors for him.
So here we are......back again for issue two. No longer will the big fatty on the front cover be staring you in the eye whilst they enjoy a sociable pint!
Website
We launched the magazine at the Kazimier on the 29th October with French DJ Danger, Late Of The Pier DJ’s Zarcorp and Kazimier’s own Dogshow DJ’s. It turned out to be a messy night which ended with us walking around Liverpool dressed as Dumb and Dumber thinking we could speak French to anyone who would listen. As any promoter knows its hard to enjoy your own nights as you are constantly thinking about everyone else, however we are still very proud at what we achieved that night.
Founders
Not as much stress this month which has been nice, however we have still been working hard to try and better the last release. We have had a lot of positive feedback from the first issue and we have tried to implement this in our second offering, so we hope you enjoy it. Before we leave, I turn your attention to the Waxxx NYE party and we urge you to keep logging on to www.waxxx.co.uk for more details.
Ricky Narito - ricky@waxxx.co.uk
All our love, Waxxx xxx
www.waxxx.co.uk
Michael Pickard - michael@waxxx.co.uk Joshua Burke - josh@waxxx.co.uk
Editor
Dave Cookson - dave@waxxx.co.uk
Designer
Contributors
Paul Cassidy, Dave Cookson, Dolce, Ste Baxendale, Charles McIntyre, Matthew Lloyd, Corey Bartle-Sanderson and Paul Hutchinson.
Special thanks to:
Sam Crombie and Kazimier crew, Graeme Stanley, Peter Keppie, Stevo Smith, Ricky Narito, Sophie Alice Todd, Becky Jones, Franck Rivoire, Pierre-Marie Pims Oullion, Rich McGinnis, Christine Miller, Sam Potter, Arne Blackman, Sam Williams, Tyrone Freeman, Lucie Davies, Jen Chapman, Mandy, Paul, Claire and Dave.
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If you want to advertise in Waxxx please contact info@waxxx.co.uk
EAR WAXXX •••
WORDS: WAXXX / DAVE COOKSON
DAFT PUNK: DREZZED Taken from the Tron: Legacy Sountrack, one of the most hyped releases year, this is one hell of a track that leaves you salivating either for the album, film or possibly both. Crazy beats and electronica aplenty, this sounds like it’s been taken from a parallel world where Dr Who is a music-loving maniac who goes to the best raves from the year 2764. In this world he carries a dictaphone, records the best stuff he can find after scouring a party mad planet on the edge of the galaxy, returns to Earth in 2010 with ‘Derezzed’ and becomes a festival-headlining legend. This is a terrifying, yet short piece that captures everything that is great about Daft Punk and then some, it just keeps building and building whilst tossing your brain here, there and everywhere. It’s mind-blowing. Maybe we’ll end up in our own parallel world where scenesters turn into Sci-Fi geeks…
EVENT: WAXXX N.Y.E. Yeah, so fucking what? We can be excited about our own night too. It might not have the line-up of Chibuku. We don’t even have the venue confirmed, but what we lack in organisation now, we certainly make up for in other ways. If you dare to risk a measly £5 on New Years Eve, you will find out. Every person will receive a free goody bag on departure. Find us on social networking sites for more information
BLOG - HTTP://WWW.ROBOTDANCEMUSIC.COM/
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Radio Station, Music Blog, Record Label. It’s fair to say Robot Dance Music are very much plugged into the dance music pipeline, delivering new remixes from all over the shop right to your computer. If that’s not enough then there is also a free promo CD to keep you dancing whilst not your not getting square eyes.
EP REVIEW IS TROPICAL: SOUTH PACIFIC Imagine a world where a young band rides a wave of incredible, fantastical hype and support, they may even spark a media invention of a new ‘scene’ and create conditions encouraging newer, younger bands to do something similar. It’s not tough is it? Especially when you’re living in the very same world. Klaxons were the figureheads of a nu-rave scene where any guitar band with just a smidgeon of electronics to their sound was placed. Upon listening to Is Tropical it is no surprise to learn that they are in the middle of supporting the aforementioned Mercury winners, and it is easy to see why. South Pacific features the title song, three remixes of it and ‘Tan Man’. The A-side, or track 1 if we’re being all modern, is a synthy-pop tune with an intro with the feel of a lighter White Lies’ ‘Death’. A brilliant track is trying to break through in ‘South Pacific’ but it doesn’t really go anywhere, constantly feeling like it is about to go somewhere great, only to disappoint. ‘Tan Man’ is the better track, with an industrial, heavier synth, more engaging percussion and a superior hook. It may not be graceful, but in a world of noise and electronics, does grace even have a place? Out of the South Pacific remixes, the Get People effort is the best, beginning with crisp production, plinky sounds, only for a Goldeneye N64 tone to take over. The true measure of Is Tropical’s capabilities and originality as a band will come when they release their first full album, with South Pacific they probably won’t gain a marked increase in followers, but they won’t alienate any either.
REMIX - SPENCER & HILL - DUB DISCO (LUCKY DATE REMIX) FILTH. Just how we like it.
CREAM BOXING DAY •••
WORDS: DAVE COOKSON
Boxing Day is usually reserved for getting up a bit bleary-eyed, eating a random part of your selection box, mucking about with the stuff your nearest and dearest parted with hard-earned cash to buy you, eating cold, dry turkey slapped on a butty with some cranberry sauce, watching a decent family film in the afternoon, drinking some leftover festive booze and then maybe meeting up with some mates down the pub before conking out at home. If this isn’t your routine then get with the rest of British humanity please. Organisers at Cream have other ideas. On Boxing Night, Nation on Wolstenholme Square will be the venue for an epic list of DJ sets through the night, helping people clear their minds of family arguments, sprouts and the shite on the telly. Calvin Harris headlines, purely in a DJ capacity. According to Cream ‘he has successfully made the transition to electro super star DJ, where his true love lies.’ This is a relief because you probably don’t want to hear how he somehow ‘gets all the girls’, frustratingly without revealing his secret. Smooth talking? Some sweet dance moves? Bigging up his celebrity status? Rohypnol? A Cream event seems to be made for someone like Harris, so even if you don’t like his stuff getting plugged on Radio 1 he might be worth giving a chance. If you do like his stuff…then you’re going to check him out anyway.
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Cries of ‘Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!’ are sure to fill the sweaty yuletide air as Eddie Halliwell delivers a set. Halliwell is regularly seen on the bill of Cream events, with a Cream Ibiza album under his belt. Over recent years plaudits and legions of fans have been flooding his way as he fills his set with trance, techno, electro and house - something for everyone on the dance scene essentially. Dutchman Nick van de Wall AKA Afrojack has an intriguing rags to riches story of sorts. Afrojack began his DJing days whilst working part time in catering whilst discovering the club scene in Rotterdam at the age of 16. After a tour of Crete, Afrojack slowly built up a following and has since continued a meteoric rise that does not look like decelerating any time soon. During his set at Creamfields this year he dropped a remix of Faithless classic ‘Insomnia’ and his hit single featuring Eva Simons, ‘Take Over Control’. His banging track ‘Replicate’ recently stormed the
Hype Machine charts so he’s clearly doing a lot right. Afrojack is one of the most hyped DJs going so if you’re heading down, try not to miss him. Swedish John Dahlbäck will bring electro beats to the floor after finally releasing debut album Mutants in May. Dahlbäck rubbed shoulders with the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Eric Prydz and Roger Sanchez in getting a mention on Laidback Luke’s edit of Daft Punk track ‘Teachers’ which was a bit of a who’s who of the dance music pantheon. Mutants features massive tracks such as ‘Blink’ and ‘Everywhere’, which are sure to keep the Nation masses happy come December. Another DJ with a recent debut album will be at Cream Boxing Night: Gareth Emery. Northern Lights was released in September following years of building up support after playing to over 2 million people worldwide. In addition to being a highly regarded DJ, Emery is a top producer and the Gareth Emery Podcast is one of the most popular dance music podcasts around. Unlike a lot of trance inspired music doing the rounds, Emery’s material can be gripping, easy to get in to and definitely should not be missed come the 26th. (Or early 27th in reality.) Gareth Wyn cut his DJing teeth at Cream Liverpool, his return with a mix of progressive, trance and techno has the potential to be a big highlight of the night. Gareth’s received some top-rate championing from legendary Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong, a ringing endorsement for any ambitious act. Wyn has a list of remixes as long as your arm including Beyonce, Christina Aguilera and particularly popular reworkings of Duffy’s ‘Mercy’ and The Gossip’s ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’. Kim Fai is yet another DJ on the bill who has been earning big raps as an up and coming DJ, with admirers including Pete Tong and Steve Angello of Swedish House Mafia fame. Fai has been hot property on the club circuit for a while now and has been touring with Deadmau5 throughout the UK and US. The list is completed by Cream residents Andy Mac, Anthony Probyn, Lee Ellis, Jemmy and Rob Harnetty who will all be seeking to take advantage of what is likely to be a sell-out crowd, gathering more support for the new year. This is a ticketed event, so if you plan on going and get refused entry then don’t put a crap through our letterboxes, it’ll be your own stupid fault, not ours. We have warned you.
CHIBUKU 10 YEARS ON •••
WORDS: JOSHUA BURKE
HERE’S A BIT OF ADVICE FOR ALL BUDDING JOURNALISTS: if you want to be a good interviewer, do some research before you speak to your interviewee. That’s not something Waxxx did before we went to meet Rich McGinnis from Chibuku. We knew he had put on some of the biggest dance acts in the world, before they were big. We didn’t know he still puts on the biggest dance acts in the world now, as founding partner and booker for our favourite event of the year - Warehouse Project, now recently appointed co promoter and programmer for Global Gathering, oh, and he also has a Chibuku residency at probably the best club in the country, Fabric.
The first thing you notice about Rich is his accent. The Irish decendant has made Liverpool his home, making his native and adopted accents merge, sound warm and almost American. He’s been asked this question a million times before, so we glide quickly past. “How did it all start?” we ask before realising the similarities between Chibuku’s birth and that of local dance mammoth brand Cream. Starting in a small flat on Lark Lane (before bursting the flat at the seams,) Chibuku moved to The Lemon Lounge in the now dead Metropolitan Pub aka Lemon Lounge on Berry Street, before settling at the Masque on Seel Street. Rich maintains that the focus was to retain the feeling of intimacy and make sure that the DJs tore the place up and in turn make the night amazing for everyone there. Perhaps this doesn’t strike as the commercially centred approach you might find at other events and clubs, but it hasn’t harmed success as it has gone from strength to strength over the years. When we ask about his favourite moment in the history of Chibuku, Rich takes a minute before reeling off several stories that would make every house, d’n’b, dubstep, disco or electro music lover incredibly envious. He recalls a time when someone from Radio 1 used to call every week on behalf of Florence “Flossie” Ravenscroft to get on the guest list “We were just like, ‘yeah sure, put her on the list’ but I just never knew who she was. The surname Ravenscroft just didn’t click until one day I got a call from her father, John Ravenscroft, AKA John Peel,” remembers Rich. “He said ‘thanks for letting my daughter in and making sure she has a good time every week, if there’s anything I can do to repay you, just let me know.’” Without hesitation in seizing such an incredible opportunity, Rich did have an idea of how to be repaid. “Yeah definitely, you could play Chibuku birthday for us!”
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After John agreed and they had spoken with his agent, the Chibuku team were now faced with a bemusing dilemma, John Peel or the other choice Chas & Dave. Both options being musical legends, we’re sure you’ll agree. Maybe. As many of you may know, they made the right decision and John Peel played one of the most memorable sets not only of Chibuku’s life, but his own. John mentions Chibuku a few times in his autobiography, surely the best stamp of musical approval possible. Chibuku now has an awful lot of fingers in a lot of big pies. Having had their own tent at the award-winning Creamfields, for the last 6 years before moving on to Global Gathering , residencies everywhere from Fabric to Space in Ibiza, its widespread impact is not to be sniffed at. This does mean its long-term home at The Masque seems a bit small. But that is deliberate, and Rich doesn’t want Chibuku to forget its roots. Mr McGinnis has of course started working for other companies, helping them to engage with the youth of today in a useful and exciting way. This enables him to pay his rent whilst maintaining Chibuku’s integrity and atmosphere of a giant house party with the best DJs. What does the future hold for Rich? “More of the same, keep Chibuku going for as long as it’s relevant and means something to people.” Keeping his finger right on the pulse, we’re sure Chibuku will be making the kids dance for a long time yet.
LIVERPOOL SOUNDS LIKE:
DISCOTECA POCA •••
WORDS: PAUL HUTCHINSON
DISCOTECA POCA
PEACOCK – THE RED ROOM
Delve into the depths of The Shipping Forecast’s Hold on the first Friday of every month and you will step into the world of Discoteca Poca. The name, Italian for “little disco” says it all really as the cute and rustic venue becomes a treasure trove of disco treats.
Rising from the ashes like a phoenix, the duo of 1Mr.Paul and 2James Rand were snapped up by the powers that be once the heat had died down on Korova.
The brainchild of creator and resident Mr.Paul draws its inspiration from classic 70s New York disco parties held in The Loft and Studio 54, and later to the tune of the European sound that is Italo disco in the late 70s and 80s. The thing to remember is that everything revolves around the word “groove”. What we are aiming to achieve with Discoteca Poca is a night of musical charm based around disco and house, intertwined with deep house and techno. Given a blank canvas we want to paint our audience a different picture every month, a picture of sunshine for your ears. It’s quite easy to come across tech house/ electro/techno nights in Liverpool that we love too, but we’re offering revellers another side to the party coin. Our plan is to gather a small community of like-minded disco and house enthusiasts to join once a month in the quaint surroundings of The Hold for a night of smiles. When booking the first three DJs we looked at artists who could give us their own version of the sound we are after, sharing that love of the music, fully absorbed with no distractions, to play with a bit of heart and soul and most of all a passion for carving their own unique style. The focus isn’t on booking outright house or disco DJs. We’re after the ones who play both, with a twist. From the launch gig with Toby Tobias whose set levelled deep house and nu disco; to master producer Maurice Fulton’s set which can only be described as a take on arty disco and house, a true pioneer who has been switched onto this sound for longer than most. For the third instalment we have master remixer Serge Santiago. With edits under his belt from Blondie to DFA’s Shit Robot, he will be bringing a more Italo disco sound to test the might of the Funktion 1. Trusted support will be coming in the genre defying form of James Rand. We’re going to end the year with an all-out disco party, welcoming Ben Pistor from Disco Bloodbath. These guys have been bringing the crème de la crème from home and abroad through their doors in Dalston and their list of previously booked artists speaks for itself, along with a healthy stack of remixes coming from inside their crew. Support will be in the guise of local hero Paul Burkey of Outlar.com who was one of the first people to bring disco DJs to the city. This will be an amazing party to end the year on. Discoteca Poca will continue next year, remaining on the first Friday of the month. January sees a residents and friends party with some of Liverpool’s finest residents. Pushing the boat out further February’s booking is none other than the up and coming new Bugged Out resident, Daniel Avery AKA Stopmakingme. http://soundcloud.com/stopmakingme/stopmakingme-autumn-2010-mix
/ P. 10 - 11 /
All in all the party will continue.
Once given the nod of approval, the pair set out to take control of the style and sound that is The Red Room upstairs at Peacock, every Thursday to Saturday. When duties call for gigs outside of Red Towers, trusted DJs are brought into the fray, be it Mark McAvoy and Arron Hunter from Coco De Mer, or the vinyl purist from Cactus, Dan MacGregor. Not forgetting the recent Red Bull Thre3Style competition winner, electro scratch wizard Santero, who holds down a monthly slot at the towers. No strangers to playing festivals at home and abroad, both outright DJ competition winners, these residents of Revo’s EVOL and regular spinners at the colossal Chibuku know how to play the part. Having spent every weekend DJing together since the summer of 2007, making magic together hasn’t been an issue. Since day one flipping through each other’s vinyl, the pair have had a firm understanding with each other whilst manning the ones and twos. Going back to the early days of Korova where it all began playing indie/electro when labels like Kitsune and Ed Banger were at their peak, moving onto other genres like disco, house and techno was a natural progression. Pigeonholing and chart music was never on the agenda. Moving forward Paul and James still have a tight grip of the reigns at the Red Room streaming live every weekend: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/peacock-liverpool-s-live-feed
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WAXXX MAGAZINE LAUNCH PARTY •••
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PHOTOGRAPHS: ROGELIO NARITO
STREET URCHINS NUTRITION GUIDE •••
WORDS: STE BAXENDALE
THE STREET URCHINS NUTRITION GUIDE…
/ P. 14 - 15 /
When people talk about legal highs these days, it’s all strange overdoses and accidental scrotum damage. There was a time when this wasn’t the case, peculiar chemicals were coming from all over the globe and people were getting strange and weird, cheap and easily. Legal highs are like naked pictures of celebrities that pop up briefly on the internet, you have to grab them while you can, before Thatcher shuts them down. Our journalist and his associate test drive four substances and see what the nutritional content was like.
PINK PANTHER
THE POPPER SOCK
My associate racked up three meaty slugs of the Pink Panther. Huge bastards, if it was an actual slug it’d take two or three smacks with a hard shoe to kill the fucker. It went up smooth but left a terrible burn, always a good sign. Immediately I felt cold and paranoia creep over my skin. My associate had the same feeling, he started shutting the windows, then thought better and lightly barricaded some key areas, in case of a siege. Once we rode this out, it was bliss. We were jabbering at each other, full of energy, hugging, walking up and down to try and keep our energy at manageable levels. It made us very alert and euphoric, which is amazing seeing as a half-gram of pink panther retails at six pounds fifty, because alertness and euphoria can be so hard to come by these days. Perhaps a little too much openness, we were talking for hours intently, hands on each other’s shoulders almost weeping. I can’t remember what we were talking about, but it seemed important at the time. Enough of this, we decided, we needed music, distraction, ale, we needed a bar, we shared the last slug Lady and the Tramp style and we were out the door. As soon as we got in there my associate was leering at the entire room, one girl in particular, quite a plump specimen in vintage shop chic. “Jesus Christ, look at those ankles!” he said. “Full of meat. I must have her. If I don’t have sex with something soon I’ll become some sort of deviant, wanking off on the bus, that sort of thing.” “How can you think about sex at a time like this?” I said, “I haven’t had an erection in months, I can’t even remember what my penis looks like. It used to be glorious.” The Pink panther had awoken my associate’s sex drive but it had disturbed something else in me. Down the centre of the brain is a huge fat nerve. A big fat leech of a nerve. This leech is responsible for all the happiness that goes on in the brain, pumping out dopamine and stimulating the pleasure centre. The problem with this leech is that it loves drugs. It sucks the bastards up and to reward you, pumps out the happy chemicals, giving you euphoria. The more you feed this leech, the fatter and uglier it gets, if you leave it hungry it’ll cut you off from your dopamine, making you crave drugs, fuck euphoria, any amount at any price just so you can feel normal. The problem with the recent wave of legal high ‘part powders’ is they stimulate the leech, which is a dangerous game because that leads to all sorts of problems like addiction and depression. The pink panther had defiantly just awoken my leech and it was saying only one thing: “More.”
We were still pretty wired so we decided to relax with some poppers in the toilets. The basic popper delivery system of snuffing the small glass vials is flawed, in that you don’t get total coverage of all the airways. Professionals tend to get a rag or a bit of cloth and soak it down, you can then cover your face and breathe as deeply as you like, getting all the goodness into your brain much more efficiently. So in this terrible tiny cubicle with an inch of shit and water on the floor we soaked down a good pair of socks and made them better. “God I need this,” my associate said. “I’m so stressed, the world is just full of thieves and weasels and they’re all constantly shitting on my soul.”My associate sat down on the toilet and leant his head right back. He carefully layered the sock over his face and began to take deep, slow breaths. His arms went slack and he seemed peaceful for a minute, like he’d drifted off to a place where there were no thieves and weasels shitting on his soul. Then his body erupted upwards, his head had become swollen and red, with purple veins sticking out at harsh angles. He was laughing, barely able to breathe. He went down for another deep huff, laughing through the sock, then another... I realised this was turning into an ugly scene, it was drawing attention “You crazy bastard, they’ll lynch us for this!” I said as I bailed out of the cubicle and back into the bar. I lounged around the bar for a while, nursing a gin and smelling the sock when I had a chance. The fumes groped my brain pleasantly. Each huff sent blood rushing to my brain. My vision would go blurry and an intense idiotic happiness would spread through me. I couldn’t get enough. I noticed out the corner of my eye some commotion going on in the toilets. When I went in I saw exactly what I expected to see. Underneath the door I could just about see my associate in the foetal position. A bouncer was beating on the door with both fists screaming, “I’ll get him out! I’ll get him out!” My associate had gone into some sort of popper frenzy. His curled up body was making it impossible for the bouncer to get in. The constant chorus of crazed laughter that kept creeping out from under the door was not helping matters either. My associate was making him look a fool, which was a very ugly scene; bouncers will not be made a fool of. I thought of interjecting, saving my associate from the horrible beating that was sure to follow. But this stupid thought passed quite quickly and, obviously, I ran away at high speed.
PULSE ULTRA SMOKING BLEND
GOGAINE
I was wandering the streets trying to walk off the leech and trying to figure out where it had all gone wrong, when I received this four page text from that dishonest associate of mine: I stole the pulse ultra, I needed it, but you left me to die so we’ll call it even. I made a shady deal with the bouncers. The number one rule of bars is the bouncer is always right. If his slim authority is ever undermined, there would be chaos. No rules. Ruffians coming in off the street stealing booze. People huffing socks full of drugs in the middle of the dance floor. Horrible. So in return for my silence and cooperation I got safe passage out of there and they gave me the girl with the ankles to do as I please. We’ve gone back to fornicate but I needed something to loosen the mood. The pulse ultra is fantastic. Like a weed high without the crazy images of paranoia. Total relaxation. Perfect after a night on stimulants. Like finding the brakes on a go kart that’s gone berserk. The stuff burns well enough to put in a joint and there’s a refreshing smell of stimulants. Much love. xxx Bastard.
I poked my head into the living room, they were doing it on the table, my associate was wearing only an eye patch and an oven glove, and the girl had post it notes all along her back. I learned at a later date that they were involved in some twisted role-play where my associate was a time-travelling pirate and the poor girl was a stegosaurus. I retreated to the safety of my room. I poured out the contents of the gram and a half bag of “Gogaine” onto a DVD case. I did a couple exploratory lines. This was good. Too good in fact. I felt stimulated, awake, twisted, super confident. The leech was loving it, he wanted me to smash the whole thing right now. We made a compromise; I made a strict rationing plan, a line an hour until the seedy shops opened again. A combination of the pull of the leech and the stress of hearing screams and the phrase ‘touch the glove’ over and over through the wall caused the plan to go awry and the whole bag was smashed within an hour and thirteen minutes. The leech was alive and excited. He was crawling around my skull, trying to get out, trying to get at the drugs. He wouldn’t leave me be. Writhing in my brain, giving me manic thoughts, ‘Lick all the DVD cases, there’ll be something there’, ‘How hard can crystal meth be to make? Google it, hillbillies do it.’ It wouldn’t let me be. It kept me awake for endless painful hours and I had no intention of setting up a meth lab, not at this hour. The comedown hit me all at once in the early hours, a deep sense of misfortune and the feeling that something had been ripped from my chest. Luckily a few years ago I took a year out from university to take up crying professionally, so I knew the best place for this was the shower. I turned it up on full and let it beat down on me and scald my skin. I sat there and had some good choking sobs. It was really quite nice.
TOPMAN CTRL •••
WORDS: WAXXX
THE FUTUREHEADS BRING THE YEAR TO A CLOSE WITH TOPMAN CTRL www.topmanctrl.com
Topman CTRL is proud to announce their final masters and commanders for the year, The Futureheads, who hold the keys to www.topmanctrl.com until 2011. The post-punk play-abouts mark their newfound territory with a gig at The Shipping Forecast in Liverpool on December 7th and have chosen their north-eastern neighbours Frankie and the Heartstrings and math-rock favourites Hot Club de Paris as support. With a rollercoaster career to date, The Futureheads have just delivered their 4th studio album ‘The Chaos’ to the welcoming arms of their dedicated fans across the world. Having donned their DIY businessman shoes, masterminded their own label and set up camp at www.topmanctrl.com, the band live like everyday is the beginning of a twist, and with The Futureheads, it usually is. For The Futureheads, life is never dull and nothing’s perfect till it’s perfect. That’s probably why they decided to record their hit-filled, self-titled debut no less than 3 times! Their combination of lusty pop and rough Sunderland wit has secured them 3 top 20 albums and a succession of hook filled melody driven singles that have won over fans across the globe. December sees them take the reigns at www. topmanctrl.com showing fans what it’s really like being in one of Britain’s favourite post punk institutions, adding exclusive videos, pictures and insights into their weird and wonderful world. Barry Hyde, The Futureheads, said, “We are very, very excited to be playing the Topman CTRL gig with such excellent support bands, Frankie & The Heartstrings and Hot Club De Paris. Both bands are very good friends of ours and it’s going to be a rip-roaring corker of an evening.”
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Joining them at Topman CTRL Live are Frankie and the Heartstrings, playing their pop tinged punk revival foot stompers that sit perfectly with their musical mentors The Futureheads. Kicking off the ultimate show is Hot Club de Paris who’s quirky time signatures and experimental indie rock tunes are the perfect intro to end Topman CTRL’s biggest year yet.
COMPETITION 1. 2 TICKETS TO THE GIG 2. AN EXCLUSIVELY DESIGNED AND SIGNED T-SHIRT BY THE FUTUREHEADS 3. £100 SPREE TO SPEND IN STORE To win, send your funniest joke to info@waxxx.co.uk. We’ll pick one but probably still keep the prize and use the jokes to pull girls. Joking......sort of!
ARTWORK: 100% SIZE (3MM BLEED GIVEN) ARTWORK FULL SIZE: 148.5MM WIDE X 210MM HIGH TO BE PRINTED ONTO PAPER STOCK SPECIFIED DO NOT PRINT THIS TEXT - FOR PRINTERS USE ONLY
INSPIRED BY MUSIC
LIVE:
THE FUTUREHEADS PLUS THEIR HAND-PICKED SUPPORT
FRANKIE & THE HEARTSTRINGS HOT CLUB DE PARIS TUESDAY 7TH DECEMBER @ THE SHIPPING FORECAST 15 SLATER STREET LIVERPOOL L1 4BW DOORS 7.30 TICKETS £6 IN ADVANCE WWW.TICKETWEB.CO.UK / WWW.TICKETLINE.CO.UK 3B RECORDS SLATER ST / RESURRECTION BOLD ST
WWW.TOPMANCTRL.COM
I
BEING A DICKHEAD IS COOL •••
WORDS: DOLCE PEBBLE
APPARENTLY THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BEING TOO POPULAR. I AM THE PRIME EXAMPLE OF THIS. GIRLS LOVE ME, LADS LOVE ME, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY I LOVE ME, SO I’VE KEPT A DIARY OF MY ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK SO THAT NOW YOU CAN TRY AND BE MORE LIKE ME. BE GRATEFUL. ...AND I WROTE IT ON MY IPHONE 4 (APPLE).
MONDAY Woke up to a mass of texts telling me how good I looked last night, obviously. Spent half the day looking at pictures of myself, the other half listening to old Travis songs.
TUESDAY Movie night. I hadn’t had sex for at least twelve hours so I came up with a plan to seduce three girls. I held a movie night in my pad. Invited girls one through to three round. Lit some incense, got some blankets from Oxfam, cosy. We were sitting under the blankets, enjoying some obscure film you’ll probably never have heard of so don’t worry about it. Girl No. 1 and I had been feeling each others legs under the duvet during the opening sequence, so I decided to take it further. As I attempted to put my hand between her legs, she kicked me away, spilling Girl No. 2’s drink down her top. ‘Not to worry’ I said, walking Girl No.2 into my bedroom, explaining I had a v neck t-shirt she could wear. I attempted to take her top off while kissing her neck. This was going extremely well until Girl No.1 walked into the room to see how the ‘changingof-T-shirt process’ was going. Surprisingly she decided to vent her anger out on Girl No. 2 rather than me. Perfect, this allowed me to slip off and back into the front room, where Girl No. 3 was alone watching the film. I roamed across the couch and went in for the kill. Moving my hand up and down her leg, I leaned in for the kiss... and I got it. Unfortunately for me Girl no.1 and Girl no. 2’s argument did not last as long as I had anticipated and as I came out of the kiss they were standing over me. Judging me. I think I heard; ‘What the fuck?’ and ‘Are you serious?’ . “I can explain” I said “Give me one second” were my best replies. The less said about what happen next the better. I still needed some release, so I loitered around outside Heebies as it was closing, looking for the last pickings of the night. Luckily, for them, I found a couple of youngsters and the night wasn’t a complete waste.
WEDNESDAY
/ P. 18 - 19 /
My iphone started ringing, it was my girlfriend. She had gone back to Leeds for her father’s funeral. After the bleak phone call, I decided to cheer myself up by going shopping. I have just started collecting Vinyl. Vinyl is a lot cooler than digital music. I have been going to all the local record shops and buying all of the music already on my ipod – in Vinyl form. I think will help give me credibility in ‘indie’ circles and sustain relationships with girls. Not many people have thought of this, so it’s pretty much new territory, people will certainly take notice.
THURSDAY Church. (Barfly, Mixed Bag) The guy on the door understands who I am so I only have to pay half price.
FRIDAY I decided to start a Facebook account. It takes a while to get used to but I think I have an idea of the basic rules... • Change your status update at least once a day, it’s good to quote lyrics in your status updates. Use lyrics from cool musicians such as Dylan, Morrisson, Alex Turner etc. Obscure B-sides from modern bands are just as good – basically anything that your friends will have to type into Google to find out what it is before they ‘like’ or comment on it. • Whilst song lyrics are good, it’s is also ok to let everyone know that you are either ‘bored’, ‘still in bed’ or that ‘last night was fucking sick’. • USE CAPITAL LETTERS IF YOU ARE ANGRY OR WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE NOTICE!!! • If you have a problem with someone use a cryptic message on your status that they won’t know is about them e.g. ‘Think you can talk about me behind me back? Fucking prick.’ • Profile pictures should always be black and white. Try to have a cigarette in your hand or failing that, stick two fingers up.
SATURDAY The day started with a phone call from a withheld number, ‘Legal highs, I need sanctuary in your flat, no time to explain, don’t call me, the line isn’t safe.’ said an unusually excited voice of a friend who promptly hung up. Sounded like an excuse to me. But a very good one. I can’t account for what happened in the next 14 hours. See the Waxxx nutrition guide.
SUNDAY Received a text from a friend. Turns out ‘Girl No. 3’ is 15. . .Oops. I think i’ll update my facebook status. Thought of the week? I wish Travis were still going.
WAXXX IN: ••• WORDS: JOSHUA BURKE (THE SINK) PAUL CASSIDY (POP BOUTIQUE)
THE SINK
POP BOUTIQUE
Situated on Berry Street, opposite what was the Metropolitan pub, new bar The Sink is an excellent addition to the Liverpool nightlife scene. At least that’s what they claim in their press release. We knocked on the metal shutters to find out whether or not this is the case. The first thing you notice upon entering is the size. It’s fucking tiny. But this isn’t a bad thing; it simply makes for a cosy, intimate venue. Owner Noel says this allows him to be more selective about who enters. He’s real picky. We see him turning away the kind of people that now populate places that we once loved. He won’t allow this to become ‘one of those bars’. He actually wants it to be different. So what else is there that is different. Well the inside is not only small but long too. I hate to do this but it does remind me of the bars in Brooklyn. Sorry about that. The décor is reminiscent of what used to be Negresco on Lark Lane, apart from the bar back which looks similar to that at Heebies. The chesterfield sofas littered about make the place seem warm and inviting, it’s just missing a log fire for a truly perfect daytime pint/gin and tonic. The drinks menu may not be as diverse as other bars but for a small place, it has more than you’d expect. I was surprised to see beers starting from £1.50. The main difference is that this place has the intimacy of a mate’s flat. None of my mates have flats like this so it’s by far the best option. The outdoor smoking area will soon be completed. Since we’re a really cool magazine, and get lots of privileges we were allowed to take a look, and it is a nice area to induce cancer upon your lungs and is a muchneeded addition since smoking on Berry Street can be a little interesting late at night. So, what is our opinion? Well, it’s the perfect place before and after a night out. At weekends, things go on til about 6am. The sound system is crystal clear and capable of filling this small place with a very fitting array of music that the DJ’s offer up. Noel is an owner who gives a shit about the clientele, and won’t allow dickheads to ruin your night. As someone who was running The Magnet for years, he knows who those dickheads are and they know they aren’t getting in. Better than a houseparty in that way too. So, if unlike me, you can’t afford to go to Brooklyn and drink in cool, long and thin bars, you may as well go to The Sink. There you can avoid expensive drinks, deafeningly loud soul music that’s on a loop and almost seems to follow you from bar to bar, and getting your head kicked in. The rest is up to you.
Liverpool One looms ominously in this city - the masses can be forgiven for spending their Saturday afternoons there perpetually, it’s literally impossible to escape thanks to a billion pound investment scheme and mass advertising. It’s important, however, to remember that theres more to the city centre than All Saints and G Star. Take a little walk further afield and you’ll find nests of small, more independant, stores. The vintage clothing scene in this city is thriving. The most established of these stores is Pop Boutique, located primarily on Whitechapel as well as a smaller store in the new Quiggins. Pop launched their first standalone store in Manchester in 1994, helping to establish the bohemian Northern Quarter of the city. They quickly moved to expand into London, Liverpool and Leeds respectively, and more recently they have opened a store in Gottenburg, Sweden. Pop Boutique Liverpool is a real vintage and pop-culture lover’s destination with clothes and various relics from a bygone era spread out over two floors. Clothingwise the store offers a mix of vintage finds (particularily strong for women), as well as their own ‘Pop’ label which features staple wardrobe additions such as cardigans, shirts, dresses, skinny jeans, knitwear and outerwear all styled to a 60’s point. Highly recommended by all here at Waxxx, Pop Boutique is a city centre institution well worth dragging yourself away from Liverpool One to.
LIVERPOOL LOOKS LIKE •••
/ P. 20 - 21 /
PHOTOGRAPHY: HOY FASHION
LOST ARTIST •••
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY WAXXX
IF YOU’VE EVER SEEN A PACK OF SKATERS HANGING OUT AROUND PEACOCKS THEN YOU’VE PROBABLY WALKED PAST ONE OF RUSS LONGMIRE’S BOARD DESIGNS. OR IF YOU’VE BEEN IN LA’GO AND A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD WITH A BOWL HEAD HAS PULLED YOUR GIRLFRIEND BECAUSE HE LOOKS SO FUCKING COOL THEN YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN ONE OF RUSS’S T-SHIRT DESIGNS. Russ being the self made man got his name out there by printing off his own zine SketchStance, which was full of his own original artwork, and sending them out anywhere and everywhere. Russ was hustling this zine out of Lost Art at the time when he came up with his first design the ‘Beer Slug’. Five years on the design is still appearing on t-shirts, stickers and boards, the Skate slugs still can’t get enough of that shit. Lost Art founder Mackie quit his Southport factory job and moved to Liverpool to start something. Originally starting up a shop in the alternative shopping centre ‘Quiggins’, Lost Art now resides on Bold Street and is the only skate shop in Liverpool that is run by skaters and comes without any of the usual bullshit associated with skate shops. The shop is now in it’s 11th year in the game and is going stronger than ever. Lost Art is built around a solid skate scene, the love of the shop and Lost Art merchandise is worn with pride across the city’s skating scene. Russ Longmire’s designs are no small part of the appeal in Waxxx’s humble opinion, his art is raw, humours and skaters can relate to it. We had a quick chat with him about Lost Art, Liverpool and the future.
WAXXX: How did you get into graphic design?
Russ: Scraped through John Moores art school, spent all my student loans on flights to America, where I’d sit in a van and skate the best concrete in the world for days on end. Couldn’t or didn’t even try to get a job in graphics as I knew I was never good at it. Got crappy jobs in bars and night clubs where id study people’s, drunken behaviour, mannerisms, language, dress codes and twitching faces. In this time I figured out what I liked and what I didn’t. I went back to my room at night listened to antisocial music and painted scratchy weird black and white characters with a brush in Indian ink. I stapled all them all together called it Sketch Stance colouring zine and sold them! Sketchstance lasted 3 issues and I sent them everywhere. Since those first few zines 5, or 6 years ago Ive constantly been painting something for someone. T shirts, flyer’s, record sleeves, skateboards, stickers, calenders, cards, bodies……The usual shit!!
WAXXX:
What effect do you think your t-shirts and lost art has had on the alternative scene in liverpool and what feelings do you have about be apart of it?
Russ: Good shirt design is a good shirt design however the skate kids will buy it anyway if it says LOST ART. If you design a good shirt and then put LIVERPOOL ENGLAND on it you open you flood gates to the masses on the appeal. You cant even go to tourist information in town get a good Liverpool t-shirt so just go down to the skate shop, give your money to the little guy, represent an independent company and look cool in Japan! I guess a lot skateboarders spend a lot of time under the moon mixing it up with all kinds of weird, horrible, hip, sad, loser, lively lads and ladies and the gear their wearing makes all over the small and expanding altered minds, for example “ow shit. ….Man that party last week was heavy, I lost everything and don’t recall anything but I was tagged in a picture with bowl head in a orange lost art eagle shirt….. I really want one!”. Where can I get one.” And so it all snow balls and its advertising for the shop. I don’t have a problem with people who don’t skate wearing the gear just as long as I don’t battered by a bunch of scals wearing a shirt I designed and every time one of the pilgrim skate rats sees me they buy me a beer for getting em laid that night cause they look cool then it’s all good.
WAXXX: What’s next in the pipeline in terms of projects?
Russ:
/ P. 22 - 23 /
In terms the skate shop the Eazy-e graphic has had a real good response, “white thugs not white drugs!”. It’s coming out on a board, maybe a cap and I’m still waiting on a ‘Built for blows’ Windbreaker. Maybe the New Year. I’ve just been appointed as art director at Bold Street Coffee so expect loads of Goofy shit coming out that end of the street. T-shirts, coffee cups, coasters, stickers, adverts, I might even do an exhibition in the new year. Other than that stay posted on all the freelance gigs and weekly madness at Sketchstance.co.uk
/ P. 24 - 25 /
WAXXX ON FILM •••
WORD/REVIEW: CHARLES McINTYRE
WHAT’S COMING:
ONES TO WATCH:
Another Christmas, another sack of multi-million dollar movie atrocities delivered straight down your chimney by Santa and his cola slurping reindeer cohorts. HARRY POTTER, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, MEGAMIND, THE TOURIST, LITTLE FOCKERS - when will it end? According to Warner Bros. - never. Harry Potter’s long dead and severely decaying corpse has been sawn in half and reanimated to prolong the franchise’s unholy lifespan. What next, a part 2.5, part 3 and 3 quarters? Maybe a ‘Harry Potter: 10 Years On’ spin off is on the cards, unflinchingly portraying Harry’s inevitable downward spiral into heroin addiction and prostitution. Almodóvar could direct...
OF GODS AND MEN (15) - Released 3 December 2010
At least some of our prayers have been answered this Christmas. TRUE GRIT, written and directed by the Cohen brothers and due for release in January, stars Jeff Bridges as the legendary Rooster Cogburn – the fictional U.S. Deputy Marshall originally played by John Wayne. It’s been a while since a well cast and well funded western came along, largely due to the fact that Hollywood’s recent attempts at ‘going western’ have been truly dire. James Mangold’s half baked remake 3:10 TO YUMA, and the appalling western mockeries APPALOOSA and SERAPHIM FALLS have collectively killed Hollywood’s desire to even approach the genre. Although HBO’s TV series DEADWOOD and Andrew Dominik’s film THE ASSASINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD gleaned some critical recognition, they crashed in terms of viewing figures and box office reception - further alienating the genre from potential investors. It seems that only the mighty Cohen brothers coalition can now save the genre before it gradually reverts to its old ‘pulp’ status. They have proven their ability already with NO COUNTY FOR OLD MEN of course, but by directly tackling the genre in its archetypal era with a remake of one of its most cherished films, the twosome are sure to re-establish the classic western as a Hollywood money spinner. Read the full review in the New Year.
Lambert Wilson stars in this French flick about a group of Cistercian monks living in apparent harmony with the largely muslim population of Algeria. The film, based on real events, tries to establish why several of the monks were beheaded by either terrorists or the Algerian army in 1996. OK, so it’s not the “ideal” date movie, but it’ll show her you care... This should be a good opportunity to see Wilson doing what he does best – not appear in atrocious Wachowski brothers films/any film entitled CATWOMAN, SAHARA or BABYLON AD. Yes, sadly the French rogue occasionally sells moderately sized portions of his soul to the conglomerate nightmare that is Hollywood, but he has managed to squeeze out a few small nuggets of brilliance in his time (check out PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES, or for the more adventurous of you, DANTE 01). Anyway, it picked up the Grand Prix at Cannes, so it’s definitely worth a look.
SOMEWHERE (15) – Released 10 December 2010 It’s been a couple of years since Sofia Coppola’s brilliant LOST IN TRANSLATION hit our screens, but she’s back, and this time she’s completely changed direction... if by changing direction we mean do the same thing, but IDIOTICALLY replace Bill Murray with Stephen Dorff (that’s right, the guy out of BLADE). The concept this time around isn’t as striking (who wants to watch a stuck up Hollywood celeb bond with his daughter? – oh that’s right, women) but if Coppola can make this film half as interesting as LIT, it’s still bordering on an 8/10 (you do the math). The potential problem, however, is that Coppola’s slow, methodical and contemplative shots simply won’t have the star factor (ahem...Bill Murray) to maintain audience attention. Maybe I’m being too hard on Dorffy, he might be a great actor underneath all the... hold on a minute...he was in a Britney Spears video!? DO NOT see this piece of crap.
A SERBIAN FILM (18) – Released 10 December 2010
/ P. 26 - 27 /
This is probably one of the most horrific pieces of cinema you will ever see. Not because it’s expertly constructed with tension building set pieces that will haunt you forever - but because it graphically portrays the most disgusting forms of sexual violence imaginable – and all in the name of “political satire’’...a likely story. From what I managed to stomach of it, I can see that A SERBIAN FILM is an uncreative sick flick without the guts (excuse the pun) to NOT show it all. Like THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE, this is another blatant attempt to top AUGUST UNDERGROUND’S MORDUM as the sickest movie ever conceived. And it is pretty sick, but not in the good, wholesome way we all love and enjoy. I can only advise you not to eat jelly whilst watching this one.
THE REVIEW: CHICO AND RITA (15) – Released 19th November 2010 Directed by: Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba When you think ‘animated film’, you probably think of some sugar coated, genetically modified Pixar creation, where inanimate objects are endowed with the ability to act badly. Thankfully, a backlash against this sort of unimaginative drivel has been rocking the Hollywood boat over the past few years. The success of films like PERSEPOLIS, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, CORALINE, FANTASTIC MR. FOX and THE ILLUSIONIST has proven that ‘old school’ animation techniques (stop motion, rotoscoping, full animation) are far superior to modern methods in creating atmospheric and emotive screen action. CHICO AND RITA echoes this sentiment. Set primarily in Havana in the 1940s, CHICO AND RITA follows the journey of, you guessed it, Chico – a young jazz pianist and song writer, and Rita – a gifted singer. United by their love for music and for each other, the film follows the couple’s turbulent relationship across continents and through time...yadda yadda. The basic frame of the plot isn’t anything special, but it’s not offensively bad either. The truth is, the plot alone isn’t reason enough to see this film. Art direction, cinematography and sound track are what makes CHICO AND RITA stand out. Javier Mariscal’s meticulously researched and beautifully reproduced city backdrops give the film an air of authenticity that a set simply wouldn’t provide. Character animation is also strong, although not in the same league as Sylvain Chomet’s work. Instead, much of the film’s characterisation lies in its music, which touches every scene. The soundtrack, composed and arranged by Bebo Valdés, is excellent and I must admit, my toe was almost tapping. Sadly, however, some scenes are skipped along too readily, as if in anticipation of audience distraction, and so the sensation of sitting in a jazz bar quickly dissipates. This anxiety surrounding scene progression is probably the film’s biggest failing, and a few set pieces, such as the car chase scene, are thinly veiled contrivances to maintain audience ‘I don’t have to think about stuff’ satisfaction. A few allusions to wider issues help to broaden the scope of the film, but they are fleeting and sometimes confused. Racial remarks are most frequent and revealing (Chico is called a ‘jungle bunny’, and Chano Ponzo relates the difficulties a black man faces living in America) whereas political commentary is muted, with only a few grim references to the harsh realities of Castro’s Cuba. Although the film does highlight the ‘problematic’ aspects of the American dream, it doesn’t attempt to discuss the Cuban revolution as a progressive movement, nor does it mention the comparative racial equality achieved in Cuba. Equally, Chico and Rita themselves are completely oblivious to the issues Cuba faces – seemingly only motivated by their passion for music. This seems more than a little unrealistic and is likely a lazy oversight. Perhaps having learned from the bleak response Steven Soderbergh received in the US for his CHE films, the film’s makers ignore any contentious political issues, pandering to an American audience, and an American industry. Despite its problems, CHICO AND RITA is an animation worthy of reverence, and brings an alternative approach with fresh ideas to a stagnant plot format. 7/10
ART ATTACK •••
WORDS: MATTHEW LLOYD / PHOTOGRAPHY: ROGELIO NARITO
NOW BEFORE I BEGIN TO WRITE ABOUT THE GOOD OLD LIVERPOOL ART SCENE ONCE AGAIN, I FIRST MUST ASK YOU ONE VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION… Where were you on November 24th? Other then wishing me a happy birthday, you should have been doing one of two things…1) watching the news or 2) being out on your local city streets. If you still have no idea what I’m rambling on about then shame on YOU! I am of course referring to the fantastic and brave student protests -over rising tuition fees and abolishment of EMA- that ran all over the UK. Other then making gripping television on my birthday, it really was great to see students as young as 16, tutors and lectures fighting for this outright stupid rise in fees, that is only designed to control and prevent anyone who wants to achieve their passionate goals in life, seems like me the government doesn’t want people to learn or think for themselves? Also to the fake media who only focused on the two poor old police officers who got injured in the protest…well…at least they had the rest of the day off, not to mention the number of students who also got injured, but the media always seem to forget tiny information like this. I praise everyone who is protesting and hope there will be many more, and I my hat goes off to the police for their ‘oh know I seem to have left my police van in the middle of the crowd hmmm.. I sure hope they don’t damage it’ nice plan pigs. Sorry about that folks I shall now step down from my soap box, and continue to fill you in, on what’s been going down and what’s going up with the Arts in Liverpool in cold November. So… the biennial is giving us its last wave, ready to disappear under its colossal rock, where it shall rest, gathering a whirlwind of art ready to bust out in another two years. But before we give out last send off lets recap on what has just happened. The Long Night! came and went and what a graceful yet very chilli night it was. I spent the whole night down at the A foundation where along with myself, and fellow Red Wire members; Alan Williams and Nick Strowbridge, we three had set up the event: METAPHASIA! bands, booze, dancing and DJ’s and dodgy video art, all went down without a hitch.
/ P. 28 - 29 /
Solo performer Blanket was the first act of the night to hit the spotlight, mixing ambient, melodic keyboard with post-rock, experimental guitar. The free-flowing sounds surrounded all around the A Foundation creating great echo’s, a perfect setting for the confident Blanket. Next up, brand new underground sludge, avant-garde duo; Black Stain Pope. Only drums and bass but these two are very very loud. Opening song Clown Clit was a heavy bass grunge break down, and from then on it got heavier and louder, with moments of pure improvisation as intludes, Black Stain Pope made a good impact, be sure to catch these two around Liverpool - a must see! Second to last act is Manchester based group 1Well Wisher. Bringing a mixture of, Punk, Indie and post-Hardcore, these are a very tight band, each member seems to go off in there own little world, rocking out, perfect in time, and really enjoying themselves. Very high energy from the lead singer who gets right into the crowd not missing a vocal beat, good job lads.
Last on the bill we see Local boys We Came Out Like Tigers. This Post-rock, hardcore band along with a violinist and blast beats this is a very exciting band, and very passionate. Its easy to see how much these lads love playing music and getting there message across, WCOLT draw the biggest crowd of the night and its not hard to find out why. But the party did not finish there, late night DJ’s brought the heavy beats, that kept the feet moving on everyone in the room. A great way to end The Long Night, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the bands/Dj’s that played, Nick, Alan and Mike Carney and the rest of the brilliant A foundation crew, and everyone who came along. Yes indeed it is now the end of the Biennial…but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to-do, we have some exciting upcoming events that a certain little white rabbit told me about. Apparently Lewis Carroll’s world of the weird and wonderful Alice and Wonderland has been born at Tate Liverpool. This enchanting exhibition only lasts until the 29th January, and takes you on a journey of the original ideas of Lewis Carroll’s story, right up to modern and contemporary art. Full of illustrations this is an exhibition for everyone! If you where able to catch the William Blake show a little while back, and were adsorbed by his heavenly etchings, then you will love this very detailed show. Also hitting Tate and FACT is one of the most innovative artists ever born; performer and composer, Nam June Paik (1932- 2006) considered the first artists to use video, both galleries are showing a first major retrospective of Paik’s work. You might be thinking your not too keen on visiting another white cube space at a major gallery, then fear not as I have something fresh for your eyes. You might know a lad who goes by the name Martin Cook, you might of seen him slugging around bars, clubs and toilets, keep it ‘real’. Well Martin along with fellow friends -for one night only- will be showcasing their own art show at their home at 161 Chatham St. On Saturday December 4th from 6 till 11.30, they will be revelling new and adventurous art from the residents of the house and apparently will be expecting a large number of people, even from major Liverpool institutions, but please note this is an invite only! So if you don’t know who Mr Cook is, you had better find out. I shall be popping down, to grab my complimentary wine, because this does sounds like an exciting event, and I hope to see you there. Importantly! I can not forget to mention that WAXXX will be having a Big New Years Eve Party, more information will be available near the time. Keep your eyes and ears peeled. Well that’s it from me, again, I’m going to step back on my soap box, one last time before I head down to the Kazimier for the official end-biennial party. Ill leave you with this; “ Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it.” - John Lennon.
1
JOSH OWEN •••
INTERVIEW: DAVE COOKSON
IF YOU CAN TAKE ONE LOOK AT BUZZ LIGHTYEAR WITHOUT THINKING ‘FISH BOWL HEAD TWAT’ THEN THE LIVERPUDLIAN YOUTUBE SENSATION THAT IS JOSH OWENS HAS PROBABLY ESCAPED YOU THUS FAR. Josh found viral fame with a series of scouse voiceovers of clips from films and tv such as paddington bear, toy story and m&s adverts, getting over 3 million views of his original videos. Josh has also made a series of parodies, including a new take on Katy Perry’s ‘California Gurls’ featuring the lines ‘Liverpool Gurls they’re unforgettable, in pyjamas outside the shops, proper orange skin and they draw on their eyebrows…’ I caught up with Josh to ask him about his rise to fame.
DAVE:
DAVE:
What inspired you to start making videos, particularly ones with a strong Scouse feel?
What are the funniest things you’ve ever heard Scousers say?
JOSH:
Well I seen a few other Scouse videos on YouTube and decided I could get the Scouse feel across better, so decided to input our unique humour into videos to spread the Scouse word across the world!
DAVE:
DAVE:
What would you put your success down to?
JOSH:
Liverpool humour is one of a kind I think, people from here will like my videos because it’s what they have grew up knowing. Other people from different cities and countries might find it hard to understand at first but will no doubt end up having a laugh at them!
DAVE:
Is there anything you really want to make a video about but haven’t yet?
JOSH:
There are a lot of things I want to do but just want to get a better quality camera first. I’d love to do something with the Liverpool signs, you know the Docks and that, and also make a music video just using the sounds of my car! Random but I’m sure I could do something good!
DAVE:
Do you get recognised often? Do people shout things at you in the street?
JOSH:
Without sounding bigheaded, every time I’m shopping in Liverpool city centre I get recognised, they usually shout quotes from my videos or just my name, or ask for pictures which I think is amazing!
DAVE: What do your friends and family make of your rise as a viral video phenomenon and local celebrity?
JOSH:
They can’t believe it, but they like the way I’ve gotten known locally so well in such a short time, it just shows how successful somebody could potentially become if they use the Internet in an efficient way.
DAVE: What was it like being nominated as ‘Icon of Liverpool’ for the Juice FM Style Awards?
JOSH:
/ P. 30 - 31 /
JOSH:
Mainly just the terminology that people use, like using different words for when you’re drunk. For example, being ‘kettled’, ‘trollied’, or the best is when Scouse lads see something they like and they call it ‘potent’, haha. Another thing is Scousers don’t say ‘Home Bargains’ they call it ‘Home and Bargain’ - a mystery of life that is.
Well, what can I say? It was an honour especially being up against Steven Gerrard who is an inspiration to anybody. It was an amazing night, being surrounded by stars and having a three-course meal, I felt out of place but it was nice living the dream!
What have you got planned for the future?
JOSH:
I’ll always do videos especially because I get paid by Google AdSense these days so hopefully if I get a bigger fanbase than I’ve got it could eventually become my job, how cool is that?!