Nattatouille

^The lead singer is from Southampton. Except I don't know da fuq his accent is because none of us sound like that

^ :awesome: John Mayer just shut the curtains on us and got security to move the queue of 3 of us when we saw him outside Wembley Arena. Considering it hardly being a crowd thought that was a little excessive.

^They explain the concept... But not the lyrics. I mean seriously I cannot get over lyrics that say: 'Chunks of you will sink down to seals Blubber rich in mourning.' I mean wat.

I wouldn't talk to them in a scenario like that unless it was by chance. Like you sometimes make random conversation with other members of the public-- so if a scenario like that happened with someone famous then I might talk. Otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to speak to them. If it is outside a gig (be it theirs or someone else's) I tend to see it as fair game. But even then I wouldn't want to take up too much time or whatever just not to be a pain. I tend to meet more bands through my journalism stuff now though-- and then they view it as a strictly professional thing, as do I, until I say that I'm a fan before it starts and then they seem to warm up to me a lot?

^He has a really weird vocal tone it's true. But then the lyrics make no sense anyway so...

YES. My brother lives up there so I am visiting quite a bit now. Jaws are also fucking awesome.

I tend to say I love their music first and see how they react. Some people brush you off and that's when you sort of know it's not really worth hanging around and trying because there's the divide. If they're receptive towards the compliment, I tend to calm down a lot and then be able to have a conversation with them... Or equally a drink. I think that's best though-- that you acknowledge they are a musician and your 'idol' but also acknowledge that, in the end, they are just people too. That's so cool :awesome: I find it wears off when your system clicks in to the mentality that it's just another normal person. I also find that it helps if I say I am a little giddy and nervous, it wears off faster. I would say it is more an encounter that way. Meeting someone sort of implies a conversation.

I have had a mixed bag of experiences meeting my heroes. Most of the bands I have met in the early days of their careers are absolutely lovely and so down to earth. Those I have met further in to their careers have become a bit tainted and you feel like a burden meeting them... I would hazard a guess and say meeting Green Day would fall in to the awkward, burden category.

No problem. This time last year I was squealing over a Spector release, hard to think I've known and sort of stalked them for an entire year :P On that note though, Swim Deep, Splashh and LULS were the support acts on the latest Spectour (admittedly I knew about them before but eh, hipster) so you should probably give them a listen too-- you might like them (I have the feeling you'd like Splashh) Admittedly looking back on this year, my entire top 10 favourite albums were debuts. So I can feel next year following suit (although Hurts and Foster the People have the potential to stop this from happening). And Wolf Gang, with the way it is going, will definitely prevent that happening. The demos and live tracks I've heard are AWESUM

I've never done it before. The most I have spent is 6 hours and that was for Wemblayyy Muse in 2010. I might queue at early hours for Muse this time though, but only if I have no other work to do. If I have stuff to be done, I will just meet my friends up there and either queue-jump (onoes) or just get an unreserved seat near the stage. I mean, it's awful, but I am getting old and 6 hours on my feet now kills my back. I need retiring. *back to lurking*

At a gig of that size there's tonnes of other logistics to work out so it's not a case of whether they want to or not, it's a case of they have more important things to do.

^YES. Kodaline's album is going to be awesome from the PR stuff we've been give. :awesome: Also: Peace (they literally will not spill any details about it except it is all recorded-- and was recorded all live-- but it is definitely next year). Palma Violets (ASGDFGHFDGFYDU FEBRUARY CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH) Wolf Gang (that, according to Max, is going to be a summer release) Howler (last I spoke to them they were aiming for a late 2013 release) Gabriel Bruce (been pushed back until May tho) Wild Cub Phoenix Hurts Foster the People Everything Everything Kings of Leon Swim Deep/Splashh/LULS are all recording with the aim for next year; no confirmation as to whether they will though. I reckon 2013 is going to be awesome. Especially for debut albums. This whole indie reinvention wave is happening and it's glorious.

They went back to the US to start writing and recording in November... When I interviewed them in October they were planning on a release some point next year-- likely to be autumn.

Yeah Brent is 100% right in this regard too. I'm a scientist actually by day doing a PhD in medical research and I write for my other pieces when I have time/evenings/weekends. Journalism is my hobby... Not my job.

^They have... They played a few shows there in late 2010/early 2011 if I remember rightly.

:D Their new stuff also sounds awesome. Ipecac is hilariously awesome

At the Emirates this will be impossible to do. Simple as.

Hey guys, First up I'd tell you it is an extremely hard career to get in to. The amount of people who want to do it and are qualified to do it far outweigh those positions avaliable. Plus to get in to Q/NME/Kerrang or anything along those lines is like hyper competitive and, shockingly, a lot of the people that work for them tend to be late 20's who have had a tonne of experience under their belt. All this being said, it's not impossible to do. You just have to get yourself a good portfolio and get yourself the needed experience. I have only been around the musical journalism neck of the woods seriously now for the last 4 months. I currently write for The Edge (which is an entertainment magazine based in Southampton), 7BitArcade, O2 Acadamies Newsletter. Off the back of this I have interviewed and met: Palma Violets, Peace, Wolf Gang, Cosmo Jarvis, Howler and I am scheduled in for a few more in the new year. I've also attended about ~15 gigs guestlisted. My advice would be: -You need a large and comprehensive portfolio showing lots of different styles of writing. You are going in to musical journalism-- but that has different subsets, can you review albums? How about singles? What about live shows? And can you cover musical news? They're all things that might come up so show you can do them! Also it looks even better if things in your portfolio have been published somewhere because it gives more credibility (I'm afraid reviews under iTunes purchases aren't really applicable here though guys!) -Try and get something published. Be it something completely unrelated to music-- having any of your work deemed publishable (be it unrelated) shows that you do have grasp enough on the language to be deemed fit for publishing. (I had a poem published and a science article-- both obviously unrelated, but it gives your CV an edge). -Go to gigs! A lot of what they do is showing that you're passionate and you love what you're doing... How can you say you're going to be a great reviewer of live shows if you've never been or experienced it?! -Know your stuff. It doesn't mean know the inside out of musical theory, but know enough that you can distinguish sounds/instruments/genres-- because that's the minimum you'll need to get by. -Be ready to research. It's not all handed to us on a plate, you might be asked to interview someone you don't know and then you have to be on the ball enough to research and things. Maybe get your skills up now so, if you ever need to, you can show them at the drop of a hat. -Have some long-term involvement in a magazine/newspaper/communications role of some description. Show that you know what the purpose of the written media is and show you know how it works. I was in the student newspaper throughout high-school, then took a position on the newsletter/comms of my society at university. People love to see that it's not just a whim you think you can do and you know the work that comes with it. -Most of all; be passionate. They don't want someone who is just a run-of-the-mill, just like everyone else. If you're not enthusiastic about what you want to do-- then why do you think your readers will be?! Hope this helps and good luck!

Same, I'm Friday's gig and totally worried. Although the thing is Brandon didn't lose his voice, just said it was sore. Easier to recover from. And also hasn't been diagnosed with anything threatening to the vocal chords. He should end up with ~60 hours rest so that should, all being well, be enough.

Yes. Sit in the corner.

Yes. So good!

Oooppp my ears were burning so I knew I was being talked about. Yeah Violet, check them out. Even though it is a 9 track album, it's actually really good... One of my favourites of 2012 for definite. I am seeing them on Sunday :awesome:

Finally! Sorry mixtape maker; I didn't realise this week was going to be so much chaos. (I should've figured with 4 gigs, an interview, 3 reviews and actual working/studying :lol:) Just a heads up, two of the tracks didn't have their info deleted properly/the file name was still the song name... Ironically it was the two tracks I recognised anyway. I really liked how you named all the tracks and gave it an album name, twas a really nice touch. 1) Starts straight off with a really nice track that has tonnes of awesome bass guitaring and a steady drum beat which I really approve of. Then the electric guitar comes across the top in it's like warble and man it's good. And I love the vocalist too. When the chorus kicks in I'm blatantly rocking out in my chair. I love this so much! Who is it?! 2) Starts with another nice male vocalist from the start with this really nice keyboard part in the background which reminds me of Palma Violets a little. And then the guitar kicks in and it starts getting louder and lots of rolling on 'ohhh's' in the background over the chorus. I qite like it though, although I could do with more of the louder parts because that's more my street. 3) I know this... It's F.U.N- 'Some Nights'. I keep meaning to listen to their album and I just haven't got around to it. I think I probably should because judging from this I wouldn't mind it. 4) This starts straight away with a 'ayay ayoh' for like a significantly long time and lots of hand clapping. I quite like it. It's really quite dreamy and pleasant to listen to. It's got everything I like on a track, guitars, drums, synths... And there's a contrast between the lead male vocalist who has this quite high voice and the other male vocalists that have quite deep voices. I'm totally 'ayay'ing' along with it by the end. Also: massively appropriate is that this has been entitled 'Sail On'. 5) Whoa, that's a weird instrument... Sounds slightly oriental? It's some sort of strings though I can tell. There's also a bass guitar in there somewhere and a piano. It's a really interesting combination. Oh and there's strings on it too. Literally so much going on. I'm not sure I love it though, but I certainly don't object to it. I probably would have it on whilst doing work. 6) It starts with what sounds like a heartbeat-- which is appropriate considering it has been named 'Reborn'. Oh I like and think I should know this voice-- hand clapping and tamborine at first and then drums and electronic beeps until the guitars kick in at a minute. Oh I really like this, right up my street. Especially the fact that it goes from the 'ooohhh' emotive bridge into a badass chorus. I could totally dance around to this. Love it! 7) This starts really daramtic, slightly classical and then you get the drums and the piano. The only problem I find, and I know it sounds awful, is that the singing is in another language (for the verses) and as much as the rest of the music is really catchy and interesting I get distracted by trying to work out what language he is singing. So I can't concentrate. 8) This sounds like The Fray-- is it? My interest wandered off their career at some point. I do really like it though. As I've said like a zillion times before now, piano, guitar, bass, drum... Basically everything I need to enjoy a song. And also nice vocals that fit my more sedate, relaxing days. Yeah, by the end of the track I'm about 90% sure it is The Fray (and if it's not, when did they get cloned?!) 9) Uh, I don't really like this song. It's far too airy fairy for me; it lacks the bite/substance I quite like having. And her voice grates on me a lot. Sorry. 10) Oh accoustic, I always forget how much I like it until it comes on my iPod. This is a really nice and pleasant track, her voice is really easy to listen to as well (and doesn't wind me up either). 11) I kind of can't judge this track as it's one that has the name... And also I knew it was Jonquil. I prefer the stuff off their latest album to this though :P 12) Oh both a male and female vocalist. I'm not sure I like the female vocalist too much on the verses because she's doing the whole breathy thing (if people get me?) but then I have immediately taken to the male vocalist so I just can't make my mind up. And I like the music itself with main basis being this piano driving the song with the additional strings and drum in the chorus. Ah it confuses me because I like it at points and then I don't. :explode: 13) It starts off a bit melodramatic and a little too boyband for me? Like I can kind of envision this being the sort of track that has a guy standing on a beach on the rain doing the whole air grab? It just strikes me as really bland. Not a fan. 14) Ahhh a piano intro with the real far off hints of guitar in there, I find it really appealing. The female vocalist is on this border between being really annoying and not... But it works really well in terms of this song. It's got this real weird aura around it. And I like that it is so atmospheric. This will probably end up on my end-of-the-evening chill list. 15) Aw, final track is called Home. Nice. It starts off by sounding like it belongs on The Sims. Oh and hey, it's again a different language so to me it actually does sound like The Sims Building Mode. I can't take it seriously. Sorry! Overall a really nice mixtape which flowed really well and I enjoyed the vast majority of it. Very pleased considering my fussy music taste. Thank you!

For those interested: http://www.mediafire.com/?t87c01x4nbjptml Tracklisting: 1) Admiral Fallow- Burn 2) Egyptian Hip Hop- SYH 3) Hooray for Earth- True Loves 4) Theme Park- Jamaica 5) Beat Connection- Palace Garden, 4am 6) Jonquil- Point of Go pt 2 7) Zulu Winter- Small Pieces 8) Wolf Gang- Stay and Defend 9) Dog is Dead- Teenage Daughter 10) Little Comets- E 11) Jai Paul- BTSTU

Sorry mixtape maker, been serious busy. Should have time tomorrow between waiting for my samples to come in!