Nelson Mandela- A life. A legacy.

Today I woke up to the sad news that one of the world's last few living icons parted ways with us. At a loss for words, I sat up in bed, peered through the window and noticed that even the bleak African skies mourned the loss of this exemplary visionary.

In that moment, I began to recount the events of the 1994 elections. I was just 6 years old and I remember how excited my parents were about voting. They hadn't been given the opportunity to vote before and they relished the fact that they were about to be a part of something so revolutionary. Even as a 6 year old, I felt how much this meant to them. I just wished that I could've voted.

When the results of the elections were about to be announced, my parents waited with bated breath. Was this the moment where they would finally be equal to their oppressors? Indeed it was. And as I stood there gazing up at the grins on my parents faces, my little heart swelled with joy. I don't think I fully understood what was really going on in that moment. But their happiness was my happiness.

As I got older, my parents would tell me about all the laws of segregation. How they would get chased from places because of their skin colour. How they had separate toilets and separate seating areas at parks or concerts. How they longed for all the luxuries that were denied to them- all because they looked different. All this seemed so foreign to me. So incomprehensible that I often asked them whether this made them sad. And strangely they said it didn't. They had never known what it was like to mix with other races and as my mom put it,"What you don't know, you don't miss." 

The difference now is that we know the difference that Madiba has made. He served a lifetime in prison for all of us. People he never met. And he is the reason we can all exist as a collective. Take a moment to think about that. How many people today would sacrifice their lives for their beliefs? Let alone strangers? No one. And I write that with a heavy heart.

My blog is entitled 'Live. Loud.' and I write this post as a tribute to the life that Nelson Mandela lived. He lived a "loud' life that impacted the lives of many generations and those that are still yet to come. He was vocal about the injustices that were inflicted upon people of colour and if it weren't for his selfless acts of defiance, we would still be a country shrouded in darkness.

Rest in peace my Father.
You are truly an inspiration.

Nelson Mandela: 1918- 2013

HATS OFF TO CHEVELLE (LIVE IN JHB- South Africa)

When I heard (through a friend of mine) that Chevelle were on their way to SA,  I thought this it, no gimmicks, no props, just a trio of audio assailants planning a mind blowing, melodic attack. To me this announcement was like what “Belieber’s” felt when they heard Bieber was coming to SA. Seriously!

Johannesburg’s Carnival city played host to Chevelle’s final, sold-out performance in SA.  The opening act was ShadowClub. Arguably not the most appropriate support act for Chevelle., but a great band nonetheless. And they served as an appetizer to the crowd, while they all eagerly anticipated the main course of the night- Chevelle.

Soon enough, the lights dimmed, the bands logo appeared and the crowd roared as techies were making their way to the stage. Every vein in my body began to pulsate. This was actually about to happen. I was about to see one of my favourite international bands live. A band that I started listening to over 10 years ago! At that point I started wondering what Chevelle fans are called. I mean Bieber has his “Beliebers”, Gaga her “Monsters” and Miss Minaj her “Barbs”.  Surely Chevelle fans need one too!

My train of thought was soon punctuated by a sudden echo..”Howzit hanging Joburg!” The sound of those 3 words drove the crowd ballistic as the band’s onslaught began with Sleep Apnea! Throughout the concert, the band had quite a few film- themed audio interludes. These were random quotes from what I assume are the bands favourite films. I’m so sure one of the quotes was, “Have you ever seen a grown man naked?” Hilarious! Nevertheless, the quotes were great and reflected the bands sense of humour. 

These were some of the Johannesburg highlights:

-       Stage banter between Pete (the vocalist) and Dean (the bassist)-  Pete confessed that he ate a lot of fettuccini and might bring it up. Just some memorabilia for those in golden circle.

-       The Brazier- Somehow, at some point, some rather unflattering lingerie made it onto the stage which Sammy (the drummer) had a good look at.

-       The baby banner- A woman in general admission created a banner saying she wants to have the   band members babies. Pete read it out loud and said it would cost her. 10 quid to be exact. But then changed his mind and said he would do it for free.  

-       Pete played unplugged- unintentionally! Yes this happened during their performance of The Red. I’ve posted it below. Have a look. It’s definitely a memorable moment.

-       The sick set list- Unlike most bands who deliberately left out some major hits when they toured SA (Think Linkin’s omission of Crawling, RHCP and Scar Tissue as well as Metallica and The Unforgiven) Chevelle sang all of theirs.  From Vitamin R to Send The Pain below. My personal favourites being Forfeit, Still Running and Pinata.

-    Oh yes, and not forgetting the specially "Made for South Africa" T's!

Overall, their performance was impeccable. Pete’s vocal talent-undeniable. And the concert- unforgettable. All I can say is “Hats off to Chevelle!”

The below video is their performance of The Red live in Jozi.

You probably can hear my inner fan girl emerge through some parts of the song. There’s some shaky cam here and there, but overall the highlight was definitely Pete's reaction to getting unplugged!

Just "shoot" me

We live in a 'snap happy' world! From selfies on social networks, to apps that make you go from drab to fab in a matter of seconds. We have become so obsessed with the way we look and the way other people see us that we may have lost the true essence of photography. 

There’s a lot more to it then just striking a pose, pouting and having your hair tousled just the right way. Besides the lighting and all the other elements that form the basis of effective photography, to me, the subject and the photographer need to be intrinsically linked. Once you’ve sensed the connection between the subject and the photographer, the result seems quite organic. Photography tells a story. Whether it’s portraits or live shows, the best photos to me are the ones that retain both raw emotion and spontaneity. 

 

Anyone can shoot massive stars like Lady Gaga and Rihanna given the budget and grand scale of it all. But it takes true talent to capture, let's just say.. the "not-so-mainstream" acts in ways that evoke a sense of vulnerability or intensity.

I’ve compiled some of my favourite rock photographers (not in specific order) and some of the artists that they have shot. Portraits and performances. Please go to the photographer’s websites to view these respective images in their full glory. 

TIM HARMON- Love how imaginative he is.

Shooting range includes: Travis Barker, Blink 182

DUSTIN RABIN- Love his spontaneity!

Shooting range includes: Billy Talent, Juliette Lewis, Josh Homme

ADAM ELMAKIAS- Adore his black & white portraits.
Shooting range also includes: Bring Me The Horizon, Pierce The Veil, Memphis Mayfire

PAUL HARRIES- Exquisite designs and grades
Shooting range also includes: Corey Taylor, Amy Lee, Chester Bennington

DANNY NORTH- Love his live photography
Shooting range also includes: Muse, Biffy Clyro, Gallows

LINDSEY BYRNES (Yes, a female had to make this list!)

Shooting range also includes: Fun, The Lumineers, Tegan & Sara 

The way I see it, these photographers prove that instead of shooting for the stars, why not shoot the stars instead?


;)

THE WIZARD OF AWE – (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

In recent years, most film directors have been obsessed with creating a visual masterpiece. So much so, that the plot is either sorely sacrificed, or completely contrived. And with Hollywood’s recent spate of fairytale-turned-fantasy films, I’ll admit that as much as I was keen to see Oz: The Great & Powerful- I was quite hesitant. After Tim Burton’s rather insipid version of Alice in Wonderland, I wondered if Sam Raimi’s efforts were going to suffer a similar fate. After all, it is rather tricky when you are recreating a film based on a much-loved classic. Especially since there have been preceding film adaptations. 

We all know the story of the Wizard of Oz, (based on Frank L. Baum’s books) which became a film favourite back in 1939. Featuring unlikely characters, spontaneous musical numbers and a girl who could get out of trouble by simply clinking her red shoes together, exclaiming, “There’s no place like home!” 

Oz: The great & powerful, however, is a prequel where we meet the wizard, before he becomes.. yes, you guessed it, the wonderful wizard of Oz! So no Dorothy, no red shoes (David Bowie wouldn’t be too pleased) and no mention of  “There’s no place like home!” Yet there are some parallels between the original and the prequel- that actually hit home. Dorothy and Oscar are both from Kansas, make use of magic and illusions and befriend odd characters as they venture through Oz. And interesting enough, while there may be no Tin man, I did notice that the lion and scarecrow appear in different ways (Seriously, take note of that)

The beginning of the film is also in black and white and in 4:3 as Raimi pays homage to Victor Fleming’s classic. But once we hit Oz, the film bursts into a kaleidoscope of colour!

Although the film follows a similar visual template to Alice in Wonderland, it offers an entirely different experience altogether. What Tim Burton (And I say this with a heavy heart as I am a massive fan) failed to achieve, Sam Raimi attempts fearlessly. Not only is Oz a visual treat, but it is also comedic, full of rapturous wonder and mythical enchantment. The colours are captivating and the performances are a breath of fresh air. After seeing this, I gained some clarity as to why Alice in Wonderland seemed so blaringly average. Despite the equally vibrant colours of Oz, the stars performances fell flat. Mia Wasikowska’s performance as Alice felt much like a Kristen Stewart performance. Expressionless and awkward in most scenes. On the other hand, Anne Hathaway overplayed her role as the white queen. While Helena Bonham Carter & Johnny Depp seemed to be the only redeeming factors of the film. Needless to say, as I much as I admire their eccentricity, casting them in those roles felt rather predictable.

The casting to me in this film is refreshing. Considering that the role of Oscar was turned down by the likes of both Robert Downey Jr and Johnny Depp, to me James Franco fits the role for different reasons. Let’s face it, Robert Downey would’ve channeled Tony Stark and Johnny- the Mad Hatter or Jack Sparrow. So the role of Oscar would’ve been all too familiar to them. 

Franco adds a certain kind of irresistible charm and oddball humour that most wizards aren’t known for (Think Gandalf, Dumbledore-both very stoic & noble) making him a more accessible character. It was also interesting to see Mila Kunis as the evil witch Theodora.  Although I do agree that she could never compare to Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 version, she certainly added some entertainment value. Which made me question, why do we need 2 evil witches? Rachel Weisz’s role as Evanora –the actual wicked witch, seemed rather obsolete once Theodora became the Hulk’s cackling counterpart. 

As the third witch, Glinda, Michelle Williams was well restrained, but not subdued.  Her goodness and grace felt nothing short of celestial. Very reminiscent of Claire Danes as the Fallen Star in Stardust.

And if you’re a Scrubs fan like me, you’d also be delighted to hear that Zach Braff is in the film. No kidding! He is Oz’s assistant back in Kansas, and is the voice of Finley, a loveable CGI winged monkey. So despite no Tin man, Lion or Scarecrow, Oz follows the yellow brick road and encounters some colourful friends of his own. Including a rather fragile but feisty porcelain doll. 

If you love the sheer thrill of escapism and being whisked away into a land of ethereal grandeur- Oz: The Great and Powerful is for you. Even though there may be some questionable CGI moments (the weight support of Franco’s hand whilst holding the porcelain doll.. hmm..) to me the one actual flaw was the lack of musical numbers. Well ok, there was one song . Half of one to be precise. (Note: I’m not asking for Glee here)  I’m just saying, a little Baz Luhrmann love wouldn’t have hurt! Right Baz?

In total, the film is about 2 hours and 10 minutes long (which sounds pretty daunting) but once you’ve got your 3D glasses on and the opening credits roll, you become part of a truly spectacular adventure. All I can say is, since his Spiderman trilogy, Raimi has brushed the cobwebs off his career and cast a curious spell of his own!

Check out the trailer here!

Just a kid. At Woodstock.

Woodstock ’99. What memories come to mind when I think about it- and I was just 11 years old! Man, was I a rock star kid or what?

Actually I wasn’t! I was your typical Backstreet Boys, ‘Nsync loving, bubblegum chewing kid. Quite the fizz pop if you ask me. But after days of watching Woodstock ’99 performances, something in me changed..

I knew rock & roll existed because my parents had mixtapes upon mixtapes of bands that they played excessively during our long drives. I just wasn’t aware that it was a culture of it’s own. With the amount of exposed flesh, cursing and drug induced vocalists taking to the stage, it really was something else. A massive gathering of a culture I had never seen before. To put it plainly, I was both shocked & amused. 

My parents (being the music obsessed people they are) set our VCR to record Woodstock for 4 nights. Now that I think about it, it’s surprising that it was actually televised, let alone broadcast here in South Africa!

So every morning after we recorded it, I’d wake up early, rewind the tape and see who had performed that day. From all the performances I saw, there was one that stuck clearly in my mind.. The first time I saw Korn.

Jonathan, no relation to Jim Davis

Their set was at night. Pretty fitting, considering the ominous tone of their music.

The stage was dimly lit, the guitarists stood as faint, tall shadowy figures, fixed to the floor like mannequins, strumming the intro power chords to Blind. Then suddenly, Jonathan Davis appeared, clad in a leather black kilt with unkempt tresses to match.

I had so many questions at the time after watching their performance. Why is he using a skirt? Why is he muttering gibberish? Why do these guys sound so discordant?

I clearly remember being scared, going into my parent’s bedroom and yelling,

“Mommy, mommy there is a weird witch man from last night’s recording!”

Ofcourse, she was just amused. I, however, repeatedly watched their performance after that. It was strange; I was scared, but captivated at the same time. All I knew was.. I liked the feeling. 

Red Hot Chili Peppers were another stand out act for me at Woodstock.

Back in ‘99, Ant was peroxide blonde, donned knickerbockers and was getting all up in that microphone like it was nobodies business. And Flea, well.. he was quite the fluorescent blue-haired attraction, rocking up in his birthday suit, and using his bass guitar to strategically block his crown jewels. A night for him to shine perhaps? Well that they did. And even as a kid, I thought, these guys are amazing; pity the crowd won’t remember it.

Flea slapping da bass at Woodstock '99

There were loads of other artists on the bill, Rage against the machine, The Offspring, Creed, Limp Bizkit- you name any alternative artist massive in the 90s, and they were there. To this day, as I type this up, I still have all the Woodstock performances recorded on VHS. 4 tapes in total. It’s something that I’ll never let go off.  It defined me. And if you’re wondering how I watch them, you guessed it! I have a VCR. A new age one. Yeah you heard me. They still exist!