Sunday, March 25, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Quote of the day...
“ For what we need to know, of course, is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here, in the thick of our day-by-day lives who may not be writing messages in the stars but in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God’s existence that we want but the experience of God’s presence. That is the miracle we are really after, and that is also, I think, the miracle that we really get”
- Frederick Beuchner in The Magnificent Defeat.
Markets make the world go round.
I have always loved markets and now that I live in Cape Town it seems that I have so much to choose from!
On a Friday night I love going to the Hout Bay Night Market where there is always great music, amazing food and beautiful things to spend money on. Then I wake up early on a Saturday morning and head to the City Bowl Market situated on Hope street, where I can find huge bags of fresh plums for only R5, the best brownies and chocolate croissants in the country, and an array of trendy second hand and vintage clothes which are all sold at reasonable prices. Many people in Cape Town enjoy going to The Old Biscuit Mill market, and although it is amazing, I find it to be slightly out of my price range. I would much rather take a scenic drive to the quaint town of Stellenbosch, where every Saturday the farmers market is held. You'll find a selection of fruits, breads, cheeses, clothes, accessories and amazing lemonade all for reasonable prices - its a great opportunity to grab some goods and have a picnic under the mountains. Markets are my weakness, I just cannot seem to resist the pull of fresh produce, locally made clothes and accessories, and the relaxed atmosphere that seems to surround everyone.
On a Friday night I love going to the Hout Bay Night Market where there is always great music, amazing food and beautiful things to spend money on. Then I wake up early on a Saturday morning and head to the City Bowl Market situated on Hope street, where I can find huge bags of fresh plums for only R5, the best brownies and chocolate croissants in the country, and an array of trendy second hand and vintage clothes which are all sold at reasonable prices. Many people in Cape Town enjoy going to The Old Biscuit Mill market, and although it is amazing, I find it to be slightly out of my price range. I would much rather take a scenic drive to the quaint town of Stellenbosch, where every Saturday the farmers market is held. You'll find a selection of fruits, breads, cheeses, clothes, accessories and amazing lemonade all for reasonable prices - its a great opportunity to grab some goods and have a picnic under the mountains. Markets are my weakness, I just cannot seem to resist the pull of fresh produce, locally made clothes and accessories, and the relaxed atmosphere that seems to surround everyone.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Durbans Creative
Here are some photo's from my friend Mike van Heerden's exhibition at the Cape Town Design Indaba, where he won Most Creative Stand. He now runs his own company called " & Sons " and if you want to contact him or order anything follow the above link to his website.
He also designs logo's and invitations which you can view samples of on the website.
The beautiful wood designs he created for the Indaba
.
{Images from Behance}
He also designs logo's and invitations which you can view samples of on the website.
The beautiful wood designs he created for the Indaba
.
{Images from Behance}
Monday, March 19, 2012
PUBLISHED
An article I wrote for Varsity which is the official UCT newspaper. Snaps for getting published and feeling mildy like a real writer.
Let’s be honest: we all desired, at some point in our childhood, to be in a band. Either that or we have attempted to form one, which usually fails horribly and ends up only looking like four kids banging on tins and singing notes that don’t even exist.
There are, however, those few lucky children whose rock-star dreams come true and who grow up ready to tackle the music industry. The members of Bicycle Thief, a pop-rock band that has recently emerged from the quiet southern suburbs are among those lucky children who are now all grown up and trying to make a name for themselves and their music.
The band was formed in 2009 by three friends who enjoyed writing songs together. They managed to find themselves a drummer, and they were ready to show off their music to Cape Town. Front-man Tim Lester says: “We’re not necessarily the best musicians, but we’re songwriters, and we want people to hear our songs.”
Well, people definitely will be hearing their songs, because they will be holding the launch party for the release of their new EP on Saturday, March 24th at Mercury Live.
With their music being influenced by the likes of Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Biffy Clyro and local band aKing, their sound has received good feedback from fans, but the road is far from smooth.
Every unsigned local band will tell you that breaking into the Cape Town music industry is no easy task. Although the gig scene is significantly bigger than Johannesburg and Durban’s, “it still feels as if you hit a ceiling”, says Tim. “You can play at Ramfest, Synergy, Mercury and Assembly, but once you have played at Assembly you have essentially ‘made it’. Then what? How do you get bigger?”
There is no support structure for the independent music industry in South Africa. The market is just too small, so bands like Bicycle Thief really have to work hard at getting people to “take a chance on [them]”. They’re hoping that the release of the EP and the chance to play more shows will generate more support from fans and from gig venues like Assembly.
Their music is definitely distinguishable – because not many English rock bands have emerged from the southern suburbs – and they try to keep their sound as “South African” as possible. With an excessive number of indie bands to have graced the Cape Town music scene, Bicycle Thief is definitely going to stand out from the crowd.
So what lies ahead for this group? “Well, of course I would love for us to go international, but first and foremost we want to make it in South Africa,” says Tim, who has dreams of headlining festivals like Ramfest, Synergy and Oppikoppi and going on tour with Zebra and Giraffe. The band also wants to start music workshops, which they will eventually introduce into the townships, and create better infrastructure for music in this country so that other local bands don’t feel they have to leave.
Thank goodness for childhood dreams of wanting to be rock stars. Sometimes, just sometimes, those dreams turn into great bands
It starts with a dream of being a rock star
Let’s be honest: we all desired, at some point in our childhood, to be in a band. Either that or we have attempted to form one, which usually fails horribly and ends up only looking like four kids banging on tins and singing notes that don’t even exist.
There are, however, those few lucky children whose rock-star dreams come true and who grow up ready to tackle the music industry. The members of Bicycle Thief, a pop-rock band that has recently emerged from the quiet southern suburbs are among those lucky children who are now all grown up and trying to make a name for themselves and their music.
The band was formed in 2009 by three friends who enjoyed writing songs together. They managed to find themselves a drummer, and they were ready to show off their music to Cape Town. Front-man Tim Lester says: “We’re not necessarily the best musicians, but we’re songwriters, and we want people to hear our songs.”
Well, people definitely will be hearing their songs, because they will be holding the launch party for the release of their new EP on Saturday, March 24th at Mercury Live.
With their music being influenced by the likes of Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Biffy Clyro and local band aKing, their sound has received good feedback from fans, but the road is far from smooth.
Every unsigned local band will tell you that breaking into the Cape Town music industry is no easy task. Although the gig scene is significantly bigger than Johannesburg and Durban’s, “it still feels as if you hit a ceiling”, says Tim. “You can play at Ramfest, Synergy, Mercury and Assembly, but once you have played at Assembly you have essentially ‘made it’. Then what? How do you get bigger?”
There is no support structure for the independent music industry in South Africa. The market is just too small, so bands like Bicycle Thief really have to work hard at getting people to “take a chance on [them]”. They’re hoping that the release of the EP and the chance to play more shows will generate more support from fans and from gig venues like Assembly.
Their music is definitely distinguishable – because not many English rock bands have emerged from the southern suburbs – and they try to keep their sound as “South African” as possible. With an excessive number of indie bands to have graced the Cape Town music scene, Bicycle Thief is definitely going to stand out from the crowd.
So what lies ahead for this group? “Well, of course I would love for us to go international, but first and foremost we want to make it in South Africa,” says Tim, who has dreams of headlining festivals like Ramfest, Synergy and Oppikoppi and going on tour with Zebra and Giraffe. The band also wants to start music workshops, which they will eventually introduce into the townships, and create better infrastructure for music in this country so that other local bands don’t feel they have to leave.
Thank goodness for childhood dreams of wanting to be rock stars. Sometimes, just sometimes, those dreams turn into great bands
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