Wednesday 27 August 2014

Songs for the deaf



An interesting proposition came through the other day.

Not since a christmas shindig at the Bush Hill Park Tavern last year have the CD decks been dusted off, and bookings aren't as regular as they used to be, but somehow word still gets around... and Bubblegum Stomp have been asked about availability for a 50th birthday party next month.

They were asked what type of music they expected and had a preference for...

It turns out that the soon to be septegenarion is deaf, and so will be most of the guests, so we can play anything we want!

But personally I find the whole thing rather daunting, the age range is certainly a consideration, but presumably the standard party tunes should suffice, but I'd also rather make the extra effort to make the event memorable.

In my old life, time to research properly and gather tunes would have been plentiful, but things have changed and time is a luxury that I never seem to have enough of, I understand that deaf people feel the songs more through the vibrations, of the bass and the drums, and I think from a sensory perspective there is enormous scope to play wonderful and interesting tracks of different rhythms, of different continents and wildly different genres... 

And ideally I would love to source someone to sign alongside some of the songs as we play them, adding a whole new dimension to a DJ set that would be thoughtful and inclusive, not just playing what we please since no one can hear it anyway.  Blondie's set this year at Glastonbury featured two people signing the lyrics to the songs throughout, and visually it is interesting, and at magical moments it is truly captivating, creating an almost dual-purpose dance move that is both fitting and functional all at the same time.... Instead the closest we are likely to come is playing YMCA and doing the actions.


who knows, it is still up for discussion, but I don't feel that I would be ready to do it justice.



Credit where it is due: artwork sourced from deviantart user, givepeaceachance



Saturday 23 August 2014

an appreciation of Justin Bieber like no other....



originally published on Desperately Seeking Susan Boyle 

when posting my first video review last year I have had every intention of making it a regular occurrence...

unfortunately time constraints and the logistics of recording and editing were stretching my capabilities somewhat, I had the ideas, but the limitations I bumped up against were outstripping my power to push ahead with vlogging projects.

then 4music's Vlogstar competition came along, a competition that would land the winner a whole new bunch of hi-tech equipment, why not have a crack at it?

in a video of 30 seconds or less you had to deliver upon your full potential, I checked out the other entrants to see what I'd be up against... and time and time again I found I'd be up against the same things... straight to camera, blah blah blah, thank you...

my first crazy thought was to deliver a metal style review in a slipknot style mask, of course I left the whole thing to the last minute.... leaving myself no time to make said mask, but i instead went with making a little extra effort of a different kind, composing an accapella ode to Justin Bieber to be delivered in my best metal voice...

face paints, bare chest, screaming.... all captured through the lense of my sinister phone.
I knew full well that it may not win me the prize, I knew full well that it may not even be picked as a finalist, but i was certain it would stand out against the rest and I had a hell of a lot of fun doing it




and with a current radio advert encouraging voting for the finalists proclaiming that the judges have seen the good, the bad, and the weird... i feel content that i made the impression i intended...

Saturday 16 August 2014

fill your wedding for free - part two

since last weeks post I have spotted another four abandoned chairs, bringing the new total needed to just 138...

but if you've read last weeks blog you will also realise that this proposal has been nixed.


table decorations on the other hand tho.....


now the areas where we agree on what we want for our wedding are very few... to my fiancé's (nearly 8 months later and I think I'm getting used to that now) annoyance, I am what is know in this modern world as 'a groom with a view', I am a husband-to-be that actually cares about my wedding, and not just from a financial perspective, but with my eye for aesthetics and a creative passion that runs through my family, I also care what our wedding looks like.

somewhere amongst the many times when she has made up her mind, only to change it again later, and often without warning, we agreed on something like a homely, shabby-chic style look for our wedding... except it won't be one of those twee shabby-chic weddings that are everywhere right now because the twee shabby-chic look is in, I don't want a wedding look that is 'in' or 'on-trend', I want a wedding that will reflect us.... and what reflects us better than her tendency to be drawn to pretty patterns and details, and my tendency to want to save as much money as possible and get creative at the same time?!?

somewhere amongst the many times when she has made up her mind, only to change it again later, and often without warning, she asked some friends and family to save their empty jars for us.... within a sub-two week period we were inundated with empty jars of differing shapes and sizes and had to ask friends and family to stop saving their jars for us...

we have paid out for the venue, the caterers, the photographer...  none of them were cheap and all of them I have agreed to because I have faith in them and I believe they will be worth it.

but in terms of my own creativity, I was down with this whole 'up-cycling' and 'repurposing' before it was even a thing... and so I spent last Saturday trying out a few different techniques and ideas on a small selection of donated jars, using leftover paints, free wallpaper samples... and my trusty mod-podge.


with 365 days until our wedding, I posted a status on facebook saying that in a years time everyone will be complementing the bride on how beautiful she looks, and complementing me on some interesting tables decorations

Her mum wanted to know what that meant (about the table decorations, obviously), but with a combination of donated jars, beads from a thrown out hanging door curtain, charity shop purchases and a Russian doll/pirate that was another street find all sitting on our dining table serving as somewhat of a dry-run, I think I should fall plenty short of the estimated (and frankly, quite slender) budget we have allowed for table displays....


Sunday 10 August 2014

fill your wedding for free - part one

Why stop at the home and garden?!?

With the average cost of UK weddings clocking in at around the 21 thousand pound mark, and with me currently lined up to have two weddings next year (an English ceremony and a Hindu ceremony, same person... don't worry) I thought it perhaps wise to apply the same principles by which I live my home life to my impending nuptials.

There are, of course, stumbling blocks.

And our most prominent stumbling block is numbers... y'know I mentioned a Hindu ceremony... yep, Indian family... by Indian wedding standards our wedding will be small, in terms of finding a freebie venue and convincing guests to each bring a dish, it was a bit of a no-go (not that I was actually brave enough to ask)

In our horribly post-modern world that is despicably tainted by celebrity culture, the ideal of the fairy tale dream wedding is rammed down your throat, leaving the bitter taste of huge over-inflated cost in your mouth as you struggle not to choke.

But keeping costs down is where it counts, if you're as financially savvy and creatively inclined as I am it is not only rewarding on the pocket, it is also a personal reward in itself as you peruse the 'accepted' versions of weddings and the inherent cost of them and realise that a) you don't really need all that stuff, and b) you can put your own personal stamp on proceedings for a fraction of the advertised costs

Obviously, there are two people in a relationship, and quite often a few more people that are looking to voice their opinions and have their own say on your wedding, so agreement is key

Currently we don't agree on chair covers

She wants them, and has rather admirably negotiated them into the cost of the caterer (Go Team Super-Scrimper!!)

I, on the other hand, agree that if we are using the venue's chairs then they will definitely need covering, however I have suggested an alternative seating arrangement.

Our front room is home to a number of abandoned chairs, previously I have visually logged a catalogue of discarded chairs, and certainly, since wedding plans have begun I have spotted a number of cast-out chairs that would be warmly welcomed by myself at the wedding

By my current count, I would only have needed to find another 142 chairs before next April to fill the required quota, but of course, this would also have meant finding storage for a rather hefty amount of chairs, and I've got barely any more room at home already for free stuff, let alone some 160 chairs!!

So I have relented on this idea (begrudgingly)... 

table decorations however...




Saturday 2 August 2014

fill your garden for free

Much the same as Kirsty (Alsopp, I remembered, or at least researched her name in a moment of sobriety) encouraged us all to fill our houses for free, so I thought I would extend this idea to the garden


I love my garden, but it is questionable how much my garden loves me back.


I have spent a number of summery days trying to make good the decking, I have used the jetwash, I have swept it, and I have re-stained it with the marvellous disappearing Cuprinol...




But far beyond the decking, far beyond the grassy mid-patch and the sometimes flowering borders is another matter altogether...


In the space occupied by the shed is a concreted wasteland, I used to take my spray paints to this section of the garden but now I barely recognise it, beyond the shed, beyond the usual attention shown and the sight of our eyes is a place over run by ivy, a place where 'out of sight, out of mind' has rung true for too long...


But wait for me, for this shall be my sanctuary.


I'll (eventually) defeat the bamboo that was once so useful but now travels to parts of the garden (and beyond, on to next door's garden!) and eventually tame the forever growing wild ivy that wants to infiltrate the shed, even tho it is unwelcome 


And then, and only then (or sooner, if I get impatient) shall that end of the garden be my sanctuary..


But I refuse to pay a fortune for the privilege, since turning my attentions to the garden, wanting to fit a higher trellis above the back fence as a deterrent to would be thieves and football fetchers, and create a secretive yet secure space, I have been on the look out for the resources to help complete my project


So far I have seen a bin and a couple of buckets chucked out, a rather dashing orange tub and an old pre-loved planter, these will fill the (in progress) space perfectly, I also found three recycled glass plant pots/vases thrown into the bin at work that I couldn't bear to see go to waste, so now they live on my kitchen windowsill, and I also intend to take a number of cuttings, all with the greatest intention of filling a fully functional leafy hideaway for as little as possible.


tomorrow I intend to get up early and thwart the bamboo and chase back the advancing ivy, but be trustful that my garden may not be minimal in a stylistic sense, but shall certainly be minimal on my pocket.