5 Park Road, Richmond, Johannesburg

The nontraditional lifestyles of artists, writers, musicians, and actors. Allow me to introduce you to my quirky Joburg getaway - The Bohemian.

The Bo is my favorite spot for live music in the Joburg area. They showcase a lot of already established muzos as well as up-and-coming boys & girls trying to escape from Mommy's garage.
They also have another thing going for them that compliments my smrinking exquisitely - half price pizza on Mondays bitches! Way to turn a blue Monday into a mildish purple one.

Of all the spots I've graced with my presence I must say the Bo & Schivas are probably my favorite anti- John Deer establishments. Born as one of the first bars in Joburg, this awesome little place has really made its mark on the South African music scene. And its regulars fully embody its controversial name. But in spite of this,to my absolute devastation, the ugly little Joburg rumour-mill has raised its head with a terrfying story of the Bohemian closing down! Noooooooo. For the full horrible story follow this link:
http://another-day.co.za/the-bohemian-may-be-closing-down/

As an avid supporter of all things weird and interesting I must make a stand as to why the preservation of the Bo is so important. The crazy people that regular this gem only contribute to the pure awesomeness that is The Bohemian.

We need more places that cater for the surreality that inhabits the minds of all the kindred spirits I love & adore. The artists that take in the colours, shadows & lines. The musicians that explore the sounds, atmosphere & energy. The writers that find ideas in the people, their lives & their thoughts. The actors that, well, sit brooding in the corner wondering why these people are having fun.

This place is a breeding ground for inspiration - a sanctuary for misunderstood souls.
It's in places like these where Dali thought of melting clocks, where Hendrix saw his foxy ladies. These are the places where Hemingway wrote of his mistresses, where Van Gogh contemplated suicide & where unibrowed lovelies of the Khalo ancestry talked him out of it. These are places for art, music, all that underlines life. These are places with awesome wine at student-affordable prices.

I love these places, for we artists are rarely accepted unconditionally in this conformist world. But places like the Bo give hope to these tortured beings, hopes of comradery, freedom, and the treasure that is half-priced pizza. I urge all you young crazy people to do all in your power to save my little spot of heaven!

Go and be free, live Bohemia, and join me for a drink sometime at my favorite spot.
Long live the Bo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rukBFb_w2yE

Namuh Rising

You know those days when Kurt Darren is voorwaarts marching all over your eardrums & Nicholis Louw is trying to 'Rock daai Lyfie' into your brain, short circuiting all you believe in and turning you into a weeping mess wondering what happened to the music in this world. And then, before the suicidal tendencies kick in, you find a YouTube video like this:

http://www.msplinks.com/MDVodHRwOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUuY29tL3dhdGNoP3Y9MkFvdUVoelFsYWc=?t=bkB1F-1xbwjJaj3HBB7PbF1SFQ0nm45NRyogWxNm1CEuR7apX9gAjUCDWxuPBykyWP1IcUzrvn_NMfCJTtMmgg


And your world makes sense again.

Namuh is a five-piece Hed PE meets ICP meets RATM mash of Rap-metalish sounds from our very own Pretoria.

Kwame Addo - Guitars/Vocals
Johan Nothnagel - Drums
Tye van Niekerk - Bass
Phenyo Kepilwe - Turntables
Apes Bubu - Keys/effects

I discovered this band very unaccidentally. Tye - the bassist - is a friend of a friend of a friend of mine & also absolutely obsessed with Pestroy according to my sources (Yeah, bitch, I have sources). Ever since I started this blog, this friend's been nagging me to write about Namuh. All the info I have of them was found on their MySpace page which is fairly outdated. Now I wonder, where are these punks at?

While we ponder this - also check out Soul.ink Tatoos on Facebook, ex Namuh -drummer's newest adventure. The guy is good! He can be found at FineLine Tatoos in Capetown I believe.

I like Namuh. Which is a big deal, since knoppie-musiek (turntables, buttons & knobs) rarely make it onto the "Shit I like" list. These punks ain't half bad. And it seems I've been enjoying my social exclusion too much - 'cause they've been around for a while. Just check out their impressive resume:

"the Rising" makes no.1 on the global battle of the bands most played artist chart. "the Rising" music video is launched on mK (2009)
"the Rising" makes no. 1 on Tuks FM metal melusia chart and simultaneously appears on every other existing TUKS chart. (2009)
Woodstock 2008
Oppikoppi 2007 Easter
2nd place finals for Battle for Woodstock(2006)Televised on MK89
1st place Demofilter competition ( Gods of Rock New Years Party 2005)

Wherever these boys are now, I wish them all the luck & beg them to update their MySpace page dammit! How are we supposed to know what's going on if they don't succumb to the consumerism of social networking?

Get on it bitches \m/(00,)\m/

Save yourself from a Kaptein induced aneurism with some real music:

http://www.myspace.com/namuhband/music/songs/hate-my-sin-mp3-86581216

Pearly's Beach =)

Langebaan is gorgeous. Especially in the early morning, the sun still sleepily peeking over the water, with the fresh sand in your toes, dragging your kite down. I love Langebaan. I love kiting. I love Pearly's. I love that even though I've been back for a week I still find sand in my shorts.

So to stop my nostalgia from taking over I decided to focus on what I missed in the world of music while I was on my holiday. To my utter dismay it would seem I missed the Rotary Battle of the bands finals. Dammit. I wanted to see how my Vryheid girl & boys are doing. But let me give you the results via theriff.co.za:

First place went to: Blacklight Panda
Second: State Society
Third: Hartbreek Revolusie (It's illegal how awesome that girl is at such a young age. Bitch.)

And then, only then, came the two bands whom I thought were a shoe in for first & second:
Bri6ge & Project Blackout.

But not to worry you wonderful idiots, atleast you're out there now. People know about you.
Random chicks with blue & purple hair blog about you in their spare time. Pretty soon all John Deer inspired hearts will quake at the sound of your names, the sand will fall right out of their shorts.

I'd post a link to their music, but I can't find Project Blackout & the recordings on Bri6ge's soundcloud page do them no justice.

But here ye, here ye, for all those taken by the smrinking monster, for all those against the capatalist ways of John Deer & for all of those who love kiting on Sunday mornings at Pearly's beach, remember their names - for one day you'll be reading alongside South-African legends as we do the stage line-up for yet another Oppi. Besides, no-one can hold a candle to the midget with the pink bass. Pure awesomeness.

 

GRRRR...

 

Now go forth and spread the gospel my children*