Well it's March and that means Issue 6 is here! Featuring our Facebook Photo Competition Winner Peter Reed's incredible photo of The Sage in Gateshead, our main feature of the month, plus find out more about Peter inside. March also see's a first for us as we have an exclusive track playing whilst you read the new issue, it's called FALLEN and is from a fantastic band called RAYNE, make sure to read their feature and go support them at an upcoming gig, trust me, you wont be disappointed. We finish off our musical issue with The Sage's JAZZ Festival, bringing you those smooth Jazz sounds to the North East's #1 Venue, plus read our Food for Thoughts and get yourself to The Sage for a Meal as well as some live music., plus the Mama Hiccups Festival, Trip and Death to Indie.
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1 a degree portfolio the most part. Upon completing my degree I was at something of a crossroads, not really knowing what to do; then one day a noticed an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad online, posted by a guy called Nigel Cooke who owned a stand at Alton Towers Resort. (Nigel’s since become a good friend.) One thing led to another, and I spent the next four years soaking up the summer season and learning the ropes as a caricaturist into the bargain. Is that the only kind of illustration/drawing you do? In a word, yes. I’ve dabbled in other related fields over the years, at various times exploring character design, logo design, and realistic drawing. However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a caricaturist at heart, and this is how I’d like to be remembered when I’ve gone (hopefully many, many years from now). I love the notion of looking at the world in a slightly skewed, exaggerated way, which I find only in caricature. This is why I intend to stick with it for the long haul. If you could draw anyone famous past or present who would it be and why? I don’t really have a massive urge to draw would frequently cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surreptitiously place a thumb or suchlike across the offending part of the drawing when presenting the art to the customer. This happened more times than I care to recall! On another occasion, I reduced a lady to tears after drawing her with, in her own words, a “massive nose”. (I must admit, it doesn’t feel particularly good to elicit this reaction from someone; but at the same time, I often wonder why she was sitting for a caricature in the first place, if she was that sensitive about her features.) These days, I’m so experienced in what I do the humour and funny moments generally come about through what I’m putting down on paper – and the reactions of the crowd watching. Tell us 3 random facts about yourself? 1.I love listening to Christmas music year- round. Sad but true! 2.I have a full-on obsession with New York City: culture, history, architecture... smitten with the place. 3.I was on ‘The Paul O’Grady Show’ in 2008, presenting a customised caricature portrait to the man himself. Top fella! When you’re not drawing how do you like to spend your time? The usual, really: chilling out with my fiancée and some good TV, reading, cinema, running, drinking, gym (not necessarily in that order). Nothing too anyone famous; I think humans as a race are all so unique and individual that it’s almost irrelevant whether they’re in the public eye or not. Having said that, I would have loved to have had a crack at Steve Irwin when he was still around; I found – and still find – his enthusiasm for life utterly infectious. Come to think of it, I’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Dalai Lama too. What has been your most memorable moment so far? Drawing Alan Shearer for a charity auction ranks pretty high, but just getting the inside track is when I won my awards for ‘Best Likeness’ and ‘Best Party Caricatures’ at the International Society of Caricature Artists’ annual convention in Las Vegas in 2005. It was my first year in attendance (with my good pal and fellow artist Mike Carlon) and it was a blast. Hanging out and mingling with my artistic heroes left me tongue-tied at times, and I spent most of the week artistically crippled by being in the presence of such caricature royalty; however I seemed to overcome that, going on to have a fantastic time and creating a gallery of pieces ultimately deemed worthy by my peers. Have you had any funny/embarrassing incidents whilst drawing someone? Too many to mention! In the early days of Alton Towers I THE BIGGEST FREE MAGAZINE FOR THE NORTH EAST ISSUE #6 MARCH 2013 SAGE Jazz Festival Hiccups Festival Food For Thoughts Music From Rayne And More Featuring Plus PHOTOGRAPHER PETER REED
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of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
THE BIGGEST FREE MAGAZINE FOR THE NORTH EAST
ISSUE #6 MARCH 2013
SAGE Jazz FestivalHiccups FestivalFood For ThoughtsMusic From RayneAnd More
Featuring
Plus
PHOTOGRAPHER PETER REED
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The song your l i s ten ing to
on our NE MAGAZINE P layer
whi le you read th i s i s sue i s
ca l led Fa l len by RAYNE, make
sure you check out the i r
feature for more info on a
great band.
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Welcome Note .
Welcome to another great I s sue of NE Magaz ine . I t s been a ver y busy month for us p lann ing loads of g reat content coming your way soon so make sure you keep up wi th us on our Facebook page , i f you haven’ t a l ready then th i s month you have missed out on severa l amaz ing compet i t ions , so go l i ke us now so you don’ t miss out on any more…because we’ve got some crack ing ones coming your way! ! !
http ://w w w.facebook.com/pages/N-E-Onl ine-Magaz ine/248245728604190?ref=ts&fref=ts
Don’ t forget i f you want to appear in a future i s sue then p lease get in touch as we can ’ t he lp you i f you don’ t te l l us , we rea l ly need you to he lp us to showcase how fantast i c the North East and i t ’s people are
of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
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DEATH TO INDIE
TRIP THE SAGE JAZZ FESTIVAL
PETER REED
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of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
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When d id you form and how d id i t come about?Mark and Jax have been f r iends for years and have been in prev ious bands together, the same for N ik and Mike . Mike and Mark star ted work ing together and the rest i s h i stor y. Are you a covers band or do you do your own mater ia l?We wr i te our own mater ia l and wi l l cont inue to deve lop our own sty le and sound, however, we do have a sof t spot for “punk ing up” cheesy 80 ’s and 90 ’s pop h i t s . A Random fact about each band member? (3 for a so lo ar t i ste ) Michea l Jax i s 1/16 Mex icanMike Renwick hates cheeseNik B loomf ie ld i s a f ra id o f sta ined g lass
Who are you?We are Death to Ind ie , a 4 p iece pop-punk/punk-rock out f i t . Where are you f rom?Based in Newcast le Who does what in the band?Michae l Jax – Lead Vox and Gui tarNik B loomf ie ld – Lead Gui tarMark Rayner – Bass and Genera l ManagerMike Renwick - Drums Where d id the name come f rom?We fe l t that “ Ind ie Cu l ture” has taken over. The or ig ina l idea of Ind ie ( Independent ) Mus ic was or ig ina l i ty and deve lop ing someth ing new. Th is has been saturated and i t seems that popular mus ic i s a l l so s imi lar.
w indowsMark Rayner i s a par t t ime stand up comedian What has been your most memorab le moment to date so far? Each member has the i r own, Mark ’s i s p lay ing Legends N ightc lub in f ront o f a c rowd of over 200 , N ik ’s was s ign ing wi th The An imal Farm record labe l , Mike ’s was p lay ing Nambucca in London and Jax ’ was read ing our f i rst rev iew on GIG- IT webs i te . Who insp i res you?As we are a band, we are a l l in f luenced by d i f ferent people through d i f ferent genres . For o ld school punk bands l i ke The Outcasts and The Ramones , r ight through to new rock bands l i ke The Foo f ighter and The Offspr ing .
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I f you cou ld make 1 person d i sappear for good who would i t be and why? ( famous)S imon Cowel l , he i s the reason why the mus ic industr y i s more interested in a pretty face and the a lmighty buck than raw ta lent . Rea l songwr i ters wi th stor ies to te l l a re be ing shunned in favour o f some two-b i t , auto tuned, fash ion labe l p lucked st ra ight out o f midd le school to be a record labe l puppet . What would your r ider be i f you were p lay ing a huge g ig?Je l ly Beans , Newcast le Brown A le and Pr ing les . Where would you l i ke to g ig the most?Vans Warped Tour, Roundhouse in London or Download Fest iva l . I f you cou ld t rave l back in t ime when would you t rave l back to and why?Late 60 ’s ear ly 70 ’s . So much was happening mus ica l l y. A lot o f mus ic ian were exper iment ing wi th d i f ferent sounds and inst ruments and car v ing
Where i s your favour i te p lace in the North east?Whit ley Bay coast/ S t James Park What ’s your a ims for 2013?Get the EP done, promote the a lbum and get on a few fest iva l s . Tour as much as poss ib le too . Why should people come and l i sten to you?The one th ing we are wel l known for i s the energy and en joyment we put into our l i ve shows. For us , be ing in a band i sn ’ t just about the mus ic , i t s about mak ing sure the aud ience have fun , en joy the show as wel l as the no ise . Where can people fo l low you/keep up to date wi th you?Facebook.com/deathto ind ieukYoutube.com/deathto ind ieukTwitter @deathto ind ie
out new genres . There was a lot more f reedom of express ion back then, now, i t s a l l just bu i ld ing on what the ar t i st s back then star ted . I f you cou ld p lay wi th anyone in the wor ld , past or present who would i t be and why? The Who, The Foo F ighters , The C lash . A l l G iants o f Rock/Punk. What ’s the most embarrass ing th ing you have ever done at a g ig?At our f i rst Legends g ig we a l l wore dresses , N ik has fa l len off the stage before . What adv ice would you g ive to anyone want ing to star t a band up?Be prepared to p lay empty rooms, work wi th 2 b i t use less promoters and bands who th ink they are b ig ger than they actua l ly are . I f you were not p lay ing in a band what would you be do ing instead?We would st i l l be invo lved wi th mus ic , e i ther as sess ion mus ic ians , so lo ar t i st s or product ion .
f ree a lbum ser ies ca l led DEMO (Damn Ego’s Mash ing Out ) back in 2009. I re leased 5 in a l l f rom then unt i l 2011 v ia var ious H ip Hop and downloadable s i tes . I guess you can ca l l them a journey of progress ion because l i s ten ing back over them each one bettered the last ef for t . In a l l honesty none of them cou ld be p layed star t to f in i sh as the over a l l pro ject wasn’ t t ight enough. Each one had gems though wi th the l i kes o f Dorm Room, Toy Box and So Far So So which I st i l l per form today. I t ’s on ly now af ter re leas ing the Poet iks stuff that I fee l l i ke I ’m ready to re lease a so l id so lo a lbum.
Hi Tr ip! Welcome to NE Magaz ine , so te l l us a b i t about yourse l f and what you do? I ’m 27 , marr ied wi th 2 gorgeous ch i ldren and I ’m a l so a H ip Hop ar t i st f rom Consett Co . Durham go ing by the a l ias Ego Tr ip . I come f rom a Sa lvat ion Army background as my parents work for them and dur ing my younger years we moved around a lot wi th the i r job , meaning I was constant ly t r y ing to f i t in wi th new people and new schools . A l though that was a pa in I learned how to read mus ic scr ipts , p lay brass inst ruments and how to s ing - we l l ho ld a note lo l . I t wasn ’ t unt i l I was about 15 that I f i rst star ted wr i t ing l y r i cs and songs . At f i rst I guess i t was just a phase but as the years went on i t became a part o f my l i fe . How hard was i t for you star t ing out as a rap ar t i st f rom the North East? I t ’s probab ly the hardest p lace to come out o f as a rapper just because of the accent a lone. Not many people can understand i t over songs i f I ’m be ing bruta l ly honest . I ’m lucky I don’ t have a st rong Geord ie accent so people can understand what I say. I t ’s not the best known p lace for H ip Hop e i ther espec ia l l y when people main ly l i s ten to people f rom London, B i rmingham and Manchester. But that ’s
chang ing , people l i ke Rex Reg is , Suus , Skrufz , Mi l i tantz and Darksyde are a l l mak ing a lot o f no ise through the North East and beyond
Have you a lways done your own mater ia l? Yeah, I love wr i t ing l y r i cs . I th ink I ac tua l ly en joy wr i t ing more than the actua l record ing even though both of those can be rea l ly f rust rat ing . There ’s t imes when I ’m in the stud io wi th Poet iks when we he lp each other to make the over a l l song sound better but apart f rom that ever y th ing you hear i s my own.
Te l l us about your a lbums and how you star ted out re leas ing them? I star ted work ing on a
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see boarded up houses , burnt garages and gangs of teenagers stand ing around st reet corners . I t makes me gratefu l for what I have .
I f you cou ld make 1 person d i sappear for good who would i t be and why? L i l Wayne lo l a l though
I admire h i s work rate , h i s mus ic i s horr ib le and h i s dress sense of leopard sk in leg g ings make H ip Hop a laugh ing stock to the masses .
What has been your most memorab le moment to date so far? I t was probably meet ing Obie Tr i ce on a st reet corner in Manchester just before h i s g ig . At the t ime he was s igned to Eminem’s Shady Records Impr int and had just re leased h i s debut a lbum ‘Cheers ’. I remember be ing wi th my g i r l f r iend (now wi fe) Gemma and a f r iend of mine R imm. A week before , me and R imm had recorded about 4 or 5 t racks and thrown them on CD’s under the name Lost Sou lz . Look ing back now the mus ic was horrendous but at the t ime we were the best rappers in the UK - in our heads lo l . R imm remembered we had one of our CD’s in the car so we ran p icked i t up and headed for Obie , who was wi th these 2 HUGE body guards . Ob ie s lapped hands wi th us and took the CD say ing he would check i t out . Th ink ing about i t we probably made h i s ears b leed and the CD got snapped in ha l f but h im just tak ing the t ime to take i t o f f us and ta lk to us for 5 minutes was a l l the mot ivat ion I needed to make i t in mus ic .
Who insp i res you? A lot o f people insp i re me f rom my wi fe and k ids to f r iends to other ar t i st s . I hear a lot o f mus ic and I th ink about t r y ing s imi lar th ings . P laces a l so insp i re me, l i ke when I ’m dr iv ing home to see my parents and I
I f you cou ld p lay wi th anyone in the wor ld , past or present who would i t be and why? At the minute i t would be Joe Budden. The guy has become my favour i te rapper over the last couple o f years , H i s l y r i cs are so thought provok ing which i s how I t r y to wr i te mine, and he doesn ’ t care what people th ink he just goes out and does i t and i t seems to be pay ing off at long last .
What ’s the most embarrass ing th ing you have ever done
at a g ig? lo l ! I t has to be forgett ing my ly r i cs at my f i rst g ig in Wales . I was
drunk on stage wi th Prospekt
and one of my favour i te songs
of mine h i t so I s tar ted rapp ing a long then a l l o f a sudden for an unknown reason I wanted to change the ly r i cs and messed i t up lo l ! I f roze , but Prospekt be ing a qua l i ty rapper just star ted f reesty l ing the rest o f f the verse wi th ly r i cs o f f the top of h i s head. Per fect cover up we got away wi th i t - we l l that ’s what Prospekt and our DJ thought before I star ted laugh ing and sa id ‘Gem I forgot my ly r i cs ’ down the mic lo l . We a l l make minor mistakes lo l ! I ’d l i ke to take th i s
t ime to thank Prospekt by the way so . . . Thank You lo l ! !
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What adv ice would you g ive to anyone want ing to get star ted in Rap? Be yourse l f. There ’s no po int be ing someone your not or coming across as someth ing that has noth ing to do wi th your s i tuat ion . Be l ieve in yourse l f and you’ l l ach ieve any th ing . Don’ t be af ra id o f your dreams no matter how crazy they may seem.
Share a secret wi th us? Hmmm i t wouldn’ t be a secret i f I to ld you would i t? N ice t r y though lo l
Where i s your favour i te p lace in the North east? Consett . lo l ! I t ’s as s imple as that . S top turn ing your noses up lo l . I t ’s my home, the p lace where I g rew up. I learned a lot f rom my t ime l i v ing there . I have great memor ies and some amaz ing f r iends f rom there . Why e l se would I have ‘DH8’ tattoo ’d on my arm? Ser ious ly lo l !
Who are Poet iks? Poet iks i s a name me and Prospekt had back in 2006 when we star ted work ing as a duo on a few songs . Noth ing came of i t back then to be honest . A f ter me naming Prospekt and br ing ing h im into the game back in 2005 we had a minor fa l l ing out in 2008 and d idn ’ t ta lk aga in unt i l the summer of 2010, in which t ime I had star ted my DEMO ser ies and Prospekt had star ted work ing wi th CeeJay. The f i rst t ime a l l o f us were in the stud io together was mid 2010. I remember i t we l l because I thought i t was a p lan by Prospekt to jump me lo l no joke! !
your songs? Wow! err rm!! Probably these l ines f rom a f ree sty le me and Prospekt d id before Retr ibut ion came out “Deve loped hear ing ‘a ids ’ f rom phone ‘sex ’. That ’s a ‘punch’ l ine accord ing to my wi fe locked out on the doorstep” lo l don’ t ask! She ’ l l knock me out i f she ever reads th i s .
What ’s your a ims for 2013? My f i rst a im i s to get Speak of the Dev i l done ready for the end of Apr i l . And a l so star t on my f i rst o f f i c ia l so lo a lbum. As wel l as a l l o f the Poet iks idea ’s f rom our next promo re lease ‘Box ing With God’ to our f i rst o f f i c ia l a lbum, Hopefu l ly the fan base grows through out the year and I get to per form in more p laces across the countr y
Why should people come and l i sten to you? I come wi th a lot o f energy on stage , I love putt ing on a show. Not just turn up on stage rap a b i t and then leave! I want to be the guy who gets stuck in your head for days .
Where can people fo l low you/keep up to date wi th you? w w w.poet iks .bandcamp.com w w w.th is i sego.com w w w.h i r i skrecords .com @this i sego @off i c ia lpoet iks @hir i skrecords w w w.facebook.com/th is i sego w w w.facebook.com/poet iks w w w.facebook.com/hi r i skrecords
I was ner vous , I d idn ’ t know what to expect . F rom then unt i l ear ly 2012 we jumped on each others songs and per formed together. I t was in June of last year me and Prospekt dec ided to br ing Poet iks back to l i fe and work on a jo int EP together. That same n ight we recorded ‘ War Mus ic ’ and ‘Sp i tt in & Rhymin ’ which can be heard on the Retr ibut ion a lbum (w w w.poet iks .bandcamp.com) . I t wasn ’ t unt i l a week later Pekt came up wi th the idea of add ing CeeJay to the group g iv ing us more depth wi th h im be ing an amaz ing s inger. Our f i rst port o f ca l l was a t rack ca l led ‘Sn i tch ’ a imed at North East group Top Boy Round Here . The response was unrea l ! We had the North pat ient ly wa i t ing for Retr ibut ion which dropped last August . A long s ide that we dropped another EP in December ca l led Funs Over which carr ied on the hype f rom Retr ibut ion . I t a l l happened so fast f rom forming to be ing ca l led the ‘Super Group of the North ’ as Prospekt and CeeJay are f rom the North West .
Are you s igned? I ’m not s igned as such . My c lose f r iend Stu runs a loca l H ip Hop record labe l ca l led H i R i sk Records and I ’ve been putt ing my mus ic out v ia them for near ly 10 years . I owe a lot to S tu for the amount of work he puts in and the be l ief he has had over the last decade or so .
So how about you te l l us a b i t about yourse l f? I am a midd le aged Bed l ington lad . I went to co l lege and stud ied graph ic des ign then photography. I am a father o f three ( two boys and one g i r l ) and grandfather o f two boys . I l i ke to v i s i t ga l ler ies , museums and go for dr ives in the countr y but s i tt ing down on the beach in the sun i s a l so good.
Your winn ing photo b lew our judges away, i t rea l ly i s an incred ib le
wi th exposures so I knew what to set my camera on and focused manua l ly. Are you a fu l l t ime profess iona l photographer or i s photography a b i t o f a hobby?Photography i s a lo t o f a hobby, I take my camera wi th me whenever we go for a dr ive and keep stopp ing to take photos . I submit some of my photos to photo l ibrar ies , I used to photograph events
image, how hard was i t to get that shot , what was your process for catch ing i t?I t was around 5 in the morn ing , I was in Newcast le to p ick up my son who was t rave l l ing up f rom London and I had ha l f an hour spare so took a wa lk around the quays ide took a few shots on t r ipod for s low exposures . I saw that some of the l i ghts were coming on at the Sage so went onto the Mi l lenn ium br idge . Whi le wa lk ing a long the Quays ide I exper imented
A N I N T E R V I E W W I T H P E T E R R E E D
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to see per formances , watch ing people do someth ing that they love and do ing i t we l l p lus you a l so get to l i s ten to mus ic or watch a p lay. What insp i res you wi th your photography?I t r y to get the v iewer to look at my photographs and th ink , “ I want to go there” or “ that looks n ice” or just “what i s that ” as long they f ind them interest ing . Do you have a facebook or a webs i te where people can see your work?http ://w w w.facebook.
at Wal l ington for the Nat iona l Trust and recent ly have been cover ing the A l ternate Model contest . And what k ind of photography do you do? I l i ke to photograph concerts , people , landscapes , abst ract images . I don’ t st i ck to a s ing le sub ject . Any th ing can make a good image
I f you cou ld shoot anyone/any p lace who/where would i t be and why?I t would be a concert but who depends on what cd I ’m l i sten ing to at the t ime. I l i ke go ing
com/peter. reed.39 http ://peterreedemai l .w ix .com/the- l ight-was-r ight Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f? I ’m lef t-handedI once broke my leg in a bad land ing on a parachute jumpI asked the gu i tar i st Johnny Winter what i s h i s best s ide (he wasn’ t amused)
Any th ing you would l i ke to add?Has anybody got any jobs for a photographer, no job too easy no pay too large .
performed by Northern S infon ia , orchestra o f The Sage Gateshead, wi th jazz so lo i sts T im Whitehead and Henr y Lowther p lus award winn ing t r io L ighthouse , featur ing the award-winn ing p ian ist Gwi lym S imcock . The venue’s int imate Jazz Lounge, c reated for the fest iva l , w i l l host two af ternoons of ‘Jazz f rom the North ’ on the Saturday and the Sunday, wi th bands f rom the North of Eng land, Scot land and a l so f rom the far North wi th the Verner i Poh jo la Tr io and Oddarrang , both f rom F in land and who have recent ly rece ived a warm recept ion at the London Jazz Fest iva l .
The connect ion wi th Nord ic jazz goes fur ther welcoming back Dan ish bass p layer Jasper Hø iby and h i s band Phrones i s on the Sunday who, s ince the i r 2010 appearance at the fest iva l as par t o f a Loop Co l lect ive showcase , have taken Europe by storm. They are supported by the un ique duo L i tt le Rad io ( Ia in Ba l lamy and Nor weg ian St ian Carstensen) .
A s ideways North East connect ion comes wi th the un ique concert ‘Speed of Grace – a t r ibute to AC/DC ’ by German jazz s inger Jens Thomas wi th Verner i Poh jo la whereby the mus ic o f AC/DC becomes late n ight chamber jazz .
The fest iva l i s a lways de l ighted to work wi th broadcaster/mus ic ian A lyn Sh ipton and th i s
Gateshead Internat iona l Jazz Fest iva l , the la rgest UK fest iva l he ld under one roof, has announced i t s head l ine acts and themes for 2013 inc lud ing the Nat iona l Youth Jazz Orchestra , L ighthouse , Phrones i s , Chr i st ine Tob in , Ruby Turner and The Brand New Heav ies . The fest iva l w i l l take p lace in the spectacu lar surroundings o f The Sage Gateshead on Fr iday 5th - Sunday 7th Apr i l 2013 and t i ckets go on sa le on Fr iday 7th December.
The fest iva l k i cks o ff in Ha l l One wi th the f i rst ever v i s i t to the venue f rom the Nat iona l Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) – now en joy ing a new and h igher prof i le - w i th some spec ia l jazz guests , p lus an opening set f rom the The Sage Gateshead’s own youth jazz ensemble , Jambone. In Ha l l Two that even ing the genre-bust ing Soweto K inch presents mater ia l f rom h is new double a lbum ‘ The Legend of Mike Smith ’ w i th h i s new t r io .
The North i s a key theme for the fest iva l , interpreted in var ious ways . Saturday n ight ’s Ha l l One concert presents two jazz su i tes insp i red by the North East o f Eng land – ‘Northumbr ian Sketches ’, wr i tten in the 1980’s by Newcast le jazz mus ic ian/composer Ian Carr in i t s f i rst ever North East per formance, and ‘Songs to the North Sky ’, wr i tten in 2012 by T im Gar land, res ident in the reg ion . Both wi l l be
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of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
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to i t s i con ic roof wi th the sounds of over 100 saxophone p layers in the cu lminat ion of the North East ’s own vers ion of Saxophone Mass ive , the now wel l estab l i shed mass part i c ipat ion pro ject for sax p layers o f a l l ages and ab i l i t ies p lay ing under the gu idance of the pro ject ’s or ig inator and Gateshead Internat iona l Jazz Fest iva l ’s regu lar Andy Sheppard and gu i tar i st Chr i s Sharkey.
Ros R igby, Per formance Programme Di rector at The Sage Gateshead sa id : “ I am rea l ly look ing for ward to welcoming some new ar t i st s to our fest iva l such as the F inn ish ar t i st s as wel l as some of the qu i rk ier events l i ke the AC/DC t r ibute which I ’m sure Gateshead’s own Br ian Johnson would en joy!”
Gateshead Internat iona l Jazz Fest iva l i s produced by The Sage Gateshead in co l laborat ion wi th SERIOUS.
T ickets can be booked e i ther by ca l l ing 0191 443 4661, on l ine at w w w.thesagegateshead.org /g i j f13 or in person f rom The Sage Gateshead’s T icket Off i ce f rom the 7th December (pre-sa le on the 6th December to Sage Supporters . For more informat ion about jo in ing Sage Supporters v i s i t w w w.thesagegateshead.org /support-us )
year he wi l l work wi th us to deve lop Jazz Words - an exp lorat ion of the re lat ionsh ip between jazz and poetr y, notab ly the work of Ph i l ip Lark in and W.B.Yeats ; ‘ Lark in ’s Jazz ’ invo lves both jazz sett ings o f h i s poems but a l so read ings o f Lark in ’s wr i t ing about jazz and the p lay ing of the works he descr ibes . The event a l so inc ludes I r i sh s inger Chr i st ine Tob in ’s h igh ly regarded ‘Sa i l ing to Byzant ium’ - her band’s sett ings o f Yeats poems. A lyn Sh ipton wi l l a l so present a l i ve ed i t ion of Rad io 3 ’s Jazz Record Requests f rom the fest iva l .
Gu i tar i st s wi l l be thr i l led to hear that semina l F rench gu i tar i st B i re l i Lagrene makes a rare appearance outs ide London; whi l st st i l l a master o f the Re inhardt legacy, h i s current band i s a f ree-wheel ing quartet remin iscent o f 1960’s B lue Note , w i th saxophonist F ranck Wol f, drummer Jean Marc Rob in and Hammond organ ist Jean-Yves Jung prov id ing the texture and groove.
Sou l and funk lovers wi l l be up on the i r feet for a sensat iona l double b i l l in Ha l l One on the last n ight o f the fest iva l w i th Joo ls Ho l land regu lar Ruby Turner and 90 ’s superstars The Brand New Heav ies , who are now ce lebrat ing a new a lbum re lease .
The Sunday af ternoon wi l l a l so see and hear the Concourse of The Sage Gateshead f i l led
both per formances wi l l o f fer the combined forces o f jazz mus ic ians and c lass ica l , appea l ing to a wide range of mus ic lovers . Composer T im Gar land was insp i red by the North East to c reate the approachab le , melod ic and c inemat ic p iece ‘Songs to The North Sky ’. Movements wi th in the p iece inc lude ‘ Tyne Song ’, ‘ Shapes Over Northumber land’, ‘ S torm Over K ie lder ’ and ‘ L i tt le Bay B lue ’ (ded icated to the beach near T im’s home in Whi t ley Bay) . T im Gar land sa id : “ The su i te was insp i red by the b ig sky l ines o f the North East and my t ime t rave l l ing to and f rom there , i t ’s the most c inemat ic and autob iograph ica l work I ’ve wr i tten wi th a part i cu lar emphas i s on melod ies f i t t ing for these b ig skyscapes”.
Northern Sp i r i t s – Jazz Fest iva l ce lebrates North East LandscapeSaturday 6 Apr i l 2013
The mus ic o f two of the UK’s most d i st inct ive ly or ig ina l jazz composers – T im Gar land and nat ive Tynes ider Ian Carr – wi l l be featured at Gateshead Internat iona l Jazz Fest iva l , insp i red by the landscapes of the North East o f Eng land. The Northern Sp i r i t s concert wi l l inc lude the wor ld premiere per formance of ‘Songs to the North Sky ’ composed by T im Gar land. In add i t ion to th i s new su i te wi l l be the f i rst per formance in the North East o f ‘Northumbr ian Sketches ’ (both to be conducted by C lark Rundel l ) which was composed by the late mus ic ian Ian Carr. Featur ing Northern S infon ia , orchestra o f The Sage Gateshead,
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The orchestrated work of ‘Northumbr ian Sketches ’ by t rumpeter / composer Ian Carr was commiss ioned for the Brackne l l Jazz Fest iva l in 1986. The p iece i s in four movements and was a t r ibute to the Northumbr ian author, S id Chap l in , a North Eastern wr i ter for nove ls , sc reenplays and poems of ten set in County Durham’s p i t v i l l ages in the 1940s and ‘50s . The p iece uses the landscape which Chap l in had known and loved and combines c lass i ca l st r ing orchestrat ion wi th v ibrant jazz improv isat ion . John Cumming , f rom Ser ious sa id o f the p iece : “ I was pr iv i leged to work wi th Ian Carr on many occas ions over the years , inc lud ing co-commiss ion ing ‘Northumbr ian Sketches ’, which rece ived i t s premiere at
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of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
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both jazz and c lass ica l mus ic fest iva l s at South H i l l Park Brackne l l in the 1980s . I remember Ian descr ib ing the cha l lenge of wr i t ing for st r ings wi th great exc i tement , and when George Foster and Ser ious re -d i scovered the p iece for Ian ’s memorab le memor ia l concert in 2010, i t reminded me just how accompl i shed and absorb ing th i s mus ic remains . I t w i l l be rea l p leasure to hear i t once more and I ’m sure Ian ’s c reat ive sp i r i t w i l l watch over and insp i re th i s f i rst North-Eastern per formance.” The concert a l so inc ludes a for ty minute set by the award winn ing t r io L ighthouse , which inc ludes T im
Northern Sp i r i t s i s at The Sage Gateshead on Saturday 6 Apr i l 2013, as part o f Gateshead Internat iona l Jazz Fest iva l which takes p lace on the 5 – 7 Apr i l 2013. T ickets are £19.50 and can be booked e i ther by ca l l ing 0191 443 4661, on l ine at w w w.thesagegateshead.org or in person f rom The Sage Gateshead’s T icket Off i ce . A jazz fest iva l pass i s ava i lab le .
Gar land a long wi th p ian ist Gwi lym S imcock and percuss ion ist Asaf S i rk i s . L ighthouse themselves were a l so insp i red by a North East landmark - S t Mar y ’s L ighthouse in Whi t ley Bay - and have now p layed a l l over the wor ld . Ros R igby sa id : “ Th is i s a un ique event ce lebrat ing two ambit ious compos i t ions for jazz ensemble and orchestra - one f rom the last centur y and one wr i tten in the last year- both insp i red by the North Eastern landscape and cu l ture . We are de l ighted to make i t one of the h igh l ights o f the 2013 Gateshead Internat iona l Jazz Fest iva l .”
When you get o lder other people , in my case k ids , move around your pr ior i t ies for you usua l ly. You can ’ t just wa lk out o f the house for a n ight out , ever y th ing has to be organ ised .Thus I never usua l ly ce lebrate th ings l i ke b i r thdays and ann iversar ies , i t ’s too much hass le .
Th is year someone ment ioned the Sage had a Brass iere , a fact that I wasn ’ t aware of, a f ter a l i t t le invest igat ion I dec ided to t reat my other ha l f to a ce lebrator y meal for our wedding ann iversar y.I must admit that th i s makes me sound ver y romant ic , unt i l you rea l i se that I am actua l ly qu i te cheap. Af ter 7pm you can get two courses for £12 or three for £15.
The Sage in case you have been l i v ing in a cave for the last ten or so years in about a ten minute wa lk f rom Gateshead Metro or a ver y short tax i r ide . You can a l so get the
Goats cheese and o l ive tar t w i th a herb sa lad and ba lsamic dress ing .My star ter was love ly, the ter r ine was n ice ly f lavoured and moist and the sa lad per fect ly dressed. I d id th ink that there was a l i t t le too much p icca l i l l i but i t was easy to leave i t and better to have too much than too l i t t le . Mr Johnson loved h i s tar t , beaut i fu l l y c r i sp short past r y wi th no sog gy bottom and aga in a wel l dressed sa lad .
The mains were a l so exce l lent , my Co ley f i l let was beaut i fu l l y cooked and the sa lad of beans and peas was love ly. I would have l i ked my f i sh to have a l i t t le more season ing , as there was sa l t and pepper on the tab le th i s was easy to rect i f y. Mr Johnson had the ch icken wi th b lack pudding and whi te on ion puree which was fabu lous . I he lped myse l f substant ia l mouthfu l . The ch icken was moist and the puree was smooth and creamy. I cou ld have and d id t r y to stea l the p late .
The pudding se lect ion was as conc i se as the
Quays ide bendy bus which drops you pretty much outs ide the door.The bu i ld ing i t se l f has become one of the North East ’s most i con ic landmarks , at n ight i t g lows l i ke a mag ica l c reature that you might f ind whi le adventur ing wi th Dr Dool i tt le .We made our way through the crowds to the Brass iere which on ly had two other customers . Normal ly th i s would be a cause for concern but I th ink af ter a qu ick st raw po l l o f my food ie f r iends i t ’s because not many people know about the Brass iere .
The af ter 7pm Soprano menu has three cho ices for each course , inc lud ing a vegetar ian opt ion . I loved th i s neat conc i se menu, I am not a huge fan of la rge menus , I persona l ly fee l that b ig menus can cause confus ion in k i tchen leav ing the food on the p late qu i te not as i t shou ld be .For star ters I choose the pork and p i stach io ter r ine wi th p icca l i l l i and croutons , Mr Johnson choose a caramel i sed on ion ,
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rest o f the menu, I went for the raspberr y panna cotta wi th lemon curd and Mr Johnson went for the cheese board . My panna cotta had the appropr iate j i g g le factor and the f lavour was remin iscent o f the b lue raspberr y which i s not bad th ing . I t su i ted my current obsess ion for pudding that requ i res no chewing . I was however devastated that i t was ser ved wi th choco late sauce rather than the advert i sed lemon curd . I cou ld have compla ined and I am sure the staf f would have rect i f ied th i s w i th no prob lems but in a mature fash ion I choose to su lk l i ke a petu lant ch i ld instead.
The cheese board when i t a r r ived was impress ive even for non-cheese lover, w i th substant ia l port ions o f loca l ly sourced cheeses .The wine se lect ion was a l so good and reasonably pr i ced , we went for an Argent inean Malbec , my favour i te wine pr iced at a reasonable £19.95 .The ser v ice was a l so fantast i c and a l though we were the on ly two customers in the Brass iere the staf f were not int rus ive at a l l , they were po l i te and he lpfu l .The food i s unbe l ievab le good espec ia l l y when you cons ider that i t i s on ly £15 for three courses . A l l the romance went out o f the even ing when I kept repeat ing can you be l ieve th i s i s on ly £15. I have no idea how such great food i s so reasonable and a l l loca l ly sourced.
The whole meal wi th wine cost £54 inc lud ing
two s ides , that ’s £27 a head.
The overa l l exper ience was love ly the Brass ies i s understated and fu l l o f c lean l ines . My on ly major compla int i s that at the back of the Brass iere are the most h ideous cheap red vases fu l l o f twigs . Once I had spotted them they annoyed me and should be removed immediate ly.
In a l l th i s i s one of the best mea ls I have ever eaten, the whole exper ience was ver y ver y good. The food i s def in i te ly a 8 .9 out o f ten , the ser v ice would be a 9 out o f 10 , but va lue for money i s a 10 out o f 10 . I s t i l l can ’ t be l ieve i t was so cheap and so good.My f ina l test i s usua l ly would I eat there aga in? I have a l ready booked to go back .
Ben Potts , lead s inger and bass .Adam Dag g , lead gu i tar and keys .S teven ‘Nez ’ Na isbet on drums and samples .
Why Rayne?(Ben) We took ages dec id ing on a name. We went wi th Rayne when
Te l l us a Random fact about each band member?(Ben) I had a test i c le removed due to Cancer last year 2012. I recent ly featured in the Nuts magaz ine because of i t . Excuse the pun! Adam i s a we i rdo, he has never t r ied eat ing a sandwich because he doesn ’ t l i ke the look of them.Nez current ly owns Katy Perr y ’s drum k i t .
What has been your most memorab le moment to date so far?(Ben) Th is might sound a b i t c rap but for me i t was p lay ing one of the Stanhope shows - maybe 2007. I t was in a marquee of around 2000 people and they a l l went menta l when we came on. I loved that and d idn ’ t want i t to end. Memorab le stor ies happened af ter, but that would be for another t ime lo l . (Adam) for me i t ’s a l l the batt le o f bands we have won and the amount of money we have ra i sed for numerous char i t ies . I t ’s near ly £20 ,000. (Nez) My most memorab le moment would be the launch of our current a lbum ‘ The New En l ightenment ’ that i s ava i lab le on iTunes ( shameless p lug) . Th i s was a br i l l i ant n ight . I cou ld of stayed there forever.
Who insp i res you?(Ben) My insp i rat ions are not f rom mus ic ians or bands , I f ind insp i rat ion f rom rea l people and stor ies o f them. To be honest , I don’ t rea l ly l i ke mus ic LOL . I just l i ke p lay ing i t . (Adam) I
we d i scovered a b i t g raff i t i that sa id Rayne. We sto le that , and for a short whi le , even the way i t was wr i tten was used for promo work .
Descr ibe yourse l f in 5 words or less?(Ben) Th is i s hard , er r r . . . Amaz ing! LOL
How long have you been per forming?(Ben) We have been per forming s ince school 16 years ago . I t ’s taken us ages to deve lop a sound that we are happy wi th , as recent as last year haha.
Covers or own mater ia l?(Ben) We prefer to p lay or ig ina l g igs but have to p lay the odd st ink ing sweaty pub fu l l o f demanding drunken people who shout , ‘P lay th i s p lay that ! ’ We do these g igs to fund g igs away.
I N T E R V I E W W I T H R AY N E
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haven’ t rea l ly got any insp i rat ions , I don’ t look and someone and th ink I want to be l i ke that . In the beg inn ing I used to look up to gu i tar i st s but I ’ve been p lay ing that long now that I just l i ke to do th ings my way. (Nez) I ’m insp i red by Trav i s Barker. What he has done for drums i s amaz ing , the fe l la can p lay any sty le whi l st mak ing i t look good.
I f you cou ld make 1 person d i sappear for good who would i t be and why? (Ben) Mine would be O l ly Murs , I can ’ t stand h im or h i s mus ic . Just pathet ic , I don’ t even want to go into i t because I might smash th i s ipad! (Adam) Whoever gave Mcf ly a record dea l . That band rea l ly annoy me. (Nez) Not so much one person but I hate i t when people have made i t because they have a sob stor y. ‘My hamster d ied so can I have a dea l?
What would your r ider be i f you were p lay ing a huge g ig?(Ben) Wynona LOL . I wouldn’ t have a menta l one , just someth ing smal l l i ke kebabs and maybe an Ear l Grey! Ser ious ly though, just some beers would do . (Adam) A van that works because we have been jump star t ing ours for 10 years and my ca lves are shot to b i t s . (Nez) Tuna and cucumber sandwiches cut into t r iang les and the crusts cut o f f. I ’m wi th Ben, just a few beers would do me a l so .
l ip ! (Nez) I went to s i t on my drum stoo l a f ter a song and fe l l f l at on my backs ide . I went ver y red , so embarrass ing .
What adv ice would you g ive to anyone want ing to star t a band up?(Ben) G ive up p lease so i t w i l l be eas ier for us LOL . Best adv ice would be , i f poss ib le , star t when you’re rea l ly young so you can wr i te a l l the rubb ish mus ic out o f you. When you f i rst star t , any th ing you p lay wi l l amaze you so i t ’s best to get a l l the c rap out o f you and mature into someth ing great . You need to be young.
Where i s your favour i te p lace in the North east?(Ben) We a l l l i ke to be in the pract i ce room. Just the three of us mess ing around coming up wi th new ideas and songs , takes you back to be ing a k id , no prob lems, no worr ies when that door shuts .
Have you had any funny/wei rd fan inc idents?(Ben) I once got into a f ight on stage because someone was adamant that I was miming and s lag g ing me off for i t . I had to take h im onto the stage in f ront o f ever yone and g ive i t the o ld 1 -2 down the mic , to prove the mic was l i ve! He was st i l l say ing qu i te ag gress ive ly that I was st i l l miming , so I h i t h im, which i s a shame rea l ly cos I l i ked p lay ing there and we got barred . I wasn ’ t miming!
A l l t ime no 1 Mus ic ian/S inger f rom past or present?(Ben) I have 2 . The best voca ls that have ever been are Roy Orb ison and Fredd ie Mercur y. No one comes c lose to that . (Adam) Steve Va i , a l l rounder, can p lay any th ing . Took gu i tar the fur thest and I l i ke that . (Nez) Michae l Jackson, ya don’ t rea l ly need to know any th ing about Michae l Jackson, you a l ready know i t .
What ’s the most embarrass ing th ing you have ever done at a g ig?(Ben) Where to star t w i th me?. Mine i s t r y ing to throw a gu i tar round my neck and i t came off the st rap and i t smashed the neck . I t was a G ibson Les Pau l as wel l . I was gutted and rea l ly embarrassed as ever yone star ted laugh ing . (Adam) At the same g ig Ben smashed h i s gu i tar he a l so k icked the mic stand whi l st I was rock ing out a lead break and the mic span round and smacked me in the chops . F in i shed the so lo wi th a burst
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What ’s your a ims for the rest o f 2013?(Ben) We would d ie happy i f we cou ld p lay, just even once , in f ront o f thousands of people , l i ke a stad ium, support ing someone maybe. That ’s a l l we want to do . I need to know what th i s fee l s l i ke . I can on ly imag ine and be ver y jea lous of bands that have . I can ’ t even go to watch g igs because I get to jea lous and want to do i t . We would l i ke to be successfu l as poss ib le , l i ke any other band rea l ly, I w ish they ’d a l l qu i t so i t would be eas ier haha.
Why should people come and l i sten to you?(Ben) Ever y g ig i s memorab le - i t rea l ly i s ! Come and see us l i ve , I
th ink you’ l l surpr i se yourse l f.
Where can people fo l low you/keep up to date wi th you? w w w.facebook.com/rayneoff i c ia lw w w.twi tter.com/off i c ia l raynew w w.soundc loud.com/raynemus icRayne are represented by Ambicon Mus ic Group w w w.ambiconrecords .co .uk‘Fa l len ’ the f ree download s ing le re leased on 5th March i s taken f rom the i r The New En l ightenment debut a lbum
MR B. WAYNE017862945MR B. WAYNE017862945MR B. WAYNE017862945MR B. WAYNE017862945
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Hi Jen , welcome to NE Magaz ine . So for the few readers who don’ t know you how about you te l l us a b i t about yourse l f?Hi ! Thanks for hav ing me! I ’m a s inger/songwr i ter and p ian ist f rom South Sh ie lds . I p lay wi th Jen Stevens & the H iccups - predominant ly or ig ina l mus ic (and covers g igs to pay the b i l l s ! ) , in f luenced by F leetwood Mac, Skunk Anans ie , Beaut i fu l South , and lots o f s inger/songwr i ter types! We’ve recent ly re leased our second a lbum, ‘Better F rame of Mind,’ and we’re current ly record ing a new EP and s ing le , which we hope to re lease in May 2013. I ’m a l so ha l f o f The Tea Larks , a duo I ’m in wi th Kate Gormley, who p lays gu i tar and s ings . We p lay lots o f love ly covers , and s ing lots o f love ly harmonies! Both acts have facebook pages and youtube v ideos - do check us out !
We hear you’re the bra ins beh ind a b ig mus ic fest iva l that ’s
w i th stomach cancer a couple o f years ago . She got through her f i rst round of chemo, and th ings were go ing great . Her and Dad moved away f rom the North East , f i rst to Card i f f, and then to the i r Dutch barge , Sara , down in S l imbr idge near Che l tenham. Ver y soon af ter they moved there , Mum star ted go ing down h i l l aga in . She came up to v i s i t my brother and I in March , and we had a great week wi th her shopping , c rochet ing , wa lk ing and just en joy ing each other ’s company. She got ver y i l l ver y qu ick ly af ter that , and star ted hav ing to spend more and more t ime in hosp i ta l , and
about to h i t South
Sh ie lds , so te l l us a l l about i t?
The fest iva l i s in memor y of my Mum, Anne Stevens , who was a l so known as ‘Mama Hiccup.’ Mum was d iagnosed
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then the hosp ice . I don’ t rea l ly want to ta lk about the ins and outs o f i t . Most people know how horr i f y ing cancer i s . My brother, Rob, and I , went down to Che l tenham to see Mum at the Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hosp ice the second week of Ju ly. We sa id our goodbyes on Saturday 14th Ju ly 2012. The H iccups and I supported Scout ing for G i r l s at Bents Park on 15th Ju ly, and I had the support o f a l l my dearest f r iends , a l l w i l l ing me on. The on ly people miss ing f rom that c rowd were my fami ly. On Sunday 22nd Ju ly, at 3pm, whi l st Aaron (my gu i tar i st ) and I were sett ing up for our regu lar Sunday g ig , Aaron’s phone rang . I t was my Dad. Mum was gone. Tony (my husband and bass i st ) and my wonderfu l f r iends got there as soon as poss ib le , and Aaron and I p layed the g ig . Let ’s face i t – Mama Hiccup would have k icked my arse i f I had cance l led!
suffer foo ls anymore , and I fee l l i ke she ’s r ight bes ide me at ever y s ing le g ig . Eg g ing me on, te l l ing me off, shout ing for more , and inst i l l ing the courage and determinat ion in me to keep go ing . My Mum was one of the most v ibrant , car ing , interest ing people you cou ld have known. I f you were lucky enough to meet her, you’ l l know what I mean. The staf f at Leckhampton Court Hosp ice seemed to understand that and were so good to us a l l in Mum’s last weeks , and we want to g ive them someth ing back . Mum took a huge interest in the loca l mus ic scene when l i v ing in South Sh ie lds , and was a lways at H iccups and Beat les for Sa le g igs when she fe l t we l l enough, so a mus ic fest iva l seemed the best p lan of act ion! A l l o f the prof i t s f rom the fest iva l a re go ing to the Sue Ryder Char i ty. I t ’s go ing to be at Hedworth Ha l l in South Sh ie lds on Saturday 23rd March 2013, f rom 2pm ‘ t i l l ate . We’ve got some rea l ly great acts and enterta inment - bands , acoust i c
Her funera l was on Fr iday 3rd August . She had a natura l bur ia l , i t was a beaut i fu l day. Rob and I composed the ser v ice , which was main ly made up of songs and poems, but we kept th ings fa i r l y short , then went and got on wi th the b i t Mum would have approved of in the pub. One of the songs , which Aaron and I per formed, was ‘Ann ie ’s Song ,’
by John Denver, one of her favour i tes , and Annie be ing a ch i ldhood n ickname. I don’ t th ink I ’ l l ever be ab le to s ing i t aga in…. Not that I d id a part i cu lar ly good job on the day! I can ’ t descr ibe how much I miss her. However, s ince she lef t us , I ’ve fe l t st ronger some how. I don’ t
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acts , two stages , two bars , auct ions , raf f les , cupcake sta l l s , a f ternoon tea , face pa int ing , ba l loon model l ing , bur lesque, f i re breath ing , v intage sta l l s , c raf t and jewel ler y sta l l s . . . I t ’s go ing to be a rea l ly g reat day!
Who have you got l ined up to p lay?To name just a few. . .The Karma Heart , Beat les for Sa le , The mOObs, The Understud ies , The Maver ick Re jects , Too Sp icy, and Jen Stevens & the H iccups , and the Tea Larks , obv ious ly ! The mus ic wi l l run for the whole day, f rom 2pm ‘ t i l l ate , and there rea l ly i s someth ing for ever yone, whatever type of mus ic you’re into!
How hard has i t been organ is ing the fest iva l?I t ’s been pretty tax ing , on both a phys ica l and an emot iona l leve l . . .but
facebook page.
I s there any way people can fo l low you and keep up to date wi th whats happening?I ’ve set up a facebook page and event - check out w w w.facebook.com/MamaHiccupMus icFest iva l and w w w.jenstevens .co .uk for more informat ion .
I s there any th ing you would l i ke to add?Just some shameless p lug g ing! Both of the Jen Stevens & the H iccups a lbums are ava i lab le on iTunes , or for a phys ica l copy, order one f rom w w w.jenstevens .co .uk or get yourse l f a long to a g ig ! Fo l low me on twi tter @jenfah iccups , and for updates on my bands , check out w w w.facebook.com/jenstevensandthehiccups and w w w.facebook.com/thetea larks
I ’ve had so many k ind offers o f he lp , that ’s made i t much eas ier. People f rom the North East rea l ly are one of a k ind - a lways wi l l ing to p i tch in and he lp . I t ’s been a b i t over whelming to be honest !
And what has the response been l i ke so far?We’ve had a huge amount of interest and support , and t i ckets are se l l ing rea l ly fast !
So wi l l th i s be a regu lar event or just a one off?I ’d l i ke to th ink we’d do i t aga in in the future . I ’m sure Mum would approve! Ask me at the end of the day when i t ’s a l l over though haha!
Where can people get ho ld of t i ckets?T ickets are ava i lab le f rom Hedworth Ha l l , and f rom myse l f and band members . Contact deta i l s a re on the
of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
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of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
of Tom R ichmond dur ing the late n inet ies . A regu lar s lot drawing for the student magaz ine ensued, a longs ide a degree port fo l io that was ce lebr i ty car i cature based for the most part . Upon complet ing my degree I was at someth ing of a c rossroads , not rea l ly knowing what to do; then one day a not iced an ‘ARTISTS WANTED’ ad on l ine , posted by a guy ca l led N ige l Cooke who owned a stand at A l ton Towers Resort . (N ige l ’s s ince become a good f r iend. ) One th ing led to another, and I spent the next four years soak ing up the summer season and learn ing the ropes as a car i catur i st into the barga in . I s that the on ly k ind of i l lust rat ion/drawing you do?In a word , yes . I ’ve dabbled in other re lated f ie lds over the years , at var ious t imes exp lor ing character des ign , logo des ign , and rea l i st i c drawing . However I keep coming back to the fact that I am a car i catur i st at heart , and th i s i s how I ’d l i ke to be remembered when I ’ve gone (hopefu l ly many, many years f rom now) . I love the not ion of look ing at the wor ld in a s l i ght ly skewed, exag gerated way, which I f ind on ly in car i cature . Th is i s why I intend to st i ck wi th i t for the long hau l .
I f you cou ld draw anyone famous past or present who would i t be and why?I don’ t rea l ly have a mass ive urge to draw
would f requent ly cock up a drawing in some random way or another, and have to surrept i t ious ly p lace a thumb or such l ike across the offend ing part o f the drawing when present ing the ar t to the customer. Th is happened more t imes than I care to reca l l ! On another occas ion , I reduced a lady to tears af ter drawing her wi th , in her own words , a “mass ive nose”. ( I must admit , i t doesn ’ t fee l par t i cu lar ly good to e l i c i t th i s react ion f rom someone; but at the same t ime, I o f ten wonder why she was s i tt ing for a car i cature in the f i rst p lace , i f she was that sens i t i ve about her features . ) These days , I ’m so exper ienced in what I do the humour and funny moments genera l ly come about through what I ’m putt ing down on paper – and the react ions o f the c rowd watch ing . Te l l us 3 random facts about yourse l f?1 . I love l i s ten ing to Chr i stmas mus ic year-round. Sad but t rue!2 . I have a fu l l -on obsess ion wi th New York C i ty : cu l ture , h i stor y, a rch i tecture . . . smi tten wi th the p lace .3 . I was on ‘ The Pau l O ’Grady Show ’ in 2008, present ing a customised car icature port ra i t to the man h imse l f. Top fe l la !When you’re not drawing how do you l i ke to spend your t ime?The usua l , rea l ly : ch i l l ing out wi th my f iancée and some good TV, read ing , c inema, runn ing , dr ink ing , gym (not necessar i l y in that order ) . Noth ing too
anyone famous; I th ink humans as a race are a l l so un ique and ind iv idua l that i t ’s a lmost i r re levant whether they ’re in the pub l i c eye or not . Hav ing sa id that , I would have loved to have had a c rack at S teve I r win when he was st i l l a round; I found – and st i l l f ind – h i s enthus iasm for l i fe utter ly infect ious . Come to th ink of i t , I ’d love to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Da la i Lama too.
What has been your most memorab le moment so far?Drawing A lan Shearer for a char i ty auct ion ranks pretty h igh , but just gett ing the ins ide t rack i s when I won my awards for ‘Best L ikeness ’ and ‘Best Par ty Car icatures ’ at the Internat iona l Soc iety o f Car icature Art i st s ’ annua l convent ion in Las Vegas in 2005. I t was my f i rst year in attendance (wi th my good pa l and fe l low ar t i st Mike Car lon) and i t was a b last . Hang ing out and ming l ing wi th my ar t i st i c heroes lef t me tongue-t ied at t imes , and I spent most o f the week ar t i st i ca l l y c r ipp led by be ing in the presence of such car i cature roya l ty ; however I seemed to overcome that , go ing on to have a fantast i c t ime and creat ing a ga l ler y o f p ieces u l t imate ly deemed worthy by my peers .
Have you had any funny/embarrass ing inc idents whi l st drawing someone?Too many to ment ion! In the ear ly days o f A l ton Towers I
