Indicate Magazine Issue 4 by Leonora Belcher

Editor - Leonora Belcher sparrow_@hotmail.co.uk Design - Grant McArthur grantmcarthur@hotmail.co.uk

Contributors Christina Riley, Lillian Spark, Craig Laughland, Jawn McClenaghan, Dorrian, Kirstin Kerr, Levi MacDonald, Joe Crogan Richard Murphy, Peter Holliday, Stana Cepkova, Omar Zingaro Bhatia, Tommy Ga-Ken Wan, Wes McCallum and Les Garcons de Glasgow. After the great success of our new website we aimed to make our fourth issue the best yet. With the obstacle of the Christmas party season in our way weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve still managed to pull our largest issue out yet. Showcasing the latest in Glaswegian talent and fashion, we hope you enjoy our fourth issue. Thanks again to all the contributors, without them it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be possible! Leo

guys. We started recording at Chime studios in Shettleston and I was totally taken with the whole process. When Sam left for Twin Atlantic I recorded them in my Mum’s garage in Wishaw where they let me use them as guinea pigs. Some of the demos I made for them made their way to people who worked here and I got offered a job!

a day in the life of lofi studios Words by Leo Photos by Christina Riley We headed over to the Lofi recording studios on Anchor Lane just next to George Square to have a snoop around and chat to sound engineer Bruce Rintoul about the day to day life of the studios and his work there. INDICATE

What lead you to work in this kind of environment? I started recording when I was 14 with a basic home set up and just a guitar. Then when I was about 16 or 17 I joined a band called Arca Felix with Sam McTrusty from Twin Atlantic and a few other

Tell us a bit more about the studios. The rehearsal studios opened about five years ago and I was brought in to spec out recording studios about three years ago. Now we have nine rehearsal rooms and two recording studios. In a non biased way, I personally think that Lofi is one of the best places to record and rehearse, the general upkeep of the studios and the quality of the equipment is great. Describe exactly to us what your job is? Basically I take a bands songs and ideas and try and translate them onto a record as best as I can. I will develop and change things if it will sound better and therefore try to produce a professional sounding

record. This is my main job but I do some live soundwork too. I’ve just finished a week long tour with We Are The Ocean where they were playing gigs in venues with a 500/600 capacity. I’ve never worked in another studio, Lofi is where i started and I’ve been here ever since! Who has been your favourite band to work with so far? A band called Energy from kilmarnock who recently supported Flood of Red and Xcerts, are a really tight band for a group of young guys. really amazing song writers. I always love recording Twin Atlantic too because we’re awesome friends so it feels less like work and more like hanging out with your mates. Lofi’s had a lot of great business this year with a lot of great Glaswegian talent coming through the door. Any horror stories? Ooft, harsh question! A lot of bands come in who can’t really play their instruments and they just seem like they’re in a band for the sake of being in a band. It kind of takes its toll on you because you can’t make a good record out of it. Great bands come in and making INDICATE

a good record that they’re happy with is a great feeling so when making a bad record is inevitable due to the quality of the band it definitely lowers the spirits. Who or what has helped you get where you are now? Twin Atlantic and especially Sam have been amazing and really helpful. They’ve pulled me up with them as they’ve gone up. The owner Eddie Duffy (Simple Minds) has always been supportive of the choices we’ve made and he provides the money for all INDICATE

this amazing equipment! The other sound engineer here, Nick Rowan, is a great help too as we’re always talking to each other and discussing techniques to help each other improve! We’ve both come on leaps and bounds since we opened three years ago.

Does anyone ever bring anything interesting into the studio? A band gave me a kettle once! Weirdly someone managed to

lose the kettle but not the plug, not sure how it’s possible to lose a kettle?! This guy called Terry got me a stack of Beatles russian dolls and I love the Beatles so that was awesome! Pacific Theatre were the band recording with Bruce when we paid our visit to the studios , So we talked to them. Why did you choose Lofi? Its always had a good reputation and we know Bruce through other bands who have worked with him.

The quality is always amazing from this place and so it was the obvious choice for us. Any upcoming shows or EPs we should know about? Not much at the moment because we’re working on getting some new tracks out so we can keep it fresh. Playing a gig in Stirling in March though! Check out Pacific Theatre at www.myspace.com/ pacifictheatremusic The other Scottish bands INDICATE

mentioned in this article can be found at: www.twinatlantic.com www.floodofred.co.uk www.myspace.com/thexcerts www.myspace.com/arcafelix www.myspace.com/ energybookings www.lofi.co.uk

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saturday night live Words by Wes McCallum Illustration by Joe Crogan

“Whoy? Whad’s wrong with Seddaday noights maite?” Some Australian idiot was bending my ear about the best place to go on a Saturday night. He was wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt and had a bandanna tied around his forehead. When he gestured, his arms would lift up to expose large sweat-rings. He seemed like exactly the type of person who would leave Australia for Glasgow in mid-November. I tapped my finger on the bandanna. For the first time during the whole conversation, I noticed that it sported a skull and crossbones pattern. “Karate up here, ih?” “Whod? AOW YEEEAAUH! Oi was in Belfast the other dai an this bahstahd threw a rock roid at me. Didn’t gawe to the hospidal or nothing, though. Bud oi-” I blocked him out. I could see Carrie squeezing her way through the crowd with our drinks. I reached out and grabbed her by the elbow. “Christ. Just start talking. Gogogogo.” INDICATE

Carrie pulled in closer and we looked around the room. The bar was crowded. The owners must have been breaking umpteen fire regulations. Every available space was lined with bodies. There were punks, businessmen, pensioners, rugby boys and art school types crammed in from the entrance to the back wall. The ceilings were lined with alternating red and white light fixtures. I looked directly up. On the red lightshade above, someone had scrawled “THE DARK MEAT”. On the white one, “THE OTHER WHITE MEAT”. Briefly, I wondered how they had managed to reach up there, then I felt Carrie tug at my chest. “Hei, look at them.” She gestured to a couple sitting at one of the tiny circular tables which lined the outer edges of the room. They were clearly out on a date. She was sporting an oversized mink/sable/rat fur coat, bright red lipstick, huge milk-bottle glasses and a jet black bowlcut. The sides of his head were shaven and the blonde tuft on top was teased almost vertical. He wore a tweed jacket several sizes INDICATE

too small, an orange bowtie and argyle socks. The date seemed to be going well; they spoke in mumbling, fragmented sentences and refused to make eye contact with each other. Every time they would start kissing they would make a big show of it, rocking back and forth and leaning on the people beside them. After a while, The Maths Teacher got up to fetch them a round of drinks. Their round consisted of six drinks, three each. On his first trip, he came back with two obscenely blue cocktails, complete with umbrellas. On his second trip he returned with two shot glasses of Sambuca. His final trip produced two White Russians, each with a single Kinder Egg floating in them. After the drinks had been brought back to their table, Zsa Zsa got up and began to edge her way to the toilets. The Maths Teacher pondered long and hard over the jukebox. Zsa was coming towards us. “Watch this,” I said. “Here doll, that real Muppet skin?” I asked. Zsa Zsa snuffed at me and continued to make her way through the crowd. The Maths Teacher was still at the jukebox. I winked at Carrie, “Bottoms up.” INDICATE

We walked over to their table and threw back the two shots. I fished out the Kinder Eggs and we pushed our way through the sea of people, towards the exit. Outside, we took the foil off and ate the vodka-soaked chocolate. An older woman clad in a tiger-skin jacket and a blonde Pulp Fiction-style wig was fighting with a younger, red-headed man. He was backing off whilst trying to grab her face as she was punching him around the head and neck. The toy inside the Kinder Egg was poor. We walked up the street to get some fags from the shop. Carrie led the way and held my hand so we wouldn’t get separated in the busy streets. We worked our way past the hordes of slow-moving clubbers and in to the 24-Hour-Shop. The shopkeeper behind the counter had a glass eye. The ocular apparatus remained motionless as the one operational peeper followed us down the aisles. When we got back outside there was some sort of commotion going on. The street had went from busy to jam-packed due to a large influx of excited, clucking crowds. The object of their attention was situated outside the nightclub directly opposite the bar we had just left. Outside the shop there

was a railing, constructed to keep drunk pedestrians from falling in front of traffic. A swaying boy leaned on it to steady himself as he vomited on top of a large pile of binbags that were lying in the street. I went over to the railing, pushed the boy in to the pile of bags, then climbed up to get a better view of what was going on. “Come see this,” I shouted to Carrie, then hoisted her up on my back. The entire street, including the road, was swarming with people. Traffic had come to a standstill. Two bewildered polis stood at the edge of the crowd, exasperated. All eyes were focused on one girl who was standing outside the nightclub. She could have been anywhere between seventeen and thirty. She was overweight and her hair had been dyed a strawy blonde then pulled back in a tight bun. She had either thrown away or lost her shoes and stood there, on a cold November morning, in her bare feet. Her tight black dress revealed a generous overhang around the stomach area, but any glimpse in that direction was quickly commandeered by what lay below. The dress, barely long enough to conceal her arse, did not do much to conceal the brown streak which ran down

the inside of her leg either. The streak was heavily smudged and in places appeared to be solid; albeit of a soft consistency. The brown discharge blended in with the orange of her flabby legs and lingered slightly at the ankle before plopping to the ground. She stood there, apparently oblivious, spitting and screaming at the bouncers and demanding that she be let back in to the club. There were mixed reactions from the crowd. Some laughed, some were disgusted, some shouted at her. What was universal amongst them, it seemed, was that they all had their cameras or phones trained directly on the girl. Clearly, the main concern here was to properly document the incident. “Let’s go for another bevvy somewhere,” I said. Carrie hopped off my back and we continued up the street.

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Flossy and dossy Photos by Levi MacDonald Model Julia Accessories from Flossy and Dossy www.flossyanddossy.co.uk

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tommy ga-ken wan A photographer based in Glasgow, Tommy’s work is like no other. Having had his work published numerous times, Tommy still remains modest and down to earth about his photography. Having done shoots and taken photographs in many countries all over the world, Tommy’s work is a rich body of beautiful and personal images. Renowned for capturing fleeting moments in life, Tommy’s photos have a stunning sense of the fragility of human experiences. His photos are technically brilliant but he always seems to make them look effortless. INDICATE

When did you first become interested in photography? My interest has always been in stories and people. This first manifested itself in the computer games I would play as a kid RPGs like Final Fantasy, very much focussed on stories and characters. Then I started to read, to write, to draw, and I ended up taking photographs. My parents gave me my first camera at 14, and at that time it was just a way to take silly snapshots of the stuff I did with my friends. When I was 17 I took a picture that appeared in national papers and was exhibited around the world, but even then I hadn’t realised the possibilities of photography, and how for me it was really just an extension of a love of people and stories: to show a moment of truth, show how someone feels and to suggest a story about their lives: to show the human condition, to capture a moment in someone’s life that could provoke a real emotional response. What inspires you? Don DeLillo once wrote “The shock of other people’s lives. The truth of another life, the blow, the impact...” He summed up perfectly my inspiration: truth, life, people’s lives, what

an extraordinary and terrifying thing it is to be a human being. In photography, I’m interested in observing rather than directing, reality rather than fiction, the world rather than the studio. Stylistically, I’m inspired more by cinema than by other photography: the films of Wong Kar-Wai, steeped in mood and atmosphere, sweating emotion and beauty, and the films of Michael Mann, inhabited by deep and lonely people in dark and lonely places. You have travelled far and wide with your camera, where has been your favourite place to take photos? In Hong Kong, one can swim in the sea without another human being in sight and, an hour later, swim in the crowds, among the sounds, sights and smells of some of the planet’s most densely populated streets. One can stand atop a mountain and look over the the hills and water and, in the same afternoon, atop one of the world’s tallest buildings. For lunch, one can have pig ears and chicken feet, and cross the street to have a McFlurry for desert. To quote Jan Moir, “Hong Kong is our era exemplified - historically, ethnically, architecturally, socially, economically, aesthetically and, INDICATE

above all, sensually.” It’s teeming with life, like any large city, but it has soul: there’s none of the arrogance and aggression, fear and suspicion, that characterises - for me at least - London. What would you say to aspiring young photographers? My main advice for young photographers is simply to do it: if you have the passion, then embrace it. Don’t be paralysed by fear: fear for the safety of your equipment, fear that you’re not good enough, fear of the opinions of others (“Poor Tommy’s 30 now and still doesn’t own a car or have a mortgage...”). If you have the passion, making piles of money won’t matter. If you don’t have the passion, don’t make a career in photography: find something that you do have the passion for, and try to make your career in that instead. Where do you see yourself in ten years time? Ten years ago I had never owned a camera, cooked a meal, kissed a boy or travelled alone. I have no idea what the next ten years will bring! What has been your favourite experience within your INDICATE

photographic career? I was working as the set photographer for a music video in Hong Kong, and we were shooting on location at a runway at night in Kowloon. The sequence was a BMXer, a skateboarder and a skater being pursued by a car, and I was hanging off the side of the film truck that drove alongside, trying to get the right shot. With the skyline of Hong Kong Island lit up across the water - the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen - and the jumbled sounds of the cinematographer, director and crew shouting in different languages, it was definitely something I’ll never forget. That whole job, which took place over two weeks with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever worked with, was the most rewarding work I’ve done.

www.tommygakenwan.com www.flickr.com/photos/ tgkw INDICATE

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start is a good recipe and all the ingredients. Chocolate tart

Stana’s Secrets

Sugary

By Stana Cepkova

First thing first, let me get one thing straight. I’m not a domestic goddess who can bake anything she likes. I have created quite a few disasters in the past. I became so fed up with things not turning out right and tasting INDICATE

truly awful (my carrot cake where I had forgotten to use a cup of oil and used too many ground cloves - yuck!), I decided enough is enough. I found that the few things you need to set you up for a good

I thought for a while what kind of dessert/cake should be the first one here. I looooove chocolate and if you have this one in your repertoire it’s a winner every time. First of all, I had to find the right recipe for this chocolate tart. I had the vision of the tart in my head but all the recipes in my cookery books had the filling baked. I wanted gooey chocolate filling with mirror smooth surface. So I set to search for the recipe online (the laptop needs to be on hand every time I bake). I came across the baked filling recipes again and again, this was starting to annoy me a bit. Finally I found one, but it didn’t have the picture of the final product and it was by Heston Blumenthal, hmmmm. But after reading the whole recipe I decided to give it a go, as it was pretty close to the one I envisioned. We all know what Heston’s like and true to his reputation he uses glucose syrup instead of sugar in his chocolate filling. I wasn’t prepared to look for the glucose syrup at the local chemist, but you can.

Things you will need : for the tart base 75g unsalted butter 50g icing sugar 100g of plain flour 375g chopped hazelnuts 1/4 tsp salt zest of 1/2 orange 1 small egg for the filling 390ml double cream 25ml of glucose syrup or 100g of caster sugar 365g chocolate (containing 55% of cocoa solids) * 85g unsalted butter * I used chocolate with more than 55% cocoa solids and it worked just fine. Ok, so once you have all the ingredients we can get started. Oh, you will also need one of those fancy tart baking tins with loose base, it should be 20cm wide, too.First we make the tart base, beat together the softened butter and icing sugar. Add the chopped hazelnuts, flour, salt and orange zest. Last add the egg and stir in slowly until the mixture is totally blended. If you have trouble with it coming together use your hands and knead it together. INDICATE

Make a nice ball, leave it in the bowl and put it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. Now, preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas mark 4. After an hour remove the pastry from the fridge, place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out. Make sure it’s kind of a circle and will cover the base and the sides of the tin. Put it in the fridge again for about 15 minutes. After that bin the parchment paper and roll the pastry loosely around a floured rolling pin, the unroll it over the greased tart tin. Gently press the pastry into the tin, against the base and the sides. Ok, you might find that this is the trickiest part and I will believe you. I made this tart twice and I didn’t manage. Don’t worry, you can patch it up, in the end most of it will be covered by lovely gooey chocolate filling. Bake it in the preheated oven for 15minutes, when done, leave it to cool.

which would be big enough to have all other ingredients added. Heat the cream and glucose/or sugar until nearly boiling. Stir to avoid the sugar burning to the pan at the bottom. Add the heated cream mix to the chocolate and whisk it until the chocolate is melted, then add the butter and beat it all smooth. Pour the filling into the cooled tart case and place it in the fridge for about 2 hours until set. Make sure you take it out well before serving so it reaches the room temperature, so the chocolate filling is just perfectly soft. It says it serves 6, but you just need a tiny sliver as it it super rich but you might find yourself going for more. Enjoy, not just eating it but making it as well!

When you feel like the base is getting cooler you can make the filling. I love this part most, and it’s really simple. Break all the chocolate into small pieces and place it into bowl INDICATE

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The misadventures of pikinski vashtar rathbone Illustrations by Omar Zingaro Bhatia http://zingaromar.blogspot.com/

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we are not made of glass Interview and photos by Peter Holliday Michael Rice (formerly known as the lead vocalist of Yashin) has come a long way from his post hardcore roots. Redesigned, he returns armed with passion and an acoustic guitar to serve us with an introspective and confessional melody. His music is strong, gentle and unique though reminiscent of acts such as City & Colour, William Fitzsimmons and the solo work of Jonny Craig. Showing absolutely no signs of slowing down, he’s definitely something to look out for in 2010 and beyond. INDICATE

Why did you decide to go solo?

off late January.

I decided to go solo because I wanted to keep writing, recording and performing music after I left Yashin. It’s great to be able to try something new. I can write whatever kind of music I want at the moment and don’t feel pressured.

Where do you hope your music will take you?

You describe your music as a ‘catharsis after a year of highs and lows’. What is the inspiration behind your music?

If you could play anywhere, where would it be?

It’s hard to say what inspires me to write as every song has something completely different behind it. Some of them are deep and emotional and some are a lot less serious. I don’t always decide what the song is about before I write the music. ‘We Are Not Made of Glass’ is about the death of my Dad last year and the unexpected events that happened after that. I’m very proud of that song.

My theory is that you cannot argue with great songs. I think I can write great songs so yeah, I would love to do this as a career and I think I probably will.

I would go back to NYC and play in Greenwich Village again. Any venue. I love that place. That was one of my best memories from playing in Yashin and it is one I plan on reliving. Check Mike out at www. myspace.com/michaelriceuk and keep an eye out for forthcoming shows.

What are your plans for 2010? This year I am going back into the recording studio and the practice studio. I’m going to start rehearsing a live set with a band which I have started putting together. That will hopefully kick INDICATE

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street

fashion

by by Les Garcons De Glasgow lesgarconsdeglasgow.blogspot.com INDICATE

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nothing new

by Grant McArthur www.myspace.com/grantosss He doesnt really know where he’s going or what he’s doing but here’s some recent work from our graphic designer grant mcarthur, he’s the one who makes it all happen. Leo

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day of the dead Legwear from Glasgow companies Bebaroque and Loula Creates. www.bebaroque.co.uk www.loulacreates.com Art director & stylist - Leo Photographer - Peter Holliday Make up artist - Kaeleigh Wallace Model - Beth Higgins

tights from Bebaroque. lace leotard and black bandau from American Apparel Glasgow

tights from Loula Creates

leggings from Loula Creates, mesh leotard from American Apparel Glasgow. shoes: modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own

tights from Loula Creates

tights from Loula Creates, grey scrimmage shirt from American Apparel Glasgow

leggings from Loula Creates, pink bandau from American Apparel Glasgow

dirty noise review by Joe Crogan When we started Dirty Noise in September 2009.(We, being Joe Crogan and Dirty Kid) Our main idea was to have a fucking amazing techno night that didn’t cost £20. Who has £20? Not me. Now, the Crogan & the Kid have been getting CRUNK AS FUCK for a few years, and have a list of complaints, something we wanted INDICATE

to put to good use. I have attention deficit disorder when it comes to techno. I don’t have time for build ups or break downs. I am here NOW and I don’t have time to waste. I want the music to be the Terminator to my Robocop. Basically I want it to do its fucking job. So many nights I’ve felt like the DJ has wasted my INDICATE

time. Fuck that, and fuck you. I’ve got places to be and people to see, I want 3 hours of solid filth, and I want it on time motherfucker. Glasgow has a fuckload of cool shit goin on, but I always feel that the live music/indie/shite scene is better represented than electronic and dance music. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching the same guy in a check shirt and lovely fringe moaning about how sad he is and pretending to be Billy Bragg, but sometimes you want to fucking shoot yourself. Alternatives to going to the Arches and Sub club and spending £50 out to even hear GOOD dance music? Uh, the ABCsometimes plays Daft Punk.... This is basically our raisin for booking the acts that we have, as Glasgow has tons of good shit. So far we’ve had DJ Wardy (SOLUTe) Matthew Craig (onemoretune) Hoodshidegills, Dirty Basement, Dance Junkie (orderly disorder) and Karl and Leigh from Filthy Rehab. This month we got Rebecca Vasmant and Digital INDICATE

Stitch and I am very fucking excited because I think they are both GOOD AS FUCK. The other main idea of Dirty Noise was to get the Audio and the Visuals to fuck each other. I am fucking sick of seeing visuals at nightclubs that are the same fucking recycled stock footage that some cunt has downloaded. Stock footage and a projector..... what are you getting paid for again? And the ones that do make their own shit are so fucking poor they don’t even count.

Enemy once said “don’t believe the hype” Well fuck you Public Enemy, I was always a Wu Tang kinda guy. Dirty Noise is the last wed of every month in Nice N Sleazys you can find them here www.myspace. com/dirtynoiseglasgow and here www.joecrogan.com

I aim to hurt peoples feelings and for lack of a better term, “cuntblast the mindgina” a multi-orifice experience, weeping cunts, 50ft assholes eating the twin towers to save them from a plane with a kittens face on it. A thousand triangles slicing a border collie named G.T (who won Krufts a bunch of times look him up) Now after all that, you may be thinking “ He might be a bit biased, its his night he is promoting” well you’d be right. Of course I like it, I think we do a fucking good job and there’s nothing I’ve written I don’t actually believe. Public INDICATE

I am always dubious when I see that a new vintage shop is opening in Glasgow, as a scourer of racks and bins in many vintage shops in numerous cities I am a choosy customer. However upon my daily jaunt to the Kelvinbridge underground I passed by a brand new vintage store. Mysteriously the windows were veiled so my curiosity was invoked and I became impatient to see if this shop would meet my high expectations. It wasn’t long before it opened and the Glasgow Vintage Company was unveiled. A second shop for Mari and Gavin O’Brien, owners of one of our

favourite west end vintage stores, Watermelon. Upon entry I am a jaded and cynical thrifter. Several of the vintage shops in Glasgow have invoked exasperation in the past as they’ve chosen bad stock and believed that throwing ugly shoes and bags into unappealing piles in dusty corners counts as selling vintage. I generally leave after five minutes of vaguely hoping for a vintage gem but realising the ugly truth. However, The Glasgow Vintage Company offers a fresh new hoard of clothing to look at. Probably one of the biggest

the glasgow vintage company by Leo

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vintage shops in Glasgow with two large floors, the store feels spacious and airy, whilst the hard wood flooring maintains a warm atmosphere.

Company holds its own and definitely rises above most of the vintage shops that have appeared in the last few years. Get there quick!

Inside for a mere two minutes and I’ve already spotted an amazing pair of white ankle boots and therefore fall upon the racks of clothing in renewed vigour. each rack sends me deeper and deeper into wild excitement as I uncover cute jumpers, rockin’ 80s skirts and a rabbit fur bomber jacket. This is all before going downstairs where I find bins of handbags and a dresser full of hats! I’m in vintage heaven. down on the bottom floor I also find an utterly huge selection of men’s clothing, a nirvana for any guy who enjoys a good tweed jacket or retro sports bag. (I would personally hope that none of you boys are looking for vintage cowboy boots as cuban heels just don’t do it for me but there are plenty to choose from if that’s your thing!)

The Glasgow Vintage Co. 453 Great Western Rd

Perhaps lacking in the vintage couture that We Love to Boogie provides and the wide selection of vintage jewelry that Mr. Ben’s holds but the Glasgow Vintage INDICATE

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Bloc+Jam: Acoustic Sunday-night Beatitude Words by Wes McCallum Photos by Christina Riley www.myspace.com/blocjam When an event describes itself as “basically the best open mic night that has ever been” on its MySpace page, it has a lot to live up to. Curated by Craig Grant (of electro/indie giants Union of Knives) and Louis Abbot (of Brother Louis Collective), Bar Bloc on Bath Street hosts the acoustic INDICATE

extravaganza every Sunday evening. Only a five minute walk away from the city centre, the fun starts at 9pm and often goes on until participants have to be reminded of the limits imposed by Sunday night licensing laws. Especially attractive for the lighter of pocket amongst us is the lure

of free entry, making the night an ideal cooling down activity after a wild weekend. On the other hand, for those of us with Monday mornings off, the bar offers a range of free passes to the best clubs in town. The bustling atmosphere and acoustic backdrop can serve as the perfect warm-up for a night of dancing. Bloc+Jam truly has something for all crowds. A typical Sunday night is nothing less than a multi-genre cavalcade of tunes. Regular attendees will notice that there are some twenty semi-regular performers, each bringing their own dynamic and style to the foray. Although this regular crowd do occasionally play original compositions, most of the thrills are garnered from their re-appropriated cover version of popular songs, the majority of which the audience will recognise from their own iPods in a heartbeat. The variety of performance is something not usually found in the largely incestual Glasgow music scene. Covers range from restructured classics by Prince, The Beach Boys and Tom Waits through to acoustic mainstays like Death Cab For Cutie, Mumford & Sons and

The Arcade Fire. Lighter-hearted sets even touch on mellowed versions of GlassJAw, Paramore and Coheed & Cambria. On top of this, performers will often join each other on stage to provide backing vocals and improvised harmonies. It’s not a rare sight to see anything up to six performers on stage at any one time. The quality of the talent present has to be experienced to be believed; anyone who has seen their heartbreaking almost-weekly performance of Low’s “Sunflower” will attest to this. However, the eclectic nature of the night is not wholly due to quirky covers of wellknown anthems. Often, the musicians who frequent Bloc on Sundays are not your run-of-themill one guitar singer/songwriter. Tender moments are found in a capella renditions of traditional Scottish and Irish folk songs. There were grins all round during an excellent four-man beat-boxed tribute to Justin Timberlake. The performance repertoire one night included violin, double bass and clarinet players. The extra dimension that these musicians add to the night can only be seen in the raucous applause from INDICATE

the audience every time they are incorporated into a song. On this occasion, their presence led to some interesting jazz improv and rockabilly-style rhythms; vocals from an older, slightly inebriated (but perfectly capable) gent and a handful of beautiful girls dancing a jig in centre stage made the whole thing seem like the under-deck party scene from Titanic meets Steptoe & Son. This varied repertoire of regular performers leads to attract

snobbishly introverted. Turning up to play a few songs at many an acoustic night in this fair city without the accepted uniform of NHS spectacles, a threadbare child-size sweater and facial hair that Prussian heads of state would be proud of would lead to a severely cold shoulder from the wine-sipping audience. This couldn’t be further from the case in Bloc. Whereas an unknown contender may be snuffed at for a relatively green reputation in other

‘YOU WANTAE GET UP AND SING THEN, PRICK?’ ‘IGNORE THAT TIT AND PLAY US FIVE MARE, SON!’ a wide range of burgeoning solo artists looking to peddle their wares to a wider audience. Regulars can trace the journey of many active and well-known Glasgow singer/ songwriters back to their fledgling Bloc+Jam performances. The high standard set by the regular acts mean that the training wheels are off for any would-be jam session hopefuls, but this does not breed an attitude of exclusion in the Bloc crowd. The Glasgow music scene is infamous for being INDICATE

between artist and audience, making the whole nerve-wracking process of performing in front of strangers a whole lot easier. For those wishing to participate: simply speak to someone fiddling with the soundboard or singing backing vocals on a song or two and they’ll be sure to point you in the right direction. There’s no need to call in advance and no one will be turned away because of a busy schedule. A house guitar is even provided for those who get the sudden urge to do an impromptu set. A real sense of community

is very much present in the Bloc+Jam nights. Because of the cosmopolitan location of Bar Bloc, clients hail from all walks of life. Unfortunately, on occasion this can lead to infiltration by certain insurgents who could be described as of a “laddier” disposition. The presence of one such lad-sect led to a memorable incident which perfectly sums up the impact of the Sunday night community: On stage was a new face. A young singer/songwriter who couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen. He was performing some original material and his

establishments, the Bloc crowd ensure an attitude of support and an atmosphere of comfort for all newcomers. The layout of the pub itself even encourages a friendlier atmosphere than most other open mic nights. Because there is no stage per se, performers stand on a level field with drinkers and diners. There’s no dimming of lights and no jailhouse-style spotlights thrown on those who decide to play. This means that there’s less of a conscious differentiation INDICATE

vocals had caught the attention of almost everyone in the room. The lyrics were heartfelt and his voice was phenomenal. His guitar playing, however, was still on the shaky side and it was clear that he had not yet developed the confidence and stage persona of the previous, more experienced performers. Suddenly, one of The Lads (it was either Abercrombie or Fitch, I can’t remember which one exactly) decided to try his hand at heckling the young chap as he finished up his set. Shouts of “YOU WANTAE GET UP AND SING THEN, PRICK?” and “IGNORE INDICATE

THAT TIT AND PLAY US FIVE MARE, SON” immediately echoed through the pub. Abercrombie (or Fitch) was dragged through the streets by every voice in the room. This attitude of zerotolerance is one of the things that sets Bloc+Jam apart from all other acoustic nights in Glasgow. A true sense of musical community ensures that the night is a diamond experience for both potential acoustic performers and interested spectators. In short, Bloc on a Sunday night is well worth a visit.

www.bloc.ru Bar Bloc 117 Bath Street

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Jawn: After the past couple of hectic years, what have been the highlights for yourselves as a band? David: Well after the E.P came out in early 2008 its been pretty much non-stop for us right through until now. We done a couple of tours with our Lockjaw label mates, Tribute To Nothing and Resonate through the UK and also Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We then also went out on the road with the guys in Klay which was great, we got to go back to Germany a second time including some festivals.

thisfamiliarsmile Words and Photos by Jawn McClenaghan David - Vocals/Guitar. Darren (The Boy) - Drums/Vocals. Richie - Bass/Vocals. Neil - Guitar/Vocals. Having shared the stage with bands such as Minus The Bear, The Fall of Troy, Cursive, Seafood, Drive By Arguement & M.C. Lars (to name a few) in the last couple of years, I meet up with the guys from thisfamiliarsmile to get the low down on what 2009 brought them and what 2010 has to offer . . . INDICATE

Jawn: How did the crowd react in a country so far away from home soil? David: Yeah, we seem to go down pretty well over there. We played the Rockdieburg festival in 2008 in Germany in front of around 1500 people so that was great. We played the tour in Germany as well as the festival with Tribute to Nothing later that year so we’re hoping there’s some sort of fanbase growing out there. People are always happy to embrace new music over there I think. Especially if you come from another country for some reason!

Jawn: So what influences do you have as a band? Neil: We’re into lots of things but we’d say bands like Minus the Bear, Cursive, Bloc Party and Brand New are all big favourites of ours. We also like the late 90’s emo bands like American Football, Braid and Sunny Day Real Estate. I think a lot of that comes through in our music. David: We’ve always liked music with strange progressions and time signature changes. I think that’s had an influence because we keep the music diverse but still try to keep a poppy edge to it. The new material in particular has more backing vocals and bigger choruses Jawn: There have also been some line-up changes recently, how have you found that? David: Yeah, due to other commitments, our old guitarist, Chris and Bassist Mark couldn’t continue with the band and left last year but we have Neil (guitar) and Richie (bass) now and I’d like to think we sound better than ever, but I like to think a lot of things which aren’t necessarily true I guess.. I still hold a firm belief that INDICATE

Rod Stewart has been stalking me for the past two years just to sign his sponsored walk sheet. Richie: Like David said, I joined in late 2008 after Mark left, and have played in previous bands, as well as Neil, so we adapted pretty well. After spending time rehearsing new material and learning the old stuff, it’s good to finally get out there and tour with great friends, and play shows in other countries. Neil: It’s good to be in a band with good friends, and get out on the road again. I only joined the band in late October and one of our first shows as a four-piece was supporting The Fall of Troy at King Tuts so I was quite nervous about it. It was sold out as well so that didn’t help! We went down really well with the crowd so I must have done something right. I’ve been good friends with the band for years and knew their music inside out so it wasn’t too hard to learn the tracks. Jawn: Sounds like 2009 was pretty awesome for you as far as shows go. Is there any new material in the pipeline? David: Well, we’re in the middle of putting the final touches on the album. It’s going to be titled, INDICATE

‘Ribbons, Regards & The More Machine.’ We recorded it with Jim Turner at the Waiting Room studios (in Worcester) as it’s the studio Lockjaw use for all of their bands, and we were happy with the way our first E.P turned so it was a pretty clear choice in our minds. It’s slightly poppier and more accessible than the EP but also more progressive in a bizarre way but we’re really happy with how it’s turning out. Jawn: Good to hear there is material on the way. Do you have any other plans for this year? The Boy: We’re basically going to be gigging as much as possible in Scotland to warm up for touring the album once it’s released – which we’re hoping is around March-time. We’ll be releasing our first single from the album as a digital download as well just before that. David: We are also hoping that once the single is out, we can get a video organised to coincide with it. There’s nothing set it stone as of yet, but fingers crossed. We are also in talks with our label mates Klay about putting out a limited edition 7” in the not so distant

future. Most of the songs for the album were written a while ago so we’re also writing a lot of new stuff which will no doubt appear on an EP later in the year! Jawn: All sounds very promising! So basically just work non-stop then? Neil: Yeah definitely! The album and everything that comes with it should take us up until summer, then we will see about getting some European dates again and hopefully some festivals. The Boy: We would love to play some of the British festivals also. We played T in the Park a few years back on the T-Break stage and we got a pretty big crowd and a really great reaction so that would be fun to do again! David: Like I said, we’re especially happy with how the album’s sounding so we hope people will take to it. We’ve always been a band that doesn’t like to keep it simple as we get bored with it pretty quickly. We like being divisive like that and to challenge people. Saying that, we want to expand our fan-base with this new material but we’re hopefully not about to sound like Taking Back Sunday anytime soon. Next

up for us will be our foray into the electro folk-math dub crossover that people are desperate for, or failing that, nu-metal is still pretty big, right? - The band are currently up for a Scottish Alternative Music Award. They are up for best rock / alternative band. They play the Glasgow Classic Grand on the 24th February as part of the awards. You can vote for them on the myspace @ www.myspace. com/scottishalternativemusic - The E.P. - ‘What Kind of Monster am I?’ is available now as a digital download from Itunes, Play.com, HMV and the Lockjaw Records webstore. - The album – ‘Ribbons, Regards & The More Machine,’ will be available in the not too distant future.

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little black ridinghood Photos by Dorrian Styling and words by Nadine Ahmad Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant: Natasha Schmidt Photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant: Johanna Jourdain Model: Ngozi Kemjika A couquettish girl, romantically gothic glides through the forest. A wolf with a taste for beautiful young girls crosses her path, an evil smile is flashed and with one swift move the wolf is dead. The girl gives way to her edgy punk attitude, she is sexy, tall, sultry and oozes black from head to toe... cross her path if you dare!

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adventures of trongate Words by Lillian Spark Photos by Christina Riley I guess I’ve always had a soft spot for Trongate, before I even knew what Trongate was (I now know, I think, that Trongate is the area sandwiched between the Merchant City, where you’ll pay four quid for a pint, and Saltmarket, where I wouldn’t know how much a pint costs because I like my face the way it is). It was the first place I really explored when my parents would let me come into Glasgow on my own at fourteen (OMGZ!!!111). Not really knowing what to do when we got off the train on a Saturday (we never got the hanging around Central thing, INDICATE

and were too scared by the Goths to hang around the steps at Borders, which were seemingly the only other options as skint underage moshers in Toon); my boyfriend at the time and I would head to Laurie’s pub to watch the big jazz band play and all the sweet old pensioners dancing, while getting steamin’ on coconut rum and coke. How grown up, thought I. Then we’d stumble back to the train, buy a Blue Lagoon, some strawberry Mad Dog and hang about the woods by the motorway, making fires and smoking a ten deck of Mayfair bought between eight of us. It was also the first place my impossibly cool and wild older sister took me in Glasgow around the same kind of time. She took me to The 13th Note, only next door to Laurie’s but pretty much as different a bar as you could find. With the crazy veggie food, posters everywhere, unmatching furniture and weird music on the jukebox I thought it was The Coolest Place Ever. I remember thinking everyone there looked like they were in a band. I’m still awfully fond of the place but sadly it’s lost a little of its excitement, mainly because now, well, I’ve seen more than two other bars. Another

thing I remember noticing around Trongate was the inexplicable number of leather shops in the area. There were at least four within about five minutes walking distance selling exclusively leather products. Who even thought that would be a good idea for a business? How many leather jackets did they have to sell daily to keep afloat? I never saw anyone go in or out. I have literally never seen a man in Glasgow wearing leather trousers, thank the lord. I concocted this theory that they were all fronts for gangsters laundering money. Now there’s only one, which bizarrely has a mini barber shop in the front window, so either they all got caught or there just isn’t the same market for suits made entirely of cow as there once was. Speaking of weird shops, I also remember spending quite a lot of time in the scary neon shops in Kings Court, being deafened by the trippy dance music and browsing the plastic bras and spiky jewellery. Thankfully, I don’t ever remember buying anything but strangely I kept going. Most of those shops have gone too, leaving ‘Cyber’ as the sole purveyor of PVC catsuits, those fingerless fishnet gloves everyone used to wear (… just INDICATE

me?) and fairy wings etc. in the area. I don’t know if all that had an influence on the fact that I now live and work in Trongate. Probably, I do love this little part of Glasgow. The West End and the Merchant City may be classier and cooler but Trongate is like nowhere else in town. I can’t think of any shop or pub in the area that’s part of a chain and I got told, when bothering the nice people around here about their opinions on the area, that Trongate has the highest concentration of independent shops in Scotland. There is a theatre, piercing and tattoo studios, comic and record shops, loads of galleries, amazing restaurants and pubs, an art centre and tremendous clothes INDICATE

shops. That’s a pretty decent spread for an area at the wrong end of town. So here is a guide to Trongate, it’s not an exhaustive list of everything in Trongate, but everywhere I love. Compiled into a neat little day plan, if for some reason you were ever to spend an entire day here. You should. Come stay at ours, we’ll make you pancakes… Breakfast! The perfect place to start your Trongate Adventure is the Trans-Europe Cafe. If you’re feeling a tad worse for wear, their stunning all day breakfast will sort you right out. It’s almost worth going for the decor alone, the seats are made from disused train seats (or are they bus seats? The debate rages on). The walls are

covered in maps of the world and they have a big selection of board games you can play while munching away on their delicious food. If you don’t fancy a fry up, their soup is always top notch as are their sandwiches which are all named after cities (are you sensing a theme?). They’re also open evenings, Thursday to Saturday, when the food takes on more of a bistro approach. They have cute little tables outside too, for feeling European and having a fag. I would highly recommend sitting outside. One time we were sat there, enjoying a Camel Blue, when we met the most charming alcoholic ever. He was rather taken with us and told us “I like to think I’m a cut above your average alky, I’m an alky but at least I read a lot of books...” and invited us to his poetry reading that evening. Are you beginning to see why I love this place? Shopping After a reviving munch at TransEurope, there’s plenty of shops around to waste a morning in. On the same street as Trans-Europe there’s some specialist shops like Merchant City Cameras (which always confuses me, but technically the Merchant City stretches all the way down here). If you’re into photography in any way, it’s definitely worth a visit. The

staff are super knowledgeable and don’t mind you hanging around ogling the vintage cameras or loading that second hand 35mm camera which you haven’t quite got to grips with yet. There are a lot of comic book shops around, the biggest being A1 Comics which has a huge range of comics and action figures. There’s several more shops of that ilk along Parnie Street, which, although to be honest I only really visit when buying birthday and Christmas presents for boys, are still a fun way to spend some time. And to pick up awesome action figures. If music is more your thing, Record Fayre across the road should be at the top of your list. The owner, Paul Gordon, has had the shop here for nearly twenty years and you can buy, as well as sell, all manner of second hand records and CDs. Through the back there is a range of clothing and band merchandise for sale, as well as a decent range of smoking apparatus. Although if that’s more your bag, there are several, ahem, grow shops around the corner which I’m sure will happily sort you out with all the bongs, pipes and flavored skins you could ever ask for. There are a surprising number of really good clothes shops in Trongate (although, I’m INDICATE

not counting ‘Angels’, the Plus Size Mother of the Bride specialists). Tatty Bon is my new favorite, although it’s hard to believe it’s been a year since it opened. It sells vintage, retro and customized clothing for girls and boys as well as second hand and INDICATE

handmade jewellery. Lynne Anderson, the owner, makes the jewellery, customizes the clothes and paints the shoes and bags herself. My personal favorites are the painted shoes and the dinosaur and animal brooches. Although, I do have my eyes on a

customized Star Wars jumper. It’s definitely worth checking out, it’s cheaper than most vintage shops in Glasgow and all the handmade stuff makes it feel more fresh too. Mr. Ben is the veritable Daddy of all vintage shops in Glasgow, probably even Scotland. Apparently, the owner holds the Guinness World Record for having the world’s largest collection of Y-fronts. Surely that’s worth a visit on it’s own? The selection of clothes is huge and varied, as is the collections of shoes, boots, bags, scarves and pretty much anything you can adorn your body with. If you’re in the mood, it’s the perfect place to spend a couple of hours. You’ll definitely find something you’ll treasure. The only annoying thing about the shops around here is that some don’t take cards, so remember to lift money before you arrive if you want to buy anything. Lunch If you’re feeling weary after some heavy duty hunting at Mr. Ben’s, then head next door to Mono. Mono divides opinion; some love it, some think it’s a pretentious indie love-in full of MacBook wanks. I sit between both camps. It’s worth going, definitely, as long as you can overlook the moping trendies in big glasses with no lenses in. Perhaps it would be a

different story if I was tapping this out on a Toshiba Satellite L3001AQ? Maybe. Anyway… The food at Mono is always excellent. They have a selection of small Mezze plates to choose from, although ordering is sometimes a bit of a stab in the dark if you’re knowledge of international cuisine is somewhat lacking. Dukkah? Dolmades? Baba Ganoush? I still couldn’t really tell you what they are, apart from really very good. I generally just order and hope for the best. It’s never been less than delicious but if you’re less of a culinary daredevil than I, the (mostly) friendly staff will happily explain the dishes. The rest of the menu is far more interesting than your normal veggie fare and super tasty, although if you want an old favorite there’s still stuff like Bangers ‘n’ Mash. My guilty favorite is the Haggis Fritters. Seriously, try them. T h e y have a good selection behind the bar too. They serve Moretti, which is beyond wonderful, quite hard to find and my favorite beer. The soft drinks are not to be sniffed at either. I actually just found out that the big mysterious tanks to the right of the bar is a micro-brewery where they brew their own drinks such as Pomegranate and INDICATE

Raspberry Lemonade and Ginger Beer. Yumyumyum. T h e y have free wi-fi too and an interesting selection of board games and books if you get bored of talking to your pals. Public Services or Corporate Welfare, anyone? They even have Macs for Dummies, incase of a MacBook emergency. I’m not kidding. Up the back, they also have an independent record shop called Monorail. If you’re looking for some wildly obscure LP, they’ll probably have it here. The selection is wide and varied, but don’t come here if you’re after The

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View’s newest single. W h e n Mono really comes into it’s own, though, is the summer. They pull the tables and chairs out onto the forecourt on King’s Court and everyone sits around all day, drinking pints and soaking up the sun. It is one of my favorite ways to spend a day, although I do generally get a pang of guilt whenever I drink here instead of The 13th Note (more about there later). Afternoon If all that eating and shopping has left you a bit skint, fear not! There’s stuff to do for free too. Trongate 103 is a new monster six storey

centre for the arts in Glasgow. The ground floor and first floor are mainly gallery space, which are all worth a visit. There’s Street Level Photoworks and the legendary Transmission Gallery which are free to have a snoop around. Trongate 103 is dedicated to encouraging creativity across all boards and there’s always something going on be it a talk, discussion, performance or workshop. Check out the website (www.trongate103.com) for what’s on. If all that culture has inspired you, or if you’re in the market for something a bit more… rebellious, then jump round the corner to Nirvana Body Piercing. Here, you can get bits of metal stuck through most parts of your anatomy for a reasonable price. Most of my piercings, not that I have many, have been done here and its always been a comfortable, so to speak, experience and I’ve never had any trouble healing afterwards. The shop is always super clean and the experienced staff are really sensible and helpful. They make an effort to explain procedures and have a chat, and if you want Marc the Piercer immediately on your side, take him a cupcake. Trust me, it works. If that’s not enough body modification for you, an honourable

mention must go out to Hepcat Tattoos. While not technically in Trongate, it is just a hop, skip and a jump round the corner. It’s relatively new and it looks stunning. It has been done up to look like a 50’s diner, with checkerboard floors and tattooed pin ups on the window. The music is good, if you like your rockabilly and psychobilly, and they do excellent work too. Again it’s clean, the staff are friendly and know what they’re talking about. Pint? A s mentioned earlier, The 13th Note has a very special place in my heart. From that first encounter as a young teenager, I have spent an alarming amount of time here. For the last six years (Jesus!) it has been a regular fixture for quiet pints, not so quiet pints, birthdays, informal meetings to plot the revolution and consequent new world order, first dates, writing, gigs and for curing hangovers with Jagerbombs and the Sunday all day breakfast (well, in the case of the former, more like postponing the hangover than curing it). Sometimes all at once. It’s the perfect place to come by yourself as well as with a group as they always have tones of new magazines and papers to read and free wi-fi. The food is vegetarian and vegan, although INDICATE

I’ve been with plenty of meat eating friends and never once heard a complaint, and is cheaper then Mono. There is a restaurant through the back which has a slightly more grown up menu than the one in the bar but if you smile nicely, they sometimes let you order from it in the bar too. Don’t tell anyone, mind. The spicy chips are my utter favorite though, along with that wild sweet corn chutney they have. The vegan cheesecake is amazing too, surprisingly. Downstairs is one of the best music venues in Glasgow, in my opinion. It’s pretty tiny. Well, really tiny. For instance, you would probably be in danger of smacking your head of the ceiling if you got a bit too enthusiastic. I’ve seen some of the best gigs of my life there, however, and so what if the sweat’s dripping off the ceiling or you can’t move for people. That’s the point, isn’t it? Another great thing the 13th Note has started doing is Rumble in the Jumble on Saturdays. I believe it’s monthly, and it’s fantastic. It takes over the bar upstairs with stalls selling clothes, CDs, DVDs and all manner of handmade goods. I once got two jumpers and a bag for three quid. It’s free to set up a stall, so get involved! Evening There’s plenty to be doing at night INDICATE

as well. If you’re after some dinner, You could do a lot worse than staying at The 13th Note. If you fancy a change of scenery, you could head to Cafe Cossachok. Cafe Cossachok used to be situated on Albion Street and I was kind of upset when they moved to be part of Trongate 103. I thought it may lose part of its dark, Russian charm but I shouldn’t have worried. Their new premises might be all glass fronted and fancy, but the charm remains. The food is unbelievable; the Blintzes (savory pancakes) are a personal favorite but there is definitely something for everyone. I’m sad to say that despite having a Russian best friend all through my teens; it took me until the age of twenty to realize how amazing the cuisine is. If you want to do something else with your evening other than staying put and having long, blurry conversations over vodka and live music (if you’re there on a Sunday), there is most likely some urgent and noisy young things playing downstairs at The 13th Note for a few of your Great British Pounds. Otherwise, there is usually something going on in one of the places I’ve already mentioned. If some free Jazz would float your respective boats then head back to Mono

(Wednesdays at 8pm) or if you fancy checking out some of Glasgow’s newest film making talent head over to GMAC based in Trongate 103 for Cafe Flicker at 7pm, on the first Wednesday of every month. The Tron Theatre will doubtless have something unusual and entertaining on if theatre is your bag. The only thing missing from Trongate is a decent late night pub. Although, if you keep your ear to the ground, you’ll probably find something to do until the wee hours. S o , those are my recommendations for a day spent in Trongate. People may bitch and moan about the

unsavory element around the place but to be honest, I’ve worked here for three years, lived here for one and the worst thing I’ve come across was some drunk city boy who’d wandered over from some over priced bar and decided to try and fight me when I objected to finding him pissing in my door way. Luckily his friend dragged him away before I could do any damage. The council is apparently going to be pumping money into the area soon with the intention of turning it into the ‘Artists Quarter’, which is fair enough. It is one of the oldest parts of Glasgow, steeped in INDICATE

history and full of creativity and socially responsible, progressive businesses. That’s not to say it’s perfect, it’s far from it, but it deserves a lot more respect that it currently receives. So jump down and have a stomp around. If you see a girl in Trans-Europe arguing with her weary looking pals over a game of Scrabble, that’s me. Come say hi.

Merchant City Cameras: Kimberly Is there anything in particular that appeals to you about Trongate? “There’s been a camera shop here for thirty odd years, it’s always been an interesting area in Glasgow.” Is there anything you don’t like? “It does have quite a high percentage of unsavoury characters but there isn’t too much trouble. There’s definitely never a dull moment.” Record Fayre: Paul Gordon What’s changed since you started out here, eighteen years ago? “It used to be a lot cleaner. There was more of a family atmosphere, that’s all but gone. There’s more junkies now.” (Oh… right. This wasn’t exactly the glowing praise of the area I was expecting. Perhaps I have been wrong in my naive adoration of Trongate. Come on, Paul, where is your enthusiasm for independence and liberal, forward thinking businesses?) What makes you stay, is there anything about the area you like? “Well, I guess there’s a good mixture of shops.” (Right, well. Fair enough. Onwards!)

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Tatty Bon: Lynne Anderson What do you like about Trongate? Was there any particular reason you came here? “Individuality in Glasgow has really gone now. If you look at Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street, St Enochs… everything is the same as any other town. Trongate is the only place left.” How would you sum up the area? “Charming, with some junkies. Charm and junkies!” Mr Ben: Robert Corbet What do you think about Trongate? “It’s becoming almost a mini Glaswegian Covent Garden!” Is there anything you don’t like about it? “I just think people, especially tourists, don’t know enough about the area. There isn’t really any advertisement or promotion of the area, which is a shame.”

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tommy ga-ken wan for rik mcnair

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simon stokes Interview by Richard Murphy Simon stokes is a Glasgow based techno genius, he fills his tracks with personallity, integrity and infectious rhythms that will get you dancing.

He has various tracks that have been released from respected labels like Rekluse, Minibus and Sleaze Records. He has had tracks played out by the techno legend Carl Cox and many others. Simon backs his production up with great live DJ sets and is not to be missed if the opertunity comes around. With his DJ skills and production of tracks, Simon Stokes is definetly a name on the rise and 2010 holds much in store for him. INDICATE

So how long have you been involved in making music, and what got you started? My introduction to making music was at around the age of 8 when I started taking piano lessons. From there I progressed through the clarinet and saxophone and eventually got myself a wee Casio keyboard. I started recording tracks from this onto tapes in my early teens and before long I was

really getting into synthesis and using computer software to play with sound.

while. I’ve got a lot of big ideas for new types of music for future projects though...

Have you always aspired to make this style of music? From a very young age I have always been into electronically produced music - I used to sit up and record tapes of hardcore music from the radio like Ultra Sonic, Ultimate Buzz and QFX. From there I got into trance music in my mid teens, and then the big change happened: my big brother (also a DJ / Producer under the name Andy Craig) put on his new copy of Laurent Garnier - The Man With the Red Face. He talked me through all the things that were so amazing about this track, the sax, the bubbly filters on the main lead, the kick. From then, I was hooked on melodic sounding house and techno and worked towards nailing this sound.

What do you think of the music scene in Glasgow/Scotland? It always amazes me how Scotland seems to produce so much talent and innovation for such a small country. In the Glasgow techno scene alone, there are so many guys that are really having an impact on the global scene, you have to wonder where all the inspiration comes from. Personally, I think that the great choice of clubs supporting underground music in Glasgow plays a huge role in this - from the first time I stared in disbelief at the Sub Club speaker wall I knew I wanted to get my tracks heard on that system! There is an EP coming out this month on Glasgow’s Sleaze Records which showcases a lot of the newer Glasgow techno producers - appropriately named ‘Something in the Water EP’...

Do you feel your sound has developed? My sound has definitely developed since I started making music, but not so much since I started releasing tracks. I have found a style that I really enjoy making and others seem to enjoy hearing (and watching on my YouTube channel) so I have stuck with this for a

Do you prefer DJ’ing live, or sitting at your studio setup making new material. love both, but I would have to say that playing for a crowd is my favourite thing in life. My main problem with sitting in the studio is that I can set an 8 bar loop INDICATE

going, have a wee drink and start fiddling with noises on my synths. Next thing I know, 8 hours has passed, the same loop is playing and I’ve achieved absolutely nothing apart from making really fucked up noises. I love doing this, but it’s totally unproductive if I’m trying to make some new tracks for an EP! Therefore sitting in the studio can be a bit more stressful - you definitely can’t force it. When you’re DJing, it’s really down to you to judge how to make a place go mental - I love that. What do you think of the newer technology aspect that has arrived in dance music, years ago a DJ had his turntables, now many people have switched to running laptops in their setups, CD turntables etc. Do you think this has been a good development for DJ’s? Last year I decided to make the switch to using my laptop as part of my DJ setup - there are things about this that I both love and hate. I love having thousands of tracks, organised into playlists and available to play at any time. I love not having to lug all my vinyls everywhere. But...I hate not buying vinyls - it was so satisfying going through a pile of 50 records and finding one that INDICATE

you were going to buy! Personall,y I use Traktor Scratch Pro with the timecode vinyls - my reason for still using decks to mix is that I still appreciate a DJ who can pull off a flawless mix whilst using an old, warbling set of 1210s. Ultimately, it’s the music that is the only thing that matters for most people, but I am still a big fan of the actual act of DJing as it used to be, and the ability to combine this with the advantages of using software is just amazing. The internet has had a massive impact on music, its changed how many people find new artists, get new music, find out about club nights etc. The mainstream music industry is clearly pissed of at this development. What do you think of this change? Good or Bad. Well, I wouldn’t be sitting here answering these questions right now if it wasn’t for the internet! I originally got signed to a label because an A&R guy stumbled across my YouTube channel where I was uploading videos of me creating techno music live using various bits of gear, and a lot of my fans have come from my YouTube channel as well. So I think for up and coming guys making non-

mainstream music, the internet is not only a god-send, it’s essential if they want to try and build a wee career out of their hobby. As for the mainstream music industry, they shot themselves in the foot well over a decade ago when they failed to see the potential of using the internet to market and sell their music. What have you been working on recently? I have just been chiselling away at a new EP which I am targetting at some of the bigger labels in the techno scene. I have had a lot of interest so far, so watch this space...!

can’t beat it on a good night. Ben Klock played there at the Animal Farm night a few weeks back and he just annihilated the place - hopefully we’ll be seeing Animal Farm as a permanent fixture in the Sub in 2010! Find Simon Stokes at www.myspace.com/ mrsimonstokes www.youtube.com/siedgey w w w. s o u n d c l o u d . c o m / simonstokes w w w. d i s c o g s . c o m / a r t i s t / simon+stokes

Do you have any future planned releases coming up? I have a track coming out on Hans Bouffmhyre’s Sleaze Records in the next few weeks as part of the Glasgow talent showcase. I have a few other bits and bobs coming out elsewhere, but I am really saving myself for one of the bigger labels a little later in the year. Where do you enjoy a night out in Glasgow? You are spoiled for choice in Glasgow when it comes to quality nights. Venue-wise, the Sub Club is the daddy for me. You just INDICATE

pam hogg review Words by Kirstin Kerr Photos by Sam Fenn My first experience of a Studio Warehouse exhibition came on a frozen December evening. Thanks to Google maps, we found the gallery tucked away by the side of the motorway. It was the opening night of Pam Hogg, a Glasgow School of Art textiles graduate who rose quickly to fame in the 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. She left the Art School with a number of medals under her belt and a Royal School of Art scholarship. Her successes include having a solo show at the Kelvingrove Art Galleries in INDICATE

1990, which was the first fashion design exhibition to be held at the galleries. Having said this, Pam still maintains that music has always been her passion. Her punk music background is certainly reflected in her designs. Dotted amongst video screens and photographic prints, mannequins stood clad in silver, black, bronze and gold lame leotards and cat suits. A particularly striking coat made of rainbow coloured patches of fur sat inside a glass case. The prints on show were a mix of INDICATE

photographs from catwalk shows and studio shots of Alice Dellal wearing Pam’s creations. The television sets had headphones attached, which were streaming Pam’s own music videos, catwalk shows and in once instance an interview with the designer. At first it seemed overwhelming, but a stroll around allowed for closer inspection and a deeper insight into the meticulously crafted garments. When I said that I had never been to the Studio Warehouse, this isn’t strictly true. We had been previously to one of the many parties that the gallery had held, a night that I can’t remember a lot of but I know had been a huge success. What was particularly nice about this exhibition was that it was followed with a “club night” of sorts. Beginning with performance from one of Glasgow’s favorites, Findo Gask, and moving onto a set from the renowned Optimo dj’s. As we sat in the corner and watched earlier’s shy crowd shimmy and stomp around it was clear that the music failed to disappoint. Pam’s attitude towards her success seems all very humble to me. Not only does she make it clear that she’s never done it to make money but is in it all more to INDICATE

enjoy herself, but she was present both at the opening and the preceding event. A striking woman clad in black PVC with Simpson yellow hair who was forgiving enough to pose for photos with my friends – who by the time they had gathered up the courage to speak to her were more than slightly drunk on free wine. For a woman of her achievement, I had not expected to leave the exhibition feeling anything more than an appreciation for her work. I would like to think that her lack of pretention is a Glaswegian trait, and that upon visiting shows of our future graduates I hope I will be left feeling as proud of our city as I did that night.

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Where are you from originally, and how did you end up here? I’m originally from Edinburgh but my family kinda lived a nomadic lifestyle. I’ve lived in South Africa, England, Aberdeen and Dunoon, haha What jobs have you had in the past? Any truly awful ones that have shaped who you are today? I’ve worked for DF Concerts, Soma, The Sub Club, T in the Park and of course handling press for LuckyMe. I once worked in a printer factory in Cumbernauld..I used to come home and my spit / snot would be blue cause of all the toxic powder...euuugh.

b5c

Interview by Kirstin Kerr Ballers 5ocial Club is the Glasgow based Club by the local label LuckyMe. The LuckyMe family includes artists like Hudson Mohawke, Mike Slott and Mr Copy. Ballers can be found at the IVY, Sub Club and Stereo monthly. The night’s music is an array of hip hop, dubstep, electronica and electro and you are always in for a treat from a debuting act. The night is completely unique within Glasgow and any night is sure to be a great one with brilliant line ups and plenty of dancing. For their two year anniversary, Ballers threw a two day bash at Stereo and the Ivy that featured exclusive live performances from local superstar Rustie, sets from Fulgeance and LuckyMe’s own Dema. The guests were treated to free soul food by Dante’s fried chicken. We spoke to LuckyMe’s head of live events Joe Coghill to ask a few more questions about Ballers and the LuckyMe collective. INDICATE

What are your roles in the Baller’s Social Club/LuckyMe families? I run Ballers, the whole schibang is on my shoulders! With LuckyMe we all kind of pitch in creatively, and I run the events side and handle press. What were your main ideas behind and aims for Ballers when you first started? Rustie and I, we kinda just wanted to play R. Kelly and Clipse to girls... we didn’t really set any aims.

Ballers has been running for over two years now, how have things developed in that time? Things have switched up a lot in two years. We have managed to put on some truly outstanding music, travelled the world and met some great people in the process. Ballers has kind of developed into something that people seem to care about and take notice of; pointing to us as a marker for showcasing new music not just from Glasgow, but much further beyond too. We’ve done loads of UK debuts as well! I think we have always tried to do our own thing and I love that people get the same enjoyment out of the music, food and art we push as we do. The main thing is we have helped a lot of new artists along the way and made some very special friendships. In that two years, you’ve had a huge number of acts come down and play, who has been your favourite? I know, so many acts! Its a three way split between The Cool Kids, Dimlite and Dam Funk, as they all represent completely different sides of the puzzle. INDICATE

What kind of vibe can be expected at a typical Ballers night? Its generally really very fun, and we tend to focus on having live acts rather than an all-DJ lineup so you have the whole visual performance side too. A bit like bands going on early at Optimo or whatever.

Do you feel that the night is well received in Glasgow, or that it would be better off in a different UK city? I think Glasgow is the perfect city for us the crowds here are second to none when it comes to enthusiasm. If we were in London the club would be packed all the time but it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be the same as having 100 smiling faces in the Ivy or 250 singing voices in Stereo. Even when we have a quieter one the crowd still have a great time! What does 2010 have in store for the night? The things I will reveal are a Ballers party on the Sunday at Sonar, Clipse in Glasgow!, Cooly G, Dam Funk and the welcomed return of Danteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fried Chicken. LuckyMe regularly produces free mixtapes by different artists which are available INDICATE

on the website, how did that come about? We like looking at pictures of girls.. hehe. Nah, we used the website as an outlet to get our taste in music across and luckily like-minded people came along to share ideas too. I think the quality of the mixes speak for themselves, and artists really wanna do something different with the tapes because of that. Glasgow itself is awash with exciting new talent at the minute and has one of the strongest scenes in the UK, why do you think this is? I think Glasgow has always been a city with a strong music scene and its really the artists that make electronic music that have suddenly come to the forefront. I also believe that being outside the bubble that other major cities exist within has allowed artists to take a fresh approach on production and allowed them to approach things differently from solidly established, even predictable styles. joe@thisisluckyme.com www.myspace.com/ ballerssocialclub www.thisisluckyme.com

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Cartoon by Craig Laughland