LAV NANDLALL’s WORDS
LAV NANDLALL’s WORDS FORWARD TO READER
I
t started with the fragrance of freshly printed books which smelled better than bottled perfume. When I touched the textured tapestry of old edition front covers, it felt more luxurious than branded cotton. The sight of a bookshelf heaving and sweating with books was more enlivening to me than watching a Pop band performance. As soon as I flipped a page, it cut the silence of this golden palace yet was a welcoming sound. Then I became besotted with the words in all fonts, sizes and arrangements. The grotesque and beautiful words dribbled and melted like honey-butter in my mouth. My senses had engulfed in a love affair with the library and words. Hi, my name is Lav. I am a scribe, penpusher, wordsmith and storyteller. These are my pieces of written work that can be found on the World Wide Web or in hard copy. Do enjoy your perusal!
Lav Nandlall, writer
LAV NANDLALL’s WORDS Lav Nandlall P.O Box 263 Park Rynie 4182 Durban, KZN South Africa Phone: (+27) 71 206 7083 Email: lav.z333@gmail.com www.themetalgoatsblogspot.com www.secretvintage.wordpress.com Social Links: http://twitter.com/LavNandlall http://about.me/LavNandlall http://za.linkedin.com/pub/lavnandla ll/8a/b47/332/
CONTENTS The Beginning Grabbing the Horns Tribulation The End of The Ritual Back In Black Lav’s Words Clips
THE BEGINNING
I
n 2010, I was living in Germany. It was a bitter winter and all I wanted to do was stay in and snuggle under the blanket. A friend had started a blog and it prompted me to start a blog too about things that I liked and knew about. As my Grade 10 English teacher always stated, “Write what you know.” So, it began. I started a blog dedicated to heavy metal and alternative music called
AIR GUITAR.
All I had at that point was half a university degree, a small group of English speaking German friends and access to the internet. No PR, band or magazine would let me work with them so I took a leaf from Steven Spielberg and I faked it till I made it. My English is superfluous and my charm on par. It took less than a week to call-up German based PR managers and request interviews with their bands. I was met with eager giggles and nervous band members during interview slots. Nobody questioned my lack of journalistic profile but I was often asked about that “süß Südafrikan Akzent”. By the beginning of 2011, Air Guitar received a staggering 1,000 hits per day. I kept a rigid schedule with original content and learned about SEO, CSS and could easily promote via all forms of social media.
A
ir
Guitar blog aimed at keeping its audience informed about metal and alternative music. Breaking stories, news, reviews, opinions, interviews and how-to articles were published.
their website. I gladly agreed and began to write exclusively for MusicReview.co.za These are selected clips for MusicReview.co.za:
At times there were guest writers and people offering their opinions about their local scene. The following are selected how-to articles from Air Guitar.
These how-to articles gained popularity for their tongue-in-cheek presentation. At the end of 2011, I was summoned by another writer for a bigger publication to present my how-to articles to
Matter but the website soon dissolved and my writing went on Air Guitar. These are a few selected clips from my time at Alternative Matter:
Thanks to MusicReview.co.za, I was ‘poached’ by another website to write for them. They were called Alternative
Eventually Alternative Matter turned itself into a new website called ThisIsNotAScene.com. Most of the previous writers, including myself hopped onto the new website. The following are my selected clips from ThisIsNotAScene.com:
GRABBING THE HORNS
W
hile writing for two other websites, I kept a good eye on my own blog. Due to time constraints, phone interviews were replaced by email interviews. A new feature had been added to Air Guitar called This Is My Metal Life With which is an in-depth interview with people, bands, managers, labels, journalists, designers and supporters of the heavy metal scene. I am particularly proud of these interviews as it opened my demographic to the public. Here are a few selected clips:
Interviewing high profile music journalists, producers, labels and supporters of the music scene led me on to a new path. I was called up from several music-based websites to either contribute or guest blog. Not only did I begin building a reputation but I began garnering a loyal audience. One of my many guest pieces ended up down under in Australia for Metal as Fvck
It turned out that one of my loyal followers was an Editor for a hard rock music website based in Cyprus. The Editor and I collaborated on a guest piece for Cyprus Rock. Here is a snippet:
TRIBULATION By the time 2013 had rolled over, I was writing for three music-based websites, for Air Guitar, guest writing and completing my final year in a Bachelor of Arts degree. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, I discontinued writing for all the websites and paused any work on Air Guitar. When my final exam was penned in June 2013, I went to the nearest newspaper offices and promptly asked to be on the contributors list for music articles. To my surprise, the Editor at Drum Media Perth agreed. I wrote a number of reviews for the print magazine which is now archived on themusic.com.au Here are some clips:
THE END OF THE RITUAL
A
s of November 2013, Air Guitar paused permanently. The blog I built three years prior had reached its end. It was a bittersweet move but I still do remain very proud of what it was and what it had come to be. Thanks to my ever growing learning curve, I have been selected to contribute to Heavy magazine based in Australia. My first article was published in December 2013. Here are a few selected clips from the online archive of Heavy magazine.
During my time in Australia, I contributed to Metal Obsession and its live reviews section. Here are a few pieces that gained excellent feedback:
BACK IN BLACK
J
anuary 2014 led me through a detour. I decided to keep contributing towards music magazines but also vary my writing. This detour gave way to a new blog concentrating on my other passions mainly vintage style, women empowerment and Old Hollywood. So began, Secret Vintage. Its early days so there are no statistics to write home about but here are a few selected clips:
Secret Vintage is aimed primarily at the South African vintage market. There is focus on self-empowerment, interviews with thrift/vintage stockists and of course all things concerned with glamour. I must have been doing something right on Secret Vintage as I was poached by the VintageShopper.com to write for their blog. The following are a few pieces from their site:
LAV’s WORDS
S
ince 2010 till 2014, I have written over 984 pieces and counting. I may have no formal journalistic qualification but I have gained a lot of experience over the past years. If you would like a copy of my resume, please do not hesitate to ask. In the next few pages, I continue to add clips of work that I am proud of. Thank you and good day. ~ Lav Nandlall