(written on NYE)
I've had a lovely Christmas with the family and a nice week off studying to see old friends. One final party tonight to round things off, another 491 Gallery bash.
Let me describe the 491 Gallery for you, for those of you who may be unaware of it... Basically it's a squat, but it's so much more than just that. Look at it this way: the value of the property is likely to have risen rather than fallen for the people who have stayed there. They made this derelict old factory building into a home for themselves and a community space for the rest of us, and put the suburban area of Leytonstone on the map for many an underground party-goer. These are not your typical squat parties either - they've often been warmer and friendlier than almost any wanky club you might find yourself at anywhere else in London, and the drinks and entry price are a lot cheaper!
This could be the last NYE at 491 cos they may be getting evicted in six months. It's been such a lovely place to go for me for the last 2 years. I remember the second time I went there, it really all fell into place... it was a party called Unity, put on by everyone's favourite Womble, Uncle Bulgaria (aka Graham), and was also the best DJ gig I ever played. The loveliest vibe I'd ever experienced at a party. They were selling soup and cheese sandwiches in the Vertigo cinema next door. I was absolutely in my element and I felt so relaxed behind the decks. I have never since felt the same way at a gig.
But while Graham, Joe, Sasha and I were all having a great time at that party, none of us knew that a good friend of ours, Saide Pachachi Dennis, had passed away that day.
A few months later we held a party in tribute to Saide, aka Infinity, at the 491 Gallery. Many of his friends and family gathered together in January 2005 to celebrate his life and raise money for the people of South East Asia in the wake of the tsunami disaster. It was a beautiful success. As well as giving him a good send-off we also raised £800 for charity and pioneered some interesting party elements like the smoke-free dancefloor, which is now a regular feature of the Synergy Project! Come to think of it, it will be a regular feature of every public place in the UK in a few months time...
Graham then started a new party called Edensounds, the first of which and many since were held at the 491. Its been a great party from the start, attracting a funny old bunch of characters (much like the promoter himself!), and it's finally got the recognition it deserves by being accepted into the Synergy Project team.
Well, it's early days yet... the 491 Gallery may live to see another NYE beyond this one, but it's not certain. Let's hope it does.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
A quarter century...
I've reached the big two-five. Nothing much to say from here except it's probably gonna take a while to get used to saying a new number. And I still feel pretty good about most things so all-in-all it's good.
So that's it for Salford Uni's Shock Radio for another year. Just three 2-hour shows from myself and Sean. We really rocked the airwaves and had a laugh while we did it. Next up I'm hoping to get some work experience at BBC Manchester, and maybe another show on a local station - I'll see what I can rustle up and will be sure to tell you when something comes up. In the meantime I'm still going with the online show on NSB Radio every 1st and 3rd (and sometimes the 5th) Monday of the month from 5pm to 7pm at www.nsbradio.co.uk ...and, I'm thinking about making a podcast. Stay tuned.
Going back to two weekends ago, I DJ'ed at London's best party in London's biggest venue, the Synergy Project at the SeOne, played to a great crowd and rocked the house. The Synergy project is a great mix of philosophies, attitudes and musical styles. Primarily it's a hippy/psy-trance thing, but myself and the rest of the Edensounds room were representin' everything from dirty breaks and techno to fluffy trance. The flyer even said "Edensounds is a welcome island of chav-ness in the psychedelic flouro world..." :D and there was a shrine to Jade Goody in the chillout area.
My birthday was on Saturday 2nd December, and after a meal with Mum, Dad and kat I went to the London Burning Man Decompression party. Did I mention Burning Man yet? Well, I'll give you the short version: festival, desert, Nevada, crazy. See www.burningman.com for pictures. I was there last Summer. This regional party was at my home-away-from-home, the 491 Gallery. Loadsa crazy babes and guys dressed up wacky, tacky and wrong. It was funny to meet people who I had previously only met in the desert!
It wasn't the best night of my life but I had a good time, and big love to Indigo who really pulled out all the sparkles to encourage me to dance and be happy on my birthday when I didn't really feel like it. She even arranged a rendition of Happy Birthday on banjo and tuba and lots of hugs and kisses from the girls (and the boys) ensued.
On my way home, I pleasantly surprised myself when I realised I had displayed a random act of kindness (in keeping with the Burning Man ethos) without even knowing it, which I suppose is the best way. Basically it involved a mother, a very large buggy, two kids and a flight of steps (you get the picture). It reminded me that, oh yeah, I AM a good person. I just keep forgetting. Yeah, I know the Burning Man ethos, I live it... but I'm just not sure how to integrate into the society. Maybe I'm trying to be something I'm not, and missing out on all my own greatness in the process. Which brings me on to something I wrote a little earlier on another forum. By the way, the "lovely people" bit applies to you too:
"I know I can be a bit hit-and-miss sometimes and I'm sorry for that, cos you're a lovely bunch of people and I wish you could all experience a little bit of me when I'm at my best. Unfortunately these times are a bit sporadic and for some sick and twisted reason they just don't seem to happen when I'm out and about and likely to see you. Some of you might be thinking "what's he on about?" and perhaps therein lies the problem - I make a big deal out of stuff that doesn't really matter, I think too much about stuff and get stuck up there in my head. I try hard, for all of you, to be the person I want to be and I get frustrated when I'm not. Maybe I'm trying too hard. But things are getting better. Here in Salford I'm slowly sorting my head out, I think. Or it's sorting itself out. That's it for now.
Happy Birthday to me."
So that's it for Salford Uni's Shock Radio for another year. Just three 2-hour shows from myself and Sean. We really rocked the airwaves and had a laugh while we did it. Next up I'm hoping to get some work experience at BBC Manchester, and maybe another show on a local station - I'll see what I can rustle up and will be sure to tell you when something comes up. In the meantime I'm still going with the online show on NSB Radio every 1st and 3rd (and sometimes the 5th) Monday of the month from 5pm to 7pm at www.nsbradio.co.uk ...and, I'm thinking about making a podcast. Stay tuned.
Going back to two weekends ago, I DJ'ed at London's best party in London's biggest venue, the Synergy Project at the SeOne, played to a great crowd and rocked the house. The Synergy project is a great mix of philosophies, attitudes and musical styles. Primarily it's a hippy/psy-trance thing, but myself and the rest of the Edensounds room were representin' everything from dirty breaks and techno to fluffy trance. The flyer even said "Edensounds is a welcome island of chav-ness in the psychedelic flouro world..." :D and there was a shrine to Jade Goody in the chillout area.
My birthday was on Saturday 2nd December, and after a meal with Mum, Dad and kat I went to the London Burning Man Decompression party. Did I mention Burning Man yet? Well, I'll give you the short version: festival, desert, Nevada, crazy. See www.burningman.com for pictures. I was there last Summer. This regional party was at my home-away-from-home, the 491 Gallery. Loadsa crazy babes and guys dressed up wacky, tacky and wrong. It was funny to meet people who I had previously only met in the desert!
It wasn't the best night of my life but I had a good time, and big love to Indigo who really pulled out all the sparkles to encourage me to dance and be happy on my birthday when I didn't really feel like it. She even arranged a rendition of Happy Birthday on banjo and tuba and lots of hugs and kisses from the girls (and the boys) ensued.
On my way home, I pleasantly surprised myself when I realised I had displayed a random act of kindness (in keeping with the Burning Man ethos) without even knowing it, which I suppose is the best way. Basically it involved a mother, a very large buggy, two kids and a flight of steps (you get the picture). It reminded me that, oh yeah, I AM a good person. I just keep forgetting. Yeah, I know the Burning Man ethos, I live it... but I'm just not sure how to integrate into the society. Maybe I'm trying to be something I'm not, and missing out on all my own greatness in the process. Which brings me on to something I wrote a little earlier on another forum. By the way, the "lovely people" bit applies to you too:
"I know I can be a bit hit-and-miss sometimes and I'm sorry for that, cos you're a lovely bunch of people and I wish you could all experience a little bit of me when I'm at my best. Unfortunately these times are a bit sporadic and for some sick and twisted reason they just don't seem to happen when I'm out and about and likely to see you. Some of you might be thinking "what's he on about?" and perhaps therein lies the problem - I make a big deal out of stuff that doesn't really matter, I think too much about stuff and get stuck up there in my head. I try hard, for all of you, to be the person I want to be and I get frustrated when I'm not. Maybe I'm trying too hard. But things are getting better. Here in Salford I'm slowly sorting my head out, I think. Or it's sorting itself out. That's it for now.
Happy Birthday to me."
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