and I will fall

- as seen on Post Secret

Pressure

"Of myself
I am proud".
Something that you say aloud?

Usual
Things they drift
But what about your gift?

Do you spend your time unhinged
from the thankful girl within?
Is she pleasant or too thin?
Do you treat her when she wins?

Or do you look for other things
while she's crying and she stings
cause she's unappreciated
and she's tired of catering.

And would there be a difference
if you could feel her presence?
Would she mean a whole lot more
If you could really taste her essence?

Or would you just continue
to let her sink within you
diminished by consumption
of stories told untrue?

Or.

Until you lose her altogether.

Bruised

I am so used
to being confused
that it feels like I should
but I shouldn't.

In a haze of regret
you stand and declare
I consider; retract
I just couldn't...

Still I want and I yearn
in this state of concern
but won't let you control
what I view!

Cause I know of your game
it's for what you are famed
and decide to LOVE me
More than you!

I know best

Life is but a blur
things unexpected will occur
and if you live between four walls
you're sit outside and just observe.

You know those moments you can't miss?
The spontaneous first kiss?
You know those friendship bring you bliss?
They are those moments just like this

one.

But you run.

When you should be having fun
when you let it all consume you
you are choosing to be done

But you're not done.

So you stand, and you fight
and you'll do it the whole night
until the beast, the ready beast
is fearful of your very sight.

If there's a creature deep inside
that makes you want to run and hide
then tell it "No, no I'm alive"
and you stick in for the whole ride.

I know my life's a mess
of that I will confess
but it's this I will contest
that it is mine

and I know best.

all the time

- as seen on Post Secret

What can we know

"For what is the memory but a faculty, by which we raise up the images of past perceptions"

- David Hume (1711- 1776)

LIGHTS OUT TO LIGHT UP

Rhea Robertson, musician, lyricist, adventurer, talks to Stephanie Pickett about her upcoming EP ‘Lights Out’.

What an extraordinary contradiction titling an EP ‘Lights Out’ when it is written, recorded and performed by someone whose lights are most definitely switched on. 

It’s not only her natural spark that illuminates the room, but Rhea Robertson’s outlook on life and her music career inspires those around her to also be lit up.

December 13^th at The Loft in Chevron Island is where you’ll finally be able to get a hold of her new creation. 

Scott French from A French Butler Called Smith recorded the EP at Lovestreet Studios on the Gold Coast, a process which Rhea defined as “an amalgamation of Gold Coast musicians”. 

Her music is best described as is an eclectic mixture of rootsy sounds and passionate lyrical poetry.

The five-track EP is the epitome of her style, yet each track has its own uniqueness and individual presence. 

“It was initially a full album, but I decided I just wanted something that was exactly my sound,” she told.

“All the tracks are singles, I just have all hit songs on there”.

While her influences come from far and wide, she does not deny her Australian roots when looking for inspiration to write. 

“Growing up I listened to the band George, I just loved Katie Noonan and the songs she wrote. I think I was 12 years old and I was like ‘Mum I want to write songs like that!’” she explained.

As if by fate, Rhea met Nick Stewart, the lead guitarist from the band George, who soon became her mentor. 

Not only did he help her to express exactly what she wanted to portray through her songs, he also helped her to produce her first EP titled ‘Rhea’, playing guitar on the tracks. 

“[He] played the guitar that was his when he was in George. It was all kind of like a full circle… He’s been a big part of my music career blossoming”.

Rhea admits that she likes to follow successful people and do what they’ve done and her immeasurable achievements so far have certainly proven this to be an effective strategy. 

It’s hard to believe that such a young artist has not only already traveled Australia in an Combie van, but also explored Europe solo for two years. 

Heading overseas with only $500 in her pocket and no return ticket home, a mixture between her love for music and survival instincts kicked in and she began performing and living off her artwork. 

“I knew every weekend I would be guaranteed a gig in any country”, she said.“I came back here thinking I could do that too but it was a little more difficult”.

“Over there they look at you as a musician and see that as such a huge success, it doesn’t matter if you’re on a record label, they are like wow you’re a musician and I guess especially being Australian, they’d be like ‘WOW an international artist!’"

Rhea’s music depicts her interesting life journey, with a wide array of cultural influences mixed with personal experience.

While the Gold Coast will miss Rhea dearly, the music community is just as excited for her to venture into the artistically cultural city of Melbourne and show them what she’s got.

Keep up to date with Rhea’s movements through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhearobertsonmusic?fref=ts

To listen to Rhea’s new single Lights Out visit: http://www.reverbnation.com/rhearobertson

Or do both.

Alternatively, be awesome and come and join the party at The Loft in Chevron Island December 13, 2012 for the release of her EP. Go on. Do it. Doors open at 8pm.

It's the calm before the storm.

Anyone at this stage 

would think and misconceive,

that beyond my eyes so calming

is a girl who does believe:

that she will make the day

without a moment up or down

and for a second I've forgotten!

...Then it comes right back around.

The scenery, it shifts

and my hands they tremble fierce

and my heart rate starts to lift

and my stomach feels a pierce

and my mind is blank and empty

and my mouth is hard and sharp

and my legs have gone and left me

they're right back there at the start

but somehow I am running

through a centre full of faces

but I'm scattered, loss of memory

are these all familiar places?

I try to find salvation

in a space where I can hide

but my body's elevation

hooks me in for the whole ride.

Your soft eyes become rigid

and your face becomes a threat

I'm beyond my point of reason

"Are you panicked?" Yeah you bet.

It starts with one idea.

You can't copyright an idea.

But.

It's those ideas that make you
and the same that tear and break you
through a torment they'll awake you
but not yours until they're "here".

So you're fretting and you scramble

for your eyes to get a handle
but the time is quickly slipping.
Will you miss this? Are you quick?

It's the middle of the night

and your mind is fast in flight
with ideas that seem "too bright"
but please don't let them unstick.

Will you capture what does glisten
or let the world tell you to listen
to things other than your mind,
then you just respond in kind?

Please now, drop just what you're doing
cause this little one is brewing
it'll ripple, it'll grow...
Once you let it out on show,

So, please don't let this one go. 

happier

- as seen on Post Secret

got the shakes?

shakes.
.

until it ends I shake
and my body's in a trance
then emotionally I wake.
It's this thing that I cant take,
but I can,
and I am.

It's a test, all at stake,
it's a life for goodness sake!
What I'm sure is it'll fake.
Well, at least until it breaks.

you are

- as seen on Post Secret

Anxiety.

Pounding.

Heart does pound

What’s this insect I just found?

It is gnawing on my insides

And it makes me feel alive

It shows.

Yes, it shows.

It’s this place that I must go

Are you comfortable?

Well, that depends.

Am I calming?

Well, no.

But this feeling

It can’t go.

It mustn’t.

Prescribe me, they’ll say,

In a hundred different ways,

But I will stand and I will stay.

I’ll say no.

It’s this thing that doesn’t leave,

So I hustle and I heave

In a place that feels unsteady,

Never ready.

But I’m totally equipped

To the tattered clothes you ripped

And the heart that did the same

It’s all in your little game.

What a shame.

What a sexy dark delight

That will cause a painful fright

And my legs they’ll curl and crumble

As my stomach starts to rumble

Is it just a common feel?

Or a temperature unreal?

It’s just I in the ordeal?

Answer please. Answer me. 

Confession

Is it true or is it just?

Mantra

- as seen n Post Secret

Midnight in Paris

- as seen on Post Secret

Manipulation.

What's that you say?
You're out to play?
You know so much;
I'm dim?

Within this game,
you have no shame,
and disregard
my win.

My temperament
has you content.
To split, to stay?
"Decisions".

But from my eyes
a compromise
I own your tricks:
precision. 

.

- as seen on Post Secret

you'll be the rhythm and I'll be the beat

Love is the harmony
desire's the key
love is the melody
now sing it with me.

Lykke Li

Cave.

Slowly slipping
drip drip dripping
he can't hide
behind her spark,

the brightest day
comes out to play
but in his eyes
it's dim and dark.

True to form
creates his storm
surrounds unseen
as others pass,

unknown inside
he's left behind
but it's his way
his only mask.

obsessed

Right on time

- as seen on Postsecret

Finish Line

A face that you've practiced
the face that they see
it's more than a cover
it's identity.

You're lost in a whirlwind
in time and in space,
but how good is the prize,
when the price is the race?

Unknown Water.

Intoxicated
I am waiting
eagerly with bated breath
heart does race,
anticipate,
intrigued
by what comes next.

Exasperated,
yet mind so clear
but wisdom words
they disappear.

Embarrassed,
by my awkward essence
but you're as taken
by my presence.

Hypnotized,
by intent eyes
this funny game
of trembling thighs

and sleep deprive.

Helpless,
in an unknown water
it's your way
and I'm on border

but I'm on board.

and if you stay
so keen to play,
it's a matter of time
until I misbehave. 

just the one.

- as seen on Post Secret

I do

- anonymous 

let's talk about what we are.

a deed set free
for my sanity
still as dirty as it was
originally

and it may seem
a reflection of me
but that's an overused bargain
with hypocrisy.

Inward or outward?

Of a sense of a time of a place
am I embedded
is it that I just fit in?

Or
am I dictated by a deeply embedded code?
Constructed by an ideology?
Do I have a choice
or am I just material?

To just be part of an audience
watching my life from outside in.
Unaccomplished.

I need to find out.
Get out.

Inside out

Destiny has two ways if crushing us... By refusing our wishes... and by fulfilling them.

Henri Frederic Amiel

Wow.

So incredibly inspired to write music after reading this amazing book of poetry by Carly Newman.
Get your hands on The Four Elements of Life - you will not regret it!

refresh

- as seen on Postsecret

a choice.

Back to Front

We could learn to laugh again

Like when we were children

We could learn to dance again

Like nobody is watching

We could learn to smile again

Like nobody is watching

- Eliza Doolittle

Just Breathe

- Enlighten Education

secrets

- as seen on Postsecret

Total Scepticism

Only a fool trusts a man who has cheated him in the past
And my senses have cheated me in the past

- René Descartes (1596-1650) - adaptation

open vessel

With every open vessel
comes the danger of denial
of an ever turning gesture
the innocence of trial

You're asleep
your wounds are healing
you are silent
you're at rest

Then you wake
and slowly sickened
by the thoughts
that know you best

By an unknown
sense of empty
by an unexpected
chill

You're reminded
of another
one who wants
but never will

Are they caring
out of confidence
or is it
lack there of?

Or are they
just as empty
vessel open,
scared to love.

:)

Spanish Sahara

I'm the fury in your head

I'm the fury in your bed

I'm the ghost in the back of your head

'Cause I am.

- Foals

Reason is

and can only be

the slave of the passions

- DAVID HUME (1711-1776) 

dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight

grounding

- as seen on Post Secret

freeeeeeeee

- as seen on Post Secret

Man is born free,
But everywhere he is in chains.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

give me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change
the strength to change those I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

too late

- as seen on Postsecret

run away

- as seen on Postsecret 

Forgive

An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

- Gandhi

No Shoes, Just Tales

As he opened up the boxes of CDs like an excited child on Christmas, Josh Lovegrove stared at his EP ‘No Shoes, Just Tales’, with an overwhelming amount of accomplishment and pride running through his system.

The Gold Coast musician explained that this day was the benchmark to the start of his career; everything else was just a lead up in preparation of that moment.

Josh’s trademark no-shoes-on-stage appearance began two years ago, during his first experience at the Woodford Folk Festival, the year they nicknamed it ‘Mudford’. His shoes were ruined within the first three hours of the festivities and he ended up barefoot for the rest of the week.

“I did all of my shows during the week that way and it became an identifier,” told Josh. 

“It also made me feel a lot more comfortable onstage and in the studio, so it just kind of stuck with me”.

With EP in hand, Josh was ready for his first tour, where he and three other local acts ventured through the Australian Western Downs. Josh, Simon Thomas, Jaya and a duo Sally Anne and Georgia Rose, piled into a 12-seater mini bus with all their gear and hit the road.

Having done eight shows in 11 days, Josh admitted it was challenging, yet rewarding putting on the same, if not a better show, every single night.

“The best part of the tour was learning from each other and giving constructive feedback … we were all able to hone in on the skills we were lacking and improve”.

It takes a great amount of dedication to your music to finish your show at 10PM and get back on the road for the next few hours… only to do it all over again the next day.

When you’re cutting it so fine for time though, the last thing you want is to get lost… something these musicians learnt the hard way.

“We drove 2 hours in the wrong direction, we only missed one left turn! We had to turn around and go back to where we started!” told Josh.

“There was no GPS or reception, so we had to use an old-school map”. 

Of all the rural towns they played at, Josh’s favourite experience was in Cunnamulla, where they spent the whole day playing on the main street through a portable PA.

“About 30 kids ran down really excited and asking us lots of questions about our equipment,” explained Josh.

“By the time we came to playing our show, we felt at home… the people there really listened and shared the music with us, I feel like they knew us better by the time we’d finished playing”.

Josh, Simon and Jaya are already planning their next tour, this time traveling down the Eastern Coastline, all the way to Melbourne.

“We want to do as many smaller places along way as we can, but the big cities are also a must,” told Josh.

The fact that about 30 community radio stations down the East Coast have picked up Josh’s music and are currently airing it, is all the more reason for him to venture on down.

“It seemed like the next logical step for me,” told Josh.

Josh’s passion for music has always been ingrained within him, starting as a classical musician playing flute and piano. He found his true colours, however, after picking up the guitar and from then on, has grown into an intrinsic storyteller.

“I took all the skills I had from my classical training and put them into everything else,” told Josh.

“Things started to take off after a couple of years doing free gigs… I was always that annoying guy playing everywhere!” told Josh.

“I started to get calls for gigs and people were wanting specifically me to do shows, from then on, it got busy!”

“I’ve now compiled all of my music gear together and am fully independent… I’m prepared for any type of performance at any time”.

As much as Josh loves listening to new artists and is always inspired by new things, the biggest driving force for him is his own personal progression.

“My success up to this day is inspiration and motivation for the future; it’s my own development that is keeping me improving and growing,” told Josh.

One particular artist that Josh does idolise, however, is John Mayer.

“I recently went to his concert and that was huge for me. He’s a big inspiration, purely because his finesse”.

Above all else, Josh’s main desire for the tour was to connect with his songs and his audience on a deep emotional level.

“I left one of the shows feeling like I had really changed people’s lives with my music,” told Josh.

“They were right there with me, it was so nice.”

Music and performance have always and will always be an essential part of Josh’s life.

“For me this isn’t about going until I’m ready to stop, I just want to keep on doing it,” explained Josh.

“In five years I would love to connect with people on a massive scale internationally, staying true to myself and spreading the love…grove”.

As he looked out into the crowd of swollen eyes and wet faces, Josh sung the final chorus of Strong Arms, a song he wrote about his nurturing mother. He knew straight away that he’d look back on this moment as the highlight of his career so far.

If the night is dark

Well I'm trying to decide,

Should I run should I hide,

Show them tricks and be tamed?

Yeah it's true that I've changed,

But I'm also the same,

I'm just playing their game

-SLK

Seeing Beauty Differently

BY STEPHANIE PICKETT

NINETEEN year old Gold Coaster Nicole Gibson talks to Stephanie Pickett about winning this year’s Young Social Pioneer of the year award and her emotional journey as founder and CEO of the Rogue and Rouge Foundation.

What is the Rogue and Rouge Foundation?

The Rogue and Rouge Foundation is a necessitous circumstances fund that aids individuals through the recovery process of mental illness, however also strives to reach out to the wider community to help them question the way in which beauty is perceived. I started it as a fashion label and it still is one, the only thing that has changed is I now donate all proceeds to the charity and use fashion as a way to raise funds.

Why did you choose this concept for your foundation?

It touches me personally; I was hospitalized for anorexia and almost lost my life. It’s a viscous cycle and I was lucky to break it like did. When got better I realised how much of a waste it was, you look at the stats… the girls that have these problems are so talented and driven. I wanted to take the initiative to start a preventative campaign that gets people really listening.

Did you find it hard to combine fashion and health?

I started doing fashion at QUT, but was really passionate about helping people with what I went through, which was so prevalent in fashion, so it was a bit of a contradiction. I interned for a semester with a designer in Brisbane and I told her that I was really split between health and fashion; I loved both! She said that I’d never be able to combine the two; I disagreed so I quit my internship and left QUT.

How did Rogue & Rouge come together?

I won Sun Super Dreams For a Better World and got given a grant to start my business. You had to put an application together of your dream for a better world and a business model that would make it happen. My idea was to create a fashion label that would help promote healthy body image and I did everything in my power to make sure I won.

Where did you go from there?

I started the My Dreams Campaign, where I had people summarise in one sentence what their dream is for a better world, then get people on social media to like it. The top ten dreams got printed on a Rogue & Rouge tee and proceeds from that went to the charity. The charity’s main function with the finance is to pay for the recovery process of individuals that are going through eating disorders or mental illness.

What was it like to win this year’s Young Social Pioneer of the year award?

Winning the Young Social Pioneer (YSP) of the year award is an incredible opportunity for me; I can now be a voice for youth. It’s also an amazing avenue to collaborate with past YSP award winners and others working alongside them. It’s a fantastic initiative and one day will have really strong alumni. What this is doing for my foundation is invaluable; we’ve got so much more credibility!

Was this the highlight of your career so far?

Honestly, the time I felt most rewarded was when I gave a speech a few months ago about my experiences, what I have achieved since and why it’s important for people to speak up about mental illness. Two girls approached me afterwards, they both suffered from anorexia. Since I spoke to them, they’ve begun treatment and are recovering. This was the first time felt like I was really making a difference on a personal level.

What inspires and influences you?

It was a really emotional journey for me to actually become the head of my organisation. I found it difficult working with kids currently going through the same problems I went through myself; I am really empathetic. It does however, give me the incentive to keep myself healthy and strong and be a good role model, that’s definitely a major drive to keep going.

What do you hope to achieve with the foundation?

We’ve almost finished building a new electronics program for the main campaign –‘Dollar-a-Deed’, which is marketed towards sponsoring school kids. The way it’s designed, teachers can partner with students, create deed lists and delegate them; it can be integrated really well into the classroom. The whole concept shows kids they can make a difference in the community, no matter how down on themselves they are. It gives them extra incentive to go above and beyond and teaches them about self worth.

Do you feel there is enough support out there for young entrepreneurs like yourself to succeed?

[For] young entrepreneurs, especially ones running social enterprises there’s not enough support from the government; the only way to get media is to collaborate with a bigger organisation. Arts communities and social enterprises need to start collaborating to do something really revolutionary. It’s just a matter of being dedicated and thinking outside the box.

Have you collaborated a lot along the way?

We are aligned now with The Eating Disorder Association, a longstanding national organisation. It gives us so much more credibility. They are an awareness charity; girls go to them and they refer those girls us. We can then help them with their recovery; it works really well!

What are your hopes for the future?

I’d love to be on Australian story. I have a lot of goals for the organisation, but for me personally, I want to make sure I keep a balance in life and stay true to the people I care about. I want to be an influential voice and a household name because if I can get people to listen to what I have to say, that’s when changes will be made. I want to one day be working internationally for the awareness of mental illness.

Do you have any advice for young Australians?

I want kids to know that you don’t have to adhere to certain rules to achieve. If you keep pushing you’ll achieve your goals; people don’t achieve because they quit. If you keep going you’ll get there. Stereotypes make no difference, because when you’re passionate about what you do, people really respond; you just have to believe in yourself!

For more information about Nicole’s cause and how you can help, visit: http://rogueandrouge.com/

Remember it all. Repeat and you'll fall.

An elephant symbolises strength, honor, stability and patience. I am none of these things and all of these things. With a trunk facing up you offer me long life, luck, the removal of obstacles, self-preservation, advice and wisdom. But overall, you help me to remember. The collection of miniature elephant statues was never a choice it just started to happen.

From all walks of life they remember, they trust, they love, they are powerful they are guiders. They are leaders and protectors. My life has been a journey, one hell of a journey. Each elephant is a memory, a small fragile piece of a time, a place, a moment that I can take with me and hold and feel. An imperishable moment in time and space that can never be tainted. At least not now. To remember and reflect is the only way to learn and to grow and to move on, or at least pretend to. When I look above my desk I remember England, I remember the cold, the dark, the wind, the fog. But most of all I remember Holly, the one who understands, the one I wish didn't live so far away. The one who really gets me and knows exactly how I tick.

On top of a dresser, a dresser I use everyday, I think of my family. If only we grew up together, if only I saw you more often, if only I wasn’t too afraid to take the plunge and move there like I planned to so many times before. If only I didn't love the sun, the beach, the friends, if only he wasn’t depressed.

I could never leave her, not with him like that, not with him so vulnerable, finally opening up and penetrable, finally courageous enough to admit a problem.

The elephants I buy will never reflect this memory, I will never hold one in my hand and think of this. In a few years time it will be like it never happened, like I never swore and was torn and fought for you. It will be over. And even for now, now I choose not to remember, now I choose not to symbolise a poor, weak, impatient aggravator who has become a piece of furniture. It’s like you don’t even exist. So you are not here, not in my room, I am not surrounded by a beloved memory of me and you, and neither is your predecessor.

On the sidelines, a place I often try and avoid, is a memory. A memory of love and lust and hate and fuck. It hit me hard when you came and even harder when you left, I wasn’t ready, I didn’t even know what it was like to feel these things. Then you returned. You returned with a gift. You returned with a gift of a memory. What did you want me to remember? The nights of gut-wrenching tears, the days of force-fed eating? Or the night, the night you came back and told me it wasn’t all for nothing, then you gave me a memory and then you left. Again. Having changed my mind, but not my heart. Again.

Little did you know, the gift itself came with a deeper message, a forged sign from someone watching over. A symbol that dispenses all my luck, telling me to never go back there, and I will never.

Next to a bed, a bed you’ve slept in hundreds of times before, a bed you sacrificed for me so I didn't sleep on the floor. I will remember one person, the person whom I left, shattered, with no reasonable explanation. Totally responsible. Next to a bed, is my one true, pure memory. Paris. The pastries, the music, the brunches, the macaroons, the theatre, the Eiffel… Paris. Where lovers make and true love is questioned. I felt what I did and it was true and it was bare but it wasn’t enough to overcome another feeling, another fear, another memory. Where a lock on a bridge with the date of a date will stay. Paris. It’s not often I feel it, it’s not often it’s bad, or it’s good. Most often it’s nothing. But when I hold my little memory of Paris I smile and hope you are happy and well and loved and I’m sorry.

on this harvest moon

'

As seen on Post Secret

but I'm also the same, I'm just playing the game

Always changing my mind
Always searching to find
Something I'll understand

- Seeker Love Keeper.

Just run

Bring me to this time next year.

Is it by mistake or design?

Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane


- Lana del rey

Reasons we were blessed.

When she came I was not ready, was not ready when she left.

- Xavier Rudd

Director James' oh so fancy trip to Paris!

(as seen in Bond Briefs 4th July 2012)

Inception.

"All that we see and seem is but a dream within a dream"

Edgar Allen Poe

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL ITALIA - YOUNG MAGIC

Young Magic

MONDAY, 16 APRIL 2012

STEPHANIE PICKETT has a chat with MICHAEL ITALIA, drummer and producer in the band YOUNG MAGIC, about the trio’s unique songwriting style, their new album Melt and how they achieve a chameleonic sound.

It is not only their individual sound that sets Young Magic apart from other bands, what is more interesting is the way in which they write their music. Throughout the majority of the of songwriting stages for the album Melt all band members were in different parts of the world. While Indonesian born Melati Malay (singer/producer) was already in New York, the two Australian born musicians and Young Magic producers Isaac Emmanuel (singer) and Michael Italia (drummer) were away travelling, Emannuel making his way through Europe and Italia residing in South America. “We all wrote our own music like three solo projects and from then we got together in New York and brushed out ideas until something made sense,” Italia offers. To some this would have been a huge hurdle, but for these guys it seemed natural to make the best of the situation, resulting in the meeting of their varied cultural, environmental and stylistic influences in Melt.

“We listen to a lot of different music, from world music to psychedelic, but what our music is really influenced by is the environment and atmosphere we are in at the time. When I was close to the beach in South America the songs sounded more like an ocean… now that I’m in New York, the songs are getting more dirty and gritty with a lot of dark shades. It’s really about the places, the cultures, the smells, and the people. That’s where our music is born.” As Italia explains it almost seems like such band dislocation was necessary.

A painstakingly crafted film clip accompanying the single Sparkly ties in with these atmospheric themes perfectly, showing hours of time-lapsed footage of mountains in northern New South Wales, shot my Dylan Wiehahn.

Although they eventually brought the album to Trent Gill in Melbourne for mixing and mastering, the band produced the majority of it themselves. As it was their first time really doing so, the real challenge for Young Magic was reproducing the sounds on disc what initially took form in their heads during those initial songwriting stages. Italia enlightens, “We found it very difficult when we wanted certain sounds but didn’t know how to make them. We had to go away, learn how to create them, then come back and get in the zone all over again. We all went through a lot of personal and musical development while making this record.”

Now that they all reside in New York, the band has experimented more with writing songs together in a live rehearsal setting. “There is a total different energy when you’re all putting out ideas at the same time. Our sound has been quite different and seems to have a more organic vibe.”

Although confessing that after the completion of the album they rejoiced over a simple cup of tea, this album is definitely something worth truly celebrating!

MELT is now available on iTunes. For more information visit www.youngmagic.bandcamp.com and www.facebook.com/youngmagicsounds.

(as seen in RAVE Magazine)

STEVE POLTZ- THE PET JESTER

(as seen in RAVE magazine)

Always

WAVES OF CHANGE - interview with local Gold Coast band Oceanics for Rave Magazine

- Cowgirl in the sand

DONE!!

I found this website while on www.stumbleupon.com

There are some very useful tips in here

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2sjIFw/www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/11/30-things-to-stop-doing-to-yourself/

My favourite and most appropriate for today would be #1 from the list...

Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

- cowgirl in the sand

scattered

and so the blanket is finally ripped off
everything floods in like it did before

Without reason.

-cowgirl in the sand

Alive.

Hidden gold mines, amongst hidden mines.
I can't tell the difference half the time.

- cowgirl in the sand.

Fresh, crisp and clear.

View of Halden, Norway.

London Town

Oh London town… The thing I loved most about this city was the culture… from Buckingham Palace to small galleries, there is always something to see and learn about. Plus… and this is especially important for me… there are plenty of places to get a decent coffee… which so far, through Europe I have found quite difficult, but not in London, not even in the middle of the night! There are many exciting attractions for those people who are not necessarily history or art buffs too! Within one day we managed (only just) to squeeze in seeing a Chelsea v Sunderland game at Stamford Bridge Stadium and then raced back to the hotel room and prepared ourselves up for The Lion King Musical at Lyceom Theatre! I spent quite a few days in London while I was in England but still could have done much, much more in this eventful city.

Trysil, Norway

Half way down the mountain at Trysil Ski Lodge, Norway. Although the sun sets here at an outrageously early hour in comparison to my homeland Australia, watching the sun set over the snowy mountains is enough to take your breath away and forget (for just a second) how freezing and dark it is about to become. Norway's nature is outstanding, even the areas that are heavily built up are surrounded by copious amounts of plantation, forest and wide open spaces.

This is definitely a country worth the 36 hour travel time from down-under!

- Cowgirl in the sand

Thank You Norway!!

This trip to Norway has introduced me to some beautiful people and experiences, one such person being Jarle Bernhoft, an amazing Norwegian musician who masters the art of male falsetto and the loop pedal to create musically virtuosic performances... devastating that he will not be on tour while I'm in Europe... Let's hope he ventures his way down under some time soon ;)

- Cowgirl in the sand