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• Jonas Brother - part 2

  We were escorted down to the studio at ten to 12 only to be told that the band were still rehearsing so we'd have to go back upstairs to the 'holding area' again. When we finally made it through into the TV studio
  see pics here http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?P... a very friendly floor manager quickly got most the kids settled in the front row, Phoebe and Issy included, and we shuffled long the second row so we could be close, but not embarrassingly so, to them.
  The floor manager however had other plans and asked if we'd mind moving back along the row to allow more kids to be in shot. No problem; we hardly fit the viewing demographics for the Disney Channel that's for sure. We shuffled back along the row clutching bags, jackets, bottles of water and the girls' goodie bags and I plonked myself down on the very end seat.
  
  'Sorry Sir...' pointing at me... 'would you mind moving back a couple of rows?'
  Upsticks again and duly decamped to the back row... just settling down when he says... 'awfully sorry about this, but would you mind moving to other side of the studio... your wife can stay where she is though..?'
  
  As I follow his instructions he calls out to another dad who was in the centre of the same row, 'Sir... would you mind joining him...? Thanks a lot.'
  
  Having been a member of TV studio audiences before I'd played this game of musical chairs on more than one occasion so I soon sussed what the problem was. The other chap looked slightly bemused... the only other bald guy amongst us I must point out. Yes, you've guessed it. The lights were flaring off our shiny pates and ruining the camera shots!
  
  So, enough of scene setting I hear you cry, what was the flipping music like? Well, I was pretty sceptical that any band managed by Disney could have any real musical substance, not that I wish to denigrate Disney at all, but I couldn't see Vampire Weekend or Band of Horses signing up to the whole chastity before marriage ethos that these four boys from New Jersey have adopted.
  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_B... to get a snapshot of their careers to date. The phenomenal success of their guest appearance in Hannah Montana led to the starring roles in the next big Disney musical film aimed at our kids this summer, Camp Rock.
  
  On this occasion, the boys were performing purely acoustically. They began with S.O.S off their most recent CD eponymously named Jonas Brothers. I have to say they do great harmonies and their voices are definitely complementary, although I think I would rate the youngest brother, Joe, as having the strongest vocal talent.
  Having since listened to the CD which has them playing electric guitars, accompanied with keyboards and drums, and is highly produced, the music is more 'stadium' rock on most tracks than these four acoustic renditions would indicate.
  The second number they did was Hold On, which even with just two acoustic guitars had a rather anthemic quality. Their penultimate number, Goodnight and Goodbye, has 'a nod' towards a reggae rif, albeit at a machine gun pace on the CD, but even with just a couple of guitars they imparted a lot of passion. I think my favourite was their final number, Hello Beautiful. Maybe it's because I'm an ageing romantic, but this is a great ballad with some half decent guitar sequences. Again on the CD you get the full orchestra but not too many whistles and bells that it spoils the simplicity of the song or overwhelms the sentiments.
  
  The oldest Jonas Brother, Kevin, is the executive producer of their recordings and plays a major part in their management structure; from all accounts a very shrewd operator. He reminds me of a young Tom Hanks in looks, but my wife reckons if you gave him a woolly hat to wear it's Mike Nesmith of Monkees fame. Actually the youngest brother reminded me of Davy Jones, not so much in stature or even looks but more in his demeanour - although he does have the Da

  0 Comments 405 days

• From The Jonas Brothers Live at The Hospital to Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

  Amongst the advantages of having a wife who is a journalist is being invited to special press events. We've all been signed up as a family to Disney's exclusive club that gives favoured journalists and celebrities the chance to see new movies in advance, usually screened in their own cinema at their London headquarters building. The UK preview of High School Musical 2 was the exception when they took over a big chunk of the O2. Our ten year old twin daughters friends were well impressed when they told them about the day; certainly something they'll always remember I reckon.
  
  I have to confess to being totally unaware of The Jonas Brothers until my wife came home the other day to say that we'd been invited to be part of a selected audience for a live acoustic set. It was being filmed to be shown on the Disney Channel later in the summer leading up to the opening of their new movie 'Camp Rock' which is expected to be as big as High School Musical was (and still is).
  
  Whether they'll take some advice and change the title for the UK market to Rock Camp, I don't know. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTkIQ...
  
  Well a visit to the venue alone, The Hospital in Covent Garden, would have satisfied me (see http://www.thehospitalclub.com/TheHo... and also http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/clubs/th..., but to get to see and hear the next big boy band that my girls (and I include my wife Hayley here) and probably many more pre and post pubescent girls are going to go crazy over and actually discover that I enjoyed their music was definitely a bonus.
  
  And it nearly didn't happen...!
  
  During the week, Pheobe and Issy along with a couple of their friends who are also local choristers had attended a three day course run by The Royal School of Church Music held at Magdalen College School in Oxford. They got to sing at the daily evensong service in the Magdalen College Chapel (see http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/college_lif... but at the end of the course, 30 choristers were selected from the 100 who wereon the course to sing at evensong on the Saturday evening at Christ Church Cathedral (http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/index.php?o...
  Issy and Phoebe were both chosen to join the specially formed choir for the service in this world famous and incredibly beautiful building.
  
  Although Oxford is not too far to travel from our home town of Marlow, the question was could we make it there on time if we went to the Jonas Brothers gig in London first? We had to get the girls to Oxford by 3.30pm for a rehearsal leading up to the actual evensong that began at 6.00pm (or 6.05pm Oxford time. Did you know that some of Oxford is on a different time to the rest of the UK who subscribe to Greenwich Meantime? (see http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwi... and http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/inf...
  
  The Jonas Brothers were due to start their short acoustic set at 11.45am, play for about 20 minutes, answer a few questions from the younger members of the audience and then do a signing session of CD's and souvenir books; the whole thing should be over by 12.30pm. As Phoebe and Issy had both been asked by our Disney PR contact, Gerry, if they would ask the band a question each and they were really keen to go, Hay and I agreed that it was probably 'doable' - we were equally as excited as the girls if the truth be known.
  
  I drove us to Maidenhead to catch the train from there and we were in Town by 10.30am with ample time to get to Covent Garden. As we were somewhat early, we decided to grab a coffee (a hot chocolate and muffin in the girls case) but managed to pick the cafe that had the slowest assistant doing drinks! By the time we got our order (which of course was wrong anyway as we each ended up with large instead of our requested regular size) the ample time margin had vanished and we were left trying to finish our drink

  0 Comments 448 days

• My Life with MarlowFM

  I spent more time in my final year at Wolves Poly booking and promoting bands and having fun being a DJ than worrying about getting my Graphic Design degree. I was also probably 'enjoying' myself far far too much for my own good so now I long to retrieve the millions of burnt out brain cells that would certainly come in handy now.
  
  Where was I...? Something to do with sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll...?
  
  Well, somehow I did get my BA(Hons) and so thought that maybe I'd better try and get a job as a graphic designer. I applied for every suitable job going in the area only to find on arriving at the interview I'd be up against half a dozen other hopefuls, many of them my com-padres of the past three years.
  
  Yes, you've guessed it ... I was usually 'pipped at the post' by someone I'd regarded maybe not always as a close friend, but at least a kindred spirit as we worked towards a common goal of fame and fortune in the graphics world. Mind you, they had actually worked their b*lls off preparing their final shows whilst I'd been working the city halls, clubs, pubs and student unions playing and listening to great music and generally enjoying wild late night excesses.
  
  The only 'graphics' job I managed to secure was with a quick print company and was so unfulfilling I only stuck it out a few weeks; I decided I'd be better off going full time as a DJ. I became one of the most highly qualified jocks in the West Midlands and had 8 or 9 great years earning lots of money which I promptly spent as soon as it was earned. Oh I kept up to date with the rent and my bills but I certainly didn't think about putting anything aside for the future.
  
  I don't think many people in their twenties, even these days, consider what's ahead of them.
  
  I had, however, decided to try and move over to radio and become a presenter, particularly as a friend of mine, Pete Clements, had successfully moved from mobile DJ to local radio DJ on Wolverhampton's commercial station, Beacon Radio. In fact it was Pete who first got me behind the turntables when he was the student union social secretary and I was his chairman of entertainment's. His flat mate was a seasoned broadcaster even then at the age of 28. He did the late night shift on Beacon, 9pm 'till 2.00am and it was Dave Owen who inspired me to pursue a career in radio.
  
  Dave was one of the 'founding fathers' of pirate station Radio Jackie based in South West London. He moved on to join Radio Caroline in the early seventies and then Piccadilly Radio in Manchester before arriving in Wolverhampton. He used to let me use one of the adjacent studios to practice and put demo tapes together. When he was on the air he would be the only one in the building so no one was ever any the wiser about my serendipity.
  
  You can listen to Dave on Radio Jackie most days. The pirate station eventually became legit when it applied for and won the licence to broadcast to the people of South West London and North Surrey.
  If you go to http://www.radiojackie.com/ you can listen in.
  
  I was shortlisted a couple of times for jobs; on BBC Radio Sheffield it was down to just two. Alas, close but no cigar.
  Dave eventually used his influence with his old contacts to get me a stint aboard Radio Caroline, but a tremendous storm that Spring put paid to that as the battered boat and the equally battered DJ's and crew were towed into port. Fate did not seem to be on my side, but it was sheer chance that led me to hang up my headphones, put away the slip mats and take up the artists pen and brush.
  
  However, I often wished I'd persevered with the radio aspirations, but I opted to stick at graphic design. Then last year, almost 30 years on, I got my opportunity to broadcast again on MarlowFM. We took to the airwaves, albeit for just 28 days, and were very well received by not only Marlow residents, but listeners across the UK and around the world courtesy of Sky and the internet. I did the 9.00pm - midnight show Mon-Thurs, a k

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  Anyone in a position to help out with a local community radio project?
  see see http://www.marlowfm.co.uk

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