So Seether right now...

Only a few days ago we wrote about SA's very own eyeliner boy and how much he looked like Pete Wentz or Adam Lambert as he says he sometimes gets called. 

But then he went and dyed his hair red. And now, all I can see is an angelic (and gorgeous) version of Seether's Shaun Morgan!

'He' of course being Ryan Morris (left), guitarist for SA band What Now who are based in London and currently touring the UK!

Ok, so there's the post box red hair. And there's the red and white stripes which add to the equation. Yet Ryan's white stripes look somehow wholesome next to Shaun's red and black long sleeve grungey gear!

    Its like 'Where's Wally' in the rock world!

Below to the right we have Shaun Morgan - postbox red hair and his right arm tattoo'ed too - just like Ryan's!



















Above we have the iconic Shaun Morgan shot - the angsty image that came out around their 2007 London tour and the launch of 'Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces' - the SAMA nominated album that came out after the death of Shaun's brother, Eugene. The track 'Rise above this' was in honour of him!

Then while browsing online to prove another point, I found this site who put this pic together for us to show the Nirvana-ness of Kurt Cobain in Shaun Morgan's style...

As 'they' say anyway... copying is a form of flattery, and since no idea is ever a new idea, plus the fact that fashion is cyclical - and since stripes are stripes - well, maybe we are just picking at straws.

I do have a desire to dye my hair red now. But more like Fire, that gorgeous Gladiator from about 10 years back. Hmm, I wonder what happened to her.

But back to Seether while we're on the topic - they are releasing a new album very very soon! 'Holding On To Strings Better Left To Fray' is released next week, 17 May 2011!

Rock on red hair, new albums and iconic images,
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Putting SA music in the Oxjam mix...

A great idea popped into my inbox this morn. A simple concept of claiming an entire month as a 'music festival', stating it in the name of charity - and then putting it out there as an opportunity for anyone to step up to the challenge and create their own event as part of this festival...

The event is the Oxjam October music festival, taking place in the UK, but seemingly anywhere in the world would suffice...

Stats from last year's Oxjam claim that over 700 events took place across the UK, from Inverness in Scotland, to Brighton on the south coast. And over 200,000 people attended an Oxjam event - thus making it the UK's biggest music festival they say.

Now I don't know my Glasto facts and figures, but I'm guessing they don't hit the 200,000 mark although I' always assumed it would be about that many thousand muddy people gathered in the fields of Somerset!

But back to Oxjam - Oxfam's month-long music festival... so they're on the lookout for people who've got what it takes to organise their own music events in October in the UK (or elsewhere, why not?)!

Yes, that's right - hundreds of events, in dozens of towns and cities, involving thousands of artists, all run by volunteers and all raising money for Oxfam!

Find out more about Oxjam and how you could get involved... much like the famed South African Ox braais, I think SA music and culture can add much to the Oxjam festival! Perhaps the likes of UK-based SA artists What Now, Starseed, Feral Sun, Steve Peralta, Samantha Horwill and more will want to do their bit for humankind?

People who wanna put on an event need to register an event by end of May and they will then be invited to attend an Oxjam training day run in partnership with LiveNation and the Academy Music Group!

Rock on music events to be created by the masses,
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Yes, I'm guilty...

As a true original, rock-loving, leaning-towards-acoustic singer songwriter lyrical loving music type girl, I feel I've commited some sort of music sin...

I've got Musica partly to blame for making such music so accessible and reasonably priced at R99.95. And for a double CD - score! Now, it is time to admit my little secret and tell you just what it is that I bought... Any guesses thus far? Any particular CDs you would consider as a shocking purchase?

Well, the moment of truth is that the album I bought isn't even an original album. Its a compilation. Ok, so that's the second hint. Double CD compilation. Ok... so, I have just become the owner (by choice of course) - of Now 56! Does that make me a bad music person?

I have this thing about not supporting big international commercial artists unless they are true musicians and passionately into their art. Especially since this is where most record labels tend to spend their marketing budgets, because they know that these are easy artists to sell. So instead of investing in local talent, they'd rather spread the next J'Lo or Justin Bieber - of which neither probably writes their own songs, music or gets involved with much more than photo shoots, press events and live performances.

But what did ease my conscience was just how many SA artists are actually on the album. And also, the reason I bought it - as is often the case with music - is for purposes of nostalgia...

You see, this trip to SA has been just shy of four fabulous months - and I've been loving my driving time, while listening back and forth between 5FM and KFM. And with many awesome SA tracks on the radio a lot more than I've recalled in the past, its been delightful to hear some great SA songs on radio.

While the SA artists on Now 56 are the more well known SA ones, at least they are on there. And at 9 tracks out of a total 41 on the two CDs, that is nearly 25% which is akin to the local radio station local radio play. I hope that by Now 58 we are at 50% of local stuff versus international commercial overkill.

SA artists on Now 56:
- The Arrows: Lovestruck
- Goldfish: Get busy living
- The Parlotones: The stars fall down
- Locnville: Love rush
- Prime Circle: Breathing
- Civil Twilight: Next to me
- Arno Carstens: Heartbreak Monday
- Freshlyground: Fire is low
- Jax Panik: Get up (if you're hot)




Other SA songs on local radio that I'm totally digging right now:
- Evolver One: Move along (wow, incredible when really loud and in a private driving space)
- What now: Toy soldiers
- Mccree: What is it
- Jax Panik: Rockstar (how can you not be in a good driving mood when this comes on! And the crazy cool video for this fabulous track is being released today - keep an eye out)
- Dirty Skirts:  Strike the match
- Civil Twilight: Love letters to the sky
- Good Luck: Taking it easy

Rock on local music getting out there,
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SA bands dominate in Kerrang...

Starseed did it first, and keeping the SA footsteps trapping through the rock pages of Kerrang, KZN-bred, London-based band What Now have done it next!

So proud of SA music standing up on its own in the London scene!

With an album cover that sticks beautifully in your mind, What Now have released a debut EP titled Take Control. We watch with interest at what this SA band will do next!

And back at home, the title track Toy Soldiers has impressed 5FM's Jon Savage so that it has stayed on his Thursday night Rock Chart for a few weeks running now!



Rock on What Now,
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