Andy Burrows Ex - Razorlight talks about his new band, festivals and summer songs...

Andy Burrows is the front man of the hotly tipped new band I Am Arrows.

Andy has previously drummed in Razorlight.

Hi Andy, hows the new band going?

It's going great thanks. we've been rehearsing, making a video for the first single, playing a few shows, & now we're waiting to get out & play some more...cant wait!

Are you guys going to play any festivals this year?

Yep we are hoping to play a few. still in the process of booking some of the slots though! We seem to be leaving it all quite last minute, keeps us on our toes! Particularly looking forward to playing the Secret Garden Party and hoping to be at Wickerman & Reading / Leeds too...we'll see....

Are you a fan of the festival experience? Do you prefer to camp or head to the nearest hotel

at nighttime?

I love festivals. i used to camp all the time. these days though, I like to pitch a tent - show willing! maybe have a little nap in it, then head to a hotel..

Do you have any tips on the ultimate festival experience that you are willing to share with

anyone going this summer?

i'm totally rubbish at giving tips for anything. i've been playing the drums all my life and the other day someone asked me if i could give him any drum tips, & it totally dawned on me that i absolutely didn't have any tips. i dunno, have fun. take wet-wipes. & take a hip flask or something. be imaginative!

Whats your ultimate song of the summer?

My summer song is 'rise & shine' by The Cardigans. they were such a summery band once upon a time. then they went more rocky & wintery. still love them though.

I heard you are really good friends with the We Are Scientist guys, have you

guys any plans to work together musically at some point?

I love those guys. we have already worked together on the forthcoming WAS album 'barbara', which is out in June. it's brilliant. we'll probably play a festival or two together this summer!

Hear music from I Am Arrows http://www.myspace.com/iamarrows

I Catch Up With Alan Pownall

I released Alan Pownall's debut single on my label Young & Lost Club last summer.

Since then he has toured the country winning fans at all his gigs and is set to release his first album this Winter.

Last Thing I Ate....

A salad

Last Time I Flirted With Someone....

I flirted with a promoter the other day. I needed him to let a friend of mine in to a club.

Last Time I Said I Love You.....

I tell my cousins I love them every time see them.

Last Time I Felt Embarrassed.....

I wake up most Saturdays feeling embarrassed. I'm badly behaved when I'm drunk.

Last Chore I Did.....

My life is a chore.

Last Time I Felt Angry....

I was thrown out of Shepards Bush Empire 10 minutes after I played there. I felt pretty angry.

Last Time I Did Something Rebellious....

I've been known to leave the tap running while I brush my teeth.

Last Time I Lied...

Okay the last thing I ate was pizzza!!

Last Time I Checked Twitter....

I have a love hate relationship with Twitter. I check it all the time but I rarely tweet

Last Thing I Told My Mother.....

Mama you will be on my mind..

Listen to Alan and catch him live here...

http://www.myspace.com/alanpownall

Gwilym Golden Silvers tells us about his club night The Bronze Club

Gwilym is the lead singer of Golden Silvers also runs the very cool Bronze Club once a month at The Macbeth.

In the past The Invisible, Micachu, The Shapes as well as Gwyilm's own band (Golden Silvers) have played at The Bronze Club. As well as DJs from Bullion to Doc Daneeka and even impromptu sets from the likes of the Mystery Jets!

Every night of The Bronze Club always sells out! How do you manage this Gwil?!

I just try and make sure we have good things on every time so people know it's going to be a good night even if they don't know who the acts are... I've actually started doing it less frequently to keep the quality as high as possible...

What clubs did you go to growing up that inspired you to start a club?

We used to go to Erol's night Trash a lot and when we were even younger we used to go to a hip hop club called Funkin Pussy among loads of other places... To be honest starting the club was more as a place for me and our friends to do shows and it grew from there...

What do you feel is the key to making a good club night a really amazing night out for everyone?

Drink and a good mix of people...

You also Dj at most of your nights - What tunes do you play that gets everyone on

the dancefloor?

Lil Wayne's 'A Milli' never seems to fail

Are you a beer, wine or spirits man at The Bronze Club?

Guinness and then whiskey later....

Also any tips for anyone planning to start their own club night?

I think it is good to have a broad range of things and not limit it to one "style" or whatever.. Put things on that your proud of putting on...

What is the most memorable moment from The Bronze Club?

We had a single launch once and everyone turned up in gold and silver clothes...

What would your dream line-up be?

No dream lineup but Miles Davis (electric band) the Wu-tang Clan and Leonard Cohen live with Larry Levan and Aphex Twin DJing would be pretty good....

More info and upcoming Bronze Club events can be found here -

www.bronzeblog.com

American Girl In London!

Cate moved from Boston to work at the record label Warp in London.

I met her to talk about all differences between Boston and London!

What's your typical day in the Warp offices?

Everyday is different really, but mainly I serve as a support to the press and promotions representative.

- Working in the music industry myself at times it feels totally male dominated! Have you

noticed this at Warp and how do you cope!?

I haven't really given this much thought... There are several females at the office and all are lovely (ya know... the kind of girls you would hang out with even if you didn't work with them) so maybe they make up for all the testosterone in music industry and I am very lucky to have female mentor as I get my feet wet in the music industry

- Moving from the US to London is a big change! What do you feel most homesick for?

Good bagels, friends and family.

- What bits do you like best about your new hometown and what do you like the least!?

I love the efficiency of London, the Tube is so much better then the Boston T, I love how well designed things are here, the people are so nice here, I love how I can get on a train or a plane and be in another country in a few hours.

My least favorite aspect of London is the weather and how grey it is!

- What bands and albums are you into at the moment? Is it a pre - requisite to be into Warp bands?

Not a pre-requisite at all.

The new Born Ruffians is amazing!

Local Natives

The Tallest Man on Earth

Band of Horses

I am excited about the new Black Keys album coming out!!

And always on repeat although very different - Battles and Nina Simone.

Bella Howard Fashion Photographer, Blogger, DJ and all round Cool Girl!

Bella Howard is a photographer and well known blogger! Bella has worked on campaigns for Top

Shop as well as shoots for Nylon, ID and Dazed and Confused.

Hi Bella, how are you?

Hey Nadia im super thanks, just painting my flat as i am moving to east from west next month(if someone rents mine)

What would your ideal big night out be?

I would gather a group of my closest girl friends and get them over to my house for about 7pm, crack open a bottle of champagne(prosecco will do) put on my fave music to get us in the party mood, probably the madonna or hole usually does the trick...We then would go into my room and help each other with outfits and hair and make up decisions and then gossip for about an hour or so before leaving the house(usually a pre party dance is in order as well) by this point we would be nicely drunk and would head out and meet up with the crew at a party or karaoke(my fave), then after that head to an after party at someones house or bungalow 8 or my friends bar Alibi.

If you could have anyone design your outfit for a night out who would you choose?

Jeremy Scott or Thierry Mugler they are my all time faves, but i cant aford(yet, lol) designer so tend to just wear my mums hand me downs or charity shop and ebay finds.

You have spent quite a lot of time in New York, how are nights outs in NY compared to London?

its quite different in london people properly go out and make a night out of it, everyone goes crazy and just wants to have a great time, ny is a bit more reserved in my experience. nights out in ny start so late like no one leaves the house till 12 and people have power naps before and the partys finish at about 4 and they have really great places that a definitely always fun to go to, you also got to about 2 clubs/bars every night, plus in ny you always see a celeb of some kind.

I have heard your an excellent DJ! Please could you give us a top 5 of your favorite songs

to get everyone on the dance-floor?

haha dunno about excellent!! it depends on the crowd and party obvs but my faves are:

- 'This must be the Place' by Talking Heads

- 'Violet' by Hole

- 'Crystal' by New Order

- 'Addicted to Love' by Ciccone Youth

- 'Not if you were the Last Junkie on Earth' by The Dandy Warhols

And finally any tips on how to cure a hangover after a night out?

ermmm still not found the best cure but i tend to go for a yummy breakfast then watch 24 all day in bed

Find out more about Bella from here...

www.bellahoward.co.uk
www.bybellazine.blogspot.com

Bombay Bicycle Club - Life On The Road

Namesd NME's Best New Band Bombay Bicycle Club talk the Summer festival circuit and life on the road...

1. You guys are touring all over Europe this Summer and playing loads of festivals.

How do you keep going?

Nothing special, although we've been around for a while as a band, I think we're still relatively new to touring. Ask us after we've done a long American tour and I'm sure I'll give you a jaded reply.

2. From past experience which festivals have you found to do the best catering?

And who does the worst?!

The European ones are always the best, touring in Europe is always a much more pleasant experience. The worst i remember quite well, I think it was Y Not festival in Derbyshire, it was like really bad school dinners.

3. What kind of things keeps you guys amused on the tour bus? Are you fans of reading or watching

Films / DVD box sets?

We record stuff, we started Suren's rap project on the tourbus in Europe last November. We also practice some of the acoustic stuff there. Our favourite thing to watch at the moment is probably 30 rock or arrested development. i read a lot too, but won't embarrass myself by saying what.

4. Will it be girlfriends or groupies on the tour bus this summer?

Girlfriends...

5. Whats your favourite service station in England? And whats your favourite service

station meal?

Obviously Toddington, first stop on the M1 i think. They have a Mark's and Spencer's, obviously our favourite service station stop. I love service stations.

Kim Taylor Bennett - Life On The Red Carpet!

Today i met with Kim Taylor Bennett, a fixture on all the red carpets in London.

She has interviewed movie stars from Jennifer Lopez to Russell Crowe for her show "From The Red Carpet." Kim also writes for Time Out, The Fader, The Observer and Nylon in between!

So Kim you must be so busy! Any tips on how you keep on top of everything?

I'm the most disorganised person ever - my desk, my wardrobe, my room - all a massive mess! I guess the best thing is making sure you have everything written down in a diary so you know exactly what's going on. My unofficial P.A. (boyfriend) provides valuable backup.

Who have you met recently who's left you star struck?

My most recent interviewee was Russell Crowe for Robin Hood. I had to wait for three hours to get five minutes with him at a film junket. That much waiting time makes me super nervous and anxious so when I got in there I was a little on edge. The first half our chat went well and then I asked him one question and he was totally not into it. From then on in it went down hill and I wanted to escape ASAP. Sometimes these things happen and I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and just get on with my job.

When I interviewed Jennifer Aniston I was totally stunned by how amazing her body was. 41 years old! I couldn't believe it. But I think Bruce Willis had the most star power - he was really measured, unhurried and charismatic and most importantly he wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself.

On the red carpet are you a heels or flats girl?

Heels all the way. Not only do they make you stand up straighter but it's good to have some extra height above those around you when you're trying to nab an actor on their way down the carpet.

Any tips you're willing to share about looking good on the red carpet?

I'm still working this out. I don't really wear that much make up normally, but it's astonishing how much you have to slap on when you're on camera so that you don't look totally washed out.

When you're not at the latest film premier - whats your ideal night out / in?

Going out would definitely be having sushi for dinner and then going to a gig and dancing around with friends.

Nothing beats dancing badly. I love it.

Staying in - a massive dinner with friends and hanging out till late. This inevitably also leads to bad dancing.

What advice would you give to anyone who wanted to pursue a journalistic career?

I got my first job on a magazine by doing loads of work experience and making sure that I kept in touch with at least one person at the mag or paper so that I could hit them up for work in the future.

When you're doing work experience just make sure you're efficient, practical and interested.

These days if you want to write - start a blog and get writing. Or if you want to present - put together a show and whack it up on youtube. Radio? Do a podcast. It's all useful experience. People want to see a portfolio of work and they want to see that you're motivated enough to get off your ass and do stuff yourself.

Also i've heard your a fan of fancy-dress! Whats your fancy - dress outfit of choice?

My God! I LOVE fancy dress. To the point where I have incorporated this into my red carpet events on occasion. My first ever premiere was Shrek the Third and I was so nervous. The red carpet was actually green and I suddenly thought - what if I painted my face green? That would be a talking point and it'd break the ice.

A few days before I'd dressed up as a green hedge for a party (the theme was disguise), and I knew the place where I bought the facepaint was round the corner from Leicester Sq so I went and bought some more and it really worked. Justin Timberlake, Mike Myers and Antonio Banderas all stopped by for a chat.

Similarly I dressed up as Marge Simpson for the Simpsons premiere. When you don't look like yourself I think sometimes it can give you a confidence that helps in that situation.

My personal favourite outfit though is a spider. I used to be the editor of the CDUK website and for the Halloween episode the wardrobe department made Lauren Laverne a hairy spider costume with six legs made of coat hangers covered in furry fabric. After the show Lauren let me have it and it's served me well. You get really sweaty, you smell a bit like a wet dog, you knock over drinks and accidentally grope everyone at the party, but it's brilliant. (see attached)

More about Kim here!

www.ftrc.com

www.youtube.com/thektb