30/10/2011

Battling hunger!

Where are you? I can't see you anywhere in Hunger.

Welcome back!
The night started at the battle of the bands where my friends were battling. One in Uebanda and two in Eclectic Empire. The event was like a trip back in time 10 years - awkward teens were posing and beginner bands were playing. The sound was totally messed up and it was painful to listen to.

People hanging out.

The opening of Nälg (hunger) was strange, but in an amusing way. It's run by Kene Vernik from Mimicry and the vibe there's cool. Looking forward to seeing what will become of it. The crowd was divided between smart casual dressed older people and more trashy younger crowd. Musicians, students, designers and photographers all attended. The tables were covered with fruit and cheese; bubbly and sangria and mint liquor was served at the door. I was there for the invite only opening until 10 and then came back when Amiran was playing at around 01. I might have missed the busiest time, but it was crowded still. You had to be Chris Angel to get your coat from beneath the dozen others.

Amiran playing at the opening of Nälg.

The dance floor was constantly full, as it only fits around twenty people. Check out the cool triangular headlight installation on the wall. Zuks had created a circle of respect around him with his erratic dancing. Amirans set was Skrillex-like, but a bit too chaotic and fast (like mine used to be back in 2007).

Happy lucky hipster with bubbly and a fag.

In the other room there was a boombox dragging such classic tapes like "What is love" and "Bailando". It gave the room a special retro feel and I took a time out there at 3 am. There was also a Nintendo with the classic Duck Hunt game waiting for you. I'm waiting for you at my Facebook page with the new logo.


See you soon!
B

28/10/2011

Weekend night adventures #3

Welcome back!
This week has been fun and evolving. On Tuesday we went to a presentation of a new alchemist book. They had swords, shots of pure spirit and bellydancers, what a show it was. I've also been working on the new Ep - choosing, mixing and mastering tracks. I'm still working on the concept as I have three different types of tracks in my selection. I will have friends and fans help me with selecting the right tracks for the Ep. It will be longer than four tracks this time, so stay tuned.

Rushing to Kink Konk where Raadž was supposed to play ten minutes ago.

Last night we went to Kink Konk with dj Raadž and these are the photos, some of them decent, some not. The night out was fun, the music was fit for dancing and the crowd was cool. Raadž dropped the new ZZT - party's over L.A. and killed it in many ways. I prefer Kink Konk to Genialistid, check it out if you haven't, it's really cool.

A friend from Paris using her disguising techniques.

Unfortunately during the party someone kidnapped the badass dinosaur from Kink Konk and they really miss it, so if you know who took it, force them to return it. There was also a goofy red beret lying around there and everyone tried it on. It's better if I don't post those photos.

Raadž finally makes it to the decks.

I've been invited to the opening of Nälg tonight. It's a new shop-cafe-club that's opening in Tartu. I'm excited to go and check it out. I have high expectations and I hope they come through. It's invite only until 23 but from there on, it's open for everyone. I'll let you know how it was.

Zuks, my partner in crime when it comes to dance battles
combining jumpstyle, tectonic and break dance.
There will be lots to talk about soon. Come back for the news about the EP, the video and live shows. I've got to now. There's another battle of the bands and I'm on the list as George Bush.

Karl T, doesn't remember seeing me yesterday.
See you soon!
B

25/10/2011

Frank video - coming out

*ring* Where's that video of yours? Private? Oh well I guess I'll wait.

Welcome back!
It's finally time to talk about my music video. The video is for "Frank call", its basically finished and should premiere on the 12th in Tallinn. I'm still looking for a venue and event in Tartu. It's my first time to direct a video.

Ever gotten dressed at a parking lot?

The video is about a girl called Samantha Baker who wreaks havoc around the city while a boy tries to reach her at the house. She smokes, drinks and dances around the streets and takes an occasional wizz in the back alley. At the same time the boy gets yelled at by her paranoid grandparents. During shooting we were assisted by the police, I wrote about it in this earlier post.

Samantha meeting another boy on the street.

The budget was only 10€ and it consisted of various drinks we bought during shooting. It's possible to create on a tight budget and for that I have to thank my crew, which consisted mostly of Redlip but not only. Our actress  ***** asks you not to reveal her identity even if you recognize her. She was really easy to work with and really enthusiastic about the whole idea, even the police part. The track "Frank call" has been specially remastered for the video and has now lots more lower end.

Also featuring Barthol's fresh "B" logo.
We hope to have the video appear in the media, including television. Any help with it is welcome. Suggest a venue, do an interview or just join us on Facebook.
See you soon!
B

21/10/2011

Two bands, one track

Nice pink voice!! cool vibesss!! big baaaassss!! TotAl Barthol Bag Stylish!§!


Welcome back!
I've went to two concerts this week. The first one was Mimicry at the history museum. It started at 9pm and lasted for an hour or so. It was for the opening of the Student days. The event reminded me of youth centers. Early beginning, awkward venue and over by 11. Nonetheless Mimicry got the people out of their chairs and dancing. Despite the difficult echo I enjoyed their concert. It was enjoyable and professional.

Mimicry concert at history museum.

The other concert was in Genialistide Club. My friends were playing one of their first gigs with their band. They play keys and guitars on electronic beats and sing. They reminded me of such acts as Peaches, Stella and Dirty Princess. It was an interesting parallel . A bit more stage presence and mixing on the beats and it would be great. They are playing at the battle of bands this Friday.

Eclectic Empire concert at Genialistid.

I could go on to compare the two bands and the shows and everything, but I'll just ask you to look at the two  photos and tell us which one you like more. Go to the comments n o w and tell us your opinion. Thanks!


I've been composing on Ableton instead of FL lately and this is one of the newer clips. What do you think? Is it too LMFAO?

See you soon!
B

16/10/2011

Weekend night adventures #2

I'm photoshopping in the cafe and the next table is talking about you.

Welcome back!
Another hard weekend has passed. Met friends from Tallinn on Friday and we went to Kink Konk. I recommend going there, it looks cool and the people who run it, really love music. Art school newbies were having their hipster animal theme party there. My friends band was playing there. The DJs did a good job and we had a dance battle, we both won. Youngsters were making out, some were crying and the toilet walls got a new design. Some people were using one of the free party techniques and drew the "unique" :p mark on their hands themselves. 

Hung over at a Chinese place with friends.

The distributor of Savas Pascalidis had my mash-up recently blocked on Youtube due to copyright. You can still enjoy it here: 

Greetings from the studio.

I've been listening non stop to Major Lazers Original Don this weekend and it's worth sharing with you. It has an interesting jump style kind of rhythm.


Our weekend ended with a 25th birthday in a nature reserve. The party had a hot sauna and the shower was outside in the freezing cold. A long table was full of potato salad, pickles and vodka. People were dancing away outside, surrounded by dark forest. It was 180kms there and we drove back at 5am, listening to Ramstein. We almost hit a fox and a similar animal on the way. Everything went well and at 7 I was home.

Stealing a speaker.

I already did it on Facebook, but I'll do it here as well. I'm sending props to you, the listeners. My tracks are not the easiest ones to listen or dance to, but you are still willing to do it. Thanks for not taking the easy way out and for all your support. It keeps me going and we'll make it together soon.

See you soon!
B

06/10/2011

Wild birthdays, superman in NYC

[Quote pending]

Hey you!
Listen to the mash-up I made from Savas Pascalidis' "Superman" and The Horrorist's "One night in NYC". According to Savas it: "doesn't make much sense.." and "there's nothing in this mash up that fits..." Listen to it and see if you agree.



Before the new weekend arrives, a look at the last one. It was full of birthdays. First E, who just got back from Paris. There was killer punch, homemade pizza and mixed sauna. Her punch recipe: mix bubbly with vodka, add some juice for color. It took some time to find the right balance and some of us found the floor instead. I remember most of the night. Great times in sauna with cold beer. I heard the party continued til the morning. The photo shows the mood.

Girls going high before the sauna.

Next day, a totally different party. The theme was "morbid" and it was planned as an anti-party. The place was trashed, lights dimmed and only basic drinks and food. Half of the guests weren't supposed to make it and they didn't. Still the 60 year old drunk from next door came over and brought a cane as a present. He claimed to be a buddhist and showed us his coin collection. Most of the conversation was about hidden missile sites in Soviet Russia. At some point French girls arrived with fireworks and turned the party around. We continued it out on the town.

Morbid birthday party.
There's loads of action going on around the city, saw this couple swimming in the library fountain around 2 am. The water must be freezing. Their friends were cheering though.

Night swimming couple.

Make sure to party for free this weekend.
See you soon!
B

03/10/2011

How to go to parties for free.

Hey you!
During my 10 years of festivals, shows and parties, I have come upon different techniques for going to parties for free. I have tried most of them. I know that all of them have worked at some point. Here are 10 best ways.

1. Say you're on the list.
As they check it, glimpse at the list and then read someone's name from there. You have to be an expert at reading backwards to pull it off. You can also say that you are a performers +1. Get real names of band members for that and then say something like: "I'm Max Power's +1. He plays bass in Emo Dwarves" It works better if you make it there before the band. If this plan backfires then you could be refused entrance even if you pay.

2. Get on the list.
Contact the artists playing and tell them you would love to be on the list. Offer something from your part in return. Bring extra friends, help with posters or just fill the empty +1 slot. It helps if you know the artist or have caught his attention beforehand.
Or volunteer to help out the organizers. Contact the team and offer to help them build the stage or distribute fliers or drive around. At best you could get a +1, just make sure no one steals it from you.

3. Pretend you are the artist.
There are many ways to do this. A Dj friend of mine used to take his vinyls along and convince security that he's playing (he even convinced DJs and played sets at parties he wasn't invited to). Other people have done it with guitars and bongo drums at indie parties. If you catch the real band entering then stay close and act as if you are one of them, sign a few autographs.

Still waiting for the ticket? You could have climbed over and had a drink by now.


4. Negotiate a special deal. 
This usually works when there's 4 or more of you. Try to get a deal where 4 people only pay for 3 or 5 pay for 3 or go in for free. Tell them that you just want to have a drink. Venues mostly make their money from drinks and organizers and bands earn from the door. So you have a better chance if the door is controlled by the venue. They might let you in for a lower cost just to get you drinking there. It's not free, but it's better than nothing.

5. Climb the fence.
This works with parties and festivals that are at least partly outdoors (smoking and toilets). We used to frequently climb over a house to get to a venue. I got caught once and twisted my ankle when jumping down. There's also a possibility of getting beaten up and thrown out. Depending of the venue this could be the easiest or the riskiest of options.
You could also cut the fence like they did at Woodstock 69: "on the first day of the concert a radical group, called the UAWMF (up against the wall mother*******) cut the fences and allowed everyone in to the concert for free" - Scotty Smith.



6. Rush the door.
There are two ways to do it. Go through like a boss. Act natural, ask for your hand band and nod to the security. At the same time an expert asks something in the lines of: "Where's the organiser?" or "Is that group here already?" Similar to #3 but takes more confidence and less props.
The other option is to sneak. Have a friend stage a diversion or hide between people going in. These hardly ever work as they are the most obvious ones, but if you see the opportunity then try it for that extra adrenaline rush.

At least one of them came for free.
7. Fake the mark/band/stamp.
You could reuse someones band. If it doesn't come off intact then just cut it and reseal it with clear tape. To duplicate the stamp, lick your hand and copy it off someone's hand. At art school parties they might use a regular marker to draw "special marks" if you have the right color they can easily be copied. When you walk through the door act as if you've passed security ten times during the night already. We almost made it to Deftones' backstage with special wristbands, but we got stopped by the manager and were exposed by the simple fact that we weren't girls (see #10).

8. Go early. 
Venues might be open a couple of hours before the party for sound check and other stuff. Walk in half an hour before the party and fall asleep in the toilet, hide behind the drapes, or talk to the artists until the party starts.

9. Get accredited.
Go as Press and cover the party on your blog, school paper or wherever. Also works for photographers, as parties need people taking and sharing pictures. You can try to pretend being accredited if your camera looks believable, don't try this with your iPhone app.

10. Be a woman
There's not much you can actively do about this one. If you are an attractive woman and know how to carry yourself, then someone else might pay for you. I don't know more than, it involves pretty dress, standing in front of the venue and looking lost. Ask your mom or friends for details.

Do you have any additional ideas? Leave them in the comments.

Girls don't like to pay. Face removed by request.


While all of these methods might be fun and effective, remember to contribute to the artists and organizers. They work hard to make the party happen and if you don't pay they might be left with debts and no motivation to organize another event. Use these tricks responsibly and support the music scene.
If you are an organizer then take notice and fix the security holes at you event. Thanks to everyone on Facebook who helped to improve the list.
See you at the next party!
B