Lenzez and rODIUM Jam 'fly' live

Yo.

So I was back again on the drums recently for rODIUM . I'm still getting into the swing of things with this and I'll probably take a while to get up to a good playing standard but again it was fun. Check the vid...

One Taste!

Tomorrow (Sunday 10th November) I'll be dong a set at the One Taste Festival in the Bedord in Balham. I'm pretty excited about it, there's sqillionsof acts on the day, music, theatre and of course spoken word. My dad played a gig there many years ago and so has my older brother.

Peep the line up:

Talia Randall: 3 mile Radius EP Launch

Tuesday 20th at the Roundhouse is the launch of Talia Randall's debut EP 3 Mile Radius.

I've known Talia now for over 3 years and have worked with her many times from Roundhouse Poetry Collective through to Rubix and also many different shows and also a workshop program we devised together. She's hands down one of my favorite writers out there at the moment, in a league of her own and this summer at Camp Bestival blew me away with one of the best Spoken Word sets I've ever seen, mostly of which, I believe, is the material which will be appearing on the EP.

I know she has spent a long time crafting all the pieces for this EP and she is working with some don musicians in the form of Elian Grey, Jamie and Noemie Ducimetiere, all who are from the banging Emergeing Species record label who are putting the EP out, copies of which will be available on the night. 

Support on the night comes in the from of Sean Mahoney, Rob Auton, Kaite Bonna and myself, and I'll probably be drawing for some of my music related stuff, I'm looking foreword to it!

You can get you're self a ticket HERE  for a mere £5, I believe all the early bird £3 squid tickets are sold out. Reach if you can, it should be a banger!

The Purest of Pride

It's a war cry

that make the hairs on the end of my neck

stand to attention.

The purest of pride.

A misunderstood force of nature,

sensationalized it summons fear in the uninitiated,

An unrivaled passion passed through generations,

stood shoulder to shoulder,

the undiluted liquid of the Thames,

refusing to be watered down on prescription for the masses,

via oligarchs, Sheiks and American sports magnates.

A whole city pulsates in the passion it generates,

enough to wake the distant memories of docks and ships,

from which it came.

Bricked over by the demands for luxury living,

which forgets as fast as it's built.

But this war cry will never die.

It is the undisputed king of the urban jungle.

For it is the Lions roar

of SE16.

Grow A Pair

Now
You can be
A good bloke
Honest
And trustworthy
Whilst
Still owning 
A
Pair
Of 
Bollox

But

If
Someone says 
You're
A nice person
They
May well
Think 
You are a melt
Who
(still)
Cuts
Off the crusts
From
A Sandwich.

They're probably
Just  
Being nice.     

John Berkavitch: The Power of Being Embaressed

In the last year or two I've become a fan of talks. Subscribing to both TEDx and RSA.  There always seems to be someone worth listening too, maybe I'm getting old.

This summer at Camp Bestival, I got to meet the Spoken Word Artist and all round don John Berkavitch. He was a very cool guy and gave me some good words, but he's known for good words. So good in fact, that last year, he did a TED talk about the power of embarrassment. The subject he speaks about is something I encounter a lot, not just in my work with young people, but something I've come across in people (me included) from as far back as I can remember. I think he's hit the nail on the head, this whole loosing face business is'nt worth the energy put in to shut out the embarrassment.

It's well worth a look, and if you like the look of John (how can you not, the geezer is bare foot on stage at a TED talk!), he's performing at One Taste on the 11th of November.