Dreams can come true

It’s not every day you get an opportunity to record your own music, but that’s what University of Cumbria ND music students are proving: that these dreams can certainly come true.

On the 23rd of January student band, Revert, performed their first ever solo gig at Casa Cellar bar on Botchergate, Carlisle. The gig was an hour set of their popular cover classics and also a launch of their first single – They don’t know – from their up and coming album. The band had recorded the single onto a cd that they sold for £2 on the night.

Group member, Katie Bradley, said:

“The launch went well; lots of people came to support us and we sold all the CDs”

“It was the longest set we'd played (16 songs) but we managed to keep the energy throughout and the crowd was great. The only problems we really had were minor technical issues so overall we were pleased”.

The course at the university likes to encourage the band to act like real musicians as well as learning the technical side. This is when the recording of an album comes in and playing as many gigs as possible to publicise the band.

Katie explains: “The organising of the gig was mostly done through our band member Alex and Steven, the owner. Lee (Johnston UoC lecturer) had given us Steven's number and we had a meeting with him a few weeks beforehand to talk about what equipment we needed to bring etc”

“He let us play for free and we think he enjoyed the performance as he offered us the chance to play more gigs.”

The album is still in production, but Revert are aiming to release it by the end of June.

Katie adds: “We're just in the process of mixing the second song now, but we have a few more finished that we're excited about recording”

The band are all having a ball and definitely love what they do. Band member Alex Pearson commented that hopefully, even after some of them move away to university, they are still going to keep the band going and make a go of it:

“It's great having the studio there for us whenever we want it, and our engineer Neil Oldham is really knowledgeable of good recording techniques and understands how we want things to sound, so it's a good experience to be in there recording as often as we can.

Catch Revert at Outrageous bar on the 25^th March and Cassa on the 2^nd April.

Hear the new single They Don't Know now:

Hear about all about Revert on Facebook

UoC has stars in its eyes

I was in the canteen minding my own business one day when someone asked me if we were journalists.
'Yes, we write for The Informer student newspaper' , i replied.
'Oh great, because we need to do some publicity as part of our band project' said the guy.

That guy was Pad Wigmore, the lead singer of the student band Revert.

Now i don't generally walk around the University with my eyes closed, but i had never seen these people. I was asked to meet up with them in the music practice room- I have never even been in that part of the University before. Sad really.

Revert consists of Pad Wigmore as lead vocals and syths/keyboard, Alex Pearson on guitar, backing Vocals and keyboard, Stuart Kirby on drums and backing vocals, Chris Wishart on guitar and backing vocals and Katie Bradley on bass.

One thing i notice is the small space they have. It's very, well, basic. There are pipes that run right through all the rooms so the sound travels from each band practice. I start to feel sorry for these guys.

They aren't fazed by the resources they have, as they point out: ‘We waited weeks and weeks to get a whiteboard in here’, so they won’t be holding our breath with that one then.

As soon as they started practising, I forgot all about the lack of resources in the room. They were incredible. I was lucky enough to hear them play a cover of ‘I Predict a Riot’ by the Kaiser Chiefs and I, being a closet Kaiser fan, do not even hesitate in saying I prefer their version to the original.

It’s nice to see they have aspirations in life, with their music. As higher education has been through a change in recent years, with more people going in a different vocational road to a career, here we see these five people sitting here with me that clearly love what they are doing instead of sitting bored in a common room somewhere.

The music course seems to be very well run; they are encouraged to act like a real band by playing any gig they can and trying to set up a fan-base. And it’s not just cover versions they do- they also have to write and produce their very own album, which should be hopefully be out in March next year. Watch this space

Catch up with Revert at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117408&id=140478017157#/pages/Revert/140478017157?v=info&ref=ts


To listen to my interview with Revert click here:

On Bonfire night Revert performed in a gig called 'Firestarter' which was their first major project.

See my review below:

Music students put on a blazing performance on this years bonfire night. From Ash to Electric 6, there was music for everyone to enjoy. The bands could do anything they wanted as long as it made a reference to one thing: fire.

The gig was a collaboration of National Diploma second year music and music technology students, second year media students, and music students from Sunderland College. This huge collaboration was the idea of music lecturer, Leroy Johnson, along with media lecturer, Ed Cooper.

The media students were in charge of filming the gig in full, which was made into a DVD and sold to people who wanted to watch the magic over again.

‘We like to do two big shows a year and it tied in quite a lot of modules and completed a lot of projects in one go because it was on Bonfire night I thought of fire, so fire-related songs’ said Leroy

The first thing people noticed was how professional the stage was, with a handy trick of white cloth and orange light giving the illusion of fire on either side of the stage. Media students had four different cameras connected to three screens in the background enhancing the audience’s view.

The gig was kicked off by two Sunderland students giving an ace performance of The Prodigy’s Firestarter. Songs such as Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire and Jimi Hendrix’s Fire were performed by UoC students; with Roxanne Scott giving a wonderful performance of Snow Patrol’s Set the Fire to the Third Bar. The Sunderland student’s performed a mix of songs from Ramstein’s Firefly to Paramore’s Let the Flames Begin.

Music students from Sunderland College teamed up with the University because Leroy is good friends with their lecturer:

‘We’d been over to Sunderland in April to do a little gig so we invited them back to repay the favour really’

You can't choose your family.

It's a well known fact that family are people you can't choose to share your life with. Unlike friends you do not a choice in the matter, however i realise now that, with your family, maybe you can choose where to draw a line as to how much you will put up with.

Recently it was my sister's wedding. It was a beautiful day and the bride was of course stunning. Although, throughout this celebration i was anxious. Everyone that knows me will know i have a compicated family unit. Not that i believe that is a bad thing, but my parents history made me worry that something was going to happen.

This anxious feeling though, was in the back of my mind. I was positive that whatever problems would be pushed aside for my sister's exciting day. I was half right.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you, whoever you are that is reading this that it was a really emotional day and as much as i love my dad i really thought he would be the one that would crack. I have never been so proud of him in all my life for putting up with so many of the family members i know he found hard being with.

But, as much as my mother tried to get him to, my dad kept his temper hidden and just ignored her. My hat goes off to him. i think in a way this occasion showed me just how much he cares about me and my family. She was the one that made a complete fool of herself.

I won't go into details about what happened, because it is too private, but all you need to know is my mother ruined the end of the night. I have never hated her so much as i did in that moment. Then all the memories i had of her during my childhood came flooding back: sitting at the window as she turned up 3 hours late without getting in touch, the smell of her as she came back from the pub in the early hours of the morning, the times i sat downstairs with the dog until after dinner because she was still asleep, sitting in the pub desperate to go home and do my homework, the time she sneered at me that i was a snob and a bitch, running up the stairs at school because i was late because of her again, the day she came to say goodbye before leaving for spain looking more excited than upset leaving her children.

This may be really mundane things to get upset about, but they do upset me still. The thing that really annoys me is she has done all these things and expects me to respect her as a daughter should respect a mother, but i just can't. Everyone will probably think im over reacting by not speaking to her, but im just sick of her acting like a child and people letting her get away with it.
'Oh, it's only jackie, you know how she is' people keep telling me. No, she has a problem and im sick of letting her get away with it. My dad has done so much for us and then if he does one thing wrong he gets slated. i can see now why he gets so upset when we forgive and forget with mother.

Well, i've made my decision. I told her where to go and she just confirmed what i knew- she really does not care.

I sent a very long message to the woman, and if i was her and received that off my daughter i'd be devastated begging and grovelling for forgiveness. She's seemed to have given up. all i got was that she respected my decision and she'll be there if i want to forgive her.

Excuse me? Have you just acted like the biggest bitch on earth and your trying to make ME feel guilty?! I dont think i do. So you may not be able to choose your family, but you do have a choice to not put up with what they put you through and show them they can not get away with it anymore.

Much love

xxxxx

The future's bright...isn't it?

Look what i found in the BBC website:

Graduates 'should try leaving UK'

More than 300,000 people graduate in the UK every year
The government is urging graduates to consider a spell working abroad, whether in internships or volunteering, to avoid the worst of the recession.
The advice is backed by the National Union of Students and is being handed out on leaflets at universities over the next couple of weeks.
Recent figures suggest there will be a 5% drop in jobs for new graduates this summer, compared to last year.

So with this happy happy news i thought it was time i reflect on MY own future....

Well, tomorrow being the last day of year two, im now in my last year of uni. That is a scary thought as i have grown fond of m uni time, bumming around and getting some marks along the way.

i have also met some amazing people. There is nobody in my course i hate, which is a different feeling from school when there was so many different personalities you couldn't help but not get along with everyone.

I feel like i have grown as a person at uni. At school i was the worst at public speaking and now i feel as if i can do it.

I think about the day a year from now when uni will be over and we will graduate into the big, wide world and im filled with fear and doubt.

I just do not know what i want to do with my life, i just know that even after graduating i am going to end up in a dead end job in an office somewhere. Before this morning i had the stability of Andi being in the army and im not being a moocher in any way i just felt a litle more secure that he had a stable wage and job and i could find a job wherever he was. Now i don't know what i am going to do. I want to get out of Carlisle so bad i just don't have the money.

Sad panda. What are we all going to do? Do any of us realise what we want to do or what the future will bring. I guess none of us will know until it happens.

I'm not going to let it get me down Que sera sera is what i say:

• Enjoy the ride while you have the energy to enjoy it.
• Take chances
• life is a tragedy to those who feel, a comedy to those who think
• To succeed, you need to take that gut feeling in what you believe and act on it with all of your heart.

Hope these inspire you all!! Now don't be scared by what's happening in the world today live your life the way you want to, but most importantly: enjoy it!

Procrastination is the theif of time......i should really revise :)

My incredible luck

At the moment i have realised just how unlucky i am with anything involving deliveries.....read on...

After having my phone stolen and the police deciding they 'couldn't note it down as stolen because it was in terminal 1 on a saturday night so had to record it as lost'

So in other words love, it was my own fault for being in a shitty club, thanks.

Well this lost property code was shit all use to me as my insurance only covers stolen. Brilliant.

This concluded in me now having my old phone which is so old and scratch it looks like its been chucked off a cliff. Repeatedly.

So i needed to find a cheap replacement so hello Ebay. I found a new unlocked sony ericsson that looked cute and was only 40 quid. Job done.

Few days pass and i'm wondering where the hell is this phone. Just as i walk through the living room i notice a red slip that looks like a royal mail slip. Oh yes it is, the bloody thing was delivered yesterday and i hadn't noticed. I was so excited i walked all the way from town to the office near dixon's chimney.

Everything was fine with the package and then damn! the sim card was invalid a bloody marvellous.

I got in touch with 'carolineinpink' and no such luck to return it. Apparently network 3 have blocked sim cards that only work in certain phones. I have now become a Ebay seller haha.

Next happened yesterday. The internet stopped working and we were told that a technician would be arriving between half 8 and half 1. My parents were both at work so i was elected as the stop at home internet nanny. Fair enough i didn't have uni until half 1 so hopefully they would come in the morning.

So my morning consisted of GM:TV, will and grace, Jeremy Kyle, This Morning, loose women and STILL no technician. I eventually ring at 1pm to which i'm told by Andy after what seems like a lifetime on hold that the technician has us down but it could be up to 5pm. A whole day ruined! 'Anything else i can help you with?' Yeah Andy there is: you can bloody start by sacking which ever bitch told us they were arriving in the morning and give me my morning of watching trash tv back!

The technicians eventually arrived at 4pm. No drinks were offered to them instead i sat in the kitchen in a huff.

Now today, my laptop was expected to be delivered. Now, i understand a person could get it wrong, but a delivery partner that does it for a living and specialises in delivering goods? Oh yes believe me they can. I had been told the delivery would be between 8 and 1. Great, as again i am at uni in the afternoon. So i spend another morning waiting around until at 11 Lisa from the delivery partner rings me.
'apologises but your laptop has actually been sent to the Newcastle depot instead of the Carlisle' Right. I'm totally in awe that they had made this error they are a delivery company! The complete idiots!

So now i realise i am buying things in shops from now on! It's much easier and less stressful.

xxx

An update on all things Georgie

Wow haven't wrote on this for ages. Thought i had better update this about things that have recently.
(and it gives me a chance to procrastinate from Katrin's essay again)

Ah, procrastination- my favourite past time. Seriously it is! These last few weeks trying to do anything remotely worthwhile is hard. I start the task then find something shiny or silly to look at.

My feelings of uni haven't really improved, although i don't think i'm as angry with them as some people. It makes me so sad to see people upset with uni, i mean they give you the lectures, the work to do, the exams, the revision, they are easily available to talk to and still people are angry because they are really bad at time management. (and before i get an angry phone call Tash, i realise you're ill and stressed)

Lauren and Conny were going home for the summer and only a select few made the effort to turn up. I was boiling that night. Aren't we supposed to be students living it up? not staying home because we had work due in. I postponed that night out THREE times and still people couldn't manage their time to come and say goodbye to some people that we are not going to see for 5 months. It's madness we hardly ever go out as a course.

I realise we have portfolios to do, but if it stresses people out so much why do they not do it before the deadline? I finished my at the start of the week for the reason we were going out.

Tony organised a trip to Edinburgh the other day and only 3 people went. It was so sad because people seemed really excited at the time about it then it got to the day before and THEY realised that they hadn't got the time to have fun because we had an essay due in on Friday. Sam recoiling in horror: "he should of organised it last week when we had nothing"

ERm, no Sam we were given the essay 3 weeks ago and Tony told us two weeks ago this is when the trip was going to be. So once the journalism course failed in their time management- horray!

I'm not saying i'm better than anyone on my course, far from it. I hold my hands up that i am crap at time management but i went to Edinburgh and i loved it. I'm so glad i went because none of us exept three people handed in the essays so the people that didn't go for that reason really should kick themselves. hard.

I still haven't done my essay and it's now Tuesday, but i am mad. If this was any of our other tutors essays they would be hounding us as to why it's late and with 7 people not handing it in on time, as a tutor i would be worrying that these people are struggling.

But Katrin? Not a peep. Not even an email saying she has realised they are late. Nothing. So why should i worry about it if she clearly doesn't care?

I also have two exams next week, still havent revised for them and i can't find the energy. I have no idea what is wrong with me. I've lost all my resolve, but i guess it isn't Uni's fault and i don't agree people should be blaming their lack of work on the Uni.

But hey ho. Got to just keep on plodding along and hope i scrape a pass.

Rant over people!!!

Ps: Tash, you are not included because you are ill and it wouldn't be fair to diss you in your current situation, plus you're fit hehe x

The chav stereotype

I wore tracksuit bottoms today. For the first time in over 4 years. It was a wierd and hilarious experience.

We all associate so-called 'chavs' with the stereotypical trackies and today i made my own social experiment.

Firstly i took my little sister to school. A young girl wearing trackies and holding a little girls hand screams 'young mum' As i was walking to school i passed a middle aged woman and smiled sweetly and said good morning. The look on her face was priceless as she answered.

Next i walked to uni listening to my ipod and thought i would try something different. I walked passed a young boy at the bus stop, looking at me like i was going to beat him up, and put my ipod up to the higest volume while skipping to Linkin Park (yeah i dont know why they are still on my ipod either) He stared at me with disbelief. Is this chav really listening to 'greebo' music? confused looks all round.

I also smiled at an old lady who gave me the dirtiest look she could muster. So. yeah Job done. Most people do judge you on what you are wearing and what you look like. So next time you are walking down the street and see someone wearing trackies- don't judge them they are not definitely a chav, unless of course they start spitting at you, throwing things or shouting obcenities. Then yeah judge the chav.

Ciao for now xxx