Hey guys, how’s it going?

Matt: Good but pretty knackered!

So you’re coming to the end of your UK tour with Lost Prophets. How has it been?

Toby: It’s been wild man, wild.

Matt: It’s been pretty intense, all of us lost our minds through alcohol and we no longer have rational thought.

You guys recently made your US debut, how did you find that?

Josh: Ah, that was unbelievable. We didn’t expect to sell out the venues; we only put the tickets on sale three weeks before the shows. The crowds were unbelievable really; really fanatic!

How did you find the reception in the US compared to the other venues you have done in the UK for example?

Matt: It’s a lot more fanatic. They queue up after shows and want photos and signatures, they do it in the UK but over there it’s much more of a big deal.

Josh: It just has more of a dance feel to it. Kids there turn up in spandex and glow sticks, and stuff like that, whereas over here they wear caps and hoodies. Rudeboys basically!

How have you found it performing with a band of Lostprophets stature?

Toby: Yeah they’re pretty tall! Haha.

Josh: It’s been a good opportunity to expand our fan base. I think it’s shown to people who don’t believe that electronic live music can be as rocky as rock music is, that we are a real band and can live up to bands like Lostprophets.

The reception you guys have been getting online has been massive, YouTube especially. How have you taken to it all?

Josh: Yeah it’s something I’ve always been involved in. Before the band I was doing online media for musicians so it was quite natural using the platforms for Modestep.

Matt: The response has been great. For the first few million hits I used to read every single comment and every single thing that was online. But now I’ve realised that people who comment online more often than not are idiots. I now try and take a step back and just look at the statistics really. But yeah, the response has been ridiculous, really can’t get my head round how mad it has been.

What’s the most stupid comment you can remember seeing on YouTube?!

Toby: Someone said Matt looked like Cher in a wig!

Josh: I found a really interesting one where someone had really read into one of our videos and thought it represented a battle with the American music industry. I found the whole ambiguity of it all quite interesting and how someone would read into something that much.

Can you tell us a little about your debut album, ‘Evolution Theory’?

Josh: Yeah the album is finished. It’s been finished for quite a while now so we’ve just got to wait for the record label to get off their arses and give us a release date!

And your new single, ‘Show me a sign’. What’s the story behind record?

Josh: It’s basically a song which we wrote for the fans who have been with us since day one, you know, like a thank you for everything they have done.

Were any of you guys at uni or working in the music industry before Modestep took off?

Josh: Tony was at uni studying sound design, I was designing underwear!

Matt: Bloody sexy underwear as well!

Josh: Yep, bloody great underwear. I also worked for a technology company called Apple. Who I won’t mention the name of! Matt, what were you doing?

Matt: I was selling advertising for one of my father’s old magazines and standing on street corners offering sex. Nick?

Nick: I was working on my Dad’s noodle bar! Can I just give a little promo for him? The restaurant is called, ‘Wok and Roll’.

Have any of you guys got annoying habits?

Josh: Matt get’s annoyingly drunk and annoys everyone! That is the most annoying of all habits. Matt has this alter-ego when he’s drunk called, ‘The Earl’. For some reason he transports back to 1940 and is a Victorian gentleman.

Toby: He’s not a gentleman!

Matt: I really don’t know what they are talking about!

We have a question for you sent in on Facebook. Flo asks, “When are you coming to Germany?”

Josh: Yeah we’ve been to Germany a few times and intend to come back.

Nick: Have we been there live?

Josh: We did a couple of DJ sets out there, but I’d like to take the live show there. But it’s not up to us, it’s up to promoters and our records to raise it on the promoters radar. So let all your promoters know!

Obviously you guys have taken Dub-Step to a live stage. Did you find it quite challenging at first?

Josh: Not really, we were all from rock bands in our background so it was all quite natural and something we didn’t really have to think about. The only difficult side was the technology to make it all seamless and actually work together, but other than that, it was natural and quite organic.

Can you remember your first show as a live band?

Josh: Yep, it wasn’t that long ago! It was about ten months ago at Download festival. That was our first ever time.

How did it go?

Josh: Really, really well. We thought we were going to get bottled on stage because of it being a rock festival. But the tent was completely spilling out the sides and was actually one of the greatest ever shows we’ve played.

So, finally, what have you guys got lined up for the summer?

Josh: We have the new releases. The album is coming out. We’re going to Australia, America, festivals in the UK. Basically a whole bunch of touring now. Hopefully we will be on the up!

Cheers guys!

Hi Adam, what have you guys been up to?

We’ve actually got a surprise day off so we’re having a Pizza Hut!

Is this one of few days off at the moment?

Yeah this is literally our first day off in a good couple of weeks and I don’t think we’re going to have another one for a while now it’s pretty busy at the moment.

There’s quite an inspirational story behind the name of the band. Can you shed a little light on it for those who haven’t heard?

Yeah, basically our lead singer Andy had a brain tumour at the end of his uni course about four years ago and the doctor who carried out the operation, which was about 18 hours and saved his life, was called Dr Lawson. When we came to chose a name about three years ago we went through quite meaningful things that had happened to the band and Andy’s story stuck out. None of us had been through anything that serious, so we called ourselves Lawson, after the doctor.

Is Doctor Lawson aware of this?

Yeah he knows! He did an interview up north a couple of years ago for the news, it was the first time we’d actually seen him or heard his voice so it was pretty weird actually. He hasn’t come to one of our gigs yet though! We’ve sent him a few invitations but I don’t think he is a fan of the band!

How rude! I know!

So you guys have had quite an interesting journey to get to where you are now. You were signed without the help of management for example. What other obstacles have you faced on getting to where you are?

Three of us went to music college and all we were taught there was that no one signs proper playing bands anymore if you wanted a career in music. So, we all just ignored that and thought, ‘We’re going to be in a band’. I think in the music industry at the moment not many people are getting signed, it’s so hard. We got turned down by a few people, went through about three of four different managers and then managed ourselves for a while. After about three years of going up and down the country playing all these rubbish, horrible venues with like three people watching, eventually the right people heard us through YouTube. We were doing covers of popular songs at the time, some originals as well, and that’s really what lead us to getting signed.

How has it been since you’ve been signed?

There’s a lot more pressure. It gets a lot busier and everything suddenly becomes pretty real. We pretty much went straight into making the album which took about five or six months. When your doing that, you’re kind of in your own little world so you don’t feel the pressure as much. But when you come back from recording, people start giving opinions on the album and then release dates get set for the singles, which is where we are at the moment. We’re really feeling the pressure but it’s all so exciting.

Can you tell us about your debut single, ‘She Was Mine’.

Yeah, Andy wrote that about nine months ago now when he split up with his girlfriend. It’s about being with someone and remembering the good times, looking back and feeling a bit gutted really! Everyone can relate to it.

The video has some pretty nice scenery in the background. Where did you film?

Yeah, we were pretty lucky! We went over to LA to do the video and it was literally a dream come true. I’ve been dreaming about shooting a music video since I was about five years old, so to be actually doing it was crazy! The rooftop scene were a lot of the video takes place was overlooking downtown LA. The sun was coming down and we all had a moment when we were playing through the song with all these cameras on us and about 50 people working on this video. We all looked at each other and thought, ‘What are we doing here?’. We’re just four idiots who a year ago were playing to four people in a pub and now this has happened. It’s so surreal.

A pretty special moment.

Definitely. One of those moments that we’ll never, ever forget.

How has working alongside producers such as John Shanks been?

It was amazing, he was on the top of our list the second we got signed. Luckily enough he wanted to work with us as well. We did half of it in London and half in LA. Just to work with someone with that experience was incredible. The people he was worked with as well; one day he got Jon Bon Jovi on the phone to us! He is a massive inspiration. We learnt so much and are really happy with how it turned out.

What can we expect from the album and is there a release date?

There isn’t a date but it will probably be in the backend of summer, around September. The album is all about real life experiences; falling in love and falling out of love. Stuff that people can relate to in the same sort of vein to Ed Sheeran and Adele, who sing about real life things that everyone has gone through, so it’s kind of like that. There’s upbeat songs, ballad songs . A mix in-between really.

You’ve toured alongside some huge artists over the past few months. What have you taken from these experiences of playing with people like Will Young, The Wanted, Avril Lavinge…?

The Will Young tour was really interesting because before that, the first ever tour we did was with The Wanted and their fan base is a lot younger. They show their appreciation by screaming and going mental, whereas the tour we did with Will was in front of a slightly older fan base who show their appreciation in a different way. They properly listen to the music, so when you walk on stage there is a bit of silence before you play your first track and you can see all of their faces staring at you through every song. They give nothing away so you don’t really know how it’s gone down until the end of the set when they start clapping and stand on their feet. But just to be put on those massive stages, with crowds that big, was just incredible.

Can you tell us about the radio tour you guys recently did?

Yeah we did about 60 stations around the UK promoting the single, performing acoustic versions of it and doing interviews. It was the first time we’d been out since our headline tour in January. At some of the places we went to people were queuing up outside the station and we’d never had that before. It was a lot of fun.

You are running an online competition for someone to introduce you on stage. How can people enter this who want to get involved?

Yeah it’s for In:Demand Live, at the SECC in Scotland. I think you have to tweet #iloveindemand and why you like the radio network, and then they will decide who will go on and introduce us in front of 12,000 people.

I heard you had a plant pot thrown at you at one your earlier gigs…

Haha yeah that is very true! When we first started, to get by money wise we used to do cover gigs. I think it was at a pub in Clapham, it was quite a rowdy night. We were halfway through playing Daniel Merriweather, ‘Red’ and out of nowhere I saw this soil all over my drum kit! From the back of the pub this guy had thrown a plant pot, hit the back wall and the soil went all over the stage, on my head, everywhere! I looked down and I thought, ‘What the hell has happened?!’ This guy then ran out the door as quickly as he could. That same night we went back out to the car and Ryan’s sat-nav had been stolen. It was a pretty bad night to be fair!

Oh dear! Do you have any other bizarre or interesting stories?

There was one gig in Manchester where we turned up and had been promised that all the gear would be there, like a drum kit, a good PA system, the promoter also promised that there would be a good crowd but we turned up and the venue was a complete dive! There was no drum kit, the smallest PA system you have ever seen, so we kind of knew that it wasn’t going to be the best ever gig of our careers so we, I especially, decided to have a little bit to drink and it all got a bit crazy. We don’t normally drink before a gig, we do afterwards but before we just chill out. I decided with this one that I was going to get a little bit drunk and ended up getting way too drunk and halfway through the set I had to run off stage, go to the toilet to be a bit ill and came back and carried on!

Trooper!

Haha yeah. It probably sounded like a drum solo for the whole set. I think it was the best show we’ve ever done!

Musically you guys have said before that you’re into the big bands so to speak, like Maroon 5 and the big arena bands. What is the overall aim of Lawson?

We just want to keep going. We did our first headline tour in January to 150-200 capacities. We’re now doing a tour for the new single which is like 300-500 capacity venues, so we just want to keep on growing. If we could do a theatre type show by the end of this year or start of next that would be a dream come true. We want to take the record all over the world. A couple of months ago we watched a documentary on ‘The Script’, called ‘Road to the Arena’ and they are playing stadiums in South Africa and all these places where you’d never think you’d get a chance to visit, playing to like 80,000 people a night. That kind of inspired us to spread our wings and see how far we can take this really.

Music aside. What are the individual personalities of the band?

Andy is the scouser. He’s the cheeky chappy and a little bit cocky sometimes but he knows what he’s doing! Joel is more of the sensible one, Ryan is the mostly annoying one because he’s always late. I can’t list my own annoying habits but I’m sure there are quite a few!

Finally, what are your plans for summer?

Well for the rest of summer, we are releasing the first single on the May 27th and we’ve got a tour leading up to that. We’re also doing a few festivals, like T in the Park, Hard Rock Calling and a few other which haven’t been confirmed yet!

Wicked. Well good luck and thanks for talking to us!

Thank you, speak soon!

ACTION – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Even though it did not receive as much critical or commercial success as its predecessor, A Game of Shadows was a rare occasion where the sequel completely dominates the first. This time around, Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and his trusty companion Watson (Jude Law) must prevent the villainous Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) from creating a global disaster in the form of a World War. Accompanying them this time is mysterious gypsy Symza (Noomi Rapace), Watson’s newly wed Mary (Kelly Reilly) and Sherlock’s older brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry). Despite the onscreen chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law and the exciting new action sets, it was the entrance of new villain Professor James Moriarty that really stole the film. Harris plays the calculating villain wonderfully against Downey Jr.’s eccentric but perceptive Holmes, causing a rivalry that is sure to become a classic in the upcoming years. Stephen Fry’s now world-famous nude scene also will not fail to bring a smile to your face, making a bit of break from the puzzle solving and the bullet dodging. But if you are a die hard Sherlock Holmes-of-the- novels fan, it must be advised to steer clear of this film (and the original) because, whilst he may have been labelled the very first action hero, Conan Doyle hadn’t quite intended it to go this far. If it could be my sole criticism, it’s that perhaps the film borrows from the novels in order to make it more Hollywood, instead of taking the character back to its sleuthing origins. The slow-motion sections may be impressive, but Holmes didn’t escape the Hound of the Baskervilles by slowly leaping over its head.

VERDICT - Visually impressive, excellently cast and the action scenes directed wonderfully but does little to please those who love classic Sherlock Holmes and the mysteries of the novels and short stories. But then, you wouldn’t see it for that reason, would you? ££££

COMEDY – Bridesmaids

Very few comedies nowadays are original. They tend to regurgitate used material in completely different scenarios and find different ways to act it out. Look at the Scary Movie series and you’ll see what I mean. But Bridesmaids, that is something else. In this film we see Annie (Kristen Wiig) vying to become the maid-of-honour for her best friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) wedding over another woman Helen (Rose Byrne). Their rivalry begins to affect Annie and Lillian’s friendship to the point where the whole wedding begins to disintegrate. Joining these three women in the wedding of a lifetime are the brash Megan (Melissa McCarthy), the foul-mouthed Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and the soft spoken Becca (Ellie Kemper). Along the way, Annie must make several life changing choices including choosing between the arrogant Ted (Jon Hamm) and policeman Nathan (Chris O’Dowd) and how to live her lifelong dream of running a successful bakery. The actors within Bridesmaids are wonderfully cast (Melissa McCarthy being a particular highlight) and perform remarkable well when they are placed in situations that you really wouldn’t want to be in. Having diarrhoea in a dress fitting shop, being thrown off a plane for mixing drinks with tablets are just part of a whole host of scenarios which these women have to get out of. The only exception to this casting would be Maya Rudolph (portraying the ‘lucky woman’ Lillian) who is just annoying and too blinded to see who her true friends are until its too late. Giving it good marks for originality and acting is all well and good but when it boils down to its romantic scenes and serious dialogue, the film is somewhat lacklustre. In these scenes, everything is atypical and it really becomes a paint-by-numbers romcom. Still, if there wasn’t any romantic scenes at all, we would feel a bit cheated. The film also ends on a pretty abrupt and cheesy note which leaves the feeling of wanteing more (but obviously with less cheese).

VERDICT - Kristen Wiig has done an exceptional job of creating a comedy film with a large heart and aimed it for as wide an audience as possible. The acting is superb and each character compliments the other with the small exception of Maya Rudolph. But when it comes to seriousness, it can’t help but fall short and has the origins of  grinding itself into a traditional romcom. Fortunately, it manages to stay away just long enough to keep its original edge. £££

DRAMA – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

There are very few films like this around anymore. In a world where we trudge through sequels of sequels, franchises that have become stale and comedies that just aren’t funny anymore, we find this little, tiny, quiet gem of a film. Quiet because that’s how the film really presents itself. Gary Oldman (who, received his first Academy Award nomination for this role) is brilliantly effective as George Smiley, brought out of retirement to  investigate the allegations of a mole within the ‘Circus’ a.k.a. MI6. In order to figure out this great puzzle, Smiley must enlist the help of Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy), Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong). Under investigation is the new head of the ’Circus’ Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), his advisor Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), Austrian refugee Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) and head of security Roy Bland (Ciaran Hinds). Oldman as Smiley is brilliant, noting down every comment with just a slight adjustment of his glasses, a longing stare into the distance when remembering the damaged past. Yes, Oldman truly does carry the film. The supporting cast aren’t that bad either and despite the film being portrayed as dreary in a world of greys and blacks, the actors match it perfectly, each of them holding macabre secrets. And that’s the problem with this film. There’s so many other characters that are rushed through that one viewing is not enough. You seriously need to watch it at least three times. But its so enthralling and appealing that you’ll easily want to do it again and eventually, you even feel like a spy yourself. And that could well be the point of the film. Who is really spying on who? The fact that this is filmed in an unusual manner allows us to digest snippets of information and unravel the mystery ourselves. Going through the eyes of George Smiley allows us to do this even better and we even feel a part of the film, due to its recognisable features, its dark locations and its sympathetic characters.

VERDICT – This is easily one of the best ensemble of British actors and each are perfectly placed within the story. Gary Oldman deserved the Oscar, not just a nomination. The casting is that good. The film looks dreary but that is something which actually compliments the rest of the film, both in plot and in characters. But the characters are plentiful and can be a bit too much to handle. As a result, it becomes a bit too long-winded and not completely in control of its characters, but look past that (as you will need to on your second or third viewing) and it becomes a pleasure and entertaining to watch.  £££££

Written by James Smith

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Hey man, how’s it all going?

Yeah I’m good man.

I was checking out a video you put online, #UnderdogPsychosis.

Ah yeah man!

What was the inspiration that made you decide to put that online?

When I’m outdoors, I walk around and talk to myself a lot. Things that I say I’ll bring indoors with me. I thought to myself, “People need to hear this!” and I know that since I’ve become established in music I still remember how I used to feel. If anyone showed me appreciation and basically acknowledged my talent, like at school, all the stuff that I thought I was really good at, the teachers would take my behaviour over my talent. So I thought, you know what, there’s loads of kids out there and I think the video underlines the problems of today. I thought, f@ck it, I’m gonna record myself and it was originally like an hour and half long cos I was really just talking to myself. I had to cut it down to like 25 minutes. I thought I was gonna get like a couple of  views, but it got like 14,000 views on the first day!

Yeah it’s doing really well. I think it’s on 20,000 plus now!

Wow, that’s wicked man. I can honestly say that I’m not a politician or trying to be some activist, because you know, I’m still learning myself. I just felt like I wanted to say it.

I particularly liked something you said, “People say it’s the rap that influence what’s happening, but it’s what’s happening that influences the rap”.

Yeah definitely man, I do believe that.

Moving on to your new single, ‘Make Peace not War’. Did you feel it was slightly risky using such a cult classic song in, ‘Everybody Dance Now’ (C+C Music Factory)?

Initially when I first made it I thought it would just be like a viral on YouTube, because it was such a big song I’d never thought I’d get the clearance. Nowadays when people make music and put it on YouTube, sometimes the record just becomes big. So, I thought a few DJs might play it and then it would get taken down by YouTube due to copyright. When I showed it to my manager he was like, “Yo, let’s try and get the sample cleared for this, this is a big tune!” I was sceptical doing it, no pun, because I know how people have nostalgia with certain records and can think, “Why are these rappers playing with these tunes that we love and have grown up on?” I just tried to give the song as much justice as I could and everyone who has heard it has given me good feedback so I’m happy man.

What are the lyrical messages you’ve got going with this?

It’s just about going to a club and having a good party really, there’s nothing too deep. A lot of people go to clubs and get into fights so I just thought, “Na man, go to a club and enjoy yourself!” When I say, “I’m just living my life, you better live yours”, that was the message I was trying to get across in the whole tune. Go  to the club, enjoy yourself – you know, one life!

Wicked. So this is part of your new album?

Yeah, ‘The Honeymoon’. It’s out in September.

Can we get a little insight?

It’s a real grimey album man. I’ve got three features that I’m not ready to announce yet until my album is all certified. Obviously stuff like, ‘Hold On’, was a nice single to step into the year with, it has  an uplifting message. Then there’s this new track, the party track. I’m going out to Ibiza, Aiya Napa, Magaluf, Malia, all those islands which I thought I could make a good party track to. Then when I go into my album, it’s gona be really grimey man.

Do you ever feel that you have a conflict of interests with the music you make? Like you said, you have the club anthems, the chart hits and obviously the grimier roots as well.

Yeah, undeniably, I do feel like that. It’s something that I’m gonna have to work on overcoming. I feel like when you start as a grime MC, you get pigeon holed basically. People only expect you to spit on a grime beat talking about a certain thing. Before I started MCing on grime, I was rapping. Before I was rapping on hip-hop, I was a DJ. Before I was a DJ, I was a producer. So it’s like I do everything, but people really saw my talent when I started grime. But for me, that never meant because people liked me in grime I’m not gonna DJ anymore, or not gonna produce, do you know what I mean, I’m make what I want. It’s just misunderstood at the moment man. I even think that in England it should be more acceptable than in America, because in America the cultures stick together. You don’t really see a black person walking with a white person, or an Asian guy rolling with a Hispanic. They all stick together. But in this country we are so mixed, just looking in a school nowadays and seeing all the different cultures and people that are in there – why can I not make music that isn’t grime? I’ve got so many different people around me and have been to so many different countries, I don’t just wana make grime. As I said, it’s going to take a little while for people to understand and accept that Skepta makes different types of music. But, when I make my albums and knowing that my audience is predominantly grime, I always put 80% grime in all my albums. You can go back and check all the albums I’ve ever done and see that most of the tracks on there are grime. I’m in England and I just make experimental music at the end of the day and that’s how it’s gonna be until the day I die.

Staying true to yourself.

Yeah, that’s what it is. Staying true to myself because that’s what I said with the N-Dubz track as well, that I am grime but the only thing I have to stay true to is me. I don’t have to stay true to grime, I am grime, you know what I mean? I could go to Eskimo Dance or Sidewinder tomorrow and smash the rave over and that’s not me being big headed, that’s just fact. I could do it if I wanted to but I also have the talents to make other music as well. But when I do make the other music, I’m not jumping on ‘Make Peace not War’ and saying, “Yo, everyone wear skinny jeans, wear tight jeans, wear no socks!” – I’m not talking about stuff that I don’t normally say. I’m saying, “Razor sharp blade, I’m a guillotine. Soon as I get ahead, I’m bringin’ the team” – that’s stuff that I believe in and that’s what it’s about. When you’re staying true to yourself on records no-one can take that away from you.

Out of all the artists you’ve performed alongside and seen live, who has inspired you?

I watched the Lil Wayne performance at the MTV Video Awards and I’m not saying that I was inspired by his jeggins but I was inspired by the fact he was on a big, massive stage performing, ‘John’, featuring Rick Ross. In America they respect him because he has so many fans and has broken so many boundaries but I don’t think we’ve got that here, yet. When I was watching it I thought, how can you make a song saying, “Fo’ fo’ bulldog: my motherf@#king pet, I point it at you and tell that motherf@#ker fetch” – on telly! He was the main act, and I thought one day I wanna be on stage, as Skepta, at the Brits with Boy Better Know and perform some sick grime tune as the main act and smash it! I feel that boundary hasn’t been broken yet in the UK, so far.

What’s the most nervous you’ve ever been for a show?

I was in Barcelona, there was 10,000 people in the crowd. It was mad. I’d just arrived as well, they gave me the mic and told me I was on in one minute. I was sh@#ting myself! For me yeah, I really get butterflies when I go on stage, for the simple fact that I don’t know if the mic is working or not! When I go on the stage and shout, ‘Yo!’  and it is working, I’m cool after that.

Moving onto the summer and the rest of the year. What are you looking forward to that you’ve got coming up?

Well this summer I’m flying out to nearly every holiday island and performing. I wanna get my passport stamped up a lot there. Obviously I’m looking forward to ‘Make Peace not War’ coming out, performing it, touring it over the summer, coming back and releasing one more single off the album, ‘The Honeymoon’, which is out in September. That’s it for me man, I’m only looking at it like the next four months really.

Are you looking forward to the Olympics?

To be honest – I ain’t looking forward to the traffic mate! Those roads are gonna be murder!

Haha. Yeah it will be carnage.

Yeah! I’m gonna try and get a ticket for one of the shows just for nostalgia. But, I’ve lived in London for so long now I’m not really buzzed off it no more.

Finally, what’s your favourite film?

Can I pick three?

Go for it.

Taken… Butterfly Effect… And Scarface. They’re all so real, and if anyone else makes something like it, you always relate back to it. If any drug film comes out you relate it to Scarface, you know what I mean? Same with Taken, that kind of film where a guy goes out to find his daughter who has been kidnapped. And Butterfly Effect for me, I liked how they took a real life situation and put it into a film. A lot of people say, “Oh I wish I could go back in time and change this three years ago”. But if you go back and change something from three years ago, it changes your whole future and certain things you are happy for now, you wouldn’t have again. Everything happens for a reason, so that’s why I like Butterfly Effect.

Wicked. Well thanks for talking to us, all the best for summer and the rest of the year.

Thank you very much, much appreciated.

You may think you can’t wear the same outfit two different ways, but it is so easily done! Just by changing a couple of items it can make such a difference…

Take the items listed below. The first section can be worn during the day, and then in the evening just by adding a pair of statement heels and some sassy accessories you are ready and rearing to go!

The ‘Supersoft Skinny’ jeans from Topshop are perfect for my day to night look as they are incredibly versatile. The jeans are such an investment buy and a must have in the wardrobe, they fit so perfectly and define the shape of your legs. Another little point I must make about them is that they are so comfortable to wear and come in an array of colours from denim to summer pastels, so you may find yourself being spoilt for choice.

I paired the ‘Leigh’ Jeans with a gorgeous shirt from Miss Selfridge, the tie-dye effect makes it a statement piece for the outfit. A massive factor to this shirt is that it can be worn in various ways for a variety of looks from jeans to a pair of on trend shorts.

To make both of these items appear different for a day and night time look I simply changed the accessories, from a holdall bag to a chic clutch, and from a pair of comfy ‘Chelsea’ boots to a pair of ‘Chelsea’ heeled boots. I also added a beautiful black and gold Cuff bracelet from River Island to add a touch of glam.

So there you have it, your day to night look sorted … you are ready and rearing to go!

Written by Ellie Gooch

Be Warned!

TV licence – Living on Campus doesn’t mean that everything comes for free, and this certainly applies to what has to be an absolute necessity for a student, a TV licence. Even if you don’t have a TV, you can still get caught out by streaming live on your laptops, which can result in a maximum fine of £1000! BBC iplayer, 4od and the like are however fine.

Library Fines – I may be completely right in saying this: no-one budgets for library fines. However, using my telepathic senses I can guarantee that most of you reading this will at some point accumulate a rather tasty amount of fines in your university career. (Naughty, naughty)

Clubs/Society/Gym etc – Social and physical activity is pretty essential in ensuring that you are looking after yourself and having a good time. Unfortunately, some of these pleasantries in your life come at a cost. Clubs and societies may require signing-on fees, and university gyms, though often relatively cheap, will still require some form of regular payment.

Printing Costs – Printing costs though comparatively small to the rest of your outgoings still add up, and you’d be surprised by your yearly total. An easy way to go about this is to keep a piggy bank (maybe an old can) for your loose change. Having a ready stash of coins will make your life that much easier for your mad dashes to the printer when those dreaded deadlines are approaching!

Course days out/field trips – Most University outings will be completely voluntary, however there are in fact some courses that have compulsory attendance for field trips, or days out. A good way to go about this is by thoroughly checking out your module booklets, which should have details of any compulsory or voluntary outings. There are of course Uni trips and holidays available purely for your entertainment. If you think that going away with your new mates appeals to you it may make sense putting away of couple of hundred early doors so if the opportunity arises you won’t be the one missing out!

Travel – Not all freshers will live on halls, and even some of you that do may find yourselves having to travel from one end of the Uni to the other to attend those essential lectures! Public transport has been on the rise of late, so be prepared to spend a few extra quid a week for those study commutes, and of course the nights out in town.

Books + articles – Plugging away at coursework can be a bit of a nightmare, especially if you cannot find the essential book or article that will give you the edge over your classmates. University libraries are usually very useful and provide an excellent service, however if your desired book is not in stock you may have to brace yourself for a visit to Amazon or Ebay! The same applies with online articles, with some websites requiring payments for online documents.

Newspapers + Magazines – Now, being a student you have a responsibility to keep up to date with what is going on in the world, as you my friend are the future! Newspapers and magazines not only keep you up to date with goings on but can also significantly help you on your course, providing you with the latest information and contemporary thought. Media students especially will have to get used to regular trips to the newsagents!

Laundry – You now no longer have the luxury of a personal maid, i.e. your mum or dad, which leaves you with the responsibility of washing your own clothes! It won’t be long before piles and piles of dirty washing have amassed on your bedroom floor, probably alongside the week old pizza boxes. When you eventually decide to make the trek to the laundry rooms, be prepared to spend a few pounds on detergent and general use of the washing and drying machines.

Housing Deposits – You may be venturing onto halls now, but when the hectic year of campus life is over, for the majority of you the next step will be to find your student digs. Universities will give you the help you need and point you in the right direction, however when you have found the perfect new flat, you will need to place a holding deposit and then a final deposit when you move in. It may seem like a million miles away but you will need to start looking for your 2^nd year accommodation in early spring next year.

Okay, so we’ll begin with revision cards. Depending on personal preference, the plain white cards are fine but we want to make revising a little fun at least. So why not spice it up a bit and work with coloured revision cards, perfect! Not only will it brighten your notes but you can also colour co-ordinate each topic making it easier for you to organise your revision.

Next thing. Your university will have an online site where each student has their personal page with their grades on for each module of your course. On there should be documents for each of your weekly seminars and lectures. If you weren’t able to get all your notes down from a certain lesson, you’ll be able to go over the documents provided online.

To make note taking more easy for yourself, bullet pointting each sentence makes it so much easier to read. Also, to make an important point really stand out, highlighting or underlying a key phrase or word is a great way to focus upon it. There’s nothing more annoying than reading back at your notes trying to find a certain point that takes you ages to find.

Getting yourself familiar with the library has to be done. I know, I know – You’d much rather use the internet as a source of information in the comfort of your own bed. I get it, trust me. However, your University library should have what you’re looking for, if it doesn’t, speak to a lecturer, they may be able to get it sent in from another library. Which brings me on to my next point. Your local library, if you haven’t set yourself up an account, it is a good idea to do so. If you’re on a tight time schedule and it turns out your University doesn’t have a certain book that you need, the local library may very well do so. It’s worth a go!

Give yourself a time frame to work within. Two hours a day for example is a good amount. You don’t want to go into brain overload. Organising yourself properly will make it far easier to revise, and help you relax about the work you have to do. Get yourself a hot chocolate and some biscuits and you’ll be well away!

Lastly, all your notes you’ve made, stick them to an A3 sized paper and use them as posters in your room. I’ve done this myself and when I’m getting ready for Uni in the mornings, straightening my hair, I’ll find myself looking over at them. They are everywhere! Wardrobe, door, walls, it really is a good way of learning. You’re able to just go over and over them each day. Sometimes I’ll walk into Uni and come out with a piece of info to my friends I just read from my wall and you genuinely feel better about yourself for it.

Good Luck!

Written by Kayleigh Barrett

Hey Luke, how’s it going?
Yeah really good thanks, the tours been wicked, a lot of sold out shows. We had a good time at our hometown show in Cardiff. We had a lot of people turn up there; some nice ladies at the front screaming and stuff! We played the whole of ‘Start Something’ which is the first time we’ve ever done that which was really well received. On the whole it’s been a really good tour.

What do you make of the new boys, Modestep?
Good! They are definitely the right type of saccharin support band. I’ve obviously watched them a few times now. They’re sonic boom bass layers really do get the vibe going you know, so it’s been wicked having them on the road with us.

You’re the newest member of Lostprophets. Can you tell us a little about your journey into the band?
Yeah, my previous band split up in the winter of 2008. We played at Summer Sonic in Japan on the same stage as Lostprophets the summer before so I sort of knew the boys a little bit, but not very well. It was announced shortly after the show that the drummer at the time was leaving. I wasn’t in a band by that point so I thought, you know what, I’ll reach out and see what the vibe is. They were working with John Feldmann at the time, who I’ve recorded with numerous times so I asked him for contact details and got in touch with the band. A couple of months went by as they were making a record so I hopped on a plane to Los Angeles to stay with a friend and waited it out. I got my chance, did a couple of auditions, and it’s fast forwarded to now really! We just seemed to bond really well, those guys are from a similar background to me and we just seemed to click, which really locked us together. I feel really comfortable in the band, we’re all on the same page and there’s a real good team spirit, like a band of brothers. It was an instantaneous click between us all.

Have you learnt any Welsh, being the only non-Welshman?!
Yeah, there’s definitely some expressions that come out every now and then, you know what I mean!? One of the secret ones we have is, ‘I’ll be there in a minute’. Haha.

Your new single, ‘We bring an Arsenal’, has been tipped by many for success. What’s the story behind the record?
Yeah, it’s basically a rally song. It’s a very big, chant chorus kind of song. Already it’s been pushed on the radio and there’s been a lot of hype surrounding the song. When we play it, it’s like being in a football ground but at a show, you know? We count it in and kids already know what they’re doing, they just sing it. We used to get really excited about fans singing ‘Rooftops’, or ‘Where We Belong’, but I think this song could potentially take the new crown as the loudest sing-along we’ve got. I definitely think it will have its place on the football terraces as well!

Did you feel there was any pressure on you emulating the anthems like ‘Last Train Home’, ‘Burn Burn’, ‘Rooftops’ of previous records?
There’s always pressure when you’re making a record. Whatever your highest point was previously, you will always try and top that and out-do your previous best, you know? There’s always that pressure in the studio when you feel like, “Are we going to smash these singles?” or “Is this going to be better than the last record?”; there’s always that wonder in the back of your mind. I also think it’s a good fuel to push you through an album process and inspire you. There’s a lot of anthemic songs on this record; we’ve definitely got the ‘Lostprophets anthem’ feel nailed. I’d actually say there are fewer harder songs on this record which wasn’t really apparent to anyone until we started playing them live!

You guys had a harder time of it with your previous record, ‘The Betrayed’. It was quite a long-drawn process with dropping songs and starting over. Is it nice to have turned a leaf?
I came in on the tail end of that process and realistically the boys had a real hard time with it. They had already recorded it once and I can imagine it being quite devastating getting to the end of that process and thinking, “This isn’t f@cking good enough”. There must have been an element of doom about it all but they carried it forward. Stuart [bassist] produced the record and honestly, I think the record smashes heads! It has a load of banging tunes on it. ‘Where We Belong’, is definitely one of the stand outs and every time we play tunes off the record, they get taken in by the crowd as do the other catalogue tunes that Lost Prophets have. I think it will stand the test of time. In terms of that record, and this record, how hard making ‘The Betrayed’ was made this record making process seem easier.

With the new album, ‘Weapons’, you recorded a demo in Norfolk am I right?
Yeah we had a writing session for a month in Norfolk, in a small village called Dersingham. We had a house and set up all our gear in the living room and just jammed out for a month!

Did you manage to hide away?!
Well, for two days we were hiding away! Then word got out in the village that we were there, so 30 to 50 kids were outside every day, standing at the bottom of the garden chanting, ‘Lostprophets, come out!’ At first it was disruptive to the writing process, the doorbell kept ringing so we had to get rid of that; stones being thrown at the window, banging on the windows; our cover was well and truly blown! After a while we embraced it. We used to sneak out round the back gate and jump out of the bushes and freak the kids out! We went out quite a lot though – had photos with the fans and hung out, so it was cool.

Then you were off to LA to record it – quite a change in scenery!
Yeah! Most of the band live there but also with studios in LA you get more for your bucks, so it is a central point of operations for most of the band. We have a cool studio called NRG, in Burbank and we work with a really good producer out there called, Ken Andrews. It was a smooth process!

You guys have obviously played all over the world. Is there one country or venue that has a special place in LP’s heart?
It’s funny you ask that! Last night we played at Nottingham Rock City and that has always taken me back. It’s one of the venues in the UK that has been around the longest, alongside Manchester Apollo, Glasgow Academy, Brixton; all of those sort of old venues. We always sell it out; it’s smaller venue but the shows there are just incredible. The crowd is so close to you on stage, it’s really intimate and a bit of a sweat-box! We came off stage last night high as kites, it was brilliant. So I do love Nottingham for that but in the scheme of the world map, going to Australia is always killer! You get to have a nice little surf trip and hang-out in the sun. There’s not really anywhere in the world I don’t look forward to playing to be honest! We’re a band that is really privileged to have such a fantastic fan base. I almost feel sorry for bands that they don’t experience what we do. We have fans in Latvia and Russia who made a huge video which went online with our lyrics written down on loads of pieces of paper, asking for us to come back there. When I see things like that I get a lump in my throat.

What’s lined up for 2012?
We are non-stop. We finish touring in the next few days then we are off to shoot the video for ‘We bring an Arsenal’ on our next day off. We’re then heading straight into Europe for a headline tour, then back to the States for a couple of weeks off, then back to Europe for festivals, a Vans Warped Tour, Japan, Australia and I imagine we’ll be back in UK towards the end of the year. It’s nuts!

One final question. Do you think times are harder now, more than ever, for rock bands and rock music?
Absolutely. Absolutely. There’s really only live these days – that’s only where it counts. It’s cool if you’re Adele and selling 27 million records, you’ve struck a chord with people. But it is increasingly harder to sell records and it’s increasingly harder to crack the British top ten if you’re a rock act. Our album was number nine in the charts; that’s our fifth top ten which is fantastic but you look at the top 30 or 40 that week, and there will be nothing else that is rock or even guitar music. We’re definitely up against it as a rock band, but we’ll always continue to fight, always continue to do what we believe in and like I said before, we’re a band of brothers. I don’t think any of us really know anything else than being in this band and doing it, so we’ll always be here, punching through the obstacles that are put in our way.

By following these ten tips below, you’ll soon be on your way to feeling fresh and ready to tackle the challenges you have to face in your day to day life.

1. Meditate

Meditation keeps your attention focused on something you enjoy. It places you in a calm mental place and helps relieve stress, however it is inevitable that your mind won’t switch off completely, so if you find yourself thinking deeply about your job, relationship troubles or that endless to do list, try to loose yourself in the activity.

If you repeat the mediation, (which ever action you choose) for roughly 5 – 10 minutes each day you’ll be well under way to ridding your stresses and leading a peaceful and calm life.

2. Visualize Yourself Relaxed

Visualization techniques can be one of those things; you’ll either find that it works brilliantly for you, or you’ll get nothing from it.

To start the exercise you will need to visualize anything that keeps your thoughts away from current tensions, so you could imagine your favorite holiday destination, club, spa, house, etc. You could even imagine an item you can touch, like the feel of a silky dressing gown or cozy jumper. So long as your mind is preoccupied into thinking of something calm and peaceful, you will prevent stressful thoughts entering into your mind.

Top Tip: Find a quite and comfortable place to do this and your experience will work especially well.

3. Breathe Deeply

Breathing deeply can instantly give you that ‘ahh’ feeling, so take a deep breath, and when you do, pull your stomach in and hold there, whilst releasing all your worries and stresses. Now exhale and repeat this at least 10x as it will make you feel more and more relaxed each time.

It’s fact that feeling stressed creates tense, shallow breathing, while feeling calm is associated with relaxed breathing. It’s all about turning tension into relaxation.

4. Look around You

Focus on one thing at a time and your worries and stresses will feel released.

You can easily practice by focusing on something that interests you. Take the great outdoors as an example; focusing on the colours and shapes of the flowers or the bird songs will take your mind away from stress and make you feel relaxed. It will help to take your mind away from the stresses and worries that you may be experiencing and place you in a much better state of mind.

5. Drink Hot Tea

Consider drinking green teas because your average coffee raises levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, while green tea offers health and beauty advantages.

Chamomile tea is known for its calming features, whilst black tea can be a good for combating stress, so give it a go!

6. Show Some Love

Sharing a cuddle or having a heart to heart chat with someone close to you maybe all you need to release some unneeded stress and may actually help lower blood pressure and decrease stress hormones.

7. Try Self-Massage

Being stressed can cause your muscles to cease up, so try this massage technique to yourself.

• Place both hands on your shoulders and neck.
• Squeeze with your fingers and palms.
• Rub vigorously, keeping shoulders relaxed.
• Wrap one hand around the other forearm.
• Squeeze the muscles with thumb and fingers.
• Move up and down from your elbow to fingertips and back again.
• Repeat with other arm

8. Time-Out

Having five minutes alone is sometimes all it takes to calm yourself down and chill out.

The best thing to do is find a quiet place to sit or lie down and let the stressful situation drift away. Remember, getting your breathing pattern right is essential, so take a few deep breaths and concentrate on releasing tension and calming your heartbeat for the ultimate relaxed sensation.

9. Listen to some music

Music has been proven to calm your heartbeat and soothe the soul, so when you feel stressed play some calming tunes.

Top Tip: Align your heartbeat with the slow tempo of a relaxing song and you will feel instantly relaxed.

10. Positive thinking

Thirty seconds is all it takes to shift your heart’s rhythm from stressed to relaxed, so take this time to relax. A good place to start is to think about something that triggers positive thinking and this will instantly put you in a good mental place; from here you will find that relaxation will come easily.

I hope these 10 tips of relaxation have helped you to keep your stress levels to a minimum.

Written by Amy French

]]> http://www.thestudentpocketguide.com/2012/04/student-life/relaxation-tips/feed/ 0 http://www.thestudentpocketguide.com/2012/04/student-life/part-time-jobs-from-home-for-students/ http://www.thestudentpocketguide.com/2012/04/student-life/part-time-jobs-from-home-for-students/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:24:16 +0000 pocket_guide http://www.thestudentpocketguide.com/?p=2313 read]]> Why do Students Need to Work?

Many people can relate to the financial constraints experienced by students; and in today’s somewhat uncertain economic climate, students are facing an even tougher challenge in finding suitable part-time jobs to supplement their living expenses. In the same way that staying in has become the new going out for some, students are finding that their options for working from home are exceeding their options in finding a regular part-time job elsewhere. On the whole, home based jobs are becoming more attractive to many different people for very different reasons; and for students, a part-time job from home (and the flexibility it brings) could reduce any anxieties about trying to keep up with studies and hold down a regular job at the same time.

Getting Started

Preparing yourself for any job whether full or part-time, in or out of the home, requires a certain amount of organisation as well as structure and a degree of flexibility. Working from home is (for the most part) synonymous with flexibility and freedom, and it is these two things that are attractive to students wishing to work on a part-time basis as well as maintaining certain other freedoms. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to find jobs from home is to carry out a detailed search on the internet which will present a myriad of options to choose from and which will help to get the ball rolling. With little more than a computer, an internet connection, the desire to earn money and a certain amount of time to fill, students could be earning a reasonable income with a job from home.

Which Jobs from Home are Well Suited to Students?

Students who wish to take a part-time job from home face different challenges to others. Fitting in time for lectures, studying and exams, as well as maintaining an active social life, requires planning as well as focus and the drive to be disciplined in all areas.  Working from home can take much of the pain out of trying to fit everything in to an already cluttered life of studies and social activities; and depending on the type of job undertaken, it can be a great aid to developing some of those valuable life-skills in preparation for independent living in post-education years.

One of the ways in which students could find jobs from home is to take online surveys. There are many different panels to sign up to, and most of them offer cash payments as well as high street vouchers, regular competitions, and cash prizes. Companies such as Paid Surveys UK can advise as to which are the best survey panels to sign up to, and they also offer regular email newsletters containing details of the latest panels recruiting at that time.

Many different groups of people in all walks of life are highly sought after by online survey companies to assist them in researching new products and services for all types of businesses; and students are well placed to be able to devote some time to this type of part-time job. Product testing at home is just one of the many tasks and projects available to take part in, and students whose abilities stretch to providing well constructed and coherent opinions on how a product performs (and what could be done to improve it) are providing some much needed feedback to manufacturers.

Being part of an online survey or product testing panel can lead to further opportunities for carrying out other online work such as data entry, reviewing websites, writing blog posts and even article writing, all of which can be easily fitted in around other daily duties and obligations. Students are ideal candidates for these types of jobs, and more and more opportunities present themselves regularly.

Enjoying Life whilst being a Student

Students are often told that their educational years are amongst the happiest years of their lives, and few students would disagree with that, in principle. However, financial niggles can increase anxiety levels even in the brightest and most promising of students; and ways of remedying these worries are often limited. The ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ will only stretch so far, and what good is education if it doesn’t include preparation for independent adult life? In taking on a part-time job from home, students learn valuable skills which will help them to structure their working lives and be as successful as possible in their careers, as well as providing benefits such as saving time in travelling to and from work – more time for study and far fewer distractions!

Hi Tiësto, how are you?
Great thanks!

What are you up to at the moment?
I’m currently in Miami having a few days off between stops. Next up I’ve got a few dates here in the US, then down to Mexico and back to the US to play in Las Vegas as part of my residency at XS.

You’ve just released CLUB LIFE – Volume Two: Miami. Why did you choose Miami as the city for this record?
Miami is one of my favorite cities in the world; it is a very beautiful and glamorous place with amazing energy and was one of the first places in the US to embrace dance music. It truly understands what club life means, and it also has my favorite club in the world, LIV.

How do you go about making a sound representative of a city?
For Club Life Miami I really wanted to give my fans a mix that would give them the feeling that they had been to a Miami club where I had been playing. The mix really represented the feeling of the tracks that I like to play in that setting, and a number of my own tracks which I included in the mix were directly inspired by everything from the energy of the crowds in Miami, to the attitude, glamour and the beauty of the place. Miami is a special place for me having played there for many, many years.

LA was obviously Volume One. Is the plan to release a volume for each of your favourite cities around the world?
There isn’t really a plan, I have just chosen cities so far which have inspired me at the time when I wanted to do the mix.

Which city would make the UK volume?
I would have to say London as I have done some incredible shows there in the last few years. My UK fans have been welcoming everywhere though, so without a doubt it wouldn’t be an easy decision. I’m really looking forward to getting back to the UK to play at Creamfields this year.

A major part of dance music for a lot of DJs is producing remixes. Do you ever find certain types of songs hard to remix?
It definitely can be difficult, and it’s not possible to take just any song and remix it. I have to really like the song and have to see the idea in my head before I can really start to make a remix, it has to feel right. On my Club Life Volume Two: Miami album, I’ve included a number of remixes, including my take on Gotye’s ‘Somebody I Used To Know’. With that track I really loved the vocals, particularly the way there was the male and female dynamic. I found that really inspirational and wanted to see how I could put my own take on it.

Are you constantly swamped with remix requests from other artists?
I get a fair amount, but at the moment I’m trying to focus on my own productions as I’d like to get an album out in the next year. I’m always flattered, particularly when people like Coldplay and Gotye are approaching me to remix their tracks.

In your time as DJ, you must have experienced firsthand the impact technology has had. What would you say to those who claim DJing as a profession now requires less skill?
I’d say it requires more skill than ever to be a good DJ. With so many people becoming DJs, you really need to bring something amazing to the table to really stand out from what everyone else is doing. You need to be a lot more inventive to stand out now than ever. With vinyl, there was a very particular skill, but it was very limiting in many ways. Now you can and need to be really individual when DJing to stand out.

What do you think the next level of DJ technology/equipment will be?
If I knew I would be in a different end of the business! Things are developing really quickly with technology, so no doubt you’ll be able to DJ hands free at some point not too far in the future!

As a DJ you have obviously achieved a great deal and have become renowned for playing marathon sets. What’s the longest set you’ve ever played?
I played a 12 hour set once in Amsterdam!

It must have been quite an honour being the first DJ to play at an Olympic Opening Ceremony, in Athens 2004. What other special gigs have you had which will always stay in your memory?
My last show on the Club Life College Tour in the US was really special to me; to be able to make history playing the largest single DJ event in US was so amazing. Playing Ipanema Beach for 250,000 people is another event that I will always look back on. In the UK, selling out Victoria Park twice was awesome. Those events were phenomenal.

Do you ever miss playing smaller venues and clubs as opposed to the big arenas?
I regularly play small venues these days as well as stadium level gigs. I like them both and try to mix my shows between large and small venues. Large shows are great with the energy and crowds, but it is also nice to have a more intimate set in a club. Different music fits each one too, so it’s nice to play to both size crowds.

Moving on to your personal interests, you are a big sports fan. I understand that there was recently a DJ football games where your native Netherlands played Sweden. How did this come about?!
Yeah, I’m a huge sports fan and love to play football and tennis in particular. The DJ Football Games gig in Miami was a huge success and we’ve managed to raise a lot of money auctioning off the kits for (RED) to help them fight HIV/Aids in Africa. The game started with tweets between myself and Sebastian Ingrosso. We’ve been friends for a really long time and have always had a healthy level of competition between us! We both love football and really wanted to get together with other DJs during Miami Music Week outside of a club and play some football whilst raising money for a really important cause.

How are you feeling about Euro 2012?
I’m really excited to support the Dutch team of course! My close friend Robin Van Persie is in amazing form at the moment for Arsenal, so hopefully he’ll get the golden boot and bring home the silverware to Holland!

Finally, surprising to some I am sure, you used to be a big heavy metal fan. Do you still listen to it?
Ha, yes I was. I really don’t so much these days though.

Watch our interview with Tiësto from Creamfields 2011…

10. Men In Black 3

Released: May 25

Verdict: 10 years is a long time, especially when the franchise took a battering last time out. While Will Smith as Agent J is the nearest thing to blockbuster bankability, questions remain as to whether the new on-screen pairing with Josh Brolin will work. Oh, and time travel is a notoriously difficult plotline.

9. The Pirates

Released: March 28

Verdict: OK, so the date has passed already, which means aficionados will complain it doesn’t belong on the list. We simply had to share, though. If you have yet to see the trailer then find it now! One of those premier family adventure films, we reckon.

8. Prometheus

Released: June 1

Verdict: Die-hard fans will flock to see Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien universe and, if they get it right, this one has the potential to be massive.

7. The Bourne Legacy

Released: August 17

Verdict: A Bourne film without Matt Damon seems a little bit like football without Lionel Messi: sure, we’ll tune in, but we know how much better it could be.

6. Neighbourhood Watch

Released: August 22

Verdict: In a summer which looks heavy on action and superhero output, this sci-fi comedy could clear up amongst those disenchanted viewers yearning for a little variety.

5. Battleship

Released: April 11

Verdict: Allocated a generous mid-table position based upon the sheer enigmatic nature of this project. We have literally no idea how this one will go down. Basing a film upon a board game is not a new concept, but it is still a tough one to comprehend. It has Liam Neeson and Peter Berg’s direction going for it, and err…

4. Brave

Released: August 13

Verdict: Pixar doesn’t do bad films. However, this latest offering, set in a medieval Scottish kingdom, follows the trend of slightly off-the-wall concepts, so it could go either way. We can’t wait to find out.

3. The Amazing Spider-Man

Released: July 4

Verdict: Following the frankly bizarre Spider-Man 3 the ‘Powers That Be’ have decided for a reboot a la Batman Begins. Marvel’s figurehead brand promises to sell and is well worth a watch, yet we suspect the bar for the superhero genre has already been set too high.

2. The Avengers

Released: April 27

Verdict: How do you take the summer blockbuster to the next level? By including 6 heroes in the mix, and Samuel L. Jackson. It is a proverbial pant-wetting prospect for comic book fans, though it could be too soon.

1. The Dark Knight Rises

Released: July 20.

Verdict: Our film of the summer. The Dark Knight redefined the genre, which certainly puts a lot of pressure on Chris Nolan’s final instalment in the Batman saga. However, its potential makes it too risky to miss.

Written by Jordan Bishop

Hi Jack. When did you first get into athletics and your track events?
It all started at primary school and the district sports, I was always quicker than anyone else and I’ve been able to do well at both the sprints and endurance events, so having that essential mixture of speed and endurance works well for the 400m hurdles. The 400m hurdles is said to be the ‘Man Killer’ and it’s definitely an event that finds you, instead of choosing it. It takes a very strong character to be successful over the 400m hurdles.

How are you finding mixing your studies with your sport and Olympic ambitions?
Last year was a breakthrough year for me and probably the first time I have ever juggled studies and athletics successfully. It’s all about organisation really, but with an Olympic Games creeping round the corner it needs 100% of my focus, so I deferred my degree in October to go full time with my track and field career.

How big a role has your club had in your GB career?
My first club, Ashford AC, got me into athletics and fed the flame and kept me loving the sport, so I cannot thank them enough. I am now at Kent AC as they are in the top division in our national leagues; they are very supportive and don’t put any pressure on me to compete. When you become an elite athlete you rarely represent your club as your abroad on the European circuit, so it’s good to have an understanding club and group around you.

The Olympics are obviously just around the corner, how is your preparation going?
My preparation couldn’t be any better. I’m bigger, stronger and faster than last season already. I’ve been away to South Africa training and will be in Portugal just before I start racing in May to finely tune everything. I’m excited for what will be an amazing year for me, I have a good feeling about things.

How do you feel about the Olympics being in London?
A home Olympics is a once in a lifetime thing and many people will never experience that. We also have the World Championships in 2017 as well, so it’s great athletics stays in the spot light. The home crowd will really help us British athletes at the Olympics, there’s all the statistics that say football teams win more at home games, this is our home games and we plan on winning too.

What does it mean to you representing GB?
It’s what every sportsman dreams of and I’ve been lucky enough to have represented Great Britain at such a young age. It’s all very surreal at first but it becomes the norm and you don’t see it as representing GB. Saying that, at the London Olympics it will definitely mean a lot more.

What advice would you give to future Olympic hopefuls?
Be smart with your training, don’t do too much but don’t do too little, know when your body needs a break and when you really need to push yourself. Give yourself that opportunity of a long career so you can achieve everything you want to and make the right choices both on and off the track. I always believe in going with your gut instinct and it’s always served me well as it’s what you really want.

How did you first get into hockey?
I’m originally from Kenya, so I started playing back at home there when I was about nine. I then moved to boarding school at Oakham when I was 12, and it just happened to be the sport that really took off for me. Representation followed at Leicestershire and county stuff through school when I was 14 which led me to climb the ranks through midlands and into the England age groups. It’s all progressed from there.

How big a role has your club played in your GB career?
I’ve been very loyal to Leicester, because I think Leicester itself is a phenomenal club; it’s got a great feeder system with five teams playing with a lot of youngsters. So I think that gave me a lot of opportunities at a very young age to experience playing with people who could help move forward to get involved with the England and Great Britain set up.

Have you had to come across any barriers when mixing your sporting ambitions whilst studying at university?
Well, obviously that’s difficult because unfortunately in my second year we were away at world cup qualifiers and a commonwealth games in Melbourne, so it was a bit of a juggling act at times. The university though was really supportive; I was part of the business school and they were very supportive of my sporting ambitions. I had a personal tutor for example who helped me through to make sure I was able to get all of my assignments in on time and keep organised. So, you know, it was a juggling act, I’m not going to deny it, but I was very insistent on getting my three years worth of university education done in that three year period, especially as it was in-between two Olympic games.

So, how have your Olympic preparations come along so far?
We’ve gone in to a full-time program, so we are now centralised and train together as a Great Britain squad of 28 athletes and obviously as we are hosts, we have managed to secure UK lottery money in order to be more or less full-time athletes. We have been training for four years in the build up to London, and as a Great Britain Team, for both men’s and women’s, it’s a very exciting time for hockey. We’re both ranked 4^th in the world and are genuine contenders for medals come London.

What do the Olympics being in London mean to you?
Well it gives us that edge you know? Everyone talks about home advantage and we’ve seen it through previous tournaments that we were lucky enough to host as England, such as the commonwealth games in Manchester; the European Cup which was also held there and the Olympic qualification tournaments for Beijing. We were medalling in all three of those events with one silver and two bronzes, so it was clear to see how much home advantage can help. So we do see it as an extra man on the field and coming away from the recent Champion’s Trophy, which consists of the top eight teams in the world, with a silver medal, we saw how home advantage helped Argentina get the gold against us in the final, so hopefully we can replicate that come London.

What does it mean to you representing Great Britain?
I think it’s a real honour to represent your country in any sport. I know this is such a cliché but every time I pull the shirt on it is a real honour to do that and I think any athlete who is lucky enough to do that competing at the Olympic Games will feel the same. It’s going to be a phenomenal event and you can feel the whole of the UK getting behind us; it’s a very exciting time to be an Olympic athlete.

Finally, what advice would you give to future Olympic hopefuls?
I would say a lot of people stand in your way but if you believe in yourself and work hard enough then anything can happen. You’ve got to commit to the programmes; commit to really pushing yourself and anything can happen. There’s plenty of future Olympians out there, they’ve just got to work hard and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.

Hi Ben, how are you?
Yeah, alright. I’ve had a lovely day, been swimming. So yeah, happy!

Must be nice being able to fit in a little swim whilst your touring?!
Yeah it’s been really nice actually, we’ve been on a bus for the first time so we get a whole day in each place we go to. They’ve got a really nice campus here so we’ve just been using the facilities.

Taking advantage of it?
Yep!

So you’ve got quite a busy 2012 lined up; you’re halfway through your UK tour at the moment, then you’re off to the States, and Europe as well! You must be quite excited about what’s coming up…
Yeah, really excited. The whole year is pretty hectic, we’ve just announced dates in November for UK as well, which is so far in the future. It’s amazing that tickets have nearly gone for a lot of those shows; it’s been a bizarre year to be honest, it’s been amazing. I can’t wait to get to America, I think we might be going to Australia at some point as well, so it’s going to be busy!

It won’t be the first time that you’ve played in America, I read somewhere you were travelling the road on your own a few years back, playing a few shows…
Yeah that was a while ago, never did that much to be honest, so these will be the first proper shows we’ll be doing over there. We’re hitting the east coast, then the west coast over summer. We’re really excited about the states. As a musician it’s definitely the holy grail to be able to go on tour there.

A Guardian journalist wrote last year that your live performances are, “Less like gigs, more like prayers meetings”, which  I thought was quite a nice analogy! Is that something that you try and achieve, like a real good connection with the crowd?
Erm… I don’t know! We’ve always been blessed with the people that have come to our shows. It’s funny I remember when they said that! We haven’t got a whole religious thing going on though! People just seem to buzz off it and I think when the crowd gets going it gives us a lot of energy as well. My favourite thing is to play live and immerse myself in it, so to be able to feed off other people’s energy is really cool. But yeah, we are really blessed, like when we play quiet people are quiet and listen, which as a musician is a real privilege. I know that doesn’t happen to a lot of people, so we’re definitely pretty blessed in that respect.

So, you were born in London and moved to Devon. Do you think the surroundings with which you grew up in and being able to experience the quieter things in life, has helped you musically or helped your sound in any way?
Yeah, it’s that whole influence thing. I think subconsciously you’re always influenced by it. I don’t know if it’s had direct input on my music. We’ve banned tree references for the next record and stuff like that, I’m not allowed to talk about ‘hippy stuff’ anymore and being in the countryside and in the sea. But I think it gives you a better outlook; a lot of my friends back home think about loads of stuff which most people don’t think about. We’re always in the same mindset and always have pretty interesting chats. There’s a ton of space down there, not with loads going on but you’re always surrounded by good people. My songs are mostly about people rather than anything else, so that’s had a huge impact; the people who have been around me while I’ve been growing up.

I’ve got to talk about the music video for, ‘Keep Your Head Up’. That looked like it was a hell of a lot of fun to film!
Yeah, it was! Really fun, they were a good few days. It took us a while to build it. Micky over there was shooting it! (Points to Micky) Good job! Yeah well done Mickster! We had a really good time of it to be honest, although it was more hard work than it looked in the video. We went on tour afterwards, really tired, bruised and battered!

Shifted a lot of hay bales then?
Shifted a hell of a lot of hay bales! I think we got about 300 off the farmer in the end. When he dropped them off, we were like, “Oh sh*t, that is a lot of hay”. But for me, it was nice to poke fun at ourselves as well because last year we got dropped in that whole, singer-songwriter from Devon, acoustic, countryside, folk musician and all this sort of stuff. We tried to make the beginning as cheesy as possible and then go into a massive water slide and that was the whole point of it, to have fun. I think too many people take themselves far too seriously in music and I’m definitely not one of them. It’s good to able to laugh at yourself sometimes and obviously to be able to build a massive waterslide and go down it was great fun.

Did you explain to the farmer what you were using the hay bales for?
Yeah we didn’t tell him the full extent. We ruined quite a lot of bales, but it was quite nice because we bought them off him and gave them back for free. The people on the land at first were like, “What the hell is going on?!” After a while they were pretty cool with it though; they were quite happy that we were shooting a music video in Dartington.

So, you’ve been surfing for as long as you’ve played music. Has music started to get in the way of it?
Definitely yeah! I don’t get in the sea as much. But we got in the water the other day on the east coast. It’s a funny one, you spend a lot of time drinking and smoking on tour so it takes a while to get fit enough to go in the sea again. I always end up dropping in the sea when I’m so unfit and haven’t surfed for a month; all the boys are loving it and I’m just going, “Ahhhhh!” It has dragged me away a bit, but I still make excuses to get in there.

Do you take a board on tour with you?
I did on this one actually yeah, we knew we were going to get a couple of waves. They are usually two completely separate things for me but with this one we have a lot of free time, so it’s quite nice. Like today, we went swimming; I went swimming in the sea at Brighton; we got a little surf up north as well, which was cool.

We’ve had a lot of interest on Facebook in regards to asking you questions. A lot of male attention I have to say and the one female entry was probably a little inappropriate!
Haha, I’m appealing to the wrong audience here!

I’ll start off with one from Nicholas. He asks, “Where would your ideal holiday be?”
I like to go to slightly trippy places that will challenge you a little bit. One of the best trips I did recently was Senegal, that was cool. We did two weeks out there. Any free time I get I go away. I went to Morocco over Christmas as well. But, an ideal place… I’d love to go to India again. I went there when I was younger and would love to go back there. If I had a solid amount of time I’d go back there for a long time. It’s totally trippy! Craziest place on the planet if you’re from England.

Bit of a culture shock?
Yeah, I think you get the culture shock when you get back. You adapt to it when you’re out there but when you’re back it’s like, “England, wow!” It’s pretty different.

I quite like this question. Jonny asks, “What would your signature Ben & Jerry’s ice cream be if you could create one?”
That’s quite a tough one! Some sort of raspberry ice cream I reckon. I’ve never seen a Ben & Jerry’s raspberry one… It’s a tricky one, I’m only thinking of the ones that are already existing! I like honeycomb. Maybe a twist on that…

Honeycomb and raspberry?
Yeah, let’s go with that! Might taste like absolute crap though!

One final question from Facebook. Giordano asks, “Favourite moment of 2011?”
Wow, 2011 was pretty eclectic. We had a great tour of the Highlands, there were a couple of moments there which are in my favourites. It was like nearly being on the moon and wondering how on earth we got there! There were a couple of festivals as well, I’ve said it before but Green Man really stood out for me as a great moment for all of us. Musically and vibe-wise it all seemed to come together for that show and we had a really good night. Actually, the first day of Bestival! We got absolutely annihilated and it was one of my funniest days of last year. Me, India (band member), India’s boyfriend and my girlfriend at the time went absolutely wild and did things we shouldn’t have done!

Did you have to perform as well?
Yeah, we did the next day. It was a pretty full-on experience performing, I had the worst hangover ever! That weekend really took it out of us, it was a big blow out at the end of summer.

Just let it all go!
Yeah, you’ve got to get smashed sometimes!

So, finally, are there any plans for a new album or record that you’re working on at the moment?
We’re working on a few songs that I want to record soon, I don’t think it will be a full album but more like an extended EP. I don’t think the album will be until next year, with touring and everything. The EP though means we’ve got new tunes to play which keeps it fresh for us. So that’s what’s in the pipeline, a lot of electric guitar actually!

Nice! Well good luck for 2012, it’s been good talking to you.
Cheers, thanks for having me.

For more information about Ben and his tour visit: www.benhowardmusic.co.uk

Click here to purchase Ben Howard’s music.
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All of which is a very tangential way of making the point that summer is an odd time, a season where literally anything might happen. Last year a lot of young people in London went shopping without their wallets. This year, who knows? With this in mind, we’ve been kind enough to compile a list of suggestions – complete with pros and cons – for how you might spend your time off.

Travel abroad

Pros: See the world, meet people and bring back a hoard of treasured memories. These are all good things, and all are happy bi-products of either participating in an overseas volunteer programme or just grabbing a backpack, hitching a ride and drinking nothing which hasn’t already fermented.

Cons: Firstly, it will be expensive, and after a year at uni this could make finding funds in the short timeframe difficult. Secondly, whatever you do, for good or ill, people will ignorantly throw you in with the “Gap Yah” crowd of vacuous time wasters.

Lads/Girls Holiday

Pros: These short forays to foreign holiday and clubbing destinations can be cracking good fun, and quite cheap t’boot.

Cons: Accommodation may be unbearable; health and safety goes out the window; these destinations are 90% populated by idiot male egos; you may lose clothing and/or dignity.

Work

Pros: You may come away from the holidays with something more substantial and useful than memories and a decent photo album. Whether you work for money or experience (or both), you’ll feel real progress has been made towards adulthood and employment.

Cons: You’ll feel real progress has been made towards adulthood and employment. What is the point of having wads of cash if you no longer have friends? What use is a stunning CV if you fall at the first interview for lacking a degree in having a life and an A level in being world-wise?

The Hybrid

Pros: Combining two or more of the above is the perfect way to cover all bases and really make the most of your summer. You’ll be popular, mature, employable and may even have a bit of beer money left for those pleasing reunions with your less clued-up contemporaries.

Cons: For those with less time off it can be a bit of a squeeze. Come to that, fitting it all in – specifically in our recommended order of work, travel, holiday – will be a bit of a challenge for anyone.

Written by Jordan Bishop

Hi Lee, have you got any exciting plans for summer then?

Coz the tour’s mentally popular we’ve extended it into Autumn 2012, but then I’ve got all sorts of things planned: playing Xbox, eating fried chicken, driving too fast, drinking sambuca and dogging. And my live DVD comes out! qwaliteeee!

Wicked, so are you touring at the moment?

I’m on tour around the UK right now, I’m loving it. The reception’s been amazing. I’m well lucky I’m with Orange.

I see you’ve got a couple of buddies joining you on this one….

Just one actually! Although omelette’s so fat you might think he was two.

Any funny stories we can hear about?

It’s just one big party, travelling around the country performing in loads of crap towns. We’ve even got a tour bus. I drive, Omelette does directions – it’s Fat Nav!

Your BBC series has obviously been successful. Have you got another series or any other TV projects lined up?

Yeah, we was most watched show on iPlayer, although I got to admit I had a team of Filipino kids clicking away on some stolen laptops. It’s looking good for more TV. We’re in talk’s right now with the BBC which is well exciting, although I ain’t turned up to a lot of the meetings. Keep checking out my Facebook and Twitter.

How did you first get into comedy then?

I used to send in funny clips to the BBC of me and my best mate and fat legend Omelette messing about. Like one where I broke in to Omelette’s flat at three in the morning, cling-filmed him to his bed, and shoved an entire box of crunchy nut cornflakes in his gob. It was funny coz he’s got a nut allergy.

Have you ever done the dirty on someone to get to the top?

Not really, I mean I once bottled someone but nothing too out of order.

Have you got any weird habits the people should know about?

I’m going to release a sex tape soon so you’ll find out.

Nice. What are your thoughts on students?

I got love for everyone. Personally, I didn’t really have a good time at school – they were the worst three days of my life!

A well-behaved student then?!

Nah, I got kicked out of school for slashing the headmaster’s tyres. It was well funny – he was stuck in his wheelchair for half an hour!

You’re a big fan of baseball caps. What’s your favourite?

The one on my head right now – it’s got an eight under it!

So finally, the world is supposedly going to end this year, what would your final words be?

Do you mind if I try it in there babe?

The idea that cucumbers reduce swelling around the eyes is in fact a myth. When your eye is puffy and tired looking this is because the blood vessels have expanded. Buy putting anything cold on your eyes, the vessels will contract, therefore reducing swelling. So it is not actually the cucumbers themselves that do all the work, it’s the temperature of the item that works wonders!

Another myth that is sometimes hard to get your head around is the ole lemon juice on the hair trick. Lemon juice is actually proven to make your hair lighter. Mixing the juice with water will guarantee that your hair does not go dry, lank and damaged. Just a word of caution, this remedy works well on hair that has light brown and blond shades in it to begin with.

This one is not a myth but you all want to know if it works. That’s right, we’re talking Dry Shampoo! The idea of it is amazing, but sometimes sounds a little daunting for a Dry Shampoo Virgin. After much research, we have found that this product does work. If your hair is a little bit greasy and just needs to freshen up, then this will work wonders. If your hair hasn’t been washed for weeks and is extremely greasy, then this product will do nothing. It is not a replacement for shampoo and water!

Toothpaste on your spots is the final myth to be discussed. This beauty tip has been circulating the beauty world for years. But it is just that, a myth. Yes, it contains ingredients to kill bacteria, but that is on teeth, not on your spots! But some of the chemicals in toothpaste will sting the spot and will cause sore, flaky skin around the spot. So the best option would be to avoid this and stick to conventional spot creams!

I’m sure many more beauty tips will grace our presence in the future, but just be careful, not every beauty tip will be true, some will turn out to be myths.

Written by Sage Fitzpatrick

Here’s what’s great about webinars. If you’re a student who travels a lot, webinars are perfect if you’re unable to physically attend a lecture. If you’ve been ill or injured and are bed ridden, you can still ‘attend’ the seminar online.

One of the most annoying things when you’re in a massive lecture hall, is, if you’re unfortunate to be stuck at the back, you’re unable to see the board. Well, with webinars you get the perfect view of the presentation. Each webinar is recorded and can be watched later at your convenience. Not only that but with a live workshop, you are able to discuss queries with fellow online students.

I think I can speak for most students when I say this, but there’s nothing more annoying than having to get up out of bed for a 9am when you’re only in for an hour. To go online and watch your lesson is much more convenient and useful. I bet lecturers would love the idea of presenting a class from the comfort of their bed!

The great thing is webinars are easy to access. Most universities will have them readily available on either their website, local intranet or both! If you are an off-campus student and have experienced difficulties accessing webinars, I would advise that you speak to your tutor who will guide you in the right direction. The number of Universities using this online format is rapidly increasing, so be sure to check out what your institue has to offer.

Webinars are the way forward. Or as us students would say, FTW. (For the win).

 Written by Kayleigh Barrett