Just a side note...

This blog is now going to be about my journalist, degree, and casual writing, and isn't attached to De Montfort University in any way.

I'm going to update a few of my older articles soon, so keep checking up!

Carlile Rocks Carlisle

Sitting down casually after a soundcheck, Of Mice and Men frontman Austin Carlile speaks to Corey Bedford before an anticipated Brickyard gig.

So Austin, how are you and the band finding touring in the UK? Is there much difference between us and the US?

AC: Yeah, well, there are lots of differences, but nothing major, if you know what I mean. There are the obvious things like changing to the metric system and driving on the wrong side of the road and stuff like that. But the fans are a bit different too; they have their own way of things at concerts and so on. But yeah, the gigs are just as good over here.

Speaking of America, has anyone been homesick whilst on tour over here?

AC: Well, we’re actually only on our 4^th day into the tour (laughs), so we’re all looking forward to playing really. If anything our families miss us more than us to be homesick.

Who has influenced you and your music?

AC:  Quite a few have influenced us, really. For me it was definitely Poison the Well, Underoath, as well as new 90s bands like Slipknot, Linkin Park, and others. What was the deciding factor was watching Underoath at the Vans Warped Tour, I saw them and thought “I need to do that for a living”.

What do you think of the UK’s response to your music?

AC: Yeah it’s been great! The last couple of gigs have been sold out, and playing 1,900 at Hit The Deck was a brilliant experience too. It’s just a really good feeling that you can go thousands of miles away and the fans still know every word off by heart and they sing them back to you. It’s just awesome, y’know?

Are you looking forward to playing the Slam Dunk festivals in May?

AC: Yeah definitely, I didn’t know it was that big of a festival to be honest. Then when I mentioned it to people I know, they started saying stuff like “Oh I’ll see you there!” and I realised how good the lineup is this year, it looks great.

You’re finishing your European tour in Germany, going to play Slam Dunk, and then going back home and starting the Vans Warped Tour a few weeks later. Do you enjoy touring like this or does it get a bit too much sometimes?

AC: I actually kind of like it. I don’t really have much of a reason to be at home though, to be honest. When you tour all the time, being on tour actually feels like home, and being home feels like I’m on vacation, y’know? But yeah, I don’t really have much for me back at home, apart from my pool (Laughs).

Are you enjoying touring with Bury Tomorrow, With One Last Breath, and Crossfaith?

AC: Yeah, they’re really cool guys. We didn’t actually meet them until the start of this tour, so it’s good to get to know them whilst gigging.

So Austin, quite a few people don’t know this, but you actually underwent a major heart operation due to you suffering from Marfan syndrome. How has that affected you and the band? It’s a big thing to go through for someone with an intense career like yourself...

AC: Well, it affected me a lot more personally than I would usually like to admit. I was dead for over 2 hours, they kept my brain alive and my heart basically on ice while they operated on it. It’s such a weird thing to go through and it definitely changed my outlook on life. I had to leave the band to get it seen to, and after the operation I had 8 months of therapy. It changed my life.

This question was for Joel but seeing as he’s not here I’ll ask you. Seeing as he’s been the touring vocalist for the band, do you see him becoming permanent? Or do you have other plans after you’ve stopped touring?

AC: Joel’s actually not on tour with us anymore, unfortunately. He’s got a solo career of his own so he’s had other commitments. It’s a shame, he had the tickets paid for to come over here with us but something came up and he had to stay behind. But we’re going to continue as just a four person band, I’m just going to cover both parts on the tour and write new songs to go with it.

What’s your favourite thing about touring in the UK?

AC: Well for me, it’s definitely the history of both the UK and Europe really. History was my favourite subject at school, and the UK has so much more History than America, like the Castle we passed coming into the Brickyard. There’s just so much history everywhere, and I just love the old buildings.

Last question, what’s your favourite album at the moment?

AC: My favourite album of all time would probably be... Tear From the Red by Poison the Well. It was a giant influence to me; another favourite would definitely be Make Yourself by Incubus which also means a lot to me. However, at the moment I’m listening to some of the Architects’ albums quite a lot.

Of Mice and Men have been working on their third album and were in the studio until their UK tour. Later information is to come. Of Mice and Men are playing the northern Slam Dunk Festival at Leeds University on May 26, with Taking Back Sunday, The Architects, Mayday Parade, The Blackout and much more. Further information is at http://www.slamdunkmusic.com/slam-dunk-festival.

Jasper Carrott: Not sure about the dark, but he'll certainly enlighten you about comedy.

Yes, that's right. Illustrious comedian Jasper Carrott is coming to Cultural Exchange, and he's talking about British stand-up and his career to the one and only Geoff Rowe, director of Dave's Comedy festival.

As one of the main people involved with the Cultural Exchange festival, surprisingly, it is yet to sell out, even for a steal of £5 (£3 if you're a DMU Student!).

However, an hour just doesn't seem enough. With a career in comedy beginning in 1975, Jasper has amassed a large number of tours, television shows, and television appearances throughout the years, and not just the 288 episodes of Golden Balls he presented.

With it beginning at 7pm on the Tuesday, it should be in the timetable of anyone who appreciates classic British stand-up, definitely recommended.

Caution: Be prepared to laugh.

Corey Bedford

Cultural Exchange

Yeah, I've been rather quiet of late, so I'm going to write up a pretty decent sized post about the upcoming "Cultural Exchange" week at DMU, and the things I'm going to see, as well as my explanations for it.

Well, I'll start with Monday, seems appropriate.
On Monday, I only have one thing, and that is Manda Scott, a historical novelist, who is discussing her writing from 5-6pm. I chose this because I have more than a guilty pleasure for history, studying it at both GCSE and A-level, and would've been an alternative course if I were to diverge from my journalist based future.
On a more specific note, I enjoy Egyptian history and Egyptology, which can link somewhat into the Roman settings that feature in some of her books. But I'm still very interested in Roman culture, and I'd be interested in hearing about it, especially if I'm considering an expansion into historical novel writing at some point. It just seems like a really interesting talk, and I'm looking forward to it. It's at Clephan Building, In lecture room 0.01, so you don't even have to take the stairs or lift to get to it, brilliant.

On the Tuesday, I'm a lot more active.
I begin the day at the Postgraduate Creative Writing Showcase (I feel like capitalising each word is necessary), where novel extracts, poetry, and short fiction are going to be read out by, you guessed it, DEMON CREW Postgrad students. As well as the potential of meeting a famous author or poet before they're famous, it'll be good to divulge in conversation with them afterwards, for tips and pointers towards the handling of Creative Writing at an undergraduate and postgraduate stage, as well as writing as a whole. This is between 2-3pm, and in 0.01 again in Clephan. The organisers don't like stairs, do they?

After that, there's an hour break before I'm back in the same lecture theatre for a talk by journalist Matt Carr, on the subject of his historically based book, 'Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain'. I chose this because of the historical base, as well as his journalist career.
This looks like an interesting event, especially with the generally unknown aspect of Spanish history the book contains. Just to clarify, Clephan 0.01 at 4pm, and finishing at 5pm.

Then, I'm treating myself to a talk by the one and only Jasper Carrott. Other than the underlying desire to ask a million Golden Balls questions, it looks really interesting. I wish I could express it better than that, to be honest. Such an experienced comedian coming in to talk for an hour about an hour, what else can you say other than it looks completely fascinating. An hour probably isn't enough, to be honest. I don't even want to go into Comedy as a career or anything. I'd interview comedians and rate their shows as a journalist, maybe do some light stand-up if I was up for it, but other than that, I don't know. It just looks so interesting, and that is why I'm going to see it. It's at Clephan again, but in room 2.13 (Yes, you need to go up the stairs or lift this time.) and it's from 7-8pm.

On the Wednesday, it goes a bit quiet again.
I'm off to see the DMU Vice Chancellor, Dominic Shellard, talking about Dave's Comedy Festival based in Leicester with Geoff Rowe. As noted in the Jasper Carrott section, I really enjoy stand-up comedy, and a discussion about the Comedy culture in Leicester sounds really intriguing. I have not participated in this year's Comedy Festival, unfortunately. But I'm definitely going to in the future, possibly even covering it at some point. Anyways, it's on from 5-6pm, and it's in lecture hall 3.03 at Clephan Building.

Thursday has three events I'm going to.
Firstly, it's the DEMON CREW event, where third year undergraduate students of Creative Writing read from their current work, and will most likely discuss their time at DMU and on the course. I think this is a great way to get to know future writers, and to hear some great stories in the process. I'll certainly be asking a few questions about the course, too. This is on at 11am until 12, and it's in room 2.29 of Clephan Building.

Secondly, I'm going to see Professor Andrew Tolson the broadcasts and debates from the party leaders of during the 2010 UK General Election, and how they addressed the nation and interacted with each other as well as questioners. This seems really interesting, especially with the constantly eventful election this happened in, as well as seeing how PR was handled during it. This looks like it's going to be a must-see for any politically minded individuals, and something I'd definitely recommend going to. It's on at 2-3pm and is in room 3.01 at Clephan building.

For the final event of the day, I'm going to Rohan Silva's talk about being a senior policy adviser to the Prime Minister during the election and thereon. He will also be explaining arts policy in the UK and how culture and arts can influence can teach politicians and policy makers. This is a different take on politics, which often discusses issues such as economics or education or transport etc. This makes it a lot more intriguing, as it's an often unheard aspect of politics, usually overshadowed by health reforms, or what the politician had for breakfast this morning. This event is on at 6-6:45pm, in room 3.03 at Clephan.

Friday, the last day in cultural exchange week, and I'm certainly looking forward to it.
I start off with a discussion by the wonderful Will Buckingham, and his friend Alan Baker, where they discuss and read the work from I Ching, and its modern relevance. Philosophy always seems interesting to me, yet I have not become fully acquainted with it, no matter how much I try.
Anyway, this is on from 2 to 3, and is in room 0.01 at Clephan building.

The tenth, and last, event I'm going to during cultural exchange is the Overheard: Stories to hear aloud launch. Overseen and edited by Entertaining Strangers (Salt Publishing) author Jonathan Taylor, this book is eagerly anticipated, containing loads of stories from around the UK, and looks very promising. If you want to hear it and take part, go to room 2.30 at Clephan at 6pm, and enjoy!

That is all for now, I'll provide updates of my cultural adventure throughout next week, goodbye for now!

Cultural Exchange bookings

Booked 10 things for Cultural Exchange week, so I'm going to have a lot to talk about!
Some of the things include Manda Scott, Matt Carr, Jasper Carrott, a couple of politics talks, and a few creative writing talks.
I was looking forward to Professor Edwards' talk about Obama's presidency, but apparently he's pulled out, which is a shame.

Anyways, a lot of things to look forward to in two weeks! Rather excited!

To summarise the day.

Nearly the end of the lesson.
I've spent the workshop making a blog. Hooray!

Going to sort out my Cultural Exchange stuff later.
Along with pizza and and spending Valentines Day with my girlfriend, of course.

Lateeeerrrssss.

Hey guys, this is my first blog post!
I've made this blog because of Creative Writing, and I'm going to provide reviews of Cultural Exchange week, and I'll be updating my writing adventures.
Maybe the occasional picture of cats, too.