Vice Magazine

Vice is aptly titled. One of the world's most avidly consumed youth magazines, it comes in print and pixel and makes its irreverent, intelligent points with the wit and recklessness kin to incredibly popular reads. Its UK blog posts alone receive 400 000 unique hits per month and its American cousin, 700 000.

Vernon Swart is a veteran of sticks - both the brushes he uses in his fine art, and those he hits the drums with in his role as the long standing (or, siting) member of Blues Pop Rock act, Valiant Swart . We spoke to him about "all these young rockers".

http://www.viceland.com/blogs/en/2009/12/09/an-interview-with-vernon-swart/

Muse magazine

"jezebel’s VPL"

In contrast to my other (more insightful and critical) coverage of local music, this column is a ‘frocking funny show and tell” – casual chats with the who’s you of local, independent music. Muse is one of the few print publications dedicated to the burgeoning gifts of original South African sound.

role: columnist

since: March 2009

column 1

A frocking funny Show & Tell.

For starters, we pick on Nicolai Roos because s/he is as good at first times as jezebel is. As the finger licking geetarist for The Sleepers, Nicola(i) likes a little lace in the right place. (The Sleepers have just launched their too-long awaited debut album “A Signal Path”.) Nic arrived hung over.

jezebel : Esquire, you say, eh? Esquooze me? Whaddaya think VPL stands for?

Nicolai : Very personal letter.

Huh?

Llll-um.

“Llum”? Is that Gaelic for something rude?

Lump! It stands for Very Personal Lump.

What would you do if you had one?

What – a very personal lump? Um. Idunno, I’d show it to people I feel comfortable with.

Uh. Ok. What do think of columnists?

Well. I haven’t met many.

So you don’t think anything of them?

No, I think more of them than they think of me. They put themselves up for... they’re brave.

Or stupid.

Sometimes it’s the same thing.

Have you ever dressed in drag?

Oh. Yeah.

How many times?

Jeez. How many times have I been drunk this year? A lot.

What do you think of granny panties?

Very uncomfortable.

For whom?

I actually think if worn right they can be hot.

What? Like on a naked person’s arm?

Ja. Like a helmet.

Right. I saw the rugby team-

So hot.

No, but-

(interrupts with a scary voice) “The most erotic thing you can do in shorts.” I saw Matt Damon the other day. They’re shooting up my road.

Matt Damon shooting up? I thought he was dead.

Dead? He’s playing François fucking Pienaar. It’s all about the 95 rugby world cup. I’m sorry, but you’re a journalist, you should know this

Well, what I was TRYING to say was I saw them today on the front page of a newspaper, but they’re standing on Table Mountain with their fists across their chests.

I’m sorry that just makes me think of star trek.

But don’t you think it’s good PR?

I don’t think people could’ve seen them up there.

Don’t you think rugby nationalism can change the country?

Ja. It can bring Clint Eastwood to Africa. Idunno, I grew up with parents who hated sport.

Do you hate your parents, anymore?

Uhm no. neither do I hate them any less.

Have you ever seen your mum in her panties?

Granny panties.

You saw her in her granny panties. Is that where you got your ideas for drag from?

No, well, actually… oh, no. I don’t think... um… well, when I was four or five my sister forced me into a leotard because she’d just seen the rocky horror picture show.

How old was she?

Ten. Ja, I was watching Freddy Kruger then. Freaked me out, but my parents insisted on it.

Would you ever wear granny panties on stage?

How do you know I haven’t?

Ok I don’t. But it’s not like you dress like guy from Boo! who used to.

I don’t have the legs for it. … (Takes a sip of his (second) G&T in ten minutes. But Simon…

Very passionate lyricist. Maybe we’ll get him next time. Hey - if you type VPL into Firefox, you get Vancouver Public Library.

Ok, last try! VPL stands for Vests panties and long johns.

Not far from the truth, esquire.

Escquooz me?

column 2

Shot through the heart – a pretty blue tit-for-tat

The best thing about secret sneak previews is that I get to walk around with the future in my head. But anyone who has heard the The Pretty Blue Guns would agree, there’s no VPL in their bloody garage tales. So because we know they bruise easily and heal quickly, Jezebel tested the tasty vocalist, Andre Leo, with a few licks of her own…

jezebel : What’s so funny bout peace love and understanding?
pretty andre : Nothing.

What’s so pretty about being blue?
Everything.

If you could choose the cabinet who would you put where?
Arts & culture- Nick Cave & Jack White
Education- Tom Waits, Lucas Swart (their drummer!)
Economic development and tourism- Mick Jagger (he actually studied ecos)
But politics isn't really my thing.

What’s life without stilettos?
A lot more down to earth.

First album. Some more emo musos I know have claimed it’s like having a baby backwards (as if they have a clue). But surely putting down your debut is like being reborn?
Really? They say said? That’s the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It's a great yet nerve-wracking experience. The hardest part is knowing when to stop. Luckily we had a great producer, Schalk Joubert, to help us out. Otherwise we might've sat around for ages banging kitchen appliances and animal bones trying to be Tom Waits.
But we do feel a certain sense of being 'reborn' as a band. The canvas is clean. With this album, we're really putting ourselves on the floor for the rest of the country to interpret any way they choose. Maybe that's where the 'having a baby backwards' feeling comes in?

It’s the end of the world. You’re making a run for it. What do you take?
The end of the world as in the Biblical sense? Fire and Brimstone? In that case I’d grab an iPod and put on Tom Waits' 'Make it Rain', "open up the Heavens, make it rain!" would be quite an epic way to meet your maker don’t' you think?

Indie and blues. Strange combination, but you’ve cornered the market. It’s kind of a generation clash, almost. Was it always your ulterior motive to put the gorgeous young girls and hairy old men in bars together, or is that just one of the better side effects of your sound?

Ha-ha, we didn't ever have a plan as to what sound we want. It's just metamorphasized into this sound. We don't like to limit ourselves. This album has elements of Blues, Indie, Country, Punk and a lot of Garage. So it gives us the opportunity of doing pretty much anything we want next. We don't wanna make the same album twice, ya know?

How have the dynamics been in the studio?

It's been such a groove. This album has got all our blood, sweat and tears on. Jurgen at Sunset Studios and Schalk really believed in the music which was great motivation. The vibe was very straightforward with all parties telling each other “that was complete shit man” or “yep, that's it, bitch!” which was cool because everyone was always on the same page. We've been friends for ages and have a great chemistry, but the connection between us and Schalk and Jurgen is what really made everything so cool.

Stellenbosch is your oyster – where to now?

Stellenbosch is a good place to keep your head at. National tours will be plentiful. We definitely wanna travel over the seas at some stage. We’ve met some great people and bands on our travels, so there's always a floor to sleep on and a bottle to pass around.

A lady never spells out her acronym, so in your private universe, what would VPL stand for?
Very Private Lounge?

Parting thoughts?

"How's this for Armageddon?" he said with half a smile.

"Watching the world through a Mad Man's eyes, while they try to sit you down and make it worth your while."

column 3

Southpaw’s lastborn on NLP, VPL, and the relative metaphor

Like every funking and flowing lefty in Southpaw, softpaw Daniel Roach is prone to his own extremes. The guitarist from the soul rock band of brothers and cousins is well named, too - a catchy combination of dreamy prophet and nocturnal pest. Chuck the artist’s cliché at him and it sticks. Until you actually chat to the man. But because of an abiding (albeit romantic) belief that there’s always more to an artist than an over-easy stereotype, jezebel cornered his alter egos and pitched them against each other. The results? Not quite a serenade in G, but had it been a thumb war, it would’ve been a draw…

Shades, Daniel? Inside?

Mm.

Why “Roach”?

Why Roach? I don’t know - I think it’s pretty cool. In the beginning, they would make fun of me - the idiots at school, the monkeys. But I had a tight circle of friends and a big family. Now I like it. It sounds good. And it’s not so common.

Ja, like good music. Speaking of which, you related to the African Dope-master, Roach?

No.

Is there anyone you wish you weren’t related to?

Julius Malema.

Hey? How are you related to him?

He’s human. I fail to understand how he makes the grade.

But you voted, surely? Is your vote mark still there?

Ja, on my broken thumb.

That’s pretty mangled. Was the nail always broken?

Yup, since I was four.

It wasn’t from a musical accident?

No.

Then it didn’t happen on stage, Hendrix style.

Well, if I hadn’t injured my thumb I could’ve used my thumb while playing.

Oh ja - because you’re a lefty.

Ja. I could’ve strummed with my thumbnail like this [demonstrates]. My brother, Steph, uses his thumb that way. But I found my way around it. It’s part of who I am now.

All four of you are lefties, right?

Well, Newton (bassist) is actually ambidextrous. I think I went left handed coz my dad is.

No, man, it’s genetic.

Yes but I’ve activated it - the left-handed gene.

Aha. Yes. Self-actualisation. You’re into NLP. What does it stand for again?

Neuro-linguistic Programming. Modelling excellence.

What a mouthful. Is it about pathways to consciousness?

It’s about subjective experience. Coz it’s all metaphor. You change your metaphor, you change your experience.

Same way you change your cigarette brand or your underwear?

For some people wearing specific underwear puts them in a specific state, yeah. Some people if you put them in a Tanga, they feel like porn star.

So do you wear Tangas?

Occasionally. Do you mind if I take my shoes off?

As long as your feet don’t smell.

Musicians. Aren’t very hygienic people. My music is more important. I can wear the same T-shirt for a whole week. Unless I sweat in it.

In which case you’ll just go around topless. Would that be in good taste?

Mm. like olives.

You like olives?

I love olives. I’d take one over a strawberry any day.

What does this say about your personality?

Looks can be deceiving.

Even good looks?

Ag. Good looks is good looks.

Aesthete. What is vanity?

[A sense of] Superiority.

Aha. Let’s Google you. Zero to vanity in… 0.07 seconds

[Pointing to a pale-faced redhead in the image search results] Ah, look. That’s not a good shot of me.

I can smell your feet, Daniel.

Are you sure it’s not your feet?

Yes. I have shoes on. What do you think VPL stands for?

How about Very Pink Lingerie? Is that OK?

That’s just fine.

Do you HAVE pink lingerie?

Hey who’s asking the questions here?

Is that a “yes”? You should get some.

We’re finished now.

At least you can’t smell my feet anymore. What do you call a black man flying a plane?

I don’t know, what?

A pilot, you fucking racist.

Kill City Blues

Kill City Blues – Rehearsal & Pre Production Studios

"Rock & Roll might be down and dirty but it’s a lot easier to make in a clean, comfortable environment with all the right equipment." Kill City Blues' accomodates musicians of all genres across the mother city. Its target market is impressionable yet professional, and its marketing equally layered. A few words in the right place positioned it as the most comfortable, well equipped rehearsel studio around, and before long, everyone had forgotten that it is also the only one.

role : collaborative copywriting

type : one-off

View the website here

Comic Life : 2008

Comic Life is the in-flight magazine for kulula.com airline. A captive readership of approximately 250 000 every month makes it South Africa's most widely read monthly magazine. With a light-hearted tone and practical subject matter, it's a great flight companion (and a good excuse to chat with - or ignore - the stranger sitting next to you!)

I compiled a selection of town and city guides each month for the duration of 2008.

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Juicy June City Guides / Cape Town

Cape Town - the other side of Summer

Winter is the time to really get to grips with Cape Town’s creative offerings. It’s not like you’re going to catch much of a tan in that coat, after all…

Cape Town and the culture of cool

David Donde is a self-dubbed coffee evangelist, eligible culture vulture and connoisseur of all things authentic who still skriks his broeke when the noon day gun sounds. He co-owns half of the African gourmet coffee phenomenon, Origin Coffee Roasting in De Waterkant, and proves it by shouting across the room a lot. Here are his some of his thoughts on the city of pretty.

David marvels that we think of Africa as somewhere ‘up there’.
“I think Cape Town has managed to stand apart culturally; obviously it’s the most beautiful city around. “Cape Town manages to pull off cosmopolitan – a cross-pollination of culture. It’s got a kind of cleanness, realness and wholesomeness at the same time.”

Why do you think Cape Town is so creative?
“I think it attracted the creatives from around the country with its beauty and dynamics. You know - what has; gets.”

Give it a title?
“Food and wine capital of South Africa.”

Favourite restaurant?
“Depends on what you’re looking for.” Top would be Aubergine (impeccable service) or Ginja (extraordinary food). More accessible favourites include Vasco Da Gama Pub and Sloppy Sam, Greenpoint. For a real feel, Zarina’s in Loop st and that Lebanese guy on Long street who makes Mediterranean dishes at 4a.m.

What should we really boast about?
"I’ve been mountain biking all over, it’s got the best mountain biking in the world."

Something special to do while you’re here that the locals totally take for granted
“Take a car up Kloofnek Drive.”

Niggles?Gripes?
“Political pessimism – assuming that the bad that we’ve got is any worse than the bad that anybody else has. Crime. We sit in a dichotomy of 1^st world and 3^rd world and we somehow take the bad bits out of both.”

If you could stand in for Mayor for the day, you would…
“tear up lots of bureaucracy. We’ve taken it on without taking advantage of it”

Does Cape Town have better looking women than other local cities?
“Sexier women.”

Are Capetonians snobs?
“Cape Town used to have a reputation for being incredibly cliquey. I think it’s changing. Cape Town is becoming friendly and inviting. We used to think like Parisians –exclusionary and wanting to keep tourists out. I think we’re now in love with them.”

If you could build anywhere regardless of council law or existing infrastructure…
“There’s a trailer park just beyond Simon’s Town that has the most amazing rocks and contact with the sea. I’d build there.”

How many Cape Towns are there?
“The Northern Suburbs, the Southern Suburbs, and the Atlantic Seaboard (Cape Flats), and they are three separate cities - totally and utterly different, and they have no link with each other. I’ve lived in two”

Something that we probably all agree on? “The clarity of light in Cape Town is unbelievable. Almost like hyper realism”

Parting thought
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you!

Bored? Stuff to do.

MUSIC
Veteran Entertainer and music maestro, Andy Lund, is at it again. This the tribute show chaperone is teaming up with friends and making his own music. Andy Lund & the Mission Men release their album, Soundtrack For A Muted Heart, on the 7th June at the Nassou Center at Groote Schuur High School. What’s it like? Andy says it’s "as much Greg Dulli and Neil Young as it is Radiohead and Cocteau Twins". In other words, accessible, acoustic passion…
www.myspace.com/andylundandthemissionmen

ART
Art is odd. Sometimes awesome. But always interesting. And galleries are where you get it. What If The World Gallery was recently included in Contemporary Magazine’s (London) Top 50 Emerging Galleries from Around the World. This month they host “Prints And Editions”, a group exhibition themed on the mediums, rather than concepts. Internationally acclaimed, local artists include the Avant Car Guard trio (with Zander Blom), Julia Rosa Clarke and Gugulective. 05 – 28 June, 2008. T: +27 (21) 448 1438 www.whatiftheworld.com

NATURE
Go play with the Aliens! Rather than hide from the cold, embrace the open air with a walk through the pines and feinbos while you still can. The pleasant but ecologically problematic mix of indigenous and other species is slowly being returned to its original condition. You’ll need a pair of gumboots and a warm coat for a good gallop in the wet. Borrow a dog or some restless children and take an easy stroll in Newlands forest, Deer Park, or Tokai Forest.

Bet you didn’t think…
you could go caving in Cape Town! There are more than 80 sandstone cave systems on Kalk Bay and Muizenberg mountains as well as cracks with more than 1km of underground passage on Table Mountain. The Cape Peninsula Spelaeological Society is the official body to contact for getting yours into dark corners…and safely out of them! email the secretary at elb@global.co.za for their newsletter. www.darklife.co.za

Juicy June City Guides / Knysna

Knsyna - Forests , vleis and getaway fantasies
Think forests and fish eagles, seafood and sea. South Africa’s favourite town is a natural paradise with all the mod cons. It’s known for its awesome autumn weather which is generally warm, without wind. That makes JUNE a good time to get away from it all. (but take your torch; load shedding is frequent). Nice, né?

Voice Of The Hills
Meet Saney Martin. He’s been a seaman, a cab driver, a milkman, a man apart and a Knysna area local for the best part of forty years.The bright eyed and bushy bearded Scout leader is also the captain of the Loose Goose and a fountain of knowledge, wisdom and wit on the greater area. His version of a day job involves gandering about on the Sedgefield lagoons giving the low-down on naughty habits of birds of a feather. The something-year old might spend his days on the water, but his humour is dry as a duck.

Like any resolute ridge dweller, Saney lives here because he loves it. What specifically? “All this. (gestures to the rolling hills and clean, clear sky). That view of the mountains. The view of the bush. We get caracal, honey badgers, monkeys, baboons, porcupines, otters, buck, bush pigs, genets, mongoose…”

Is Knysna centre still the same?
“It’s changed a lot in 30 years. It was a homely village before; you walked into the post office and didn’t have to give your name – they knew you. About 25 years ago, I started noticing, the Tourist busses coming all year round, and that’s when this place ‘took off’” .(wry smile)

How have the demographics changed?
In those days you had the early hippies living out in the bush – all these Freaks doing leatherwork and jewellery. The Rastafarians are a recent arrival – the last 10-15 years.

Are attitudes to recycling changing out here in paradise?
They’re generally lax. The town that’s best at recycling is Sedgefield, the smallest town of them all. It’s in Knysna’s municipality. Sedgefield locals insisted, so the council actually recycles. Also, on the Sedgefield ‘island’ they’ve taken it upon themselves to erect perches for fish eagles, and the conservancy gets experts from the parks board to advise them (on greening the area) ; biologists, horticulturalists – the best.

A lot of people have solar heating, and there’s a new system of evacuated tubes for heating. It works super efficiently.

A lot of people are starting to run their diesel bakkies on used cooking oil. You filter it properly, have your vehicle fitted with filters and pre-heaters. Driving behind them is really nice, because it reminds you of chips!

What could be done better?
The municipality tries its best, and there are a lot of fuddy-duddies who will complain about everything, but they should’ve had a traffic bypass around Knysna a long, long time ago. Through Salt River, the other side of the mountain. But everybody’s blocking it. Now of course, you have huge 16 wheeler trucks going through the village. And in the holiday season, from Buffalo Bay to Knysna its bumper-to-bumper traffic everyday.

There’s a lot of traffic on this part of the N2 – and a lot of speeding cameras!
Kaiman’s river has had a lot of accidents. There’s a peculiar arrangement there. They’ve now lowered the one side of the road so that trucks don’t go over the edge. There’s a camera right before that bend (towards Knysna) with a 40km and 60km limit in each lane, so EVERYBODY slows.

Tales from your homestead?
Once we had a goose who was pretty nasty, and people used to hoot at the gate not because of any dog, but because of the goose! We used to cut bamboo sticks and have them lying around near the doorstep because that guy would grab hold of your clothing and beat you with his wings!

The monkeys saw us harvesting carrots one day and the next day all the carrots were gone. Monkey see, monkey do. So we harvested the beetroots at night. (another wry smile)

Give Knysna a title?
The place where the forests are.

Parting thought
We don’t want a bottom fence. (his land opens into the indigenous forest)

So much beauty, so much to do

Road trip au natural
Take the old forest route between George and Knysna for a true view of the wild and the wonderful and a different way to get form A to B. It’s not hard to find with GPS or by asking a local. It runs off Knysna road in George (N9 / N12) and comes out past Bibbeyshoek onto the N2 just before Knysna itself. The meandering gravel road cuts neatly through the lush, indigenous bush with a fair few exits to the coastal strip and the N2. It has little traffic, and unlike the N2, there are no speed cameras. A leisurely pace, however, is the wisest way to navigate its blind corners and sudden troupes of baboons (please don’t feed them). Take your time and take in the view!

A Gander With The Goose
If you thought bird watching was for the - well, birds; then you haven’t taken a trip on the Loose Goose. The comfortable, amiable boat trawls the waters of the Swartvlei lake all year round. A lake trip offers the insightful observations of it’s captain, Saney Young, who keeps a birdy - I mean beady - eye on his feathered friends. For incredible views you’ll never get from the road or the forest path, glide around on the Goose. Good with sundowners, and family friendly to closely supervised children. Pine Lake Marina, Swartvlei Lake. Tel 084 7934722

SO Your Wild Oats…
hunting for local curious or just curious about the locals? The Sedgefield Saturday morning market is the place to go, naturally. Combining the talents and tastes of the Wild Oats Community Farmers Market and the Scarab Village Craft Market, this community co-operative brings together the best of indigenous, organic produce and crafty craft. Year round with seasonal hours. Cnr N2 & Jan Van Riebeeck Sts, Sedgefield www.tourismsedgefield.co.za tel 044 883 1177

www.fnb.co.za : Taxi Violence

Published on www.fnb.co.za (April 2007)

View the original post here

Taxi Violence : the purity and the passion

Four white Afrikaans boys making bad, beautiful music are unlikely demographics for a rock band called Taxi Violence, right? Wrong. Well, then, they’re probably a bunch of backyard wannabes with air guitars making lame stabs at success? Wrong again. Lump all you ever knew about rock ‘n roll and throw it into the ocean (or the nearest duck pond), because Taxi Violence are rewriting the business of music. As pacifists who like to “misbehave without hurting others” they’ve declared war on mediocrity and though they mix their drinks, they don’t mix their metaphors. They’re a hardcore trad-rock outfit who insist on purity and deliver the wildest Rock ‘n Roll.

Taxi (as they’re affectionately known by those who can sing along to every base-chakra-thumping track) are totally off the rails and absolutely independent. They sing their hearts out about love, lust and lingerie (ok, ‘a red dress with high heels’, so sue me) at select venues and festivals across the country. Indie from the G-string to the grave, this strapping quartet produce their own albums, make all their own videos, fix their own equipment and handle their own distribution (and, yes, straighten their own hair).

Naturally they indulge in indecent amounts of partying and take turns in whipping each other’s whatnots at Poker. But they aren’t your average rock stars. They’re the kind of guys who don’t disappear in a poof of pseudo-mysteria after a gig, but stick around to have a chat with their fans. Their approach to music biz is a passionately professional DIY and they don’t have time for pretenses. Their formula? “Be on time, be polite and value your fans because those are the people that make or break you.”

As human beings with bills to pay and very expensive passions, they all have day jobs. Rian Zietsman (guitar) is the electrical engineer. He’s amped to fix cables and able to fix amps. Louis Nel (drums) has niched himself into a lifestyle store for music aficionados. George van der Spuy (vocals) is a sound engineer/producer at Rockitdog Sound Production and Loedi van Renen (bass) recently started his own media company and makes amazing music videos. Making music is very different to making money from music. Total independence gives creative freedom and more control over how the money comes and goes, but it also takes time and clever tactics to develop a media presence that can compete with the high-end advertising budgets that major labels use to punt their artists to the public. Taxi’s media hype is not inflated and national radio is finally cottoning on. A recent poll of 41 000 downloads of their debut album’s title track ‘Untie Yourself’ on www.24.com in one week, is proof that South Africa likes their style.

But the ties that bind are not the ties that hold Taxi together. This is a band that carefully considered and consciously turned down a contract with a major SA label. They explain that “It came down to us asking what the record label could do for us that we haven't already done, or could do, ourselves? “ Gone are the days when a band’s only hope of success involved bowing down to the demands and dictates of reprobate record deals. George elaborates: “Things like being the owner of your own work, maintaining creative control over how things are going to sound, choosing what songs are going to be used on an album and what type of budget will be put aside for marketing purposes. These are just some of the benefits of taking the independent route. We like to do things our way.”

Most live bands make their cash at the door and by selling albums. But in an industry where CD sales are down and music production is up, selling music online (on sites like rhythmrecords.co.za and iTunes.com) gives a local band a global market. Music and moolah aren’t the easiest bed partners at the best of times, so it’s good to use protection. The proliferation of P2P file sharing and personal copy hardware means that a lot of music is moving around the internet illegally with money not reaching the music-maker’s pockets (or going into somebody else’s!) the boys caution that “If bands protect themselves and copyright their material they also get royalty checks from SAMRO (Southern African Music Rights Organisation) or SARRAL (South African Recording Rights Association Limited) for radio or TV airplay every 2 years.” Aspiring musos might think it’s all in the hips and the fingertips, but it’s actually in the fine print. Intellectual property law is a semantic minefield and Taxi’s warning is wise: “Don't go shark diving without a cage - capiche! Always get a musical lawyer to read over your contracts (especially with the big ones). They will get the best possible deal for you and assure you don't get screwed over.”

Fame is fun but the post-lib music industry is no yellow brick road. If you want to invest in making South Africa (and/or the world) sing and dance you have to remember it's not all jelly tots and lollypops. It takes guts to make your way, so take a few tips from those who know the score because they walk their talk. For four boys fast becoming men in an industry that separates the musicians from the mice, it’s all about attitude and delivery. They put it best in their own words: “Challenges make us work harder. Fast cars make us want to write songs about them. Beautiful women make us want to play those songs to them. And then of course there’s Poker.”

Poker, keen planning and professionalism have cut music loose. Fans have gone wild. Violence is everywhere. And it’s not going to stop.