Dave Molland

Do you know where combination of talent, hard work, passion, determination and little bit of luck can take you to? Dave Molland, the latest addition to Expatriate band, talented bass guitarist was catapulted into the stardom after he opened the door…How did he fuse his lifelong connection to the music? This musician puts it in his own words. Check it yourself.

Julie: If you don't mind, let's begin with introduction. Could you say some words about yourself?

Dave: Ok… Hi! My name is Dave and I come from Sydney, Australia. I now live in Berlin, Germany with my band Expatriate. I've been playing music for most of my life, this is both my passion and work.

Julie: When you became interested in music? What music do you prefer to listen to?

Dave: I was interested in music as far back as I can remember… One memory is when I was 11, I bought a cassette of Michael Jackson's "Dangerous". There was so much power, it really affected me. I was so intrigued, all I wanted to do was to harness that musical power.

These days I listen to anything and everything. I guess it's because i'm so in love with music, but my tastes are quite wide… it's hard not to feel something if it's a good piece of music, no matter the genre. A current style I'm into is electro/dream pop, but I'll just as easily listen to a bit of classical or blues, even a bit of salsa. There's something special in every style.

Julie: How long you've been working into music industry? What was your start? Also I‘d like to know if it is hard or easy to be a musician?

Dave: Well I guess that would be since I was 18, that's when I started getting paid! I started playing in a lot of cover bands. It's not the most reputable thing you can do as a musician, but back then I didn't really care what I was doing, so long as it was something to do with music. I'd learn the songs in the car on the way to a gig just by listening to them. I'd show up at a club with a band i'd never met before and walk out with a pocket full of cash. For me it wasn't really work!

To me, being a musician is hard. It's a hard life striving to earn a living, and the industry is tough. It's also hard in that you really have to fully commit yourself to it, and believe that you deserve a seat at the table, so to speak. But despite that it can also be a truly rich, exciting and fulfilling lifestyle.

Dave Molland

Julie: We are all curious to know some details about your band. When did you join Expatriate and why? How did it happen?

Dave: One morning in August 2005 I got a call from a band, asking if i'd audition for a 2 week tour around Australia. That band just happened to be Expatriate. I didn't really expect anything, but when I showed up to audition something clicked. They were really cool guys and we totally hit it off. I got the job and after only a few shows I knew I wanted to be in Expatriate. Fortunately the feeling from the band was mutual! I'd always fantasised about being in a great band, but I don't think I ever expected it to really happen for me. I got really lucky.

For the reader I’d like to remind that Expatriate is an indie rock band, based in Sydney, Australia in 2005. They picked this name because all came from different countries with their unique backgrounds, childhood experiences.  But they are all united by the passion to good music.

Expatriate

Julie: Do you create songs for Expatriate? What are your songs about? What can you say about your public? Is it mostly young people?

Dave: We have a really great way of improvising together in a room and coming up with new songs simply by what is commonly know as "jamming". Sometimes we record for a straight hour, and listen back later to find the good bits. Other times we'll individually present an idea or half finished song to the room and throw it around for a while. Ben (the singer) writes the lyrics. A lot of the time he writes about love and experiences with falling in or out of love… also the issues you face in life that break you down but somehow build you up at the same time.

As for our public, i'd have to say it's generally quite a broad demographic. I've seen fans at our shows from age 16 to 60! I like to think that our songs reach out to lovers of music and life.. we seem to transcend being limited to one particular audience group.

Julie: Which country has the wildest fans of yours?

Dave: Hmmm, I think the best reactions we've had were during the French leg of the Placebo "Battle for the Sun" tour in 2009. We made a lot of fans in France from these shows.

In addition to this, Placebo and Expatriate played an exclusive show in October 2009 in France at SFR Studio. It was different from other shows, because it was accoustic which created a unique atmosphere.

Julie: Any funny happenings while touring?

Dave: Always! Tours are funny, you need a good sense of humour to get through the monotony. One time when we were in Brussels for a festival, we were hanging out at a hotel bar. Liam Gallagher from Oasis burst through the door at 5am wearing a big green coat and leopard print moccasins. Ben and I decided to ask him if he wanted something from the bar, to which he replied, "Yeah, can I have 5 beers." It was at this point the barman shouted, "The bar is closed!"

In 2009 the band was touring Europe participating in Europe’s largest rock festivals including Sziget, Nova Rock, Werchter and Rockwave. Also it appeared in such amzing German mega festivals Rock am Ring and Rock im Park. Rock am Park and Rock am Ring are the largest music festivals in Germany and one of the largest in the world with a combined attendance of just over 150,000 people in 2007! I bet it’s a huge deal to play for such a big crowd!

Julie: So, do you like playing in festivals or you prefer the smaller audiences?

Dave: Nothing compares to the energy and thrill of playing a festival, but I really enjoy smaller shows too. They can be quite a challenge to win the audience, but the intimacy is special.

Expatriate was supporting band for Placebo on their winter tour in 2009. I have no doubt it was a great event for Expats!

Julie: How do you find this experience? Was it more a hard work or a labour of love? What do you think, why have they chosen Expatriate to be their special guests? What countries have you visited during this tour? Which concert was the most memorable?

Dave: We're actually managed by the same london- based company, Riverman. After playing a couple of festivals alongside them, the band visited our dressing room one night and said they really liked our band, and asked if we would like to support them on their tour.

Touring with Placebo was amazing. It was a great feeling to be part of such a large production, and their audiences were really gracious to us. We toured France, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Poland and Scandinavia. The most memorable concert for me was in Warsaw, Poland. There was a great crowd and we played really well… the good vibes were flowing.

Julie: Dave, who inspires you?

Dave: I'm inspired by my band mates, my family, friends and by my own gifts which I use to try and inspire others.

Julie: And the last question, what are your plans for the future in this music world?

Dave: I'm not really sure of the future, but i've chosen a door, walked through it, and I can say for sure that I'll be a part of it in some form or another.

I‘m sure this musician has opened the right door at the right time and the fortune will always smile upon him. Good luck doing your best, Dave, and a big thank you for the interview!

Casey Chandler

I have no doubt you all miss articles about inspiring people. I continue interviewing young and talented americans. A huge thank you to Casey Chandler, a great musician who was very nice talking to me.

This guy is living in Austin, Texas, but he was born in the little hippie town of Woodstock, NY. An hour from where the original Woodstock '69 festival was held!

He started being interested in music probably before he even had memories. Anyway Casey remembers when his oldest brother (who now is a member of the band Midlake) would play music on the piano and he and his toddler friends would dance around in circles. Also Casey‘s older brother is  basically a piano prodigy. So he suggested Casey to take piano lessons. He started when he was 5 and was doing pretty well, but stopped taking lessons at age 9 because he hated practicing and just wanted to run around outside with his friends and dig up worms. Casey‘s brother told him that he was making a big mistake and of course he was right, but what 9 year old really knows what's best for him?

Now Casey plays six instruments, although he'd say technically five because he stopped playing saxophone a long time ago. He also sings as well, so you could say six if you consider that to be an instrument.

Casey Chandler

Music holds a lot of meaning in his life. „It shows the purest, rawest emotions of human beings in a very intimate way. As someone who has a hard time expressing all of those feelings in everyday life, sometimes music is the only way for me to express those feeling. It's the only thing in the world that I know that I'm good at and the only thing that never feels like work to me. Ever. It's just the part after the music is made that feels like work to me. Hard work. Trying to be original when almost every great riff, style, and chord progression has been taken makes it very difficult to get noticed if you don't have many connections like myself. It'll be something that I'll always love, but if someday the music dies, it'll be a sad day, but I'll live. Music isn't everything in the world to me, but just one a few true passions in my life“, admits Casey.

The only big name artist that Casey has worked with so far in his short life is John Grant, whom gave him the opportunity of a lifetime when John asked Casey to tour with him last June. The only other artist that you might know that Casey has worked with would be the guy Grasshopper from Mercury Rev.

Casey  played at a couple festivals this summer with John Grant, both in the UK. One was main stage at Latitude and the other was Green Man Festival in Wales, which was the best show of Casey‘s life! The most beautiful festival he has ever been to first off and they played right as the sun was setting, which was amazing. They played to around 10,000 people for each of these festivals and previous to this tour, the most people he‘d ever played for was 200! It was a great experience. Casey met a ton of amazing people and grew up a lot over the past 6 months of on and off touring.

Casey doesn‘t hide that he likes playing in Europe MUCH better because it seems that they support music and musicians way more than in the states. People in the US for the most part don't give a shit about you unless you're on a big indie label or a major label. Hes thinks people in the states just want instant gratification and are only willing to give a band a minute of their time and if they're not impressed in that minute of listening, then they're through with you. He doesn‘t say that as a typical jaded and bitter musician because he‘s honestly not one at all, but that's just the way it is. Or at least the way it is in New York. It's the reason why all of these American bands go overseas and make it big because they know that people will at least give them a shot because they don't obnoxiously high standards like how we do in the states.

Dominick Aznavour

Hey, I was very happy when my friend Dominick from California agreed to share his thoughts on my blog. More or less everybody is interested in cinema. And I am not an exception... Also I admire people who have a strong attitude, who know what they want from life, don‘t pretend, but do their best.

I minimally contributed to this article, because I just wrote some questions to Dom and after I read his answers, I decided to change nothing and let you read his monologue. It is really nice.

Ladies and gentlemen, Dominick Aznavour from Santa Clarita, California.

Dominick

CHOICES
I am studying film/tv production at California State University Northridge in the last semester.

because I've always had an obsession with the visual arts. All my life I drew, I remember even in elementary school I was getting in trouble for drawing in class. I began with pastels and graduated to oil painting. I took classes for drawing and painting for about 8 years until I hit high school. Once I was in high school I became involved in acting and playing drums, doing many plays and going out for extra work where I finally joined the Screen Actors Guild. After high school I decided to study film and television production because I always knew I wanted to work within the entertainment industry because it would allow me to continue to be creative, and what better place than Los Angeles? I thought I would continue to persue acting outside of school. I then became interested in photography as a hobby. Through studying film and television production at school, I realized that Cinematography is what I ultimately want to do. The aesthetics of film are something that I always paid attention to and loved, that I could create the beauty of an image in real life rather than just drawing it. I basically just moved from medium to medium in visual arts.

THOUGHTS, PLANS

My aspiration is to work in entertainment and be able to be creative in a visual department. Its incredible because art is so subjective, everyone can interpret the same picture differently but in the end of the day, we all feel something emotionally. You can look at a picture of a landscape and say "This is exactly how I feel right now." I’m the type of person who wears their emotion on their sleeve at all times and am extremely passionate, so I love to express my emotions. Anything that expresses emotion is attractive to me.

I plan to hopefully get an internship and become employed somewhere that will allow me to work on set. Production work is where I want to be mainly. As much as I love post-production and pre-production, I enjoy being on set the most. The fact that I would be working on movies as a career would be a dream. I would hardly call it work. Being in class just makes me laugh because here I am shooting a scene, while other people are sitting in lecture classes.

Career opportunities in California for the entertainment industry really vary based off of who you know and being good at what you do. It is absolutely true that in this business, it's all about who you know, which is why networking is so important and refining your craft at all times.

INSPIRATIONS

My inspirations are Martin Scorsese, Hunter S. Thompson, Heath Ledger, Jim Morrison, cinematographer Robert Richardson. All these men were great story tellers, whether it was through writing, directing, acting, poetry, or cinematography. These men were also renaissance men, they never stuck to doing just one thing, they were people who dabbled in everything and had a burning passion for the arts. Passionate people turn me on more than anything. You could tell these men had a thirst for life and wanted to be the best they could be.

CINEMA

In my opinion on American cinema is that it’s now a business more than an art. Everything being done now is a remake due to the studio heads not wanting to take risks. They would rather make a movie knowing there is already a fan base for it and a guaranteed audience. I think that is the biggest difference between American and European cinema. Europe has more of an appreciation for the arts and has deeper roots to it, so in my opinion, European cinema still makes the effort to make original films rather than just remakes. The art and originality is still there for European cinema. European movies are even being remade in America. We still absolutely have the ability to make great movies more often, rather than remaking something, but it’s all about taking that risk and believing in what you’re working on.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I began to become interested in photography right after high school. My sister-in-law purchased an SLR, so I started playing and taking pictures of my friends with it. I soon realized I loved taking candid pictures of people. If I could eventually turn photography into a career, I would. At this point in my life, its just a hobby until I finish school or an opportunity comes up for something more serious.

Here are some Dom's works:

You can become a fan of Dominick Aznavour photography on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dominick-Aznavour-Photography/136510709725693?v=info

And check out his website: http://www.dominickaznavour.com/

Thank you very much, Dominick, and see you in London this summer!
To be continued.

Marius Leskauskas

We all know the situation of Lithuanian music. BUT there are some pretty good bands in Lithuania. Which I really like! And it was very nice to find a person who is working with these good bands.

I'd like to introduce you a smart guy: Marius Leskauskas. Born in Klaipeda, but currently living in Vilnius for the past 8 years. Marius is involved in various aspects of music world. He is a composer, music producer and a keyboardist.

Marius

Music was a big part of his life since childhood. Marius' mother is a chorister at Klaipeda State Music Theatre, so she used to bring him to rehearsals when he was a child. After coming back home from mother's rehearsals he used to sing various choral parts. But it was sooo many years ago!
Apparently it was the very beginning for Marius. During the second grade he started taking after school music classes and later got accepted to the Art High School. After graduating from High School, he became a student of Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy. He was studying choral conducting for the first two years, but figured out that it was not for him, so he decided to study jazz piano instead. Marius entered not the first, but the second year of this program! And graduated.
Of course, he started his career here, in Vilnius. Marius doesn't hide that you must have special contacts if you want to play in a band.

Marius used to play with such Lithuanian bands and singers as: Saules kliošas, Mia, Vaidas Baumila, Žas, Skamp, Tabami...
Now he works with: Mantas, Sasha Song, Jurga, Twnkl, Sel, The Ball&Chain, Nora...
Jurga is the one that Marius has the longest playing career with, but he can't single out the band with which he likes to work the most. All cases are unique and different.

Marius doesn't work with performers from abroad. Of course, it would be interesting for him, but he has no time for searching such projects.
Marius believes that there are musicians who want and try to produce high quality music in Lithuania. However they are forced simplify their product because of a very ignorant Lithuanian public and poor pop culture. It is sad.
I personally listen to different styles of music, says Marius and immediately adds: it's because when I am listening to music, I am almost always analyzing from technical and creative side. Somertimes I even don't need to like certain music in order to listen it.

In the future Marius wants to make lots of music while keeping balance between "shit pop" and quality commercial music. And speaking about his own production... He has few ideas and some projects that already under way, but with his busy schedule it is hard to find time to complete them. Marius hopes that it will change in the future.

You can have a look here: http://www.myspace.com/keebau/

Algirdas Padleckis

Stones... Huge rocks. An outdoor museum. That‘s all I can remember about that small Lithuanian town called Mosėdis which I visited a million years ago. But this time I won‘t be talking about this wonderful and a little bit mystical place. I‘d like to surprise you with something else.

Painting, design, poetry. And a young person who is into these artistic things. My compliments go to Algirdas Padleckis who was born in that lovely town of Mosėdis.

We can call him the Cyp. Algirdas says that wherever he goes, everytime he gets a nickname. But he does not complain, he likes it.

Algirdas

Algirdas was painting as far back as he can remember himself. His mother said when he was 5 year old he used to get up early in the morning and start painting. He stayed in pajamas until his idea was materialized on the paper.

Algirdas was noticed at school. His teacher sent him to the art class for gifted students.  He used to paint there, at home, everywhere… The painter admits that doing homework was the biggest bugbear for him. He used to pretend that he was doing it, but obviously he was painting, painting... Then he started to attend "Skuodas Art School". Algirdas says that he studied there for five years and learned a lot during this time from really good professionals. He was drawing all the time and tried to be universal. He wants to try new areas. Even at a young age when children used to play computer games he analyzed a range of drawings, photo editing programs. He was drawing with a pencil and later he became interested in graffiti art, then in illustration, painting. This summer he went on aerography. Now his attention is devoted to animation. When Algirdas was a little boy, he used to watch cartoons, thinking how could they be done and now as he has some understanding he dreams about animation art studies.

What can you say about your work, what messages and expressions do they cary? In my works, I convey my mood, feelings, ever present human issues and problems that affect me too. No matter what is the work,  a portrait or a figure, or ...I leave a part of myself in my works, I even don’t try to express my mood, I just leave it in there in a form of colors, lines, strokes, contrasts. Parents told me when I was little I had a toy, a pyramid which was composed of a different color and size lambs. I used to put it in different sizes. Parents thought that I did not understand that it should be arranged as a pyramid - in descending order - then they noticed that I was trying to arrange it by colors. I was fascinated by colors even then, colors meant a lot to me back then as they mean now. I want my works just to draw people's attention at the first glimpse, I don’t want them understand the idea of the painting immediately. The solution of a riddle provides even greater connection between me and the viewer, explains Algirdas.



Painting

My dream is to held exhibitions, Algirdas doesn’t hide his wish. The time has to come. Lots of his works are on his friends’ walls… But he believes that soon he will be able to gladden people with his exhibitions.

For him inspiration is something that makes him to get out of bed, take a sheet of paper and draw. Or stop everything that he is doing and let that idea flow from his head onto paper. Algirdas says you don’t need to wait for inspiration. And those who say I’m waiting for it to do something, are just sloths. For me, it doesn’t matter if I am in a good or bad mood, he adds. The mood colors the work. My inspiration is my way of life with its pits and holes.

 I asked Algirdas what artists he liked, and without hesitation he mentioned Leonardo Da Vinci because of his greatness and versatility. Algirdas admires Michelangelo because of his heroic acts and his character - the grieving genius. Salvador Dali because of his personality and  Banksy, because of his protests, mystery, ways of expression and his ideas.

Let’s talk about design studies. Algirdas says that at first he didn’t want to study interior design, but now he is happy studying at Vilnius Design College. I got the freedom here, I became interested in design, I met with like-minded people. Freedom is the most important thing for a person, I always needed it. When you live in a small town you don’t see what’s going on outside it. You want to be yourself, but you can’t, you are forced. When I arrived to Vilnius and started studying at the College, I got everything I needed, everything I was lacking in small town.  I got a new breathe of freedom, peace, understanding, creativity and a knowledge, of course. Everything I found here. And design is everywhere, that’s why it fascinates me.

Now it’s time to hear more about Algirdas’ projects. This guy is busy: interesting studies with exciting tasks, workshops, contests… All projects are different and so unique that he cannot compare one with another. His future sounds promising – even more and more projects are waiting ahead. What is surprising for me to hear is that studies atmosphere there is creative, warm and inspired by teachers who try to help for each student no matter what it is about.

Another talent is poetry. I was wondering has he ever thought about publishing a book. He admitted that it was one of his dreams. Writing is something this guy does when he feels he has to leave all bad emotions on the paper.  Somehow he believes that bad emotions can come back if he tries to read it again that’s why he doesn’t like editing his poems.  However, this is not always so, here you can find one of his poems:

STOVIU VIENAS LYG ŽVAKĖ

IR STOVIU VIENAS,

STOVIU VIENAS- LYG ŽVAKĖ...

SU SAVO JAUSMAIS...

SU SAVO MINTIM...

PABEGT AŠ NIEKUR NEGALIU.

DEGA ŠEŠĖLIS ŽVAKĖS LIEPSNOJE

IR SEKA MINTYS MANO GALVOJE,

KODĖL AŠ VIENAS?!...

KODĖL KAIP ŽVAKĖ?!...

KUR VIRVĖ PRIRIŠTA?

KADA NUTRŪKS JI?!...

MAN GANA!!!...

IR STOVIU VĖL,

LYG ŽVAKĖ, SAU VIENAS...

VIENAS, KAIP MEDŽIO KAMIENAS...

TU UŽPŪTEI ŽVAKĘ MANY,

UŽGESO LIEPSNA ŠIRDY,

APLINK TAIP TAMSU,

ŽIŪRIU VISUR, KUR TU?...

TU UŽPŪTEI ŽVAKĘ

IR VILTY MANY,

NEBETIKIU DŽIAUGSMU ATEITY...

UŽGESO LIEPSNA AMŽINA...

DEGTUKU – NEPRIKELIAMA...

Also click on the link to see Algirdas’ works:  http://www.thecyp.tk/

I would like to say thank you to my fabulous friends Egle Taro, Kriste and Juozas for helping me to prepare this article.

Greg Ash

There are many people who are trying to be creative. But there are people who ARE creative.

Nowadays it‘s fashionable to say I AM AN ARTIST. Isn‘t it? But there are people who ARE artists and they don‘t need to say this. Because we obviously can notice their talent and learn something.

Let me introduce you a talented person, my friend Greg Ash, British filmmaker, photographer and writer.

This is Greg

Greg is currently living and creating in London as it is a great place to do that. Even more: together with his friend and producer Matthew Adam Greg owns a production company called Big Bright Lights. The idea was to have an general name that they could not only use in Greg‘s short films, but also to create organization that was more than just a production company. Two friends wanted to make a network of budding filmmakers working together. In the long run I'd like it to be a name that's associated with good stories and talented people, and hopefully we'll be able to attract people to invest in that, says Greg.

I was wondering if other filmmakers are interested in working together with Big Bright Lights. Greg mentioned that they already did one co-production with another filmmaker called Ryan Turner from the US. Their work was called 'Smile'.

But in the UK there are a lot of people who want to do more but aren't sure about how to meet people or put themselves out there. It can seem hard. So Greg would like to help those people and maybe put them in touch with other like-minded people.

Some words about The Cannes Film Festival. Greg was there with his company Big Bright Lights. They had two films in the Short Film Corner there Greg‘s main short film that was at Cannes was 'Life's A Foreshore'. The other was one he made in 48 hours called 'Courgette Me Not'. It was more of a learning experience.So friends spent time meeting other filmmakers, attending film screenings, and special talks. And... Who wouldn‘t like to drink champagne and hang out with celebrities for a week?

Here is the link of 'Life’s A Foreshore':  http://www.vimeo.com/13821300/

Greg in Cannes

On the red carpet

Believe it or not, but as myself, I first noticed Greg not of his films, but because of his amazing lomo photos. Actually at the moment filmmaking is more interesting to me, he says. Of course I suffer the daily uncertainties of whether I am a filmmaker, a writer, or a photographer. So I try to do all 3. Photography is great. Because it can be spontaneous expression (or at least, it was before digital). But for now it is more of a hobby for me, Greg adds.

Click here to check out Greg’s photography:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/realartyone/

Any future plans? Definitely there are lots. Greg would  like to continue writing and making films. He is planning on making two more short films in the next few months, plus he has written two other scripts for friends who are directing. Greg is  working on a Sitcom with Matt, and he hopes to pitch that to TV Channels this year and hopefully get it made. Also he is writing a feature film comedy with a friend about Table Tennis. Of course all of these things are dependent on how the ones before go and whether people enjoy them.

My short film 'Mr. Mzuza' which I made last year is premiering next month so hopefully people will like that, he continues.

And then in other things, Greg would like to write novels. He has entered the Paris Literary Prize this year, and if he is shortlisted he will have to finish the novel by April.

My friend will also be editing the Lomography City Guide to London this year which will be great fun. 'Lomography' is a brand. They produce analogue vintage-style cameras and guides to cities. They are doing one for London this year which will include photos taken by customers and write ups of areas of London. Greg will be compiling everyone's submitted pieces and then probably passing it all off as his own work!

As for me, it was a pleasure to present you a young and very talented creator Greg Ash. Never stop, keep going and inspire people!

If you want more: http://gregash.wordpress.com/

JULIJA MARIJA

By the time you finish reading this, you will realize you have wasted 5 seconds of your life. Stop complaining and keep reading it anyway. Welcome to my black and white blog. Ok, not only black and white, but usually you won't find here anything yellow. It means I don't like vivid colours and it doesn't mean I am depressed or what. I am ready to write about the people. The people who inspire. The people that I like.
As it is a post about myself I must add that Jamie Oliver is my favourite personage of Saturday. If he was a vegetarian, of course he would be my favourite personage ever. Don't be ridiculous and don't ask what I eat, imagine me eating only apples.
I think I should stop here because saying I do this or that is not my favourite thing, so to the reader who doesn't know me I can tell that now I'm just enjoying holidays, sleeping too much and improving shooting skills. Photography is the love of my life.

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