Here is a hot new drummer we found in Exeter. He’s only 21 but he has already played in more venues in Devon than most. He dresses in clothes his parents bought him, can occasionally be spotted in a purple suit and has ludicrous amounts of ginger hair, but never the less he has got some talent. He tells us his favorite drummer is Bonham and its almost impossible to not draw similarities between the two. We hail him Whitey – The Ginger Bonham.

We invited him down to the Living Live Studio to record a solo and here is what he gave us:

Rumor first got out when an application for an events licence of up to 15,000 people went in to Teignmouth council earlier this month, and it has now been approved. Muse will be playing at The Den next to the seafront on the 4th and 5th of September to an expected sell out croud of 10,000 per night.  MORE

All signs point to Them Crooked Vultures braking the trend of piss poor super-groups, and are shaping up to be one of the best new bands of the year (or maybe decade). Stay tuned for more news.

Here is the Line Up for Them Crooked Vultures

Josh Homme, Pioneer of Epic Rock band Queens of the Stone Age, as well as Eagles of Death Metal, Desert Sessions and Kyuss will be on guitar. Dave Grohl, Pioneer of the Foo Fighters, and drummer from the now legendary Nirvana will be returning to the drum kit. And None Other than John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on the bass. And Breathe…

Homme and Grohl have previously worked together, collaborating on “Songs For The Deaf”, Queens of the Stone Age’s 3rd album which guested Dave Grohl on the drums in what was one of the best collaborations of the last decade. Jones has also previously collaborated with Grohl on the Foo Fighters album “In Your Honor” in which Homme also appeared.

The Band will be called “Them Crooked Vultures” and rumor has it that an album is nearly complete. The band will perform for the first time in Chicago on Sunday. The Only review so far comes from Homme’s wife and Spinnerette singer Brody Dalle. “I’m not at liberty to talk about it… but I think [the project] is pretty fucking amazing. Just beats and sounds like you’ve never heard before.”

Expect to be annihilated by the awesomeness soon.

Charities have been struggling during the recession, as donations have fallen and demand for their help grows all around the world. Many charities now rely on revenue from shops and charity gifts to help those in need. The release of Crying Lightning marks the first time Oxfam shops have sold a new release single for 25 years.

Crying lightning is a really dirty rock gem. It was produced by Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal)  and you can sure hear the filthy rock influence on this track, but its not too intrusive. In all its a perfect mix of English indie and American style hard rock.

Their first album “Songs that remind me of you” is a flawless piece of work. Capturing their uniquely styled alternative folk, there is not a single second that feels compromised. The stand out track for me is “Rain Coat” which is maturely written yet still conveys the urgency of a young band. If you are a fan of the Doves, Arcade Fire and Friendly Fires that these guys will definitely float your boat.

Here is the Spotify URI: spotify:album:2JwkfcVmophWLmpwo7kbRG

A racist or homophobic crosses the line when he acts on his views and encroaches on the rights of another person. If they are not doing this they essentially are just another person with their opinion that they are entitled to. It is these people that I kind of feel are exploited in this film. Sure they have bad opinions, but they were not crossing the line before Cohen forced them into a situation that made them uncomfortable. And by doing this to these people I believe that Cohen actually became the type of person he was supposedly shaming. Borat was funny because it put people in a funny situation (most of the time) and it wasn’t used to exploit certain types of people (most of the time).

If you want to see possibly the most contraversial film of our time, this is for you. But if you just want a laugh, its probably best to avoid.

Thankfully yesterday I was captivated by a music video for the first time in years. The video was for Jack White’s latest band “The Dead Weather” for the track “Treat Me Like Your Mother”. It’s a fantastic piece of work, and I was not surprised to hear it was directed by my favourite Director Jonathan Glazer. Here it is.

The Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother

In more exiting news we recently met up with rising filmmaker Carl Shanahan. We hope to soon be collaborating on some music videos so watch this space.

Recording at a home studio is easier than ever, and has many benefits. You don’t need an awful lot, and most of the stuff you need you should already have. You don’t really need to re arrange your home furniture too much either. Serious home studios will have sound absorbing foam covering every wall, but for initial demos or EP’s you will probably be OK without. Try to avoid rooms with flat uncovered walls and especially solid flooring like wood or tiles. Carpet floor is best, and try to use a rug to soften up solid wall surface. This prevents sound from bouncing around your walls and being picked up by your microphone. A good way to test this is to clap in the room and listen for any echo noises. The less the better.

On a budget? Here is the minimum you will need:

- A Mixer (and cables including one from the main output to your laptop)

- A Mic (best case scenario for Vocals buy a SM58, every serious vocalist should have one, or instruments that need a mic use a SM57)

- A Laptop and recording software (Just buy a mac… seriously! see below)

As recording software goes, a serious studio will use Logic Pro. But the best things in life are free. I have logic pro, but its no longer my number one choice. If you get a new mac, or just get the new leopard operating system, or even just ilife 09, you will get the latest garage band free. Its actually fantastic. It has everything you need to make a good quality recording and its so easy to use. Its great for learning about sound engineering. The difference between it and Logic, and why I choose garage band, is that it has everything you need within one click. The interface is great, its idiot proof and everything is fully configurable. Whereas Logic has everything that is possible. Absolutely everything, but most of it you will just never need, and because it has so much, it takes Milena to find the things you actually need. The interface often needs a scientist to work out, so its just not ideal for this situation. Get a macbook with leopard, and your life will be a lot easier.

I have used my bedroom to record a lot of my home studio tracks. Make sure the only people in the recording room are those actually recording, and remove anything that makes a sound. Ive had hassle of still being able to hear the rest of the band chatting and drinking on my sofa from the recording room, so put your foot down and get the to keep it down. Having furniture in the room is not a bad thing, as beds and sofas can help absorb any unwanted noise.

Great news for everyone, live music is really continuing to reach new heights. Distribution of live videos over the Internet is rife, but you just cant replicate the atmosphere of the real thing.

So for those of you lucky enough to to have got tickets to one of the big three this year, Reading & Leeds, Glastonbury or the better than ever Download, be sure to be prepared with the right camping equipment. Most people will be looking for cheap tents as they will probably end up destroyed or on fire. For those of you hating setting up your tents, you can now pick up pop up tents for pretty cheap to save you the hassle. If you are heading to Glastonbury, be sure to pick up a waterproof tent, as there is a monsoon is predicted to rain down on you this year. You might also want to bring a couple of sleeping bags in case one gets drenched, or gets set on fire when you’re drunk.

Well I know what I am doing For my daughters 18th birthday

I am off to Spain Next week But will keep the site updated. The video is appropriate as I was searching for car hire spain for my travels when I am in Spain and it came up, and I thought I would share it with you. No many people choose to hire a car when abroad, but I am far too lazy to walk around, especially in Spain in the summer.

Tea Horse – Exhalation

Well its been in the works for a while, but I have finally finished the first track recorded with Exeter based musician Tea Horse. Exhalation is the first of 2 track recorded and produced by living live. I spent a long time mixing and mastering this one and its not been easy, so I pleased with the final outcome. Comments welcome and stay tuned for more from Tea Horse and Living Live.

Aimed both to highlight the dangers of climate change and move us to act on it, this track has failed to do either. Music is about honestly, expressing feelings that words cant describe. Just one time I’d like to see a song that isn’t scripted, and just expressed from the heart.

Never the less climate change is a huge threat, and will no doubt see more mainstream artists trying to sell a song about it sooner or later. 2009 is a big year for climate change, with Obama taking office and promising to end years of inaction on climate policies, and high hopes for the 2009 climate change conference in Copenhagen. Lets all hope we can agree on the facts about climate change by then, so we can finally start sorting this out.