Getting To Know... Britany Nola

Read our exclusive, candid interview with model and actress Britany Nola, as well as checking out some more photos by visiting our new site: www.somethingyousaid.com

Have a kickabout with Oh Mercy! Dress like the Pet Shop Boys! Play on one of Katy Perry's bouncers! All for charity!

Following the horrific occurrences in Japan recently - in which more than 8,000 people died, thousands are injured and at least 12,000 are missing - it's not surprising that people are pulling together to help. In the music world, the EMI family have been rummaging through their cupboards in search of treasures they can auction to raise some much needed cash that will help to rebuild a country in which 14,000 homes were destroyed and around 100,000 damaged.

This week, heaps of ebay auctions end on some pretty amazing items - with all proceeds going to Red Cross Japan Relief. If you've got a few bob, you might want to bid on Deadmau5's diamonte Mau5head. Or maybe you fancy a signed Bowie back catalogue. Or, if you're feeling particularly macho, you could wear this Pet Shop Boys cube jacket to your local boozer. Then of course, there is Katy Perry's cupcake trampoline. Try having a go on that without squealing like an overexcited schoolgirl. There are heaps of other items too, like hand-written Pet Sounds lyrics and one of B-52's guitars.

There's a chance though, that all of the above are slightly out of your price range. They certainly are for us. However, here's an affordable and fun one that might appeal to the Australians amongst you. Melbourne's Oh Mercy (Alexander pictured below) are offering a bit of a kickabout with the winning bidder and four of their mates, as well as some signed stuff and a few photo opportunities. Sounds like an awesome afternoon to us, and all in the name of a very, very good cause. If you feel like testing your AFL skills against Alexander, Rohan, Simon and Eliza, while simultaneously doing a good deed, you can bid here. Meanwhile, check out all of the listings here.

Words by Rob Townsend

Getting To Know... Erin Marshall

Sydney-based singer/songwriter and all-round lovely human being, Erin Marshall, talks to BobbySix.com about her music, her inspirations and how David Bowie's tights in Labyrinth traumatised her:

I would describe my sound as temporary. Undecided. Simple. It hasn't settled anywhere yet. Some would say acoustic and folky, but I think it's only been that way based upon limitations. It's always honest, but even when it is deep, it's easy as a ball of string to unravel. It isn't polished. It's full of flaws, but happy being what it is. I feel best when my hair is unbrushed, my jeans are ripped, and my feet are bare. I hope that is represented by my music. I prefer a mixed entree to a featured meal. There is so much music to be written and explored that it would be rude of me to limit myself to one style. I think I'd be ripping myself off. And stunting my growth. I'm short enough as it is.

I take inspiration from people.
People that walk down the street unashamedly talking to themselves. They don't give a shit and it's great. It inspires me to say, or write, whatever I want. That makes me happy.
People I don't know that say hello or good morning.
The elderly; they know so much more than we give them credit for.
People that have drive and motivation, that make sacrifices for their love. It's something I need to work on.
People: they are everything. Why else do we do what we do?

Music makes me...

Connect.

Emotional.

Purposeful.

Express what I couldn't say in the moment.

Figure things out.

Very lucky.

Sydney is diverse. The grittiness of Kings Cross, the 'don't give a fuck' of Newtown, the beautiful people and the beautiful breasts at Bondi Beach. The rivalry in Paddington between the A-Class and the Young & Trendy. The magical lights of the Harbour Bridge and Luna Park reflecting on the water. The Slurry of Hills, The Rocks and its chaos, The Darling hearted Harbour. Just when you think you've got some place figured out.... a gem surfaces. You find something from underneath... a talent, a story, history and you realise, at heart, we all just want to belong. Sydney is a home/host to so many untold stories. It's magical.

It might surprise people to learn that David Bowie really scared me as a kid (the white see-through tights from Labrynth... ugh), but I had huge crushes on Prince and Michael Jackson. It makes me feel weird now. I used to have dreams that they rescued me.... not sure from what from. But there was a spaceship involved.

Don't hate me, but I don't really listen to music. I don't know the big all-time artists. I never grew up around it. I am well aware of the amount of music out there that deserves my attention. But it overwhelms me... I don't know where to start... I can't keep up. A friend of mine makes me mixtapes as a means to educate me. But by the time I put it on to listen, there is already another mixtape waiting for me. Then I feel like I am falling behind in my homework... I really admire people's dedication to their music.

My favourite songs are tunes from the early 90's....Charles and Eddie's Would I Lie To You and Ain't No Doubt by Jimmy Nail the one-hit-wonder. These, without fail, make me feel amazing.

Aside from music, I dabble in acting as a hobby. I also collect rocks. Buttons. I sew. I keep scrap books of things I like. I feel anxious when my room is messy... yet I find it so hard to keep it clean. Culprit = Procrastination. I take a lot of pleasure in simple things. I figure so long as I am poor, I know how to be happy with nothing.

Interview by Rob Townsend. Photos by Emma Daniels.

Visit Erin's Myspace page here and check out the video for Turn It Around below.

David Ford's Milk and Cookies at The Royal Hippodrome Theatre, Eastbourne

BobbySix.com braved the snow with camera in hand to attend David Ford's Milk and Cookies gig in Eastbourne last weekend. Check the video below:

Eastbourne resident David Ford has, for a decade, been finding time within his busy recording and touring schedule to orchestrate and perform a series of charity gigs, entitled Milk and Cookies. Having raised thousands upon thousands of pounds, Milk and Cookies turned ten-years-old on Saturday night. To celebrate, Ford played a show at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre in his home town.

While the event was sold-out, the fact that England's roads/trains seem to come to a complete standstill with the slightest peppering of snow means that a couple of hundred punters failed to make it. While this was a shame, the event was also live-streamed around the world, so those who were unable to attend could at least enjoy it from the warmth of their living room.

What they would have seen was the usual mix of Ford's solo songs and unexpected covers and rarer treats. Within three hours of terrific entertainment, highlights included a duet with former Easyworld band-mate Jo Taylor-Jones, a turn from Frances Law and a magnificent barber shop quartet featuring Max Arnold from The Late Greats, Neil Martin from Billy and the Fingers and Gary Page. As the gig drew to a close, certain representatives of BobbySix.com made up part of the choir that provided vocals on Bowie's Young Americans, Springsteen's Hungry Heart and John Farnham's You're The Voice.

Ford's music has yet to receive the recognition it deserves and so his life as a troubadour is hardly the most profitable. Therefore, for him to dedicate weeks and weeks of every year to work on this charity project illustrates what a fine chap he is. And the sheer entertainment that was on offer on this cold December evening in a dilapidated old theatre in Eastbourne cannot be argued with. A winning night all round.

This year's very good cause was the Tuesday O'Hara Fund.

The Rakes - Klang

THE RAKES
Klang

It seems to be the latest thing for bands to snub familiarity in favour of something a little more diverse. Following Franz Ferdinand recording in a crumbling Victorian town hall and Youth Group holing up in a mess hall, The Rakes decided to make their third album in a fresh environment, and so relocated to an industrial area in the old Communist part of Berlin. The Londoners lived and recorded at a Bauhaus-designed, Soviet radio station that had been converted into a studio.

Filled with songs that barely break the three-minute mark, the resulting album is raw, snappy and to the point at about half-an-hour but, aside from feeling a little meatier in its sound, this is pretty much the same Rakes that we have heard in their previous two offerings. You’re In It opens Klang with a surge of energy, its angular pop coming across like Franz Ferdinand before they went disco, then That’s The Reason offers the first catchy chorus. Alan Donohoe’s conversational, almost reluctant delivery is delicious, especially when it slips into 1980s David Bowie mode.

Of course, this being The Rakes, the subject matter deals pretty much exclusively with the trials of modern urban living for Generation Y. With song-titles like The Loneliness Of The Outdoor Smoker and The Light From Your Mac, it’s all oh-so-21st Century at times, but it is observed with dollops of wit and wisdom. Klang might just be The Rakes’ best album to date and, as always, is a pretty honest and truthful representation of ordinary day-to-day life.