Music gets the best of me

It’s all over

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After 10 shows in 9 cities, my first ever Vegan Roadshow is all over.

I want to give a massive thank you to all the people who supported our Indiegogo campaign, helping us to cover some of the costs associated with taking a band, a blogger and an activist group on the road.

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Lots of love and appreciation goes out to the venues that hosted our event. Thank you for taking a chance on our unique tour and I hope it was worthwhile for you. Your support was invaluable in helping us spread our message of compassion.

We wouldn’t have had a tour without the attendees. The people who came to the shows were full of enthusiasm and made all of us feel welcome in each city. Thank you for showing up and spending your money on merchandise. We are thankful.

Thank you to the bands and performers who helped us entertain people along the way including the wonderful Chrissy Barnacle and the irrepressible Colour Me Wednesday.

Superstar food providers kept us fed and happy during the tour. Thank you to the wonderful chefs and cooks who came out to each stop of Vegan Roadshow to impress us with their culinary skills.

HUGE appreciation goes to Connor Jackson who not only managed the Animal Equality merch stand at every stop of the tour, but also stepped up to perform at most of the gigs. Connor is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist who works hard to spread the vegan message. Thanks, Connor.

Josh Leuner is my partner and he certainly got more than he bargained for with Vegan Roadshow. Josh drove the van all on his own for the entire tour and performed an acoustic set at most of the stops. His unwavering support of my outlandish pursuits is the stuff that makes life bearable. I love you, Josh.

Final thanks to the Vegan Roadshow resident band, Love Like Hate. Sonja and Heather are two of the most passionate, authentic and compassionate people on the planet and I’m extremely fortunate to have shared this experience with them. Their unwavering love of music and doing the right thing pushed them into agreeing to fly all the way from Brisbane, Australia at great personal expense to help me bring Vegan Roadshow to life. I am forever humbled by their musical talent and kindness. Saying goodbye to them as they prepared to return to Australia filled me with a definite sadness. Thank you. Lots of love, always.

Back of the van… Connor, Heather & Sonja

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Blanck Mass

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Benjamin John Power is a leading force in the field of electronic music. He enjoys a celebrated partnership with Andrew Hung under the band name Fuck Buttons and has recently released a solo project album.

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Power on his own goes by the name Blanck Mass and his latest collection of tracks, Dumb Flesh, was unleashed upon the world last month. Since the release, Power has been frantically working to keep up with the demands of promotion and touring so I was thrilled when he agreed to answer a few questions for little ol’ me.

But why would FGV wanna talk to a electronic music champion? It just so happens that Benjamin John Power is a dedicated vegan.

Check out what he had to say.

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Vegan music

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Music is one of my great loves, as is veganism. How cool that I get to combine the two!

As you know (because I never shut up about it), I am taking Australian band Love Like Hate on the road around the UK this July. Animal Equality are joining us for the shows calling at Nottingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow, Oxford and London.

The final night of the tour is taking place at 100% vegan restaurant and nightspot, Kabaret. Of course we will be giving massive love to Love Like Hate before they fly back to Australia, but I’ve added another band to this final show line up and believe me when I say you don’t want to miss out.

Colour Me Wednesday are a fab independent punk/indie/pop band from West London. To put it in simple terms: they are fucking awesome.

Check out this insanely enjoyable song and music video.

Colour Me Wednesday aren’t just pumping out killer tunes, they are also dedicated vegans with a distinct disliking of sexism. They are my type of people.

July 31, 2015 is serving up probably the best vegan value you are gonna get for many years to come. I’ll be hosting. Two vegan bands will be storming through the entertainment. Animal Equality will be selling merchandise and signing people up. A DJ will be taking over the stage following the bands. Buy your ticket in advance and you also get two EP downloads from Love Like Hate!

All of this for just £5. I’m not fucking kidding you. Just £5.

You gotta book a ticket today. We are using funds raised to pay for the UK tour so please encourage friends to grab some tickets, too.

If you can’t make it to the final London date but would like to support the Vegan Roadshow tour, visit our Indiegogo campaign page to make a donation. Every single donation helps.

Check out Colour Me Wednesday on Bandcamp

Follow Colour Me Wednesday on Twitter

Like Colour Me Wednesday on Facebook

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Hometown

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Did you all know that I am from Australia?

I grew up in a city called Brisbane. Actually, I spent my younger years in a seaside town called Redcliffe just north of Brisbane and later moved to the Queensland capital as a teenager.

Where you grow up always holds a unique place in your memories, so it was exciting to hear I had been mentioned in my hometown newspaper in connection to my blogging and event planning in the UK.

Check it out!

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Marriages

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Music reviews are some the other reasons for me being involved in publishing the written word on the Internet.

My latest review finds me sharing my thoughts on Salome, the new album by Los Angeles rock band Marriages.

Click here to read the review.

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Red Rooster

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A quick bite of information for you.

If you are keen to book tickets for a festival this year but are worried about not having any vegan food options while on site, put your mind at ease.

roosterRed Rooster is a three-day music event featuring R&B, Americana, Soul, Blues, Roots and Country musicians. It sounds kinda awesome.

What’s this about vegan food options at the festival?

London street food champions Club Mexicana will be at the Red Rooster festival serving up their celebrated, 100% vegan Mexican-inspired menu. Zero food options for compassionate revellers is no longer a problem.

Check out the festival here.

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Kylie

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My other life sees me reviewing music for pop culture website, Louder Than War.

My latest assignment for LTW found me interviewing Pete Waterman of Stock, Aitken and Waterman fame. Pete had a hand in crafting some of the biggest pop music hits the world has ever seen and I was tasked with talking to him about the first four Kylie Minogue albums. Each of the albums has been remastered, expanded and rereleased.

The interview was an experience I won’t soon forget. You can read it online here.

If you are keen to get your hand on these remastered albums, come along to Queer Vegan Disco on Saturday February 14th from 8pm where I will be giving away a set.

You can RSVP to Queer Vegan Disco on the Facebook event to secure cheap entry.

 

Vegan pub food

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London, you have new vegan food options and they look incredible.

On the Holloway Road sits a live music venue called 12 Bar Club. This venue hosts live music and any given day will find punters enjoying indie, alt-country, punk, folk and rock ‘n’ roll bands.

This is all well and good but I promised you talk of vegan food, right?

Phil T’s at the 12 Bar is the new name for the kitchen inside this north London location. The menu reads like a gourmet rundown of British comfort food and every course has a vegan option. No, I don’t mean you have to ask for salad. Phil T and his team will serve you straight up, wholesome vegan comfort food and you can order it from the menu without having to freak out or nervously explain plant-based eating to your server.

Check out the feast Fran of Vx recently enjoyed in the restaurant. (Thanks for the pics, Fran!)

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The O2 goes veggie for Morrissey

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Here is some big news for lovers of compassion and music legend Morrissey (not that those two things always go together!).

Manchester born Morrissey is set to play a live show this Saturday (29/11/14) at the huge O2 Arena in London. The gig is part of his current world tour, which will move on to Ireland following his south of the Thames stop.

But what is the big news?

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Chvrches

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When I am not sitting in my ivory tower stuffing food into my fat face, I write music reviews for the Louder Than War website.

My latest review details my experiences at the Brixton Academy watching the awesome band Chvrches.

You can read by clicking here.

If you don’t want to read but love good music, I have kindly embedded a music video from the band for your enjoyment.

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