And after her killer performance at Coachella (which was illegally streamed and was subsequently removed) I was hooked.

In fact, I’ve been hooked since I first heard ‘212’.

And not only are her tunes killer, but she’s fantastically entertaining too.

I follow her on Twitter. You should too.

I’ve bared witness to two of her “feuds” with T.I. and Lil Kim (you gotta have some balls to take that cray woman on) and 100% of the time, Banks has been in the right. There was a particularly special moment when she tweeted about deleting T.I. from her iTunes. Opinionated and feisty… Harlem, bitch.

Her EP ‘1991’ will be out on May 29^th, her mixtape ‘Fantastic’ on July 4^th, and her full-length debut album later in the year.

During this time Cape Town is abuzz with all things photographic – openings, workshops, master classes, seminars, installations, exhibitions, talks, interventions and a hell of a lot more.

The title of this year’s festival is Autobiography: Chronicles of Our Times.

Submissions are open to amateurs, mid-career and established artists as well as curators, galleries and historians.  Projects must be photography based or linked and naturally, address the theme in some way.

This year’s team is looking to cultivate a program that will celebrate photography as a medium of aesthetic, social, political and philosophical value. Galleries, businesses, restaurants and clubs are also invited to participate in the Night and Day program, staying open till late in a pre-party spirit.

So if you’re a photographer (or think you have some hidden skills), what the hell are you waiting for? The earlier proposals are submitted, the earlier participants will be accepted and notified in order to go ahead, prepare and complete their shows. For application forms and more detailed information, visit their website.

Deadline for submissions: 20 May – 20 June 2012.

Goodluuuck.

To get your paws on these tracks, all you have to do is click here, give them your email address and they’ll send you an exclusive access code and bob’s your uncle, you have 20 epic songs to do with what you like.

The artists featured include Dave Ferguson, AKA, Holiday Murray, PHfat, Liquideep and my personal favourite – Mix ‘n Blend’s Remix of Gazelle’s ‘Velore Seun’. Use and abuse this app, that’s what it’s there for.

Yes yes, I know, I’m awesome. But so is GQ. And the new issue is hawt, so do yourself a favour and pickup a copy riiight?

Admittedly, I wasn’t so sure what the hype was about after their first lomography music video, but over the last month I’ve begun to take a little bit more of a vested interest in them.

They’re young and fresh.

And their short, snappy, happy-clappy songs evoke a blatant summery feeling – something that we’re all going to be craving going into winter now.

‘Over This’ is their new music video done by Tin Toy Productions which they uploaded yesterday.

Long story short, it’s about a dude who’s incredibly gatvol with, uuuh, house parties? You may even spot a Plastic or two in the background.  And a dude making out with a blow-up doll. The best. Just like the backwards shot section towards the end.

Enjoy.

If you like what you hear you can download their entire EP FREE here. Coz bitches love free shit.

Kisses.

Cocktail Smocktail. Top Gun. Mission Whatever. NEVER.

And then this morning I came across these, and well, years of being a typical, stubborn Italian vanished. I mean, look at that.

Photographed for the cover of the latest issue of W Magazine, in conjunction with the upcoming release of his lastest movie “Rock Of Ages” the photoshoot looked a little like this… Enjoy.

Now I was also very recently given a “Spandex & Hairspray” mix – Ratt, Dio, Stone Gods, Great White, Tesla… Yeah I know. I’ve been transported back to the 80s yo.

All in preparation for Rock Of Ages that open here in a week or 2? Maybe.

I’m embracing my inner glam rocker. Deal with it.

Now I’m not naïve to the fact that not every local music video can look like a million dollars – especially if Tristan Holmes and Louis Minaar aren’t on your speed dial or Adriaan Louw isn’t your best friend.

But in every barrel there’s bound to be a bad apple, this is a certified fact and, well, I found a few…

Saintfearless ‘ Tango Tango’. 

Now I think it’s important to mention here that this was made looong ago – before the inclusion of the twins and before they decided to play semi-naked onstage – at Mercury Live and honestly, every time it comes on, I piss myself laughing.

Kieron Brown (vox) might shoot me later. Or he might agree with me. Either way he knows I love his face. And his band. Now that they don’t make videos like this anymore.

Straatligkinders ‘Kaptein’.

How the hell do you go from THIS to this thing below?

The Potch rocker’s cover of Kurt Darren’s… uuuh…  hit… was a clever move, but this video of them dressed up as geriatrics who’ve escaped from the mental hospital doesn’t really do anyone any favours here.

Machineri ‘Ladder Operator’.

Yip, no one’s safe. Sweet. Jesus. WHAT HAPPENED HERE?? Isn’t the man who directed this (Sannie Fox’s father) supposed to be one of the premier directors in this country? Confusion to the max. They’re quite a few people who are overtly fond of this video, but it’s just not my thing.

But my favourite disaster by far was Van Coke Kartel’s ‘Vir Almal’. I even dedicated an entire post to this eyesore. Okay, okay, so they did redeem themselves by masquerading as women in their follow-up video, but, ja.

Bands, let these videos be a warning to you. Just because you’ve got a winning song on your hands, don’t think people won’t be paying attention to the visuals.

Kisses.

And nice things happen to nice guys, right? Naturally.

They were topdog at this year’s MK Awards, taking away Best Live act, Best Group and, well, a bus.

We won’t talk about that SAMA that they lost to Shadowclub. Maybe now they finally know how Taxi Violence feel. But I digress…

Van Coke Kartel are so bloody nice, that they’ve decided to give to give away that epic colab they did with Zebra & Giraffe (the won they also performed at the MK Awards) called ‘Siener’ on their website. FREE OF CHARGE. Just click here to download it

Pretty nice, neh? Love me some VCK.

How do you rate this track?

Pity there was so much other shit going on last weekend…

I arrived at Assembly as Bicycle Thief strolled onstage, and in-between being frisked by Blake and getting whisked away to the bar (okay not whisked, I pretty much bee-lined for it) by Onicka, I was able to catch them for the first time since they played at #TuesOnFire. Yes, it’s been that long.

I really enjoy what Sheldon Yoko does as a drummer purely because of his innovation (his work with Ashtray Electric on their new tunes caught my ear big time at Two Door Cinema Club) and this makes him the standout for me. If you like smooth, catchy Americana-like tunes, then you, like the hoard of ladies centre stage, will love them – Dashboard Confessional circa “A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar”. Their EP has yet to grow on me though.

Second act, Mr Cat and The Jackal, like to keep things fresh. Each time you watch them, there’s something new you can take away from their performance, be it in some sort of onstage gimmick/puppet they have created or the interaction between members – you’re usually never left disappointed. And I quite like that when they break out into ‘Where’s my Shoes’, its become accustom for the crowd to hold one of their own in the air. There ain’t no way I’m taking off one of my heels, but nice try.

So the Scoundrels start and Aguilera and I mission to the back of Assembly (behind the sound box is apparently where you’ll get the best “sonic” experience if he’s to be believed) and it’s pretty clear from their genre-mish-mash that people are immediately impressed.

Blues. Country. Rock. Delta. Swamp. They bring a little bit of each to the table. Not bad for four greenlings from London.

At Town Hall, lead guitarist George Elliot looked a tad shy performance-wise, turning his back a tad on the audience during his killer solos and I basically almost shouted at him to turn around. Cut to Assembly and he’s clearly tonnes more comfortable and confident, facing us.

Highlights included ‘Sexy Weekend’, vocalist Ned Wyndham’s falsetto on ‘Beijing Honey’ and a guitar melody akin to the use of traditional Chinese instruments and single ‘Loud ‘n Proud’.

From this tour alone I’d keep my eyes on those Global Moguls. I rate they’ll be bringing out more quality and RELEVANT acts like Scoundrels in time.

All photos courtesy of Laura McCullagh.

However, ever since I’ve joined Gary Cool’s Rock Dimension the first thing I do when I get to the 2 Oceansvibe FM studio is crack open a Peach BOS.

And then last week, as luck would have it, BOS Ice Tea were nice enough to drop off a little care package with their new “BOS Berry” flavour. Do you remember seeing those very clever ads with Andrew Berry standing in-between the current BOS flavours? Bitches be hitting the big time right there.

BOS describe their new Ice Tea as, “a delectable blend of strawberries and blackberries – effortlessly paired with organic Rooibos farmed from the high hills of the Cederberg – that will quench your thirst and quell your soul.”

I say, it goes down incredibly well as a thirst-quencher/hangover remedy post-#TuesOnFire.

But don’t take my word for it, check here for more info about the new Tea on the block. Or alternatively, go grab yourself a can.

And I have to agree.

Obviously there are going to be parallels drawn with Taxi Violence, but those would be severely unjustified. Goodnight Wembley (headliners on the night) make perfectly engineered tunes for radio, but as solid as they were on the night the “hype” surrounding their six/seven song set was a bit anticlimactic.

Regardless, it was great to see Nic Gaud (guitar and vox) in a different genre-based zone altogether. Change is as good as a ‘Holiday’. But it’s Alex Krause (Dead Lucky) and his Hendrix-esque playing that make this band for me. Dead Lucky have revamped their sound and their line-up as of late but I unfortunately haven’t been able to catch one of their gigs – Alex’s riffing makes me want to be front-and-centre at every one of their shows from now on. At 20 years of age, you’re looking at the future of the scene here.

Now the best thing about any “industry launch” is that normally, everyone’s a bloody critic. And while all I really wanted to do was to stand in the corner and listen to/appreciate what was happening onstage, I ended up engaging in various different conversations about opening band, Wild Eastern Arches.

For me, their appeal lies in their song-writing which has a formulaic and simplistic edge to it without being boring. I also quite appreciate the unpolished nature of their frontman, Ben – vocally and performance-wise. I was surprised to find that a lot of people don’t share my sentiment and find what he does rather “dull”. Obviously a lot of people on crack as of late.

Also, who knew The Mysticcs could get a crowd that pumped? From the psychedelic to the psyched Ebi and co. were quite impressive considering their collective age of 40.

Big ups to The Robfather and Ryan de Lisle for organising a slick event despite a waning attendance.

All photos courtesy of Laura McCullagh.