The key to being remarkable.

Hey, here it is. Friday 3rd June's top five. It's my consolidated list of all things awesome this week. Here we go;

1) Video of the week;

Mistabishi - Printer Jam

This a great video, and a great song too. It's on the formidable Hospital Records, most of their artists are original, intelligent and extremely good. It's worth clicking around on their YouTube channel.

2) Gig of the week;

Garrison at The Wig and Pen.

Local rockers and thoroughly bloody nice blokes (½ of the band are in my family) Garrison, will definitely rock your face off.

3) Quote of the week;

"You can't develop if you know you don't have to" - Louis CK

I'm a big fan of Louis CK. He is leading the way when it comes to stand-up, tv production and general nicery (fair gig ticket and episodic TV pricing, amongst other things). He often writes, directs, produces and edit his own TV show, and it really is good.

I like this quote as It's so true. I've done my best work when under pressure, and without that pressure it wouldn't have happened.

4) Article of the week;

Read more Blogs. - Seth Godin.

Seth Godin is right, he always is in my opinion. There are lots of interesting people out there and some of them write blogs, have a look at this article and start interesting yourself daily. Read Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable, it's a mind-blowing read, and like most things it applies to more than just it's subject matter.

5) Thing of the week;

Integral USB Key

I carry this with me everywhere I go. It's so useful having a large storage capacity drive with you wherever you are. Mine is attached to my keys so It's always at hand. Wether your sharing photo's, recordings from the studio or illegally downloaded movies it's great! (don't illegally download things).

See you next week,

Josh.

John Bonham, Tennis Elbow, the US Navy, Cory Henry and Girls. Go!

Hey, here it is. Friday 27th May's top five. It's my consolidated list of all things awesome this week. Here we go;

1) Video of the week;

Cory Henry - Tribute to Melvin Crisp.

I've only just discovered Cory henry, he's pretty damn good. There's also some great sessions on YouTube, google that shit.

2) Gig of the week;

This Is What Makes Us Girls

The Lab Saturday, 28th May, Northampton. This is a really interesting concept and the Fanny Pack DJ's are spinning too, get involved.

3) Quote of the week;

"The latest you can be is five minutes early." - Unknown

I heard this on a podcast, but I can't remember exactly who said it. I think it was someone that served in the US Navy, which makes sense. I consider punctuality to be very important, it's more of a point that I do what I say I will, wether that's meet at a specific time, or do a particular task, whatever really. Letting people down is not acceptable, we're all busy, It's disrespectful to keep people waiting.

"An unreliable man is not much of a man at all." Unknown (sorry).

4) Article of the week;

Phys Ed: An Easy Fix For Tennis Elbow?

I got this from Tim Ferriss (surprise, surprise), but I know a lot of drummers suffer with this and we could have found a cure. I bet you or someone you know has this problem, help them out and send them the link.

5) Thing of the week;

Lacrosse Ball

Use one of these to work out any sores, aches and pains. I regularly get back strain from DJ'ing (basically craning over the decks for a few hours). All you have to do is find the sore/strained muscle and lay on the lacrosse ball. Use google (some good info here) to find techniques on specific areas of pain, and don't hurt yourself. I'm not a doctor.

See you next week,

Josh.

Life lessons from Skepta.

Friday 20th May's top five is;

1) Video of the week;

Skepta - Man

I'm really late to the party with Skepta, having only given it a listen this last week, but it's  really good. I need to look up on Grime history, if any of you know, then hook me up.

2) Gig of the week;

2016 Northampton County Beer Festival

If you like beer, cider, ale, lager (and probably all the boozes) food and music then this is the place to be this weekend. Live music all weekend too. In my experience it does get busy so get in early to avoid cues.

3) Quote of the week;

"The moment you feel like giving up that's the moment you lose." - Skepta

I like this one because I'm not sure I agree with it. I've felt like giving up a few times, but that's when you either find your resolve and carry on, or actually give up. Still, if it helps you keep on pushing then it's all good.

4) Article of the week;

Seth Godin's Blog.

Seth Godin is a marketing guru of sorts, but not in that 'sign-up to my online course for $1000 and I'll tell you how to get that yacht' kind of way. He send daily e-mails, some one sentence some one page, but always insightful and informative. Usually stories or insights that give you genuine ideas about how to approach things, either designing/selling a product or choosing where to buy your groceries. The only blog that I read every single email from.

5) Thing of the week;

Headspace. I used to think meditation was a bit too patchouli, lentils and hippy-dippy for me. It turns out it's not, it's fairly straight forward and really beneficial. I say use Headspace because it's free to download and they do a free 10 minutes a day for 10 days course, give it a go, you'll be surprised.

See you next week,

Josh.

All you need is Coffee, Musashi & Indie.

Friday 13th May's top five is;

1) Video of the week;

Reggie Watts - Coffee Sips

I've been following Reggie for a few years now and he keeps getting better and better. It's such a new style of entertainment, and so unique. Watch as many videos as you can find, it's all dynamite.

2) Gig of the week;

INDIE NIGHT #3 @ The Lamplighter.

Another banger of a night from Alex Taylor and Lee Irons (you can listen to them on our podcast here). Not to be missed, quality music and quality DJing.

(p.s. It's also Secret Gig #11 the following night in the same place.)

3) Quote of the week;

"...if you know the way broadly you will see it in everything.." - Miyamoto Musashi.

I first heard this on JRE. I take this to mean once you find the way in one thing, you can see or apply it to others. It comes from The Book Of Five Rings, a great read and I thoroughly reccomend it.

4) Article of the week;

Depression is not a battle that can be won or lost.

It's an interesting read, anything that helps me understand depression is a bonus in my opinion. I still feel like I have no understanding, having only had briefs episodes of intense sadness as a result of loss. It's an important one to think about as a lot of people (350 million to be precise) do suffer with it. Worth ten minutes of your time.

5) Thing of the week;

Here are some excellent podcasts I've listened to this week:

The Joe Rogan Experience - Whitney Cummings

Found My Fitness with Rhonda Patrick Ph.D - Ray Cronise

Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast

See you next week,

Josh.

A brownie a day keeps the doctor away.

Friday 6th May's top five is;

1) Video of the week;

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek ft. London Contemporary Voices.

This song does something to me. I first heard it on the album and there are several versions knocking about, this is the best by far. The combination of the powerful lyrics and the force of the choir is breathtaking. Click the link, turn it up and relax (and cry).

2) Gig of the week;

Reverend D Wayne Love (Alabama 3).

A great headliner, with 3 local support acts and only £5 on the door. Get involved.

3) Quote of the week;

"You've been thinking thoughts all your life and look where that's got you!" - S. Hands.

Sometimes I overthink things and this usually straightens me out.

4) Article of the week;

Apple Stole My Music, No, Seriously.

I just don't trust anyone with all of my digital information, either photo's, spreadsheets or music which is why I don't use cloud services. I don't use Apple Music or any other music streaming as they don't pay the artists enough, amongst other shady practices, but to erase your music as part of the deal is fucking mental.

5) Thing of the week;

Death By Chocolate Blender Brownie.

These things are very nearly healthy, but are very actually delicious. If you have a sweet tooth, then this is your answer if you want eat them all the time but still live for 100 years. You're welcome.

See you next week,

Josh.

I've found the perfect title for your autobiography.

Friday 29th April's top five is;

1) Video of the week;

Billy Lockett - Burn It Down.

Billy is a local boy done good. His quality of work is fantastic, and after our chat on The Audio Works Podcast #29 it's clear to see he's well on the way to a fulfilling and hopefully successful career. Check him out and get his music.

2) Gig of the week;

The Jackall Nine EP Launch at The Black Prince.

The Jackall Nine EP launch is tonight. Stalkers Studio are heavily involved and any gig at what used to be the Racehorse is fine by me. Get down and support them.

3) Quote of the week;

"Everything's sh*t, so f*ck off." - Anon

I used to work in a call centre (like most of us) and a colleague said she'd call her autobiography this. It never fails to make me laugh.

4) Article of the week;

The Not-To-Do-List.

I must admit, I am something of a follower of Tim Ferriss. You can't deny his ability to break down daunting topics into something easy to understand and carry out. This article is a small example of that. Subscribe to his podcast for extra knowledge.

5) Thing of the week;

NASCAR on YouTube.

NASCAR upload their races in it's entirety a few days after each event on YouTube. I can't think of any televised sport or event that does that. It's great. I watch it from time to time and it's great that we get this much free access. I think a lot of other events can learn from this, rather than holding onto each event and releasing the DVD or subscription service. I'm more of a fan because of this than any other reason. Go NASCAR!

See you next week,

Josh.

How to keep your life effing simple.

-CONTAINS SWEARING-

Friday 22nd April's top five is;

1) Video of the week;

Prince, Live 1982.

It's sad that Prince died, he had created so much good and potentially had a lot left in him. This video is nice and lo-fi, put it on and dance. WWPD (What Would Prince Do).

2) Gig of the week;

Lucky and Liam Dullaghan Saturday, 23rd April at The Playhouse on Claire Street.

This is shaping up to be a really good gig. Both acts are exceptional and the venue is also interesting, it's nice to be excited about gigs, we get complacent and take them for granted but it is a privilege to have shows like these on our doorstep.

3) Quote of the week;

“Come the f*ck in or f*ck the f*ck off.” - Malcolm Tucker, The Thick Of It.

It's just excellent swearing. Malcolm Tucker's ability to strip down what he wants to say to the fewest words possible (with a f*ck or two) is wonderful. Watch The Thick of It, In The Loop and Veep if you like great writing and acting.

4) Article of the week;

How to live without Irony - Christy Wampole

5) Thing of the week;

WTF Episode 700 Part 2 - Louis CK

I am a Louis CK fan, and his latest piece of work, Horace and Pete, is fantastic. He wrote it, starred in it, directed it, and paid for it. Regardless of how well it does, his rationale for doing it this way is very inspiring. Watch the series, then listen to this episode (as it has spoilers).

See you next week,

Josh.

Audio Works Rehearsal Studio

The Audio Works Podcast

The Secret Gig

How to save time, health and artistry.

We've got some heavy hitters this week, it was tough to narrow each one down. Here we go...

1) Video of the week;

Lyrical School - Run and Run - Must be watched on your phone!

A previous podcast guest DJ OP1 showed me this. It's a mind bending video, as I said to him, it's like another fucking dimension. Must be watched on your phone to get the full experience.

2) Gig of the week;

It has to be Record Store Day at The Lamplighter. Spiral Archive record fair and music until the early hours. EVENT DETAILS HERE.

3) Quote of the week;

"Too blessed to be stressed." - Ben Hebert via Noah Kagan

I am not a religious person, I don't believe in any of the gods but I like the idea behind this one. I felt that simmering lava-like fury boiling up inside me when someone cut me up on the high street yesterday, and this popped into my head and sorted me right out. So, that means it's useful, help yourself to it.

4) Article of the week;

Want to help Louis CK out of debt? Four great reasons to watch Horace and Pete.

This TV series is groundbreaking and inspirational, both in it's creation and delivery. I'm genuinely surprised it's not a massive success, get involved and ensure this starts something big. You will enjoy it.

5) Thing of the week;

Preparing food in bulk at the beginning of the week is both simple and effective, two things I very much appreciate. It has both saved me time and prevented my usual quick trips to the shop to get a little something (usually chocolate or crisps). Good for time, good for health. Google it for billions of ideas & suggestions.

See you next week,

Josh.