Happy Father's Day

I'd like to wish a Happy Fathers Day to my Dad.

I really wish I could be spending the day with him, but that's not possible.

My dad passed away unexpectedly on 19th May 2010, aged just 55 years old.



We may not have always had time for each other, but I loved him nonetheless. My dad taught me to read and how to ride a bike... He passed on his passion for music and his love of animals and fig rolls.



I could never thank him enough for introducing me to music. He taught me that it's okay to like stuff that isn't necessarily "popular" or even mainstream and it's okay to step outside of your normal genre. He was one of the few people I know who can go from listening to Buddy Holly to The Beatles, Vengaboys to Enya, Meatloaf to Lindisfarne or The Everley Brothers, even Jive Bunny! To you he might not have had the greatest taste in music but he was so passionate about it.



When my dad passed away, one of the things I kept was his "stack" (you'll have to google it) and his records. There is nothing more perfect than listening to your favourite album on vinyl...the first time I listened to Adele's '21' it was on my dad's record player.

I wish I'd have spent more time with my dad when he was alive.



There are times when I find myself watching a movie that I think he'd like (though falling asleep as soon as he seen the opening credits was usually the case), I can't watch 'The Boat That Rocked' without crying because everything about the movie reminds me of my dad.



There'll be times when I go out for dinner with my family and I think about how many plates of food my dad would eat, or what would be his favourite...then I get a sinking feeling in my stomach.



There will be times when I miss him so much, I won't know how i'll get through the day. Days like my wedding day when I have nobody to give me away and I don't get to have a father/daughter dance, or if I ever have children.



Then there are days like today when I just miss him...for no other reason than the fact that he was my dad and I love him and he's not here.



Happy Father's Day, Dad.
I love you x

This is the song I was named after, dad's choice, of course. My sister told me that when I was born he dedicated the song on the radio to me & my mum.



And a song that will always remind me of him;



Laura x

Interview with Save Your Breath

 

Save Your Breath are Kris, Tom, Adam, Ben and Bobby, a 5-piece pop-punk band from Wales. Having toured with the likes of Kids In Glass Houses, The Rocket Summer and Fireworks, the band are finally releasing their debut album and I for one cannot wait to hear it! Tom was kind enough to answer a few questions for me to put up here.

How did the name 'Save Your Breath' come about?
Um, we were all jamming together for a while before we even considered that we would need a name. Then it came to the point where we gonna have to play a show and put our name on stuff so we all started just thinking of stuff that sounded cool. We came up with that and thought it was a good name so stuck with it. No massive story behind it i'm afraid!

Who or what inspires you to make music?
Everything really, where we grew up, the people we grew up with and the situations that we've gone through going up. As well as that obviously we all have massive influences musically. We all like a large variety of stuff. We've been influenced by bands like New Found Glory and Saves The Day, but then different members of the band listen to anything from The Cure to Pink Floyd.

If you could cover any song, what would it be and why?
Um, i'm not really sure. In the past we've covered Blink 182 - "Josie", The Movielife - Walking On Glass and New Found Glory - "Ballad For The Lost Romantics" as they were songs that really influenced us while we were growing up. I'd cover most songs by those bands if we had the chance to be honest!

Your debut album 'Vices' is set for release in June. If you had to choose one song that would turn any listener into a fan, which would it be?
Yeah we can't wait! It's been a long time coming and we're excited for everyone to hear it. As far as a song that I would pick......I think I would pick a track that we've named "Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy". I love it!

How has the band evolved since your EP 'Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy'?
Well we have a new singer in Kristian, and to be honest it's the first time we've felt completley comfortable as a band. We feel comfortable playing live together now and then songs we have written for this record we feel are the best we've ever done. It's a great feeling, we really feel like everything has finally come together.

What is next for Save Your Breath?
Well obviously the record comes out, and then we really we will just be touring as much as possible and playing these songs to as many people as we get the chance too. We want as many people as possible to hear this record as possible so we're making it our mission to try our hardest to get it into as many peoples hands as we can.

And finally, is there anything you'd like to say to SYB fans or anyone reading this interview?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks so much for supporting our band and being good friends to us. It means the world and it really does allow us to carry on what we are doing. Other than that, if you have a spare moment and some spare change, if you could pick up "Vices" from http://www.saveyourbreath.bigcartel.com/ you would be helping us more than we could possibly explain, we put so much into this record, all off our own backs, so any support we receive from you guys helps out so much.

Cheers!
Tom

So there you have it. It is so refreshing to come across a band that are down to earth and genuinely grateful for every fan they have. Anyone who has read my blog before will know that I'm a huge fan, but without being biased, I strongly recommend pre-ordering their album....you won't be disappointed! Look out for new tour dates coming soon.

 

Picture take from www.myspace.com/saveyourbreathband

Videos taken from www.youtube.com/user/saveyourbreathtv

Follow them on Twitter

Become a fan on Facebook

Visit their site: www.saveyourbreath.net

Same Difference on This Morning.

Did anyone catch Same Difference on This Morning?

Absolutely faultless vocals!

(Video credited to JD Creations)

Sarah's dress is stunning, hopefully she'll tell me where it's from!

Selena Gomez does Nicki Minaj

I love Selena, she's so cute in this video.
(song is 'Super Bass' - Nicki Minaj)

Get Him To The Greek

I'm so behind the times, but I've only just seen this movie.

The best £5 I've ever spent on a DVD, seriously, so funny!

(and I love Jonah Hill almost as much as I love Seth Rogan - alot!)

Jessie J - Price Tag

I'm loving this song at the moment! 

Totally not my usual kind of music, but I think it's good to listen to artists outside of your usual type-cast.

McFLY Super City!

Oh. My. Gosh. This is EPIC.The graphics for the actual trailer are excellent, I can't wait to see the site in full! They were right when they said this is something that has never been seen before. I bet the points scheme was Tom's idea, not only the brains of the band, but how fit is he looking?! Its nice to see a band actually giving back to their fans like this, I mean, just by buying some CDs and posting on their message boards you can save up enough points to see them sound check or get a phone call from them.
So, what do you think? Who's room will you be visiting? ;)
P.S. Did you hear "Shine A Light" being played in the background? Love that song.

    

Body Shots

You may remember her as 13 year old "Kaci", who had us singing along to "Paradise" and her cover of David Cassidy's "I Think I Love You", but she's come a long way since then.

Kaci Battaglia, a singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and professional kickboxing instructor, is back with the 2nd single from her comeback album "Bring It On".


"Body Shots" is the kind of song you listen to while you're getting ready for a night out on the town, or the song you dance to after you've had a few drinks and you're letting your hair down...a Britney beat with Aguilera vocals. A fun, sexy song with a guest appearance from Ludacris.

Leave comments below and let me know what you think!
Don't forget to follow Kaci on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook (UK Facebook). You can also add her as a friend on Myspace, download her songs from iTunes and check out more of her videos on Youtube.