I never fail to be pleasantly surprised by the talent and creativeness that can be found in Bristol. The city certainly does impress in every little corner.

Behind the door of an every day flat in Montpelier, Sabine Lang is creating some of the most unusual and unique jewellery I have ever seen. Using pure ingredients to create the illusion of bubbles, Sabine is giving traditional jewellery styles a very modern twist.
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If you go down to some of the woodlands located around the Bristol and South West on a Sunday, you might get a big surprise - and it’s not a picnic. Out on the hills and in the ancient woodlands dotted across the South West (and in other locales too) a new breed of board rider is making use of the great outdoors.
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Friday 7th March 2008 @ Trinity Centre, Bristol
Playing Alongside: Slow Club, Laura Marling

Johnny Flynn is the young, fresh-faced mother folker on the tips of everyone’s tongues at the moment and touted for great things in the near future. With a debut album on the horizon, Suit Yourself catches up with the inspired musician on the Bristol leg of his tour supporting the divine Laura Marling.

Johnny Flynn leads Suit Yourself around the back of the Trinity Centre and onto the shared tour bus where, after pushing toothbrushes, magazines and demo copies of his pending album aside, I ask him if he can remember how many times he’s played Bristol now:

You were here about a month ago at the Louisiana right – how’d that go?
Yeah, good. That was a great night, it’s so purpose built there, totally all about gigs. And we had the infamous Jeff! We were chatting with him and he said he goes to eight gigs a week. Full on.
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When asked ‘Can you name the most popular DJ in Bristol?’ you’ll be forgiven for thinking Roni Size or the unmissable DJ Derek. However, there is one DJ who plays live to more people every week than some of the biggest names in the music industry.
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Unibreakers Bristol was originally set up for students from Bristol and UWE and is now a city wide society open to the public.  Anyone can come along and try their hand (or feet, knees, head…) at breaking. They run official classes as well as training and around thirty people currently attend the Saturday lessons, taught by Champloo at the dance studio in Bristol Student Union. Lessons cost a mere four pounds, and you don’t have to have any previous experience to attend, just enthusiasm!

Breakdancing is one of the most awe-inspiring aspects of hip-hop. It takes real commitment, fitness and bravery, so naturally the idea of trying it can seem a bit intimidating to us normal, wave-your-arms-around-drunkenly types. But after all, every member of Unibreakers was a beginner once…
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Bloom Festival 2007

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Goldie Lookin’ Chain are arguably the most important and controversial rap act ever, bursting onto the global scene in 2004 with the legendary Half Man–Half Machine (I Am A Robot!) the face of hip hop music was set on a course of ultimate transformation which thankfully we are yet to recover from. Who can forget them calling Victoria Beckham a nutter in 2005, voting for Maggot to win Celeb Big Brother or my own personal favourite; the fact they invented their own Welsh hip-hop language, a massive parody of the stereotypical bad boy gansta bullshit fed to us by Radio One approved American rap artistes.
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The UK Beatbox Champion @ Bloom 2007

www.beardyman.co.uk

It would be fair to say that being asked to attend the secret Amy Winehouse gig and interview her has been one of the highlights of my journalistic career to date. Over my many years in this game, I have indeed met, and ranted at, many a Z list celebrity, flirted outrageously with childhood idols like Slipmatt and made tea for the increasingly sexier Gary Stringer from Reef. But none of these events compare to meeting the soul legend herself. Amy Winehouse kicked off the Vodafone live music celebrations at St Paul’s Church in Bristol last month to an audience of stunned, slightly nervous individuals, aware they were treading on hallowed ground, starkly conscious, that they, above thousands had been chosen to witness such a prolific event in Bristol’s history. I was acutely aware that Suit Yourself Magazine was the only Bristol magazine asked to attend this gig, let alone interview the legend; Read the rest of this entry »