On Saturday the 17th Casablanca will do two short acoustic gigs plus signing sessions, first at Hot Records in Solna at 11.30 a.m. and then at Bengans in Stockholm at 1.30 p.m. See you there!
Photo: JenHell
måndag 12 mars 2012
söndag 11 mars 2012
Unshaved armpits in Melodifestivalen
Last night during Melodifestivalen (Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest), I saw an unfortunate pattern of nasty comments being written on Facebook. I am sad to say that some of those things were written by my very own friends. The comments were about this woman in the picture, who for a moment was on live TV in front of millions of people. I got so terribly angry when I saw my own friends wrting shit about this girl! It's so disgraceful and terribly embarrassing to mock someone who is being completely natural. Is our society THAT shallow and superficial, that this woman deserves to be bullied online? Can you imagine how she felt waking up today? This is not about having 'the right to an opinion'. This is about a young, brave woman who dared to show her true self with no shame, and then she was punished for it. And people are so used to having the right to comment on each other's bodies, so no one thinks about what they're really doing to her! This girl did not follow the strict norm or society's ideal and because of that she lost society's respect. Does that make sense?
I've had enough! I am so damn tired of this idiotic ideal of what beauty is and of people pointing out each others flaws. Look at the original picture instead and see how wonderfully happy this girl is ♥ See how much joy she experienced that night when she perhaps saw her biggest idol perform. She probably danced and created beautiful memories with her friends or her family. See how damn beautiful this picture really is, without focusing on the superficial.
I've had enough! I am so damn tired of this idiotic ideal of what beauty is and of people pointing out each others flaws. Look at the original picture instead and see how wonderfully happy this girl is ♥ See how much joy she experienced that night when she perhaps saw her biggest idol perform. She probably danced and created beautiful memories with her friends or her family. See how damn beautiful this picture really is, without focusing on the superficial.
You get no love
Cold-hearted. Some of you have never seen that side of me and some of you have seen way too much of it.
Some things that make others cry doesn't make me cry. I can be quite harsh about some things. I can be very direct and that probably makes some people surprised, which is why they often look at me like I am made of stone or something.
I am self destructive. I have fought long and hard to make up a system for what I should do when those negative thoughts pop up. It happens from time to time and I am quite good at stop thinking about em. I put up a wall, that I wasn't able to put up before when I was depressed. It's very logical. Of course those feelings will get to you if you aren't able to block em! But here is the thing. When you learn how to block it, you can block other things as well. I guess people look at me as a bit different sometimes since I don't have a problem with shutting some people out of my life. I am not a mean or an evil person for acting this way. It's just self protection. And I understand that from an outsider's point of view it may look selfish, but I do what I have to do....to survive. Even though I don't classify myself as evil, I guess I'll have to count this as one of my darker sides. Because even the though the end result may be good for me, it may not be the greatest thing for someone else. Sometimes people get hurt from being shut out, which is understandable. But the worst part for me is when my other friends are being effected by it too. When they are put in a position where they feel like they need to choose sides. But we aren't in high school anymore, are we? We are grown ups and I think that a situation like this doesn't have to be blown out of porportion. Let's just agree to not hang out with each other, but still be able to be in the same room!
Here is where that cold-hearted side of me comes in again. Because hanging out in the same room as someone who you aren't friends with anymore, isn't very easy for some people. 5 years ago I would most likely have had a problem with it too, so I can relate. But nowadays I have a tendensy to become very impatient with people who make a big deal out of it. I feel like life is too short to dwell on things and be overly sensitive, just move on and make the most of it. I won't change my mind. Those people who are out of my life really ARE out of my life. And for good reasons! They brought negative energy that I had to deal with. My heart and my head got so tired of it. And I refuse to look back on my life and see one big head ache. I want to see fun, laughter and wonderful memories with people that are positive.
I'm not impossible. There are plenty of things that still makes me cry. But I don't cry when I cut someone out of my life because they just aren't worth it. If they have gone that far, so that I feel like they need to be cut out. Then I really don't care about them anymore.
Some things that make others cry doesn't make me cry. I can be quite harsh about some things. I can be very direct and that probably makes some people surprised, which is why they often look at me like I am made of stone or something.
I am self destructive. I have fought long and hard to make up a system for what I should do when those negative thoughts pop up. It happens from time to time and I am quite good at stop thinking about em. I put up a wall, that I wasn't able to put up before when I was depressed. It's very logical. Of course those feelings will get to you if you aren't able to block em! But here is the thing. When you learn how to block it, you can block other things as well. I guess people look at me as a bit different sometimes since I don't have a problem with shutting some people out of my life. I am not a mean or an evil person for acting this way. It's just self protection. And I understand that from an outsider's point of view it may look selfish, but I do what I have to do....to survive. Even though I don't classify myself as evil, I guess I'll have to count this as one of my darker sides. Because even the though the end result may be good for me, it may not be the greatest thing for someone else. Sometimes people get hurt from being shut out, which is understandable. But the worst part for me is when my other friends are being effected by it too. When they are put in a position where they feel like they need to choose sides. But we aren't in high school anymore, are we? We are grown ups and I think that a situation like this doesn't have to be blown out of porportion. Let's just agree to not hang out with each other, but still be able to be in the same room!
Here is where that cold-hearted side of me comes in again. Because hanging out in the same room as someone who you aren't friends with anymore, isn't very easy for some people. 5 years ago I would most likely have had a problem with it too, so I can relate. But nowadays I have a tendensy to become very impatient with people who make a big deal out of it. I feel like life is too short to dwell on things and be overly sensitive, just move on and make the most of it. I won't change my mind. Those people who are out of my life really ARE out of my life. And for good reasons! They brought negative energy that I had to deal with. My heart and my head got so tired of it. And I refuse to look back on my life and see one big head ache. I want to see fun, laughter and wonderful memories with people that are positive.
I'm not impossible. There are plenty of things that still makes me cry. But I don't cry when I cut someone out of my life because they just aren't worth it. If they have gone that far, so that I feel like they need to be cut out. Then I really don't care about them anymore.
So maybe I'm not cold-hearted after all.
Maybe I'm just smart enough to be a bit selfish sometimes.
Because I think we all need that.
torsdag 8 mars 2012
My thoughts on Kony and Invisible Children
Ever since I woke up today, I have been caught up in a debate with one person after another. It has been incredibly important debates about both this and that. But the most important one has been about Joseph Kony. I am sure you have heard his name by now.
To begin with I'd just like to say that I am being critical about this. Believe me, I really am. But it's really hard to stand by something when you hear different things from people who ALL claim that they are right. That they KNOW what is going on down there in Africa and within the organization Invisible Children. But let me tell you this much.
Neither one of us knows.
That is why these debates are so important. So that we can share all of the rumors, discuss them and come to a conclusion about what we as individuals think is true. It's not easy going against your own friends in a debate, but hopefully everyone is able to see it from a professional point of view and not a personal one. As an animal rights activist and a lacto-ovo vegetarian I have had plenty of debates with my friends over the years. But even though I have had lots of training in this area, I still feel insecure sometimes and wish that I had read more about the topic before taking sides. But here is the beauty of debates. You can always switch sides! You're not a hypocrite for doing so. You've just educated yourself and realized that you can't stand by your own viewpoint anymore. To quote myself in the introduction box; "I love a good debate but I will never stick to a viewpoint just because it’s mine."
What is so hard about this particular debate is that there are so many strong opinions and rumors flying around that I hardly think anyone knows the truth anymore. Invisble Children have a page on their site where they give replies to all of these rumors but how am I supposed to know that they are telling the truth? It’s the same thing with people who are claiming that Invisible Children are using their money to provide Uganda soldiers with weapons and that Kony has already been captured. Who started these rumors and are they really true? It's very rare that I come across a situation as complicated as this one. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was clear as daylight what was right and wrong? But it's not black or white. It's gray. It's fuzzy. This puts all of us in a position where we have to look at the big picture.
Do I care that 60-70% of my donated money goes to the three owners of Invisible Children's organization? No I don't because they are travelling back and forth to Africa and therefore need all the money they can get to provide for themselves and to do marketing. To not give money to an organization just because they need money to provide for themselves is an excuse that won't ever work. All organizations have this system. Invisible Children's money mostly goes to "awareness" which is the main purpose. They have made that very clear. They want to make Kony famous. Not to punish him but to show people all around the world that they have had enough of people like him. It doesn't matter that he stopped being an asshole 5 years ago. He is still guilty of those crimes and those people's lives being ruined.
Don't be fake though and only spread the word with the "KONY 2012" video. Don't let that be the first and the last thing that you do if you REALLY want to help this organization. Get active. Take part of the awareness campaign that is going down all over the world on April the 20th. Donate money by buying T-shirts, posters and other kinds of merchandise in their shop! That is the easiest way you can help. The ones who are really working the hardest are Jason, Laren, Bobby and their crew. They are the ones who are OUT THERE, doing the dirty work that everyone else is "too good" for. That is the raw truth. So if the money I just donated by buying an "Action kit" turns out to be a complete waste and that it was only used to make matters worse, then so be it. I am on the other side of the planet and there is just so much I can do to get the information I need to decide if I should take action against this or not. We can't always make the right decisions. But we, who are lucky enough to live in countries where we can educate ourselves without the help from schools, should embrace that and do so! We should all understand how valuable that is and what a beautiful thing that is. Because it can be taken away from us. Just like that opportunity has been taken away from the people in Africa.
Don't be fake though and only spread the word with the "KONY 2012" video. Don't let that be the first and the last thing that you do if you REALLY want to help this organization. Get active. Take part of the awareness campaign that is going down all over the world on April the 20th. Donate money by buying T-shirts, posters and other kinds of merchandise in their shop! That is the easiest way you can help. The ones who are really working the hardest are Jason, Laren, Bobby and their crew. They are the ones who are OUT THERE, doing the dirty work that everyone else is "too good" for. That is the raw truth. So if the money I just donated by buying an "Action kit" turns out to be a complete waste and that it was only used to make matters worse, then so be it. I am on the other side of the planet and there is just so much I can do to get the information I need to decide if I should take action against this or not. We can't always make the right decisions. But we, who are lucky enough to live in countries where we can educate ourselves without the help from schools, should embrace that and do so! We should all understand how valuable that is and what a beautiful thing that is. Because it can be taken away from us. Just like that opportunity has been taken away from the people in Africa.
At the end of it all, why did I decide to support this organization right NOW? (Maybe not in the future, who knows). Well, because this is about children. And when children are being hurt in this horrific way I personally think that you have the right to choose one side. Then you have the right to act. I have read the pros and cons and I feel okay about my decision. And if things still look okay in the upcoming month, I will be out on the streets on the 20th of April with thousands of other people, standing for what we believe in.
söndag 4 mars 2012
Roxie 77 kicking it backstage
So last night Roxie 77 played a gig in my home town! :)
Of course I was there and so was Anna and her parents. We both do quite a lot of promotion for these guys because they truly deserve a bigger audience. Their music is best when you hear it live. It ended up being a pretty intimate gig with a small audience but the guys rocked the stage like always! I had a few drinks and danced along to some of their old and some of their new tracks. (New album is planned to be recorded very soon...)
We all stuck around while they packed down all of their instruments, but around midnight Anna and her parents unfortunately had to go home. So we went backstage so they could say good bye. Me and the guys thought of checking out the band Lillasyster on the other stage, but there was this really drunk guy who kept coming backstage, flirting with me and stalking Anton like crazy. And so since the security was so bad, the guys were afraid to leave the backstage area in case someone got in and stole their gear. Which is totally understandable. So we just ended up sitting in a room backstage, but the guys interesting conversations were enough entertainment for me :P
The club was closing so we went to the other building and just hung out with the guys from Lillasyster while all of the other guests were leaving. It was such a calm and nice evening. I think we were all kind of tired. Plus I had been up really early since I had school that morning. Around 2:30 we packed up (or well, I carried one thing... lol) all of their stuff into Ryan's car and my sister helped us with giving half of the band a lift back to their hotel.
Now I am just really looking forward to going to Uppsala in a week to see Ryan's guitar clinic. That'll of course be a completely different thing to experience than a regular gig and apparently the music store expects a big crowd. But Ryan is as humble as always and won't expect anything in advance which I think is a clever thing to do :) Take life as it comes...
Of course I was there and so was Anna and her parents. We both do quite a lot of promotion for these guys because they truly deserve a bigger audience. Their music is best when you hear it live. It ended up being a pretty intimate gig with a small audience but the guys rocked the stage like always! I had a few drinks and danced along to some of their old and some of their new tracks. (New album is planned to be recorded very soon...)
We all stuck around while they packed down all of their instruments, but around midnight Anna and her parents unfortunately had to go home. So we went backstage so they could say good bye. Me and the guys thought of checking out the band Lillasyster on the other stage, but there was this really drunk guy who kept coming backstage, flirting with me and stalking Anton like crazy. And so since the security was so bad, the guys were afraid to leave the backstage area in case someone got in and stole their gear. Which is totally understandable. So we just ended up sitting in a room backstage, but the guys interesting conversations were enough entertainment for me :P
The club was closing so we went to the other building and just hung out with the guys from Lillasyster while all of the other guests were leaving. It was such a calm and nice evening. I think we were all kind of tired. Plus I had been up really early since I had school that morning. Around 2:30 we packed up (or well, I carried one thing... lol) all of their stuff into Ryan's car and my sister helped us with giving half of the band a lift back to their hotel.
Now I am just really looking forward to going to Uppsala in a week to see Ryan's guitar clinic. That'll of course be a completely different thing to experience than a regular gig and apparently the music store expects a big crowd. But Ryan is as humble as always and won't expect anything in advance which I think is a clever thing to do :) Take life as it comes...
Blackrain in London 2012
Since it has been over two weeks since I came home from London I thought it's about time to sum it all up, haha! To start off I'd just like to explain that I am not the kind of person who usually travels all over the world just to see a band. It really has to be worth the effort and I always stay a couple of days longer so that I can at least experience some parts of the undiscovered city. The reason why I went to Paris was because that night was a huge deal. As a glam/sleaze rocker it was a dream come true to see Blackrain and Crashdiet play on the same night. And I only went to London because it was Blackrain's first tour there. It's very rare that they have gigs outside of France so of course I took the opportunity to see them again. Besides, they aren't just a band that I admire anymore. I have gotten to know them a bit better and they are really great guys. Me and my friends always have fun with them whenever we meet up!
The trip to London was really great. Me and Charlotte stayed at a Bed & Breakfast which was located right in the middle of Piccadilly Circus and all it's beautiful buildings! Charlotte's friend Lulu also stayed at the same B&B. She and Charlotte are both Swedes but ran around and trashed London in the 90's with all of their friends. It was one of the best things about this trip, that I got to meet all of her friends who are in their forties now. They entertained me for hours and hours about all the mischeivous things they did in the good old days. It was awesome!
On our first night we talked to the guys in Blackrain who were also on their way to London. And so we decided to meet up at a small bar called Garlic & Shots. My favourite French sisters Nat and Allie also joined a bit later. We honestly didn't think we would do anything special this evening than to just catch up, but pretty much everyone walked out of there pretty damn wasted. We turned that tiny little place into a freaking rock show!! The bartender (a Swedish girl funny enough) played Blackrain's music out loud and we all sang along. New guests that were coming in stopped and looked at us in shock before slowly making their way inside, haha. They probably weren't used to seeing their local bar being turned upside down.
Despite having such a good time we ended up going home quite early. And Lord knows I want to see the video that the guys shot of Swan on their way back to the hotel. He was sooo wasted and couldn't remember anything of our party the next day :P
Personally I'll never forget Swan's excellent performance of this Swedish classic, hahaha....
The next day we mostly walked around in the city and slowly got ready for the evening. Luckily me and Charlotte are very much alike in that way. We don't like to rush around and get ready in the last minute. We take the time to enjoy it and talk about every little thing we can think of, haha. It's pretty amazing that we get along this great considering that the only times we have met has been on a three day trip to Paris and on a four day trip to London. You know you like a person when you can live in the same room for that long without wanting to kill one another ;)
Before the gig we sat at a bar close by and talked to more of Charlotte's friends. Our friends Lou and Alma also joined to take part of the evening. Blackrain showed up after a while and I've got to say they looked darn fresh considering how last night had turned out, haha. But it was all good. And even though there weren't a lot of people at the gig, they got a great response and I had a blaaaast dancing around in front of the stage.
I am so easily affected by alcohol though that only a few drinks will make me go a little nuts. But that's what is so great about not drinking too often! You can have SO much fun and still remember everything afterwards.
We wanted to go and try to find some bar to throw an after party. So me and my gang of girls waited for the guys to pack up all of their stuff. Fuuuck it was cold!! I just hugged Nat and Allie that hold time to keep somewhat warm. Unfortunately it was much tougher than we had thought to find an open bar on a Monday night in London. After walking around for like an hour (which explains the horrific cold I got) we ended up at some random bar which was alright. But by that time I wasn't really drunk anymore and just felt like going to bed and sleep. I stayed for an hour though since everyone else were having such a good time. We did actually walk down the street to see if we could find another bar after that. But when we didn't have any luck we all went on our seperate ways...
Let's just say that after two days of partying our assess off, me and Charlotte were pretty much stranded in our hotel bed the whole next day, haha.
The trip to London was really great. Me and Charlotte stayed at a Bed & Breakfast which was located right in the middle of Piccadilly Circus and all it's beautiful buildings! Charlotte's friend Lulu also stayed at the same B&B. She and Charlotte are both Swedes but ran around and trashed London in the 90's with all of their friends. It was one of the best things about this trip, that I got to meet all of her friends who are in their forties now. They entertained me for hours and hours about all the mischeivous things they did in the good old days. It was awesome!
On our first night we talked to the guys in Blackrain who were also on their way to London. And so we decided to meet up at a small bar called Garlic & Shots. My favourite French sisters Nat and Allie also joined a bit later. We honestly didn't think we would do anything special this evening than to just catch up, but pretty much everyone walked out of there pretty damn wasted. We turned that tiny little place into a freaking rock show!! The bartender (a Swedish girl funny enough) played Blackrain's music out loud and we all sang along. New guests that were coming in stopped and looked at us in shock before slowly making their way inside, haha. They probably weren't used to seeing their local bar being turned upside down.
Despite having such a good time we ended up going home quite early. And Lord knows I want to see the video that the guys shot of Swan on their way back to the hotel. He was sooo wasted and couldn't remember anything of our party the next day :P
Personally I'll never forget Swan's excellent performance of this Swedish classic, hahaha....
The next day we mostly walked around in the city and slowly got ready for the evening. Luckily me and Charlotte are very much alike in that way. We don't like to rush around and get ready in the last minute. We take the time to enjoy it and talk about every little thing we can think of, haha. It's pretty amazing that we get along this great considering that the only times we have met has been on a three day trip to Paris and on a four day trip to London. You know you like a person when you can live in the same room for that long without wanting to kill one another ;)
Before the gig we sat at a bar close by and talked to more of Charlotte's friends. Our friends Lou and Alma also joined to take part of the evening. Blackrain showed up after a while and I've got to say they looked darn fresh considering how last night had turned out, haha. But it was all good. And even though there weren't a lot of people at the gig, they got a great response and I had a blaaaast dancing around in front of the stage.
I am so easily affected by alcohol though that only a few drinks will make me go a little nuts. But that's what is so great about not drinking too often! You can have SO much fun and still remember everything afterwards.
Photos: Alissa Ordabai
We wanted to go and try to find some bar to throw an after party. So me and my gang of girls waited for the guys to pack up all of their stuff. Fuuuck it was cold!! I just hugged Nat and Allie that hold time to keep somewhat warm. Unfortunately it was much tougher than we had thought to find an open bar on a Monday night in London. After walking around for like an hour (which explains the horrific cold I got) we ended up at some random bar which was alright. But by that time I wasn't really drunk anymore and just felt like going to bed and sleep. I stayed for an hour though since everyone else were having such a good time. We did actually walk down the street to see if we could find another bar after that. But when we didn't have any luck we all went on our seperate ways...
Let's just say that after two days of partying our assess off, me and Charlotte were pretty much stranded in our hotel bed the whole next day, haha.
fredag 2 mars 2012
Welcome to the wasteland
Bad City is a Chicago-based band that released their album Welcome to the wasteland in 2010. The singer of Casablanca, Anders Ljung, recommended this band tonight when he visited the Bandit Rock Radio. He said it was a band that made a bad decision when it came to choosing a record label. Obviously they released this amazing record and didn't get enough credit for it. I have got to say I am blown away by their music. I want others to hear it too! I want this band to make it! So please give these guys a chance and if you like what you hear, then spread the word! Spread it to the world...
Prenumerera på:
Inlägg (Atom)