Kevin Simm interview

There’s nothing better than kicking off your summer to a number of festivals, especially when it’s right in your home town and even more so when the weather was as good as was a couple of weeks ago. So it’s not a surprise to hear that Morecambe’s Live Weekender was a mass success!

A number of artists preformed at 3 different venues over 3 days, one of which was Kevin Simm, one fifth of band Liberty X. The band formed in 2001 releasing 3 albums, a UK number 1 single and won a BRIT award for, Just a little bit. Unfortunately their fame was short-lived and they ended up going their separate in 2007.

Kev fills me in on what he has been up to since his days with Liberty X,

“I had a few years off not doing much but enjoying my mid twenties and having a laugh. Then I got married, moved back up north, started gigging again and studied photography. I did have an album in Japan about a year after the band split, and filmed my video in Jamaica. But as record companies go, mine were completely awful and didn't have a clue how to break a record, so that side of my life is gone now.

I also wrote a number 1 hit in korea for a boy band called 'super junior.”

Despite only being 31 Kev has managed to achieve a lot with his life and after being part of a group for 6 years was finally able to follow his dream ambition of being a photographer and if you check out his website www.cookietreephotography.co.uk you will be able to see for yourselves the business that he has set up. He provides a number of services with his photography, including family portraits, newborn photos and a new service that he provides called “Snap n sing” where not only will your special day be captured on film but he will also provide your entertainment.

Kev has found stability is the photography business and tells me,

“I still love singing but I felt I needed a new challenge and something that is a little less erratic than the music game.”

Not only has Kev managed to have a complete career change whilst still gigging and get married (which featured in OK magazine) he is also about to become a father for the first time with wife, Laura Simm. We at the Visitor Newspaper have nothing but congratulations for him on hearing the news,

“Thanks, and no I’ve not really got any nerves. It is a little scary but I’m really looking forward to it.”

When asked whether or not he had any plans for re entering the music business he told me,

“Unless a miracle occurs then no, it’s not of interest to me to be famous but I do miss writing and performing on the big stage. But to be honest I’m not looking for any type of break and enjoy having time at home with my family.”

With Kev only living a short distance away I wondered on whether or not he had previously visited our quaint seaside town,

“Yes but not very much, my best friend used to play for Morecambe Fc so I watched him a couple of times back in the day. I also visited the beach a few times as a kid.”

“From what I’ve seen I think it’s a lovely place. There seems to have been a lot of refurbishment since the times I came as a kid and it looks like money well spent to me as a lot of seaside towns across the country seem to get neglected.”

So after a day of performing Kev gets ready to set off home but before he’s about to leave I have one crucial question left……………..Any plans on visiting Morecambe again?

“No way!!! Only kidding. If Morecambe was so kind to have me back then I would love to visit again."

The Death of Osama Bin Laden…… Is it all what it seems?........Updated :)

I am glad to see that over the past few days many more views have come forward about the sudden death of Osama Bin Laden and the fact that the US may not be being completely honest about what actually happened. Now what has started to give them away is the changing of their story on the events that unfolded the other day in the town of Abbottabad, Pakistan.
A bombardment of conspiracy theories has unfolded over the fact that the US are refusing to release any photographic evidence of Osama Bin Laden's body.
To me, I am unsure, whether or not the US just thought that we would all be so happy to hear of his death that we wouldn't require any proof that it had actually happened which in a way is a complete insult to us as they might aswell accuse us all of being small minded people with no questions of our own.
With reading as much as the media as I am able to do whilst also blogging, and working full time a great source of information over the death of Bin Laden has been the Guardian Newspaper,as they are indeed asking all the questions that we need answering, they are also not shy in highlighting the inaccuracies in their story.
Now you would think by now that the American Government, after all these years, would have no difficulty spinning their lies and twisting their motives and one theory that I have found particarly interesting is the notion that the US are intending to extend the war with Afganistan into Pakistan. Now what better reason could they come up with than going to war with the country that potentially harboured the man that damaged the US so publically................well apart from maybe accusing them from having weapons of mass destruction, but then again you don't want to catch youself telling the same lie twice....opps!
Below is the link for the Guardian article highlighting some of the conspiracy theories that have been found all over th web,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/05/osama-bin-laden-conspiracy-theories?intcmp=239
Enjoy!

The Death of Osama Bin Laden…… Is it all what it seems?

Yesterday, Monday 2^nd of May 2011, news broke that America’s most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden, had been shot dead in a fire fight involving US commando’s in Pakistan. It was then reported that his body was buried at sea and treated with respect, a notion that I am glad to report was not only found strange by me.

According to the BBC the US confirmed his identity through DNA and facial recognition technology. The world slowly breathes a sigh of relief as the man who brought the US down on its knees with one of the worst terrorist attacks seen in Western history, has been killed.

9/11 devastated America with Osama Bin Laden taking the blame for killing almost 3000 people and creating a fear that World War 3 was imminent.

10 years later, they’ve done it; they finally managed to kill the Al Qaeda leader intent on a life of suicidal terrorist attacks. I mean it seems only fitting that the US bring down the same man that they trained ever so well and once upon a time where ever so happy on supplying with arms.

To me anyway it seems very convenient that within 12 hours they managed to locate the whereabouts of such a sought after man, kill him, formally identify him, and respectfully bury him at sea. Now of course the details are limited at the moment with it all just happening yesterday so I am basing my opinions on the facts supplied by the BBC, as it is one of the most trusted news sites about.

According to the Pakistani President, Asif Ali zardan, the fact that Osama Bin laden was found and killed in Abbottabad, 1km away from the Pakistan Military Academy, is not a sign of Pakistan’s failure to tackle terrorism. I believe others would be quick to disagree. Now whether or not they knew him to be there is a completely different matter and opinion, but I’m sure one that will be explored in days to come.

US officials justify his burial at sea with 2 reasons, the first being that they didn’t want his grave to become a shrine to other terrorists and secondly there was no time to negotiate with other countries to arrange a possible burial on land.

Now the US are indeed painting a very nice picture of themselves, as they aren’t just heroes who overcame the very scary man with the very scary terrorist group, but they are now proclaiming to have taken the Muslim religion into very serious grounds by respecting the fact that a Muslim body needs to be buried straight away unless a autopsy is required. Aren’t they just lovely. So after they killed him, they quickly arranged a burial for him by dropping him into the Arabian sea, which indeed has left us cynics of the world, with nothing but their word on what happened.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13261680
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13257330
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

And for anyone willing to look outside of the box
http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Scream4

What’s your favourite scary movie? Gasps of excitement echo throughout the audience as the franchises signature question is asked by yet another ghost face that is terrorising the small, suburban, US town of Woodsboro.

This is Scream4, complete with more grisly murders, jumps and laughs. Wes Craven successfully brings back our all time favourite scary movie complete with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) our main character who continuously escapes murder, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) the blood thirsty reporter that will stop at nothing to break the story and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) our loveable but useless policeman.

For the people of my generation who grew up watching the Scream movies this will without a doubt exceed your expectations, bringing us new characters that one by one get picked off in exactly the same manner as the other 3 films. This may be a new film but Wes Craven has done well to stick to the original rules of a scary movie, which in Scream manner, is explained to us by the movie fanatic in the film.

Its 10 years later and Woodsboro is still known for its infamous serial killers that have plagued the town and ruthlessly picked of groups of teenagers one by one. Their grotesque and sickly plans have all been down to killing Sidney Prescott, but each time failing miserably.

Known as a hero and the ultimate survivor, Sidney returns to Woodsboro launching a book that describes how she has overcome her ordeal, but it isn’t long until ghost face makes their return, butchering innocent teens and causing widespread panic throughout the streets. This time it appears as though her cousin and her friends are the targets, and as they run screaming and fighting for their lives you will feel far from disappointed.

As the film begins and you hear the phone ringing, terror and silence impact immediately on the audience, it doesn’t matter that you know what is coming, you are no way prepared for the jumps and screams that ghost face causes.

A must see this year as Scream4 will have you in fits of laughter one second and the next clutching on to the person next to you in fear. This no way falls into the stereotypical view that sequels are awful but the complete opposite as it makes you want to get down to your local blockbuster and re watch the other three.

Lincoln Lawyer :)

eeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkk its been ages since ive last blogged my sincere apologies go out to my whole 5 followers lol :s this is my review of the Lincoln Lawyer which I loved and it also features today in the Visitor Newspaper :)

Working out the back of his Lincoln Town Car, helping criminals to roam the streets once again in hope he never puts an innocent man behind bars, Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey) is the cool and collective defence lawyer, with an ever so crooked edge.

Based upon the book by Michael Connelly this is a story about a man whose daily work involves representing gang members, drug dealers and prostitutes. With his natural charm and his thirst for money nothing could appear to disturb the life he has made for himself until the case of Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe) falls on his lap.

Accused of a crime he swears he didn’t do Roulet seeks out Haller’s help in convincing a jury that the woman who claims he severely beat her has set him up to extract money from him and his family. With evidence in Roulets favour, it appears to be a simple enough case. However it isn’t long until things take a dark turn both professionally and personally for Haller. Intertwined within the web of lawyer client confidentiality he feels trapped and soon realises the only way out is with unethical means.

The film manages to mimic Connelly’s powerful writing where despite the main story he gives you snippets of underlying relationships with the characters. In the film you are introduced to Haller’s ex wife (Marisa Tomei), whom he has a daughter with. The director, Brad Furman, chooses to honour the written story by not giving the audience any deep details about their relationship and without a doubt leaves you wanting more.

This is a film about deception where your petty criminals are the ones you trust and the people with money are the ones you fear, alongside his private investigator, Frank Levin (William H. Macy) Haller sets about to unravel a case where all is not what it seems.

A brilliant film and definitely a must see this year, Matthew McConaughey is outstanding as The Lincoln Lawyer and so is Ryan Phillippe as the client you don’t know whether to trust. A courtroom thriller with an unpredictable twist, there’s just no excuse to miss it!

Review of Unknown

If your looking for a dark and captivating mystery that will have your eyes glued to the screen and your heart racing then look no further as Unknown is the film for you.

Starring Liam Neeson as Doctor Martin Harris and January Jones as his beautiful wife, Liz, the film begins with, what appears, as a happily married couple arriving in Berlin for a work related presentation.

With only a few minutes in, the film takes a wild turn which results in a taxi crash that plummets Martin and his driver, Gina (Diane Kruger) into a river. Banging his head and leaving him in a coma for 4 days, he awakens to find that his identity, his marriage and his life have been stolen from him by an intruder claiming to be the real Martin Harris.

A series of unfortunate events lead to fast paced car chases, struggles, fights and a unsettling feeling that not even you, the viewer, is sure whether or not you can trust your main character.

Complete strangers to each other, Martin and Gina, are propelled into a world of violence where their lives are at risk for something they know nothing about. This film is not about revenge or vengeance; it’s about survival and escape and how far you would go to getting back a life you have lost.

Diane Kruger plays her part well as the illegal Bosnian immigrant striving for a better life by working any job she can get. After saving Martin’s life she feels compelled to help him, and throughout the film, consistently gets him out of many sticky situations.

This film bares a strong resemblance to Salt, starring Angelina Jolie, in the sense that not all is what it seems, however if this puts you off, as it would have done me, don’t be, the story lines are stronger and the action is believable.

The only weakness with this film is the ending, it leaves you feeling a tad unfulfilled as the set up behind all the drama and confusion is a simple one, one that anyone could indeed understand, but is extremely unbelievable.

Directed by Jaume collet- Serra it is not a surprise that this film is dark and twisted as he is previously known for directing such films as The house of Wax and The Orphan.

A fist clenching film that is not meant to be taken too seriously but definitely worth a watch, an enjoyable experience that has not forgotten that the art of entertainment is through mind baffling action and a strong cast.