Writers / contributors: Ice Carstens, Nic Owen, Travis Stone Photographers: Adriian Louw, DJakaFAREZK, Chris Acheson, Pierre Rommelaere, Curt Lottring Cover Photography: Hannie Du Plessis Printing: Spectrum Print / Boland Print Editor: Nic Owen Design and Layout: Nic Owen General Magazine Queries: nivamag@nivarecords.com Advertising Related Queries: nowen@nivarecords.com Send Your Contributions and Articles to: nivamag@nivarecords.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in Niva Magazine are not necessarily those of Niva Magazine, it’s editor, or it’s advertisers. No parts of this magazine may be edited or reproduced without consent from Niva Magazine.

Welcome to the 21st edition of Niva Mag. If you have read previous editions, you will surely notice that this edition is much thinner. This is simply due to the fact that our Feb edition will be out in around 2 weeks. We used the holiday period to mess around with new design concepts and ideas on fresh content. Niva Mag will be including a ‘top 10’ and a ‘Music Quiz’ section every month, from the Feb edition onwards. We are busy finalizing the Feb edition at the moment, and we are all very keen to share our changes with you! Niva Mag has attracted 4 new advertisers who will be advertising from 1 Feb. Thanks to Aandklas Stellenbosch, Patriot Productions, Illusion Design and Ezelle Louw Photography. There has been a lot of harsh comments directed to Rock the River after the 2012/13 event due to organizational problems that caused some frustration amongst those who attended. I would just like to say that even though the event had some problems, the bands were amazing, and that’s all that we should be focussing on, right?? I was there to see the bands, regardless of what else was going wrong. Keep your eyes peeled for Niva Mag’s write up on Rock the River in the Feb edition. The Niva Big Day Out is back with it’s 3rd event. This year the event will host an all ages event, as well as an official after party at The Nameless Pub in Somerset West on 2 March 2012. This years main event will be hosted at Southey’s Vines in Somerset West. More details to follow in the Feb edition. I hope you have a wonderful month! :) Nic Owen (Editor)

You have undoubtedly heard of, or seen

My Flawless Ending perform. If you have,

you will know that I am not exaggerating

when I say that they are the classiest up

and coming act in CT. The band broke up

in April 2012, but have released plans to

the ’grape vines’ that they are planning

to reform early this year. Keep your ears

tuned into their FB page!

Rock the River #5 was expected to blow

the lid off our pips with the organizers having gone all out in confirming a mass of SA’s most

talented bands and muso’s. Instead, the festival was greeted with 4 season changes in 5 days,

making it a solid nightmare in trying to keep everybody happy. The wind came up on NYE and

made it very uncomfortable. To add to this, the festival was badly managed, and it seems the

organizers failed to pay attention to the smaller details. Unfortunately for the festival, it seems that

people have decided to focus on the negative instead of the various positive aspects that the

event had on offer.

Not only is it time to get inked up by some of the

most talented and recognised artists; it’s also

time to rock out to the amazing line up that the

Cape Tattoo Expo has graced us with. Running

from the 25th to the 27th, you will be able to

enjoy artists such as Catherine (5FM), The Pits,

PH FAT, Shadowclub and a range of others.

Don’t miss out, get tickets today! For more

information, simply visit this event on Facebook.

We’re super excited to share the running order

of the bands for Up the Creek 2013 with you.

This year’s line up will have you dancing in

your party shoes all weekend long!

In typical Up the Creek tradition we will be

running live music on 3 stages throughout the

weekend: The 4th Street Main Stage, the MK

river stage, and the late night Rolling Stone

stage. Also look out for the new addition down

at the river this year: the BOS acoustic river

stage will be keeping things flowing between

sets. Pull in on Thursday, 31st January for a

chilled out preview gig at the Rolling Stone SA

stage. You can choose the best spot for your

tent and kick-start the weekend’s carousing.

The place will be cooking by the time the rest

of your friends arrive. The bands and artists

performing to kickstart the weekend on Thurs-

day night are: Saintfearless, The Swingsetters,

ISO, Piet Botha, the Lizard Kings, Tombstone

Pete and Dave Ferguson.

Rolling Stone SA Magazine will be showcasing

up and coming bands on Friday afternoon. Be

sure to arrive early to catch performances by

Crimson House Blues, Ballistic Blues and Long

Time Citizen. Comedian Nik Rabinowitz will

take the stage at 18h00 to woo and welcome

all. Take a look at the event on FB for the full

line up and directions. See you there!

Yes, we are speaking about the music! This years Ramfest Cape Town is gearing up to prove exactly why they are regarded as a flagship South African rock music festival. With an array of international headliners, as well as the best that South Africa has on offer, be sure to get your tickets before it’s too late! The BOOM stage at Ramfest has been doing its bit to promote and grow the ‘up and coming’ artists in South Africa by confirming a line up of shining stars that is pretty much worth the ticket price alone! Be sure to keep updated on Ramfest’s Facebook page for details on performance times and breaking news.

With 2 solid years behind Niva, 2013 will be yet another year of stress, bands and shows with Niva planning the 3rd BIG DAY OUT, as well as the 3rd Niva Battle of the Bands.

The Niva Big Day Out has changed its recipe for this years event. It will no longer only be attracting rock fans, but instead a full spectrum of supporters due to the entertainment that we will have on offer. The event will be hosted at a upmarket venue in Somerset West, called Southey’s Vines. Niva plans to host some of the best unplugged artists at the main event, and then blow minds with quality rock n roll at the official after party. The after party will be hosted at The Nameless Pub in Somerset West shortly after the main event has ended. The BDO will also have children’s entertainment, a beer garden, picnic area, braai area and water slides. The cover charge will only be R40.00 and the event will run from 9am to 7pm, with the official after party running from 8pm to 2am. If you are interested in setting up a food or craft stall at this event, please contact Nic on nivamag@nivarecords.com.

Ross Learmonth (Prime Circle) appears on Newtown Knife Gang’s recent KFM listing called ‘Taste Goodbye’. The single took over a year to get play listed on KFM.

I've always dreamt of Performing at Madison Square Gardens and the opportunity to perform with Eric Clapton. Please show your support and help make this dream come true. The competition is Powered by Ernie Ball.

It takes just a few seconds to insert your name and email address. You can vote once a day!

To vote, visit: www.playcrossroads.com

The Aandklas Stellenbosch ‘Quiz Night’ is back in full swing for 2013! If you are a ‘thirsty Stellenbosch student’, I suggest heading off to Aandklas every Thursday at 9pm to stand a chance of winning some very quenching bar tabs! So grab some mates, grab a table, and turn your regular Thursday into an ‘Aandklas Quiz Night’ Thursday!

By Nic Owen

This musical masterpiece is not exclusively aimed at Afrikaans speaking

audiences. It is aimed at all lovers of music, stories, literature and Africa.

Luna Paige has been writing and composing music in English for the past 10 years. She decided the time is right to combine literature and music in Afrikaans and to offer music lovers with something new and fresh. She found her inspiration in Afrikaans novels and short stories as written by some of SA’s most acclaimed writers - thus Storielied was born. Luna recorded this unique production with her phenomenal 13 piece band as well as a contemporary dancer. It was recorded at the Durbanville Auditorium in June 2012. This concert and recording was a great personal achievement for Luna. Her fans were treated to a spectacular show as never seen before by Luna Paige. Director and actor Albert Maritz was involved behind the scenes. He directed the production and was actively involved in the editing of the DVD. As an addition to the actual concert, Luna visited some of the writers personally and interviewed them to find out where the inspiration for their novels or short stories came from. These honest conversations are presented as bonus material in the DVD. Niva Magazine sat down with the lovely Luna to talk to her about her music and ideas. Who is Luna Paige? Singer / Songwriter. Grew up in Melkbosstrand. Went to high school in Cape Town. Studied social work after school. Discovered my love for song writing and performing in my first year of university. Recorded my first album in 2003 and never looked back after that. Love trying out new restaurants, movies, books, coffee shops, spending time outdoors and I get my energy from my friends. What’s the story behind ‘Storielied’? Storielied is my first Afrikaans product. I have released 3 English albums since 2003. I decided to do something different with the Afrikaans album – and recorded and filmed a live concert we did in June 2012. The end product is a live DVD and CD which I am quite proud of. All the songs on Storielied are inspired by Afrikaans short stories and novels as written by some our country’s most renowned writers. I read a variety of stories and picked those that stirred my imagination or touched me deeply. I also included 2 songs I have recorded and written in the past but have never been released. Then I also wrote a song especially for my sponsor, ClemenGold – who made the recording of this album possible for me. It was probably the most challenging product I have worked on. This is your first Afrikaans album, why the move to Afrikaans? I am Afrikaans. It was probably inevitable. I was a bit wary of recording in Afrikaans because I struggle

with the lyrical content of most Afrikaans releases. And being a critical listener I wasn’t sure that I would myself be able to do something that would be able to rise above the sea of mediocre Afrikaans music out there. But when the “Storielied” idea found me – I felt confident that the literary foundation of the project will assist me in writing decent lyrics. And I really enjoyed the process. It became a bit of an obsession – reading, making notes, writing lyrics and putting music to it. Now that it’s finished – I’m ready to move on and do something else. What can people expect from your live DVD and CD? It is not mainstream commercial music. People can expect to listen to stories. I tell the audience about the story I read and then I sing them a song. Each story took place in a different milieu in a different era - so the songs needed to reflect that. So in a sense I do play with various genres. I refer quite often to the Bushman / Khoi history which makes for wonderful stories and sounds. There are songs with world music influences; there are poppy songs, ballads and songs with traditional folk flavours. The string arrangements are beautiful. I had amazing artists perform with me. It was a 13 piece band – with the likes of Adriaan Brand (Springbok Nude Girls), Kevin Gibson (drums), Schalk Joubert (bass), Ronan Skillen (percussion), Gerald Clark, Willem Moller and more! With guys like this it can only sound amazing, right? We read that you visited some of the writers personally and interviewed them to find out where the inspiration of their novels and short stories came from. How did you choose which writers you wanted to use? Elias P Nel was quite actively involved in the Storielied process. He attended many of the shows that I did and showed his support for the project in a wonderful way. It just felt natural to pick him as one of the writers I wanted to interview. The song “Korhaan man” (inspired by his short story ‘Korhaan en Muisvoël’) is also one of my favourite songs on the album. I decided to interview Margaret Bakkes because it was my performance at the tribute evening in 2011 that made me decide to develop the Storielied concept. More than that I found her an intelligent and inspiring woman. Her son and writer Johan Bakkes – is also known for his beautiful stories and journalism about his travels (especially in the desert). He supported Storielied and it felt natural to include him in the interview with his mother. The one story that really touched me was “Met ‘n diepeverlange”, which was written by Catherine Willemse –an ordinary woman who lived in a small community outside Stellenbosch. Her memoirs stirred my imagination and raised much curiosity about the

history of the town Raithby. Unfortunately Catherine died a couple of years ago. I did however manage to find her son, who is now a professor in Afrikaans at the University of Pretoria. He connected me with his uncle in Raithby. I had to go there, visit the old graveyard and talk to this man about Raithby in the 40’s and about his sister. We tend to forget the impact of slavery on our communities. I don’t feel that people will appreciate the song “Dagbreek toe!” without knowledge of Raithby – a community of freed slaves. Where can people find you online? www.lunapaige.com www.facebook.com/LunaPaige.SingerSongwriter https://twitter.com/lunapaige Where can we buy your music? I finally got a distribution deal. My music will however only be available in music and book stores in a couple of months’ time. The music will also be available on most online music stores. In the meantime I have approached some individuals and small businesses who act as Ambassadors. They sell my products from home or from their respective shops. I have Ambassador’s in Durbanville, Melkbosstrand, Stellenbosch, Nelspruit, Pretoria and Jeffreysbay. All these contacts are on my website (Music Shop – Ambassadors). Interested buyers can also contact me on my website for postal orders. The best is to subscribe to my newsletter for news updates (www.lunapaige.com) or to join my Facebook page for news. Can you tell us about your work as a social worker? I do not practice anymore. Unfortunately both careers require your everything. I was spreading myself quite thin when pursuing both careers. I am still very passionate about social work and the importance of this job in third world countries especially. I wish that more people would educate themselves about what social workers really do and mean to society. I also wish that government would seriously consider increasing the salaries of social workers. They are as (or even more) underpaid as teachers and nurses. Social workers just never strike –since it would be unethical for them to do so. One day off work could cost a child a life. We found the fact that you use the therapeutic use of music in group therapy to treat chemically dependents very interesting. Care to tell us a bit more about it? I did my thesis about this topic whilst completing my Masters Degree in Welfare Programme Management. Because music meant so much to me I was convinced that it could have therapeutic value. I visited many rehab centres and found that music was not really incorporated into group sessions.

At that stage only one rehab centre made use of music therapy techniques. The reason for this is because music therapy is a specialised field and one can only study this in Gauteng. One may also only call yourself a music therapist if you studied at these institutions. What I proposed in my thesis was that social group work is an ideal environment to use music therapy techniques – since both these forms of intervention have the same functions and goals in mind. I suggested how social workers can incorporate these techniques especially in group sessions with chemically dependents. I found that music is a non-threatening way of working with clients who show resistance against therapy and who have difficulty with dealing with their feelings. According to my thesis music can assist in the confrontation and control of emotions, it can create mood, it can trigger memory, it can create cohesion and a sense of belonging to a group of people and it can be used as a narrative to one’s history, one’s current situation and one’s future. Plans for 2013? I will be doing a lot of Storielied performances. I plan to do 2 national Storielied tours in 2013. Info about this will be posted on my website soon. Furthermore I will be touring with Gerald Clark in September – we will be jacking up our Blues and Country co-lab and bring the new and improved show to our fans across the country. I am also planning on taking my music to Holland this year. My small business Groovy Concerts will be hosting concerts for blues artists Matt Woosey (UK) and Jose Pardo (Argentinia, alongside the Big Blues fest). Groovy Concerts will also be teaming up with Dorpstreet Theatre with monthly songwriter sessions and an annual songwriter’s festival in Stellenbosch. More about Groovy Concerts will soon be posted on my website This musical masterpiece is not exclusively aimed at Afrikaans speaking audiences. It is aimed at all lovers of music, stories, literature and Africa. Although the lyrics are Afrikaans, the music speaks the universal language we all understand. She lets the feet “jiggle”, inspires one to burst into song, she brings her audience to tears, stirs curiosity about other cultures, she glides through history and inspires all to read in Afrikaans. To read more about Luna’s concept album – visit www.lunapaige.blogspot.com where she writes about the project and released the lyrics of the songs already written and composed. Niva Magazine has 3 album/DVD”s to give away this month! Check out www.facebook.com/nivamagazine

With the ‘world’ carrying a general stereotype that if a musician doesn't make something of himself in their 20’s, that it probably won’t end up happening. I started hanging out with Kevin a few months ago, and I must say that for a 50 year old muso, he is going about this harder than most young performers in the scene. This is a typical case of ‘I told you so”! Isn’t it? For most of us, yes! But not in Kevin’s world; he is one of the nicest, down to earth guys I have had the pleasure of meeting! I sat down with Kevin and asked him a few questions to get to know him better, and hopefully assist him on his new found musical journey. At what age did you get exposed to rock music, and more importantly, at what age did you first pick up a guitar? I was first exposed to rock music at the young age of 6. I waited another 17 years until I finally picked up my first guitar though… I am so glad I picked it up!! Is the ‘Kevin Bedford’ project the first time you have been considered as a live entertainer? Yes! Playing music has always been a hobby and passion of mine. This is however, the first time that I have taken my music to the ears of complete strangers. You live in Somerset West, have a full time job, a lovely wife, and 2 gorgeous daughters, but yet you have still started to make a name for yourself in the local scene for delivering outstanding performances of well know cover songs at some established pubs, restaurants and wine farms in the Boland area. I want to ask you where your motivation comes from to keep up with a demanding family life, as well as dedicate a good number of hours each week to your passion of rock n roll. People have always told me to take my music further, but I never listened and instead kept it to myself as my deepest passion. I finally started listening to these people who told me to chase down my dreams, regardless of my age, and I suppose chancing my dream down with my family supporting me every step of the way, is my biggest motivation. Are your friends and family supportive? Are you the resident muso at family get-togethers, or is their other musical talent in the Bedford genes?

My friends and family support me more than I could ever imagine. The crowds of people who have attended my gigs to date, ROCK!! I cannot thank everyone enough for the continued support. Other musical talent in the Bedford Genes; My mother plays the piano, and 2 of my nephews are talented musician, both in a band. You seem to have a massive arsenal of material to keep your fans entertained – What is your all-time favourite song to perform in front of an audience? Why? I have a few songs that people often request and enjoy most, but if I had to pick one, I would say ‘Father and Son’ by Cat Stevens. It is also one of my old time favourites. Will your current and future fans be hearing some original material? Or are your goals set to be a great solo cover muso? I would like to attempt, at some stage, to do my own material. But on the other hand, I have found the people like to hear songs they already know- ‘Good old classics’ I have heard your name a few times over the past few months, and want to know what you have planned for 2013 and where you will performing in the next couple of months. I Plan to get a couple more regular gigs, and to spend more time learning new material. I am currently performing at De Kelder restaurant every Sunday, from 12-3, with occasional gigs at Eikendal wine farm in Stellenbosch on Friday evenings. A few words of encouragement to younger muso’s coming up through the scene? If you have the talent, get out and use it and do what you are passionate about!! Believe in yourself- I never did, and now I regret that I never fulfilled my dreams and used my talent as I should have. But… they say it’s never too late, right! :) So there you have it! Proof that a combination of inspiration, passion and positive thinking can make you achieve exactly what you have set out to do! Join Kevin at De Kelder in Somerset West every Sunday from 12pm to 3pm. Also keep an eye out for Kevin at The BIG DAY OUT at Southey’s Vines on 2 March. By Nic Owen

Pic by Adriaan Louw

Jean is a machine!! I had the privilege of watching him from back stage at Rock the River and I realized that the rumours were true; he is extremely technical and one of the fastest drum-mers around. He plays with extreme precision, and pretty much becomes the heart of all the songs.

Jaco needs no introduction as he has been at the forefront of drumming in SA for just over a decade. Even with a busy gig and tour schedule, Jaco is able to keep his style fresh, and continue to keep punk alive.

Only 2 years separated this legendary drummer between 16 Stitch and Newtown Knife Gang. The inclusion of Spencer EFC Martin into the line up of NKG seemed to allow Nick to just let loose, and create something totally new and fresh. He smashes his drums and cymbals, and is proba-bly the most solid, powerful and technical drum-mer in South Africa at the moment! Nick Argyros also co-produced NKG’s debut album from his studio in JHB. Well earned spot at #1!

In this months ‘Get To Know’ I have decided to bring you some facts and info about a band that has proved to quality, grade A snatch! My relationship with The Mysticcs started way back in April 2011 when I hosted the Niva King of the Stage competition, and guess who won—The Mysticcs! At this stage of their “Mysticcs Invasion’ they had a weird set-up; 2 guitars, vocals, a drummer… but no bass. This baffled me as I watched the band set up at the competition. I had a perception in mind that they might hand over a very amateur set. BOY OH BOY, was I mistaken! Frontman Ebi Johnstone shredded his Fender guitar in front of a packed up Purple Turtle, and pretty much stole the competition from any competitors, and pretty much won it for his band too. The Mysticcs joined Niva for approximately a year, and went on to appreciate a heavy gigging schedule. This did wonders for the band, as they were finally participating on some very hot line up’s in Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Somerset West . The change over to Niva wasn’t the only thing that had changed though; the 2nd guitarist was booted, and into the ring stepped Mo Jones. Mo was pretty shy on the bass in the beginning, but a few months later he was rocking out to the point that he would be hitting his bass or running around like a chicken missing its head on stage. Ebi, Mo and Dean were finally the perfect mix! The Mysticcs played at Niva’s 1st B-day with The Plastics and very soon after, Ebi was called up by The Plastics to join their band for a couple of shows as a replacement guitarist. Now, for a muso who is pretty much new on the scene, this sort of offer speaks more than a thousand words! Edi’s control over his guitar is intensely awesome, as you never know what to expect! Niva introduced The Mysticcs to playing larger shows and festivals in 2011, and I am very glad to see the band doing so well at the moment. The band has undergone another line up change since this years Rock the River, this is the addition of a very talented Rob Hambrock on the bass guitar. Do yourself a favour and catch The Mysticcs at one of their upcoming shows, they will show you how they simply take the blues to another level entirely! Nic Owen

Vibrations Radio set to bring Africa the vibe African music history is rich and diverse, with many singular branches that include Maskanda, Kwaito, kwela, Mbalax as well as jazz, soul, hip hop, R&B, pop and world music. It seems almost natural to assume that there would be a channel exclusively dedicated to its promotion, but up until now these genres have received very little airtime on the internet, leaving a sizeable gap in the market. Cue: Vibrations Radio. Recently conceptualised and made in Africa, Vibrations Radio is the brainchild of Mohamed Fall (Brother Mo), who took it upon himself to create an online radio station to promote uniquely African music. As the owner and producer of Vibrations Recording Studio, Mo is uniquely qualified to head up this project, with over two decades' worth of experience in developing and promoting African artists. He also serves as board member on Cape Mic, Airco and the Western Cape Musician Association, which allows him to keep abreast of both local and international industry trends and developments. The idea to create an online radio station to exclusively promote African music was first put forward early 2012 and Brother Mo decided to use his sizeable influence to provide the platform on which to do so. The station went live in September 2012. Listeners can now enjoy six DJ’s presenting 6 fresh shows, 24 hours a day, every day. Here's to celebrating our African heritage and making our singular music accessible to audiences around the globe.

Vibrations Radio is giving away 10 CD gift-packs during December and January 2013. All you have to do is like our page on Facebook.It’s that simple!

Website: vibrationsradio.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/VibrationsRadio Twitter: twitter.com/Vibrationsradio

Jeandre Swannepoel saved the day at Rock the

River SA by jumping at the opportunity to be the

master of ceremonies. Not only did this awesome

dude do a great job, but his band, De Wallen turned

more than just a few heads on the metal stage.

Rock on!