Rock the Bay.

Hello dear bloggettes!

Tess here.

On Saturday I went to a music festival called Rock the Bay, held at the infamous Espy in St Kilda. 

Hooolllllllyyyyyyyy Shite. It was incredible. Australian bands, playing to packed local crowd infused with a glowing sunset - it was a dream come true. The crowd really was fantastic, co-operative, friendly. I think it was because everybody was truly there for the music - unlike bigger festivals where whichever one you attend labels you as 'indie' or 'metal' or 'australian flag toting bogan'. 

It was so much fun covering this event. I hope you like!

Don't forget that tomorrow is SLAM day so get out there and see some LIVE MUSIC!

Peace.

PR NEOPHYTE

Last year, I (Kirstie) spent six months working with a team to do the PR for Moral Fairground's annual Fair@Sqaure festival in Melbourne. Without any previous PR experience, I had to learn the ins and outs as I went along and realised that working in PR wasn't as glamorous as I imagined it to be - it involves a lot of hard work behind the scenes, thousands of emails (I once sent 600 emails in one day!!!!!!), persistence, and the ability to take constant rejection. This being said, it was totally rewarding (watch the highlights of Fair@Square 2011 below!!!) and I thought I would share what I've learnt with others who are aspiring to work in PR, looking for PR internships etc..

So here are 3 tips:

1. Do your research


Know your target audience and how to reach your audience using appropriate media whether it's print, radio, social media, etc. Build a database of media contacts relevant to your industry and ensure that you keep it up to date. 

When writing a press release, make sure that your message is clear and relevant to the media. You need to come up with an angle as journalists wants a story not an advert or sales pitch.


2. Pay attention to detail


Make sure that all the information on your website, social media and press releases are correct. Sending out mass press releases can be very time consuming but you must be meticulous because it's so easy to make mistakes (and I've made plenty!). Ensure that the names in each email is correct and that you're sending the right press releases and photographs to the right people.


3. Follow up 

Following up with phone calls is important when trying to get media coverage as you want to ensure that journalists have received and read your press release. However learn to take no for an answer, if you're still pushy after they've kindly rejected, you may burn a few bridges - you want to build a professional relationship with journalists so that you can work with them again in the future.

That's enough of me pretending to know what I'm talking about.. watch Fair@Square 2011 highlights here!

Delicious Op Shop Finds

I (Tess) spend way too much money at op shops (thrift stores for our American counterparts).

Here are some of my favourite pieces from my latest haul. 

Silk Kimono Style Jacket. I paid $3. What up.

Tan Leather Ankle Boots, brand new. $17

Black fringed jumper. $6

Ahhh! Cream mod style coat. $15.

Dear Tess

Hi everyone.

- Kirstie, Chiara and Julia


Tessa's note: This is why I have amazing friends. I wanted to wait to publish this with the post on my 21st birthday, but... the world needs to see this! You guys are the best friends I could have ever hoped for xx

Tess Goes to the Theatre - Round 1

So yesterday marked the beginning of a birthday gift that will just keep giving. Yep, from my darling Marty, for my 21^st, I received a 12 month subscription to Melbourne Theatre Company. Words don’t do justice to explain just how damn excited I was when the tickets arrived in the mail. Although the 50 missed calls on Marty’s phone might. Not a stalker. I was just trying to say thank you.

We were off to see Ray Lawler’s Australian classic Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Now I must admit that until I read MTC’s program for 2012 I hadn’t heard of this play, but I once I did, it popped up here there and everywhere. The Lawler Studio in the new MTC building,(of course) was named after this incredible playwright and his name was thrown around heaps in a documentary about the Australian accent (my life is awesome, right?).  It was the play that put Australian theatre on the map, the first play in which we were unashamedly Australian, the first play that really put to use all of our unique jargon and culture. It is also a play about traditions and expectations, so I felt it a fitting beginning to my new tradition – a play a month, which will all, hopefully, live up to my expectations.

 What you can expect dear reader, is for me to continue looking like a dick.

We headed into the Playhouse foyer, where its lush, red carpet and golden bannisters never cease to make me feel like I’m some place I shouldn’t be. That feeling continued as we descended into a sea of white hair and walking sticks. “I’m getting arthritis just being in this room”, quipped my dear theatre partner Marty. That kids, is the quote of the night. Which you can expect each time I write about the theatre. YAY a common thread through each of my pieces that will hopefully have you guys clambouring back for more!

 You may have noticed my skin looks divine. Truth be told, I ‘shopped the hell out of myself because in the original I looked like I was upon death’s door. Well at least I fit in with the rest of the MTC audience…

I don’t want to write an entire review, as the play was three hours long (two intervals, strange) and had so many talking points that I’d put you all to sleep. But what really struck me were two things; the performances and the nostalgic Australiana.

Olive, played by Alison Whyte was an absolute stand out. Her emotional range was incredible and she played a character that was incredible nuanced, a woman whose both expectations and reality begin to crumble around her. She was an absolute joy to watch. Robyn Nevin plays Olive’s mother, Emma, a cynical, pragmatic old woman who often made the most sense out of the entire cast of characters. She was so wonderful because I think the entire audience found something to relate to in her. The audience was never quite sure what to think and that complexity (as well as her comedic timing) set the bar for the rest of the cast.

Up until this play was written in 1955, Australian vernacular was always passed over for Queen’s English and this is what made Seventeenth Doll so groundbreaking. The cast’s accents were right on cue- a faultless Australian drawl, although I found their emphasis (whether intentional or not) on certain Australian words, like “chockers”, “bloody” and “fair dinkum” perhaps a little condescending.

Another small criticism is that we never really find out the character’s intentions and motivations. We understand that the lifestyle they lead is important to them, that it shapes their decisions, but we never really see why it is so very important, and at the play’s climax, I was left feeling a little confused with some misplaced pathos.

Still, an absolute stand out production, and I left the theatre in high spirits, hungering after the next nine plays to come! 

*** 1/2 

Trying to be artistic...

I mean, it's no Eiffel Tower

Crazy ass Japanese band that we saw after show that had the entire audience shouting, 'SAKE! SAKE!"

Did  I mention they were playing in front of a tram that had been converted in a bar. Cue, "SAAAHH Melbourne"

Wank.

More wank.

Marty's face after I asked him to take a photo with the tickets. "You are such a dag".

Tattoos - What do they mean?

I am by far, the most tattooed girl out of the lot. Julia and Kirstie remain virgins of the ink and whilst Chiara has dabbled slightly in the art, she remains worlds behind me (don’t yah hun ;-))

It often surprises people when they find out about how many tattoos I really have. I mean, I’m basically the antithesis to anything stereotypically related to tattooing – I work in an office, I’m pretty freaking squeamish and well I don’t get around with my kit off like those fantasy inducing Suicide Girls.

  OMG I have tattoos! I’m so kitsch and quirky. Oh. You still don’t love me. How about if I take off my clothes? Disclaimer: that tattoo is pretty rad.

Okay I swore this wasn't going to turn into a feminist rant. So I digress.

Yes, we know that tattoos are becoming much more mainstream and acceptable in places like offices, churches, summer music festivals (where its basically mandatory to show your ink along with your ID) and your grandparents house. And I’m grateful and happy about that. But along with this new confidence in people with tattoos, comes more confidence in people without them to question our artwork.

Yeah, I control all of your media, finances and property. Blow me.

Above is my latest tattoo. Now if you were to prescribe to the notion that  a tattoo should “mean something” you would now believe that I am a member of the Illuminati and would send out fire and pitchforks to come and raze my home and all of my belongings whilst flaying me and throwing me into the depths of whatever hell you believe in, so that you might reclaim the world from my cold, dead hands. No. I simply liked the design. I think old school tattoos look amazing and I love the way that they have progressed aesthetically through the years.  And yet, when I got home from the session (done by the awesome Andy at Sin City Tattoos, cheers mate!) I found myself immediately looking to assign meaning to something that essentially, to me, didn’t have one. “The pen is mightier than the sword” I declared. “The universe sees all”, I proclaimed. For goodness sake, I could have said that my tattoo represented the  post modern existential failings we all have once we consume either literature or violence and people would have nodded their heads vigorously, satisfied that my tattoo was in fact, legitimate to them.

And it was this thought that got me pondering.  It is mostly people that don’t have tattoos that question the so called meaning behind them.  “well if you’re going to ruin your skin IT BETTER BE FOR A GOOD REASON!’. Is beauty and art simply not enough? Why do I have to justify what I do to my body to in order to appease you?  I don’t go up to people in the street and ask, “Why are you wearing that mini skirt? Is it because it represents your loose and free sexuality?” (again, there’s nothing wrong with having a loose and free sexuality, but like tattoos, I doubt it’s something you’re going to want to talk about with a complete stranger).  And that’s just the thing, even if a tattoo does have meaning, who says I want to discuss it with you?

Which is the myth that shows like Miami, LA and London (ad infinitum) Ink propagate. We are treated to episode after episode of sobbing inkees telling us how their best friends sister's uncle's brother's aunty's cat died and so they need this symbol of their star sign to ensure they never forget. 

Tattoo Artists: NOT registered psychologists

 I’m all for educating about tattoos and challenging the myth that tattooed people can’t do as good a job as non-tattooed people. I don’t particularly care if you have tattoos or not and I think that’s what my point boils down to. Individualism. If you want to have blue hair, do it, if you want to wear crazy ass raver pants to dinner, do it, if you want to wear giant fucking spikes as a necklace, please, be my guest.  And yes, all of those things, including tattoos send a message, but this is inherently different from meaning. 

But maybe we can't blame each other. There's a uniquely human phenomenon called Pareidolia. It's a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus(often an image or sound) being perceived as significant (THANKS WIKI!). So basically, it's like when we look at clouds and find shapes in them. Our brain wants to find meaning and pattern - it helped us to discern danger and opportunity back in the cavemen days.

For a guy without a body, he's pretty cute.

So, if you do get a tattoo, get it for your sake. Feel proud in the fact that you have chosen something beautiful to you, whether it means something or not. And hey, if someone does ask, it's a great opportunity to practise your creative skills. Tell 'em it commemorates the time your grandfather was eaten by a bear. 

Peace.

WELCOME TO THE 'BOURNE BOOK!

We trust that your day is going well!

We are four girls (l-r: Tessa, Julia, Chiara and Kirstie) from the north western suburbs of Melbourne. We are starting this (Mel)'bourne Book as a way of sharing our experiences with the wider community. You can expect posts about tea (LOTS of posts about tea), op shopping, gigs and shows, pop culture, recipes and anything else that pops into our strange little minds.

We all attended high school together, but since graduating in 2008, our friendships have flourished and grown. Each of us has different interests and aspirations, but these differences serve only to bring us closer. Learning from each other, we are able to achieve a more holistic view of ourselves and the world. And yes, we realize that sounds incredible corny, but we can't help what's true!

Below, you'll find what to expect on this blog from each of us...

TESSA

Hey guys! What's up? From me, you'll find obscure snippets of pop culture, me flogging my latest photoshoot, and essays on anything from tattoos to biology. And tea.

 KIRSTIE

 

Greetings! I'll be posting a random assortment of things that interests me, inspires me or makes me giggle. Expect 'dear diary' entries, bizarre news topics, cool adverts and more! And tea.

JULIA

Hello sunshine! My contribution will be based around fitness, healthy eating, car troubles and 'cultural' food mixed with a healthy dose of wonderlust and excitement. And tea.

CHIARA

Just quietly guys, my posts are going to be about food, baking (both the sun and oven type), my Suzuki Swift and anything drama related. And tea.