Life Update: A bit of an unlucky start, holidays, musical adventures & getting older…

Oh it’s that time again!! Time for another Life Update blog!! This is probably the most mature I have ever felt writing one of these, but my life is also not at it’s maturest state. Weird huh? It is probably very different from my previous life update, but that’s what these are for. To see what progress is happening, what changes I’m going through… and to keep someone out there entertained.

An Unlucky Start
2023 is really throwing me some curve balls. Perhaps I need them? Perhaps they are tests? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m beginning to grow tired of not being able to cut a break. They say things come in three’s though, so maybe my unlucky streak is ending soon with any luck. This isn’t a “woe is me” moment either, as I’m literally passed the point of caring. So much has already happened this year, that my reaction to bad news now is just “cool”. So I’m alright, just having many obstacles thrown my way down every avenue of my life. To mention it, I’ve actually been really unwell this year too, which is not like me at all. I’ve always had a pretty good immune system and not really got sick very often… this year, I feel like I’ve had something wrong with me each month! Perhaps it’s an age thing. I even almost had my Motley Crue experience taken away from me, and I am still actually deeply hurt by that, there’s a lot of anger there, but luckily I am still able to go, and I cannot wait for that! But everything has just gone wrong this year so far, there hasn’t been a month of just nothing bad happening yet.
Apparently the number 23 is associated with change, progress and innovation… so I guess things are ‘happening for a reason’, but they are really tough. It could’ve been a little bit more spread out.

27th Birthday
I promised myself some time ago, that on my 27th Birthday I would visit the grave of Brian Jones in Cheltenham, the age Brian will be forever. It was an incredibly spiritual experience, and I am so glad I got to go. I laid a beautiful bunch of yellow flowers for him, and talked for a while, sat on his bench and wrote in the diary and left him a message too. I don’t want to talk too much about it personally because it is a very private subject to me, but it was a wonderful experience. I am actually going to be writing a blog talking about Brian’s death as it has always interested me, and it might interest some of you too.
Of course I did do a little more in Cheltenham that just visit a cemetery. I went to an escape room and tried to escape a Dalek but was unsuccessful, went bowling, had cocktails at The Alchemist, dinner at The Botanist, a few pints at Brewdog. It was lovely to be away from home in all honesty, breathe a different kind of air, see different people in different streets, different roads, take different transport and not really be so contactable. Cheltenham is actually a really lovely place, and it did in fact make me miss the neck of the woods I was born in, being a girl originally from Oxfordshire.
Shame I have been very unwell since my birthday though… damn those people who don’t wash their hands! Sanitise people! Lurgies are dangerous!
Should also probably mention that I did also get to see the legendary Suede for my birthday as well, and they were on FIRE! And I went for a few quiet drinks at a pub and Costa with my lovely friends Holly, Danielle and Sophie. It was a lovely birthday.

Booking Agency & Manager Work
So, by now you will have seen I did indeed have a booking agency roster, which I’ve added to my website so you can check out www.nozfest.org/booking-agency to have a look! I’m finding it difficult to get replies to emails, so if anyone out there reading this is interested in booking any of the bands on my roster, please do give me a shout. They are all such fantastic bands, and they’d be great on any bill and very professional. You’d be missing out by not checking some of them out.
Being a manager seems to be working a little bit more; so far I’ve been able to book in photo-shoots, discussions about possible endorsements and look into commission work also. Didn’t think I’d be doing any of that, but it seems I’m a bit of a dab hand at emails. It is something I want to concentrate harder on, so don’t lose faith in me, but like I said, I’ve had a heck of a lot of curve-balls thrown my way which have unfortunately held me back on achieving my full potential.

Feelings At The Moment
I feel like I just want to be free for a while. Free to have my own thoughts, spend time by myself, do things that I want to do. This year so far has brought a lot of obstacles and changes to my life, and I’m just at a point where I’d like to breathe for a bit and do things for myself. I basically need time to empty my brain and think clearly. I want to see people I haven’t seen for a long time, I want to go on adventures to towns I love, enjoy exploring, I wanna bake things, cook things, try and get back into blogging properly, making videos too, I want to clean and decorate, go for walks, go out for a drink and see some live music on a smaller scale again. I want to enjoy the season, I want to just find my feet again, you know. I don’t feel utterly lost… but I feel whatever used to make me really happy, just doesn’t have the same affect anymore, and I want to figure out why and also find out what does make me happy now. 27 year is a weird age you know!

Nozfest
I’ve started emailing and asking about 2024, which is a great start. 2024 would be Nozfest’s 5th year anniversary, so I really want to make it a special one.
I’m actually quite touchy about Nozfest this time round, it’s just something I don’t particularly share or speak about with people anymore, I used to love talking about it, and now I just want all my cards very close to my chest. I’m not trying to be rude or off, it’s just a subject that’s not something I want to share with people this year, even though I am running it… if that makes sense. Saying all that, ticket sales are doing very well, so if you haven’t got yours yet then don’t hang about for too long as we are almost down to our last 100 tickets!!
Admittedly, I do feel as if I have lost my confidence when it comes to gigs a little bit – I do totally know what I’m doing, but after things that have panned out since January I have had my confidence knocked. I know Nozzers are very loyal, and I am positive in the fact that I do have a really good festival, because it is on the smaller side it is like a family get together and that’s the vibe I want! I’m very proud I’ve been able to achieve that and so many people love it. I’ll always be proud of how far I’ve come, I’m 27 years old and I’ve been running this festival since I was 22. Feel like a very proud parent!
So YES, please do get those tickets if you’re thinking of coming because it’s really important to buy in advance… and we’re down to the last 100!!

Rats
My gosh, my love for those girls have quadrupled!! I had very severe tonsillitis for around 2 weeks immediately after my birthday, and I was as sick as a dog. It took me a long time to recover and when I say it was bad, I’m not exaggerating or being a baby about it… it was BAD. I wasn’t able to be a good Rat Mum as I was too unwell to get them out, play with them, even change their litter and hammock. I felt so bad, and I hated not being able to be the usual Mum I am for them. I could see in their little faces too that they knew something wasn’t right; luckily they haven’t punished me, they have just given me even more love. They must’ve known I was very poorly.
The day I finally felt strong enough to let them have some proper free roam, I opened their cage door and let them do as they wish for as long as they liked, and we just watched Bake Off whilst they got up to their old tricks… using me as a jumping post, showing off their flexibility trying to drink my tea, playing in my bed, exploring my room, sharing my sandwich. Honestly, I had SO much fun with them that night that it warmed my heart to a whole new level. I get told daily that my rats are gross, they’re not cute, any insult you can think of, I’ve been told it… so it’s nothing new when I hear people being rude about my girls; but, to have that time with them… I am the luckiest girl in the world to have their love. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

Life Changes
With all the health stuff that has also been going on in my life this year, and my weight gain… I’ve decided to make some life changes.
Of course losing weight is massively on the cards, I mean I didn’t expect to lose a stone in 2 weeks because of tonsillitis, and that really sucked, but at least it kicked started some weight loss.
Again, having tonsillitis as bad as I had it, it’s made me also want to avoid certain things and try some alternatives. When I say it was bad, I mean I had it for a month. There were points where I couldn’t breathe or swallow, I tried calling for help from doctors and got refused antibiotics and told to have an ice lolly instead. Some days I was in so much pain I was distressed, could barely walk or stand up, didn’t have much concept of what was going on around me and could barely sleep. It was tough! With that in mind it has made me pretty frightened to adventure out and about much, I am carrying sanitiser with me everywhere, will probably wear a mask if I venture very far away, I’m avoiding fizzy drinks, alcohol and chocolate. So, I have found CBD drinks. I’ve only tried Simplee and TRIP so far, but actually they are not so bad. They are very fresh drinks, it’s sparkling water so it is fizzy but the CBD is pretty good for tackling any inflammation, so therefore shouldn’t irritate my throat. Obviously it’s not a sugary fizzy so you’re not getting the same hit you get from a nice cold glass of cola, but it scratches an itch, and there’s very few calories which is a bonus. It’s supposed to be an alcohol alternative, but it’s more of a relaxant than anything so it’s great before bed time.

Coronation
I’m going to talk about this briefly, because I know what a touchy subject the Royal family is. Some people love them, some hate them.
I’m mentioning it because I’ve decided to do a small family get together for it, purely because I’m really getting into baking at the moment, it’s been a massive help whilst I’ve been unwell, and I’m eager to make some good homemade bakes and actually the coronation is a great excuse because not only is it a bank holiday so it gives me time, but also even if you’re not that fussed on watching it etc, I’ll have made some yummy food!
Despite anyone’s opinions, there should be a lot of fun things going on in people’s towns, so I don’t think people should stay at home being sour or boil over with opinions… just go and have a look around to see what your town is doing, have some fun, see friends or family, eat all the food, and enjoy all the music. Doesn’t mean you support the monarchy, at the end of the day, it’s still a bank holiday and we’re British… we love a bank holiday! So might as well enjoy it.
And that’s exactly what I’m going to do, I’m going to put on a spread of close friends and family, make some alcoholic cocktails, show off my choux pastry skills, maybe put on some music; that’s all I want to do, bake and be with my loved ones.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this Life Update, I feel like I’m getting more and more honest with everything this year! This is definitely an honest blog. Maybe as I’m getting old my perception is more realistic. Who knows!! But I hope you have enjoyed reading this, and I hope my nest life update I get to tell you about things I have done, rather than what I want to do 😉

Don’t forget to follow me on social media to keep really up to date:
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WEBSITE: www.nozfest.org
YOUTUBE: JodieBowie

See you soon

Jodie x ❤ x

JodieBowie: How I Got Into Being A Promoter (My Journey) – Part 1

I may have break this up into different blogs otherwise people will be reading it FOREVER!! Believe it or not, my journey to where I am now in my music career wasn’t a straight line at all… to be honest, this wasn’t even the route I was planning on going down.

All The Best Decisions Happen By Accident

JodieBowie circa 2015

I think this is a good place to start.
It got to that time in school when you’ve either almost completed Sixth Form or College and you have to start considering what your next step is… further education, like University, perhaps an Apprenticeship, or are you going to find a job?

Well, I already did an extra year of Sixth Form because they just couldn’t get me to leave! So I stayed until Year 13, I think I was 19. I took Photography, Media and English Language as my A Levels.

Music was always something that fired up my soul more than anything else. It was all I thought about, all I was interested in and all I could really write about! For my last Photography Coursework my work was based purely on how to photograph bands. My media exam piece was based on The Rolling Stones. If I could include bands and music in my education… then I would!
My Tutor Mr. Mabert would actually set me extra work to do outside of school; he knew how passionate I was about rock music. I can remember walking down the corridor one morning wearing a retro crop top, paisley flares, red lipstick and Doc Martens and Mr. Mabert said “Jodie, what year is this?” and I said “1975 sir“. He knew I was good at writing, and he would encourage me to write about my favourite musicians etc and would read and give feedback on what I had written.

My winning billboard – 2014

To be fair, at this point I should probably add that I was doing pretty good at photography and actually won a world wide competition judged by renowned photographer Rankin, with a reconstructive photograph of myself as Mick Jagger from a photo that David Bailey took back in the 60’s.
I was also pretty well known on the Tribute Band scene because I absolutely loved David Bowie & The Rolling Stones so would be out regularly watching tributes to those artists and meeting people through those sort of avenues. I mean I had bright purple hair and wore a feather boa… I wasn’t exactly hard to miss.

This can probably lead on to how I got my name actually – JodieBowie.
At the age of 15 I discovered a man named David Bowie; and I thought he was Gods gift on earth! There was a boy in my year… I can’t remember his name, but I think it was Jacob? and for some reason I thought he looked exactly like David Bowie from Labyrinth (even though he had short black hair! But they did have the same teeth to be fair). Me and my friends would use the code name “Bowie” to talk about him. Of course this ‘Bowie’ never looked at me twice, let alone knew my name! I was a flat chested, goofy, boyish, awkward girl with a hair cut like Brett Anderson from Suede – not exactly what boys of 15 find ‘attractive’ aha. ANYWAY, because of my Bowie obsession a lot of my teachers started calling me JodieBowie and this followed me into Sixth Form.
Mr. Mabert, Mr. Presnell and Ms. Green were all teachers who’d call me Miss. Bowie.
So when it came to starting up my blog, I decided to go with “JodieBowie” and from then on it’s kind of stuck. I decided to use it also as my promoter name because so many people knew me as that. I’m sure I’ll get sued one day for copyright!

Me with Bobby T of TooRex at my first ‘job’ at the Memorial Centre

SO, I’m at Sixth Form at that annoying cross roads in life where you have to decide which way you’re going to do. At this point they’d already done me a favour letting me stay an extra year, so by this time they were desperate for me to spread my wings. I decided to just go along with what everyone else wanted me to do and what everyone else was doing. I’ll apply for University.
I thought seeing as I love music and writing… the obvious course to follow would be Music Journalism.

In order to get some practice within the industry I needed to actually try doing some journalistic things.
I saw my local centre – New Milton Memorial Centre – was doing a lot of Tribute Nights, so I popped in one afternoon and asked if they’d like someone to write press releases for the local paper to help promote the shows.
This decision literally changed my life.

They said YES, and the next thing I knew I was working with bands, learning about what actually goes on behind the scenes and doing all the writing I was supposed to be doing. A few months later, one afternoon they called me in for a meeting because they wondered if I had any ideas on how to get younger people in; and that’s when I thought “what about local band nights?“. I saw that Mr. Kyps in Bournemouth (at the time) had a few band nights which featured all the best of Bournemouth’s local music scene, so I thought why not just bring that line-up down my way and maybe add some other bands that I knew personally from other areas like Southampton.
I was basically just left to make this idea a reality, and I DID.

My first ever line-up!

This was when “ROCK NIGHTS” were born. They were originally called ‘Heavy Rock Nights’ but we decided to rebrand just in case the ‘heavy’ put people off.
My very first line up took place Friday 13th February 2015. At this point in time I knew of Western Sand as Tyler Hains and Jimmy Bradshaw were actually my guitar tutors from when I was about 14 years old, so I knew they’d make an excellent headline band. I was familiar with The Smokin’ Prophets from their Hollywood Trash days where I saw them support Alan Merrill at the old Talking Heads in Southampton, and they were up for jumping on my show. I heard that Saints of Sin were pretty big around Bournemouth at the time as well and had seen them on many line-ups with both bands, so I got in touch with those guys and that was it… that was my first line-up!

Honestly, compared to what I do now, I had no idea what I was doing. I somehow winged it, into getting the bands involved and probably got lucky through them just knowing me anyway, then it was the case of actually making sure people knew about it! I was still at Sixth Form at this time, so I would go out every Friday during my break and lunch and hand out flyers around my town, stick them everywhere I can. I’d spam all the Facebay groups in my area too in the hope someone would see it and share it. I learnt how to use the ticketing service EventBrite and that made life a whole lot easier.

I can’t remember if the night was particularly financially successful (at this point, I didn’t do any of the ‘money’ part of bookings, nor did I make anything from it), but there was people there and everyone was having a fantastic show and loved all the bands! So with that being said, it was time for round 2!
Originally I kept the same line-up, but Western Sand couldn’t make the second show which meant I had to do some researching a find another band!
This is when I came across a band called ‘Pirates of Panama’ who seemed to be doing not too badly in Bournemouth and when I listened to their music, I liked it. This was another unforeseen moment that would change my life again.

My second line-up consisted of headliners Saints of Sin (and these were the first of many many shows together) and support acts Pirates of Panama and The Smokin’ Prophets. The show took place on Friday 31st July and needed some proper pushing, and the show almost got pulled! But somehow we made it work within the space of 3 days with some proper hard work and it went down an actual storm. The connection I had formed with the bands were unbreakable, people were beginning to recognise me a little bit, I was getting spoken to differently, I was behaving differently, my music taste had changed, I wasn’t listening to 70’s bands, it was all about the 80’s. I was having the time of my life, 19 years old and living the life you dream of when you’re watching Rock of Ages on TV.
This was the moment that I realised I wanted to be doing this forever.

Going to University to study journalism seemed like a lifetime ago, and was no longer an ambition of mine. I wanted to give my entire life, and my whole self to bands and doing and being what they needed me to be and do.
That hasn’t changed since that day.
I began really looking into bands in the area, adding members of bands on Facebook and making that contact. It didn’t take long before I was getting invited to gigs, being put on guestlists (which I still don’t like – I will always pay for a ticket, sometimes even to my own shows!), and bands were introducing themselves to me. I was having a great time going to gigs, mainly Saints of Sin gigs, meeting fans, living my life, discovering new music, figuring out how the industry works and just getting a taste for how many bands are actually out there!

I did a further 2 Rock Nights in 2016 which included 4 bands on the line-up. I worked with Saints of Sin, The Brash Bullets, Lip Service, Pirates of Panama, Daisy Chains, The Smokin’ Prophets, Our Propaganda and Freeway Mad.
Some members of said bands are now members of South of Salem, Crooked Shapes and The Treatment. Both gigs were fantastic line-ups and did fairly well to be honest, especially for the size of the venue I was working with, but the people who ran the Centre weren’t really up for following my dreams of bringing rock ‘n’ roll to a sleepy town of pensioners…

A little glimpse of what is coming in PART 2!

So, that’s where the rock ‘n’ roll dream took a break for a while. I grew tired of not being heard or encouraged and decided that it was better to be at gigs than it was to put on gigs. Everyone around me was convinced that music just wasn’t a ‘thing’ anymore, and no matter how hard I tried to prove them wrong, they just weren’t interested in helping me get to the next level, so I guess I got tired of my flame being blown out and took a step back.

BUT… that would soon change!
And you will hear about what happened next in PART 2!! ❤

I hope this wasn’t too long winded, but there’s so much life to pack into something like a blog! I might as well write a book or a movie haha.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed! Feel free to ask questions… do you thang! 😀

Feel free to follow me on social media:
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Seeya soon!

Jodie x ❤ x

I’m Glad I’m Not Her

I’m not a poet by any means, but this is just something that popped into my head whilst I was at work and something that has been playing on my mind for many months, and has been one of the reasons why my mental health hasn’t particularly been on top form recently. I thought I’d share it with you guys, just to share something that is a little different to my usual blogs. Hope you all enjoy ❤ 

Please also don’t take any of this out of context – it was literally an idea that popped into my head, and some things have just been added in for effect if that makes sense. In essence it’s basically me saying that I am proud of who I am, and what I am and that I am so glad I am me because I’d never ever want to be someone else. 

I’m glad I’m not her
I’ve never wanted to be her
I will never want to be her
I’m glad that I am me

I’m proud of who I am
I’m proud of who I’ve grown up to be
I’m proud of how I’ve changed
I’m proud I’m nothing like her

I guess she used to be a catch
I guess you used to get along
I guess you used to love her
I guess she was your perfect match

I’m not too sure why I am here
I’m not too sure why she’s still there
I’m not too sure if you mean it to be this way
I’m not too sure why I even care

 

I’ve seen the way you look at her
I’ve seen the way you look at me
I’ve heard the way you talk to her
It’s not the way you talk to me

When you search my name
Only my achievements can be found
When you search her name
A back list of clients can be found

I’m glad I’m not a yes girl
I’m proud I know how to say no
I never want to be like her
Not even the slightest bit

I remember how I felt
When I saw you both together
Instead of turning her away
You made me come and meet her

She gave me her approval
As if I even needed one
She even added me on Facebook
Just so she could have some fun

She phoned you all day and night
You always picked up the phone
I just sat there and waited
Until she left you alone

I thought it was all over
I thought we were just fine
Then she turned up at your house
And pulled out another knife

We gave it some more time
We gave it some more thought
Even that didn’t end up working
Cos she still holds all the cards

You don’t need to worry about me
I’ll never lie or cheat
I’ll always be honest and true
You can completely trust me

I’ve cried myself to sleep
Wondering why it’s me
Why am I the one she contacts
Why am I the one she wants to be

I’m glad I’m not her
She is vile and deceitful
Even the thought of her
Makes me want to be sick

I’m glad I’m not her
I’m proud of who I am
I’m glad my life has gone this way
I’m glad it’s gone how I’ve planned

I never will ever want to be her
I’m not even big headed
But it’s very clear to everyone
I will always be better than her.

I hope you guys liked that – don’t take too much to heart, I just wrote it about an experience I’ve been through, and had to make some things sound worse than what they are just for a bit of effect if you get what I mean. But it still pretty shows how I felt whilst I was in that situation. So yeah, please do let me know what you think – I’d love to hear some feedback ❤ 

Don’t forget to check me out on social media to keep updated with all things JodieBowie:
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FACEBOOK – JodieBowie
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FB GROUP – Nozfest Official Group
WEBSITE – www.nozfest.org
YOUTUBE – JodieBowie 

See your pretty faces soon!

Jodie x ❤ x

To Be Successful or To Not Be Successful? That IS The Question. (Cancel Culture)

I have learnt so much over the last year, and have gone through experiences you only ever really hear about on the internet, and do not expect to happen to someone… well… like me! Also at this moment in time, the new Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star docuseries is currently out on YouTube… and watching this series has related to me in ways I never expected. After watching and reading a few people’s experiences, I realised this is an actual thing and is referred to as ‘cancel culture’ or ‘call-out culture’ and it is so damaging and ridiculous. 

I know 100% that whatever I say in this blog, WILL be misconstrued by someone in some way… but right now, I’m not going to care because I feel more people have gone through something similar and have just never brought it to light because we’re perhaps not ‘influential’ enough to mention it?

What is cancel culture? Cancel Culture is basically when someone may have done something or said something wrong, or was interpreted in the wrong way and the ‘internet’ decides to cancel them. Some examples of this can be when Shane Dawson made a joke about being inappropriate with his cat (6 years ago), but someone resurfaced that small clip from a podcast and made it seem like Shane is sexual with his cat. Another example can be when Manny Mua didn’t quite handle his friendship breakup with Jeffree Star too well, and the internet just turned against him massively. Tati Westbrook was offended that James Charles promoted a rival brand of vitamins on his Instagram Story, and made a 45min video about everything he’s ever done wrong and I don’t think he’s really recovered from that yet either – everyone still dislikes him. Lastly, when Kat Von D said she wasn’t going to vaccinate her child and then the internet blew up and referred to her as a Nazi.
The thing is, people forget that people grow and change… and people will always make mistakes but will learn and grow from them.

I think I’m going to start off by talking about the Beauty Community on YouTube. I expect a lot more young people and girls will be more aware of the ‘drama’ than anyone else, BUT, to simplify things…. there are YouTubers on YouTube (duh!) that are known for their makeup tutorials. Some of these influencers also have their own brands of makeup, either through collaborating with established brands such as Too Faced or Morphe, and others have their own unique brand such as Halo Beauty, Kat Von D, Lunar Beauty and Jeffree Star Cosmetics to name a few. There is often a lot of rivalry, hate, ‘tea spilling’, drama, you name it, a lot of it goes down in the beauty industry – and in all honesty, it is something I don’t really understand. I don’t see why there needs to be any rivalry, because there just shouldn’t be any. People are free to pick and choose a brand they prefer, just like some people prefer Starbucks over Costa, or Tesco over Asda.

Just to add a slight context as to why I’ll be specifically be using Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson as examples is because I buy pretty much all of Jeffree’s products and Shane is my fave YouTuber. Just in case this blog ends up not making sense, I just ‘relate’ to those people more because they are the most influential/prominent online figures in my life.

So, how does all of this relate to me?
Well ever since I mentioned that I wanted to put on a music festival, my life changed in a way that I didn’t think would happen. At first of lot of people were more than happy to help me, gave me advice, passed on contacts, were happy to volunteer to help get this dream off the ground etc. The second that the festival started to get a bit attention and started to look like a success, people changed.

I don’t know why, because I have never been that way inclined. I’ve never wished for someones dreams not to come true because mine haven’t. I’ve never wanted someone to fail at something they love – it just isn’t in my nature. If someone wants to go out there and grab their dreams with both hands, then I think that is a fantastic idea and I wish them all the luck in the world, and if they need any help I’ll do my best to offer it.

I have had so many people write stuff about me online. Some of it by ex-friends, and some of it by people I’ve never met, never even spoken to. There was something going round recently that I am “an entitled little bitch“, “wants to sleep with musicians“, “think she’s better than everyone else“, “a toxic friend“, “only interested in creating drama“, “am a delusional f*ck“, “doesn’t treat staff properly” and so much more. I’ve had people tag my business into posts telling people to boycott it because I don’t deserve to have it etc. And I literally haven’t done anything to these people. Like I said most of them have never spoken to me or met me… but somehow I’ve upset them to a degree they want to sabotage my business and life?

This is where I can relate to Jeffree Star. Jeffree is a very successful businessman, and I don’t think there’s a day that goes past when someone isn’t slagging him off, creating a non-existent scandal about him, posting about him in a negative light – and I can totally sympathise with the frustration. All he’s ever wanted to be, is a successful businessman. Yes he has a controversial past… but none of us are saints. Yet every time he has a new launch or something positive happen in his life, someone has to try and make it into a drama or something negative. That is exactly how I have felt lately. Every time I have announced something to do with my festival or anything I am doing, I’ve had something written about me… why? I don’t actually know. It makes me really think, that if this is what it is like to be successful… then I don’t want it, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

That is so sad. That people who just want to live their lives, and make their dreams and ambitions come true… can’t even live in peace and positivity because someone, somewhere will want to destroy that, for absolutely no reason at all. That is the sad sick world that we live in, and it really needs to change.

If you don’t like that someone is a success, you need to ask yourself why. Don’t take it out on them. If you want to be as equally successful, you absolutely can do so with the right frame of mind and positive attitude. Everything in life is a learning curve. You wont get everything right first time, you will 100% make mistakes, you will fail extremely, but you will also succeed just as well.

I am in no way saying I’m a successful businesswoman – because that is absolutely not true. I’ve been lucky in my festival so far, but I have also worked very hard for a lot of years to get to where I am now. So for the people who think I am entitled, I have had to work very hard, and be very patient to have to what I have… which isn’t a lot. Like I said, I am just lucky that this festival is doing alright at the moment. I never EVER expect it to – and if you really know me, you’ll know that I have been so nervous about announcing 2020. I don’t think I am entitled at all, and I wouldn’t want to be either. I want to work hard and be ‘successful’ off my own back. Every opportunity I have been given, is because someone has seen how hard I work, not because I think I deserve it.

I think people should watch this Shane Dawson docuseries, even if it is just to get an insight into someone’s life who seems to always be on top. I think people will find it inspiring… I certainly do. Perhaps it’ll also make some people realise that their words and actions do actually hurt people, and that this world needs so much more kindness – in a kinder world, I’m sure everyone would be successful.

LINKS TO CHECK OUT:
Why Jeffree Star is a brilliant businessman.
The Dangerous World of Jeffree Star.
I Was “Cancelled” Last Year. MUST WATCH!
Jeffree Star Warehouse Robbery.
James Charles – No More Lies.
Tati Westbrook – Bye Sister.
Gabrial Zamora – My Truth.
Dear Kat Von D.
It’s Easier To Do The Right Thing.
Cancel Culture.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I highly recommend watching Manny Mua’s video – he did an amazing job of saying everything I want to say but better, so definitely check out his video.
He said at one point “imagine cancelling someone who isn’t like me. I’m 28 years old, imagine cancelling someone who is 15 and sending them so much hate that they decide to hurt themselves…” and that is a brilliant point. I’m only 23 years old myself, and YES I absolutely do have a lot of growing and changing to do and that process will continue for the rest of my life, but I am still young and being bullied in that way (because it IS bullying) is so hurtful and painful that I did and do hurt myself regularly to cope with it. He did actually mention that even though those comments are still online, they are still words, they have still been said, they are still powerful and you can read them over and over and over again. “Your words could end someone’s life“, I 110% agree with Manny there, because it is true – no matter how angry you are, or you thinking “well they wont even see it anyway”… just don’t do it. Be compassionate, show empathy and forgiveness – this world is so damn toxic right now, and I’d hate to be a teenager growing up in a society like the one we’ve created. 

I want to add – why should I have to stop achieving my dreams, because they upset someone else? I’m not hurting anyone, I’m not effecting anyone in a negative way… so why should I have to be ‘cancelled’? Why should I have to cry myself to sleep at night, and hurt myself because some person I don’t even know just wants/wishes me to fail. Why should ANYONE on this Earth have to stop living the life they want to live because they made 1 mistake years ago or because a small minority just doesn’t like them. Why? Why is this a thing?

Again, I wont link my social media because it’ll only fuel the backlash I’ll already get from this post.

Life Update : Festivals, Dreams and New Hair!

I gathered it was about time for another life update blog! I’m not entirely sure what exactly I am going to tell you guys in this blog, but I’ll try and make it interesting and informative. Before I start, I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s supported me this year – this past year has been crazy, but I couldn’t have done it without the support from you guys, so thank you for making a tiny girls dreams come true ❤ 

NEW HAIR, DON’T CARE:
It’s not really ‘new’, but it is different to what I’ve had before. I decided it was about time to actually get my hair cut. I love my long hair, I’m so attached to it that I genuinely much rather have a rude word tattooed across my forehead. I haven’t had my hair cut for 8 years, its just grown and grown and grown. I had it cut quite short when I was 15, and I genuinely looked like a boy and ever since then I just had massive anxiety about having short hair; so getting the length cut is sort of a big deal to me. My head felt so much lighter when I walked out of the salon, and my hair does actually look a lot thicker, so it’s probably done it some good having a good amount lobbed off. My hair was very tatty at the ends, and in length it touched the top of my bum… which is the length I wanted to grow it to, so at least I achieved that 😉 I also got some highlights added – mainly because when I grew my fringe out, there’s a teeny tiny patch of blonde at the end, which when it catches the light looks super cute, and I wanted my whole head to look like that 🙂 I am literally blonde now, but I’m really liking it! I’ve wanted blonde in my hair for a while, because a lot of band members I liked started dying a streak of blonde in their hair, I’ve also always loved Corabi’s hair etc but just never had the guts to go blonde, I’m usually always red, purple, black or brown so to go the other way is a big change.

RATTIES:
My lovely ratties are still going strong, and my love for them grows and grows more each day. Billy is so attached to me it is unreal! The love that rats have for their humans is insane, and I’m so grateful to have these two little shits in my life, I don’t know how I’ll cope without them. I actually introduced my rats to another human the other week….. that didn’t go too well! I think because I am literally such a lone wolf, they don’t really know that there’s other people in the world apart from me, so when they meet someone new they are sort of like “holy shit!!“. I also treated them to loads of new toys! I should treat myself, but my happiness isn’t as important as my ratties… so if buying them a new toy, or some yummy treats will make them happy… then as a rat mummy it is my job to do so 😉

LEARNING:
Honestly, I have learnt so much recently I feel like it’s aged me! But in a good way. I feel like I’ve become a lot more ‘business’ minded, and selfish but in a good way. I’m pretty proud of the person I’ve become over the last year, and I feel like a much more stable person in my own head. I just have a vision of where I want to be, and the person I need to become in order to achieve that, and that is all that really spins around in my head at the moment. I just want my ambitions so badly, they are all I think about. I’ve learnt SO MUCH from organising my festival, I’ve learnt business lessons, life lessons… all sorts and I just can’t wait to put my new found knowledge into action.
I also learnt some pretty good advice when it comes to friendships and being mean etc. Before you tell someone all the mean things that others have been saying about them behind their back…. you need to think if it is going to benefit the person in any way, or is it just going to upset them and create more drama? If so, then they don’t need to know… keep them in blissful ignorance. I definitely didn’t need to be told all the nasty stuff people were saying about me on one of the most important days of my life, but I was told. Did it benefit me? No. Just made me angry, sad, disappointed, annoyed and really freakin’ lonely…. which I’m still trying to deal with.

WORK, WORK, WORK:
I’ve been feeling super deflated and tired lately, I’m like a proper old lady at the moment with the amount of naps I’ve been taking! I think working my ass off for 2 years has finally caught up with me, and now I have nothing to ‘plan’ my body is like “REEEEESSSTTTTT”. It’s slightly hard, because I don’t want to be unproductive, I thrive when I’m busy working towards something, but my body just needs a break. I’m also not just a normal sort of tired, I’m a proper grouchy kind of tired where I’m permanently irritated and I’m also ignoring pretty much everyone around me at the moment.
I noticed also that my brain never switches off – I’m always thinking of the next Nozfest, it is on my mind 24/7 which is a good thing, and also a bad thing because I don’t know how to exit work mode, if that makes sense. I’m always in work mode, and I think I do genuinely need to have some proper chill time… but I’m incapable of doing that right now. It’s amazing how weird my body deals with stress as well – literally, the 3 weeks running up to Nozfest I had the worst UTI I ever had in my life! I was in so much pain, I tried everything, I tried painkillers, the special stuff you get some Superdrug that tastes like rank Calpol, I drank prints of Cranberry juice, hot water bottles, I tried to get the doctors to help but they insisted I was fine…… I was getting so worried, and then literally the second the doors opened on the day of Nozfest, the pain went and I haven’t had a problem since! That… is… insane… and really annoying hahahaha! Sorry for the TMI.

VEGANISM?: 
Am I still a vegan? NOOO…. I’m more of a flexitarian now. Basically I’ll eat meat as and when I feel like I need it, or if I crave it. Otherwise, I’m pretty much vegetarian. It is a thing… google it.
I stopped being vegan, mainly because it just didn’t agree with my body. I really do like vegan food, but when you’re gaining weight like crazy, but you’re always super hungry… it’s hard work. With the lifestyle I have at the moment, veganism isn’t really an option right now. I did work super hard as well, I haven’t had meat for 8 months. It stopped my periods, and made them really out of sync, I was extremely pale… almost translucent. I probably needed to do a lot more research, but I’m sure I’ll try again in the future, but right now I’m happier on the diet I’m on…. and I feel a lot better when I’m not bloated 24/7.

FRIENDS AND TRUST:
I have been struggling with trust for a long time now, especially when Nozfest started approaching. A lot of ‘fake friends’ came out the woodwork, and it got to the point where I just couldn’t tell who was genuinely genuine, and who was just using me.
I had some pretty horrible things said about me, my mental health and some issues involving money and ‘exposure’. The month leading up to Nozfest, I completely shut myself off from everyone, I didn’t talk to anyone unless it was professional, I didn’t see anyone, I just sort of ‘disappeared’ off my friends radar – which was a good idea really, because the people I distanced myself from were still there when I came back, and understood why I did what I did… where as the rest, just got bitchy about it.
Losing friends did and still does upset me, I feel very lonely and empty on the inside, but I also know that I want my dream and ambitions to be the main aspects of my life, and I want to chase my dreams so bad that I’m willing to sacrifice friendships along the way. At the end of the day, you have to sometimes cut people loose even though it hurts, no one needs negativity in their life… and friends should love and support you for you, and not for who they want you to be.

JODIEBOWIE:
Since my last update, we had a bit of an incident at my last Rock Night. I can’t go into too much detail, but there was an issue with ticketing money, unsigned contracts and diva attitudes. This made me decide that I needed a ‘team’ of people who are strong willed to stand by my side at my events, to help minimise dramas and to also make sure that I can do my job without running around like a headless chicken! SO, I now have a JodieBowie Team and I love them so much, they actually worked their first event at Nozfest and they were both bloomin’ brilliant and I am so proud of them for everything, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us ❤
I am also thinking that I am only going to continue JodieBowie Rock Nights for another year, and then take a break. I’ve been thinking about this for some time, and as much as I love my Rock Nights (as that is where I started), I am starting to fall out of love with them and I’m not really enjoying the process of booking, organising, and the actual event itself anymore. I just don’t get much back from the amount of time and effort I put in, and as much as I love supporting bands, I feel like I can still support them but in different and probably more constructive ways. I want to focus more on building up Nozfest, and also work on other projects, I like to keep busy and to push myself. It’s pretty insane that this time last year I had only organised 1 Rock Night under my promoter name… crazy! How many shows have I sold out since? 😉
There’s still 2 more Rock Nights of 2019, so make sure you check those dates out!!

NOZFEST: 
Now, I saved the best till last! I know you all want to know how the big day went.
It went FANTASTICALLY!! Everyone involved was on absolute top form, and I am so so proud and thankful to everyone ❤ The event sold out, everyone was super lovely, there was no dramas, the event ran smoother than ever… I just couldn’t have asked for a better first festival ❤ I hope everyone who was there also had an awesome time.
I was so proud to see so many amazing reviews about The Wicked Jackals and Stop, Stop! Those two bands are very personal to me and I love them both for very different reasons, but to see and hear people’s reactions to those two bands really warmed my heart. I just can’t believe that I’m 23 years old, have put on a sold out music festival, with not only Massive Wagons, Those Damn Crows and Bigfoot… but Marco Mendoza of Whitesnake was also on the bill…………….. I don’t think any of that will sink in until I’m 50!!
I’ve started working on Nozfest 2020, the line-up is pretty much sorted, I’m just waiting on getting the new artwork sorted, and perfecting the line-up so it’s exactly how I want it and something I’m happy with. There may also be a special guest next year, which I’m excited about, there will also be merchandise next year as well which is exciting, it’s still at the 1865 in Southampton but will be on Saturday 8th August 2020. I just can’t believe how brilliant it went, and it’s insane to think that people have already booked their hotels for next year…. the line-up announcement isn’t even until October!! You crazy crazy Nozzers… but you guys are the best kind of people, and also the most supportive and I am so proud to have a bunch of people like you watching me grow, whilst also enjoying all my projects ❤

 

I hope you have enjoyed this blog, it’s probably very repetitive but I can’t help that… I’m just being open and honest 🙂

Make sure you’re following me on all my social media platforms, to stay properly updated with all important info:
INSTAGRAM – JodieBowie
INSTAGRAM – Nozfest
FACEBOOK – JodieBowie
FACEBOOK – Nozfest
FACEBOOK – Nozfest FB Group
WEBSITE – www.nozfest.org
YOUTUBE – JodieBowie

See you on the next one lovelies 😉

Jodie x ❤ x

JodieBowie is endorsed by Cloven Hoof Rum, and supported by 69xMusic & The NWOCR FB Group. 

Because I’m Happy :)

Let’s share the positivity … this chick is HAPPY! and here is a blog as to why.

PLANS
I have so many awesome things coming up which I am so looking forward to.
My bestfriend Emma is coming down from Didcot to stay with me for a weekend… going to be awesome tearing up Bournemouth with my Mod. I’m seeing the Dead Daisies in Bristol supported by The Treatment. I’m also taking her along to that, she’s a mod so her reaction to John Corabi is going to be a card 😛
Me and Emma have also booked a weekend away in Cardiff; which is going to be amazing! I love Cardiff, it is a beautiful city, and to just get away with an awesome chick is going to be so worthwhile. I genuinely cannot wait to see my Welshies and make some memories ❤
I’ve also bagged myself tickets for The Rolling Stones in Cardiff << genuinely can’t think of anything better! (yes, I’ll also be at the one in Southampton).

FAMILY
I’m a lot closer with my Nan than I have ever been, since staying at hers for a week in Didcot. She’s a family member that I have realised I actually really need, and appreciate having her in my life.

FRIENDS
I don’t have many, but the ones I do have are bloody beautiful. The support some of them have given me recently has been phenomenal. I am so lucky to know such kind hearted and wonderful people, that just want to see me be happy. I couldn’t ask for better pals. I may have few friends, but the few I have are worth far more than having millions of friends who don’t care. I really do have some of the best friends on the planet, I’m one lucky girl ❤

PROJECTS
I am looking to start moving my Rock Nights to a different venue, or possibly branching out to other venues around the South. I also want to work with bands that are not necessarily local, but have a talent I’d like to share with the Bournemouth/Southampton area. I have my ideas! Feel free to get in touch with me though, and tell me what bands you would like to see at my Rock Nights – I am up for a challenge!
I am also back doing some paid work at the Memorial Centre, finally, which is great.
There is a few possibilities that I will also be starting an NVQ course… which to me is rather exciting.
My good friend has also asked me to be part of a podcast, and I’ve said yes! So that could be super interesting 😉
Gosh, there’s so many projects I’m getting involved in – another friend of mine has asked me to join forces with “Razor Metal Reviews”; so I have my fingers in many pies right now!
I am also going to try and put more effort into this blog, and maybe start videos if that is something you guys would like to see? Please let me know.

TREATING MYSELF
I treated myself to a phone upgrade. It was due an upgrade anyway; but I decided to go for the best upgrade I could get… because, everyone deserves a treat now and then. Worked out pretty well actually, as my new contract is a lot cheaper than it was for my old phone, but I’ve got a far far better phone. How that works I am not sure, but THANKS! I now have a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, in orchid grey. I have the same mobile number also, thank goodness… I love my phone number; I can actually remember it!

HEALTH
Yeaaa… Imma try and be vegetarian again. Let’s see how long I can keep it up for this time.
I have also lost about a stone and a half of weight. Which I am personally loving! I was petite anyway, but now I’m just slim, which I feel more confident about.
I’ve also started taking walks, and doing a couple of old dance routines to keep me active. It’s rather lush to get out into the fresh air you know.
I am also completely off my Fluoxetine/Prozac, and I haven’t taken Zopiclone for over a month – go me!!

PETS
Of course I got two rats, if you didn’t already know. Billy and Teddy. They are absolute treasures, as well as little shits. I am so glad I got them; definitely one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. I’m not sure if I’d get anymore in the future. For now, I am happy with my Bills and Teds, and I’m more than happy if they are my first and last ratties. Not only are they just wonderful creatures in general, but they have given me a purpose. I have 2 little lives that are dependent on me, to feed them, clean them, play with them, spend time with them, look after to them etc, and they are giving me something to focus on other than myself. I will admit, I was quite selfish at one point in my life, and couldn’t understand why some peoples commitments were so important. Now I have a commitment of my own now. I can’t just bugger off as and when I feel like it, as no one else is going to look after my boys. I have to plan things, and save up money, and negotiate/compromise; which isn’t as bad as I thought! I am so thankful to my little ratties for helping me become a better person each and everyday.

COUNSELLING
I paid for some online counselling; and the service is incredible. It was a real life changer/turner for me. I’ve never felt so positive in my life, nor have I ever felt this happy. It is a specific counselling service, and it is also American, so is a tiny bit pricey, but the reviews are amazing and the help I have so far received has been worth every penny. Their services have been proven to be very successful.
I think I am on the waiting list for further one to one/face to face counselling in my area. Which again will be a specific counselling service, but I’m feeling open minded and confident that it will make a massive difference to my life and my health.

GENERAL
In all honesty, I am just a genuinely more happy, positive and confident person. I have fixed myself, seen a direction I have wanted to take, and have become more settled within myself as a person. I have realised mistakes I have made, and come to terms with the fact that most of the time I was quite a selfish person, with a very closed mind unless it involved stuff to do with me. That is not who I want to be anymore.
I was self centered to the point, that I didn’t care who or if I hurt anyone by my actions, because I wanted opportunities no matter what. I did come across as heartless and ungrateful on a lot of occasions; all I can do is apologise.
I have also had a lot of time to just ‘do me’ and do my own thing; managed to come to terms with the fact I do actually validate myself.

I hope you have enjoyed this lengthy piece, haha, and that maybe it has inspired you to change or do things differently too. Change is good people, change is very good… don’t be scared of it, embrace it.

Don’t forget to leave a comment, and to follow me on social media.
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‘See you soon dolls ❤

A Week On – It’s a littler easier being me!

It’s been a week or round about since my last blog, and… I’m not feeling so down and miserable. So I thought I’d share my new bound of positivity with you… to try and show, that life isn’t always shit, even if that’s what it seems like in the moment.

After what was a very very tough weekend, I decided to tackle all my problems…… backwards!
Yep, I’ve decided that trying to deal with the bigger issues first, was just causing a thousand times more stress, anxiety and arguments; so I made the decision that I would tackle the little baby problems first and leave the big mess till later.

That plan, has actually worked out for the better…. as there isn’t even so much of a big mess anymore.
You my have gathered from my last blog, that I had recently returned home to start facing life again; and in that blog I wrote about my job, my mental health and moving out. Those problems soon mounted up and became more problems such as, I became worried about money, so I started worrying about Christmas. I was worried about my job, so was worried I wouldn’t ever be able to get another one. I was worried about my career, so was worried about my personal life. Then I was worrying about where I am meant to be applying/looking for jobs if I might be moving away.
Soon enough I got myself into a spiral of…………… “ARGH!”

I think what really got me thinking positive again, was meeting up with Lee and Ema and actually being able to talk about everything that was worrying me, and to hear their advice and opinions… rather than trying to talk everything out with myself. I would advise myself, that if you do have some really close supportive friends, talk to them! They may be able to help you find that light at the end of the tunnel.

So, I started with CHRISTMAS! Yep, Christmas is stressing me out because I have no money. I spoke to Jack, and we spoke about the possibility of him coming to mine for Christmas, which would be absolutely amazing! But like everyone has said “don’t worry about getting me a present”. Well guess what guys….. I AM worrying! Because you are my loved ones, and I want to show you all that I love and care about you – so tough tits!
Also, with the possibility of Jack coming here, I want everything to be super perfect. I’ve not really had a proper family Christmas since I was a kid, and I always get so jealous of everyone else having the best time with their perfect families. Hopefully it’s my turn this year.
I’ve already started – and nearly finished my present shopping. I’ve kind of budgeted. I know how much money I have left in case I do over spend, but I’m being careful. I guess I am fortunate enough that I can budget.

Next, I emailed my assessor and a few other people regarding jobs and career. I got most of the information I needed to begin to start making a decision as what my next steps are going to be. My assessor has actually said she thinks it would benefit me taking some time out of my education to actually calm down, find another placement and settle in first. Whether that’s a good thing or not………………………….
When something completely unrelated to you, starts effecting really serious and important areas of your life, a lot of hatred, anger, upset, stress, depression and anxiety comes out. I’ve literally been asleep ALL week, and when I do feel strong enough to battle a day, I may only manage an email before sinking back down the big black hole again. I’d like to say I’m getting there, but I’m not. It wasn’t a career I was sure I wanted, until I found out it could be taken away from me. Hence needing the time to clear my head.

I of course worry about Jack a lot too. He is my bestest friend in the whole wide world, he means more than anything to me if I am openly honest. I just want what is best for him and to be happy. I think that is one of the reasons why I am considering making that step to live with Jack. I have no idea at all if or when it will happen….. but it’s something that is floating around my mind. My Aunt actually read my last blog, and messaged me with some advice of her own, saying that she moved in with my Uncle when she was 21, and that it is a huge step, but it has to be the right decision for me.
I know so many people will think it’s massively too soon to even be thinking about it, but we’ve had a pretty fast paced 6 months, with a lot of ups and downs, a lot of elephants in the room coming out etc, so we’ve actually become super close because so much has happened in such a short space of time. Like I said to Jack… maybe it took me 21 years to find someone, because I was meant to find Jack.
Who the hell knows……… but I’m young enough to take a gamble and find out!

Job…….. I don’t think about my old one. I decided it was just making me more stressed and annoyed. So I moved on.
Now, I’m working on 2 awesome line ups for my Rock Nights that are returning NEXT YEAR!! Eeeekkk ❤

And lastly… my mental health……………
Well, I stopped taking my prozac – because I wanted to feel sad, and hurt. BIG MISTAKE! I’ve now started taking them again. Don’t mess up your cycle, it’s not a good idea.
I’m still struggling to accept myself as a person.
And I’ll be utterly honest… depression is a horrible thing. I’ve been struggling to the point that I have been sleeping for 14 hours a day, and because I’m struggling to like myself, I haven’t been looking after myself either. In fact I have been gross this past week… but that’s what it does to you. It makes you not care or bother, because why should you, when no one else cares or bothers about you, right?!

Anyway, I hope I manage to stay positive and keep on top of things!
Remember… BABY STEPS! Sometimes dealing with the little issues first, is a whole lot better and easier than trying to battle the big shits!

Keep upbeat motherfuckers!

Jodie X ❤ X

Hard Rock Hell – Sleaze!

I was lucky enough to win free tickets to Hard Rock Hell Sleaze in Sheffield! As we all know, my life is a general cock up, so I thought I’d enlighten you to the HRH experience 😉 

This shindig took place on the 2nd and 3rd of September at the O2 Academy in Sheffield and featured bands such as Wildside Riot, TigerTailz, Vain and Faster Pussycat.
I asked four of my rock ‘n’ roll friends to come along, but due to life being a bit of a pain sometimes, not all of them could make it. So I ended up going with my bestfriend, Jayke from The Last Siren and his girlfriend.

I have to admit, Jayke was so much more on the ball with organising this weekend away than I was. He pretty much booked his hotel straight away, and had to keep reminding me too book mine haha. Even sorted how we were getting there and back. Again, I thank you very much for all your efforts, and hope you and Vi enjoyed your weekend 🙂

Main Stage – VAIN

Let’s start of with chatting about the ACTUAL festival. Well, to me, it was freakin’ awesome! As a die-hard music fan, couldn’t really go anywhere more perfect for a weekend away than a rock festival. Okay, so the genre was sleaze; which is basically glam metal – so big hair, guyliner, rockin’ riff… everything I love in bands basically. Bands of this genre, I’m gonna say, are along the same lines as L.A Guns, Faster Pussycat, Crashdiet, Hanoi Rocks,  Love/Hate etc etc. Nothing at all wrong with those bands.

We got to the festival around 6:15pm? I immediately spotted some of my mofo friends, such as Paula, Lainey and Valeria, so headed up to the second stage to get myself a good spot to see the legends from Barcelona that are StOp, sTop! The boys played an absolutely blistering set, was proper hot and sweaty, but I loved every second of it. There’s something soul reviving about seeing your favourite band make an entire room so happy, and seeing how much energy they have to give. My love for this band gets stronger each time I see them – doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life, they never fail to make me ‘join the party’ and feel like I can touch the sky!!
We then headed back down to the main stage, where I managed to check out Wildside Riot, Tigertailz and Vain. Tigertailz had to be my fave ‘new discovery’. They are that cheesy, harmony, riffy, glammy awesomeness sort of band, you know, like a ‘rock of ages’ kinda feel. I was immediately like “yep, I like this band!”, probably helped that the frontman is pretty hot too!
Lastly, I got pretty much front row to see Vain, I’m not too sure what my opinion is on their music yet, but they were rock stars all the same, and I love rock stars! Just got me thinking about the direction I want my life to go…… and how people with a limited music taste are missing out on so much cool stuff and experiences. I love being who I am. Vain – yeah, I think they are a band I will most likely get into ❤

2nd Stage – Stop Stop!

The organisers did a brilliant job with everything, I’d love to have their job! I can’t wait to see what they do for HRH Sleaze 2! But thank you all such much for enlightening me to more awesome bands I should listen to. This is why I go to gigs – to meet people & to discover new talent!!

So, I suppose you might want to hear about MY experience of the festival? Fecking hell.
Shall we start off with how I was banned from talking about and to my boyfriend…. Oh, and with the fact that I paid for this entire weekend away, i.e I paid the money to secure the tickets, I paid for a double hotel room (not Jayke’s of course), I paid for my own food & drink, and petrol money for Jayke etc, so anyone else going pretty much had a free weekend away. Now, it’s probably not a great idea to go to a sleaze festival if you are into death metal… just throwing that out there. However, on my behalf, it probably wasn’t sensible going with a guy that is obsessed with me.

Main Stage – Ace Von Johnson of Faster Pussycat.

It was a pretty awkward atmosphere for the whole day if I am honest, he kept moaning about the genre of music, and was being a little anti-social anyway. Plus, he wasn’t too keen on the fact I was keeping in touch with my boyfriend (good job I did really). This guy was pretty determined to get obliterated… he did quite a few shots of neat vodka (MY vodka may I add). We got to this festival, and he pretty much became a hermit. I’m not sure what happened or why, but he wouldn’t talk to my friends, or socialise with them or anything. He later told me that most people just go to gigs to stand and listen to music…………………………. I’m obviously doing it all wrong then, silly me. He wouldn’t even talk to the frontman of my fave band, who actually made an effort of going up to HIM and saying hello. I wont lie, I may have missed my other half a bit because he was meant to be there, so was feeling a bit down anyway, but my mate looked like his soul committed suicide, which brought me down a lot. So in my head, I thought I’d look out for someone fun to lighten the mood. I found someone, so went to say hello etc, I turned round, and my friend had left me in the middle of the crowd. So I made my way back to a ‘safe spot’ and waited, but he didn’t come back. So I started panicking. About 30mins later, I went outside and was on the phone to my partner trying to plan what the hell I should do, when luckily my friend Lainey an her partner came to find me and comforted me for a bit, and edged me back inside to find my friends. I decided I wanted to stay at this festival seeing as I’d been looking forward to it for the last 8 months; but needed to give my room key to my friend so he could go back. He found me, and starting pulling me away from my friends, to which I said “no, I’m staying here, this is the hotel key”. He took it and went back to the room.

About an hour or so later, I went back to the hotel, knocked on the door for the room which I had paid for, to be greeted with the door being slammed in my face, and my friend in his watermelon underpants. I knocked on the door again, to which he opened it, blew a raspberry at me and said “what the fucks wrong with you”. I immediately turned round and said “I’m going out!”… I exited the hotel, absolutely fuming, phoned my boyfriend and walked around Sheffield at 1am trying to figure out what to do. I walked until I found another hotel, and was lucky enough to check myself into it… for £115!!! But it was safer, and sensible for me to just completely remove myself from the negative situation, and work out what I should do next… and also sleep in a double bed without the fear of being touched up!!
He left a few answer phone messages of him extremely upset, saying he was sorry etc. Yes, I felt bad in that moment, but at the same time he left a girl on her own in the cold in a town she doesn’t know, in the early hours of the morning, and didn’t let her into the £300 hotel room which she paid for completely cos he had no money, because he was in a mood cos he didn’t like the music and thought the festival was crap. He later sent me a picture of my vodka bottle in the sink. He drank until he was senseless, and then tipped the rest away…. MY alcohol… he just threw away. His claim was “well I bought it for you months ago and you hadn’t drank it”. That is like me buying my mum a necklace as a present and then saying “oh, actually I want that back now”. Morally… you DON’T DO IT!
Morally you also don’t act like a douche cos the girl you like is no longer a single pringle.

Main Stage – Tigertailz!

Sunday morning, I woke up and decided the most sensible option would be to go back to my hotel, pick up my things and return home with Lainey and Mark. I would have just been in a bad mood all day, it would have been horribly awkward. A lot of people agreed I made the right choice. However, I went back to my original hotel, and could hear my friend on the phone disrespecting one of my friends and, I quote, saying “I really like having a free hotel room to myself”. Well, that was the nail in the coffin for me. 8 years worth of friendship straight down the drain, with a massive “FUCK YOU” at the end, and a nice great big shit on the top. I went in and got my stuff, to which he said “seeing as you wont talk, I never want to go to another gig with you ever again, or stay in a hotel with you ever again”. In my head I thought “you fucking prick.” I left, got myself some breakfast… I had left my hoodie so had to go back for it, to which he wanted to talk more, but I really wasn’t interested. I just saw him as the biggest douche-pants on the planet. He told me this was all my own fault, amongst a lot of other things… that it’s rude to talk about people I love, that gigs are only for music and not socialising, that he doesn’t owe me anything, that I’m pathetic and immature, that no one on the planet is polite, that people were pushing him (he was at a gig… do the math), that I’m sad, and also that the music festival was a lot better when I wasn’t there etc.

So, my life lessons were learnt! Basically, real friends truly care about your well being, and sometimes your bestest friends are decades older than you, but they are always there when it matters. True friends are happy for your relationships, and want to share that with you. The people who truly love and look after you, are the people who are right there when you need them most. Just because you don’t like a certain genre of music, doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time and experience new things. Don’t let anyone ever put you down, or try and extinguish that flame that burns brightly in your soul, just because they are unhappy with themselves. The key to everything is love and kindness… and believe it or not, but true music fans, especially of the rock ‘n’ roll kind, are the most lovely and welcoming people on the planet! Just think about that a second…………..

Rock Hard Folks!! ❤

Jodie X

P.S… my hair is now black 😉

Marco Mendoza – Southampton review

Tuesday 14th February 2017 (also known as Valentines Day), the legend that is Marco Mendoza of The Dead Daisies, Thin Lizzy, The Black Star Riders and Whitesnake, played a solo show at the Talking Heads in Southampton, UK.

Mendoza’s fellow musician’s for his UK tour featured, Fabio Cerrone on guitar, Pino Leberto on drums, and the young Jack Davies from the band Kane’d also on guitar. A great line up of talented musicians, who all worked well with each other on stage and oozed professional musicianship.

What made Mendoza’s show so unique and captivating was the fact that, the band played what they felt on the night; meaning each show was different.
It was also well noticed that songs from Dead Daisies, Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy were missing and not included in this set – instead the set heavily consisted on his solo work with a couple of covers.
I thought this was a real great idea, as most people would be expecting to hear well known tracks, instead we got to experience just how great of a musician Marco Mendoza is in his solo work. A very inspiring man!

My favourite part of the evening had to be Mendoza’s rendition of “I Feel Good” by the legend that is James Brown. I highly respect anyone who plays the blues properly, and I know Marco wouldn’t disappoint and of course he didn’t!
For someone who was expecting rockier numbers, I was pleasantly surprised with his jazz and blues tracks; just proving what a talented bass player and vocalist he truly is.
Adding to the list of covers was also “Hey Baby” by Ted Nugents and “Hole in my Pocket” by Neil Schon – what wonderful choices! A real sucker for bluesy/riffy numbers.

Mendoza is heavily driven by audience participation, which is also a good ice breaker. Throwing picks out to the audience members and even joining us in the crowd; walking around the venue making sure that everyone felt included, added to the real relaxed and intimate feeling of the show.

I hope Marco returns to the UK with more solo shows, and I would highly recommend any music lover coming along to his shows; for diversity and inspiration if nothing else!
He sure wont disappoint !

Info & Links:
Marco Mendoza Facebook Page
Kane’d band Facebook Page
The Dead Daisies Facebook Page
JodieBowie’s Facebook Page
‘I Want You’ Marco Mendoza Youtube

All the best wishes

Jodie Bowie X