Deep Fried Man

South Africa really does have a hell lot of talent when it comes to the music industry. And these days it seems that everyone wants to be a musician. Especially if you look at a certain South African music channel, which we will not mention here, with certain music videos such as Sexy Hoender (God save us). But luckily, there are still some people who are serious about music and serious about their talent. Enter funnyman Daniel Friedman. (Oh the irony!)  Don't know who this is? 

Some say that he was dropped on his head too many times, and that he only realised that he was funny after audiences laughed at him. All I know, is he is called Deep Fried Man.

I love this face!

The other day I had a deep fried ring finger. What's the story behind yours?

A deep fried ring finger? Where did they serve you that unusual delicacy? I'm guessing China Town.

The story behind mine... it's just a silly play on words. My surname is Friedman. A friend called Dave (it's always a friend called Dave) announced, years ago, that he thought it would be a good idea to call myself Deep Fried Man. He's a pretty pursuasive guy, so I said "Ok, Dave", and it just kind of stuck. I tell people it's because my music is tasty but bad for you. Really, though, it was just to make Dave happy. 
  

Ha, lekker Dave. I actually dipped my finger in burning hot oil while making chips, thus deep fried ring finger. But you've got an idea there. Your music is eccentric with lyrics such as "getting laid is awful tough when my jeans aren't skinny enough." Where does your inspiration come from?

That song, 'Maybe My Jeans Aren't Skinny Enough', is from a while ago, when my stuff had elements of humour, but was still pretty serious. It was a song lamenting how my stuff seemed so unpopular at the time, because it didn't sound 'indie' enough, but meanwhile you could argue it was very indie indeed, because it sounded completely different and was utterly independent from what was happening musically at the time. Really, though, I was just waiting to find my niche, which happened when I became a comedy musician and left the serious lyrics behind.

Have you had any formal training in comedy? You are as funny as hell!

No formal training in comedy. I was a singer-songwriter, playing to eight people at dingy bars like the Bohemian in Richmond. There was an element of humour to my stuff, but also lots of serious stuff about my many failed relationships. I realised that the comedy stuff was just so much better received, and had this epiphany when I saw Flight of the Conchords. 


I was like, why aren't I doing this? I realised that there was something liberating about writing music to amuse and entertain others rather than try and reflect the emotions within my soul or whatever. It's less selfish too. 

No-one actually cares about your angst unless you can sing and play amazingly well (which I can't). It took me many years to realise that. The only training available to comedians is to constantly gig and learn from mistakes. I am still very much in the learning stage of being a comedian. I have been relying on my songs and so many of the comedians I admire in SA can control and interact with a crowd so much better than I can, which inspires me to want to learn to do the same.

PS: Sorry for the serious answer, but ironically you'll find that most comedians are serious about comedy.


Flight of the Conchords have some serious talent. Ha! Get it? No? So, you have released Deep Fried Man is Not Amused. What's next? When can we expect to see it?

Deep Fried Man is Not Amused was a lo-fi, home recorded summary of four years of my life. Some very difficult times, mainly, if you look at all the titles you won't find a lot of positivity there. It was almost like I needed to get those songs out the way so I could move on to more positive work. I am happy with the album but it's destined to be largely ignored, which is cool, it's best for me to move on and live in the present.

I have been working on comedy stuff for some time with producer Andre Scheepers, who works with Tamara Dey & Tasha Baxter, but we're both so busy it's hard to say if and when we'll finish an album. In the meanwhile, The Red Bull Studios in Cape Town kindly recorded an EP for me when I was there recently, and you can listen to it here.  or on my Facebook page (with 2 extra tracks). 

Cool beans. Do you record your own songs or are you signed?

I am not signed but I have been in talks with a prominent SA label and if I do release anything anytime soon it will be through them.

  

Hope it's soon. This crazy country needs some comical relief! Speaking of crazy things, what is the craziest thing you have ever done? 

I have done many crazy things. I have run with scissors and drunk orange juice after brushing my teeth (the Crazy Monkey Team are a bad influence on me). I have strolled through the streets of Hillbrow with 'mug me' written on my T-shirt. Sometimes I go to the East Rand and skeef people's chicks just for the hell of it. I stay up past my bed-time and go to movies on a school night. There is no end to my insanity.
  
Really though? When I was a journalist I did a bunch of crazy things like spending a night on the streets of Joburg with homeless people and taking Ayawaska (which is like magic mushrooms times a thousand) for SL Magazine. But I think the craziest thing I've ever done was spending years sitting in front of a desk, every day from nine to five in return for a stable monthly pay-cheque.

Ha, I used to intern at SL. Thank mushrooms they never asked me to do that. What are some of the best bands you have seen live?

Beck, Bob Dylan, Mos Def and Ben Harper are four of my biggest heros, and while in Europe I saw them all live. It's strange though, that I saw better performances from bands I had never heard of in my life, like The Heavy, Little Dragon and Devotchka.

Maybe because your expectations are too high when seeing someone who's influenced you a lot. I also really enjoyed electronic guys like DJ Yoda, Chemical Bros, Soulwax and Justice. 

Back in SA I have been fortunate enough to see some amazing stuff. Dutch electronic band C-Mon and Kypsky and Dutch folk singer Lucky Fonz III stand out.

In terms of local stuff, I have weird eclectic tastes and have enjoyed anything from hip-hoppy stuff by Spoek Mathambo (and his many projects), Tumi Molekane from Tumi and the Volume to performances from folky guys like the late Syd Kitchen (Megan's note: Bless this man's soul and may he rest in peace), Rambling Bones and my friend amazingly talented Shotgun Tori. Neo Muyanga from Blk Sonshine doing his solo stuff blew me away. Goldfish are always fun. And Death Valley Blues Band and Martin Rocka and The Sick Shop are the two rocking-est SA bands in my opinion.

Some main bands you've got there. Any Final Words?

I leave you with a quote from best-selling author Paulo Coelho...
‎"You best get ready, because I'm about to say yet another really profound quotable quote that sounds really deep and spiritual about love and life and truth and beauty. My books sell millions of copies, bitches" - Paulo Coelho

For more information, go check out Deep Fried Man's twitter page, yes and follow him, or his facebook page. Ps, he said that if I don't mention this, he would hunt me down and kill me. Apparently he is an evil man, or so says his song Pure Evil - a new offensive song by Deep Fried Man! Peace motheruckas.

And then we had ice cream at the Union Buildings

Well, almost! It's an old tradition between my mom and I, and we thought that after our trip to Klapperkop, we might as well treat my Flip to one of our weird, wonderful and age-old traditions. The Union Buildings used to have guys riding around on bikes selling all sorts of ice creams, but not one single guy was there on Sunday. Boo on you, ice cream people, boo on you!

Still made for a photo opp (which was taken by my measly little Samsung phone, so excuse the quality). And then we had some ice cream at a Steers in Queenswood. No photos on that one, but it was messy and ice creamy and delicious. I love ice cream!

A little history lesson for those who don't know anything about the Union Buildings according to Wikipedia:

The Union Building form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop, occupying the highest point in Pretoria.

These buildings, built from light sandstone were designed by the architect Sir Herbert Baker in the English monumental style and are 285 m long. They have a semi-circular shape, with the two wings at the sides, this serves to represent the union of a formerly divided people.

If you want to know more about the Union Buildings, I suggest you google it, there is so much information to process :)

The Flip

Look at us, looking like tourists in my own hometown!

The Old Folks! Haai shame, I love them so much!

Boeretroos at Klapperkop

Shoo, I really feel like I need a break after this weekend, but it was so much fun! We had roadhouse food with my parents in Pretoria and had a little history lesson at Fort Klapperkop in Groenkloof. At least I think it's in Groenkloof.

I learned that the fort was designed by Von Dewitz and German engineering company Krupp to protect Snor City from the Queen's soldiers, aka the English army. It was built at a cost of £50 000, which in the 1890's was a crap load of money, but was never used as no-one ever bothered to fire at the enemy after being attacked. It was occupied without resistance on 5 June 1900.

I always find trips to Anlgo-Boer War museums very amusing when I am with my mother. She likes to voice her utter hatred of the Colonial British and likes to shout profanities at Lord Kitchener whenever she sees a picture of him. Yet, she chose to marry an Englishman. "Don't know why I did that," she replies when I point it out.

Winner, winner! Chicken Dinner!

Aah, what a way to start a Friday with a giveaway and a prize! I made use of the bona fide randomiser at random.org, and sure as daylight it chose number 6. So congratulations to Idele (she did entire twice, ya know!) for winning the awesome book! And thank you to all the other lovely people who participated in my first giveaway, you are all stars!

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Happy Friday All you Lovely People!

Wrestlerish

There is nothing on earth that can get me started like a tambourine and some good acoustics. Cue Oliver Tambourine by Wrestlerish and the world becomes something that would fit in my pocket. In short, this band, with its strong indie-pop influences literally inks its melodic songs into the music industry's veins. May they course through it for a long time.

Wrestlerish lead singer and ginga-ninja Werner Olckers (bless this guy) gave me some time for a chat. Man, this guy has a voice that would make any girl swoon! However, when I asked him if he has recently had a 'good news' girl, Werner said that he has horrible luck with women and that he also has a horrible schedule that would not allow him to date. "Unless she doesn't have a job and travels with us all the time. Hopefully soon I'll have a good news girl," he added.

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The band started after Werner quit a previous band. "I was looking for a new sound. It actually started as an accident." After meeting with some other cool guys, known as Jacques, Gavin and Dave which were and still are able to play instruments, the guys made an EP in a day. "We kinda decided on the name Wrestlerish because of my size, ya know. Because I look like a wrestler."

About band life Werner says that they are the most boring band in the world. "We usually just go home after a gig and read comics." He adds that he literally lives on Jacques couch, with them being business partners when not touring and gigging. "We tour so much but we still try to balance things. I have a semi-day job, writing corporate jingles for ads, such as Handy Andy and FNB. Music is pretty much everything I am." Besides being very good at reading comic books and maybe being good at Xbox.

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"There was this one time when we gigged with Ashtray Electric in Bloemfontein and only had one bottle of Jagermeister left, after starting with eight. Eventually the two brothers from Ashtray went to sleep in the back of the touring van. Leaving the bar, the van was gone and we phoned the guys to find out where they went. 'We're in the van,' they said. And we were like 'But where is the f#cking van?' Turns out some prankster got into the van and parked it about two blocks away." This, says Werner, is probably the craziest things that has ever happened to the band.

Crazy guy, sjo! Considering that the band has been making awesome music for a year now, one expects Werner to have great music taste. "My music guilty pleasure is Demi Lovato, she has an amazing voice and I am a huge Bon Jovi fan, they have been making music forever and are still here." Guess not huh. But in Werner's defense, he has seen some great international bands live. "My top ten are Death Cab for Cutie, The Dillinger Escape plan, Elbow, Envy, Biffy Clyro, Fall of Troy, Coldplay, Jay Z, Every Time I Die." I only count nine, but all is forgiven, as long as the band continues to produce marvelous music and equally awesome music videos.

For more information, you can check them out on Facebook.

A weekend outing

I write this with the only part of my body that is not suffering from third degree sunburn, my fingertips. And before someone thinks "Ja, you idiot, you know that the South African sun is a killer" (and then laugh silently at your pun), I did wear 50+ SPF and I reapplied it almost every time I got out of the swimming pool and with the exception of the pool, the superchoop, the speedslides and a little legend known as the 'Rinkhals', I was in the shade all the time.

On our way there and back we stopped at a garage where we found these cool guys!

They were made to celebrate the ICC World Cup and was themed to represent each country. These awesome art pieces were made by labourers at a local school and painted by children. See if you can guess which country is represented by which bokkie.

Wolves Cafe, music and Angiepants

On Thursday my friends and I finally made the long trek from the east of Joburg to Wolves Cafe , to check out my friend's band No Dancing! on the cafe's Howl night. I have been pining, yearning, hankering! to go to Wolves since I first heard/read/dreamt about it. In one word, its very unusual. And I love it!

Wowzer, the band was AWESOME! Although I didn't get to meet blogger-extraordinaire and co-owner of Wolves Angie from Lucky Pony , she had time earlier this week to have little chat:

Question numero uno
Wolves Cafe has a weekly music night to celebrate the local and dare I say obscure scene. How and why did this start?

It started with Shane’s (my husband) love for music and local bands. He just felt that it would be cool to have a place that showcases bands that people haven’t yet had the chance to discover and enjoy. And together Shane and I were really keen on creating an event like Howl to give people in Joburg something to do.

The second question
What type of music do you listen to?
hmmm....I listen to all kinds of music. Until recently I shared an office with a friend who is obsessed with music and finding new songs/bands, so I was constantly exposed to new stuff. I think the only time I really choose music based on my emotional state is when I feel like dancing uncontrollable in my house to songs like ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ by AC/DC.

Question the Third
Hah, your friend and I are ridiculously the same! You are married to a musician. Describe the life with a musician in a few words.

there are songs out there that are specifically about you, which is awesome - need I say more?  :)

Die vierte Frage
What is your music guilty pleasure?

Wham! Hahhaa!

Last but not least
What does music mean to you?

When I was younger I always used to imagine this scenario – if I was stuck on a desert island and I was only allowed TV or music for the rest of my life, which would I choose? I chose music every time. I love it so much, I love how it makes you feel, how it can bring you to tears or remind you of a specific place or person, or how it can make you just want to jump around and air punch the sky like a nutcase, or just lie on the floor and listen with your eyes closed. Music is like sherbet in a straw (remember those?), awesome and sherbity, yes.

 Aaah, the nostalgia of sherbet straws! I love this woman!

 Disclaimer: Last night, my camera gave me the finger, so pics are via.

My first pot plant potted!

My mom gave me this lovely Elephant's ear (Alocasia amazonica) from her garden as a present, and my friend Eleanor gave me this Peacock plant (Calethea rufibarb) as a housewarming present, which prompted the beau and I to visit a garden centre for some goodies. We popped into Flora Farm in Boksburg. Read about it in the previous post.

Flora Farm

This weekend I trekked around the city looking for the perfect pot for my Elephant's ear. What a mission! After quite a party on Saturday night, I surely did not feel like walking around for hours in the hot sun..(how hot was this weekend! WOW) But eventually my beau took me to this huge nursery/garden centre in Boksburg, where I found a pot for cheap cheap.

I will never be able to find the place again, with the exception of the beau or a programmed GPS, but I think this is one of the biggest garden centres I have ever been to. It's probably two blocks big and I enjoyed frolicking between the roses, the pots, the ceramic dogs, cheetahs and wild dogs. The place even has a tea garden. (Well, which place these days does not have its own tea garden?) This is what I saw:

These cute critters were for sale in the indoor centre. I had to stop myself from buying them all. And they are perfect for Easter, which is about a month away :)

It's a giveaway!

Yes, you read right! This is my very first own giveaway and today I give to you the most awesome of awesome!  This book I found in a little-bitty bookshop in Bedfordview might be the coolest thing since 1987 (yup, that was the year I was born). If you love anything general knowledge and all things quizzy, then enter this give away.

"What does the Mona Lisa have in her left hand?"

"List the nine activities which are traditionally forbidden in public swimming pools?"

From American presidents to Welsh surnames, poker hands to the Von Trapp children, and from London Underground stations to the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber, test yourself and your friends with On the Tip of My Tongue - a quiz book with a difference (no I didn't think this out, I just copied the book's cover.)

Do know that I part with this book with a heavy heart, because it is just that cool!
It asks a million-and-one questions and if you don't know the answers off-the-cuff, you can always have a peek in the back of the book for the correct one. Along with the answers the book also gives a few titbits about a certain subject, for extra knowledge me thinks!

And with the book you can also win this original artwork bookmark, which was painted by the shop owner herself.

How to enter:
Be a follower of this blog with Google Friend Connect! (Click "Follow" in the upper nav bar and follow with Google/Blogger, Twitter, Yahoo, or Aim!) and then leave a comment with your email address! (This is just one entry!) You must do this entry first to be eligible for additional entries!

To gain additional entries, you can blog, tweet, update your status on Facebook with a link over to the giveaway.

These all count as extras, but you have to let me know that you did this by commenting on this post.  

Lastly, answer this easy question: Name the four attendees at the Mad Tea Party in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (This is one of the questions in the book.)

The winner will be announced by next week Friday.

I found a link about an online drawing programme on Saffa expat's indieberries blog that looked really interesting and tried it out. For the life of me, everyone knows that I cannot draw, not even to save my own life or that of a baby seal about to be clubbed (gruesome much?). But I thought of the most simple thing I could draw, and one of my greatest loves in the world...ice cream, om nom nom! This is how it turned out:

Not bad hey? Forgive the spoon, I was drawing it and then realised that you don't eat an ice cream cone with a spoon, but it looked too good and I was too proud to take it away after the hard work I put into it. Ha! Way to kill an hour.

Monday, oh sweet sorrow of Monday!

What a weekend! I have been out of action since last week Wednesday, as I had a minor operation and a brief stint in the hospital on Thursday, with Friday being recovery day. Don't worry, I am alive, well and very healthy!

By the weekend I hit the ground running and have been so busy that I have not had time to post anything. But I have sorted everything and will be back on track by tomorrow. In the meantime:

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"Pure love produces pure nonsense" ~ Jonathan Klinger, attorney

Hope this made you smile!

Moyo

On Saturday, my friend Idele and I decided to venture to Parkhurst for a sale at a shop that we will not mention here. We could not find what we were looking for and decided to find some edibles and a few drinks. One of my old favourites is the Zoo Lake Bowling Club, but after standing there for ten minutes and not even getting a glimpse from any of the waiters, we up and left for Moyo, which is just across the pond from the bowling club.

I would like to shout this piece out of utter excitement, but for the sake of keeping with my personal style rules, I will say it this way: What a fantastically fantastic place! This had been my first visit to the Moyo at Zoo Lake, partly because I never knew where it was situated, until I got lost on the way to the bowling club. Idele and I walked around for almost an hour gawking at the lovely African ornaments you can buy at the shop and then almost another hour just looking at the magical scenery of Moyo itself. It felt like I was almost back in a very modern Tanzania, but with an abundance in the Xhosa culture. The scenery was great, the food was yummy, the couches were oh-so-kick-your-shoes-off-and-relax and we even had our faces painted. Definitely a great place to hang out over weekends, or even have a bachelorette or wedding party!

(PS, on the day we were there Marie Claire had their Naked Issue celebration at the function venue and we tried to peer like little monkeys to see if we could spot famous people. They spotted us and we bolted. ha!)

Tings 'n Times - ekhouvanjou,okay

On Friday, some old friends of mine came through from Potchefstroom (I told you this dorp is spawning bands like a rat), in the form of ekhouvanjouokay, an electronic rap band, with one of my great friends Louis as one of the singers. Their sound might not be in everyone's taste, but they are quite entertaining live!

At first my friends discovered some ornaments in the flat and this happened:

and then while waiting for the band to play, we saw how awesome the tables are painted at Tings 'n Times. On the outskirts of Hatfield, this club idolises Bob Marley and salutes the reggae era with its bohemian interior and good vibes. (Good vibes bought on by the permitted use of some green leaves that is not a main ingredient in Ceylon tea. )

Tits and times

And then the band came on. I am still deaf in my right ear. Don't stand to close to the speakers children, it might cause prolonged damage.

Louis doing his thing

All in all, we decided to go to the square to have a dance and a few other drinks, but after tripping over one to many schoolbag, we decided to trudge home. What an evening this was.

Kooky

These are some very interesting and playful perspex jewelery, designed by South African home-grown honey Lize-Mari Maartens. She designs under the brand name Kooky and finds her inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, Greek mythology and poetry!

If you like her stuff, you'll find it at  The Fringe Arts, Nap Living & De Malle Meul in Cape Town, and at Quixotee Lifestyle in JHB. This is some of her fun designs:


Brainy Bangles

Bright Brooches

"Don't believe in a compass that points East," he croons in his song, Kissing Devils on the Cheek. I believe you guy, you're going to get awfully lost if you follow that needle.

South African singer/songwriter Farryl Purkiss must have followed that needle somehow, because here he is, in a four-question interview.

 "Don't believe in the comfort of a rocking chair. It will rock, rock, rock, but still won't get you anywhere" the song continues. He definitely got up out of his comfy chair and after learning to play the guitar at age 15, released his first self-entitled album in South Africa, in 2007. This was followed up by Fruitbats & Crows in 2009, and he even got a song featured on medical drama Private Practice.

"Quit playing games, stop dropping names," says the chorus. As unpretentious as his lyrics, so is this devilishly good looking man, with his equally alluring voice and his opiate acoustic guitar. And he is still moving forward. He talks to me about his new album, awesome bands and crazy stunts.

You're working on a new album. How's it going and when will it be done?
"It's going well. I moved to a farm a year ago to get away from everything and clear my head. It's been a good change of pace, a breath of fresh air. And you will definitely hear the influences in the songs.

I'm hoping to finish writing for the album by the middle of this year and release it around the end of the year." (Just in time for Christmas, me thinks).

Why did you choose music?
"I didn't choose music, it kinda chose me actually. It fell in my lap and I realised that I can't turn an opportunity like this down."


What are some of the best bands that you have seen live?
Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals.

He also says hat the bravest (read crazy-romantic) thing that he has ever done was flying overseas to meet a girl he has never even met. Lucky girl.

 If you would like to see more of this talented man and check out his gigs, go to his Facebook page or his website.

The day I was saved by a 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider

Ha! So today I had to attend some congress in Sandton and leaving there a bit earlier I decided to follow my own path back to Bedfordview. Now, I am not a native Joburger and only know the most obvious roads back and forth.

Eventually I ended up in a suburb called Waverley and past comes a fire-engine red 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider 2000. I have quite a knack for old cars, I dream of owning a Karmann Ghia or an Austin Healy someday. So, I decided to go out on a whim and follow this red car, with its 20-something driver, and see where I end up. I had the gps with me, so if I ended up being so entirely lost I would still be able to find my way back to the office.

So, I kept on following this gorgeous piece of car and I shit you not, this guy actually drove right up to our offices, only taking a straight where I had to turn right. I eventually knew where I was when I was close enough to the office to recognise my surroundings, but it was such an awesome experience to just follow my head, and a red car, and actually end up in the right place. Fate, I tell you! Believe in it!

Fate in the shape of this

Sotran

This shop I like. No, adore! No, love! The first time I put my feet in Sotran, I started crying because of a rocking horse. It imports furniture from countries such as Indonesia, India and other Asian countries and holds the key to my heart! The beau and I were looking for a plasma unit for our new flat in December and after walking through an astounding number of well known designer shops and not liking what we see, we eventually found our little piece of Bali-heaven, in the form of the most awesome plasma unit.

I really love this place! Let me explain. The other day, I won a R500 voucher from Sotran and I nearly started crying again. So another two trips to this lovely place and I walked away with these lovely ornaments. Just in time for my housewarming.

My blue bowl

Barbara-Anne, the crocodile

Inside Sotran:

 

 You can visit Sotran at its three branches located in Boksburg, Edenvale and Fourways.