Bossman75

Without a shadow of a doubt I owe a lot to my best mate Mel  and I don't just mean the quite literally unmeasurable amount of beers he's bought me over the course of our friendship. I mean merits like his influences in music and art which I wholeheartedly trust and appreciate, and as a fellow Gooner there have been many visits to the Emirates together some of which have been spectacular. Those are just a few physical things but more importantly his honesty and positivity in our friendship have meant so very much to me. In testament to his kindness and generosity he surprised me on my fortieth birthday with a very special gift. First a little background... Some ten years ago Mel put me onto a then fledgling band called The Duke Spirit . Our memories are understandably foggy on the exact details but it we think it was at the Barfly in Camden that we first saw them. I've spent some of this morning reading reviews of that gig online and many are really negative of the band...

My recent posts have been art related thanks to the scintillating array of exhibitions that have kicked off 2016, however there is plenty more going on in my life that I'd like to share. Tomorrow I have a friend visiting from Germany and when he visits we always grab a burger. I'm fairly rubbish at suggesting eateries as I view him as a burger connoisseur of sorts, but this time I think I've done a good job. Before we eat however we have some time to kill and fortunately the guys at Beach London have something special brewing that goes extremely well with burgers. Beach London and Camden Town Brewery present: ‘ Beer at Beach ’ Coinciding with their installation at Craft Beer Rising, Truman Brewery, Camden Town Brewery have teamed up with local Shoreditch design and illustration gallery, Beach London, on an exhibition celebrating the process of making beer. Beach and Camden have invited a diverse selection of illustrators, designers and artists to illustrate ea...

The artist line up at Lazarides Rathbone is something like the squad at Barcelona. The best players in the World at the top of their game. This week, Lazarides commemorates ten years of exhibitions with a spectacular group show titled Still Here opening to the public on 12th February. The gallery owner and once upon a time photographer for Banksy, Steve Lazarides has come a long way. This celebration coincides with the announcement of a new investor, as well as a name and location change in the imminent future. "Firstly, no-one can ever pronounce the name so we're changing it to LazInc. Secondly, we're moving to Mayfair. We've spent years working from a position of isolation, and now it's time to challenge the status quo from the inside." - Steve Lazarides Private View: Thursday 11th February, 6-9pm Exhibition runs: 12th February - 24th March 2016 In February 2016, Lazarides will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a group exhibition from the gall...

I'm very fortunate to be within walking distance, or at worst bus, from a handful of amazing art galleries in London and do my utmost to visit as many exhibitions as possible. As a result my calendar is pretty full of Thursday evening openings. The news of Magnus Gjoen releasing a new print and signing work this week had me excited, that was before discovering that the event was being held in Brighton. I love Brighton and I have become a real fan of Magnus, but it's a school night so I hope to maybe catch up with him locally soon instead. We are very pleased to announce that one of our best loved artists Magnus Gjoen will be revealing and signing his latest work, an exclusive 3D holographic lenticular print of the sold out edition 'He Lived Like a Devil and Died Like a Saint', in our Brighton Gallery on 11th February from 6.30pm-9pm. artrepublic invites you to join us on the evening for a relaxed reception of drinks, canapés and cutting edge artwork. Magnus is a...

I long ago professed to DJ Shadow's Endtroducing being my all time desert island disc*. It's never left my side though truth be told I don't listen to it all that regularly. That being said I know it note for note, scratch for scratch and sample for sample. I just recently downloaded  Endtroducing..... (Excessive Ephemera) from the Reconstructed box set and it's a great piece of work. Seeing your favourite album played live in it's entirety is not something that usually happens. I did see Jane's Addiction play Nothing's Shocking and it was mind-blowing, so I'd love to see him play Endtroducing live. Whilst I wait and remain hopeful of that chance something intriguing has come up. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary since it's release INTRODUCING LIVE are back for one last time to perform DJ SHADOW's seminal masterpiece "Endtroducing" fully live. INTRODUCING LIVE are a 10 piece band who have also taken on reproducing the work...

You should already be familiar with Martha Cooper's work, her images of graffiti and hip hop culture are world-renowned and widely published. If not then I suggest you check out this interview from last year over at The Hundreds - Inside The Mind Of Martha Cooper . I got the chance to see her in 2007 at the launch of her book  Street Play  but at the time my appreciation for her work wasn't what it is today and regrettably I didn't buy the book nor engage in conversation with her. Having already gotten excited about seeing Janette Beckman's work this week, I then discovered that Martha Cooper is in town for a book signing and exhibition at StolenSpace Gallery. That's a chance to see two of my top five photographers in the space of just two weeks, and make up for my past indiscretion. StolenSpace is proud to present ‘Lifework’ a solo show from the renowned photographer, Martha Cooper. Stories and captures that appeared in her lens were different and timely:...

I just found out about this exhibition of Janette Beckman's punk and hip hop photography that's been given the Mash Up treatment by artists including Pam Hogg, Princess Julia, Ian Wright, Horace Panter, Christos Tolera, Dan Holliday, Hattie Stewart, Cey Adams, Marco Aurele Vecchione, Chris Sullivan, Ian Swift, Kosmo Vinyl, Khashayar Naimana, Lorraine Kinman, Sue Tilley, and more. The London leg of this exhibition follows successful Mash Up exhibitions in New York, Iceland and Paris last year. Janette captures the energy and character of both these great musical counter cultures, and now in collaboration with a range of artists has created her new Mash Up Art series, many commissioned just for this show. For those unfamiliar with the name, Londoner Janette Beckman began her career at the dawn of punk rock working for 'The Face' and 'Melody Maker.' She shot bands from The Clash to Boy George as well as three Police album covers. After this she moved to ...