Almost Alternative

Analogue Trash Presents The Luddite Collective, Def Neon and Psydoll at Dulcimer Bar Psydoll Photo by Cute As Sin I was so excited on the run up to Friday nights gig, as has been mentioned here before I am definitely a fan of Def Neon and I know seeing them live means dancing, Psydoll were coming in from Japan for a small Uk tour and having seen them once before and absolutely loved it I was looking forward to seeing them again. Now I am biased about The Luddite Collective, I have been helping them get the special advance limited edition run of their new ep done in time for this gig and I think it's quite brilliant, so obviously I was thrilled knowing they were going to play some of the tracks live. The Luddite Collective Photo Cute As Sin  First up was The Luddite Collective an aggressive industrial punk duo combining dirty bass, harsh vocals, snyth and beats that you really can't help dancing to. The lyrics are politically charged and very relevant, the emo...

A4 Studios And Gallery A4 Studios are a wonderful non profit organisation founded by artist's. They are aiming to provide low cost accessible studios for people of all abilities, while raising awareness of disabilities and equality in the arts. I fully support their mission and when I was asked to come down and help out with some fundraising I was more than happy to oblige. They have a funding page please donate if you can.  I spent the day helping to man the awesome A Hat And A beard stall. The lovely man who hand makes the items is so obviously talented, I really enjoyed chatting about his work and seeing people's faces as they looked at the stall. He also produces commission pieces and rents larger pieces out.  My partner in crime running the stall, Dani Scum (not Mr Hat and Beard) The performances were amazing. I really enjoyed the sea shanties played on an accordion by Marina Black. A perfect fun start to the afternoon.  Marina Black Marina...

An Exquisite Evening of Ethereal Entertainment  Hosted By Analogue Trash At the Castle Hotel Manchester The evening began with Beinaheleidenschaftsgegenstand an electronic, ambient, industrial trio. I have seen them previously but before they added the third member. They were just as good as I remembered and soon I was sat on the floor relaxing and getting lost in the music. They manage to be soothing, all encompassing and slightly creepy all at once.    Beinaheleidenschaftsgegenstand  The lead singers voice portrays the heartbreak and pain mentioned in the lyrics perfectly, then at other times manages to sound completely robotic. You can clearly see all the members get lost in the music as the performance goes on. The build up to the ending was intense, they gained an extra singer and a metal barrel being used as a drum. The sounds filled the room as the powerful lyrics were spoken, each crash of the barrel ringing out, the music heightening and the ...

My Fear of Clowns It surprises many people to hear that I am petrified of clowns. For a long time I was so scared I couldn't even be in the same room as a clown doll. I like to push myself with my fears though.  So I took on a crazy project. I agreed to do the make up for and photograph a noise artist called Pandemonium. He felt he needed a total restyle after a break from performing and asked for my assistance. I took a while to think about it and spent a long time looking at past pictures of Pandemonium trying to work out if I could take on this project. It took months for me to come up with design ideas because I was physically sick the first couple of times I tried.  Pandemonium original style Photographer unknown Then when swapping ideas it kind of clicked we came up with an idea. I thought out a couple of make up looks and photo ideas, I did a mood board which involved me looking at lots of pictures of clowns, it was the scariest and one of the most diff...

Introducing Almost Alternative Photo by RaPhotographic  Hi. There I am Bel, this is my blog and that is my face. I am apparently an alternative person, although I never quite know what that means. I think it means I am a cat and not a human. I am classed as an alt model, I hang in alt places, I live an alt lifestyle and I am not really sure I am alternative at all. I get funny looks from uptight people, I am not reserved enough for everyone's tastes, I look a little different than most and I guess I live in a bit of a strange way. On the other hand I get told I'm not punk enough, not goth enough, I don't have enough tattoos, I don't listen to the right music, I don't buy my clothes in the right places and I'm a little too normal. Photo by RaPhotographic I am enough though, its cool if people don't think I fit in, I don't mind not having a scene to call my own. I have many wonderful people in my life from a variety of scenes. I get to hang out ...