20 posts tagged “haimediagroup”
Bankers wearing black shirts, sipping expensive cocktails at a beautiful beachside hotels, while millions lose their jobs,
It starts here. September 3rd, 2009.
Burned down, the blackness folds over the mountains, the seashores and all the man made objects until only the hidden cities survive.
The few who were lucky to be sheltered, are kept protected.
Those who are left gather in together tightly, watching from behind shields, as the earth crumbles into a runimous landscape of scorched surroundings and things that used to be. Sadness haunts the transformation. Faces shed tears, and as those left experience frequent, spontaneous, overwhelming rushes of furious emotions. There is little left to do but comfort each other when pain gets too much, and try to rebuild.
Inside these pockets, filled with small groups of humanity, the people gather around campfires, taking comfort inside these safe feeling places, slowly venturing out on scouring missions to find what is left and usable.
Stories are told, not by books, all lost in the burning, but by talking, and from the electronic archives, preserved long ago by a few futurists, that were sealed up in hidden places scattered about the earth.
As the change happens, life forces onto the surface with stronger and smarter adaptation for the new environment. Surprises are seen, and names and species categories are given to the discoveries as they appear. Some are cultivatable and have properties that help feed, heal or supply shelter.
Welcome to Haiはい, a transmedia journey,
-by Lisa Devaney
Last weekend I was tucked away in the beauty of the English countryside, near Cambridge, to debut Hai Media Group's all-female production of The Wind in the Willows at the Secret Garden Party.
Our show, a
re-make of the childhood favourite by Kenneth Grahame, was my own
interpretation of how the elements of the story might play out in a quirky
festival environment. I played Toad of
Toad Hall, joined by a cast of talented women portraying Badger, Ratty, Mole
and Weasel.
Without my co-horts I couldn't have pulled off such an entertaining production and I'm grateful that the following women joined me in the adventure, including sticking around to enjoy the delights of the four-day festival:
Lucy Lowe as Ratty
Lucy is a
recent graduate of performing arts and her training was demonstrated in playing
the role of Ratty. Her boyfriend Matt Price, a comedian, also joined us in
hosting the evening as MC. Thanks Lucy!
Ali Rawlings as Weasel
Cheyne Pride as Mole Cheyne played the role of Mole and an adorable Mole she made!
Cheyne is a gifted
singer and songwriter by trade who sings with both National Debt and her band The Wildcat Tamers. Cheyne's also a professional Cheerleading coach,
who trains children of all ages in the fine art of Cheer. Her dance troupe Cheer-A-Go-Go performs at music and club nights throughout London and Europe. Thanks Cheyne!
Mary Epworth as Badger
Mary is a singer and songwriter who played the role of Badger, giving this character wise words of wisdom. Mary is the lead artist in her Jubliee Band, and you can watch her perform in this beautiful music video that was produced earlier this year:
Thanks Mary!
Dancer Amanda
Mae Steele provided the grand finale dance at the Toad Hall
celebration. We also had a
few supporting rabbits and weasels to join us in the performance (Will Twynham, Andy and Sadie Spector) and following the show we invited the audience to join
us at a banquet table and feast on delicious food at our make-believe Toad
Hall. Thanks Weasels and Rabbits!
Make Your Own Props: It's Amazing What Can Be Done With Cardboard and Poster Paint
As Toad, I had a blast making people laugh as I ran
around in a little motorcar that John & I constructed of cardboard, along
with a small Jail and a small boat.
Feedback has
been terrific from the event organizers and it was a terrific learning
experience. Much gratitude goes to Kate Risker aka Miss Risk and Simon Harris, from the Hand of Glory record label,
for inviting me to create this performance.
Here's ten things I loved about the Secret Garden Party:
1) Brands
were nowhere to be seen, and if they were there, any were in attendance, they
were virtually invisible to the human eye. The brand-less festival let a few
hundred artists emerge for attention, and allowed the mass of quirky creative
ideas shine through. Instead of tribute banners to lager, you’d find Action
Camps inviting guests to make their own superhero costume, listen to an
experimental musician or watch a performance.
3) Skanking to the brassy funky soulful beats of The Fontanas, and having a fireside chat with lead singer Gavin Skeggs and finding out that he is also in a band called The Tarantinos , inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s films.
4) Getting a huge kick out of the performance antics and musical skills of Rat Fink who delivered big sound and big fun.
5) Watching the pyro-technical extravaganza of the Pirate Ship getting blown-up, a very Burning Man-esque moment.
6) Hanging out in the tree house of the Where The Wild Things Are venue.
7) Making a cape at the Superhero Action Camp, making a carnival hat at another Action Camp and listening to Green political talks at the Green Action Camp.
8) Not spending endless amounts of time waiting in queues for food, drink and loos.
9) Bumping into many friends, something that is less likely to happen at Glastonbury, where everyone gets lost in the crowd.
10) Unwinding in the Lost Horizons sauna.
Among
the music performances I enjoyed was seeing Grace Jones headline the festival, at
the only festival gig she is doing this year. She’s 60 now, and still a
powerhouse of music and towering good looks.
Many thanks to Jim Hanner for his fantastic photos from the show and the festival:
Still grooving on the Secret Garden Party,
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
Would,
Kenneth Grahame, the author of The
Wind in the Willows be delighted or disgusted to know that his fairy tale classic
for children has had a makeover?
His four main anthropomorphised animal characters Toad, Badger, Ratty and Mole will be played by a cast of entertaining women who are hell bent on making their own version of the tale rock.
My company the Hai Media Group has produced and cast a new cabaret show that takes inspiration from the lazy river days of life along the river in the very English countryside adventure story. I’m playing Toad of Toad Hall and will present this magical story, that evokes the best of pastoral English settings for summer, to quote the book:
"Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." –The Wind in the Willows
Who’s Who in the Cast?
- Toad played by me, Lisa Devaney
- Badger played by Mary Epworth, lead singer with her Jubliee Band, on the Hand of Glory record label
- Mole played by Cheyne Pride, a country rock singer
- Ratty played by Lucy Lowe
- Weasel, played by Ali Rawlings, aka Punk Rock Dolly
- Sexy Rabbit, played by Amanda Mae Steele
We are merrily on our way to The Secret Garden Party, bringing a cast of colourful, loveable, characters who will treat guests to a scrumptious feast of sight and sound at none other than that magical childhood place Toad Hall. Greeting weary travellers who come from far and wide across this great green land of Britain, and beyond, will be our joyful celebration, of dancing, and a spectacular banquet table, in a place to revel.
We’ll debut our all-female revue of The Wind in the Willows at The Secret Garden Party, arts and and music festival this week where Grace Jones is the headline act. Grace Jones:
Our show is among a talented line-up of music acts that will be part of the ‘Come and Play’ area of the festival – a collection of tents that invite guests to play with arcade games, or interact with the performances happening around them.
"The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea." –The Wind in the Willows
Spread before our guest's eyes will be a dining table, gigantic banquet table, as only would suit Toad of Toad Hall to entertain, along with his friends, all evoking the magical memories of childhood favourite tale The Wind in the Willows. White table cloth, OTT décor and upon this marvellous display, unexpected delights – of poetry reading, dancing and comedy skits, played out spontaneously, between sets of live music.
If
you are planning to attend The Secret Garden Party, please plan to see our
performance – scheduled for 8 PM, this Thursday, July 24th, at the
‘Come and Play’ area. We’ll plan to keep in character and costume for the
night, so stop by after setting up your campsite and dive deep into this
festival’s creative spirit, and come play with us.
"Animals arrived, liked the look of the place, took up their quarters, settled down, spread, and flourished. They didn't bother themselves about the past--they never do; they're too busy." –The Wind in the Willows
Here’s the night’s line-up:
19:00
hrs - 19:30 hrs DJ
Bomber
19:30 hrs - 20:25
hrs The Ratfinks
20:30 hrs - 20:50
hrs Hai Media Group Presents:
The Wind in the Willows
20:50 hrs - 21:45
hrs Kid Id
22:00 hrs - 23:00 hrs The
Fontanas
23:00 hrs - 00:00 hrs
DJ Bomber/ I Heart What?
00:00 hrs - 01:00
hrs Chin Supressor
01:00 hrs - 02:00
hrs Symmetrik
‘Come and Play’ is an exciting new festival venue, which has been put together by the team
responsible for bringing Eco-Arcadia to events throughout the UK for the last 5 years. Join in the welcoming feast of the festival, or just sit back, relax and unwind after your travels, to watch the silly, festive antics unfold, enjoy the music, and dine! Dine! Dine! Upon festival delights.
The only question is – are you a Rabbit or a Weasel? Pick one or the other, and join us! Whiskers and bunny ears will be supplied, or bring your own to be a participant in our version of The Wind in the Willows.
"It's
never the wrong time to call on Toad. Early or late he's always the same
fellow. Always good-tempered, always glad to see you, always sorry when you
go!" -The Wind in the Willows
Many thanks to Kate Risker, aka the fabulous Miss Risk, who invited Hai Media Group to produce and perform this new twist of the old tale of The Wind in the Willows.
A proud & stupid Toad am I,
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
My comedy cabaret show the House of Hee Haw! will be back on stage this coming Friday, July 4th, to celebrate:
The event will be a lively celebration of Americana-style music, and a DJ spinning souful favourites, along with rock and some cowboy country music. Our growing cast of hillbillies is proud to be part of the new London country rocker club night Little Bit Country Little Bit Rock n Roll. We'll be hee hawing it up alongside a fantastic line-up of live music, and even Cheerleaders! from the dance troupe Cheer-A-Go-Go.
**Download your flyer here and bring it along to claim your
This party is going to be country fried finger-liking good fun.
*And I bet a £1 that everyone will be hee hawing it up all night. No party poopers welcome, this is dance all night, sing all night wild and wacky fun.
***Please note, the artists request that you please leave your hat at the door, following pretend cowboy, cowgirl and hillbilly fun times at the party -- so we can use the hats the next time!
AMERICAN
CO-(IN)DEPENDENCE DAY
FOURTH OF JULY
CELEBRATIONS!
Featuring...
♥♥♥ Cheer-A-Go-Go! ♥♥♥
(Hillbilly
Comedy Cabaret)
♫♫♪♫♪ HellzaPoppin’ ♫♫♪♫♪
(Rockin’ Stray
Cat-Style Trio)
London debut of:
♫♫♪♫♪ The
WildCat Tamers ♫♫♪♫♪
(Country,Soul,Rock’n’Roll)
♫♫♪♫♪ DJ Jon the Boatman ♫♫♪♫♪
& Surprise Special Guests
Barbecue & Grill. Very Reasonable Bar Prices
Friday 4th July 2008. Doors 8 ‘til late. £6/£5 concs.
Inn On the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close, Portobello Green, London W10 5XL.
1 minute
walk from Ladbroke Grove Tube Tel: 0208 962 5757 www.iotg.co.uk
www.myspace.com/littlebitcountryuk
red, the white and the blue -
- of both countries!!
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
At bTWEEN 08 the motto was Seed Share Sell -- with many of the UK's digitial industry gathering to offer up ideas,
listen to ideas, and in some cases sell concepts. It was a mash-up that saw indie and fringe digital media types meet up with the mainstream superstars of the digital media industry, and it was a match that proved fruitful for all.
Last week I was part of bTWEEN, held at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, representing my agency Hai Media Group, where my seed idea for a promotional campaign called Rare Fruits was among the final selections to win a £5K prize, and possible commission by a company to support their marketing efforts. Along with my talented media partner Isabella Hu of Ecolocate, we bravely faced a panel of digital media and branding experts to showcase our idea. We were honoured that our Rare Fruits idea for the Branding Talent competition was selected, and nervous to present our ideas to 4Talent, BBC, Aegis, Ogilvy, and others.
It was a learning experience, and one that took a lot of courage for the many small entrepreneurs or, simply a few folks with good ideas, to face their more senior peers in the creative digital industry. In talking to other finalists, many
likened the situation to being in the TV show Dragon’s Den, complete with its very own Digital Dragonoids. The finalists presented their sometimes fragile ideas to a panel of experts, most who were helpful idea cultivators, and never shy about picking and preening at concepts, all in effort to help support making the ideas a reality. As the experience moved along, bTWEEN, for me, as I do not speak for others who attended, morphed into far more than just a contest entry.
The two day conference included a star studded line-up of speakers from the emerging
media space. Highlights for me was learning more about Flourescent
Media from Carolyn Maze, hearing what’s happening with music in the emerging
media landscape from Kevin
Bacon of AWAL and seeing all ages represented. Teenager jellyellie spoke and over 60 cartoonist Bill Tidy drew pictures and
told stories. Cory Doctorow, co-founder and editor of Boing Boing focused his
talk on digital rights, and Matt Locke, Commission Editor of Education &
New Media at Channel 4, was an excellent ‘navigator’ of current happenings with
this innovative broadcaster, including youth programming.
Keynoter Kaiser Kuo, from Beijing, gave bTWEEN attendants an insider’s look behind what many Westerners
describe as being “the great firewall of China” with his speech Censorship, Culture and Chinese Netizens. You can read his thoughts about the conference here. He was a popular person at bTWEEN, as attendants discovered that he is also in a Chinese heavy metal band called Tang Dynasty, in addition to his role as Group Director of Digital Strategy with Ogilvy (China). He won the prize for being the Most Inspirational Person at bTWEEN.
I met other competitors who’s ideas were representative of new creative, new technology, social and environmental motivation and above all enthusiasm and passion. Here’s a few magic moments that I witnessed at bTWEEN:
1 + 1 = A Better Business Model
Andy Davison presented his idea for regenerating abandoned and derelict space in communities across the UK, that involves documenting the effort with film over a three year period. The documentation would track progress, but also provide a film archive that a broadcast outlet (Channel 4, BBC or other) could turn into a documentary or film about how the UK is Going Green. Andy’s professor also attended to support the idea and offered this commentary about the project:
“Exactly the kind of thing we should be supporting in this age of environmental destruction. This is something we should all get behind - use new media tools to do something REAL and meaningful in the world.” –David Robinson, Lecturer, University of Bradford
The magic happened when later that night I met Mark Alexander, who’s seed idea is called Hugs Everything, a concept he describes as “Facebook for environmental awareness.” As it turns out, his idea complements what Andy Davison is getting up to, and the two have connected and have started meeting to incubate how to bring their mutual ideas to life.
Like I said in the title of this blog post -- Rare Fruits are growing from bTWEEN!!!
1 2 1 = Incubation
Among the senior mentors attending bTWEEN was Steve Taylor, Director of Development & Innovation for Aegis. Steve was a judge in the Branding Talent competition, and from what I understand was instrumental in pulling in more agency creatives to bTWEEN than have previously attended, making the conference a real mix of agency types, entrepreneurs and technologists. He also set up his own mini-incubation lab at bTWEEN, where he kept back-to-back appointments to discuss new business ideas with entrepreneurs. I heard that he met with more than 20 people, helping them better define what role they can play in the industry.
Somewhere in bTWEEN
bTWEEN included a number of features that I’ve never seen used at conferences before. The organizers deserve praise for incorporating:
Live Webcasting
The crew of Kinura worked non-stop to keep the speaker’s discussions and other happenings broadcasting live from Manchester. The webcast included a chat feature, that allowed anyone watching the speakers from elsewhere to contribute, and ask speakers questions. The chat also made for hilarity at times, when the chatters commented on speakers presentations, or in some cases, got sadly mean about a few things. bTWEEN's chat feature was created by muchosmedia.
Another highlight was Timelines, a techy feature that allowed attendants to ‘bookmark’ points of interest, connect with people, and re-visit the experience online, using RFID tagging devices, supplied with registration badges.
Most amazing was that so many of the new technology industry of the UK were in attendance, alongside what can be
credited as part of the very beginnings of computing. At 60-years-old, ‘The Baby’ was probably the greatest star of the bTWEEN show, as it’s the world’s first stored-program computer. The Baby was designed by a dream team of engineers at the University of Manchester in June 1948.
My Photo Magic Moment
For me, one terrific magic moment was meeting a truly impressive multimedia installation artist, who I plan to spotlight
in the
future on this blog. While chatting about his upcoming installation in the
north of England, we started taking some photos. He took my camera and informed
me that he would take the best photograph of my life. Sure I thought, whatever,
I can’t stand most photos that are taken of me. But he proved his artistic
genius on the spot, and sure enough this is the best photo I’ve ever had taken
in my life:
Thanks for the best photo of my life Simon!
What's happening with Rare Fruits?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention what became of our contest entry. Well, we didn’t win
the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but we did win plenty of valuable insight and
counsel for pitching our Rare Fruits idea to others. The champion of our Branding Talent competition was Robin Cramp, who’s Little Me idea won over the judges, and may likely be developed further for use with Littlewoodsdirect.com.
We got awesome feedback from the mentors about our idea, including spot-on tips from 4Talent about what we can do with the Rare Fruits idea. I'm now cultivating the seed of the Rare Fruits idea, and hope to see it grow into something absolutely beautiful, in time.
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
Coming up this July 2-3 in London is a new event called 2gether08 that is being organized summer-festival style, combining the best of conference, with a bit of Festival fun mixed in. Check out what’s happening here:
2gether08 is brought to you by the innovative UK broadcaster Channel 4.
***Early Bird Discount Passes Available Now***
You’ve got until this Monday, 16th June, to
get an early bird discount for passes.
Register here: http://www.2gether08.eventbrite.com/
Come along and help...
Solve Bigger Problems at 2gether08
On offer are two days and nights of talks, workshops, debates, interviews, parties, awards and some surprises. More than 300 people from throughout London’s creative industries are planning to attend and the speaker line-up includes politicians, writers, a philosopher, economists, entrepreneurs, technologists, scientists and more to soon be announced. See the who’s who list of speakers here http://2gether08.com/programme/
Among attendants you’ll find many of London’s top influential creatives from new technology, business, media, art and entertainment, all gathering to hammer out new ideas, along with a few positive action steps that can be taken to make the world a better place. I’m hoping that this is going to be similar to what happens, when ideas get started, and spreading at TED talks.
2gether08 is a Grassroots, DIY, Co-Created, People-Powered Festival of Ideas
Most inspiring is how 2gether08 is being organized, with the active participation of those attending. Invitations and calls for ideas went out among London’s creative entrepreneurial community to begin shaping the agenda for what 2gether08 will tackle, and topic discussions will cover every subject from climate change to international relations to community issues. At the heart of the concept is a focus surrounding how new technology can propel social change, and it is social networking that has been shaping out 2gether08 across London.
I can report that the organizers are listening, with about 100 workshops being organized for attendants, by attendants.
My agency Hai Media Group is proud to be among the supporters of 2gether08.
We are helping out the organizers with PR support, if you have queries about press passes, please contact me. Download the 2gether08 Event Alert here:
**If you have a blog, or Twitter, or know someone who does,
please post news about this event, and help get the ideas going.
I’ll be blogging about what ideas emerge from 2gether08, and
if you have any pressing topics that you’d like to see guest’s put
their heads
together on, I’m interested to hear your thoughts, so please leave a
comment
about what is happening in your part of the world that needs attention.
You are welcome to contact me here, or email me at info [at]
haimediagroup [dot] com
Helping out to solve bigger problems with 2gether08,
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London,
offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
This month my agency the Hai Media Group heads to Manchester, along with other digital media creative entrepreneurs from throughout the UK, for the conference bTWEEN08, where our agency is a finalist in the Branding Talent competition.
HMG has teamed up with media partner Isabella Hu, a designer, to develop this seed idea for an integrated promotional campaign to support Littlewoods, a popular online shopping site for fashion and house wares. We’ve presented the judges with our Rare Fruits concept, that invites customers to visit Littlewoodsdirect.com, to pick rare fashion fruits from the branches of trees, growing on islands. The virtual world concept wraps around what we’ve already been told about Littlewoods new branding initiatives to build excitement with a television commercial involving a desert island, scheduled to be aired in the 2008 holiday season.
Among
our mentors for this experience will be 4Talent
(an innovation arm of the broadcaster
Channel 4), Aegis Media, Just-b (the creators and
designers of bTWEEN08) and Littlewoods.
bTWEEN08's Sponsors
We
join other finalists to develop our seed ideas into a full proposal for the
client, during a conference workshop, and find out Friday, 20th June 2008, if
our Rare Fruits campaign is a winner. We are thrilled to have the opportunity
to work closely with our digital creative peers for bTWEEN08, and hope we have
a good chance at winning the cash prize of £5K. You can see some screenshots of our Rare Fruits campaign concept below:
Check out our Rare Fruits entry here, which is up for public vote online, among other contenders:
http://www.just-b.com/btween/branding-tallent/rare-fruits
How do you vote? Please sign up to the bTWEEN08 online community, a helpful resource for digital entrepreneurs.
Creative Branding Inspiration
Hai Media Group hopes the judges will love our Rare Fruits campaign, a concept that aims to build website traffic by creating consumer excitement around exclusively available items from popular brands such as Miss Selfridges, Diesel, Love Island, Henleys, and other brands the retailer currently stocks. We've also suggested the possibility of offering prizes or products from the brand’s official spokeswomen Trinny & Susannah, who are leading fashion divas in the UK. We’ve been inspired by the successes High Street retailers have had in recent years by offering shoppers fashion lines from celebrities and designers, and see this new branding initiative as an opportunity for Littlewoods to capture the same excitement online.
Kate Moss, Madonna, Lilly Allen and others, have unveiled their collections at Top Shop, H&M and other retailers, but we think the best case study example is when Stella McCartney’s collection debuted at H&M in November 2005, which launched consumer fervour outside the Oxford Circus retail outlet on its launch day, with thousands of fans queuing for their chance to own an original piece of the collection. The store sold out within the first day, and remains a coup d'état moment among the fashion industry marketing types.
We hope to fuel similar excitement for Littlewoods, and offer busy women a new way to have a chance to own an original fashion item, that doesn’t require taking a day off from work, or raising kids, to queue for hours at a shop. In the run-up to our Rare Fruits campaign debut for Littlewoods, we’ve got integrated promotional strategies surrounding our campaign, to build buzz and excitement over an 8-week period in the run-up to the holidays, that we’ll be discussing further with the judges of this competition.
We are looking forward to working closely with other entrepreneurs, and media mentors to finalize our campaign ideas during the bTWEEN08 conference.
We join other finalists in a development workshop on Wednesday June 18th June 2008, to develop our seed ideas into a full proposal for the client. We’ll find out Friday, 20th June 2008, if our Rare Fruits campaign is an award-winner.
Hoping we've got a winner with the Littlewoods Rare Fruits campaign,
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
Who’s Isabella Hu?
Hu is an artist and designer who works across
the fields of interactive arts, motion graphics and new media. Her experience includes design consultantcy specializing in
digital, film, and print media. She has screened
her work internationally at various festivals throughout Europe, Canada, Asia,
Australia and in the UK. Visit her portfolio here: Ecolocate.
Well last Friday night my performance art group helped a great bunch of folks kick-off a new club night here in London called Little Bit Country Little Bit Rock n Roll, an evening presented by artist and musician Cheyne Pride, who, if you remember the 80s, had a hit dance track called Call Me Mr. Telephone.
As part of my hillbilly comedy cabaret art, I wrote new material to present an evening performance featuring my Hee Haw! House.
The audience laughed out loud over the show, featuring a cast of characters who went at it SMACK-down style in cabaret wrestling! I loved the mash-up style of the evening that mixed country rock lovers with British punk rock lovers and a lot of other pop cultural influences inbetween. We teamed up with Cheer-A-Go-Go to energize the audience for the evening, and get them ready for the fantastic headliner band JC & The Disciples, formed by a couple of legends from the original London punk rock scene.
Check out a few of my favourite photos from the night, here:
Folks liked it so much that we've been invited back for more, and are now invovled with helping the organizers get ready for a big bash here in London celebrating the Fourth of July! If you are in London, please mark your calendar and I hope ya'll can come on out and join us at Inn On the Green in Ladbroke Grove on Friday, July 4th!
-Lisa
PPS: Hey, do you want to be part of our urban hillbilly fun? We are looking for all kinds of artistic collaborators for this adventure. If you can do things like play a washboard, harmonica, banjo, pots 'n pans, jews harp, square dance call, line dance, or whatever you think an urban hillbilly might get up to -- please get in touch with me! Drop me a note here on my Vox blog, or email me: info [at] haimediagroup [dot] com
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
Ya’ll will have another chance to check out my Hee Haw! House comedy cabaret act, this coming Friday night, as we are performing as part of a new club night A Little Bit Country and a Little Bit Rock N Roll. The night promises to be an Americana-style celebration offering up country western, blues and good old fashioned rock-n-roll music, along with dancing and performance and DJs, and great big grins at the Inn On The Green .
Yes, smiles will be a plenty among this crowd, a gathering being organized by the talented
country western, and rock ‘n roll, singer Cheyne Pride. She’s brought together talent for the first of her new regular club nights with an Americana theme that will leave Londoners feeling warm and fuzzy about the good ‘ol stars and stripes and the fantastic music, art and cultural talent that has brewed from the USA.
Headlining the night is the band National Debt, a country blues rock band based in London, founded by Ronnie Smith and Michael Messer, with backing vocals by Cheyne Pride, sound engineer Chris Clarke, and Ed Genis contributing on guitar. The band’s debut album ‘From the Horse’s Mouth’ was released last spring, earning attention from music press in the UK, including airplay on BBC Radio 2, when Mark Lamarr took a liking to the band's tune ‘Oozlin’ Daddy Blues’.
This band will get you slapping your thighs, lifting your cowboy hats in tribute and tapping your feet along with the beat. Added bonus of the night is JC & the Disciples and dancing cheerleaders from Cheer-A-Go-Go, along with my very own Hee Haw! Whore House comedy. As The Madam of the Hee Haw! Whore House, I’ll be presenting new comedy material SMACK-down style with cabaret wrestling!
Well I hope ya’ll can come on down this Friday, and if you can’t make it this week, do mark your calendar for July 4th to enjoy an American-style celebration of the national holiday, right in the heart of Londontown at Inn On The Green.
Here
are the details for Friday:
Cheyne Pride Presents:
A Little Bit Country A Little Bit Rock-n-Roll
A new London country western and rock ‘n roll club night featuring:
National Debt
JC & The Disciples
Cheer A-Go-Go
Hee Haw! House
Doors Open at 7:30 PM
(Yes, there is a cover and it will be less than a tenner)
INN ON THE GREEN
3-5 Thorpe Close W10
(Ladbroke Grove tube - cross over and walk under the motorway - look for a balcony and come upstairs)
Buses 7, 15, 23, 52, 70, 295
Feeling a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll,
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
I've got some breaking news this week from an individual that I support here in London, both with PR services from time-to-time, with my agency the Hai Media Group, but also because I'm simply just a fan of Dr. Richard Barbrook.
Next week, Richard is headed to Vienna, where he has been invited to be a guest speaker in the Austrian city's annual May Day celebrations. He'll be taking the podium to speak with a crowd of 100,000 on Thursday, May 1st 2008, and is an honourable guest of Vienna Mayor Michael Häupl, who has invited Richard to talk about his ideas from his book The Class of the New, a popular title among many urban dwellers, who have interest in a thought leadership initiative surrounding the concept of 'creative cities.' If you are in the USA, you may have heard of an author by the name of Richard Florida, who is also known for his ideas about the urban creative classes, and yes, these two authors do share some similar views, but haven't met in person -- yet.
Much like Richard Florida in America, Britain's Richard Barbrook is both an author (his newest book is Imaginary Futures) and a lecturer of politics at the University of Westminster here in London. Prior to relocating to London, I also had the opportunity to meet and see the inspiring Richard Florida speak in the USA, and I think both academics have a lot of food for thought for people, especially urbanites, to consider. When it comes to Barbrook, I think the number one reason I most value the impact he has in this city, is because he is truly a great supporter of so many creative people, projects and entrepreneurs in London.
He is an early adopter, and is credited with being the first instructor to introduce students, and get them thinking about, the wild wonderful world of the web, with his founding of the Hypermedia Research Centre back in the mid-1990s, an academic department that was formerly based at the University of Westminster. He also conceived of, and set up Cybersalon, an organization that fosters thinking toward cyberpoltics, as well as exploring the intersection between art, music and technology with its festival Cybersonica. Over the years, many of his students have become his idea fans, and quite a few have gone on to produce some terrific things in the interactive world, as well as in the media, music, arts and entertainment worlds, including the fantastic animated rock band The Sancho Plan, which emerged from Cybersonica. Now he is getting up to something NEW:
This Weekend in London: Saturday,
If you are in London, I'm pleased to invite you along to witness a new project that Richard Barbrook has been developing this year, called Class Wargames, a performance art gaming project of sorts that sees a group of academics, artists and gamers re-create Guy Debord's Game of War at The Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park, at 12 NOON this Saturday, April 26th 2008. *Please note that the park has re-scheduled this event from an evening time slot, to take place in the afternoon.
Who's Guy Debord? This is background from the group's website: Guy Debord is celebrated as the leader of the Situationist International and as the author of the searing critique of the media-saturated society of consumer capitalism: The Society of the Spectacle. What is much less well known is that after the May '68 Revolution, Debord and his partner - Alice Becker-Ho - quit Paris and went to live in a remote French village. Over the next two decades, Debord devoted much of the rest of his life to inventing, refining and promoting what he came to regard as his most important project: The Game of War.
Class Wargames,
-Lisa
Who’s Lisa Devaney?
I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com
