CAMDEN CALLING

Bordering On The Genius of Creation Records - State Of Music Update

2012-02-01T04:21:00.000-08:00

The State Of Music Vol 1 went on sale on Saturday and all of the hard copies were sold in a matter of hours. Camden Calling would like to thank Dom Paczko at Choose My Music for this wonderful gift , and making us part of his project to find 50 exceptional and unknown artists from every state in the US and promote their music. Dom is a very special person to us.

I purchased my copy of the album by digital download on Sunday and have to say it is an exceptional and eclectic collection. We at Camden Calling are also quite overwhelmed with the level of support for our little collective from our U.S cousins and would like to thank all of the bands involved for caring about homelessness and related issues here in London.

Here is what people have been saying about this extraordinary project

"Bordering on the genius of Creation Records" Sally's Gig Reviews

"In a world crowded with media outlets, which all too often cover a worryingly narrow band of taste Dom Paczko is to be praised for his efforts and he has uncovered some real gems here" Cranking It In The UK

"The State Of Music ticks all my boxes for a good compilation; varied, accessible, tracks that draw you straight in, plenty there to warrant repeat listening.....If this album represents the state of music, music is going to be ok" Album Masterpieces

The album is available by digital download and all of the profits from the album will be donated to Camden Calling. Helping our members to pursue artistic work this year. Making a huge difference to our work and our ability to function as an arts collective. Our members desperately need support for their creative projects and the things they would like to learn in 2012.

Camden Calling is a DIY project in the fullest sense of the word but like all building projects sometime you just gotta get a man in. BUY YOUR COPY OF THE STATE OF MUSIC HERE

EDUCATION & WEAKNESS

2012-01-25T01:48:00.000-08:00

Never was there a better time of year to have two such glorious subject matters to write about for my Camden Calling diary / journal /breakdown / whatever. Saying goodbye to 2011 and reflecting on lessons learned and starting 2012 ready to turn weaknesses into strengths.

This is what we do at Camden Calling last week we had a lovely article written about us in The Camden New Journal that you can read in full by clicking here

So what have I learned, well the first is do not be so eager to get on your Christmas break that you cannot be bothered to update the personal blog because the whole thing seems a bit tedious and daunting now. So while my cogs are turning perhaps you would like to check out Decembers radio show.

Education by lockedonradio

The lessons I think we all learned at Camden Calling in 2011 were to think more creatively, more flexibly and to give anything a go, there were a few dramas in 2011, much gnashing of teeth my end, some genuine and over dramatic frustrations and some unrealistic expectations of one another and what the project can achieve with limited resources. These things sound negative but my view is that they are 100% positive. They are our foundation for moving in to 2012 and the high drama and sometimes high emotion has led to us organising ourselves much better. Members are now working more effectively on lead areas, we are developing a mentor role within the project, and are now also unashamed to say that Camden Calling is an organisation for exceptional vulnerable people; that our recovery journeys however bumpy and painful they may be rely on being given the opportunity to be exceptional.

So what do I have to say about weakness? I think I have said it all, we are learning to turn our negatives into positives, which when you stop and think about that is not so easy as it sounds. We are complex as human beings and we can only strive to make better. The year has started very well for us in terms of opportunity, new members coming in, funding in the pipeline, meetings galore and lots of new friends being made.

The Choose My Music - State Of Music Album project is helping us not just to raise funds but to get the Camden Calling message out to a wider audience. I would like to say a massive thanks and congratulations to Dom on the release of the State of Music Vol 1, all proceeds are being donated to Camden Calling and the album is available on digital download here.

So rambling over, as usual nothing solved and I am still chasing my own tail. Our radio show on the subject is far more eloquent.

PRESS RELEASE FOR URBAN BEATFARE EVENTS 2012

2012-01-06T05:23:00.000-08:00

Event Details

Sunday 5th Feb 2012 The Enterprise 2 Haverstock Hill London NW32BL 7.30 – 11pm

alexis@camdencalling.org 07815 61 99 33 FACEBOOK EVENT

Camden Calling is a small arts collective of exceptional homeless & ex-homeless people. Working together with support to host mainstream events for a mainstream audience.

From February 5^th 2012 our successful Urban Beatfare night will be taking over a monthly slot at the Enterprise in Camden. The night features an exciting mix of urban influenced music performed by up and coming names on the live scene. An open mic competition also runs at every Urban Beatfare gig and contestants compete for a 25 min opening slot at the next show.

Camden Calling is an organisation set up to celebrate and encourage the diverse and quite amazing talents of people on the fringes of our society. People who without this community would not have a voice. All events are in part planned, promoted, produced and include performance from the members. Members showcasing at this first event are Dekay & The D’Mans

Acts Supporting are, Ruthless, De’Vide, Airklipz and last years final open mic winner 3REED

All profits from the sale are reinvested into helping the Camden Calling members to pursue their artistic and creative ambitions. Gigs run on the first Sunday of the month throughout 2012.

PRESS RELEASE NEW MONTHLY EVENT FOR 2012

2011-12-16T18:57:00.000-08:00

Event Details

Sunday 15th Jan 2012

The Good Ship

289 Kiburn High Road

London NW6

3pm - 7pm

alexis@camdencalling.org 07815 61 99 33

FACEBOOK EVENT LINK

Camden Calling is a small arts collective of exceptional homeless & ex-homeless people. Working together with support to host mainstream events for a mainstream audience.

In Jan 2012 a new FREE monthly live music event will be launched. The Camden Calling Sunday Sale Gigs are an exciting mix of acoustic eclectic musical styles, from some of the best up and coming acts on the live scene, fusioned with a laid back chilled out 2nd hand sale. Gig goers can bargain hunt and recylce any unwanted treasures of their own by donating them to the sale.

Acts Supporting are, She Makes War, Zoe Konez Music, The Acapella Punk, JD Smith, Lily Gaskell & Hadleigh Ford.

All profits from the sale are reinvested into helping the Camden Calling members to pursue their artistic and creative ambitions. Gigs run on the third Sunday of the month throughout 2012.

REALITY

2011-12-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

Reality by lockedonradio

So here we are at the time of year where we all have a little comtemplate about the successes and failures of the past year. It is a scary but safe time because our conclusions can be put on the back burner while we gorge oursleves and make merry for a week. If we are fortunate, as I count myself, this Christmas week provides precious time to let our thoughts sink in and a plan develop. Often this plan is in the from of fairly useless resolutions but it is a plan nonetheless and comforts on what is quite literally the darkest days. The reality of the situtation here at Camden Calling is that despite the successes of this year we find ourselves in exactly the same postition we were in this time last year. I am waiting on a yes or no from on high to put either plan A Best Case Scenario or Plan B Worst Case Senario into action and I find this limbo period is not very helpful. So as we come to the end of a brilliant year where we have achieved so much, I am also aware as usual that the clock is ticking and that a certain amount of crunch time exists as I am potentially holding a rather weak hand.

So much has been achieved this year, we have the Radio Project going from strength to strength, the video project looking like it is going to blow the amazing work we did last year totally out of the water, and the contacts that members made this year through the documentary have provided opportunities that are out of this world. We have more live shows than ever booked for next year, and yet here we are at a crunch. The reality is best or worse case scenario this project needs more public support in order to survive.

This last post of the year is somewhat of an appeal for help in 2012 and below are listed 5 reasons and 5 ways to support us in 2012.

REASONS

To enable us to keep recruiting more exceptional individuals from the homeless community.

To support our members to continue to make great music, and deliver exciting arts projects, using our unique way of working to make plans realities.

To enable our members to make more and more connections and friends in the world in which they have identified.

To allow this project to continue challenging perceptions of individuals that need help in a world that is full of stigma.

To support our efforts to bring people from all walks of life together through cheap quality events.

WAYS TO DO THIS

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and repost and retweet our news. The message needs to spread far and wide to capture imagination.

Join our street team in 2012, volunteering to get the message out there and get people to gigs.

Come to gigs see for yourself what we are doing and how members lives are totally changed. We operate a £2 guest list for most events and a quick email will get your name on it alexis@camdencalling.org

Volunteer your skills and time to support the team or an individual member. An email is the best way to make contact.

Visit our merchandise page and buy something or make a donation, the project needs cash flow.

Thanks so much to everyone that has played with us, supported us and been inspired by us in 2011. Special thanks to Anna Edwards, Dom Paczko, Peter Guinness, Ross Sutherland, Gerard Galvin- Barrie and Janice Barrie for her never ending support. You have all helped me not to give in just yet.

PRESS RELEASE

2011-11-13T03:37:00.001-08:00

Choose My Music Records Presents............

THE STATE OF MUSIC

One Country, 50 States, 50 new underground unsigned artists!

Choose My Music Records is proud to present The State Of Music, a series of 5 compilations albums celebrating the best of American Underground music, while supporting one of the UK's most innovative community groups Camden Calling.

The State of music is a unique feature on the website choosemymusic.org . Writer Dominic Paczko is on a one man mission to discover and feature and independent band or artist from each of the American states. Over the next 12 months fiftly imaginative, diverse acts will be profiled on Choose My Music ; and at regular intervals the cream of these artists tracks will be released digitally on five compilation albums through the Choose My Music label. By the time each album is released each artist will have gained significant exposure through the Choose My Music site, with interviews, sound clips and video footage.

The State Of Music Part 1 will be released on the 30th Jan 2012 through the Choose My Music website and Bandcamp.com. There will be a limited run of CD's priced at £6 with the download priced at £3

Doms Radio Interview for Q

State Of Music Q Radio by dominikrpaczko

About The Label

Choose My Music Records is a new label set up by former Electric Honey Records [ Belle & Sabastian, Snow Patrol, Biffy Clyro] student Dominic Paczko who channels his love for underground music through his website choosemymusic.org

About Camden Calling

Camden Calling is a community project dedicated to helping homeless and ex-homeless people to access music arts and popular culture, www.camdencalling.org

Contact Dom

07841 128431 / choosemymusic@gmail.com

ANARCHY

2011-10-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this months blog and as readers will know by now I am linking to the theme of our radio shows in order to add the radio player, in the hope of getting a few more people hooked on the shows. This month has been a rather odd one at CC. I was going to tell you a ridiculous allegory filled tale of one particular incident that really got my back up, but I have kind of let it go now, and we have so much good news to share. You do not need to know about mutiny led by and Elf to defend her Gnomes in a land full of money grabbing Goblins. So here is the anarchy show, special thanks to Steve White & The Protest Family for a fantastic music interview. A wee project update can be found below.

Anarchy by lockedonradio

So October has been a pretty tough month I do not mind saying, like our politician friends I have had to put in some tough austerity measures here at Camden Calling, and it has been a bit of a test perhaps of the members commitment to the project. Every penny has pretty much had to go in to the bank to try and make sure we have funds to continue in 2012, making some provision for the fact that some funding applications we are waiting on may not come to fruition. We have suffered a couple of setbacks, namely me putting quite a bit of time and effort into the Sunday Sale event that was subsequently ruined by said Goblin. It left us in a bit of a pickle but largely an annoyance because of the time that had been put into it. The event will be relaunching in January somewhere where we can create a lovely chilled Sunday afternoon vibe, and where it will not cost you, the good folks that support Camden Calling, the best part of four quid for a can of warm beer. We will be moving to the wonderful Good Ship in Kilburn , one of the first venues to embrace the Camden Calling project and we cannot wait.

Our Urban Beatfare night is going to be taking up monthly residency at The Enterprise come 2012 and members are busy working away on a bit of re-packaging and re-branding. Our Eclectic Anarchy night will be moving around London in 2012 but will be a FREE GIG for the duration, supported by some of the best friends that Camden Calling has made since our birth.

The Locked In Transit music video project is going really very well indeed, Kilburn High Road and Violent Dreams have been shot and we are getting ready for Stealth Tax Time. This is Richards first track and he is now in rehearsals getting a full set together for live performance. This is something really quite different and fulfills an idea we had at the start of the year to get some of the groups poetry on to the CC stage in some way. Martin another of the groups poets will also be recording his poem Drowning for the video project. This is pretty great news given we have had to suspend a lot of the poetry group work due to financial constraints.

The Camden Calling documentary will be screened ahead of it being shown on the BBC on the 21st November, if anyone following this blog would like to attend please email me for a seat as they are limited. Our Patron Peter Guinness will also be speaking at this event, and we are really planning this to be a bit of a call to arms for all of those that support us. There may be those of you with skills or ideas that we can use of the coming months that may make all the difference to the future of our project. If you have Sky or Virgin TV you can also catch Dekay's Guide to Estates on the 1st November at 9pm.

So we plug on, tweaking the project here and there, supporting one another and working together for we hope a greater good, sharing our skills & plugging the gaps, ocassionally we have some dispute or other to settle and sometimes I have to pull rank. We do have some rules! But largely we are a group of people just getting on with it, trying to change our own, our colleagues and those that come into contact with us lives for the better. We try to support projects and people who like us are on the margins and have to shout to be heard. Below is a music video made by our friends Heavy Load [a truly anarchic band] featuring Dekay, this song was to highlight hate crime against disabled people.

Those of you that have listened to the radio show will hear Steve White say in his music interview that the status quo exists because the belief in human nature is basically all wrong. I agree, Goblins you are and always have been wrong, Elves watch out most of you are getting Goblin faces and Gnomes, you don't have to be Gnomes, like the Camden Callers you just have to believe there is more to life, and if you need help find it. The status quo sucks because it does not encourage any of us to make the most of our lives. So I will leave you with a video of Steve White & The Protest Family, collaborating with Camden Calling member Rukas on a special version of what has become an anthem here at CC. Believe me if you guys had been on the bill I might have been tempted not to pull that gig.

YEARNING

2011-09-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

This month I am it seems challenged with talking about my experiences of running the Camden Calling project through the theme of yearning. I have been putting quite some thought into this and I am kind of coming up with blanks. As we explored this theme, putting the radio show together, I began to feel more and more that yearning is a totally adolescent emotion. Have a listen and see if you agree?

Yearning by lockedonradio

This month saw the event of Camden Calling's 3rd birthday party. As each year passes I do like to reflect on the project and think of how we are going to move forward in the next year. I like this to be a positive session with myself, but given that I am stuck with yearning as a starting place for this private therapy session, I think the best way forward is a good bit of what Dr Freud would call transference or displacement. So we are now going on photographic journey of some of the Camden Callers 3rd birthday fancy dress characters. I am going to consider the predicament these characters find themselves in, draw parallels to my own predicaments and empathise with the things these characters may yearn for.

So then, starting with the Big One the man himself Mr Jesus Christ, how do I yearn for the same things? Not gonna start getting all deep about this, although he had 12 followers, and there are 12 Camden Calling members........... eh eh. You see where I am going it is probably deeply offensive so I should stop! Hey that whole Christ complex thing is for middle class boys anyway. I think Jesus and I probably both yearn not to be misinterpreted. Sometimes people do not listen to the actual words I say and choose to hear what they want, I am guilty of letting this pass too often. People think of me as a soft touch and then get all upset when I turn like a rabid gerbil on them. So I yearn to be better at nipping this in the bud. This would be better for me, the Camden Calling members and the project as a whole. So on that, and the whole money changer temple thing, JC and I agree all the way.

Next up we have a Manga Character. Well it is 4am as I write this and I have spent the last hour trying to research these kinds of characters as I know nothing. Without getting too into the whole feminism thing [believe me people have written dissertations on this] I believe Miss Manga and I yearn for a bit of equality. We are fighting the good fight and
kicking some ass but essentially judged on our femininity and all that caper. Here we are in the 21st Century and still I find that I am either assumed to be a male if I use the abbreviated version of my name or worse still I actually often get a swifter response to correspondence that way.

Number 3 the good old Mad Hatter, his best mate was the white rabbit who was forever late. In my opinion that's what drove the poor old Hatter mad! I can say I have actually only ever been late about 6 times in my whole life. Lateness infuriates me and I yearn for people to respect that. My day does not have enough hours in it you see. I spend my life respecting others individuality and trying to work out ways in which it can be embraced. SO PLEASE PLEASE respect that this is my little thing. It is just a small thing but it is mine.

Ok probably losing readers now, those not offended will probably soon be offended, but you win some you lose some. So how does running a small arts collective for vulnerable and homeless people mean I could have anything yearn-wise in common with a prisoner of war? We have established yearning is a bit piss weak in my opinion and I have used this opportunity to whinge into the ether about nothing really. So me and soldier boy here probably yearn for exposure, for someone to see and really understand what is happening and how it is life changing. Camden Calling is not a perfect project, but we are 100% DIY and exist because of the work we put in. This project has inspired people, who had frankly written themselves off, to try, to persevere, and then try harder. So like the Colonel here I yearn for people to look and really see because my unit are doing the most extraordinary things.

HAPPINESS

2011-08-27T01:30:00.000-07:00

Happiness then for those of you that follow the blog is this months theme and my post will be brimming over with all the most scrumptious delights I have to share from the cockpit of the glorious Camden Calling mother ship. True the ship resembles a battered old canoe, true I have 15 people balanced against health and safety directive on the back, and only too true that the oars are on loan from a bigger fish that would quite like them back. However the theme has been dictated by apathy and a little journey through the word happiness is where we are going. But not until I have posted this link and asked you all to give this months radio show a listen. I would also like to thank Heavy Load, Lemos & Crane and John Hegley for their contributions to the show.

Happiness by lockedonradio

H = having won a little award in recognition for Camden Calling being an innovative and interesting project tackling social issues in a fairly unique way. We are now it seems a FACE OF 2012. I believe that means one to watch out for.

A = a little road trip to Wales to play the Watusi festival on the 3rd September. This is about the most exciting way I can think of to end our summer. Thanks so much to the organisers for booking Ben is a Dark Horse & Dekay & The D'Mans.

P = planning to be very rock and roll that weekend by heading back from the field in Wales in just enough time to host our residency at the Enterprise our hope is this is not a positively preposterous aim.

P = proud to announce a partnership with the wonderful folks at Camden Rock who have set up a weekly Sunday event to benefit Camden Calling. The mission is to create a festival type atmosphere in one of Camden Towns most legendary venues. The day's attractions include 2nd hand clothes, books, videos DVDs, as well as cakes and other goodies. All items are on sale for £1 or less with the profits donated to Camden Calling. Live music will be played and entry is FREE every Sunday. We kick off on September 11th

I = it is our birthday, and we would love you to come and celebrate 3 years of Camden Calling capers with us at the wonderful George Tavern in East London. The gig is FREE on the 16th Sept and we ask you to bring just yourself if possible in a ridiculous Hollywood costume but most importantly bring a smile.

N = new members joining Camden Calling and new tracks being recorded at Endell St Studios

E = earning some cash for Camden Calling last weekend at the SW4 festival

S = safe in the knowledge I am taking two days off next week.

S = superstar Chogaia does it again, pulling out some seriously scary stops for the filming of Violent Dreams. If you enjoyed her performance in last years Platform 6 video this one is something else.

Wilderness

2011-07-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

Ok so here we are in July over half way through the year and I am grasping at straws to title these darn blog entries. So I thought what I would do is use the title of the Locked On radio shows to somehow express and explore how the project has been going each month. It means A] I do not have to think and B] I have a good excuse to do this......................................................................

Wilderness by lockedonradio

each month and try and get a few more of you listening to the show. The Locked On pages are a fairly new thing so it seems sensible to not just point you in the direction but to hammer home the point.

So now I have a title for this months entry, I guess I best tell you all how it has any spurious connection to how I feel at the helm of Camden Calling this month. At the end of last month I was certainly all guns blazing and really starting to feel that familiar make or break sensation that I have a kind of love hate relationship with; that when I am cold and honest I realise is a love hate relationship with Camden Calling itself and signifies that it is time I took a break before I burn out. It means there has been a surge in energy and the batteries need recharging if we are to continue at the new pace.

So that is exactly what I did 5 days camping in the Kent countryside with little more in terms of modern conveniences that a flushing toilet some minutes walk away, my trustee coffee pot and a couple of old saucepans. Phones were turned off and the world as I know it shut out for the duration. So I return this week somewhat more relaxed emerging calm from a physical wilderness ready to take on the fact that the Camden Calling project seems at last to emerging from its wilderness too. That there are plans afoot that I have responsibility for bringing to fruition and that I need to keep taking the bull by the horns if the members of Camden Calling are going to continue to benefit from the project.

One such plan is the conversion of Camden Calling from a social enterprise to a registered charity. This has been something that I have been working on for a few months now and it would seem that this is at last starting to come together, we have a board of trustees now in place and the paperwork minefield is now ready to be negociated. We may of course get a knock back on this but if there is one thing I am known for it is bouncing back for more. So, lets get cracking and see what happens. I am also very happy to announce that we now have a patron on board!

Peter Guinness has agreed to help promote the work of Camden Calling. We are really happy to have him on board and the team are very much looking forward to meeting him to personally say thank you.

I would also like to say a massive thanks this month to Camden Lock Market who have made us most welcome on a Friday. It is really wonderful to have the support of the market in helping us to get our name and our merchandise out there. Shouts out to the lovely couple from Oslo who purchased hoodies last week, I hope you found a squat in the end.

So until next month my head is going to be buried in some funding applications I will be sourcing maggots fake blood and rotten meat, [don't ask] as well as trying to work out what in God's name I am gonna say if the next four weeks do not reflect a bit of happiness.

THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING!

2011-06-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well it seems never right now that there was never a more pertinant sentence ever written and I must say this month has left me with a whole bunch of very mixed feelings. There seems to be a pendulum swinging emotionally, metaphorically and literally, which is actually 3 pendulums and you have to have your wits about you because they all move at different speeds.

Wonderful things have happened at Camden Calling this month, the short film about us by Anna Edwards was screened at Sheffield Doc Fest on the 9th & 11th of June and has been crtiqued by Cine Vue as being a stand out music documentary. We had a wonderful time in Sheffield and were also treated to an evening at the Sheffield Fringe Festival where we saw some amazing short films. It was really cool to take some of the team to something totally different and the films were both entertaining and really very touching. Jonny & Al were also recognised in the street over the weekend by a lovely lady called Rachel who was really interested in Camden Calling. Hello Rachel we hope to see you in London soon! The film seemed to be really well recieved, and I think Dekay & The D'Mans did an excellent job in putting themselves personally under quite a microscope to promote the work everyone at Camden Calling is doing. The benefits of any exposure to them personally are deserved and will greatly enhance Camden Calling, trickling down throughout the organization to eventually put everyone in the spotlight. If hard work by all is maintained, and boy are we working hard.

We have met some really special people this month including Dom from choosemymusic.org who has written the first in what we hope to be a wonderful series of interviews and features on Camden Calling and the artists involved. I would like to say a massive thanks to Jordan at Recharged Radio for that introduction. I was staggered to find that the piece got more hits in 2 days than the site normally gets in a week, and that there seemed to be some pretty lively debate going on. For my part I think this is wonderful.

The radio show LO CKED ON is launching on the 25th July and we are steaming ahead with the next batch of research and recording. The biggest suprise of this project so far has been todays wonderful research and personal contributions from a member of the group who has until now been very very shy to contribute and become part of the team. He has totally proved himself today as being worth his weight in gold [he is a big boy] and I am so thrilled that he has come out of his shell and shared his beautiful writing with us.

Friday 24th June is the big day for us launching the stall in Camden Market and my hope is that this will be a stream of income that will make Camden Calling financially secure. That over time may mean I can also give up on the dreaded night shifts and zombie days.

So from really dark days in December, of thinking Camden Calling was doing a little swan song, those of you following the blog will note that every month since I have had really positive and uplifting news to share. Be that from directly within Camden Calling or from the projects and opportunities members are chasing outside of Camden Calling. All of it all year has been bish bosh wham bam here we go, and it has been truely wonderful and exciting to be a part of or witness to.

So why then am I sitting here typing and feeling somewhat sad and somewhat exhausted. I guess because in order to make these things happen I have had to make some tough decisions. Had to allow other people to make decisions for me /us, and had to push everyone really to step up a gear and prove how serious we are about making this work. This is the challenge, STEP UP / GRASP OPPORTUNITY / BE PROFESSIONAL / THINK AHEAD / THINK OF THE BIGGER PICTURE, and oh yeah we are still one big happy family. Well I believe we can achieve all of those things, because I believe Camden Calling members can do it together if we work together. I have many different hats to wear when running this craziness and I guess people are gonna have to move with the times and understand quick changes are the new black.

A member of Camden Calling leaving for the wrong reasons is always a bad thing, there is no joy in my own percieved failure. There is no fanfare and marching band as there were when Chris and Jerry went off to chase and find beautiful dreams. When somebody leaves because of an unrealistic expectation of what this project can do, when they have an unrealistic expectation of what I can do as one person, and cannot embrace the changes happening or grasp opportunities with both hands. When I sit back and realise they do want to make the same changes within our own micro-society and the wider community that I do. That change for them is not something they can embrace. So we wave really sadly goodbye to Pete, and brace ourselves for the next lap. Pete has been a truely magnificent member of Camden Calling, I am pleased to count him as a friend and I understand that for him the changes happening to us are not comfortable. He is thank goodness still cheering from the sidelines and we are as he says "growing with each show and just trying to get the feeling right". Pete it was a pleasure to take you on part of our journey...........................but the TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING.

COOL COOL SUMMER

2011-05-23T01:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings! I have not had very much time at all to consider what to put into this months blog, usually I have an idea of what I would like to say or at least how I feel about the Camden Calling project at any given time. This month has been somewhat of a whirlwind and I am left for once it seems pretty speechless.

I like the idea of this section of the blog to be an insight into what it is like to run this project rather than a sort of newsletter blurb of what is going on and coming up, we have a newsletter and a twitter and a facebook and all those awful things. I like the idea that this is excuse the pun, my space where I can think and reflect on the work that I am doing. That I can look back on over time, with fondness, hindsight and some embarassment perhaps as one would the diary kept of an earnest teenager, yes I had one of those too.

However this month has been totally mental, no other word to describe I am afraid, so please or offend I will say it again, has been mental mate, totally bloody mental. So this entry is just gonna be a rundown of what has happened and what we have coming up.

LOCKED IN TRANSIT - The video project is on it's feet and steaming ahead like a runaway train. We have one video about to go into production already and will be shooting one about every six weeks until we have five new music videos inspired by the life journeys of vulnerable people. At this point I should say a massive thanks to MTV who came in to see us at Endell St and delivered a fantastic workshop.

LOCKED ON RADIO - SEE SEE this title is with a link, the blog pages are now live and we will be loading one show per month via soundcloud for your delight. The blog also includes everything you may want to know about this project plus news, views, extended interviews and other mumbo jumbo. We would like to to give as many of you the opportunity to contribute to LOCKED ON as possible, so please give it a look, start to follow and contribute to a rather unique podcast show.

CAMDEN CALLING DOCUMENTARY - Alan Dekay Jonny and myself will be going up to Sheffield for Doc/Fest on the 10th June where Anna Edwards Storyville short film will be screened for the first time.

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN THE MARKET - Thanks to a little bit of help from our friends at Strummerville Camden Calling will be opening a merchandise stall one day per week in Camden Lock Market selling a range of our t-s an hoodies. We hope to kick off later in June

We also have more gigs to add to our calendar with a new bank holiday Sunday residency at Camden Rock. We launch this Sunday and you can check this out by visiting the gig page.

So as you can see a manic month and very little time to do any of that hippy dippy reflective shit, so until next month adios.

It Just Ain't Funny!

2011-04-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

April the month of the fool, of jolly japes and high dudgeon; sides splitting and ribs pinging off all over the place. What better time to set about writing some hilarious comedy for the radio show? We don't stop laughing here at Camden Calling, always a tale to tell, a yarn to spin and a good bit of reflective piss taking. So we got together a crack team [excuse the pun] of Camden Callings finest jesters plus a little help from some of my most amusing and side splitting friends......................... and ...............................7 weeks later we have precisely nothing. Zilch! We have a few characters a few situations and even a few minutes of dialogue, but funny it is not. Some egos have been bruised and self esteem has taken quite a battering. Not really what I set up Camden Calling to achieve but I suppose we have to take the crunchy with the smooth and learn the lessons life has to churn out. Our comedy drama has recieved a vote of no confidence and has been struck from the agenda.

We value the support we recieve at Camden Calling and every person that comes to a gig we hope feels that they are a member of the family. Those of you that follow our fortunes online and help by posting our news and flying the flag are so very important to us, and as for those of you that have actually parted with currency to keep us going, we hold you in the highest esteem. So be joyous that we are humble, be glad we know our limitations. Give praise to the sleepless tearful nights spent tossing and turning in the knowledge that we are not funny. Be sure we would never have the audacity, gaul or cruelty to subject you to anything like this. We are homeless not heartless!

LOCKED IN TRANSIT LIVES!

2011-04-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

So the time is finally here when I am able to confirm at last 100% that the Locked in Transit video project lives on. This is the piece of good news I have been alluding to but daring not to mention in the last few blogs.

So this time next year we will be hitting you with six very special music videos, we will be working in collaboration with Thamesreach to deliver this project giving some of their clients the opportunity to work and skill share with the Camden Calling team. To have a song written about a story they tell and the opportunity to appear in music video that tells that story.

Anna Edwards will be staying on with us throughout to teach the team technical skills and the wonderful Bruce McCallum will also be editing our films following the amazing job he did last year with Platform 6

We would like to thank the Big Lottery fund for this opportunity.

In The Land of Make Believe

2011-03-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

"I should'nt have taken this trip man, 3 strawberries! Mixed with 4 or 3 E's extraordinary" Rukas - Make Believe

So the song goes as it decsends into a bizzare and enticing world where cartoon like characters come to life, nothing is what it seems, and only a tiny little voice planted somewhere in reality warns us "you won't be back again, won't be back again" by which point do we care? No we are sold on this trip and do not want it to ever end.

So as we move from the first quarter for 2011 into the second it seems I wake every morning rub vast amounts of gold fairy dust out of my eyes and find this is the trip that just keeps on coming. My world becomes more and more bizzare with each sunset as the very real people that I work with, that bring this project to life are becoming less afraid of revealing their magical powers.

We have had a totally outstanding month, and I would not have believed it was possible but I have been sucked further into planet Camden Calling.

The radio show is in it's 3rd week pre-production and we are having a ball with that. Expect a dedicated blog site very soon and some tasters of what you might expect from the show. I have been really impressed with the way in which the team have adapted to new roles and a slightly new way of working, they are as ever keeping me on my toes and mistakes are not as easy to make as they were in the good old days when there were just a few of us.

Rukas as mentioned at the start of the blog is having a pretty amazing month in terms of success in the UK unsigned charts currently he sits at numbers 1, 2 & 3. We will be going into Recharged Radio later on in the month to record a Camden Calling special, so I guess we will have a thing or two to say about this and I wonder if it is a record for an artist to have 3 tracks in the top 3.

Another piece of wonderful news is that Jerry AKA DJ Slasher
has been signed to the Amercian label LBA Records for the single
PLATFORM 6.

PLATFORM 6 IS AVAILABLE TO BUY ONLINE FROM APRIL 1ST BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK

There is a weeny bit more good news but I am not going to believe it until the cheque has arrived. After all I am the big boss lady and I gotta have at least a toe peeping through and pretending it can grip on to reality.

LOCKED ON RADIO

2011-03-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

LOCKED ON RADIO is now in the embyrionic stages of life. As a good mother I would like to make sure that this little nipper has all of the right nutrients and vitamins for it to grow into a healthy obnoxious teenage dirtbag.

This project is being delivered in partnership with Endell Street Studios and will be broadcast on Camden Community Radio.

Homeless and ex-homeless people will be working on all aspects of production planning and recording of these shows. As part of our pre production planning we would like to know your views about what makes good radio. This survey is just 10 questions and will not take more than 5 mins.

Our vision is to create a credible radio programme that is interesting to a wide spetrum of society. Exploring along the the way perhaps the greatest of conundrums.

W H Y A R E W E H E R E ?

The survey is just 10 questions and will take 5 mins to complete. PLEASE CLICK TO TAKE PART

STEPPING UP A GEAR!

2011-02-28T09:03:00.000-08:00

Looking back over the blog I have found it to be all a bit girly with way too many references to flowers growing and seeds being nurtured. I would like to apologise to you readers for this. I am sure those of you that do not know me may be under the impression I am a tree hugging hippy, while those that do have growing concerns that I may have invested poorly in a home trepanning kit. So I have decided to be a little more cut and thrust this month, grime, grit, plain talking, and a lot more va va voom. Imagine if you will that I am wearing a wife beater vest and I am covered in machine oil.

So the engine room a Camden Calling is postively boiling, sprokets [whatever they are] and gaskets bursting all over the place. February has been a massive month for us. Firstly getting the runner up award in the RISE competion and then the great news that Anna Edwards has a comission to make a short documentary about us..............................but did we stop there good God NO! The pipeline is extended further as we cement our working relationship with St Mungos with a successful joint funding bid to create 12 one hour radio podcast shows over the next 15 months. So how are we feeling here @ CC well, like fucking Rockstars at last!

At the start of the year I hinted in this blog that we may have some nice announcements to make but I could not have dreamed that we would get off to a start like this. I am bubbling with excitement because I know what else has been planned but dare not speak it's name as I do not want to put a spanner in the works.

So the team are currently relaying in the Unsigned Charts and I would like to thank everyone that has supported the project and individually Dekay & Rukas by dowloading their tracks. I am very proud to say that Hollywood Gone Not Forgotten - Rukas Feat Dekay - produced by Dan Pierson @ UKRAPBEATS is now number one. You can hear or download the track for FREE by visitng our tourdates site. The track was written in memory and in celebration of the life of member Unbalanced Hollywood who remains very special to us all. I would like to also thank Dan for producing the track it really has a great vibe to it.

Expect more announcements is all I can say. Jerry AKA SLASHER has a signing for Platform 6 with a U.S label and we will be putting a press release together shortly about that launch.

So for now I am gonna saddle up and give it some more full throttle, look forward to posting more great news. Our gig pages are up to date so please do come down and see us. We are home at the Enterprise in March 6th and at The George Tavern on the 18th joining forces with Punk 4 The Homeless & Heavy Load to raise money for Casa Aliansa. Full details on the gig section of this blog.

What's On Box - CAMDEN CALLING

2011-02-02T11:32:00.000-08:00

A short documentary about Camden Calling by filmmaker Anna Edwards has been awarded a commission through the international Why Poverty scheme, a collaboration between the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Mosaic Pictures and BBC Storyville. The idea was shortlisted from over a hundred entries and pitched to a jury of Andy Glynne (Mosaic Films), Nick Fraser (BBC Storyville), Julia Lewis (Rowntree) and Jim Boyle (Poverty Alliance). The film will screen as part of Storyville’s Why Poverty? season: a groundbreaking global cross media project launching in 2012 surrounding the question of why, in the 21st century, a billion people still live in poverty.

Anna will be attending the team meeting on Saturday to discuss her ideas for the film and to explain in more detail what it will involve... She will be following various members around with her camera for the next few months and working with us to make this project as collaborative as possible and hopefully one that everyone can feel proud of!

In a second piece of amazing news Camden Calling has also come runner up in the RISE Awards 2011

The RISE Awards are presented by Lemos&Crane for excellence in improving the quality of life and well-being of mental health service users receiving support in the community.

Entries were received from over 80 groups and organisations delivering services in the community that generated positive outcomes in one or more of three areas: developing positive personal identity and self-esteem; developing and sustaining relationships; promoting positive life satisfaction.

All the work was of a high standard and inspiring and we are grateful to everyone who took part in the RISE Awards. We are also grateful to more than 270 voters who participated in the final selection process from 18 shortlisted entries.

The Winner receives the RISE Award trophy and a prize of £1,000. The five Runners-Up receive RISE certificates and a prize of £100 each.

A New Year! A New Era?

2011-01-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well here we are in a brand new year it seems totally beyond comprehension that Camden Calling is now in it's third year of life, from a tiny seed of an idea in early 2008 to a wee window box of assorted greenery poking up through the compost in 2011. With so many plans that I can hardly tack enough trellis quick enough to the wall.

Last year ground to a pretty gruelling climax, the members were tired, I was tired and we were all talking in terms of "next year" and "after we have had a rest." We really forgot to look back over the year and truly see the achievements we have made. Busy gigs, external bookings for members, members moving into employment, personal relationships that many thought beyond their capabilities, a total storm over the last 4 months of the UK Unsigned Charts, and an even greater desire to stand up be counted. In December all we wanted to do was batten down the hatches and............................get to next year.

Well and midnight on the 31st of December I can verify that the New Year fairy does not come and take all the ills of your world away, she does not grant you 3 wishes and she does not leave a big pile of cash under your now limp Christmas tree. But I think she does make you stop and think while sleeping; she certainly gave me good bash around the head with her attitude adjuster.

Before New Year I will freely admit I had been carrying Camden Calling around my neck like some epic biblical curse or a medieval ball and chain. Reams of paper and notes everywhere no sense of how I was going to put it together and a sense of semi impending doom.

But on Jan 2ND I sat down at my desk started to make contact with the callers and found that literally everything was falling into place. The reams of paper still exist but they are now thought ordered and we pushing ahead as a team.

The Camden Callers are stepping up to every challenge I set them and I think we have developed a sense of freedom with this project. Ambition is a double edged sword that can sometimes be a hindrance making us feel we are owed more. I believe we have freed ourselves of that. We have replaced that emotion with motivation, dedication, and the realisation that creativity alone is not fuel enough. I have of course had my dose of extra procrastination and keep it in a secret place less our team meetings go on for years. I think young Rukas found it last year and almost fatally overdosed.

In essence this has been an incredibly productive month we have exciting projects planned which I do not want to shout about lest jinx, but we have some very nice funding bids in and some really wonderful people on board. I feel that at last people are beginning to see what I am trying to achieve with this project and that somehow they are starting at last to get it. I have been quite overwhelmed with the support the project has been getting from seemingly unconnected people and would like to thank everyone that has given advice, put themselves out and are flying the flag. My hope is that this blog is going to be updated with some rather jolly announcements over the coming few months.

We have several great new members on board so I would like to welcome Ros, Stuart, Fatu, Tosh & Martin to the team new members are still being interviewed and we will have our full compliment of 15 members very shortly. Some pretty crazy plans are in the pipeline and we are aiming to develop our gigs into a full on assault of the senses, so expect new visuals, artwork, poetry and theatrical musical pieces complete with puppets.

I would like to thank Strummerville for buying us a wonderful keyboard this month and we are very excited about getting into rehearsals with it and developing some new pieces as well as shaking up the stage shows of some of the longer standing members. But all in time..................and our mantra for this year is slow & steady to produce the quality. With so many new members on board I also need to make sure that the group is developing strong interpersonal relationships that will stand the test of artistic temperament.

The full on madness starts next week when we start gigging again and we also have an art project to complete Friday with Thames Reach who have provided us with a space and some extra artists to paint our all new CC banner. Photos of the day will be up on the blog shortly.

Our new friends at Recharged Radio are coming to meet with us next week to plan a whole show dedicated to the world of Camden Calling, Richard is following in the footsteps of the CC legend that is Chris Warburton; joining Poached Creative to learn all things web journalism based. Fingers crossed Richard will be taking charge of a new blog based project to knock your sock off, but hush for now tis a matter of funding.

Finally on a note of shameless promotion we have been shortlisted this month for the RISE award for "excellence in improving the quality of life and well-being of mental health service users receiving support in the community." You can vote for us by following this LINK voting closes 5pm 28th Jan.

So all in all a pretty good start to 2011.

Over and Out 2010

2010-11-30T09:28:00.000-08:00

So 2010 is drawing to a close, ending it seems the way it started with snow on the ground and our city grinding again to a solid British stand still. On a personal note I will not be sorry to see the end of 2010 it has all been rather fraught and I have not been able to make an 100% correct decision all year, everything has seemed to have an evil flip side and been not entirely what it seems. At times this has been pretty grinding and really quite overwhelming.

Camden Calling itself has been a source of constant inspiration and energy on the one hand and the very thing that is exhausting and challenging me on the other. The growth we have achieved this year is my prize, and I remain very proud and very grateful that we are still here. We have some amazing plans for next year including video production, radio podcasting and a new resident night at the George Tavern. Circumstances are such that I have an opportunity to get my head down and go at this 250% until about June. So I am of course gonna go for it.......note to self head down does not mean head in the sand.

All in all one way or another Camden Calling has met some pretty amazing people this year and I have high hopes that 2011 is potentially going to be a year in which we continue to grow make our mark; deliver some pretty special creative projects and continue to become known as a top gig night. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has played with us this year your friendship, support and open minds are much appreciated and the good times we have had mean an awful lot.

A highlight of this year for me has been the delivery of the LOCKED IN TRANSIT project. So much effort and love was put into the project and for me was proof that the members of Camden Calling are able to overcome almost anything with creativity grace and style. It was during this period and some of our darker days that I believe we became "Camden Calling Family"and I think we can be proud of that. The videos are posted at the bottom of this blog.

Other highlights have been The Secret Garden Party, waving farewell to Chris as he took up a real job in journalism, and finding funding to buy much needed equipment.

So our final gig of this year is on the 5th of December at the Enterprise . I am looking forward to a little break over Crimbo and some time with friends and family. We will be back in February and have an open mic section to add to our Urban Beatfare nights.

If you would like to help us over the festive period but are unable to make any merchandise purchases you can help by downloading member tracks from tourdates for FREE. We would really like it if we could get our guys into the UNSIGNED CHART for xmas. Currently Dekay & Rukas have tracks to download.

Rukas - On My Own
Dekay Feat D'mans - Supervillan

So it just remains for me to say thanks to some very special people who have made amazing contributions to us this year. Michael, Mum, Gel, Ross, Sarah, Eddy [bon appetite] Bruce, Jake, Cliff & all at Strummerville

Terrible 2's Comin Atcha

2010-10-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday To Us, Happy Birthday to Us, Happy Birthday Camden Calling, Happy Birthday to us........ BUMPS BUMPS BUMPS..................1 ...........................2................................................................
"Two-year-olds have this marvelously inquisitive mind, but absolutely no experience from prior learning to understand safe or harmful, good or bad, right or wrong. As such, they simply set out to explore the world, as it is available to them" kidsgrowth.com.........................Hurraaaaahhhhhhelp. Help!! My God I think we might have a monster blossoming in our midst.

So what can we expect as we enter out third year, some cuts, some bruises, some tummy aches, some heartaches, some burned fingers, some tears, some tantrums, some tumbles, some drama's, some furiously over tired frenzies and some angelic afternoon naps. Well to me that sounds just peachy creamy perfect! It sums up just about every year of my life since I shook off that funny adolescence bit where I was too scared of my shadow to let any of those things happen.

Why does that bit happen? I mean one minute you are happy being 6, [in my case for about 6 years], wake up one morning 12 [yuck] and have to wait an agonising 8 years before waking up one day a good healthy 2. I fear that I have it seems digressed, and have learnt nothing from my Media Trust "web writing" course. Humph! How do I link this back to Camden Calling, the year ahead and all that. I think the point was, I think 2 is a good age!

I see the pitfalls but am content and incredibly proud of the Camden Callers for having the courage to take this step into the unknown, to put aside the things that adulthood and adult life has done to hold them back and to say let's start again and see what happens. One of the guys once said to me that they talk ten to the dozen and do everything at 250% because they want the time they lost to homelessness and drug addiction back. Well I am not sure I believe you can get time back, but I do believe you can stop it and start again. When a group of people do that collectively and support one another through the cuts and the falls and the scrapes well I think that is a pretty powerful force.

So as we go into our third year I know there is not shortage of energy, creativity and drive within the current group. Standing back I see amazing things happening, relationships forming within and [as is our mission] outside of Camden Calling. That this community is developing individuals confidence and a sense that really it is OK to be 2.......enjoy & learn.

A pointing example of this is Jerry Pardoe AKA Global Warning AKA Slasher who has had an amazing year. As you will know from previous blogs he has played several times in Bulgaria this year and now bookings for 2011 are coming in from all over Europe. So while you probably will not see him that much @ CC in 2011.Next time you are on a city break look out for the Camden Calling logo and that will be Jerry's t-shirt. If you prefer your parties closer to home you may just find Jerry ripping it up at some of the squat parties that have as a sign of the times started going down.

So we have new members on board who found their feet in no time. A dedicated core team some of whom are not recognisable as the same wary people that joined 2 years ago. An environment in which every member has at one time or another stepped outside of their comfort zone and found that the air there is the same air they breathe. And when times are hard as they have been this last 7 weeks the realisation that what we have created is strangely a family.

So how are we doing....................read our mission statement again

To improve the access homeless and vulnerable groups of people have to mainstream music / arts and popular culture; To create opportunities for our members to develop friendships, confidence, working relationships & transferable skills, engendering a sense of belonging. Camden Calling is a democratic organisation and member volunteers will shape the direction in which we grow. Having a say into the ways in which our profits are invested in them. Camden Calling is a project founded on the principles of empowerment and aspiration for change”

[Mission Agreed by Members 28 November 2008]
Just Peachy Creamy........................

Starting Over

2010-10-05T02:00:00.000-07:00

Saying goodbye to September is something I generally find quite tough as the last of the real heat from the sun dwindles, the mornings start to get chilly and you know those nights are drawing in. Sometimes in September we can pretend the summer is going to last forever, eeking out the wearing of our sandals and summer clobber. But in the end we cannot avoid the truth that winter is just a few weeks away. So we batten down the hatches and convince oursleves that our coat really does not need dry cleaning for the third or forth year running, cos hey it's only a few weeks right! The daffodil bulbs go in the window boxes and we sit in eager anticipation behind the glass waiting for a sign.

I have never associated October with rebirth and renewal and a changing of the tide, of times moving on, putting down roots and making oursleves stronger. But this year is different. September was a wicked month full of cruelty and unfairness. I felt back then that if it had not been savage enough I had some savage decisions to make regarding the future of Camden Calling. Financially pretty much all over bar the shouting and emotionally drained to fuck.

But somehow something has clicked, and something is on our side it seems. The members have barraged me with a never ending and truely wonderful infectious energy. Creativity seems to be bursting from almost every seam, along with a sense of unity and purpose, moving forward as one and supporting one another when the rungs are slippery.

Our gig on Sunday night was a truely inspirational event and I salute Dekay & Pete for making the decision to go on with the show. It was the right choice! I would also like to thank Broadwater and Luminous Frenzy for giving their all to support the event. Video footage will be up soon on our You Tube channel.

Financially we are also safe from edge of the cliff thanks to Grassroots who have made it possible for Camden Calling to continue and plan growth for next year. Our birthday is set to be one hell of a party, and a little glimpse of where we are headed over the next year.

So I am going to do what is needed dig in my heels protect our roots from frost bite. Making sure they spend these winter months ploughing undergound, seeking and searching for new ways to make our mark. So by next summer we are sure to be the biggest most beautiful most unusual tree anyone has ever seen.

Still not washing my coat it stinks and I like it like that.

GREAT SADNESS AT CAMDEN CALLING

2010-09-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

This entry is dedicated to the memory of Tasha Hollywood [UNBALANCED] who was taken from us on Sunday the 12th September and who will be greatly missed by all at Camden Calling.

Working with Tasha over the last eighteen months was quite a unique challenging and special experience. She was a beautiful sensitive and quite magical soul who I am proud to count not simply as colleague but as a very dear and special friend.

Tasha was wonderfully intelligent, deeply insightful into her own problems and always striving to make things better. She taught us all so much both practically and about this condition we call human.

We are challenged now with keeping Tasha's memory alive in a postive and productive way. Tasha still has music to share with us and we are trying to get the films she shot over the last month edited and screened in her memory. Long live the Demonic Clown and big up Bristol 1984.

Below are some pictures of Tasha and some of her video work.

Lots of Love Tash....we hope your adventures are just starting. x

A C T O N T O W N

2010-08-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

A = August, anxiety deliberation and wondering again if Camden Calling is facing it's final curtain, frantic completion of funding applications and plans afoot for a bumper second birthday which fingers crossed will see us headed triumphantly into a third year of fun.New members have been recruited and new friends have been made.

C = Chogaia being the most amazingly committed and brave member of Camden Calling, putting aside her very real problems existing in this world to turn in amazing performances for the LOCKED IN TRANSIT video projects. For me to be able to provide an opportunity for her to fly outside of herself made this difficult month worthwhile. I wish that we had the power to make her so happy everyday but one day at a time.

T = Thank you to the Transport Museum for making LOCKED IN TRANSIT possible and to Sian for her never ending patience with us and her understanding of who we are. If only I could be that chilled, but then I suppose the members would miss their Fraggle.

O = Only Camden Calling would turn up to a video shoot without a camera (don't ask).

N = Never give up. Never look back. Never take a loss as defeat. Never accept your lot in life. Never say never..........and NEVER touch the camera without Tasha's permission.

T = Tasha taking control and pulling out the stops. We have all learned loads making these music videos and she has been a superstar. I hope her film making mojo is back because she has certainly got us all hooked!

O = Only Camden Calling could get me wearing PVC (don't ask).

W = Why pray tell are you in Acton Central Dekay / Pete

N = Nearly there Camden Calling LOCKED IN TRANSIT is almost complete, Dirty Trains & Platform 6 will be screened on the 15th October. Watch this space............& visit our gallery for some stills

Festivals, Feasts, Filming, Failures & Farewells

2010-08-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

July....................blink and it was gone. As expected the most hectic month of the year so far. I think at one point I must have had about 10 eggs in the air at once which is quite impressive for a lady that cannot throw or catch at all.

So the festival Secret Garden Party was totally wonderful, I have not been to a full on festival like that for about 14 years & was a little concerned that I may be over the hill for such capers but conclude BRING IT ON! I had been quite nervous about the whole thing really, would Dekay be ok in a field for 4 days, would Unbalanced cope ok, what if, what if, what if.......dadadadadada like a machine gun in my head. What if something bad happens, the gigs are one thing but taking these guys away for a few days is something else. Imagining the horror on any sane service providers face as I state " Yeah I'm going to take 2 vulnerable people to a 24-7 music festival for 4 days with with all you might expect to be @ a 24-7 music festival. Yeah we will be cool. It is fine we are going to share a tent" I really had to come to my senses with this one, because the point is we are not a sane service provider, we are not even a support service in the traditional sense, we are colleagues, friends and allies and that is how Camden Calling works. I am not here to preach to or nanny the team, I am there to make sure that they are able to contribute to Camden Calling and gain everything from Camden Calling as they possibly can. It has been a dream of the project since we started to do something like this and an opportunity to be grabbed like gold dust.

Dekay was a total star and we cannot thank Strummerville enough for giving her this opportunity and to the brilliant musicians who supported her for her set. There was a definite energy around Dekay the whole weekend that she felt too. On Saturday morning we were having our breakfast and watching a band on the main stage and she commented that she really was starting to feel that the time is coming for her. To have this experience, to be among all of these thousands of people and know she was one of the performers was a pretty big deal for her.

The weekend could not have started better no sooner than we arrived we bumped into Camden Calling friends The Penny Black Remedy who were performing on two stages Thursday night. Keith from Penny Black by way of spooky coincidence plays the guitar riff on one Dekays first solo tracks "Supervillan" and their presence on stage @ the festival went a long way to making Dekay feel like she was not an outsider at this event. Besides which they were as usual stonkingly good and it was a pleasure at Dekay's request to see them for both slots. Unbalanced and I are of the firm opinion that our young hippity hopper is a closet indie kid as she jumped up and down to dirty guitar riffs most of the weekend.

So the girl from the "Estates" is now pretty sold on spending days in a field with creepy crawlies, "mad sorts of people with more money than sense" and loves a campfire. She is eager to get on this festival thing and I do believe there are Strummerville mutterings about taking her to Glastonbury next year. I did manage to get some footage of her sets the quality is not great but please enjoy.

So off the coach and on with it almost immediately [well after a quick top and tail wash] braving Deptford Market to shop for our team BBQ. Team meetings have in recent months been a bit like hard work and members find the stuffy structure something they battle with so I am trying some more informal processes when possible. The feast was well recieved and we got lots of work done. Those attending have been trained by Unbalanced on the basics of using our posh video camera and we had a pretty stonking time. Thanks to Mum for womaning the meat provision and to Michael for being cool about me filling the house with CC members without even a scorched sausage saved after his long day at work.

The Transport Museum video project is well under way, Dekay and Unbalanced & Slasher have recorded tracks and we start filming in the third week of August. We are looking for extras who would like to appear in the video's so please shout if you would like to be a part of Camden Calling history. We have planned a proper screening in October and expect there will be a live show and a making of film. Do not expect much from the making of film as I am doing the editing not Unbalanced. This is however one of the things I love about this project learning things from the team, and getting to have a go at all sorts of things I never thought possible.

I like to be honest in this blog and there have been a few frustrations and failures this month. I hate to lose members and nine times out of ten look to myself for the reasons why this has not worked out. I have asked Mada to leave the project again and am unable to work with him for a host of reasons, including him being unwilling to follow instruction that manages risk for himself and the team as a whole. Camden Calling membership is about so much more than than being an individual. It is about community and respect and sharing and making the best of our limited resources. Essentially sometimes it is about learning to follow instructions and being a part of a team. It is not reasonable for me to expect that Camden Calling is the right project for every person that approaches us, we work in organised chaos and challenge members to make a big leap in their view of the world and the ways in which they interact with others. I hope Mada finds what he is looking for and I am sorry Camden Calling cannot help him.

On a brighter note Slasher is going to back to Bulgaria this week to DJ at the Bassheads open air festival, we were not able to buy him new records this time which is kinda sad but have contirbuted to the trip by getting his train tickets to and from the airport.

I expect to spend most of my time this month with my head in funding applications, but do plan a few days away with Michael to visit our very dear friend Shahed on the hippy commune in Wales, where we expect to become one with nature or at the very least be reminded that Ikea did not invent wood. A perfect end to a perfect summer .

Dekay - Secret Garden Party Appeal

2010-07-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

This blog represents something very different from my usual musings and is really and truthfully a direct appeal to anyone out there for cash.

If you are aware of our work you will be familiar with Dekay, you may well have a cd or two of hers knocking around and will therefore know a little of the adversity she has overcome and the issues she still battles with. If you do not know Dekay or Camden Calling what can I say..............she is one gutsy little lady who has captured the hearts and imagination of everyone involved with our project. Please watch the video below before you read on and you will I hope see how special she is.

2010 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for her and she has been booked by our friends @ Strummerville to perform @ The Secret Garden Party Festival on their stage this weekend. Dekay has never been to anything like this event and we are so excited that we may well burst before Thursday. Rehearsals are underway today with a string section to add something very special to her set.

So firstly if you are going to the Garden Party please message me and get down to the Strummerville Campfire to show some love.

Secondly we are asking if you could make a teeny tiny donation to make sure we can provide Dekay with some spending money and that she is able to enjoy her festival experience as much as she deserves to. I would dearly love to be able to take her shopping on Weds for some festi wellies and a special little something to wear.

You can donate to Camden Calling by following the link below and every penny donated between now and Thursday morning will be earmarked for Dekay and spent on her @ the festival.

Thanks for reading, have a wonderful summer.

One of My Chicks Has Flown The Nest

2010-07-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

I really do rather hate blogging, so would not be back here again so soon after the last blog if I did not have something quite important to record that I do not want to become a hazy paragraph in next months edition.

Member Chris called me today with news that I have been expecting for a little while now, that he is.................... sniff sniff............... leaving us. Chris has achieved so much since joining Camden Calling in 2008 and the time has come for him to move on. He is now working as a journalist and I am really priveledged to have been a part of his journey back from rehab to real life. Before he hung up his safety pin he did however write a little farewell message that I would like to share.

So Long CC

After more than one year and eight months of Camden Calling membership, I feel the time has come for me to move on.

After leaving rehab in October 2008, becoming a Camden Calling member was the first positive thing I did. My confidence levels were low, I had little faith in my own ability, and hardly knew anyone in London.
The amazing thing about CC is no matter how low you feel, its members still make you feel like you belong. CC made me realise I was worth something, improved my confidence and esteem levels, and allowed me to mix with friendly, like-minded people.

I’m leaving CC with loads of skills I didn’t have before, too. I’m now able to do loads of clever things on Facebook and MySpace, write press releases, newsletters, and articles for print - to name just a few. It’s through CC I found out about the journalism course that has led to me becoming a journalist.

The Camden Calling experience is something I will never forget – something that helped me when I felt lost, daunted, and confused after leaving rehab with no idea of how to use my time effectively. It has played a huge part in helping me rebuild my life – and I’m forever grateful for the assistance, support, and encouragement I’ve received in my time as a member.

Chris Warburton

Chris will be sadly missed, I have had some pretty dark days myself with this project and in late 2008 and early 2009 I do not think this project would have continued if it were not for Chris's strength and belief in what I am doing. Totally reliable, an absolute rock and a pleasure to work with. Chris is all the proof I need that this project works. That giving people trust, responsibility, and a group to which they can belong, that they ALONE have identified as a positive peer group, for all it's faults and problems; that reflects the real problematic society we live in and does not bubble wrap or hide vulnerable people from the real world, that challenges them to be better and is unapologetic for who we are. WELL GUESS WHAT THINK TANKS AND SOCIAL POLICY MAKERS IT WORKS..............you just have to have the guts to see it through.

So Farewell for now Chris, all the very best, look forward to hearing your adventures and where life is taking you. Gonna close with a video from Pete that I think you will appreciate for all our waffle it's all right there in the song.

Lots of Love
Alex

June - Blooming Marvelous?

2010-06-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well here I am again it is 4am in the morning and I am on a night shift taking a quiet [fingers crossed] moment to reflect on what has been going down with Camden Calling over the last month and how successful we have been as a team and individuals in flying the flag and making progress.

Although I will admit to being a little tired this evening I am also a wee bit ashamed to say that I have been a little lack lustre all month. It is not that I have not been doing things because we have all sorts going on. Gigs, video production, expansion plans, funding applications, website redesign and the list goes on and on. But I have been a little more detached than usual, I am sure my partner would tell you that some level of detachment would be a whole lot more healthy but it has not been resting easy. I have been trying to think of the reasons why this has happened and why now. I have two theories.

I am psychologically preparing for Camden Calling to end, if the expansion plans do not succeed I will need to fold the project, I vowed this year that I would find some way to at least take a part time wage from running this organisation and if I don't we need to part company.

The only way for me to succeed in building and expanding the project is to excercise a level of detachment to be more ruthless with my time and turn off every now and then.

They are of course totally at odds and I am not sure how they can be blended into a coherant thought given that both possibilities equally horrify and delight but I have night shifts to think about this.

Anyway whilst I muse and panic, panic and muse and then for good measure muse and panic a bit more, the Camden Callers have been doing some great things this month and making some really smashing headway.

Johnny from the Hughmans, despite being shunted around the housing system and placed in what I would say is a totally inappropriate hostel for his needs, is organising our use of the Endell Street Studio , booking members in reminding them of time etc etc, he has responsibility for a small budget on phonecalls and is doing a great job!!

Unbalanced has had some real struggles this year, the whole team have been concerned for her and really I have to say I thought we were going to lose her. But she is really getting back on top of her game, taking responsibility for our Transport Museum video project, keeping all her appointments and is back animating. I am so proud of her, she has enough balls and backbone for us all sometimes.

Chogaia produced a stonking newsletter edition while Chris was away on holiday and I am hoping we can open some more doors for her with her writing. Chris also had an amazing article written about his inspiring journey of recovery so please do have a peek

Dekay has been busy and has designed the first Camden Caller original to add to our growing range of merchandise. Every purchase helps the project.

This hoodie comes in loads of colours just click merchandise.

This month I need to extend my personal thanks to Heavy Load we are really looking forward to gigging with you on Thursday and also to V-Double-E who has been a total star with the promotions for Sundays gig.

I have a mad month coming up so I best start feeling the love and getting some serious focus before I bore myself to death with all my wishy -washyness..............."how pray are you going to do that Alex" I hear you cry "You really do not seem yourself at all"

Well my loves when times are hard, when the day is for no reason grey, and when you heart just ain't in it. I have the remedy. The Good Lord gave us Nina, 99 Baloons and most importanly of all HAPPY HARCORE. Now thats better.

CAMDEN CALLING VS HEAVY LOAD PRESS RELEASE

2010-06-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

Event Details

Thursday 8th July
The Enterprise
2 Haverstock Hill
London
NW3 2BL
7.30 PM - 11PM

Contact
alexis@camdencalling.org
07815 61 99 33

Camden Calling the unique resident gig night hosted by London’s homeless & ex-homeless people joins forces this summer with champions of punk rock and disability rights campaigners Heavy Load. Brighton based superstars and a band made up of members “some of whom have a learning disability and some who don’t.”

This gig will be a true once in a lifetime experience with support from Camden Calling friends Malcolm Kaksois and The Priscillas, as well as unique collaborative sets from The Camden Calling Collective & member reggae sensations Hughmans promising glitter, glamour, gutter language, and goth funerals, all gift wrapped in the opportunity to support talented artists with the strength to overcome adversity.

Quotes

Heavy Load "we are really excited to be playing with Camden Calling. We love what they do and it fits perfectly with our mission to make sure live music is accessible to all"

The Priscillas "Imagine Tim Burton's take on the Rocky Horror Picture Show, now imagine the house band, and in your mind's eye you are seeing The Priscillas.." Mojo Magazine

Heavy Load "The most important punk band playing live in the UK today" Sunday Times

Tickets for this event are £5 in advance from Ticket Web & £7 on the door

For additional information on this event, contact Camden Calling director Alexis Brooks at alexis@camdencalling.org or on 07815 619933. More information on Camden Calling can be found at:

Camden Calling website
Facebook Twitter
MySpace
YouTube

Bass Drums, Bulgaria & Bloody Good Fortune

2010-05-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

Camden Calling started this month in a very novel position, our pockets positively bulging with cash enough to make a good dent in our shopping list. The shopping list that had been catalogued in the office among works of fiction peeking a coffee stained ear out from the shelf in the hope that the Tooth Fairy or Saint Nicholas might pop by for afternoon tea. As soon as the cash cleared we went on an Ebay frenzy madly texting and emailing one another with musical bargains galore. It felt great especially knowing the Hughmans would be self sufficient, no more begging borrowing or bum licking to be sorted for our gigs, we are Camden Calling and we are an independent collective of homeless & ex-homeless people bringing musical mayhem to the city and beyond.

As the director of the project I felt that I was at last delivering on some of the promises I have made to the members and that everyone was at last reaping the rewards of our hard work. The hard work was however not over by any means as I grasped for bargains with potentially catastrophic consequences. The guitars and amplifiers were put into the capable hands of Johnny to source, whilst I persued drums armed with a list of lots from Ebay sourced by Hughmans drummer Alan. I make no secret of the fact I am a born bargain hunter, penny pincher and I am sure some might say miser so when I sourced a drum kit for a good £300 less than any of the kits Alan had highlighted I felt justified in steaming ahead with the purchase. Once paid for I knew for sure that the Gods / God / Divinities of all kinds were on my side, they must be, the address to collect my bargain way out in the Hertforshire countryside was "Camden Cottages". Need I say more! Well yes I will, what can I say? Craking kit, lovely shade of blue, excellent make {TAMA} but...............................................designed as a special kit for small venues.
Alan is a big guy and this kit frankly was ridiculous looking. The lovely seller had not mentioned this design feature and I deservedly felt like a fool. The drive back to London was a frustrating experience and the kit instead of being taken to Alan's hostel was dumped in the middle of my little lounge in South London. Now I do hate to be beaten so I started measuring the kit and found that the tom tom drums were the standard size and that the cymbol stands were also standard, all I had to do now was find a cheap TAMA bass drum and floor tom. Poor Alan was not confident and who could blame him my bargain hunting had taken him on a wild goose chase and single drums are not easy to source. Mmmmmmmmm GUMTREE CAME TO ME IN A FLASH, and low an behold there it was, just a short road trip away in a village close to Hastings, just a few doors down from a second cottage named imaginatively after our home patch. Now not only do we have our equipment but thanks to the lovely folks @ The Enterprise that kit is now paying for itself as we are able to offer it when we are not using it to other promotors. I love it when a plan comes together!!!

The second coup of this month was Global Warning AKA Slasher AKA Jerry going off to Bulgaria to play DJ sets in Sophia & Varna. Slasher has involved himself with with a collective known as Bassheads and seems to be going from strength to strength promoting himself. For our part thanks to the financial support we have received this year it was a real pleasure to be able to help Jerry by buying hime some spanking new records to take with him. None of these things would be possible without the support we receive from people attending our gigs and buying our merchandise. As links go I know that was poor but I am writing this @ 1am on a night shift and feeling kinda stumped for how to plug our new t-shirts. They are super cool, in loads of colours and the profit made from them will be invested back into the Camden Calling members, helping to buy them things they need like records and paying for meals etc when they play @ summer festivals.

Did I not mention.............the festival and the amazing good fortune. Well on the 18th of May Dekay and I went to the London screening of Don Letts Strummerville. Not quite knowing what to expect except slight embarassment at seeing our heads all big and fat talking bollocks sandwiched inbetween properly famous people like Billy Bragg and Damien Hirst.We had seen the documentary before the screening so we knew Dekay had the last line, but we cold not have imagined how the audience in the room would react to this sentence. Trish from Strummerville was I think also pretty taken aback, Dekay became the total darling of the after screening party and sold cd's galore. Strummerville have been supporting Dekay for a while and Trish has decided the time has come to take our little Supervillan to the next stage in her development. So Dekay will be representing Camden Calling with a live band @ The Strummerville Camp Fire @ The Secret Garden Party. She deserves every second of this success and has worked so hard not just on her music but gaining trust and proving she is so much more than the sum of how life & society expects her to be. So we are heading to the festival in July we have Barbie Pink chukka tents [feel the class], and we are going to have a ball. This experience will be life changing for Dekay and open her eyes to a world 1 million miles away from her estate, yet she will be privilidged not just as festival goer but an artist with something to say............ "and if they don't like it Fuck em" [ Dekay 2010 Strummerville By Don Letts]

To donate to Camden Calling click here

To buy a wicked t-shiry click here

To buy our CD click here

Bye for now
Alex

6 Months summed up!!

2010-04-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Gosh! Where to start I am out of breath already, the blog has each week ended up on the bottom of a to do list before being shifted across to next weeks agenda for what it now becomes clear is six whole months. We have recruited a wonderful new member who is currently working on relaunching and redesigning our website and I have had a full reprimand and knuckle slap. The blog is apparently vital and will have it's own special link on the homepage and I am a very, very bad girl for letting things slip. So you can now expect, even if you do not demand, that this blog will be edited at least every month. The last six months has been a real rollercoaster so hang on tight.

November 2009

Camden Calling UNLOCKED was launched @ a massive success and a point at which in retrospect the worm turned for this project. At last the guys were playing to a full venue and we have not really looked back since. After the gig we all went off to our own celebratory house parties which was odd but how things need to be done given the circumstances of some of the members, we all kept in contact by text until the early hours and the feeling was that we had achieved something that was seemingly just a few months ago impossible.

The night was however tinged with some regret as three members of Camden Calling were unable to adhere to our code of conduct and were suspended or asked to leave the project. This for me was a really awful challenge that for one member dragged on until February and I have some regret in my handling of the situation. But out of these situations come positive things and in addition the code of conduct the Camden Callers have now written their own dicsiplinary procedure which gives me a working document to follow in cases of rule breaks.

December 2009

In December it seemed like the party might be over for Camden Calling, our start up grant from Unltd was dwindling and the album sales were chugging rather than flying out of my flat. I was feeling quite desperate and to be frank could hardly look the guys in the eye. I had let everyone down! I was not the great juggler I have been boasting to be in previous blogs and while I had been running around like a headless chicken our bank account was full of cobwebs. Then BANG!!! WOP!! HAVE THAT!! GET IN!!WE WON AN AWARD AND MONEY . £1000 IN THE BANK AND SAFE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY. Incidently I also have a rather nice framed certificate in the office which says "For excellence in delivering outstanding outcomes to vulnerable people" Christmas was coming and I felt on top of the world. For those of you that do not like strong language please perhaps do not read the next sentence, because as I collected the award all I could hear was little Dekay . "FUCK THE LONG TALK IT'S TIME FOR ACTION"

Jan 10

Threatened with losing my job in a restructure ......maybe not the best time to take unpaid leave to fundraise for Camden Calling, but I did, will not bore you with the details it was paperwork all the way...................................

Feb 10

Whilst I was rather more concerned with moving house to escape the horror of dealing with Pauline Fowler as a neighbour the project was going from strength to strength, loads of new members recruited, gigs rammed and things going very well for the crew!! Daniel started a placement at a recording studio, Chris got a proper job as a hack, Rukas started work with Thamesreach & Hugh got his band together so before long The Hughmans would be ready to start gigging as a full band with us. Mada is back! Tony is back! We are Camden Calling & we are incidently in Don Letts film Strummerville, sorry forgot to mention the bit about the filming with a living legend, still overcome by how many boxes of rubbish I seem to own!

March 10

Well the refusals for funding were coming in thick and fast, and once again it looked like the curtain may be called............arse!

April 10

This month has been by far the best this year..........I have been made redundant and am able to concentrate my time 100% on the project and on giving the guys the time and support they need. Scared? Yes! Excited? Very! Foot firmly on the throttle. The cash is @ last coming in and the project is safe for now, the challenge is not over by any means, the Camden Callers have so much they want to achieve and their energy has kept this project alive through some dark days. I have said it before in the blog but need to say it again. Throw out any ideas you have about homeless people or people living as some might say in the "underclass" give those people responsibility, respect, friendship, and somewhere to belong and you will have an energy on your hands that can barely be harnessed. Scary? Very? Wonder why more organisations are'nt doing it?

Camden Calling would like to thank the PRS foundation for new music for it's kind support.

A Birthday Comes but Once A Year

2009-10-18T05:07:00.000-07:00

As Camden Callings birthday approaches I wanted to share with you how inspiring this project has been to me over the last twelve months. When I started this project last year I could not have hoped that I would find a more dedicated, talented, supportive, adventurous, determined open and interesting group of people as the Camden Callers.

I had high hopes for the project but experience and skepticism told me that I would be unlikely to find enough vulnerable people that would be able to comitt not just to the project but to one another in the way that I aspired to. I had a theory that if I presented a challenge and provided people with respect and trust that they would naturally rise to that challenge, and that this would help them to gain perspective on the issues and problems that have been all consuming in their lives.

I wanted to create a real community in which individuals would feel they belong,a safe place in which to express themselves and the opportunity to take the bull by the horns and start living beyond an existance of abstinance, addiction, homelessness, poverty, abuse, mental distress, bad karma and other tedium. In short I wanted to help people regain their MOJO. I have been working with vulnerable people for 10 years and I know this is a tall order. This is not something I could wave a magic wand and do, the ultimate success of this would rely upon the group.

Those of you that come to or perform Camden Calling gigs will know that we have a unique atmosphere, we are not as one would pehaps expect a twee group of misfits, nor are we one of those God awful nights where you feel you are being inspected on the door to make sure your turn-ups are the right size. We treat everyone who comes through the door as we would another member and I guess that is how we have not just survived but grown.

Camden Calling now has twelve active members that work their socks off to host sometimes three gigs per month, they have very clear ideas as individuals and a group about the things they would like to achieve in 2010, EP's, video, touring and a massive 2nd Birthday to name just a few.

Celebrating our birthday in November is a huge milestone,and the release of UNLOCKED is of massive importance to us and marking an achievement that leaves our doubters silenced.

There are just 500 copies of UNLOCKED on sale so it is a very special part of our history and an opportunity for you to show your support of our cause. The proceeds from UNLOCKED will be invested directly back into the project and mean that we can continue the party into 2010.

2009-05-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

Well once again here I am shouting a big hello from Camden Calling across the interworld and to my one subscriber Jess. Hi Jess thanks for your lovely email and yes yes I am sure there is work we can do together. So interest in the blog it seems is pretty thin on the ground, but I am sure that is because I am not tagging or flagging or whatever one is supposed to do with it properly. Build it and they will come is the advice I have taken from a rather poor movie and I like the adage. I am utterly content to be learning and gaining as much from this project as the vulnerable people who work with me side by side battering and bashing at hard ground to lay our foundations.

So much to learn and so many directions in which this project could go, but one thing we are confident about is that Camden Calling nights are not short on a unique ambience giving a gentle but deliberate slap of admonishment to the nights populated by head nodders and beautiful people. We have a clear message and that is that a gig should first and foremost be a fun environment in which a common love of music is shared. We may even suggest that the word joyful could be applied and that is not a word to be thrown around willy nilly in London.

Running the project this month has been a pretty non stop fairground ride and I have had to do some pretty quick hat changes to keep things ticking along. We have been giggging, recruiting, fundraising [well being turned down for funding] attending meetings, chasing suppliers, planning events, trying to get on top of what is happening with the album, as well as making sure that the members also all get a little one to one time to discuss their ideas or current problems. On top of that there is of course a job and more importantly a relationship to maintain. Well I think I managed the juggling well this month as Pete would say the hyenas are quiet and the cats are purring.

Last week I attended a meeting, subject of which was how to get our homeless people to the stage at which they are ready to go back into the workplace. There was lots of talk about courses, development plans, mapping, assessments and careers advice. But sadly and rather predictably very little about self worth, confidence, social networks, the comfort in belonging and that all important lust for life. I had to use words to describe my project like "soft skills" and "skill sharing" and I feel I have let the guys down. This is not what Camden Calling means to them. Camden Calling has woken them up and they wake up now in the firm knowledge that they are valued,needed and part of something bigger than themselves. You see there I go again about to use the J word.

PRESS RELEASE CAMDEN CALLING AT THE ENTERPRISE

2009-05-04T05:49:00.000-07:00

Camden Calling, new social enterprise that puts on and promotes gigs that feature both homeless and mainstream artists, today announces the line up for its next Enterprise gig. Camden Calling has a monthly residency at The Enterprise Chalk Farm the venue that is fast becoming a flagship of the project. Last month saw the launch of Camden Calling member Dekay’s album, and this month for the first time all Camden Calling member performers will be performing with an amazing line up of mainstream artists to support them.

Alexis Brooks, Director of Camden Calling, says:

“All our events are in part planned, produced, promoted and performed by homeless or vulnerable people; we’re all about aspiration and social inclusion. Any money we make goes straight back into the personal development of our homeless members. First and foremost though we are a quality gig night with a unique atmosphere, leave your attitude at home

and remember a time when you thought it was cool to be different. You were not wrong, and Camden Calling is, thank God.”

19.05.09 Camden Calling @ The Enterprise Haverstock Hill NW3 7pm £3 donation

Lord Byron + Dekay + Stealing Jenni + Rukas + Daydream Parade + Pete + Sarah Louise + Simon Clothier

Video of previous events can be seen on our You Tube

Further project info on website Camden Calling

BLOG 2 A CRAZY FEW WEEKS

2009-05-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

Since writing my first blog quite a lot has happened in the Camden Calling world, and the project is looking like it is going to have a pretty amazing summer. Nothing to do with this blog you understand just things that were in the pipeline finally coming together.

As the director of Camden Calling the last nine months have taken me on an amazing emotional journey in which I have been faced with dilemmas and challenges that have made me ask so many questions of myself and my ability to take this project to where the members would like to be. At this moment I am feeling positive about the direction in which we are going and kind of ok about being at the helm [for now].

A contributing factor to this elation has been the amazing fortnight or so we have had since my last blog entry. Things are starting to take shape and we are over the moon.

The first amazing thing was getting Camden Calling member DEKAY'S album launched at the Enterprise in Camden. We would like to thank our friends at Strummerville for all of the support you have given to make this happen. Footage of the gig can be seen on our You Tube channel.

The next wonderful thing was the number of people that came to our gig @ The Torriano on Saturday the 25th April. The Camden Crawl was on and we really thought we did not stand a chance but it was a corker. The support we recieve and the encouragement we get is often overwhelming and always comes just at the right time.

We have now also confirmed that we will be making a Camden Calling album and also that we will now have a base one day per week with Strummerville in their rehearsal room. This is the most wonderful and encouraging news for us and the team are ready to become even more creative.

We have a busy week planned gigging, promoting, filming and attending a public enquiry to keep the Torriano venue open. The venue is going to possibly be closed and redeveloped into flats, a total outrage and a travisty for us. Not all venues welcome homeless / vulnerable people with open arms

I asked the team what stands us apart from the crowd at our meeting yesterday, and the overwhelming consensus was not, what we are, but who we are and why we are standing up to be counted. That our nights are always very different, because we know it is cool to be different.

If only the rest of the world did!!!

MY FIRST BLOG

2009-04-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

Hi not quite sure how this works or who will read it but here I am explaining what I do and why I hope that this blog will make a difference to Camden Calling.

My name is Alexis Brooks and I am the project director of Camden Calling, we are a very small social enterprise with the aim of helping homeless and vulnerable groups of people to access the arts and music scene.

We are fairly unique in that we do exactly what we say on the tin. Although our member volunteers are vulnerable people we are not born out of a service user involvemen activity and we are not linked to any specific intervention based service.

We do not concern ourselves with the issue of homelessness or the related issues of any specific member volunteer. We do not play our gigs in daycentres, hostels or specifically as a homeless group, we work side by side and hand in hand with musicians and live music venues, We host our events in live music venues, pubs and clubs across the capital. Every event is in part planned promoted produced and includes performance from our member volunteers.

So you may ask what is the point of this? It is all very nice but if you are not dealing in specific issues or addressing key support needs how does it work?

Well the actual issue of homelessness is easily solved, find somewhere to live. The hard part when you have effectively for whatever reason been made to exisit as an outsider in society is HOW DO YOU LIVE? And I am not talking here about living or budgeting skills or filling in forms. I am talking about how you make sense of your life and your experiences in this city.....
this capital of contradictions. Where we are on the one hand so cold, and unwelcoming, where we do not leave our cliques and our tribes and yet on the other we are a vibrant artisitc multicultural home of free speech.

How do you live if you have not been invited to join a clique and no-one cares what you think. If your experiences of homelessness have left you sidelined, marginalised, and without the confidence to paddle any further than in the shallow waters. What if the only conversations you ever had were with well meaning professionals or people in the similar circumstances to yourself, how small would your world become.

Well Camden Calling exisits to help and challenge our members to rediscover who they are and where they might fit in.

The organisation has our members at the very centre of every aspect of our work and I would like to share oue mission statement

"To improve the access homeless and vulnerable groups of people have to mainstream music / arts and popular culture; To create opportunities for our members to develop friendships, confidence, working relationships & transferable skills, engendering a sense of belonging. Camden Calling is a democratic organisation and member volunteers will shape the direction in
which we grow. Having a say into the ways in which our profits are invested in them. Camden Calling is a project founded on the principles of empowerment and aspiration for change”

[Mission Agreed By Members 28 November 2008]

Anyway I will be posting news etc here regularly from now on but you can find us at www.camdencalling.org where there are links to our myspace facebook twitter etc.
Ciao xx