I had my first feature for Rolling Stone published in January. It was an interview with Brisbane band The John Steel Singers for their latest album Tangalooma. After dreaming of writing for Rolling Stone since I was 15-years old it finally happened! It only took sixteen years to get there but it just shows dreams do come true!

I also wrote my last features for Australian Hysteria Magazine. After contributing work to the first couple of issues it was time for us to part ways. I wish them the best of luck and am sure in time they’ll have all the success that they deserve.

My last features for them included: a cover story talking with Mike Ness of Social Distortion; an interview with Fat Mike from NOFX/Me First & the Gimme Gimmes; chats with Greg Attonito frontman for the Bouncing Souls and drummer Bill Stevenson of the Descendents; plus a conversation with Less Than Jake vocalist-guitarist Chris DeMakes.

Greg Attonito – the Bouncing Souls

Who would you say is the most famous person Bouncing Souls has worked with?

Well they didn’t exactly work with us but I’ll tell you this story because it’s pretty fun. Here’s the title of the story, “All of KISS visits the Bouncing Souls.” Here’s how it happened:

We were recording our second release, Maniacal Laughter with Tom Wilson as the producer.

He had just done the Offspring record which was selling millions of copies as we were in the studio recording with Tom. He was getting offers from Aerosmith, KISS and who knows who else because now he was the ‘hot hit’ producer. He was a multi-million selling producer at that moment and what was the next record he chose to do? The Bouncing Souls! So there we are in a studio in L.A. making the record when we find out KISS is next door to us mixing their new MTV Unplugged record.

On a couple of occasions during that week we chatted with Gene and Paul who were pretty friendly but the big moment happened toward the end of the session. We were listening back to Lamar Vannoy when there was a knock on the door of the control room. One of the KISS guys poked his head in and says, ‘Hey, Do you mind if we come listen?’ Come on in! Was our response, of course! So then to our surprise, all four members of KISS march into the little engineering room and proceed to bop their heads along to Lamar Vannoy. After the song ended they all shook hands with Tom, gave us a salute and were on their way. As soon as they were gone there was a collective, ‘Yahoo!’ from everybody including Tom. KISS visited our session! We were extremely stoked 24 year olds.

Mike Ness – Social Distortion

It’s a Thursday afternoon in Clifton Park, New York. Orange County punk rock n rollers, Social Distortion, are a long way from their west coast Southern Californian home. The four-piece are mid-way through a 26-date, US Fall tour, previewing seventh studio album, Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes. Scheduled for release January 2011, the long awaited album has been six years coming. The confidence, optimism, self-achievement and focus that shines manifesting itself on the new record, has been a lifetime coming, for band veteran Mike Ness.

The punk icon has taken time out from a day of soundchecking, local press and ‘junk shopping’ to chat before tonight’s show at the Capitol Region home of music, Northern Lights. The singer-guitarist is gentlemanly and candid as we chat – he’s looking forward to a ‘cat nap’ before show time—a far cry from the Ness of early days, who once described the first five years of the band as ‘a party, a party that nearly killed me.’

 “Right now the top priority is finding a balance between touring:  professional life – when we have a new record coming out we have to tour and get out and show people what we’re about – and home life,” he explains, “Balancing that out, where I’m not gone for two years and missing out on my home life is important. I’m trying to figure out how to do both—it’s a struggle.”

Fat Mike – NOFX/Me First & the Gimme Gimmes

 How has drugs influenced your life?

Well I don’t know? I think they’ve influenced my life in a positive way. Usually people that are negative about drugs are people that have to quit. The people that like doing them feel it’s a positive.

So for you it’s a positive then?

Yes.

 Have you ever been to rehab?

Nooo.

 I ask as when I was reading the section of the NOFX website that allows fans to ask you guys questions and you answer them, had a question from a fan relating to undertaking a 12-step recovery program and Erik (Sandin, drummer) commented that he’d been to rehab and it saved his life.

Yeah that’s true but, you know he was a junkie and spending all his money on heroin, stealing and basically living on the street.

 Chris DeMarks – Less Than Jake

What was the defining moment for Less Than Jake that made you decide it was time to quit the major label deal?

Here’s the thing, our band never had any disillusions on a major label. We either knew that we were going to sell a hundred thousand copies, which we did because we knew we had fans…we knew the button was going to get pushed. Warner Bros and then before them Capitol Records, were going to dump a bunch of money into us and we would have been on T.V. and on the radio and sold two million records. It was one or the other.

When you don’t sell a bunch of albums you better hope you sell a bunch on the next one because you’re not going to be on a major label very long. It’s a business, we knew that. It was apparent it was our time to go.

Bill Stevenson – the Descendents

I read an old Descendents interview the other day and you commented that in the beginning everyone hated the Descendents, why was that?

We came out of the L.A. punk scene in the late ’70s but the thing is, the punk scene didn’t want to have anything to do with us nor did they with Black Flag. We had to set our own shows up, renting out halls or empty store fronts, basically whatever we could do to put on our own shows because the clubs in Hollywood didn’t want anything to do with us. They were only interested in the Hollywood bands. We weren’t cool compared to Hollywood punk bands. If you were a punk band in Hollywood there was a cool attached to that. In that way we were legitimately nerds and outcasts but hey you know, so what? That was high school, I’m forty-seven! Let’s get on with it!

You had your birthday a few weeks ago, Happy Birthday Bill!

Yes I did, you seem to know a lot about me [laughs]. I’ll tell you something about my birthday. This was a birthday that my nine year old son Miles did not think I was gonna make it too. I had two very serious illnesses that have since been cured completely and I feel like I’m fifteen years old again. I’m totally just feeling awesome and young. About a year ago that was not the case. I basically dodged two bullets. I don’t want to take up the interviews time with it but let me just say that this 47th birthday was very special to me because I’m here!

Congratulations! I’m glad you’re here.

I made it! My nine year old son knows that nothing is going to happen to his dad, at least yet. I’m feeling so good, it’s like the cure just wasn’t a cure. They gave me a complete overhaul and made me twenty years younger. I just feel wonderful.

And, as the post title suggests, I’m also writing for music site Collapse Board. I wrote my first exclusive piece for them after attending US hip hop personality Snoop Dogg’s press conference:

The 12 Worst Questions Asked by Australian Media at Snoop Dogg’s Only Australian Press Conference

I was super stoked it was in the most read CB entries for the week beginning 11.04.2011! The folks at CB are good people, it’s nice to write alongside people that really care. One of CB’s mantras is: Where music is treated with the respect it deserves. Check them out for some interesting, thoughtful reading.

Looking forward to posting more soon!

 Create forever, 

“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter — there’s a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do.” ~High Fidelity.

As a teen I’d sit in my bedroom at night and listen to the radio. I’d sit beside my mum and dad’s cassette player, fingers on the play and record buttons, ready to capture a song I like the sound of. I’d then take them (along with my meagre CD collection) and compile them into mixtapes for myself. On the weekends you could often find me holed up in my bedroom making them. I’d make a mixtape for ANY occasion! I was (and still am) the biggest music dork. I liked to make themed mixes or mixes that were perfect for different emotions. I even made cover art for them.

Once I started going to all ages shows I made friends that shared my enthusiasm and love for the art. When I started making zines and corresponding (by post—this was way before internet became a household thing) with other zine makers we used to send each other mixes of our favourite tunes—still to this day one of my favourite mixtapes was sent to me by Cade who did a hardcore punk zine from Australia called Circle One. The man has great taste!

I have always enjoyed receiving mixtapes from others. It’s one of the best ways to discover awesome new (to you) music. More often than not if someone has gone to the trouble to make you a mix they’ve put a lot of time and effort into it, they’ve taken care to choose some of the best material from artists they love (you’re getting a personal introduction to the act). It’s always been refreshing to be exposed to music I wouldn’t necessarily seek out myself.

Mixtapes have been made and celebrated in both the punk rock and hip hop communities for years. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc were all mix tape creators ‘back in the day’. DJ Roofeeo the drummer for one of my favourite bands the MFDS has recently made a rockin’ mixtape for download here. Another of my favourites Kanye West made the Can’t Tell Me Nothing.

For more info on mixtapes click out the Wikipedia entry.

Now without further ado, I give you the very first (there will be many, many more! I’m going to make it a regular thing!) ConversationsWithBianca.com Mixtape with beautiful art by my partner in crime Jhonny Hobo (among many things Jhonny is one half of Hobo DJs you can peep a sample of their work here)…

MISS BIANCA’S DIGITAL MIXTAPE 1

Messer Chups – Flash Of The Night

Hobo Obituaries – Sad Trumpet

The Bronx – False Alarm

The Death Set – Around The World

Operation Ivy – Sound System

Uffie – Pop The Glock

The Roots – Don’t Feel Right

Moby featuring Gwen Stefani

Santigold – Creator

Deltron 3030 – Positive Contact

Gogol Bordello – Start Wearing Purple

Shmoe – Knees Up

Rancid – Red Hot Moon

M.I.A – Jimmy

Death On Wednesday – Stranded

Felinedown – Devil’s Playground

The Bouncing Souls – Anchors Away

N*E*R*D – Wonderful Place

What are you guys listening to? Send me mixtapes & new music! Hope you’ve found something new (to you) in my mix. Please support the artists do see them live, buy some merch and music… as I’ve said many times before “we have too much to lose as a society, economy & culture if we do not ensure Creators’ efforts are rewarded” your mission if you choose to accept: really & truly support the music you ♥ & artists that create it!

Hugs & hearts,

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I am incredibly lucky to have some very strong, creative, forward thinking, beautiful, innovative, independent, inspiring women in my life. I decided that I wanted to help raise the Universal awareness of their awesomeness. They’re ruling their Universe one day at a time, they’re being them and they’re making a positive contribution to their communities, the world and others lives. Let me introduce the first rockin’ lady: Miss Heidi Minx!

You see so much bad stuff in the world, or so many stupid things in the press; banal things that don’t make a difference in the world except to fuel a gossip fire. I have had so many people reach out to me since starting this – offering their skills, wanting to come and work with me while I am there. People I have never met, but who have found out about the project because of people spreading the word virally. I like people stepping up, and saying, “I don’t have a lot of money, but I can build a website, or pitch a documentary movie.” It is a very amazing reminder that we are a global community, one that’s not always dictated by language or lines on a map. ~Heidi Minx, Built On Respect (book extract)

10 Reasons Why Heidi is Ruling It:

1) Built On Respect. As part of Built On Respect it’s Miss Minx goal to embrace the DIY mentality, to personally work to raise funds, and also to directly oversee their disbursement while documenting it, working side by side with different community organizations. The majority of her work has been done in India working with Tibetan communities in exile teaching them sustainable business practices, English and helping at a free art school which works to help keep Tibetan Traditional art alive. For more info check out BuiltOnRespect.com.

2) Punk Rock Domestics is Heidi getting her Martha Stewart on. On PRD she says: Feel more like a home wrecker than a home designer? Tired of 10,000 shows on the home and garden network that DON’T include decorating with spray paint, or vegan recipes? Only know the names of flowers from your tattoo artist? Then you’re in the right place. Never mind Martha Stewart, we’re here to share recipes, decorating tips, even how to make your clothing better!” Check it out for your dose of D.I.Y.

3) Franky & Minx. Heidi has ran and created her own fashion line Franky & Minx. Every lady’s dream! They have super cute handbags (as rocked by Davey Havok, he has a PVC clutch, Mei-Ling Koller has a pink one & Camilla ex-Horrorpops rocks tartan print)! And the clothes & accessories have been worn by members of Sick Of It All, Agnostic Front, H20, Madball and more!

4) Home Rockanomics is a book Heidi has recently released. I just got my copy from Amazon.com in the mail! It’s an extension of Punk rock Domestics. Filled with d.i.y projects and recipes from your favourite bands. For more info on the book click here.

5) Inked For a Cause. Heidi does a regular column for US tattoo/culture mag Inked. She chats with awesome people that do awesome things. Inked For a Cause specialises in promoting people that are inked and that help others.

6) Rumor has it that Miss Heidi is hard at work on a project about Tibetan tattoos/tattooing while on her latest visit to India. Another feather in the cap, another way to bring attention to the cause :)

7) I admire Heidi for using her success for good. She’s been interviewed countless times, wrote for various mags and appeared in magazine spreads. Despite her rising profile Heidi remains grounded and continues to go about her business as usual.

8) I think it’s wonderful that she’s a business woman. She does business without selling her soul. Heidi has a super work ethic—she’s always doing a million things at once and always ready for new opportunities that arise.

9) She sees the world while helping it. As well as working in Dharamsala, India Heidi has also contributed her time and effort working as a volunteer in Haiti. Recently I came across the book 500 Places Where You Can Make A Difference. It’s a travel while helping people, animals and the planet guide. You can serve communities while exploring them in a unique, connected way. Care for orphans in Delhi, India, teach English on the beaches of Salvador, Brazil, track dolphins in Oahu, Hawaii, help build a school in Madagascar, care for baby elephants in Sri Lanka, or teach swimming to kids in Fiji. There’s 500 ideas, surely one will resonate with you!

10) Last but not least, she has cultivated a great network and support group of friends to help her on her adventures. Heidi isn’t trying to sell something to people, she’s trying to connect with them and share information. Finally is you don’t believe me about Heidi’s awesomeness have a listen to what Heidi’s pals have to say:

My & Heidi’s pals The Bouncing Souls:

Heidi visiting Tamding in his studio to hear about his art (he’s a tattooist and musican), how he uses it to promote a Free Tibet, and how he came to live in exile:

Sick of It All Inked for a Casue:

If you know any awesome ladies doing awesome things let me know!

Meow for now,

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Photo by WalknBoston

“Believe in yourself, even when the whole world doubts you.” ~Sri Chimoy

I want you to do one little thing for yourself today—something that I know will transform your life & help you do anything your heart desires! It doesn’t even cost one dollar, it’s totally FREE! You can’t buy it in a store or bid for it on E-bay. Are you ready for it? Here goes, I want you to: BELIEVE in yourself! Just like punk rock and hip hop has taught us to… and I know you know what I’m talking about!

Now you probably just went ‘ugh! Believe in myself??! Is she crazy?!’ (answer = maybe I am just a little nutty, I prefer quirky though, ha!) but tell that little negative voice to ‘shhhhhh’ I want you to pretty please give it a go… you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. We’ll do it together!

“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” ~Vincent Van Gogh

If you’re like I was, it may feel a little awkward to begin with and you may not even feel like you do believe but the more you practice something the better you get at it right? So let’s get to it! To get started, think of one thing you like about yourself or feel that you’re good at. Are you a good friend? Can you cook an awesome veggie dish? Can you make kick ass origami animals? Can you do a killer grip job on your skate deck? Are you a whizz at changing your guitar strings? Are you good at problem solving? Working on cars? Painting? Belly dancing? There’s got to be one thing! Don’t dismiss your talents. Identifying and knowing that you totally rule at one thing will boost your confidence and remind you of your capabilities and from there you can start ruling your Universe.

The following songs inspire me to believe in myself. What songs inspire you?

Life of My Own by the Cro-Mags

Bet Against Me, You Lose by Death By Stereo

Indestructible by Rancid

Creator by Santigold

Spaceship by Kanye West

Sing A Long Forever byBouncing Souls (these guys give me a reason to care)

Have a happy day!

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