Greg Abbott Interview!

With a client list boasting massive bands like All Time Low and awesome clothing companies like Glamour Kills and Pyknic clothing, there is no doubt that super talented artist Greg Abbott is much in demand. His unique style and creative designs have brought him much priase from art, music and fashion scenes a like. Having just finished some work with our friends at INK, we managed to catch up with Greg to find our what drives him professionally and creativly.

TFS - Hi Greg, thanks for doing this interview. Firstly tell us a bit about your self and what made you get into drawing and creating artwork, and what or who inspired you to first pick up a pencil and draw?

GA - Hello! Thank you for having me. I am a freelance illustrator and designer from England, I mostly work with clothing companies and bands to produce merchandise designs. I specialise in character design but am interested in working on any projects I can. I've been freelancing for about two years now but have been drawing since I could hold a pencil. I've always enjoyed drawing and creating characters but didn't realise that it was even possible to make a living from doing so until recently.

TFS - You’ve worked with some really cool clothing companies and bands, who have been you’re favourite to work with and who have challenged you the most?

GA - Pyknic, Babycakes and INK Clothing are a few of my favourite companies to work with that I have had the pleasure of doing so recently. Pyknic offer really good art direction and often make really good calls on subtle changes to a design. Babycakes and INK Clothing are both really fun and easy going to work with; both gave me quite a lot of creative freedom to produce fairly complex pieces. My favourite clients are the ones who have interesting ideas that they can explain well enough for me to understand exactly what they want. As for challenging, there is good challenging as in the clients who really push me to the best of my current abilities and then there is bad challenging, the clients who ask for too many revisions, drag out projects, are slow to respond and don't communicate a clear idea of what it is that they would like me to produce for them.

TFS - You’ve worked with some quite large companies like Glamour Kills and big bands like All Time Low, how did you build up such an awesome reputation which has lead you to gaining work with these people?

GA - When I started digitally illustrating I didn't have a portfolio, I wasn't that good and was just posting my work online to share my creations with people. The first time someone inquired about purchasing one of my designs I was very excited but didn't have a clue as to what to do, how much to charge or how to conduct myself in a professional manner. I found that being friendly, polite, clear and straight-forward worked well and have tried to continue to conduct myself in this manner since. I produce a lot of work in my spare time and in doing so have gradually become better over the last couple of years and also have become reasonably well known by some online communities for posting so much and for thanking anyone who is kind enough to leave me a complimentary comment on one of my pieces. I owe a lot to https://webmailcluster.1and1.co.uk/xml/deref?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emptees.com which I joined when it was relatively new. All of my initial clients found me through there and most of my art-friends are from there also. I have found that my working process has been refined and has become a lot more efficient over time and think that being well organised and having a slightly obsessive compulsive mindset has helped me a great deal.

TFS - you’ve got a really unique style, with there being so many other artists out there, how did you grow a style that was unique and different from the rest?

GA - Initially, I knew I really wanted my own style but just couldn't seem to do anything that hadn't already been done or taken. All of the time that I was trying to uncover a unique style to claim as my own, it wasn't working. I eventually went back to just drawing without putting much thought into the style of the pieces and ended up creating my own style through trying out different things and learning different methods and techniques; by drawing things how I liked them to look, I arrived at the style I now call my own. For a while, although I had a recognisable style, my work varied a lot between piece to piece; I would like to think that there is now quite a lot of consistency between my regular pieces. A large contributing factor to my current style is the colour-schemes, I didn't used to put much effort into colour selection and didn't really consider it as being a large factor in the process of designing a piece but have recently discovered how much of a difference a good colour-way can make and how it can change the overall feel of a piece. I'm always trying out new things, trying to be better and to improve my own style but am very pleased with the direction I seem to be going in.

TFS - do you take influence from other current or past artists?

GA - I think I am influenced by everything. I'm not always conscious that my brain has stored something but often find myself applying a new technique or a doing something in different way to how I regularly would. I rarely try to do something like someone else, most of my style evolved from trying not to do certain things like other people but think that I observe certain qualities from art and artists that I like and then try to isolate and recreate that quality in a separate instance.

TFS - Have you got any exciting projects on just now or coming up that you can talk about?

GA - I have a vinyl toy currently in development coming out soon with Pyknic. On my list of things I want to achieve, having a vinyl toy was right at the top so I'm really excited about the project and can't wait to see how it turns out.

TFS - What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start out as an artist?

GA - Practise.
Manners.
Listen.
Acknowledge.

TFS - Finally what music are you listening to right now and what music should we be looking out for this year?

GA - For a long time I've had a lot of new music to wade through. In trying to make sure that I wasn't missing out on anything new, I ended up neglecting my existing collection. Right now I'm listening to less recent releases from: The Shins, The Cribs, Elliott Smith, The Subways and The Offspring.

Thanks Greg, check out his website at http://cargocollective.com/gregabbott

Tom Leishman Interview!

Born and raised in Cannock, Stafford and now working out of London, Tom Leishman is an exceptionally talented young photographer who is now receiving the attention and work load he deserves. Having worked hard for years, mostly with in the music scene, making up and coming bands look cool, hes now finding his time being spent working with massive acts like The Saturdays and Mcfly. We caught up with Tom to see whats been happening and find out what 2010 has in store for him.

TFS - Hi Tom, thanks for doing this. Tell us a bit about your self and how you got into photography and what inspired you to first pick up a camera

TL - Hey! I’m Tom Leishman; I’m a 23-year-old photographer! I started photography when I was 19 I’ve been doing this for about 4 years now. I never did enjoy school I felt I’d never be able to achieve anything with myself once we’d finished, I had bad experiences at school... I never had the stomach for the educational system... So when I left school feeling lost in a dead end job with a huge chip on my shoulder at 19 I only had music and art that I felt any passion for... So it just naturally happen when my cousins where in a popular local rock band and I had just bought a new camera from a police auction website! Haha but I never imagined It would have taken me on this journey!

TFS - you’ve done a lot of work with in the music scene, working with different bands and artists, tell us about your first photo shoot

TL - My first ever photo shoot was with my cousins pop-punk band "NeverSayDie" I only had a camera and a tripod! I believe my weapon of choice was a Canon 350D. It was at a fancy dress party and the guys where all dressed as zombies, we did it in a graveyard, oh dear oh dear! My first shoot with my own lighting equipment was with a Alternative/Metal band from Essex called "Last Nights Recital" I told them I’d just got the lighting so they had to be patient with me... I think the shoot went on for hours! Haha. Nightmare we got there eventually in the end!

TFS - who’s been you favourite band/artist to work with

TL - Any band that isn’t afraid to challenge me like Random Conflict or Heights! Random Conflict let me bury them alive in my back garden! Haha... Heights let me drown them in the middle of winter in a swimming pool! I do love a challenge but I love accomplishing them more!

TFS - do you have any favourite photographers who you take influence from or tried to learn from?

TL - I draw influences from many photographers just to name a few of them Chris Strong, David Lachapelle, Dave Hill, Joey Lawrence, Jill Greenburg and Tim Walker... I spent a lot of time studying and trying to understand their lighting and techniques, these photographers are always inspiring me to push myself, but I think that my biggest influences don’t just come from photography they come from every day-to-day things such as the smallest sounds you hear to the feelings you get when listing to your favourite songs.

TFS - have you got any exciting projects coming up this year?

TL - Yes! I have more work coming up with The Saturdays and Mcfly, which I’m really excited about! It’s only early days of 2010 and it’s already looking bright! I love taking photos of the girls they’re so pretty its hard not to get a good photo of them! Plus they’re really easy to get along with! But who knows what this year holds for me, only more good news I hope!!

TFS - you’ve managed to build up a really excellent portfolio of clinets, like The Saturdays, New Found Glory and Enter Shikari. How did you go about building your name and reputation?

TL - Thank you! Back in the day when Myspace was an addiction rather than just a social networking website, promoting yourself on that was a really useful tool if you knew how to. I used that to network with bands, promoters, models and photo-lovers all around the world (This is how I met Dave from INK). It doesn’t cost that much money for business cards or postcards... So at every rock show I went to I used to whore myself out to the crowd, letting everyone know what I was about, because if you don’t tell everyone no ones going to do it for you!

TFS - have you any advice for any new photographers who are looking to build up their reputation?

TL - Just network, talk to as many people as possible, make friends with people from all walks of life and always give out a business card! If you want it bad enough and you’re serious about what you want to do, anything is possible. Keep positive and photograph everything! Learn from your mistakes and remember what worked! Assisting is a good way to pick up things and learn, I’m always looking for assistants on jobs as are many other photographers; So get in touch.

TFS - finally what music are you listening to right now and what acts do you think we should watch out for in 2010?

TL - I’m a music obsessive so this is an amazing question for me! I love all sorts of music genres! But I’d keep my eyes and ears open for Alain Clark, this guy from the Netherlands who’s bringing back soul the way its meant to sound! Bad Rabbits who are doing this Gym Class Heroes meets Prince thing, its awesome! Sharks from the UK they’re doing this Clash meets The Gallows mix up which is just incredible, really nice guys to! The Heyday, Parachute and Brighten are all amazing pop rock bands, if you’ve not heard these then you’re missing out! Finally this man Sam Little... Believe me... Little might be his second name, but his voice is BIG! Thanks for talking to me TFS!

Camera Club

So Camera Club are another of those bands that have seemingly popped up from nowhere and are instantly making big stirrings in the industry. Fan favourites in Liverpool, Camera Club put on an amazing live show and team their live energy with catchy hooks and brilliant musicianship which is of course the perfect combination! Currently, Camera Club (formerly My Auntie Sam) are gigging like crazy all over the place and with a debut EP being released in a very short space of time, they're definately someone to keep a watch for! We recently caught up with camera club...

ok guys, so lets start with the name; "camera club". It's a pretty different (in a good way) name; any meaning etc. behind it?
- haha yeh, a good friends father of ours goes to a "Camera Club" and we imagined it to be this really weird meeting hosted in a different members house each week and they would all eat biscuits and drink tea and share pictures... we basically just had a brilliant time laughing about it and thought "Lets call our band that"... it was probably funnier at the time.

For anybody reading who hasn't yet heard/seen you guys, how would you describe your sound and live show?
We aim our sound at straying away from the word "jangly"... its a horrible word we are terrified of being labelled as. Our live shows are as epic and as boystrous as our bodys will let them be.

You guys have some pretty big gigs coming up! Supports with Deaf School and Twin Atlantic, how does it feel to be really getting somewhere on the scene?
Erm... its nice.... its great to know bands like those are happy for you to support them. We are big fans of Twin Atlantic.

Here's a boring question; who would you say your influences are?

The people who dont (and didnt) think we could go far, and our parents.

At the moment the scene seems to be saturated with bands that remain pretty unknown; to what do you attribute your steady rise in popularity?
We try not to be too endulgent in our songwriting and aim to please in our live performances.

If you had the choice to play alongside any other band (alive or dead etc. etc.) who would it be? and why?
tough one... Enter Shikari for the chaos and The Beatles maybe?

Do you guys have any specific goals for the remainder of this year?

Hopefully keep growing, keep writing and meet a few more hilarious characters on the way

And finally, which bands do you think we should look out for over the coming year?
- Sound of Guns and Twin Atlantic (if theyre not already global megastars by then)

Cheers lads!

Be sure to check out camera club at MySpace

Shadows Chasing Ghosts Interview!!!

Its been an amazing journey for Shadows Chasing Ghosts, one that has now taken them to the other side of the world having just kicked of their first tour of Australia. Since forming in 2007 the bands constant tour schedule has seen them share the stage with bands like Finch and Flood of Red. They were recently signed by Small Town Records and released a limited edition single titled 'searchlights', we managed to pin down Danny from SCG and ask him a few questions about the band.

TFS - Hey guys! First of all congratulations on your recent success in getting signed to ’Small Town Records’. Could you tell us how this came around?

Danny - Thanks lads! First of all, we are so happy to be working along side SmallTown, they have had, and have, some brilliant artists. We wanted to get a single out there and wanted to work with a well established label, so our manager approached Pete at ST with the idea and the rest is history!


TFS - Can you tell us how ‘Shadows Chasing Ghosts’ came to be? And did you ever imagine the success you would have?

Danny - A few of us used to play in bands and have grown up together so we have known each other for a while. We liked a similar style of music, and we decided we’d come together as a collective. Thinking about it, I never thought I’d be lucky enough to tour with a band that inspired me to do this – let alone actually be releasing a single.

TFS - The current music scene has not seen many new bands break through at the moment. What do you think is unique about (SCG) that has got you so much recognition over the past year?

Danny - I think its down to us being a hard working band that give our all at every show we play. We want to gain fans whenever we play, whether it be 5 or 50 in one night. They are the people that have got us where we are today.

TFS - You are heading back to the studio in November to record a new mini album for a 2010 release. Tell us a little bit about it and what fans can expect to hear? Any surprises?

Danny - Well we already have three tracks recorded from our last stint at Outhouse, and we’re aiming to keep writing along those lines. So make sure you get a copy of the Searchlights single, and you’ll have an idea of what’s coming next! There might a few surprises in store, we’re got a few ideas!

TFS - It looks like 2009/2010 is going to be a big year for Shadows with shows in India, Austria, Belgium and Australia (Big Exo Day). Do you think your kind of sound/style is now becoming more popular over seas?


Danny - Yeah we have a nice busy year planned, nothing beats being on the road. I think the kind of music we are playing is being appreciated by different types of people over seas now. I mean Belgium is renowned for its hardcore scene, so we weren’t sure how the crowds would react to us. But they really got down with us at the shows and it was such a good time – we always look forward to Belgium.




TFS - You have played alongside bands such as Flood of Red, music giants Finch and soon Reliant K (Big Exo day) how does it feel that you are now producing such a high calibre of songs that you are getting these chances? Are there any bands out there that you would be stoked to play alongside and would make you think ‘yeah we‘re going somewhere‘?

Danny - It’s awesome to be given the opportunity to play with bands that we have listened to for years. It makes us feel proud that we are making music good enough that people consider it worthy to go alongside these bands.

As for the second part, there are so many out there that are really challenging for it at the moment. I think Bring Me the Horizon and A Day to Remember are a pretty good yard stick for success at the moment, plus we’re all pretty big fans. There’s a lot of ways to answer this one, but to tell you the truth we’re just happy to be getting the chances we’re getting, every new opportunity we get is a win for us!

TFS - What bands have inspired you and helped create SCG’s unique sound?

Danny - We all listen to so many different types of music; so I guess that’s what has given us a diverse approach to what we’re doing.

Bands like Finch, Saosin, Thrice, Alexisonfire would seem like the obvious influences. But there’s a whole bunch of weird ass stuff that we listen to and it all contributes in one way or another! We caught Damian with the Metro Station album on his laptop while we were in the studio and I’m sure there’s a lot worse than that elsewhere!!

TFS - You guys are on your way up in the music industry, what advice could you offer young bands that look at you guys and want to be in your position and head where you are?

Danny - First of all, write your songs and practice until you can play them perfectly before you think about playing a show, get some on record to sell too! Then surround yourself with people who believe in you and the band as much as you do yourself and you’ve got a pretty good start! Most importantly, have fun, work hard at it and play ‘til you bleed at every show.

TFS - Finally, what bands do you know of at the moment that you can see climbing the ladder to success?

Danny - There’s a few great upcoming bands out there from the UK and overseas. Watch out for our buddies Yashin and Her Concept!

Check out our friends Shadows Chasing Ghosts at their myspace http://www.myspace.com/shadowschasingghosts