Jack speaks to Jaack

With almost 150k subscribers and over ten million views, Jaack has held a dedicated fanbase and has always said what everyone else on Youtube was too scared to say. I spoke to Jaack to find out more about the YouTube star!

How would you describe your channel and the videos on it?

Just weekly looks at life really.  I try to find the funny side in the things I dislike.

And I dislike a lot of things.  Every now and then I bring out a big project too, such as a musical parody or a seasonal

special.  But if you like hearing people moan, then I guess you’ll enjoy what I do!

What first inspired you to start posting content on YouTube?

Charlie McDonnell actually.  I used to watch all of his content, and then when he mentioned earnings in one of his

vlogs, my ears definitely perked up.  I’ve been moaning and making people laugh off-screen for a while;

which didn’t often go down well with teachers all through school – so I figured I could use the platform for

positive rather than detentions and bad parent evening reviews.

Which video are you proudest of making?

Hip To Be A Hipster by a country mile.  I loved every stage of production.

The writing was fun, even if I was so lazy with it – it took me over 2 years to write as I constantly changed it.

I brought in As A Button Productions to film it for me, and now the guys behind the company are two of my

close mates, so HTBAH has been beneficial in many ways!

“Hip to be a Hipster” went down a hit, are there any more songs set to be released?

Yeah, definitely.  I get a real buzz about the whole creation process, and I’m currently writing two new songs now.

One is a heavy rap kind of vibe, and the other is a love song.  Both very sarcastic!

How do you feel about YouTube still letting people like VeeOneEye still post videos on their platform?

As much as I hate it, I can’t change it.  Jason is different to all the other accused, as he ADMITTED sleeping with

an underage girl.  I know you could argue “at least he admitted it” – but all it says to me is, he’s evidently guilty.

The others, I guess, are unfortunately innocent until proven guilty.  It’s a very hard topic though, because

even though we’d all hope they wouldn’t, young girls could potentially lie about abusers.

There’s no way to tell where this crazy situation is going to end up.  But I feel once they admit it, or are

proven guilty, YouTube should remove their channels.

If you could erase a channel from YouTube whose would it be and why?

I think we all know.  Ha.

What YouTube channel is your favourite?

ItsAMeMyleo – so talented, so witty, so clever.  I can’t explain his videos, I can only urge you to watch.

I never answer this question any differently.

You’ve interviewed quite the list of celebrities, which one sticks out as a favourite?

Despite the trouble surrounding the bloke recently, Dapper Laughs was a real fun one.

Daniel is genuinely funny guy, especially when he’s not in his “lad” persona.  I don’t agree with a lot

of the stuff Dan’s created – but I will back him until the end, in regards to the fact he does not promote rape.

Ridiculous statements, and Dan’s real beat up about it.  He’s a lovely, lovely bloke, just been marketed terribly.

You took your comedy to several festivals last year, could you see yourself on the comedy stages?

I’ve had a pop at comedy, and it’s definitely something I’d like to venture into – but not for a good few years yet.

I’m happy to pursue my career of celebrity interviewing / presenting.  I feel better when it’s not all totally scripted.

Do you have any advice for people getting started on YouTube?

Don’t expect to be “the next big thing”.  It’s all been done.  YouTube is slowly dying now, in my opinion.

Just make videos you’re proud of making, and enjoy creating – if success follows you, then so be it!

And finally, what can people expect from your channel this year?

More weird rubbish, mainly.

Find Jaack on!:

https://www.facebook.com/JaackMaate

Youtube.Com/Jaack

@Jaack on Twitter

Unbroken Review

This weeks Orange Wednesdays resulted in me going to see unbroken, mainly due to my adoration for the leading man Jack O’Connell. Aged just twenty-four, it may come as a surprise that Jack O’Connell is something of a veteran in the acting world. Probably most famed for his role as Cook in Skins, he’s starred in everything from This Is England to 300 Rise Of An Empire.

Directed by Angelina Jolie, Unbroken tells the story of real life war-hero Zamperini. In Unbroken O’Connell takes on the role of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete whom became a Bombardier due to the WW2. The film opens with Zamperini in flight with his team. The audience is instantly captured by the intensity of the dogfight and I myself felt a genuine sense of danger. The film then shoots back to the childhood of Zamperini, raised in an Italian house and quite the troublemaker. Zamperini is eventually reigned in by his older brother who channels his energies into running. Zamperini is shown leaving other runners for dust and eventually makes his way to the Olympics where he again impresses. The film then sets back to wartime and Zamperini and his crew are sent out on a rescue mission to save some MIA Marines. The mission turns sour when an engine fails and the plane crash lands in the ocean. Only Zamperini and two other members of his crew survive. In the following part of the film O’Connell shines, many complained about the length however I felt helped the audience create a connection with the character. From encounters with sharks to the loss of a comrade the film never let’s up on the sense of danger.

Gaunt and nearing death Zamperini and his remaining comrade eventually wash up on Japanese waters and are taken as Prisoners Of War. Ending up in a labour camp lead by “The Bird” Zamperini is beaten and bloodied by the sadistic antagonist. The Bird is played wonderfully and manages to tread the line of being intimidating without being cheesy very well.

******SPOILER ALERT********

Zamperini fights on and even through through unbelievably adversity, never gives up. O’Connells fiery persona comes across finest in the labour camp, he pulls of the role with finesse and shows he’s destined to be right at home on the big screen. The film ends with Zamperini seeing out the war and returning to America. His comrade survives and both of them marry their sweethearts. Louis Zamperini lived until 97 dying only last year, he achieved his lifelong dream of running in the Japanese Olympics and even met his captors.

Unbroken at face value is a classy, well rounded War film with a sterling cast that delivered throughout. The film is taken to another level simply because it’s a true story adding a whole other level to the already emotive script. Angelina Jolie shines as a director and shows promise for any future movies. The soundtrack is subtle however the timing and choice of music fits perfectly.For those who’ve read negative reviews I’d say Unbroken is definitely worth a watch and for those who’d rather not there’s always the book.

“I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is self destructive. If you hate somebody, you’re not hurting the person you hate, you’re hurting yourself. It’s a healing, actually, it’s a real healing…forgiveness.”
― Louis Zamperini

The final curtain

Orange Wednesdays is beautiful, quite honestly the greatest thing since sliced bread. With cinema prices skyrocketing in recent years the hump day has become the official day for a visit to Odeon. Whether it was the high school days of dates that usually ended in fooling around while Pirates of the Caribbean rolled on in the background or now when I make my visits to avoid having to sit at my laptop with “buffer face” through a badly cammed, Chinese subtitled version of Fury. The greatest things in life are very rarely infinite and now Orange Wednesdays has bowed to accept it’s morality. Next month EE will scrap this legendary deal forever. Bastards. First we get those god awful Kevin Bacon adverts and now they’ve literally destroyed one of the seven days. However all is not lost, I’ve just been to see Birdman and as the lights came up for the end of the (amazing) film I had an epiphany. What better way to lay this deal to rest than to take full advantage. So if my wallet allows I plan on making a cinema visit every week til this deal dies. You should try it too. I mean, if anything comes from this scrambled blogpost it should be message. Rather than indulging in the nostalgia of what was, dive headfirst into what is happening now. Take the girl you like, or your mum or a stranger or your cat or just someone who looks like they need a cinema trip, fuck you could even take me. Visit the cinema, watch a film that will hopefully be really cool, sneak popcorn in and have fun.

Godjam Typewriters 2014 Awards

This year has seen Nigel Farage say a lot of silly things, Harry Styles become incredibly good looking and somebody irrelevant win some reality show that doesn’t matter. Something that does matter however are awards, awarded by a teenager with a blog. Honestly. So without further ado ladies and gentleman, I present to you the first and hopefully not the last Godjam Typewriter Awards. Here are my winners:

 

Villain of the year- Nigel Farage

A bit predictable I must admit however Farage is a dangerous man. Remember that Bloke Hitler, you know that one who committed some of the worst atrocities seen on Planet Earth? The one who managed to convince an entire nation that Jewish people were an inferior race? Well Farage is the modern day Hitler, his band of merry man (UKIP) seem intent on creating their own Aryan Race. I imagine it’d be slightly different to Hitler’s, they’d probably be slightly overweight, white, straight and super rich. Farage isn’t the pantomime character he’s portrayed as, he’s a dangerous man. He a man that represents the views of the working class, he’s an ex-banker and just as bad if not worse than the rest of the muppets in Parliament.

Hero of the year- Russell Brand

To some he’s the bloke with the bad hair who married a popstar and uses words with far too many syllables however for me Russell is more than deserving of hero of the year. He’s inspired a generation to engage and become active with politics. Politics is no longer viewed as a topic for old white people with money, it’s for everyone. It’s something to talk about with your mates in college or at the dinner table. Brand has turned his back on a career that would have made him millions and instead now posts videos to his Youtube channel on a daily basis making little to no money. The profits from his most recent book Revolution are set to go on starting up a cafe to help reformed drug addicts whilst also using local and organic produce. What a bloke, he might wear robes and his Parklife rendition may have been a slight blip but Russell takes this one by a country mile.

Quote of the year- “It isn’t too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that’s not openly ostentatious”

What a corker. Poor Nigel well and truly put himself in the shit with this one. I’m more than happy to admit I had no idea what ostentatious meant however thanks to Google I can confirm Ostentatious by definition is “pretentious or showy display; designed to impress”. Yes Nigel, mothers keeping their newborns alive is most definitely “designed to impress”. Nigel you win tit of the year and quote of the year, congratulations on your double whammy although I must say it’s a bit ostentatious though taking two awards home.

Book of the year- Revolution

Yes I know these awards have quickly spiralled into a love-letter to Mr Brand but bare with me on this one. Take Brand’s name away from the book and it still stands to be my favourite release this year. I found revolution to be equal parts amusing, inspiring and intelligent. Brand’s natural dialect flows well into his writing style and makes for an incredibly easy read. The book uses quotes from other activists and often lends other ideas however this all builds to create a wonderful and well-balanced argument. From reflections to his days as a drug-addict to theories on reforming the political system, Brand is brilliant throughout. So, Mr Brand it is with great pleasure I award you book of the year sadly however this is your second award so you’ll have to sit at table four with Mr Farage.

Film of the year- There wasn’t one.

Dallas Buyers Club was definitely something different and Fury was a very average war film, sadly though this award is cancelled. I just don’t think directors are producing what they used to. Focus has fallen on creating movies that can have sequels and prequels and a spin-off and a t-shirt range in Primark. Nobody will say fuck me remember that film from 2014 that changed the game forever, this year is a year to be forgotten. All is not in vain however, this year there shall be a short film award to replace film of the year. Shame on you directors.

Short film of the year- Everything Bertie Gilbert made

Bertie Gilbert I salute you, while directors in Hollywood churned out The Hobbit: 9 and Avengers 203 you made some amazing short-films. These short-films that I imagine were created on a tiny budget managed to to totally outclass everything you’d find on an IMDB list. They were intelligent, diverse, fun and unorthodox. For those of you not subscribed to his Youtube challenge I beg you you to watch a few of his films and subscribe.

Festival moment of the year- Leeds Festival-Catfish & The Bottlemen

The boys from “the middle of nowhere” do know how to put on a show. Their thunderous set in the Festival Republic tent at Leeds Festival was something I can’t see myself forgetting anytime soon. Van Mcann and co packed the entire tent and despite their album wasn’t out for another month every single person sang every last word at the top of their voices. Anyone who had the privilege of being there will know the magic in that tent was something words cannot described, if anything it was something beyond words.

Album of the year- Find my album of the year at http://postmusicdepression.com/

My gig of the year- Childhood/Blaenavon @ The Cookie in Leicester

My first thought for gig of the year fell to Mac DeMarco however I’ve opted to pick two winners in Blaenavon and Childhood. I don’t live in Leicester however I’ve been to a few gigs at The Cookie and it’s a venue I fell in love with instantly. The Cookie is sort of Leicester’s answer to the late Cockpit, a last chance  to catch bands before they hit the big time. The intimacy of the venue and  the rawness of these gigs make them clear winners. Childhood’s album was one of the best this year and an incredible debut, Blaenavon have a beautiful e.p under their belt and I’d expect a full l.p next year that will rocket them onto the biggest stages around.

My festival of the year- Truck Festival

This year I attended Leeds Festival and Truck Festival and although Leeds pulled in the biggest names around, Truck was a humble and unique festival that in my opinion is one of the best around. With acts such as Peace and The Cribs playing Truck had a stellar lineup with many other acts spanning all genres. A bargain at 74 pounds Truck is without a doubt the best festival for those on a budget. From having stages in barns to an ‘Area 52 Rave’, Truck is a quirky and family-friendly Festival that is not to be missed.

 

Happy New Year, drink a lot and if you haven’t got anyone to kiss a midnight hug a cat or console yourself with pizza.

An interview with B.Dolan

A while back I interviewed rapper and activist B.Dolan about the Speech Development Records Tour that he was headlining. He’s an amazing artist and I felt the interview was a little wasted in my college magazine so I posted it up here for you! I went to the Leeds date on that tour and highly recommend it, if the tour returns it’s a gig you cannot miss. Thanks to B.Dolan for his time and Scroobius Pip for helping me get the interview.

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>How did you first get started in the music industry?

My first experience of the music industry was horrible.  I had this idea that if I moved to New York and just performed on a stage, someone would “discover” me.  NYC was three hours from where I grew up and all my favorite rappers came from there, so I just moved as soon as I turned 18 and started performing.

Def Jam was taping the pilots for their Def Poetry Jam shows around that time, and invited me to perform at one of those tapings at the Rush Arts Gallery.  I was 18 and living out of a knapsack at the time, and everyone around me was gorgeous, styled, and on cocaine.  I couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone, I didn’t understand words like “manager” or “producer” or who wanted to do what for me and how to talk to them… and I left feeling like the only way I could make music was to learn how to do everything myself.  I bought a drum machine and a laptop to track vocals into and started experimenting.  In that way I sort of found my way to the DIY ethic before I knew a scene existed for it.  That came later.

>Do you have any advice for people trying to get their music heard?

First, make music worth hearing.

>What are you most looking forward to on the speech development tour?

The van time will be awesome, as I know and have toured with everyone on this run in the past and enjoy all of their company.  It’s a colorful bunch.  Lots of entertaining personalities.  Also, people have been raving about the new live band setup and that’s been really rewarding.  We spent quite a lot of time putting it all together and to now get to hear it lay waste to venues’ sound systems has been a blast night in and night out.

>What can people expect on this tour?

The show runs continuously through the night with no breaks.  It starts with a spoken word set from Pip, which then turns into Warrenpeace’s set, which has a kind of indescribable dynamic and energy that goes between punk rock and breakcore live finger drumming fuckery, then Pip DJs for a bit, and then Warrenpeace kinda become my live band and we add a drummer for my headlining set.  Also, there’s surprises that I’m not telling you about.

>Is there a certain city that you most enjoy playing?

I can’t pick any one city.  But I can tell you my favorite services.  It’s the Westmoreland services, off the M6.  #1 in the whole world.

>You recently were a guest on Russell Brands show The Trews! What was that like and what made you want to be part of the show?

Pip set that up, as he had made a connection with Russell previous and thought we’d have a lot to talk about.  In a way it was like any interview.  I knocked on a door, they opened it.  They offered me tea I asked for water.  Russell Brand came downstairs in a towel and we talked for about half on hour on a leather couch.  As you do. He was a nice guy.  Gave me his phone number and email and offered to help with some fundraising stuff that’s coming up for Knowmore.org.  We had a limited interaction, but I came away feeling like he’s genuinely trying to use his public platform for good.

>The topic of “Meet N Greets” is incredibly popular recently! Where do you guys stand on artists charging fans to meet them?

To be honest, this is the first I’ve heard of the idea.  It doesn’t quite make sense to me, as I’ve been getting offstage and working a merch booth for my entire career.  In that way, I’ve come to recognize and know a lot of our fans who have been coming back for years.  I’ve met the kids of people who met at our shows on a few occasions. However, get money where you can I guess. Cause if you wait for Spotify to pay you, you will surely starve.

>If you could collaborate with one other musician (living or dead) who would it be and why?

Does this apply to producers?  Cause I’d like to make a record with Flood.

>And finally, what is the meaning of life?

Pugs. Drugs. Hugs.

Introduction

Here comes the formal introduction, a digital handshake from me to you. This is my new blog, I’m hoping I don’t end up in some Morrissey style drama where I look for a blog and find a blog and end up miserable. I did have a blog and it still exists however I hadn’t posted in a while and felt I needed a total change for my grand return to the world of blogging. In my mind I pictured myself emerging from a casket like The Undertaker in Wrestlemania to screams from commentators and more fireworks than Michael Bay has explosions. It won’t trend on Twitter and sadly unlike Slim Shady my return won’t have it’s own song but I am back to writing and even if my mum and myself are the only readers, that’s fine.

This blog will probably consist of the same ramblings as my previous one did however I plan on taking this one a bit more serious with regular reviews and even the odd article whenever Nigel Farage feels like attacking someone slightly different to him. As I said I do plan on doing the odd review so if you’re in a band or write or make films or anything wonderful like that email me (jack-winstanley@hotmail.co.uk) and I’ll review it like it’s never been reviewed before.

Finally, I’d like to apologise for the god-awful website name but I have to give myself at least a pat on the back for that pun, bloody punny if you ask me. Feel free to share this site and hopefully I’ll have content coming at you quicker than plans for illegal wars come out of Downing Street (Take that David).