David van Vuuren - and a lot of him

 As I've already demonstrated in my recent blog My Parents = Awesomeness, my Mom enjoys good variety of rock and pop musicians. So I thought it would be a fabulous idea to buy David van Vuuren's album "Free the Animals"  for her. Of course, before giving the CD over to my Mom, I had to check it for scratches, which required me to have a good listen to it. (Of course!) And of course, I was just salivating over the possibility of a good topic for a blog.

 Now, as you may know from a previous blog of mine (Oh, go on - read another one), I was a huge fan of Dave's during his competing in SA Idols last year. So as you may imagine, it was exciting to finally get my hands on this. To be honest, I'm somewhat befuddled by the album entirely. Completely befuddled actually.


  I heard the following three things:


1. A little bit of Coldplay: 
 This is undoubtedly a compliment; there is a significant trace of Chris Martin in Dave's voice and style. It's subtle, but definitely there, and while I personally feel that this style is a bit too "safe" for Dave's amazing voice, it does work for him, as far as being "commercial" goes.


2. A little bit of Johnny Cash:
 Yes, this is a surprise. In some of his slower tracks, David's low gravelly voice is strangely reminiscent of Johnny Cash. Now this, as far as I'm concerned, is both a compliment - because Johnny Cash was a legend in his own way - and a bit of criticism, because too much Johnny Cash can be... well, sobering, for lack of a better word. (actually, the better word is 'depressing', but that's hardly respectful to the legend himself) One can therefore be thankful that David injects enough life and soaring vocals into his songs to counteract and compliment the Johnny-Cash-effect. 

3. A lot of David van Vuuren:
 Simply put, David's got something unique that can not be compared to any other musician. There's something about his raw, emotional presentation of song that makes you feel like this beautiful stranger has just spilled his heart out into your soul, through his music. Despite the small musical flaws - of which there are a few - one can not help but feel touched. The exciting thing is that musical flaws can be improved upon... and then.... Greatness. 

 David van Vuuren was previously the lead vocalist in a metal core band called "Freedom For Your Life", which he started with a high school mate in Grade 11. To be frank - and perhaps I'm biased because of my love for hard rock - I would love to hear David get back to this genre, and it is my personal hope that in time he tries it. Even if he just dabbles in it. I guess I'd just love to hear him scream. 
 As SA's voted Idol, perhaps he is somewhat committed to 'play it safe' for a while...? Either way, my prayer is that he follows his heart, because that's where the music is. I have a feeling that no matter what David chooses to do, he will always have South African's behind him. 


 From what I've heard of the CD, I liked it. I think I could love it. I may even be having one of those sad "Aw-I-gave-it-away" moments.  This may call for another trip to Look and Listen.  Of course, the question remains: what did Mom think? Hmmm. 


Listen to some of David's tracks on his band's Facebook page here.

Hate-to-Lovers and Love-to-Haters

I know that my last blog promised that my next blog would be a LOT about kickboxing... but this is my blog, and I'll do what I want with it. 


And today I feel like pondering the people we love to hate, and the people we hate to love. We all know what I'm talking about... those people who inspire such intense emotion in us, that we can't help indulging in it, bathing ourselves in it, marinading our minds in delicious, often scandalous, thoughts... Yes, we all fall in love-to-hate, and hate-to-love, at some point in our lives. 


Some examples of those we love to hate could be...


Dictators and just plain evilness, such Robert Mugabe... Osama Bin Laden... Saddam Hussein...
Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan... Justin Bieber... Donald Trump (all because of that hair, and the fact that he's married to a near-immortal Supermodel)...
Politicians. (Full stop. Most politicians, no examples needed.)


Then you get the people we hate to love... the people that, in spite of ourselves, we cannot help liking...


Bands and musicians are my biggest hate-to-lovers... Take the BeeGees for example. I'm so very embarrassed to admit it, but I love them. And I hate that, but I can't help myself. 


Then there are people who are extraordinarily unique, in that they swing both ways... you love to hate them, and then you hate to love them... and then you love to hate them again, only to come to hate to love them in due course. These people are few and far between. 


One such person that I have this struggle with is a certain young radio DJ, Gareth Cliff. He's a household name in South Africa, and most of you reading this (in South Africa) will know him as SA Idols judge, or the award-winning DJ who holds the prime spot on 5FM's morning show.

My personal love-to-hate relationship with Gareth began in his first season as judge on SA Idols. I, along with many fellow South Africans I'm sure, found him rude, arrogant, repulsive, mean-spirited, cocky and just plain full of... er... it. Full of it, yes. 


It was then in 2009 that I started to grow weary of the radio station that I was listening to at the time, and I decided to give 5FM a try. The music was far better suited to my preference, and the presenters talked less rubbish, and so I decided to endure Gareth's annoyingness (for lack of a real word), for the sake of more enjoyable music.


It was one unfortunate morning, on my way to work, that Gareth and his team crossed the line. I had missed some part of the show, and caught the tale end of a sound clip of what sounded like a young boy describing his spiritual encounter with the Lord... Gareth and his team proceeded to mock this boy mercilessly, which I found quite unnecessary and offensive. This was the point at which I went from simply disliking Gareth Cliff to falling in love-to-hate with him. 


After that morning, I switched back to the arbitrary radio station that I had previously escaped, and so began a rather dull patch in my daily routine. After about 18 months of uninspired pop music and thoughtless nattering, I switched my radio over to 5FM in sheer desparation. It went quite well for some time until, after a few months, Gareth and his team dredged out that very same sound clip, the young boy with the spiritual experience. 


I could scarcely believe it - how could these DJ's be so juvenile as to resurrect this whole thing again, when it wasn't even funny in the first place? Seems that I wasn't only offended listener, as very soon after, a young gentleman called in and complained about the DJ's attitudes towards this sound clip, and their seeming intolerance of Christians. Gareth Cliff took a moment to explain to the caller (and to me) what the history was behind this 'religious' sound clip...


This 'young boy' was actually a woman, and she considered herself a prophet of sorts. People from her circles would turn to her for guidance, spiritual enlightenment... and among some other horrifically twisted ideas, this 'prophet' had told one of her friends to "look at the sun for a full minute, and you will see the face of Jesus". Her friend is now blind. Permanently blind.
 It was not an intolerance for Christians, or even religion, that inspired such hostility from the 5FM morning team, but rather an intolerance for... hypocrisy?... Lunacy...? Maybe just plain stupidity, I don't know, but it all made sense then.


Having forgiven the 5FM team of this little indiscretion, I've been listening to them ever since, and funnily enough, I've grown more fond of Gareth Cliff. He's still a cocky bugger, but in the last year, he's started to display certain characteristics that could perhaps be attributed to maturity. He's positive. He's down-to-earth. He discourages drinking ad driving. He openly ridicules Julius Malema. He supports charities. He does great voice-overs in the weekly Award-Losing soap opera, Days of Our Mornings. What's not to love? 


And let's not forget that he cried. SA Idols competitor, Dave van Vuuren (who later won the Idols contest), sang a song that reduced Gareth Cliff to tears, big ol' softie. And so I, along with many other South Africans, fell in hate-to-love with Gareth at that moment. 


So much so that I am even considering paying good money to purchase his book, which seems to be an autobiography, or a collection of random thoughts, I'm not entirely sure. However, what I am quite sure of is that at some point in the book, Gareth will undoubtedly have written something offensive, and I will likely come to love-to-hate him once more. Who knows.

But for now, Fellow Inhabitants of this Planet, today being Gareth Cliff's own "No Negativity Wednesday", here's to those we hate to love, and love to hate - they make our existence so much juicier!

SA Idols 2011: Dave Van Vuuren on fire!

I've never been particularly interested in previous Idols contests - I find most of the musicians to be a bit too 'poppie' for my tastes... Talented, of course, but far too 'safe'. If anything, the best thing to come out of any Idols contest so far has been Adam Lambert, and he is anything but safe.


At last, South African Idols contest has yielded something extraordinary... The overall calibre of musicians that has emerged this year has been astounding in itself, in comparison to previous years - I have actually watched a few episodes, and found myself stuck to the screen. 


However, few will argue with me that one of the finest and most unique artists to grace our screens with his presence is Dave Van Vuuren. If you listen with a 'musical ear', you might observe that he doesn't have the purest voice of this year's contestants. But whatever Dave may lack vocally - which is not much in the first place - he makes up for in so many ways, that I wouldn't trade him for the purest voice on the planet. 

What is also so refreshing is the sense of humility with which Dave presents himself, and his willingness to acknowledge God on stage. He has a down-to-earth, child-like gentleness, that one can not help but adore. 


Which makes it almost impossible to believe that this same timid puppy-eyed 'boy' can do what he does when handed a microphone! There is an electricity that exudes from Dave when he is on stage, he almost shivers with some inner nervous energy source that can not be contained. The intensity of the glittering in his eyes almost makes me want to take cover behind my living room couch, in case he explodes at any moment. One seldom finds a musician that has the ability to induce a miniature adrenalin rush, or reduce one to tears... And I love it. 


Dave Van Vuuren turns music into a spiritual experience.. and that is what it should be. 

Poor-quality uploads of Dave's Idol performances can be viewed on YouTube... Whether he wins Idols or not, he will 'make it' - and I intend on being a fan. 


Peace Out...