We went to... Amsterdam!

So last week I took my girlfriend to Amsterdam for her birthday. It was probably the most beautiful city I've ever been too. We got there early Monday morning and was able to check in a few hours early! We stayed at Hotel Luxer, and I couldn't fault them at all. They held on to our bags a few hours as we was early, the rooms were great too. We were also slap-bang in the middle of Amsterdam so it was a very busy street, but perfect walking distance to anywhere we wanted to go!

We planned on doing a few tourist things each day, but it was a tight squeeze with time. On the Tuesday we went to the Heineken Brewery for their Experience too. It was SO GOOD. I wasn't expecting that much from it, but it was so interesting. 

 

It's a self guided tour through the Brewery! From past to present, it was interesting to see all the old adverts, beer bottles and how the beer grew. We got to taste what just barley with water tasted like... well don't try it, it was disgusting. There was small talk on how the beer gets made (28 days apparently) and we also got to do some "beer tasting" which was good. It ended with a Champions League section and we got 2 free beers each! You can't say no for 17 euros (I think).

Second day we went to Anne Franks house. Now if you're going, you have to queue about an hour but it is so worth it. Unfortunately you can't take any pictures, plus it's a bit cramped, but it's so worth the wait. You get to go through every room of the secret annex, even climbing the steep stairs through a bookcase. If you ever go make sure you do it, it's so surreal to see the story everyone knows. There are even posters on the wall which she had put up. It's only 9 euros too, which my opinion is barely anything to what you experience.

We also went on a Canal tour...which was OK. I think the fact we had 50 Chinese tourist next to use kind of spoilt it a bit. But, so interesting to see how everything works and how big these canals are. My advise would be to go on a small tour, not a big commercial one, it got a bit boring after half an hour.

The rest of our time was spent drinking and eating! I have never in my life seen so many pizza places, I mean every 3 shops sold slices of pizza (even a Dominos). The food there is very samey, very pizza/burger orientated. So if you're going, research some restaurants before hand or you'll spend an hour looking for places like we did.

The coffeeshop experience was odd too. Never in my life have I sat and read a menu for weed and hash. It was strange, but the people were so polite and we didn't get any weird looks. Coffeeshops always looked busy, but there a plenty of bars you can go and smoke it (as long as you buy a drink). We ended up in the same bar, Route 66 (I think) and the service was great.

I recommend going here to anyone. It's such an experience (a very expensive one), but well worth it. Even if you're not interested in drugs and sex... there's so much to do. Just make sure you get a map and don't make eye contact with any prostitutes.

APRIL FAVOURITES

Here are a few of my favourite things from this month!


1.  Burberry Touch EDT (100ml) 

I've never been a huge fan of most mens aftershaves, apart from the last few releases from Burberry. I was a HUGE fan of Brit when that was released, but last year after a holiday in Tunisia I had some spare cash and bought this for a few Dinar (around £20). I forgot I had it until around a month ago, but now I've gone through it like no tomorrow. My favourite!


2. Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31

As you know from my previous blog, I'm a runner. I invested in these a few weeks back and haven't looked back. They're so comfortable and easy to wear! I also got them in the sale, which was odd considering they're full price on Nike's website. Prices range from £70-£120.


3. Daredevil 

Yes! Marvel have done it again. I watched all of this new Netflix Original series in about a week. It's SO GOOD. Blind guy, who's a lawyer and crimefighting superhero.. who has super senses and stuff. It sounds odd, but watch it. You won't regret it. Trust me!


4. VSCO Cam (iPhone)

Probably the most used app on my iPhone and in my opinion the best photo editing app on iOS. From filters to enhancing, cropping to sharing, it does it so well. The standards filters are great, you can also buy more filters (around £1.79 - £3 per pack) from VSCo. Most of their premium filters are normally collaborations with artists/companies/photographers. Grid is a great feature which allows you to have a kind of Instagram feed on the app, always good if you want you Instagram to look easy on the eye.


5. James Bay - Chaos & The Calm

I love this man and this album. It's so easy to listen to, I've had it on in the background whilst doing stuff (like this blog) and it just easy. You've all probably heard 'Hold Back The River' but, I recommend you listen to the lot. Blood brilliant.


Thanks for reading!

What are your favourites?

Mac

That Time I Got Signed By a Record Label

3 years ago today I was in Limehouse Stuidos in London, recording songs with a well known producer. (Thank you Timehop). I was living the dream.

I was there with Sony Records, recording a couple of demos with (still can't believe it) Mark Ronson. I'm not a singer, I can't play any instruments but I can write a good song. I've had a few people ask about what happened or what I did over the last few weeks (thanks again Timehop), so I thought I'd just tell the story.

In late 2011 I received a phone call from secretary at Sony Records, asking me whether I'd like to come in for a meeting about the songs I'd sent in. I had no clue I'd even sent them to Sony, all I'd done was sent them to a few bands to see if they'd want to use them. A former friend had taken in upon himself to send demos of my tracks to a lot of A&R departments.

When Sony got in touch, I though it was a joke. But, I went. I didn't tell anyone at all, I told my mum I was going for a job interview for some company in London. (My family didn't really know I wrote songs, I found it embarrassing). I went in with an open mind and a few nerves. I was greeted by an A&R man called Mike. He sat me down, and basically asked whether I was interested in forging a career within songwriting, as I had a good knack of telling a story. We agreed then to them taking me on a trial. This was odd, I'd never written on-demand, I just did it because I loved it. 

I only started writing when I couldn't sleep, I used to have a slight insomnia and would be awake for hours. I was told writing what's on my mind would help. That went from a small diary, to poems and then onto songs. So being told when to write would be strange. The agreement was, they'd send me artists to write for and I'd have to produce whatever they wanted, but it wasn't real. If you follow? They wouldn't give the song to the artist, but they just wanted to see what I could do. 

I was given 11 months to produce around about 15 songs for various artists and genres, I thought I done OK. During those 11 months I was able to work with session artists and one producer, which was an amazing experience. Mike, the A&R guy, was helping/mentoring me through all of this. A man who had worked with Pink Floyd to the Sex Pistols, he knew everyone. 

In mid 2012 I got an email to go to a record studio, which was going to be odd. I got the train to Charing Cross and was picked up in a car (felt like a celeb), and driven to Limehouse Studios in London. Mike met me and said he'd organised a one off session with a well known producer, Mark Ronson. I couldn't believe it, I was going to meet Mark Ronson and he was going to read some of my songs. We were in there about 4 hours, and all I did was sit in awe. He took two of my songs, started playing guitar and came up with a brilliant melodies. He recorded 2 songs within the space of 4 hours, and from a guy who comes from Welling, I couldn't believe what was happening.

He was such a nice guy and very down to earth. He asked whether he could take my notebook with him to see if there was any songs he could build on. I was never going to say no. We exchanged emails (which I still have somewhere) and that was that. I heard from him a few more times, but nothing major. There was talk of him working with The Last Shadow Puppets, and potentially I could work on it too. But nothing materialised. 

Then in September of 2012, it was the day I found out if I had got a deal with Sony. After numerous cancellations, I finally got a deal as a freelance songwriter. Apparently I was a stones throw away from getting a full contract with a nice salary, but with an unproven track record they didn't want to take a chance. The deal was pay as you play. Any songs that got released, I'd receive a fee and royalties etc. Things got real. I was actually going to write for REAL artists this time. 

My first artists was Girls Aloud. I received a call saying they were making a come back and were taking songs, so I was given the opportunity to throw my song into the hat. I sat for hours on Spotify listening to them, trying to get to grips of what kinds of song I needed to do. It was hard, I write band type songs, not pop. Anyway, I did it within a few days and gave it into the label. Unfortunately I didn't hear anything for months. I then heard their comeback single on the radio, a clear message!

Then came The Wanted, another pop group. Something I really struggle with. They a new single, but wanted extra tracks on the single. I wrote a song, which I was half proud of. After months of waiting and a lot of emails, they decided not to release anything at all. I was gutted, nearly half way through my contract and nothing. At that time I was signed to Simon Fullers management company, XIX Entertainment. They were fantastic and try to help me out, by setting my up with a band called F.U.S.E, who had just been signed to them and Sony. It seemed great, they were a bit more of what I liked. Rocky, not poppy. 

I worked with them once, they were quite good. They seemed happy with the songs, I was happy and then they just disappeared. Apparently, it hadn't worked out with the label and band so they went there separate ways. 

Things didn't get any better. A few months after signing I managed to bag a couple of VIP passes to Glastonbury. The year with Arctic Monkeys and Rolling Stones. It was so exciting, we was dreaming of watching the best bands at the side of the stage. Then on 25th June 2013, 2 days before Glastonbury I got a call from my manager to say Sony didn't want to carry on with my freelance deal and I could not represent them at Glastonbury. I got dropped and booted out from Glasto on the same day. I was devastated. They had only given me 3 artists to write for, because nothing was successful I was out the door.

Looking back, I did so much towards something I loved. Met some amazing people, but learned that the industry is dog eat dog. You can't produce anything of a low standard, if you do, you're out. I don't really write songs anymore, the whole experience put me off. Goes to show though, if you put your mind to it, you can achieve amazing things.

Mac 

(I haven't double read this, it's too long. Sorry for any typos or grammatical errors)

#Spotify - April Playlist

Track List

1. Fester Skank - Lethal Bizzle
2. Until We Can't - Passion Pit
3. Loud Places - Jamie xx, Romy
4. Marks To Prove It - The Maccabees
5. Gosh - Jamie xx
6. My Terracotta Heart - Blur
7. Lovesick Fuck - Mura Masa
8. Energy - Drake
9. King Kunta - Kendrick Lamar
10. Bad Boyfriend - Spector
11. Alright - Supergrass
12. Easy Rider - Action Bronson
13. The Wolf - Mumford & Sons
14. Runaway - Galantis
15. Love Again - Rae Morris
16. Cheer Up London - Slaves

Mac

2015 ESSENTIALS

Here are my essential/favourite items so far this year.

1. Specsavers Glasses.  £79 

2. Sekonda Quartz Watch.  £25 - http://amzn.to/1NJWHYY

3. Nike Fuelband SE.  £89 - http://swoo.sh/1bndSb6

4. Macbook Pro (2012).  £899 - http://apple.co/1hbtq7e

5. Canon Powershot SX510.  £160 - http://amzn.to/1zh6MRg

6. Panasonic Headphones.  £27 - http://amzn.to/1CO45XG

7. Xbox One Console.  £409 - http://amzn.to/1EGDtxR

8. Nike Stefan Janoski Trainers.  £60 - http://bit.ly/1E2vSLa

9. iPad 2.  £260 - http://amzn.to/1aVBrxA

Enjoy, Mac. 

CASEY NEISTAT

From the ages of 14-19 years old, I studied the media. Digital, analogue, advertising, the web, print & film, you name it I did some kind of essay on it. I went from GCSE's to college and then going onto study Digital Media at University of Greenwich. I loved how different people could be within the media, there are no boundaries, especialliy in film. Film is something I never enjoyed (apart from watching). I never got it, understood it or generally didn't get why people would spend hours filming and editing, just for a 5 minute trailer. Until now...

This is Casey Neistat and he is a film maker based in New York. I discovered his YouTube channel around 2 months ago, and ended up watching near enough all of his videos within a week. His style of film making is something so different and original, that I wish I had been introduced to his work while at university. I may have ended up going down a different path, because this guy has inspired me.

Here's a few of my favourite videos;

Nike Fuel Band Ad.




Instagram Guide

His self taught, DIY skill are amazing. Time-lapse, amazing scenery and living in New York City give his videos the most incredible feel and energy. Most of all, Casey knows how to tell a story. There's not one video I've watched and not understood what he wanted to get across. From his Soda Ban video to his daily vlog, there's always a meaning behind each video.

Here's a tour of his INCREDIBLE office in NY. (It's something from another planet)

Enjoy, Mac.

(skip to 6.40 for tour)

RUNNING

I've been running on and off for the last 2-3 years. It's something I love and hate, but something that's so worthwhile in the long run (excuse the pun). In 2012 I sat and watched the London Marathon, and like most others I was inspired.

I'd run before, I went to an athletics club when I was about 14 for a few years. I loved it, cross country was my favourite event. The fact I could run for around an hour non-stop without ever training was great, my speed was always good. I was naturally good at endurance running. Then I hit 16, got a part-time job and started college, I gave up the club (can't remember what it was called, it's behind Dartford Park) because I was too busy either working or going out with my mates. Still to this day I wish I would of carried on, it's something I could of kept improving at.

Back to 2012, I started running again! Short treadmill runs and even shorter road runs got me into a good place. After a year of on and off training, I started to achieve some really consistent times and distances. 5K in under 25 minutes and 10k in just over 52 minutes... Then BOOM. I stopped. Why? I have no idea. I really lack motivation and drive sometimes, which lets me down. If  I break a routine then I find it very hard to get back into it.

One thing I've realised over the past few months is that, I put way too much pressure on myself to do a certain distance, or beat a certain time. I used to enjoy running when I was a kid because there was no pressure. The last 2 years, I de-motivated myself because I couldn't run 5K in 23 minutes. This is why I kept stopping. So over the last few weeks, I've put my trainers on again and ran...because I wanted to. 

I made a choice not to care if I ran 1/2/3/4K in an hour. It was just good to be out on the road again. I've been running for about 3 weeks now, my fitness is improving and times are better (I still have a sneaky look). But it gives me so much pleasure to run around Danson Park with good music and feeling like I've achieved something. 

If you run... how do you keep yourself motivated? Do you do it for fitness or pleasure?

Also, here's my running playlist. What do you listen to? Let me know!

Mac