Guitar prodigy JUSSJEF, interviewed by James Cox

Guitar prodigy JUSSJEF, interviewed by James Cox

YouTube celebrities are a modern phenomenon, allowing potential artists to reach an audience on their own terms, with just hard work and a camcorder.
Of course, this ease of self publication has left social networking sites saturated with wannabe superstars, each with the necessary self belief, but often lacking the all important “talent” factor.
Some, however, break through the mist of mediocrity with pure, glimmering star quality. They can be identified by their astronomic hit rate and five star endorsements.
A little while ago I stumbled across JussJef, a.k.a. the singing guitar.
Jef is a 23 year old guitarist from L.A. with a precocious talent and a rapidly growing fan base pushing him toward inevitable stardom.
He creates instrumental renditions of RnB, soul, and hip hop classics from artists as varied and prestigious as Etta James, Beyoncé and Kanye West.
His technical ability is shrouded in undeniable soul and feeling, and every video that emerges on his self styled site jussjeff.com is laden with the unpolished potential of a future star.
From his medley tributes to Michael Jackson, his immaculate rendition of Next’s “Too Close” and his musical tour through the works of Kanye West, his ability to showcase his capacity as a guitarist without dampening the heart of the music is both thrilling and impressive.
After months of admiring his work, I managed to catch up, for an exclusive interview, with the man who is making the guitar sing, to ask about his plans and dreams in light of his blossoming popularity.


How would you describe your "sound"? Who are your major influences?

It's hard to say what my sound is like. A lot of music (not just limited to guitarists) have had an influence on my playing. I did follow certain guitarists like Clapton, Hendrix, Santana, George Benson, Prince, Wes Montgomery, Slash, and Brian Setzer. Lately, I've been influenced by gospel/session guitarist like Charlie Bereal, Paul Jackson Jr, Jubu Smith, Tim Stewart, Jairus Mozee, and Eric Walls.
My guitar playing had a lot of influence by Motown, Michael Jackson, Hall and Oates, Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire and a lot of pop music. One thing I try to do with my guitar playing is be "musical" in the sense that I am playing music that pleases the ear and not necessarily is a display of technical ability. That's why I play in a finger style when I cover songs on guitar because I want to recreate that feeling people get when they hear the original song. So I play the vocals along with the backing rhythm and bass so when I play, you know exactly what I am playing without me having to sing out the words. I sing the song through my guitar.


How long have you been playing the guitar? When did it become more than a hobby for you?

Roughly on and off for about 12 years. I played in a jazz band a bit in middle school and early in high school, but I never learned how to read notes. When I got to college, I decided to play some talent shows, and I placed a few times then I just started winning all of them. I then decided to post a video in the summer of '08 just to see how many views I would get. It shot up quickly so I started doing more and more videos and that's how it all started.


So you could say you’ve found your calling?

Absolutely. Whether it be doing solo work or working and composing for other artists, as long as I am able to play guitar and make a good living doing it, I am on board.

What can you tell me about your instruments? (Are you subject to brand loyalty? What made you choose the instruments you have now?

Initially, I really didn't have a preference. As long as it had 6 strings and it stayed in tune, I was good to go. I didn't even know about Martin acoustic guitars until I was surprised on my 22nd birthday by family and friends who used a group gifting site called eDivvy.com to pitch in and get me a new acoustic. So far, Martin is probably my favourite acoustic and it does help that one of my idols (Clapton) uses it too. As far as Electric guitars go, I favour Fender Stratocasters. They are comfortable, versatile in sound, and they look sleek -- Hendrix, Clapton, SRV used them for a reason. However, my preference would probably change though if another guitar company decided to sponsor me.

Are you a fan of effects units, or more natural sounds? Do you work on the particular "sound" of a song as well as the physical melody? I.e., try different effects, instruments?

I wasn't too crazy with effects growing up. I used like two effects (Morley Wah peddle and a generic distortion peddle). Once I started getting serious about playing, I started researching different effects like flangers, chorus, and delay peddles. I found this one boss pedal that had both a delay and a loop function. Now I use it more for looping than anything. Aside from that, I try not to get too distracted with effects or sounds and concentrate on the actual playing. When I cover a song, I do try recreate almost the exact melody and beat throughout the song. To me, that's more important than using effects.


Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

I did a few local talent shows near my college (California State University, Los Angeles -- CSULA) and I played at a few Gospel gigs. Aside from the Diddy "Making his Band" TV show, the biggest thing I have probably done was the Pan-African Graduation at my college in '08. I had to play "Lift Every Voice" on acoustic guitar in front of 2,000 people at the Pasadena Civic Center. I play a lot at local restaurants and bars in Southern California, like Cozy's in Sherman Oaks or Up n Smoke BBQ in Fontana.


How do you start formulating new tracks? Do you hear something you like then sit obsessively for a week until its right?

It depends. I could initially figure out the basic melody and chords of a song within minutes depending on how many changes there are in the song. The more time I give to listening and playing a song, the more I pick up and improve on it. For example, when I posted my cover of Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" back in '08, I had just learned that song two days prior to recording it. It sounded good despite some flaws but if I was to cover it today, I would kill that version.



Do you ever play any original music, or do any writing?

Yeah. I've composed some original stuff and did some original work in studio for some people. I don't know how to read notes and I never took music theory but I've covered so many songs and listened to so many different types of music that I got an idea on how to put certain chords together to construct a song.


What's your ultimate direction for your act? Are you seeking fame and fortune?

I would like to continue doing acoustic renditions and originals but I also am interested in playing with bands and session work. If fame and fortune comes? Cool. If not, that's ok too. As long as I am making a great living doing something I enjoy doing and I happen to be good at, that is success in my book.


What advice do you have for budding musicians?

Stay grounded and stay hungry. Always have the desire to learn and improve. You can't get any better at your craft if you already think you mastered it.


What are your interests outside of music?

I love boxing. That is a sport that evokes almost as much emotion as music. Anything can happen in boxing. If a basketball game has one team ahead of another team by 30 points with 5 seconds remaining, it's a wrap. In boxing, one fighter could have gotten his ass whooped from pillar to post the whole fight and be down on the scorecards and score the KO punch at the very last second of the final round to flip a likely defeat into a dramatic victory. No other sport gets me pumped up like boxing.


How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?

Aside from my website which has the mp3 of the Kanye West Medley, I haven't made any in studio recordings. I am in the process of making an album with covers and some originals. I am just working on the legal issues involved with covering and selling other artists songs.


Any plans to come to the UK or do any travelling?

Hopefully my guitar playing will allow me to travel the world. I would love to visit the UK.


Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?

My cousin, Camille Alcasid, and especially my 3 older sisters, Erika, Reena, and Jill. They all played a role in the development of who I am as a person.

Any last words?

I just want to thank everyone who has been supportive of the work I've done with my guitar.



Become a fan at Jussjef.com
Exclusive interview By James Cox

Where The Wild Things Are. A review by James Cox

Where The wild Things Are. A review by James Cox.



It has taken five years for Being John Malkovich director, Spike Jonze, to pitch, film and package a feature adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are.
The book itself evokes murmurs of excitement from a non-specific generation of fans, enthused by the instantly iconic illustrations of mystical beasts encountered by precocious child run away, Max, on a fantastical island.
Film land has been awash with rumours of troubled sets and back room disharmony. Release dates have been chalked and erased, leaving a grubby trail of expectancy in their wake.
Now finally, it’s here, rendered in a beautiful marriage of art direction, CGI and quaint puppetry, painstakingly angled towards fleshing out Sendak’s diminuitive, yet poignant read.
The film starts in chaotic fashion, with young Max tearing down the stairs, in his iconic wolf costume.
Instantly the world of Sendak’s Wild Things, jagged illustration and pastel shades, clashes with an unmistakeable dose of Jonze guerilla realism.
Here is Max, a boy searching for his place in a life riddled with petty disappointments and pragmatic compromises. He is creative and lively, seeking the attention craved by a minor, and as his hard earned igloo fort is destroyed in a boisterous snowball fight with older kids, his big sister refusing to comfort him, and his mother selfish enough to couple her maternal affections with a need for an adult social life, we realise which world this films inhabits. It is one seen through the fractured rationale of a lonely child trying to understand grown-ups.
Shouldering the newly acquired knowledge that the sun is dying out – an unsubtle aside from a science teacher – Max lashes out at his mother, dons the wolf costume and disappears into the night.
Alone, and unrestrained, his imagination offers him a boat, which Max uses to navigate through turbulent waters to the rocky shores of a mystery island.
Max approaches the shaggy inhabitants as he does adults, back in the real world – at first with caution and fear, and then with wreckless abandon, running toward them in a breathless sprawl, legs buckling beneath him.
From here on in the island becomes a plotless mess, which is precisely the point. It skates on the dream logic and fleeting sense of an over excited child. Max and the Wild Things hatch grand plans without agenda, games are made up on the spot, but swelling in the background like an orchestral drone is the old adage: What starts off as fun and laughter, often ends in tears.
The Wild Things seem to embody Max’s disparate emotions: a breathless need for fun and chaos, a confused temper and a scared goat, lost in a world of clumsy giants.
It is within this motley dynamic that the James Gandolfini voiced, Carol, emerges as a dominant, and dangerous companion for Max’s quest for identity. Carol searches for harmony among his friends; vying for unity among the Wild Things, as Max vies for unity within himself.
On the island we see through Max’s eyes, and as a result understand as little about this world as Max does the real one.
The dialogue is surreal and disconnected, and brings to mind Samuel Beckett’s Theatre of The Absurd, as evoked in his classic stage play “Waiting For Godot”. Like Godot, characters are fluid and rather more unimportant than the message they carry. The relationships between the Wild Things are nothing more than decoration to a Jungian parable about the turbulent inner mind of a kid.
As the messy narrative unfolds, it is driven by tone, rather than plot, and the sinister air of the final third will both confuse and unsettle younger viewers as the action switches between Max’s wonderment and horror towards tempestuous nature of the Wild Things
Like a David Lynch directors cut of Sesame Street, Where the Wild Things Are never bows to expectation. To put it crudely, the wildest beast on that island is the storm in Max’s head.
And what a beautiful storm it is too.
Jonze and cinematographer Lance Acord create a naturalistic and patchwork children’s adventure, dispelling the thick key-lined, primary coloured Disneyfication of childhood nostalgia. It is naturally lit, with hazy sunsets and jagged shadows. The beasts themselves, forged by the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and layered with CGI expressions, are a spectacle themselves, as they run and jump and laugh and roar.
Max’s muddied wolf costume is evidence enough of the painstaking appreciation for the source material, right down to the wizened whiskers protruding from the hood.
Of the few human performances, Max Records (playing Max) is outstanding both in his precociousness and his naivety and Catherine Keener marries her dual role as doting matriarch and authoritarian with aplomb. This is aided by the economical handling of the ‘real world’ sequences in both the intro and the coda. So much is conveyed in such little time and never failing to be visually impressive.
James Gandolfini gives a subtle, but hearty vocal performance, layering Carol with a childish ethos and turning on the Soprano rage in terrifying flashes of the darker side of the Wild Things.
The visuals will be enough to impress any viewer, although younger audiences will sense the bleakness long before the end credits.
It is a successful exercise in fleshing out the confused psyche and creative mind of a child, and manages to convey the intrinsic fear and irrational train of consciousness driving their seemingly chaotic actions. With all this considered, I was also surprised to find a few genuine laughs and a comedic savvy about the film.
Also successful are the quiet and tender moments, as Max dictates a story to a dewy eyed Keener, as he lays under her desk admiring his mothers feet with the observant wonder only a child can muster.
Whether this piece of cinematic art will be a crowd pleaser, is a big question. It plays out to no particular audience, abandoning any intention of being child friendly and, often, asking too much of a sceptical adult audience who must be willing to leave any desire for coherent narrative, driven dialogue or any discernible plot, outside the movie theatre.
This is a visceral experience, but one laden with ideas and pathos.
If you want to work for it, there’s an unpolished gem of a film in store for you, every bit as beautiful as the early trailers hinted at, with enough ideas to write a three page review (see above).
But it is, perhaps, wise not to expect the frivolous , giddy, banana-boat ride you may have hoped for, but instead embrace a visually stunning think-piece, celebrating the dying embers of innocence in the creative mind of a child.

Art House cinemas - embracing the REAL film fanatic. AN interview with the manageress of Southampton's revered Harbour Lights cinema. By James Cox

Harbour Lights is a quaint, art house cinema. A little known neighbour to the hugely successful and hugely mainstream cinema giants that are Odeon and UGC. Yet somehow it survives, attracting a regular as clockwork, cult clientèle and was awarded the ultimate accolade of Best Loved Independent Cinema by Empire readers in 2000.
Its appeal is instantly understandable on entry to the discreetly placed, but elaborately designed glass structure that house Harbour Lights’ two state-of-the-art screens (each with Dolby SR sound) which show best independent, foreign and low budget movies that are ignored by their profit hungry mainstream rivals.
There is a relaxed atmosphere inside. A bar, more at home in a back street jazz club, where audiences can procrastinate over the freshly witnessed slice of Indie cinema with a bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other. This is a movie lovers cinema.
I booked a date with Harbour lights manager Louise Scutts to discuss independent films, how they cope with the mainstream pressure and her disdain for Odeon.

The first thing that is blatantly obvious on meeting Louise, is how different her demeanour is to that of your average Odeon employee.
Instead of the robotic, scripted greeting and attempts at up-sizing your popcorn to the Mega Bucket option, we meet someone who’s bubbly, chaotic and as film crazy as the cinema expects its audience to be. She philosophises over the state of the British film industry and the corporate degradation of the movie market in between chain smoking menthol cigarettes and sipping un-sugared coffee. It is the end of her shift, but it would appear she is as happy staying late to talk to us about her true passion than she would be anywhere else.



What are you trying to achieve in relation to the big cinemas such as UGC and Odeon?
The general vibe of the building, to provide a completely different service from the one they supply . To attract a different clientèle through the different films we show.

What attributes do the movies have to have to be chosen?
We never have anything hugely mainstream - like, say, Spiderman or Hulk. We do touch on the upper end of mainstream. “Bridget Jones” for example has a huge book following and we showed “Lord of the Rings” for the same reason. Plus, we need those occasional big movies to provide a bit of income. The majority of our films are independent, foreign or cult.

Is there a specific audience associated with Harbour Lights?
Its actually more diverse than mainstream cinemas. We’re always accused of being elitist but they’re probably more elitist than we are, aiming their whole publicity campaign at eighteen to twenty-five year olds, where as our members stretch from extremely young up to extremely old. Yes, the majority tend to be over forty but we also have a huge student following…
(Indeed, Harbour Lights is greatly aided by the fact it resides in the vicinity of a college and two universities and even works in conjunction with Southampton Institute to screen young filmmakers work)…
It depends a lot on the film. Things like Ladies in Lavender are a hit with the old dear because its: (sporadic ’old dear’ impression) “such a lovely film, we love Judy Dench.” We also have a big foreign clientèle because of our output of Spanish and French movies.

You occasionally do nostalgic theme nights, what’s the idea behind these?
At the moment we’ve got an American Mavericks theme so we’ve got “Memento” for example. it’s a theme decided by a lecturer from a film course we work in close proximity to. But we also get a lot of the public attending because they’d like to see that film on a bug screen again, or maybe never got a chance the first time around.

Biggest successes?
Well, we had “Raiders of the Lost Ark” four years ago and we were completely sold out. Dads dragged their kids along saying “you’ve got to see this movie at the cinema” and its that kind of movie that people have fond memories of seeing and want to share that with their family or whatever.
You get really daft themes, three Halloweens ago there was a huge mainstream horror movie out that we couldn’t compete with so we thought “lets go really stupid” and we actually played “Carry On Screaming” and two-hundred people turned up to watch it! Mainstream cinemas rarely return to old prints. We’re planning a musical theme now - “Sound of Music” that kind of thing.

Have you ever done any film festivals?
We did one a few years ago called the Popcorn Apocalypse where we showed films like The Terminator and The Predator. Last January we did all three “Lord of the Rings” movies. Twelve hours of Peter Jackson mastery! We’re looking to do that again on the back of the “Return of the King” S.E. Possibly going to do another one next Spring.

What are your views on the state of British cinema?
It could be an awful lot better. There’s a lot of talented people not being given chances and it was maimed badly by FilmFour going down. It’s been a huge, huge blow. It’s a shame because Britain is still renowned for having the best technicians. How many U.S. films are made at Pinewood? The government grants are pitiful! The subject matter are tired, tried and tested. Judy Dench and Maggie Smith, how can they go wrong? Their either very gentile period dramas or gangster movies with nothing outside those two genres.

Do you think that British people support British film?
Only if the film is good, and not necessarily because it is British. Its not really a patriotism thing. We certainly don’t go out of our way to play British films just because they’re home grown. If it is a good film then of course we get them in. We didn’t show “Sex Lives of the Potato Men” mainly because it’s crap!

How does Harbour Lights support local filmmakers?
We’re very tied in with the Institute and students from the film studies course show their final, big piece here on the big screen so they can bring their parents and their grannies and say “look, that’s me on screen at a proper cinema”. We also work closely with Screen South: young filmmakers and were picked as a awards ceremony venue recently where they showed the winning films. We also run regular Saturday morning Young Filmmakers slots where if you have a film in a format we can show - which is pretty much anything - you can watch it here!

That’s a great confidence boost for a young director, how much does it cost?
It’s free! We screen the film for them but encourage them to bring loads of mates and buy loads of beer. It works really well and we’ve got some very professional work - highlighting the fact that there’s a lot of very talented guys and girls who could work well with better equipment and bigger budgets.

Do you think that Indie and mainstream movies are moving closer and the lines becoming blurred and harder to define what is what?
“Donnie Darko” was made three and a half years ago and only got aired at film festivals. The audience response was massive but they did not know how to market it. It was only from pure pressure it got picked up, now look at it!
The best films are the ones that split an audience down the middle. What totally springs to mind is “Lost in Translation” which was cleverly marketed as a quirky, Bill Murray film, but it’s not that formulaic.
A tiny British film, they never expected to do any business, was “Touching the Void”. We had eighty, ninety, one hundred people in seats for that every night! Then it beat “Love Actually” in the BAFTAs and we were slaughtered that weekend! Sold out every night. Then the multiplexes came in smelling profits. Too many people follow critics opinions. Film like every art form is very subjective. I tell my staff to not lie when they’re asked their opinion, even if they didn’t like it. Sky have a ridiculous policy where they won’t review a subtitled film. The stupidity of it was highlighted when “Crouching Tiger” came out and stole the box office and they didn’t breathe a goddamn word about it!

Do you think your cinema will survive against the competition?
Yes! We will because they thought video and DVD would be the death of cinema, but that was absolute pants! Cinema is going from strength to strength. When multiplexes opened they said it was the death of Independent cinema because you can get all the films in one building. Rhubarb! They don’t do that at all, they just put the same film on billions of screens. Case in point. One cinema has thirteen screens and when “Attack of the Clones” came out they played in eleven of the thirteen! That’s not choice, that’s money making! They don’t fulfilled the promise they mooted to. There will always be room for cinemas with the ball to do things differently. We have eighteen sites across England now. We’re more intimate and we give the customer a sense of ownership and belonging. We don not have that ‘shovel them in, shovel them out mentality unlike multiplexes. They only ever have turnaround in mind. We are a corporation that tries really hard not to be. There is a flash of individuality in each of our cinemas.

Do you ever feel like the last man at the Alamo, refusing to dumb down?
Yes! Ha-ha! We are the last Bastions of tasteful film! We will save you!


The passion has taken her over and I eventually have to force Ms Scutts to stop, ensuring her we have more than enough information.
The bottom line is, this is a cinema that loves cinema, and the staff, from barmen and ticket rippers to the manageress sat in front of me, are all fine examples of that.
It’s exactly this mentality and reluctance to conform that means cinemas such as Harbour Lights will be around for a long time, providing film lovers with a refreshing break from the neon world of the mainstream. And not a Mega-Bucket-Meal deal in sight.


Harbour Lights is situated at Ocean Village, Southampton.
For bookings and more information please phone 023 8033 5533

Dr David Kelly WAS murdered, according to countries leading doctors

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1233330/Dr-David-Kelly-Six-doctors-demand-inquest-death-weapons-expert-prove-murdered.html?ITO=1490&referrer=yahoo

Ricky Gervais "Science" - A review

Ricky Gervais' latest stand up owes little to it's title "Science", very little.
By his own admission, any link to the moniker is tenuous, and only the Frankenstein insignia and gloriously elaborate set design makes any more than a nod to it.
If you were to guess at a title, you would probably pip for "religion" or "controversy" as Gervais navigates through subject matter such as Noah's Ark, censorship and Britain's Got Talent, his observations barbed and gasp inspiring.
He sets the tone, emerging on a Segway, a pre-cursor to another main talking point, his comically inflated ego.
"There's a recession on. Apparently. Someone told me".
And, how his ego would have swelled as the packed audience at Sheffield's Irwin Mitchell Oval Hall lapped up his show with rapturous laughter and adoration.
Ever the showman, Gervais shoe horns in a Ken Dodd impression, a joke of such controversial tone I couldn't possibly repeat, and anecdotes that will delight his fans, and undoubtedly cause unrest among the more sensitive observer.
Well into the tour run, the material seems fresh and as funny to him as the moment he conceived it.
Now a fully fledged icon, it is difficult to judge the humour on it's own merits. As he appeared above me in my meticulous, Row A seats, I am instantly impressed by his presence and the show is over and wrapped before you can truly absorb the spectacle.
Side achingly funny are his sections regarding quotations: "I have nothing to declare but my genius" will resonate with anyone who has seen it, as will his trawl through a a Sunday School text book.
Most impressive, however, are the moments when Ricky threatens us with seriousness. His impassioned lecture on censorship and the unapologetic nature of comedy are inspired, and bang on the money. His usual atheist rants are becoming tightly scripted and impressively convincing. Of course, all of these heady sections are punctured by humour, and you're never far away from a belly laugh.
Of the shows few let downs, the structure is perhaps the most glaring. So charismatic and archetypal is Gervais, that an evening bathing in his anecdotes and trademark cackle are a joy, but I wonder how this sense of "event" will transfer to the small screen, with the inevitable DVD release.
Ricky, himself, reminded us that the show evolves throughout the tour:
"Some of this material will be exclusive to you. But as I'd have cut them out before the next show, they will be the shit bits".
I only hope he finds a neater direction than the enjoyably chaotic presentation he enthralled the Sheffield crowd with.
A quick mention must go to support act, Stewart Francis, who was a massive hit in his role as warm up act. His stream of one liners had us laughing and groaning in equal measure. I am particularly fond of his zinger: "I quit my job at the helium factory. Nobody speaks to me in that tone!"
Gervais' latest is a success, albeit one that will divide, possibly alienate the non-diehards, and will almost definitely draw complaints from some quarters.