Olmeca Tequila presents the Steve Aoki SA Tour

So the cat has been let out the bag! Yes thats right, Olmeca Tequila is proud to announce the Steve Aoki SA Tour, brought to you by Electric. 

Electric is the team that recently toured deadmau5 and Avicii in SA, and they have even bigger plans for the Aoki SA Tour. The collaboration with Olmeca Tequila, who are famous for the ability to “ignite” a party, means that it will be a tour not to be missed. 

Olmeca Tequila is proud to announce the Steve Aoki SA Tour, Steve Aoki is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak records; he’s worked with the likes of Armand van Helden (Brrrat), Afrojack (No Beef), Laid Back Luke and Lil Jon (Turbulence), Tiësto (Tornado), LMFAO and Nervo (Livin my Love) and more. His awards include Best DJ of the year in 2007 (Paper magazine), Best Set of the Season in 2007 (Ibiza Awards), Best Party Rocker DJ in 2007 by BPM magazine, and Best Mix Album of the Year in 2008 by Billboard.

Known for his crazy antics (he includes a canoe in his DJ ryder – for crowd surfing!) and onstage performance, Steve Aoki offers up a head-banging, foot- stomping, extremely high-energy performance.

Tickets will soon be available from Computicket. 

Show dates:

Friday 7th December - Cape Town - a massive Harrington Street block party

Saturday 8th December - H2O, Wild Waters in Johannesburg 

Sunday 9th December - Wavehouse in Durban.

Visit www.steveaokisatour.co.za for more information.

Nando's Comedy Fest is Back (the 16th time)!

When you think of chicken and jokes, what you do get? Well I am not looking for the "why does the Chicken cross the road" jokes, but if you've guess Nando's Comedy Festival then BRAVO! 

Hunta Live and DStv in Association with Graca are proudly bringing back the biggest laughs to the annual Nando’s Comedy Festivals and welcoming the first annual Soweto Comedy Festival into the mix. Held at the Playhouse in Durban, the Teatro at Montecasino (JHB), and at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town and introducing the Soweto Comedy Festival at the Walter Sisulu Hall, fans can catch the biggest comics from all over the world on one stage in the finest straight-up, stand up comedy event in South Africa. International acts like Brian Haner, will be joined on stage by local funny man David Kau.

Best known as Guitar Guy from The Jeff Dunham Show, Brian Haner is that perfect combination of skilled guitar player and stand-up comedian. While many guitar comics simply play chords while they do their comedy act, Brian is a whole different kind of musician. For the last four years he has opened for The Jeff Dunham Tour on more than 500 shows, in just about every city in America, as well as South Africa, Australia, and a tour across Europe. Brian is now headlining clubs across the country in his own rock ‘n’ roll comedy show. 

One of the most sought-after comedians in South Africa, David Kau's name is synonymous with many firsts. He stormed onto the scene with a performance at the first Nando’s Comedy Festival in 1998 (then called the Smirnoff Comedy Festival), becoming the first black stand-up comedian on this coveted comedy stage. He wrote and performed "The Rainbow Nation Tour", his first one- man show in 1998, and never looked back. He continued with politically-savvy comedy with his next play, "Introducing The Peoples Comic"– he left Cape Town for Johannesburg where he performed in "Heavyweight Comedy Jams" from 2000 and "Comedy Black Out" in 2002 until 2004.

Comedy Central is proud to present another favourite part of the festival: the very popular local stand-up competition “Graça Comedy Showdown”. See contestants fight it out on-stage during the “heats” with nothing more than their quick wit, a mic, and a burning desire to become the newest comedy hero of the festival. The winners of the annual-search-for-SA’s-new stand-up-star will get the chance to perform alongside the international comedy heavy weights for the duration of the festival they entered.

NANDO’S DURBS COMEDY FESTIVAL:

14 – 19 August 2012 at The Playhouse Theatre

Cast: Finess Mitchell (host)

Mitch Fatel

Brian Haner

Christina Paszitsky

Ian Bagg

Tom Segura

David Kau

*Graça Showdown Winner (to be announced)

Tickets: From R150 – R200

NANDO’S JOZI COMEDY FESTIVAL:

20 - 26 August 2012 at the Teatro at Montecasino

Cast: Finess Mitchell (Host)

Mitch Fatel

Brian Haner

Christina Paszitsky

Ian Bagg

Tom Segura

David Kau

*Graça Showdown Winner (to be announced)

Tickets: From R160 – R250

NANDO’S SOWETO COMEDY FESTIVAL:

30 August and 1 September 2012 at the Walter Sisulu Hall

Cast: David Kau (Host)

Orlando Jones

Lil Rel

Loni Love

Brian Haner

Michael Winslow

Tickets: From R150 – R220

NANDO’S CAPE TOWN COMEDY FESTIVAL:

3 – 9 September 2012 at the Artscape Theatre

Cast: David Kau (Host)

Orlando Jones

Michael Winslow

Brian Haner

Lil Rel

Loni Love

Louis Katz

Graça Showdown Winner (to be announced)

Tickets: From R180 – R220

Tickets are open at www.computicket.com or any Computicket outlet.

Visit www.comedyfestival.co.za for full line-up, show schedules and information.

Save The Date for Sowing the Seeds!!

Can't wait for Rocking the Daisies?! First save the date for Sowing the Seeds! 1 September 2012! It going to kick ass!

[Press Release] Electric – SA’s biggest dance music experiences

Following on from the huge success of the Deadmau5, Bingo Players and Avicii SA Tours in 2011 and the beginning of 2012 respectively, SA’s three biggest event promoters, Anything Goes, H2O and Showtime Management have joined forces to form Electric.

Electric is the brainchild of these three companies, launched to fill the gap in the dance music market. Their primary objective is to bring only the hottest names in dance music to our shores and dominate the SA dance music industry through touring A-list DJs and creating festival experiences.

The individual companies will remain trading as before, but will scale up to manage these large events as a combined entity.

Electric already has huge names confirmed to tour South Africa in 2012 (watch the press for more details) and massive plans for 2013 that are currently taking shape.

“Having collectively been in the dance music scene for decades, and seeing the global phenomenon that it has become, we felt it was time to join forces and bring massive festival experiences to SA.” says Shaun Duvet, MD of Anything Goes. “After touring Deadmau5, Bingo Players and Avicii and seeing the great and immediate response we realised how much SA needs Electric, and worked hard to make it happen.”

Between Anything Goes, H2O and Showtime, they have toured the likes of Deadmau5, Avicii, The Black Eyed Peas, The Bingo Players, Fatboy Slim, Kaskade, Lil Wayne, The Rolling Stones, 50 Cent, Janet Jackson, Rick Ross, Paul van Dyk, Chris Lake, Cosmic Gate, Bob Sinclar, Todd Terry, DJ Craze, Blackalicious, Shortee Blitz, Neil Armstrong, Justin Robertson, Mowgli, The Stanton Warriors, Krafty Kuts, Judge Jules, and the list continues.

For more information visit:
Website: www.electricmusic.co.za
Twitter: www.twitter.com/electricmusicsa
Facebook: www.facebook.com/electricmusicsa

Converse Presents: Get Out of the Garage - TOP 10

Over the last seventy years London’s iconic 100 Club has played host to a multitude of artists and genres, and has maintained its status as the longest running popular music venue in the world. On 22 June 2012 Converse launched Converse Presents: Get Out of the Garage in pursuit of South Africa's finest unsigned talent from a variety of music genres. The winning band will perform on stage at the legendary 100 Club. 

Converse Presents: Get Out of the Garage saw 138 acts submitting diverse music offerings from punk rock to deep house. Judges Zulu Boy, Jon Savage and Garrick Williams were blown away by the awesome local talent and have now narrowed down all these hopefuls to an official Top 10.

The top 10 bands hail from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria and represent diverse music genres – rock, folk, indie, electric, metal, blues, electronic, kwaito and reggae. The finalists are: Goodnight Wembley (CT, Rock), IScream and the Chocolate Stix (CT, Rock), Matthew Mole (CT, Folk & Electric), Nakhane Toure (JHB, Folk & Rock), North of Winter (PTA, Rock), Savage Lucy (JHB, Metal, Rock & Blues), Shotgun Tori (JHB, Indie & Folk), Skin2Soul (JHB, Afro, Kwaito & Reggae), Swart (JHB, Afrikaans Rock) and The Kiffness (CT, Electronic).

And now it’s over to the public. From today, 19 July, music fans will have the chance to check out the finalists and vote for their favourite band at http://on.fb.me/getoutofthegarage. One lucky voter and friend will join the winning unsigned SA band VIP style for the gig in London.

The winning band will be announced on 6 August, 2012.

Follow the conversation on Twitter @Converse_Africa as well as with the #Play100Club hashtag.

Have a Reunion with Tanqueray! And Win!

Have a friend or a family member that you have seen for a long time? 

Tanqueray (my favourite gin!) is running a competition where they are giving a lucky person the opportunity to bring a friend home from anywhere in the world, to join them for a weekend of fun - relaxing, partying, catching up and letting their hair down! Best part is Tanqueray will host a reunion party with you and a group of your other friends! 

I think it is such a great comp since there are so many people who have family and friends staying overseas, and plane tickets are super expensive nowadays! 

All you have to do is go to Tanqueray's Facebook page, like and enter the Tanqueray The Reunion Facebook competition! Easy peasy!

In additional to that I have one Tanqueray hamper to giveaway to you! It consists of a bottle of Tanqueray, a cocktail shaker and a cocktail menu so you can host a mini get-together with some friends. 

All you have to do is:
1) go to like and enter the Tanqueray The Reunion Facebook competition
2) Either email me apple.and.dots@gmail.come or write your friend's name that you want to have a reunion party in the comment section below.

And I will announce the winner here next week Friday 27 July! Good luck!

Competition closed:
Congrats to Bronwin Marsh for winning the Tanqueray hamper! Enjoy!

 

Mila Kunis Going 50's with Miss Dior Fall 2012

Mila Kunis is back with Miss Dior for their Fall 2012 campaign. I have to say she looks absolutely stunning as a 50's Hollywood starlet surrounded by the paparazzi and waving to her fans.

via Globalgrind.com

Tropika Takover in Melrose Arch

What would it take you to have a sip of a drink at a random place random time?

Money? Smartphone? Or maybe just for the sake of curiosity?

The square, which is central to some of the busiest restaurants at Melrose Arch, sat quiet while the surrounding restaurants bustled with diners. But something different happened last Thursday, 5 July 2012, just after 5.30pm, a formally dressed waiter strolled out onto the square and set a table, complete with a rose in a vase, and poured a glass of Tropika before putting up a sign next to it with the words, “Take a sip”. He only had to wait briefly for someone to heed the call. A man nearby walked up and took a sip of the Tropika – and that was when the magic happened. 

What follows is something like something straight out of a tropical island: bikini-clad dancers, fire-breathers and acrobats. The flash mob, which was for the launch of the hit local TV show Tropika Island of Treasure 5, dazzled onlookers, who had no idea what was about to happen on that quiet Thursday evening.

The highlight? The reactions of the onlookers. Roxana Bouwer, who witnessed the flash mob while enjoying dinner at a nearby eatery, was caught by surprise, “We had no idea what was going on at first but it was really fun. The music was great, the dancing was beautiful. It was happy chaos! There were smiles everywhere – Tropika made our night.”

See exactly what went down that evening by watching the video below:

Now Tropika is so nice that they are giving Jasapple's readers some goodies - 10 cases of Tropika. 5 lucky readers will each receives one case of the 200ml Tropika and another 5 winners will each receives one case of the 1L Tropika!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The show was conceived by creative agency 7Dffrnt Knds of Smke and produced by Spiral Productions.

Bloc Party to Headline the Debut 'IN THE CITY' CONCERT IN JHB

A couple of weeks ago Rocking the Daisies raised the bar with the announcement of Bloc Party headlining at their festival. Since then fans all over South Africa have been commenting on all social media channels and plenty have been asking the question, “What about Jo'burg?” Well we have good news! 

IN THE CITY, Johannesburg's fresh new concert will be headlining with Bloc Party at the debut annual event. 

Not only will you enjoy a night that will be impossible to forget, in addition three top South African acts will also be supporting the multi award-winning and internationally acclaimed band on stage. “Who?” you may ask? You are just going to have to wait and see. Until then all you need to do is buy your ticket before they are all gone and start winding yourself up for one big night.

To avoid disappointment get your tickets early as organisers are releasing a limited number of tickets. Tickets are nice and easy on the wallet, a general pass is R265 (limited availability) and if you are seeking that extra something special, VIP will cost you R700. VIP includes a separate entrance, a raised special viewing area and complimentary drinks and snacks for the duration of the show. If for any reason the tickets are not sold out the Gate price will be R450 so buy your ticket pre-sold to take advantage of the exceptionally good value. 

Tickets: Available from www.webtickets.co.za: 

- General Admission: R265 (pre-sold online)

- Gate: R450 (so buy early – we don’t want to have to say ‘we told you so’)

- VIP: R700 (Limited & pre-sold online only)

- Pre-booked Parking: R20

Date & Time: Friday 5th October, doors open at 7 pm.

Venue: Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown, Johannesburg.

Go to www.inthecityjhb.co.za for continuous updates and everything Bloc Party! 

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/InTheCityJHB

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/294714470625750/?context=create

Twitter handle: @InTheCityJHB

Bloc Party's new album 'FOUR' will be released August 20th via Frenchkiss Records. 

‘E-is-for-Elephants’ Paint-a-thon

What better way than to combine environmental awareness and youth involvement through art, fun and paint? The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Artjamming, supported by Goodhope FM, teamed up to raise funds and increase awareness to protect elephants from ivory trade. The paint-a-thon held at Cavendish Square on 11-12 July involved children and celebrities coming together to paint murals on ten doors that would be auctioned to raise funds. The first day of painting was welcomed by 300 youth including those from the ‘Reach for a dream’ project. The aim for the auction on 12 July was for these painted doors to be sold and donated to schools and other public spaces to maintain continued awareness for elephant conservation.

IFAW’s Christina Pretorius was interviewed on the day about this importance of this initiative.  She explained in 2011 elephant poaching was the worst year of the past decade, with 23.4 tons of illegal ivory trading causing 3000 to 5000 elephant deaths. Change starts with the youth, and IFAW Animal Action has various projects running internationally to get the youth involved and aware about animal protection and conservation.  IFAW’s initiatives such as these have reached an estimated 7 million children across the world, from countries such as Russia, China, the US and Kenya. 

Some of the "elephantasic" artworks!

Words & Pictures: Sam Lee Pan