A Video Message...

Whilst wait for a few free hours to write my next bl0g I thought I'd leave you with a video message I did this week instead.



CORSET by Lee Klabin - http://leeklabin.com/
HAIR & MAKEUP by Jennifer Nash - http://www.jennifernashmakeupartist.co.uk/

A written blog WILL be coming soon. I have nearly done it on paper- I just need more hours in the day!!

Hope all is good in everyone's fur trimmed hood
Xox Gabling xoX

VINTAGE SHOPS TOUR PART II- Beyond Retro

Good day blogglings!
I have started the day the best way- walking in the autumn sun across Hampstead Heath with my lovely, but oh so naughty, jack russell puppy- Hobbes!

This is him:

Yes there is a possibility that
A- he is the cutest dog EVER
B - not entirely jack russell (we like to think he has a bit of Corgi in him too!)

Isn't he adorable?! He is currently sleeping on my knees! Awwww...

ANYWAAAAAY! What am I doing? Gabby! This is not a HobbesBlog... pull yourself together girl.

I have a tour to report and some exciting news.

Last Monday (2/11/09) THE EVENING STANDARD printed this:

(NB, The Standard forgot to credit LEONORA SAUNDERS for this amazing photo)

It was THE MIDDLE PAGE SPREAD and sooooo exciting!!! I thought it was going to be little pic and article I had no idea it would look like that- so yes I was a teensy weensy bit overexcited so much so that Stephen refused to let me drive after nearly crashing in my mental state driving round north London to pick up copies of the paper - sooo didn't realise how hard they are to get hold of after 4pm!!!

What happened the next day managed to top even that as I had an interview with THE SUNDAY TIMES... I won't say anymore but please look out for me in next weeks edition (15th Nov)

eek and eek!

RIGHT now to the VINTAGE SHOPS TOUR:

After Manchester's wonderful Vintage Fair next was a double whammy of BEYOND RETRO gigs...

15th October @ Beyond Retro LAUNCH, Brighton
For those of you that haven't squeezed round the aisles of vintage treats in the London Beyond Retro stores let me just say that you should definately put it on your 'to do before I die' list- its that amazing!!
Whats even more amazing is Brighton's brand spanking new Beyond Retro shop- its BEAUTIFUL!
This time we were a full 8 piece band - yes I had ALL my animals- and I wasn't allowed out of the backstage area (or 'van' as most call it!) until they started playing - yes, I like to make an entrance! So when I walked in to the first bars of 'Umm' I saw the shop in all it's sequinned, striped and frilly glory and I was blown away by it and by the packedness of it- the place was rammed. Beautiful and full- I knew this would be a good gig.
Reports had come back to the van for me and Jen (who was busy drawing a burlesque lady on my chest -see pics!) that the stage was 'above the shop' on a sort of balcony and it was- we played looking over the shop- it was like 'birds eye shopping' for me- I couldn't help but get distracted my the ballgowns hanging on the walls!!
Everyone was vibing in the band and the audience and they even quietened down for the beginning of 'Maybe' which was an unexpected treat - to have a silent busy shop for a few minutes is a rare, wonderful thing! I actually spied some people singing along to my lyrics!!! YEY!
Needless to say I LOVED THIS GIG- I sadly don't have pictures of us on stage (yet?!) but here is what the shop looks like - see the balcony where we played:


Here's some nice pro shots of me and band members:


Me & Rory Shaw (trumpet) and with my lovely man Stephen Ellis (guitarist/multi-instrumentalist)
Photos by www.garage-studios.co.uk

oh and to see a closer view of what Jen did with my hair/ makeup etc...


and these were on my new iphone!!

That was a Thursday- I don't remember what happened on the Friday after- I think I went to work and showed off the pinup girl body art!

But SATURDAY we did it all again... sort of.
17th October @ Beyond Retro, London

London is an all together different kettle of trendy hipsters when it comes to Vintage Shops- this makes it a tougher gig as the people that are there are there to shop and look cool and occasionally glance at the 8 piece band playing their hearts out! I was so happy the the lovely girls from Vintage Secret came as they were a very welcome addition to the little gaggle of people interested in live music gathering around us. I know I seem sarcastic but seriously I always leave East London feeling a little rejected and not cool enough! ANYWAY- we did play our hearts out and get a bag of vintage clothes for free so it was a great gig afterall!!

A selection of pics (one of my favourite costumes to date - including the dress I got FOR FREE at Brighton's store! I think Jen excelled herself!!)




Oh yes that was the BIG bonus of playing Beyond Retro stores - we got paid in CLOTHES- beautiful vintage clothes. So far I have added 2 dresses, a furry hat and scarf to my wardrobe! YEY... A HUGE thankyou to Diana and everyone at both Beyond Retro shops for having us- we hope to see you again soon!

Thats all folks...
NEXT UP....
THE ALBUM LAUNCH @ BUSH HALL

Lots of love and puppy yawns from Hobbes
xoX gabbitha Xox

THE VINTAGE SHOPS TOUR PART I

I know, I know its been a long time since my last blog.
I am guilty of being stupidly busy...
I'm sorry but also I'm excited.

A LOT has happened recently... I can't tell you about all the things yet but I will tell you that we were on BBC RADIO 2 last week which was AMAZING- so exciting to hear our single on the car radio!! And the TOUR BEGAN! Oh and I got a proper job in a beautiful clothes shop - I needed to pay the rent and it seems a fitting place to do so!

Oh oh annnnd THIS:


So yes a busy busy bee.

DAY ONE of VINTAGE SHOPS TOUR:
10th October @ Vintage Fair, Manchester Metropolitan University
Me, Stephen and Jen left London at 8am and tried to stay awake for 4 hours till the 'Manchester Metropolitan University' sign was a few feet in front of us...
What a great fair - amazing stalls of accessories, clothes, cupcakes and incredible fascinators (one of which I now own thankyou to lovely Stephen!)
We set up on a little stage just by the walkway through the fair and our audience including my dad and sister stood the other side of the room which made for an interesting gig!! Jen did her usual magic on my hair and makeup and I wore my mum's old mint dress and Marc Jacobs stilettos that I couldn't walk in!!

After the show we went shopping, of course, well browsing due to lack of funding... it was at this point that I suddenly realised that this vintage tour idea was a dangerous one for my shopping habit!!
Then Jen and Stephen left for London with my guitar in the car... which I later remembered I needed for a radio session in Manchester the next day - WHOOPSADAISY!!
Luckily my sister lives in Manc and has a very talented musician boyfriend who is incredibly generous and owns a beautiful electro-acoustic Tanglewood guitar- PHEW!

We had a family night out at a yummy Italian restaurant with me, dad, sister, her boyfriend and our 2 cousins who happened to be in Manchester that weekend too... what great timing, eh?! The timing was SO good in fact that I managed to blag a bed in the hotel my dad was in, only THE nicest hotel in Manchester- The Palace- HOLEY MOLEY this place was incredible- very art deco and BIG, very big. Somehow we were upgraded to a double suite which meant we both had king sized beds- wow! This amazing luck was slightly dampened at 1am when the fire alarm went off and woke us... I admit dad and I are not good in an emergency... we just sleepily wandered round our room wondering what to do!! When we finally got wrapped up warm and stepped out the door the alarm stopped... apparently it was a false alarm because a customer was (and I quote) "using the shower too hard" !!!!! ?????? !!!!!!

The next day after a yummy "free" cooked breakfast we trundled off with the borrowed guitar to the Lowry theatre where I joined the BBC Manchester crew to read through the Sunday papers live on air with the DJ Andy Crane , Comedian Ruth Cockborn and Politician Matthew (I fully admit I never found out his surname, sorry!) they were all lovely and although I'm not exactly a connoisseur of current affairs- it went well and was good fun. Oh and I played 3 songs- just me and the borrowed guitar...

Our journey home was a long one...traaaaaaaaffic all the way.

So THAT was Manchester!

Xox Gabspell xoX

PS. that lovely photo was by my talented sister NICKY YOUNG

DRESS FOR LESS

I have a new addiction...
EBAY - well, not new, I have had this addiction for a while. It started with Vinyl - I bought a collection of 200+ from The Pixies to Nat King Cole's Christmas Hits - even The Muppets Picture Disc!! Then I got into DVDs... I was very much a gadget girl too and all of which I could find cheaply on EBAY - even my microphones that I used to record my 'bedroom demos' arrived in the mail with a paypal invoice!

Then... one day I needed a smart pair of high heels for a party - I was about 18 and all my 'heels' were disgusting lime green wedges or clumpy Doc Martens - I was a bit grungy, to say the least! So I looked on the internet and discovered a whole new world on there...

Clothes shopping on EBAY!
It started my longest love affair...

Recently I have have an influx of post and its all because of a discovery of an EBAY shop - Dress 4 Less where every item of clothing is £5 each and guess what?... there is some REALLY nice stuff there- I am trying hard not to check everyday for new items.
My best 2 buys from them are these... so far:

£5 each!!!

OK so they were cheap but I have had some amazing luck with FREE CLOTHES recently - which is even better for my (very angry) band manager right now.

YES, more FREECYCLE beauties!! I picked up 3 black bags of clothes last week and there are some real gems in there. The others that I'm not so into/don't fit/suit me aren't going to waste though... I have a new project : GABBY YOUNG MAKES THINGS (working title- *please let me know if you have any ideas for this*)
I have finally started using my sewing machine (another amazing freebie!) to customise lots of great items to be my new merch range... I'm not going to say too much yet but they will be for sale online and at all my gigs- oh and EVERY piece will be a complete one off!

Which ties me in nicely with my exciting news for the week... (seems like a good time for a drumroll!! ;o)
I can finally tell you about something my manager and I have been brewing up - a VINTAGE CLOTHES SHOP TOUR!!

Well we have a album and single coming out and I love to tour, and I'm not such a big fan of a lot of smelly music venues across the country so it makes sense to take this show on the road to my favourite places across the country- shops!

Some of these will be solo, some of them will be with the band but ALL of them will have clothes, lots of clothes, amazing hair and makeup (the lovely Jen is joining me for the whole thing!!) And all of them will be different - I will be asking suggestions for set lists and outfits nearer the time.

I really want lots of people to be involved with this and if you are someone that is reading this thinking - 'I live in Newcastle and would love Gabby to wear to knitted hat and mittens for her gig there' then write to me - gabby@gabbyyoungandotheranimals.com ...although mittens may make guitar playing pretty tricky... but you get the idea!!

So here is the GIG LIST:

SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER - VINTAGE FAIR @ MANCHESTER MET UNIVERSITY
THURSDAY 22ND OCTOBER - *ALBUM LAUNCH* @ BUSH HALL
OK, so it not exactly a shop but I have ways and means... so we have having stalls of fashion, art and crafts (this deserves a blog in itself so watch this space!)
FRIDAY 23RD OCTOBER - FLASHBACK BOUTIQUE, LIVERPOOL
SATURDAY 31ST OCTOBER - STYLE AND THE CITY, PORTSMOUTH
FRIDAY 20TH NOVEMBER - BLUE RINSE, LEEDS (TBC)
SATURDAY 21ST NOVEMBER - BLUE RINSE, MANCHESTER (TBC)
SATURDAY 28TH NOVEMBER, BETWEEN THE BUTTONS, NEWCASTLE
SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER - MOTEL, BRISTOL
SUNDAY 13TH DECEMBER - BANG BANG VINTAGE, SHEFFIELD

STILL TO COME - BIRMINGHAM, EDINBURGH AND CARDIFF
***If you have any ideas for this tour - ie, other shops that might be happy to have us or designers that may want to lend us a piece or 2 etc etc etc.. you know who to call... GABUSTERS!! aka: gabby@gabbyyoungandotheranimals.com

Now to end with some slightly shaky pictures from our last gig- a very special night @ Monkey Chews. Hair and Make- up by the ever lovely Jen Nash and dress by DRESS 4 LESS (on Ebay!)

(I did say they were shaky!)

Love and customised denim roses
xoxooxo gabalos xoxooxox

I'VE BEEN RANKED!!

So I was going to blog a few hours ago... I was sat down with a cup of Peppermint tea and a re-run of America's Next Top Model and ready to blahblahblah online BUT THEN . . ...... (=dun dun duuuuhn)
I got an email... a FREECYCLE email saying

OFFER: Various vintage clothing items

so naturally I typed quicker than Bolt running and replied that I would love to take these off her asap. In a few minutes I had the reply I prayed for:

"Hi Gabby,

Would love to see the clothes go to a good home - when can you come?"

WOOOOOOOOOH!!

So I decided to go and pick up the bag of FREE VINTAGE CLOTHES before blogging!
They are beautiful!
Looky here:



I feel soooo lucky- I'm doing well with my new wardrobe - FOR FREE!!
YEY!

OK so this might be 'GABBY HAS GOOD NEWS' blog as the next bit was yet again another exciting email that made me literally jump up and scream - " WOWEEE" and " $^*%" and other things (CENSORED)
As last week I got invited to have a photo shoot with none other than RAAAAANKIIIIIN (Rankin) as part of RankinLive - I was over the moon, and the stars, and the sun and the universe to be involved!

Before I teared apart my wardrobe I decided to Facebook and twitter "what should I wear to the Rankin shoot?" and my guardian angels and allround lovely girls from Vintage Secret replied saying they want to help and style me for the shoot so I met up with Naomi outside the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane with a huge bag of beautiful garments and we went inside to meet the Rankin crew.

I was a little nervous (do you blame me?!) and practically shaking when I was asked- how I wanted to look by the hair and makeup artists- I just mumbled something like "I normally go for edgy and eccentric but I'd love to see what you would like to do with me" then I heard the words "big, messy hair, wind machine and black eyeliner" and I knew I was in great hands!!

After a FREE FRINGE TRIM (bonus!!) and my hair backcombed and my lids swept with pitch black M.A.C fluidline (which I bought for myself hours later) it was time to change into my outfit.

I am no good at decisions and I feel bad for Naomi as she brought along so much to try on but I realised pretty quickly after getting there that I was only allowed one outfit for the shoot and no time to choose or even look at the others, so I went with the tiniest dress in the collection- silly Gabby!!

I don't even think I should tell anyone this but it was hilarious so I will.
The next 10 minutes was spent with me face down on the bathroom floor with both my boyfriend and Naomi on top of me trying to zip me into the dress!! haha- a poor unexpecting lady walked in and looked quite shocked by these odd goings on- who knows how THAT looked!!!
I GOT IN (just)! I was just no longer able to breathe!!
Then I was whisked off for the actual shoot- aghhh
The rest is pretty much a blur- there was Rankin and his crew and bright lights and a lot of Rankin saying "chin down, smile with your eyes, CHIN DOWN, good, CHIIIN DOWN!!" There were lots of people about watching the shoot and all the photos came up on screen straight after each shot- I was spurred on by gasps and oohs and ahhs and suddenly was in my element! All those ANTM watching sessions were paying off and I think I'm at liberty to say that I was FIERCE! It was awesome.
I was extra lucky to be able to have a second shoot with my man, the lovely Stephen (from REVERE) and was even more relaxed... enough to bite his tongue on camera!! (I knew Rankin would want to sex it up so I was expecting that one!)
So needless to say I LOVE the pictures- we were allowed to choose 1 pic from each shoot (bloomin hard choice) and got to have a wander round the exhibition muttering "I can't believe he just photographed US!!" whilst oogling his portraits of so many luminaries including Bowie, Bjork, Tori Amos and Radiohead!!!

Rankin was a lovely guy also- we were lucky enough to have a chat with him and I handed out CDs to him and the crew (it would have been foolish to pass up that opportunity...)

I can't show you the pictures just yet but here is one of Rankin himself, Stephen and I:


Anyway... it was a special week and this one is shaping up to be the same especially as yesterday the doorbell rang, I answered and the man on the other side of the door said: "Are you Gabby Young? I have a delivery of 1000 CDS for you."
YES! MY ALBUM HAS ARRIVED! IT IS HAPPILY SITTING IN MY HALLWAY READY TO GO OFF TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE...
If you want it before the release date (2nd November) please become an animal...

So what am I wearing right now?!
A HUGE SMILE!
and that's the best thing I can suggest everyone to wear as much as possible!!!!

ooodles of love and life's little excitements!
xoxoxoox gabalot xxoxoxooxox

SO MUCH SHOUTING, SO MUCH LAUGHTER...

Woh... festivals seriously take it out of me. I am lying here surrounded by olbas oil tissues, throat sweets and a half full/empty cup of lemsip feeling a bit sorry for myself.
The good news is: it isn't swine flu (though I was worried for a bit there...)
The bad news is: this happens to me everytime I have a bit of time off -I get ill :o(
I am NOT happy bunny!!

What I WAS meant to be doing today was the big wardrobe clearout... the plan is to only keep what I would be happy doing a gig in and give the rest away (to charity and friends) but that will have to wait... and believe me I will be blogging about it...

So I don't want to bore you with my ailments lets focus on the good, the bad and THE FASHION...
I have so much to tell you about, but for now I will recount the recent
FESTIVALS and VIDEO SHOOT

This summer has been MENTAL... I have performed at a different festival every weekend so far including LATITUDE where I wore this:


...mainly to fit in with the locals!!
( NB, This picture was taken before my hair and makeup was done... stars around the eye with silver glitter and butterflies in my hair)

Then we did the video shoot where I got to wear 4 different outfits/ looks - from clown to 70s fairy goddess! The amazing Jennifer Nash did my hair and makeup -she is THE loveliest girl and does wonders!
I will only show you a sneak preview as I want the video to be a surprise!!!

(Thats me & Jen - the 'crime fighting' duo!)

Next was SECRET GARDEN PARTY... We had an amazing time there and I got to wear my FAVOURITE bright stripey boating jacket that I think fitted in very well...
(I was always laughed at for liking this jacket and have had it for years but finally it found it's place! YEY!)
Sadly I don't have a picture of said jacket but I do have one I found on the net of our gig on Sunday night in the Living Room tent complete with a gorgeous pillbox hat I bought that day at the festival ...


This gig ended with a few of our musicians friends joining us onstage with percussion and mayhem conceded! It was great... even if we did have to politely ask the drunk guy who tried to sing the song with me to leave the stage and my mic alone!!

We also played a full band plus Jamie Doe (from Magic Lantern) in the tiniest tent in the festival (apart from Yusufs '2 man tent' cheapy from Tesco- hahahah!) for HUNGAMUNGA, our favourite promoters and arty folk) ... I say TENT , we actually all ended up amongst the crowd gathering outside...


Other highlights included: Seeing Yusuf WIN the dance-off!
(NB, thats our new Trombone player!)
Fiona Bevan (made me weep like a baby)
Magic Lantern
Mark Hole
Rodriguez Y Gabriela

I LOVE SECRET GARDEN PARTY!

Next up was STANDON CALLING where we played on the MAIN STAGE!!
I turned up with my manager at 10am on Sunday (I was too busy with the album artwork to stay this time)
I have never felt so pampered... I was escorted to our OWN backstage cabin where the lovely Jen was waiting to do my hair and makeup...


Then she added some details to every band member and lent me a BEAUTIFUL hat...
It was a great gig and with that huge stage and dry ice smoke- I felt like I got a glimpse of what the future could be like for us (fingers crossed eh?!)

(pic by SAUL ANTHONY)

So that pretty much wraps things up for now...
I think the lemsip is working so I might manage the clear-out afterall... I will also be searching for the best possible outfit for some gypsy madness for our gig at THE LEXINGTON on Saturday night... it's going to be epic!

Oh there was one other thing... I wanted your help...
I have lost my favourite hair accessory - my big beautiful butterfly, that I got in Seattle :(
I don't expect anyone to go 'I FOUND IT' but I thought if I posted a picture than someone might know where I can get one... or, even better, might be able to make me another??!! Its made out of tights and wire but I'm no good with that crafty stuff... I'm all about ideas!

This is the best pic I can find of it (the large one on the top):


Love and lemsip
xoxoxoox gabsniff xoxoxooxox

PS, Next blog won't be all pictures of me me me ... I promise!

VINTAGE SECRET

Yes, I am a few days late with this blog but my excuses are VERY good.
1) Shooting the music video was a manic rush- a very exciting wonderful one- but MANIC (more on this later)
2)I was at LATITUDE FESTIVAL on Friday (and yes... more on this in a bit too!)
3)I have been planning something rather huge and wonderful that I am not allowed to talk about for a while but wowzers it's exciting!

So... last Wednesday I went to visit two lovely ladies by the names of Katie Antoniou and Naomi Thompson in the prettiest vintage apartment in Hackney. They go by the alias of Vintage Secret and although I may be divulging this fabulous secret, I can't help it... I was like a kid in a candy shop!!

These beautiful queens of vintage left me rifle through the chiffon, velvet, lace and feathers of the amazing dress collection:


I tried many on- here are some choices that we pulled out.



I ended up wearing 2 of the dresses in the music video shoot and this spangly jumper:
at Latitude which gathered up a host of awesome feedback everywhere!


The girls were so friendly and made me feel wonderfully welcome, pampered and even had tea and cakes on hand- it was a lovely experience and I fully suggest you go see what they have online or try some personal styling.

KATIE NAOMI

www.vintagesecret.com

and their blog, feat. your's truly!:
http://vintagesecretblog.blogspot.com/

Thank you ladies!!

X Gabs X



Next up... pictures and blogglings from the video shoot...

INSPIRATION FOR THE UPCOMING VIDEO SHOOT

Good day campers!
I have had a lovely couple of days planning my image for our new video for "We're All In This Together". The shoot is Saturday and Sunday and I have been having all kinds of fun choosing my hair, make-up and clothes...

Here are a few inspirational ideas for the hair:

I love the way this is off the face but still big, messy and beautiful and I do love my ornaments!



Then make-up:


So after hours of this internet research I met up with Jennifer- my new hair/make-up lady and she is AMAZING- she already had all the same ideas and we got all girly and excited about creating the looks- can't wait to see how it turns out!! She even helped me pick out the outfits so we can match them up which saves me from the 2am rush of pulling out all the clothes in my wardrobe the night before the shoot! THANK YOU JEN!!

The clothes deserve their own blog which is coming up tomorrow!
Excitingles!!
xox gablet xox

ARTROCKER ARTICLE...

I thought I would start my blog with my biggest fashion article to date -
ARTROCKER MARCH 2009:

(Click on picture to see it big)

DAY ONE...

Hello...
so it's 2am in London and I thought it's about time to BEGIN what I have been planning on doing for a while now... my very own style blog!
I didn't think I was quite the person for this at first as I don't see myself as 'fashionable' but I do like to be original and I love the edgy fashion world and friends, fans, my band and my mum insisted I start an online diary of my on and off stage outfits and style ideas/ tips etc...
So here goes...

I can't promise it will be good...
I can't promise it will be life changing...
I can't promise I will be punctual and organised enough to do this every day, or even every week!

BUT
I can promise I will devote my time and energy and la la la love into it...
And I will TRY TRY TRY to make it as interesting, inspiring and beautiful as I can.

Enjoy!
Oodles of love and circus striped tights,
Gabby
xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoox