All the dates of Johnny Foreigner's "Trip Over Timezones 2014 South African Tour"

 

My brain is currently struggling to process how awesome life is going to get in a few days. On Saturday, some of my favourite humans will be closing the 14,661km distance currently standing between us. A few days later, I'll join them in doing the thing that makes the five of us most happy in this life; falling around a stage and singing and screaming and smiling together like five felines that broke into a catnip silo.

Looking forward to this tour, it hit me recently; Johnny Foreigner are the one band that I've (by far) spent the most time with. This is both on stages and off of them. This sounds insane for a dude from Pretoria and a band that live on the opposite end of the world, but it's true. Between two trips across the USA, a quest through Europe and a tour of the UK, I've easily played more shows (and covered more ground) with Jo Fo than I ever got to with Kidofdoom, Eyes Like Mirrors and Johnny Neon combined. I hold my travels with the band as some of my most treasured memories. And it's an adventure that started at home, with the string of dates that formed the band's 2010 SA Tour.

Four years on from that, I'm ecstatic to be getting the band back this incredible country. They're pretty pleased about this too. To put this tour together, I teamed up with one of my other favourite humans (hi Henk!) and together, we've arranged a pretty stellar set of shows (if I do say so myself!). Jo Fo will be playing some of my favourite spots, sharing stages with a truckload of other favourite humans (hey everyone!). Here's a breakdown of how Johnny Foreigner's "Trip Over Timezones SA 2014 Tour" will be playing out...

THU - 23 OCT
STELLENBOSCH - BOHEMIA
with Red Huxley!

RSVP here!
 
FRI - 24 OCT
CAPE TOWN - THE ASSEMBLY
with The Dollfins, Sakawa Boys, Yndian Mynah & Super Friendship Arcade!

Buy tckets here!
RSVP here!

SUN - 26 OCT
PRETORIA - PARK ACOUSTICS
with Van Coke Kartel, Le Voyage and many more!

RSVP here!

THU - 30 OCT
JOHANNESBURG - KITCHENER'S
with Plaat Japie & Rosie Parade, Nathtan Scott Phillips & Calamity Jane, Sassquatch & Nanna!

RSVP here!

FRI - 31 OCT
PRETORIA - ARCADE EMPIRE
with Desmond & the Tutus, Shadowclub, Hello Beautiful, penthouse and many many more!

Tickets here!
RSVP here!

SAT - 1 NOV
JOHANNESBURG - RUMOURS LOUNGE
with Shortstraw, Sutherland, Half n Half, Dr Khumalo, Nathan Scott Phillips and Sassquatch

RSVP here!

And that's that! Six opportunities for life-changing guitar antics and audio-visual joy!

We've poured our hearts and souls into making this tour happen. If you're reading this, it means we'd love to see you at one (or all) of the above dates. We're well aware that we're doing something pretty niche here, but I believe in this band and what we're doing with every molecule of my being. If you'd like to help us in this crusade, please spread this ghostly gospel far and wide. Tell you're friends, scream it while suspended from rooftops, scribble/ stick up/ spraypaint ghosts everywhere; Johnny Foreigner are coming back to The Promised Land!

TBT: the golden age of dance punk.

Tonight Hi5 is hosting a family reunion. We're re-assembling a gang of DJs and dancefloor-enthusiast that used to get together every Thursday night between 2005 and 2007 (maybe into 08?). I, for one, can't wait to have the family back together. In preparation, I trawled through some old photos, and found a bunch of us, doing what we did best during those days. This is only 9-7 years ago, but it feels like a very distant age...

If you wanna relive this magic, join us tonight!

Dune Rats at Hi5 - episode 2!

 
With Hi5's nostalgia-fueled next episode going down in two days, I figured it could be a good chance to share some snaps from our last party.

For Hi5 13, we were really stoked to have Australia's Dune Rats make their return to our sweaty little dance party. Joburg band The Moths got things started. Awesome times ensued. Shot by Hi5's own Plaat Japie, here's what we have to show for all the carnage...

Hi5 present "An Indie Thursday Throwback"

 
Next month will mark Sassquatch's 9th birthday. Almost a decade ago, Ri and I teamed up to play our first set as Sassquatch and Data Takashi at "The Secret Pirate Party".

We quickly found ourselves very happily involved in the musical adventures of the phenomenal little scene that The Secret spawned. Most notably, we landed a weekly residency playing Tokyo Star on Thursday nights.

Playing alongside The Klassikist and King of Town, Ri and I had the best possible time on these Thursday nights. Fueled by adoration for the wave of new bands (LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, !!!) re-inventing dance music, classic bands who'd created the blueprints (Gang of Four, Talking Heads, A Certain Ratio) and cheap alcoholic frozen-ice beverages, these nights were, week after week, pure magic. Alongside the music and slush that made these times so great, the final ingredient was the people involved. Wits students that wouldn't miss a night, young professionals in business wear turning into sweaty messes, Pretoria kids that would drive all the way to Melville to dance with us; week after week, the people that packed out that tiny venue made us the happiest guys in Joburg.

The scene would inspire a whole generation of new DJs (Brother Grimm, Nathan Scott Phillips, Kodiak and so many more joining our ranks) and surely had a heavy hand in how night-life changed in the years since. But, like all good things, the nights would come to an end. Tokyo Star would leave Melville, along with it's lack of dress-code, alternative spirit and our ragged gang of DJs and dancers. I focused more on throwing parties in cities beyond Joburg. Ri would land up creating multiple alter-egos (Data Takashi, Plaat Japie, Danger Ingozi) for his expanding musical tastes. Kids grew up and time moved on.

Now, we're casting our gaze back to this golden era. Ri, Cam and I are throwing one of our Hi5 nights next Thursday, with a classic lineup and cheap alchoholic frozen-ice beverages in tow. We're mega excited to put on "An Indie Thursday Throwback" and can't wait to get slushed with all our old friends!

RSVP and request songs here!