Blog 50! BBC RADIO 1! Let's have a catch up!

Hey guys,

I am back!! I hope everyone who has had exams this summer have found them okay and you can now enjoy your summer. Firstly my exams went okay and I am just awaiting the results now. I can't believe my first year of University is over. I have had the best year, met so many friends and had the most unreal experiences.

I've been gone for a while so I thought it was about time for a bit of a catch up.

Firstly, I decided I would learn to DJ. Yes I know, many of you may not be able to imagine me DJing but I thought it was a good skill to learn, with the career path I am taking. I have been learning for about 3 weeks now and you can check out a couple of DJ sets I have recorded on my mixcloud at: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/

Secondly, I had the opportunity to work with Capital FM East Midlands news again a few weeks back to cover the Newark By-election. Once again it was a long night from 8pm until around 6am. I learnt so much though and it was an invaluable experience. It was also my first paid piece of journalistic work which felt pretty incredible. During the interview I interviewed Mp's throughout the Newark area and the Leader of UKIP - Nigel Farage. You can check out my interview with him right here: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/nigel-farage-interview-newark-by-election-for-capital-fm-east-midlands-news/.

I also had my final show on Fly FM until the new year at Uni starting in September. It was emotional as it's been so much fun on the station this year. I looked back at all the highlights of the year and played some great tunes. You can catch up with the full show here: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/fly-fm-highlights-03-06-2014-final-show-of-year-1/

Finally the huge one - I was on BBC RADIO 1. I know WOW! I went on Feet up Friday from 4pm-7pm on Friday's. If you don't listen to this show, the jist is two teams go against each other and choose 5 songs. The public vote for which team they want to present for the next half an hour and play their chosen songs. WE WON! So Myself and my 3 other team members presented on BBC Radio 1 for 30 minutes, with 6 Million people listening. It still has not quite sinked in. I also got to meet some huge idols of mine such as Dev, Scott Mills, Annie Mac, Danny Howard and Chris Stark to name a few. It was such an incredible day and one that topped off an amazing year at uni.

I am now more determined than ever to become a presenter on Radio and I've got everything crossed that my determination and the skills I will learn across the next 2 years will lead to this career. Unfortunately it was only on iPlayer for a week and therefore you won't be able to listen to the show. I have however got the show recorded and when I am able to put it on my Mixcloud in full, I will put it on for you guys and let you know so you can have a listen.

All that's left to do is leave you with some pictures from my Day at Radio 1 and from other stuff i've been up to whilst I've been away. It's good to be back and I'll have more soon.

Cheers Alex x

Blog 49! Keep up to date whilst I'm gone!

Hi guys,

As you are probably well aware, it's currently exam period and as a result I will have very little time to blog. This means there is likely to be little / no blogs at all, during this time. I will be back in June sometime updating again.

I hope you all have successful exam periods and the best of luck to you all.

In the meantime, fear not you can check out my Mixcloud page at: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/ where I will be updating highlights from my Fly FM show and you can check out my demo's and news reads during my time at uni and my work experience at Capital FM East Midlands.

You can also check out my secondary blog if you have not done so already: www.fitnessforahobby.blogspot.co.uk

Also I will be updating my Twitter regularly with my daily life and some issues in the news: @alexblakemore1, if you give me a follow of course I'll follow back.

For now though have a great month and I'll see you all soon.

Cheers
Alex :D

Blog 48! Live acoustic session with Idle Empire on Fly FM video and Mixcloud!

Hi guys,

As you know last Friday (25th April 2014) I was joined in the Fly FM studio by local Nottingham band, Idle Empire. They treated us all to 6 of their own songs and a Jake Bugg cover.

The band is formed of three guys. They are completely different to mainstream music and have their own unique sound. The live session was extremely successful and we had some great audience interaction. You lot were absolutely loving the guys music and one or two marriage requests were text in during the show.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon and one which gave something completely different on Fly FM. If you want to check Idle Empire out, look them up on Facebook and their Twitter username is: @idleempire1 .

Thank you to all those who listened and if you missed out don't fear below is the Mixcloud from my show. The full acoustic session features including all the chat between songs. It's well worth a listen, some funny stuff came out of it.  Also if you want to have a look at the bands performance then check out the Youtube video below.

I hope you enjoy the music and the show highlights, it was a pleasure to meet and listen to these guys play. They are truly an amazing bunch of musicians.

You can catch me on Fly FM every Friday 1-3pm via this link: www.flyfm.co.uk/player

As ever thanks for your support and I'll be back soon!

Alex :D

Mixcloud link: http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/fly-fm-show-highlights-25th-march-2014-live-acoustic-session-with-idle-empire/

Live Acoustic session with Idle Empire

Blog 47! Fly FM,Live acoustic session 25th April 2014, ANNOUNCEMENT!

The big reveal...... On Friday 25th April 2014 I am pleased to announce another Live acoustic session on my Friday Fly through lunch show, on Fly FM. Between 1-3pm I will be joined in the studio by an amazing band playing some of their own stuff and a cover to a well known song! It is not one to be missed! 

My previous live acoustic session with Josh Battram was a major success and I hope to make this one even more successful! I urge you to tune in at: www.flyfm.co.uk/player as it's not one you will want to miss. So you must be thinking who is it then... well it's time for the big reveal......

    IDLE EMPIRE  will be joining me in the studio brining you live acoustic music to get you through your Friday afternoon! They are an acoustic/indie band and they were formed in January of this year (2014). They are up and coming in the Nottingham scene and they play some great music. 

 

They were all born in the Nottingham area making them local lads who are looking for their big break.

The band is a trio formed of: Alex Oxley - Lead vocals / Rhythm Guitar

                                              Ollie Horton - Lead guitar / Backing Vocals

                                              Tom Sellers - Violin

If you want to check them out this is the link to their Facebook page where you can have a listen to some of their singles: https://www.facebook.com/idle.empire1?fref=ts

It's going to be an amazing show and I want to get as many people listening as possible so make sure you tune in and tell your friends and family to give these guys the audience they deserve! 

Get ready to turn your speakers up and chill out in the lead up to the weekend! Cya there!

TUNE IN: www.flyfm.co.uk/player

Thanks Alex :D

Blog 46! YOU ME AT SIX - GIG REVIEW - CAPITAL FM ARENA NOTTINGHAM

YOU ME AT SIX - CAPITAL FM ARENA - 3rd APRIL 2014

Hi all,

On Thursday 3rd April 2014, I arrived at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham with my girlfriend highly anticipating an incredible gig from a band I love. To be short - they did not disappoint!

With the release of their new album in January 2014, they announced the tour in late 2013 which instantly got me excited as they are one of my favourite bands. The new album arrived on my doorstep and I instantly loved every song. In my opinion to this day, You Me At Six are yet to bring out a dull song that you would skip on a CD. If you are yet to check out their new album it's called Cavalier Youth and you can buy it from numerous different places for around a tenner.

Anyway back to the gig, supporting You Me At Six were two bands I have never heard of in my life - Young Kato and Don Broco. They were quite good and they livened things up inside the arena pretty well, building the anticipation for the headline. Don Broco were the better of the two and I would check them out on Youtube as they have a few decent songs which are rather catchy.

When You Me At Six came out onto the stage there was an impressive large screen behind them, with all sorts of clips and things during the first song which was very impressive and something I have not seen from the band before at previous gigs. As the new album had just been released I was expecting a large amount of new songs from the album to be played but I was also pleased that they stuck to what the fans also loved and played lots of their old stuff as well.

The setlist was as follows:

1. Too Young to feel this old
2. Fresh Start Fever
3. Stay With Me
4. The Swarm
5. Little Death
6. Loverboy
7. Forgive and Forget
8. Room to Breathe
9. Underdog
10. Liquid Confidence
11. Cold Night
12. Wild Ones
Encore:
13. Reckless
14. Bite My Tongue
15. Lived a Lie

 - As you can see there is a range of songs off their albums, however most of the songs are from their brand new album, Cavalier Youth but this was to be expected.

- Too Young to Feel This Old, started the gig off and was brilliantly executed to get the atmosphere buzzing inside the Capital FM arena.

- The only downside to the setlist is there was a lack of the bands classic slow songs such as: Always Attract and Crash. I believe they left these out to stop the upbeat atmosphere from going down.


Josh Franceschi the lead singer, worked the audience with ease and his voice had improved dramatically since I last saw the band just two years ago. He was the difference in class between the last time I saw them and this time, making the experience 100% better. As always the other members of the band were incredible and it was clear that they were loving every minute of playing in Nottingham.

I was worried before the gig that they would not be able to perform to such a large crowd as when I saw them last it was in a little venue in Birmingham. But I was shocked to see how easy they got the crowd going and they held the stage like they had been playing large gigs forever. Not 1 song went by when I didn't think "wow these guys are amazing at what they do".

I would recommend going to see You Me At Six if you like what they do, or if you want a good night out at a gig. They were amazing and listening to people talking after the gig, every single person there had a great time.

YOU ME AT SIX GET A 10/10 from me for an incredible evening.

Now just to leave you with some pictures and videos of the gig, make of it what you will and enjoy!

I'll be back soon,

Alex :D

Blog 45! Selfie with Sir Michael Parkinson! A huge day for Fly FM news!

Hi guys,

Yesterday was massive for both myself and my colleagues in the Fly FM (Nottingham Trent's student radio station) news team. It was the official opening of our brand new student union building which holds a new sports hall, 100 station gym, a dance studio and a 30ft climbing wall. Along with this it holds a 2,400 capacity nightclub venue, a radio station, meeting rooms and over 900 flats for students to live in. Obviously it was a major upgrade to the university and it was great to have Lord Sebastian Coe and Sir Michael Parkinson come to the brand new building to officially open it.

As part of the news team I was blessed with the opportunity to interview the legendary, Sir Michael Parkinson a massive figure head in the world of Journalism. Obviously this was a great honour for me and I could not help but be slightly star struck when meeting him. He was a lovely, welcoming guy who is very genuine and funny. It was an absolute privilege to meet him and interview him along side Capital FM East Midlands and East Midlands today.

As a team we also got an interview with Sebastian Coe who was also extremely friendly and interesting.

The interviews/ Tv package will be up shortly and I will post the links on my blog sometime this week/early next week so keep your eyes peeled. I will be playing the audio from my interview with Parkinson on my Fly through lunch show 1-3pm (Friday 21st March 2014) so tune in at: www.flyfm.co.uk/player to hear it.

It was by far the highlight of my journalistic career so far and a day I will never forget.

Until the interview here's a few pictures from the day including a selfie with the inspiring Sir Michael Parkinson.

Enjoy!

Cya Soon,

Alex :) x

Blog 44! Week in the field! Capital FM East Midlands

CAPITAL FM EAST MIDLANDS

Last week (Week beginning: 24th Feb 2014) I made my way to Capital FM East Midlands to work as their second reporter for the week. I have to say it was one of the most incredible weeks and I learnt so much! 

Of course I was nervous on the Monday. Upon arrival at the studio I was greeted by the news team. Everyone was extremely friendly and I was chucked straight into the deep end, being sent out to Nottingham's Old Market Square to record Vox Pop's relating to the government debating the price of holidays during school holiday's. It was a great feeling to be holding a Capital FM Microphone and be associated  to the brand. I got back to the studio to be taught how to use Burli (The editing software used by the news team). I then met the presenters of the drive time show, Tom and Claire, which was amazing, as I listen to them regularly so to meet them was very exciting. 

 During the 5 o'clock bulletin my edited vox pops were played which was extremely cool!

The rest of the week was amazing and I was given some great interviews to do. Some highlights were: 

• My interview with Team GB's short track performance director, Stuart Horsepool about his reaction to the winter olympics and his teams performance. 
• My interview with Geoff Huckstep - Chief Exec of Nottingham Arena and the National Ice Centre. 
• Interview with a local councillor about apprenticeships. 
• My interview with Doug Skehan, a Consultant Cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.
• My interview with a Police commissioner regarding relationships between the police and young people in Derbyshire. 

All of these interviews were a huge privilege for me and gave me some real experience of writing questions and conducting a good interview. I learnt a lot whilst in the field and it has made me even more hungry for a career in Journalism. 

On the Friday I recorded a demo in the Capital Studio of a news read, having guidance and tips on my technique which was invaluable. I think I have improved considerably because of this help. 

Overall the week was incredible and one I will always remember. I have learnt so much and feel a much more confident and capable reporter because of the support, guidance and responsibility I was given whilst at Capital East Midlands. I would like to thank the news team for taking the time to show me the ropes and giving me the opportunities during the week. 

If you would like to hear my interviews or demo's from my week at capital they can be found on my Mixcloud by following this link : http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/

My interview with the councillor and the police commissioner will be going up very shortly as for legal reasons I had to wait for them to be aired on Capital before I put them up. 

I hope you enjoy listening to the work I did at Capital East Midlands and as ever feedback is more than welcome. 

I'll be back soon. 

Leaving you with some pictures of my time at Capital, mostly selfies :P 

Cya Alex :)