On The Couch

By Janine Moodley Kenny Wizz popularly known to be one of the best Michael Jackson Impersonators in the world comes to Durban all the way from the US of America till 6 January to pay tribute to king of pop, Michael Jackson. Whizz describes himself as an entertainer who has dedicated 28 years of his life as a "tribute artist" through the career of the greatest entertainer this world has ever witnessed. Durban North News' Janine Moodley caught up with the talented performer to get to know him better: DNN: What sparked your interest in the infamous Micheal Jackson and when did you realize you wanted to pursue a career as a performer such as this? JM: I grew up in Los Angeles, California where the Jackson 5 had a big influence musically after their move from Gary, Indiana so I have enjoyed their music as a young kid influenced. As far as realizing when I wanted to pursue it as a career is something that I did not realize simply because of the fact that I was a street

By Janine Moodley JM: DJ Cassie, tell us about yourself? DJC: Well my full name is Rajiv Cassie. I'm 20 years old and I live in Durban. I'm currently a resident DJ at a nightclub situated on Umgeni Road, but I also play at other venues around Durban. I'm currently studying Sound Technology & Music Production, in my 2nd year at the moment. My career thus far is DJ'ing at clubs/events/festivals/private functions. JM: It's tough getting into the music industry so when and where did you get your first break as a DJ? DJC: It happened for me in the year I started DJ'ing. I would always go to a club called Plush Ultra Lounge with a friend, DJ Dre, it was actually through him that I got to meet Ryan The-Deejay. Ryan and Dre more or less took me under their wing to show me the ropes of what it is a DJ does, from there I began working as hard as I could on my music. This was all in my matric year, and I can honestly say, I spent more time practicing on the de

A past pupil of Danville, Laura returned to her school recently to share her personal story with the girls. “I was never the cleverest girl, I wasn’t part of the “in” group, I wasn’t the thinnest or prettiest girl. At the end of matric I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, so I waitressed,” said Laura.   (L-R)  Nadia Naidoo, Chloe Harris, International DJ Lora Elliott and Lara Boaden Laura’s family moved to London where she got a job in an office renting out office space. “Can you imagine anything more ordinary?” she laughed.  Laura used to go to the London clubs with her friends but as she said, “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t take drugs and I didn’t enjoy being in the middle of the dance floor. So I gravitated to the DJ’s on the edge and they soon had me spinning vinyls and I discovered I had a talent for it. I bought myself the equipment and practised at home and was soon booked for clubs...and that is how I became a DJ.” Laura’s perseverance, be

South African funny man Rob van Vuuren recently shared a little bit of insight as to who he is.  SCN : Best gig you have ever performed at and which venue would you still LOVE to perform at? RvV: Woah that's a tough one, luckily I've had lots of really cool gigs so it's difficult to pick a best one but I can pick quite a kak one where I performed at a funeral... by mistake. Similarly its difficult to pick a Venue im most looking forward to but I'm really looking forward to performing in New York next year. SCN : Dancing, stand-up comedy, or performing both on stage and screen: for you which is the most difficult to prepare for? RvV: Doing Strictly Come Dancing was definitely the most difficult thing I had to prepare for. I still wake up with sore feet. SCN : When you were growing up, what did you dream of becoming? RvV : I loved movies and books and I really wanted to be an actor but at that stage I was happy to end up in a video store or a

Known for his outrageous comedy, hilarious skits and crazy hair, Marc Lottering's name is synonymous with good comedy. The Weekly Gazette-Glenwood caught up with Lottering ahead of his appearance at the Hilton Arts Festival, which is taking place from 21 September.  WG-G: All the characters that you have portrayed on stage, who do you like the most and who is the most challenging to perform? ML: I dig them all for very different reasons. They get to say things I would never normally say as "Marc". I would guess that the more popular characters (with audiences) are Smiley the  taxi dude, and Aunty Merle. Also, Colleen the cashier.  Audiences tend to laugh out loud at these characters. And when I hear raucous laughter, I have a great time. WG-G: So, now that you don’t work on Sundays, what do you get up to?  ML: On late Sunday afternoons, I lie on my Cape Town couch, enjoy a glass of wine, and leisurely drift through the Sunday Papers. (To make it through our h

WG: How old are you and did you always have this gift to do Psychic readings? D: I am 38 years old and as a child I had many strange, unexplainable and uninterruptible experiences, which continued and still occurs, throughout my life. I was very aware as a child of the existence of a guiding force that allowed me to experience the feelings, thoughts and emotions of other persons around me. My guide, an older man….he was there with me since birth and guided me ever since.  I was the only one who could see and communicate with him.  He helped me with this gift and brought people and spirits as mentors and tests. He thought me the rules and regulations of the spiritual world. WG: When did you realise that you could do psychic readings for people ? D: I was 18-years old, at that stage I was lost in my life and I needed answers. One day I went to a Tarot/Palm Reader doing readings. She said, "You are sent on earth to save people, you are an Angel". I thought she was

Musical quartet, Sterling EQ is made up of four beautiful ladies. The South Coast News' Se-Anne Koopman recently caught up with them for an On The Couch interview to find out more about them and their interesting music.  SK : Who is Sterling EQ? S EQ : Sterling EQ is a SAMA Award-winning instrumental pop band whose fresh sound and innovative approach has changed the face of instrumental music in South Africa.  The band consists of pop flautist Carina Bruwer, electric violinists Eriel Huang and Renate Riedemann, and cellist Ariella Caira SK : What inspired the fascination with such "strange" looking creations (instruments)? S EQ : The modern look of the instruments really represents the contemporary sound that we make; and that is one way of visually presenting the fact that – although we are Classically trained – our music is NOT Classical.  The instruments are sexy and in line with what the contemporary world is doing, and complete the package. SK : Why o

One of SA's Best Corporate Entertainers, Stand-up Comedians and Emcees WG: Your best line in the show that still makes you laugh? AP: Wow! Its hard for me to laugh at my own material, but I really enjoy several of Warren’s lines. I watch his set from backstage every night as he always adds an extra twist that cracks me up. We also have sections of the show where we improvise gags from audience input, just to make sure that each performance is unique and that we make a real connection with the crowd.  WG: When did you realise you should be on stage making people laugh? AP: I realised that making fun of serious situations was the only way forward when I discovered that I was totally lacking in ability to do anything worthwhile or “manly” like plumbing or rocket science. Plus, I figure if you can’t be good in bed, at least be funny. WG: Where did you perform your first comedy act and how did it go? AP: My first gig was at a place called The Punchline Pub in Johannesbu

Sultry singer, ChianoSky has taken the South African music market by storm! Having recently released her much-anticipated debut album, Hungry, this raven-haired beauty is firmly cementing her petite feet and showing her critics that she is here to stay! We recently caught up with Ms Sky to find out more about her. SCN :  Who exactly is ChianoSky? CS : An artistic soul who has been dreaming of an idea and is busy making it a reality. SCN : Where did you grow up? CS : I was born in Cape town , but raised in Joburg in a cosy home around Sundowner. SCN : What is your favourite childhood memory? CS : I played video games all day and all night when I was a child, Tetras and Super Mario were my favourites. SCN : What inspired your love for music? CS : I think music chose me, my dad liked the old school rock ‘n roll and my mom liked her jazz which definitely rubbed off one me and led me to discover artists such as Amy Winehouse, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone etc who I fell so in lov

Flamboyant Prince of Spice, Reza Oh My! Some interesting questions here My moment with Reza Mahammad Reza Mahammad The Spice Prince by Yashika Ramautar YR: Where did your passion for cooking and food begin? RM: In many ways it began from staying with family in India, learning to make jams and all sort of stuffs. I used to help my mum make samoosas by filling it up and so on. Then with the restaurant business, my father passed away when I was 15, so I did a Hotel Management course, and then went straight into the business. I do love it, its fun but a lot of hard work too, and I tend to bring the fun out of it more than anything else! When you enjoy what you do, its like art or music where you can be expressive, and I love that. YR: Is there any part of being in the kitchen that you don't like, and why? RM: IThe thing is that,if you are doing something, then you've got to do it at the end of the day. For me every aspect is as important, from

Courtney "Scott" Smith, is a local street dancer from Wentworth, who dreams of one day  opening  dance academies all over the country. He believes that teaching youngsters the raw cultures of street dancing, will take away many of the negative perceptions many people have about street dancing. Southern Star caught up with  The Scott, just to find out a little bit more about what he wishes to achieve in the future. SS: When did your dance journey begin? CS: Well, everything began when I was about twelve years old. I used to dance with my cousins, doing small imitations of Michael Jackson for our family. When we started getting a bit better at it, we were given the chance to do proper performances at weddings and stuff like that. I did that kind of stuff for a while. When I was in my Matric year of High School, I formed a duo with another aspiring dancer in my area and not long after that, we were both recruited to one of the Bluffs best crews Prime Effect. Since then, I

Kagiso Ledgia is well-known in comedy circles. Having been on shows like The Pure Monate, often featuring on comedy DVDs and so forth, Lediga has finally opted to do his one-man show. The Weekly Gazette-Glenwood's Se-Anne Koopman caught up with Lediga while he was promoting his film last week and got to find out just a little more about the raspy-voiced funny man. SK : Who is Kagiso Lediga? KL : I don't know where to start… I was born about 33 years ago in Pretoria. I am a comedian. I make movies and television programmes and I am funny! SK : Where did you spend most of your childhood? KL : In Pretoria SK : When you began comedy, it was during your studies. What did you study and did you finish? KL : Yeah, I was studying Drama at UCT. I was also involved in comedy, even at University and it just continued from there SK : What inspired your love for comedy? KL : I guess comedians… Other comedians. When I was a kid I used to watch Woody Allen movies and thought this

For a decade now Freshly Ground has been bringing a fresh, eclectic sound to both local and international audiences alike.  They will be headlining the Old Mutual Music at the Lake concert this Sunday and, ahead of the show, Zolani Mahola chatted to the Weekly Gazette - Glenwood about the incredible journey that's made freshly Ground into the seven-player masterpiece that it is today. BW:  How did you all get together and get to know one another and, from there, how did you all come to decide to form a band? ZM:  We all met in cape Town, very randomly and not with the intention of forming a band. We started jamming and just found that we really enjoyed making music together. That was towards 2002. BW:  How has your music evolved over time? ZM:  We've grown a lot musically but, more than that, as people. When you spend over a decade with a group of other people you learn so much about them and about yourself. It's a really unique experience. BW:  What abou