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Lazie Indie Magazine Edition 32 December 27 2022 Teddy Holly Stephane Portelli Sarah Smith Chisenga Moniq Stylez The Southern Outlaws Band IIMF Story 2 by Hari Indian Joint New Releases Mad Wet Sea Chesney Claire Cover Story Lazy Fifty

Content Editors Corner Chisenga Moniq Stylez Sarah Smith Teddy Holly The Southern Outlaws band IIMF Story 2 Article from Harikrishnan News and New Releases Chesney Claire Mad Wet Sea Cover Story Lazy Fifty Adiran Athy LIM Page 4

Editors Corner Information The magazine is published by Jay Pillai Lazie J Print Edition 32 The month of publishing December 2022 Editorial Team Editor Jay Pillai Sub Editor Sherise Coordination and promotion Manoj Verified by Inge Zimmermann Probst Guest Columns Emma Goldberg Barbara and Grant Cover Photo Adrian Athy Cover Photo Courtesy Lazy Fifty LIM Lazie Indie Community Platform another effort from LIM to promote Indie artists Lazie Indie Magazine is in its 32nd edition and also has 10 Special Editions to its credit now We keep featuring indie musicians worldwide in the true sense While we do that we also took the next step of creating a festival where some of us can jam together and thus the IIMF was formed This was a huge success and there has been a lot of interest from across the world to create such festivals for independent musicians I am personally glad that being indie musicians we could bring in people and create such a huge fest and create an impact with the first fest itself of the series Now there are a load of expectations on Lazie Indie and all I can say is that we will try our best to not let you down The story doesn t end with the fest the next step is getting built We are coming out with a software platform for Independent musicians worldwide The Li community platform seamlessly brings together independent musicians and professionals from the music industry to help Indie musicians grow professionally For musicians this is a friendly hangout place where other musicians appreciate your music and support you as a musician Using this platform you can collaborate with other musicians and music industry professionals from around the world find mentors invite your fans into your private community and stay continuously in touch with them And also organically grow your fanbase Moreover you can continuously profile and understand your fans across multiple dimensions demographic interests intent and use the built in marketing tools on the platform to launch unlimited campaigns targeting this profiled and growing community You can also earn via the platform by delivering music training running online events and other programs We are slowly building this up and some of the features may take a little time but we invite you to check it out Check it out at google play and istore Will share more info soon Meanwhile do read this issue of LIM and share it with your friends Do support Indie musicians They give a lot to give you a song Thanks Jay Pillai Page 5

Lazy Fifty is a three piece powerhouse Rock Blues type band formed by the band s lead guitarist and vocalist Adrian Athy in late 2016 The band members of Lazy Fifty are Adrian Athy on vocals and vocals guitar Toko Mantis on bass and backing vocals Aidan Walters on drums and Joseph Carroll on rhythm guitar Their hometown is Gisborne Tair whiti Aotearoa New Zealand Lazy Fifty s music is influenced by British Blues and 70 s classic rock with rocking rhythms and impressive guitar Lazie Indie Magazine catches up with Adrian Athy founder of Lazy Fifty to understand more about their journey in music Thanks to Barbara and Grant of Galaxy FM New Zealand for introducing Lazy Fifty to the LIM Family through their column Around the Galaxy LIM Page 7

LIM You have had a very exciting ride as a band so far how do you see it yourself Adrian It s so rewarding to see the hard work that s being done behind the scenes take fruit Our music is now being heard by a wider audience worldwide and this just feeds off itself We re really looking forward to the next few years It s only going to get better LIM Who are your musical influences Why did you stick on to British Blues and Classic Rock as your Genre Adrian I was heavily influenced at a young age by the British bands of the 60 s and 70 s Bands like the Kinks Deep Purple Led Zeppelin UFO and Robin Trower There was certainly great stuff coming out of America the likes of Johnny Winter and Lynyrd Skynyrd but it was the British take on American blues which I really loved The British bands seem to jam more in their live sets Did I mention Thin Lizzy and Gary Moore Laughs LIM How did your band come together and who picked whom Adrian Lazy Fifty was formed in the molten depths of Mt Hikurangi 1000 yrs ago No seriously it came about when after my previous band The Broken Stone disbanded I found musicians I knew that were keen to be a part of my new band There have been a few line up changes but none of these came about suddenly so we ve managed to chat about our options and agree as a band on the replacement LIM How do you go about your music creation How are the songs written and produced Who normally writes Adrian You ve probably heard this a million times before but the songs sort of create themselves An idea or a riff will come into my head I ll play around with it for a while and see where it takes me If it s flowing I ll write the whole thing music and lyrics otherwise it will get hammered out at rehearsals and the whole band inputs their ideas to it I like to encourage others input in writing as you just never know what they can contribute LIM Page 8

LIM Where can we see your music releases over the internet Tell us about your latest or upcoming release Adrian You can find Lazy Fifty on YouTube Spotify iTunes and all the other usual places or check out our website www lazyfifty com We ve been touring this year promoting our latest album 2021 A LAZY ODYSSEY We re only getting a short break over summer Yes it s summer on this side of the planet then we re back into writing recording and gigging We re really pleased with how the album has been received by critics and fans alike so it only bodes well for 2023 LIM How is the live music scenario in NZL post the lockdowns Are the live shows truly back to its normal or is there a lot of catching up to do Adrian Live music in New Zealand has bounced back remarkably well Better than I expected to be honest I think people have had enough of being locked LIM down and are really coming out in droves to see live music It possibly has done live music a service as we re tending to see bigger crowds than before so maybe people really are coming back to live bands LIM What do you like to do the most in music writing producing or performing live Adrian First up it will always be the excitement of playing live The nervous tension that I personally get before a gig and the release of that tension during the gig is such a joy Sometimes the emotion can come through a little too strongly and the poor old guitar takes the full brunt of that but it s all good I love writing music I m always thinking about it pondering it wondering what I can do that s a little different or interesting Then the joy of hearing the final product recorded I love it all LIM What are your immediate future plans say for 2023 Page 10

Always look to improve yourself Don t just improve your skill improve all aspects you can in life Being a better person will only further your musical career There will always be someone better than you so relax Music as with art in general is so subjective Adrian Our gigging schedule for early 2023 is looking pretty busy so while we re out there gigging we ll also be writing new material for the next album We were pondering doing a live album but I think at this point it will be another studio album as there are a lot of new songs coming through LIM What was the best advice given to you and what would you give as a piece of advice to fellow musicians Adrian Now that I think about it I haven t really had advice from people as such I ve watched and listened to a lot of artists that I ve gleaned information from or got ideas off The only advice I did get from another guitar player way back in the day was practice practice practice and I suppose that s true Everybody is different and as such are all at different points in their life or musical journey so really the only two pieces of advice I feel I LIM 1 Always look to improve yourself Don t just improve your skill improve all aspects you can in life Being a better person will only further your musical career 2 There will always be someone better than you so relax Music as with art in general is so subjective Don t get caught up in the that s better than mine or he she s better than me This is a pointless waste of time as somebody will love what you do just as somebody may dislike it So just enjoy the music for what it is as it s only part of everything else that s in your life Page 12

About the columnist Around the Galaxy is a column contributed by Galaxy FM 107 New Zealand introducing artists from across the world especially from New Zealand and Australia Galaxy FM is one of the top radio stations in New Zealand and is quickly expanding its listener base across the world The authors of the column Barbara Harkins and DJ Grant are well known radio hosts at Galaxy FM hosting the popular Breakfast Show LIM thanks team Galaxy for their support Website www galaxyfm co nz LIM Page 13

Artist St phane Portelli Column Just like Emma by Emma Goldberg St phane Portelli a self taught musician inspired by Rock and British Blues of the 60s and 70s learned to play guitar listening to Mark Knopfler David Gilmour and Eric Clapton He joined a blues rock band as a solo guitarist He was a regular feature in Blues an Rock Festivals and did open for Bluesman Joe Louis Walker In 2001 he started working on his own music Since then St phane has travelled the roads and takes people into his universe imbued with energy and sensuality After more than 400 concerts throughout France and Quebec he is currently preparing his 5th Album which is scheduled for release in June 2021 Emma Goldberg speaks to this fabulous artist LIM Page 15

Emma Hi Welcome to Lazie Indie Magazine It is great speaking to you You have had a fairly successful musical journey How do you feel it was SP Stephane Portelli Dear Emma dear readers of Lazie Indie Magazine and dear Jay Thank you for having me it s a real pleasure for me I started self taught and instinctively I never wanted to follow a fashion I created my universe and I let myself be carried by my instinct It takes a lot of stubbornness and makes my music evolve I m on my 5th album Emma How and when did you come into music When did you make your first clear step into music as a career SP I started quite late 14 years old on the guitar I had a desire watching a French show Les Enfants Du Rock I saw the band Dire Straits playing and I was immediately seduced I knew that I would play guitar and singer all my life selftaught my mother bought me a guitar and I learned by listening to records Mark Knopfler Rolling Stones Dire Straits Let Zeppelin I joined a band quite quickly from the south of France festivals bars pubs I met a band of blues rock covers I was a guitar solo I stayed with them for 5 years Then I wanted to create I started my project my band to sing my creations and I wrote my songs in a pretty rock register I did my first creations 21 years ago Emma Who were your musical influences How have your influences played out in your career SP Dire Straits Mark Knopfler David Gilmour Pink Floyd Carlos Santana et tous les bluesmen BB King Muddy Waters J aime beaucoup le Let Back du rock cool JJ CALE un immense artiste Tony Joe White Elvis Presley le Gospel la musique Am ricaine et angloSaxon Let Zeppeline Rolling Stones etc Emma How do you go about creating your music Do you venture outside your genre of music when you create SP I always compose the music first in a song the lyrics come next For styles I mix them all a little bit I listen to a lot of things and then it leads me to several LIM Page 16

influences the song directs me according to what I listen to I like to explore different things to feed my musical soul rock jazz Latino reggae All this music I put a little into my game I compose everything on guitar I like and I need to be to feel free The thing that is important to me is when I sing on stage in front of the audience I don t want to cheat I have to feel my music to be myself I am honest and I am ME Emma What is your latest music release SP My last musical release is my new album La Boutique Des Fous which was released a few weeks ago on vinyl this year which you can discover this in the video for the magazine LAZIE INDIE MAGAZINE You can also follow me on social networks Facebook YouTube platforms Itunes Spotify Deezer etc And my clips on YouTube Emma Tell us what you like the most Writing Producing or Performing SP I like them both 3 a song and an LIM album it s like the birth of a baby it becomes an adult the child becomes a big part of nature and it no longer belongs to us it s like that for songs When I finish a song I am completely exhausted I leave a piece of me and my soul in the song and the album I make everything from A to Z With the musicians I choose the musicians who are part of my team in the studio I guide them I give the artistic direction the studio part I choose the studio that corresponds to the color I want to give to the album all the musicians played together in the same room 2 or 3 takes and we played the next song I wanted this album to look like what happens on stage in real life Everything is true and real on this album authentic this album represents the human side the most human and the most authentic that I made in my life This album is me my soul The songs are then played live my priority is the stage and experiencing emotions with my Page 17

The greatest compliment I have ever heard is the phrase This concert is nothing but happiness you have made me travel For me this is one of the most beautiful artistic gifts Give emotion and make your audience travel be true Thank you for your time and it was great speaking to you Pleasure shared with you all Special Thanks To Emma Jay Fans of Lazie Indie Magazine and To my Fans from everywhere In the world I send you all my Tenderness and all my Love St phane Portelli Thank You audience this album is a souvenir of a live concert We make live music because nothing is frozen Emma What is your plan for the immediate future say 2023 as a musician SP For the moment I want to travel my album I have been touring a lot in the South of France and I will go back on stage in France and abroad and sing this album and my new songs I will also prepare and start composing the next album I am visiting new colors of music that will be in my new songs and my new album I want to push the frontiers Emma What is the best advice given to you and what would you share with a young upcoming artist SP Especially following your instinct Take everything life gives us as advices and then sort it out according to how you feel To live to the fullest to follow your instinct not to follow a fashion and not to cheat with the public to be authentic the music that you make it must resemble us it is a way to have a universe and a musical personality beyond the musical technique that is certainly important also it is necessary to have the feeling the soul and the generosity always give LIM Page 18

About the Columnist Emma Goldberg is French Pop Singer Composer Video Producer Author writing in Italian Spanish English French She also is a radio host in Radio 242 UK introducing independent musicians to audiences across UK France and the nearby countries Emma has her own radio show called Just like Emma which is maintained here for the column she contributes to Lazie Indie Magazine LIM Page 19

CHISENGA is a Grammy recognised Hip Hop artist born in Zambia and now based in Perth Australia Born in Lusaka on May 27th his interest in performing began at the early age of 10 With time spent at home with his mother listening to country music and later his stepdad grooving to classic soul music he developed an appreciation and understanding for music that would later inspire the sound he would craft in years to come From the time he was recognized for releasing the first locally produced Hip Hop album in his birth country Zambia Officer in Charge was and still stands as one of the most successful Hip Hop albums from that country He introduced new acts and garnered local awards for best Hip Hop artist He was further introduced to Africa and the rest of the world through MTV Base and Channel O the two major African music channels that broadcast across Africa His song The Fire Inside once took a No 1 spot across Africa on both MTV Base and LIM Page 21

and Channel O the two major African music channels that broadcast across Africa His song The Fire Inside once took a No 1 spot across Africa on both MTV Base and Channel O charts which earned him a Channel O Video Music Award for Best Music Video Southern Africa In recent news the rapper just returned from a trip to Tanzania where he performed in front of 14 Southern African presidents at the just ended 39th SADC Southern African Development Community summit This has been one of the major highlights of his career as he competed against musicians and his song SADC Throw Your Hands Up was selected as the winning song beating 27 other entrants This year alone the rapper has had several collaborations and taken part in various projects He has worked with Perth rappers Optamus Verbalize R Williams Severance and many more He has also been getting several requests from the US and Africa so expect to hear his voice on several records The rapper has a great sense of community networking and activity Hence he is now involved in a project supported by the Australian government called the Try Test Learn Fund with The World Music Cafe The Multicultural Enterprise Development project is a joint initiative by the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre and Multicultural Futures offering people from migrant and refugee backgrounds an opportunity to gain new skills and industry experience creating a collective social enterprise The new World Music Caf enterprise initiative will be developed from August 2019 to June 2020 to deliver a series of independent cultural events across Perth So far so good The World Music Cafe had a successful launch on 21st September 2019 Before recently rebranding to the name CHISENGA the rapper was known as C R I I and then later became Crisis Mr Swagger He came up with the aliases at the age of 10 Meanwhile he released his Mixtape C R I I Presents The Diamond Chain and then later got picked up by Clavel LIM Page 22

I have a plan However I actually don t feel comfortable telling people what my intention is I d rather act on it and reveal when it is done Management while living in the UK where he released the Grammyrecognised album Designer in 2008 Jay from Lazie Indie Magazine catches up with Chisenga to understand his music journey Jay Hi Chisenga welcome to Lazie Indie Magazine You have had an exciting career in music so far how do you see it for yourself Chisenga I ve set some goals However it would be a lack of appreciation as to how far God has brought me if I didn t say that I appreciate having been brought this far I have had many highs and many lows that could have sent me packing Every time I try to get out they pull me back in The fans remind me that I have the talent to share that they enjoy witnessing Jay Who is are your musical influences How did you pick up music as a career option LIM Chisenga My earlier and present musical influences include Pink Floyd Michael Jackson Dr Dre Big Daddy Kane KRS One Nas Jay Z MC Lyte Queen Latifah Eminem Bob Marley Daft Punk and a lot of 70 s music You ll be surprised to know that I also love music by artists like Kenny G Paul Hardcastle Red Hot Chilli Peppers Eric B and Rakim I ve also been a fan of Kool G Rap I used to study Run DMC as a kid It was almost a trend to at least learn one of their raps as a kid I used to be a fan of Biggie and 2 Pac but later on when I heard some of the songs like Hit Em Up and Suicidal Thoughts I kind of shut down from their music I cannot ignore their incredible talent but it s funny that once I matured as a man I started to look at what I was feeding into my ears and I have consciously decided that I will not feed into the negativity Rap Hip Hop music came from being an Page 23

amazing form of entertainment to partly communicating a really negative culture that I refuse to be a part of Our lives are a story and we can each tell these stories and experiences through our music One day I was in my mum s kitchen when I heard a song called The Message by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five I used to love nursery rhymes in nursery school so when I heard an art form that used rhyming as its main driving component I was immediately hooked and that s when I decided that music was going to be my bread and butter Jay Tell me about your movement from Zambia to Australia and how has that helped your music career Chisenga I relocated from Zambia to Australia in 2012 The idea was to be there for the birth of my daughter but someone in immigration thought it was a better idea for me to come after the birth of my daughter and not be there during the time when it mattered most LIM My wife had post birth complications that almost cost her her life Someone in immigration thought this was not an important moment so they gave me a visitor s visa months after my daughter was born It was one of the cruelest decisions that I have ever seen a human being make toward another s family Sometimes I wonder if this was some form of discrimination It still bothers me that someone denied me bonding with my daughter during her birth I cannot fathom how this can be humane in any way Eventually I established my tribe I found people that I worked well with and things started to fall into place A place called the Indi Bar was one of the first places where I performed and started to build a really good following Eventually I set up a recording studio in a small shed and found my balance I started recording and producing music in this small space and eventually moved to a bigger house Page 24

where the studio had its own designated space Jay How do you go about your music creation How are the songs written and produced Chinsenga I d be lying if I told you that I actually wrote my songs I find it easier to just get on the mic and record as opposed to writing and then recording My mind thinks so fast that I find pen and paper uncomfortable for my creative process I feel like it slows me down so I don t use it I was inspired by Dr Dre to start making my beats so I have often produced some of my songs Other songs are produced by a select number of producers This process helps diversify the sound of my projects Sometimes a producer will send me a beat and I just help to elevate it or add some elements The one thing I miss about being in Zambia is being around my childhood friends that have created with me for many years At times they were the people that helped me improve my songwriting I have always admired musicians that had a team that was rooted in their success For example Dr Dre has often had legendary rapper The D O C on his side Their work relationship is so strong LIM that most people don t know that D O C lived with Dr Dre for several years Then you have Drake with his producer 40 Shebib They have been friends for so long that they have formed a chemistry and bond that is advantageous to their creativity and success formula There s something special about a natural flow state of creativity that far surpasses any forced chemistry Teamwork makes the dream work As clich as it may be this is a necessary formula that has been proven to work I enjoy being with people in the studio that are actually present for the creative process Sometimes I actually still do great just by myself and I actually enjoy the alone time It helps me dig deeper into my authentic self without outside interference When I make beats I just try to do something that I can vibe with and then I get a feeling of what that may constitute in forms of subject matter I just get on the mic and start recording I often like to start with the chorus as this really gives me direction about the song s structure and content Jay Where can we see your music releases over the internet Tell us about your latest or upcoming release Chisenga My music is available on all major streaming services from Apple Music to Spotify Boomplay Deezer Amazon and many more Simply search for CHISENGA and you ll find me Jay As a musician how did you cope with the Lockdowns What are the lessons you learned from the lockdown scenario Chisenga The lockdowns were actually pretty rewarding because they allowed me to tap into a creative side that I never knew existed What I quickly learned despite businesses being affected etc is that we all need a reset or break every once in a while It helped me refocus and I was able to also spend a little more time with my family It was pretty interesting because my kids and I ended up coming up with a kids audiobook which I have just recently sent to distributors I m just waiting to get approvals before we can start advertising it and sharing it with the Page 25

kids and families Jay What do you like to do the most in music Is it writing producing or performing live Chisenga I really love performing live It puts me in front of people and as much as social media is a norm in the current state of the world life is always better when people support each other in person People are sacrificing a piece of their time to be there for you That s great love and it inspires me to do better and give my best I ve never quite understood when people are given the opportunity to be in front of the masses and they fail to give a satisfactory performance My wife once got us tickets to see a major artist concert However to our disappointment she mimed most of her set and not only that she turned up late for the performance My feet hurt from all the standing but it was even more painful to see an artist that I love miming her music It felt like we had been robbed This then makes me wonder if the tour promoter Live Nation was actually aware that this was happening She made a lot of money off of that Perth concert but it was heartbreaking to me that she got paid a whole lot of money that was hard earned LIM by the attendants I do not believe that we got our money s worth Jay What are your immediate plans say for 2023 Chisenga I have a plan However I don t feel comfortable telling people what my intention is I d rather act on it and reveal when it is done I ve definitely recorded new music and that s just half the job It comes with other aspects that combine to keep the wheels turning I can t reveal too much 9 What was the best advice given to you and what would you give as a piece of advice to fellow musicians I was told to stay true to my calling and never give up on my dreams There s a lot of noise in this world and you have to choose how you engage with your outside world It s easy to get distracted and miss your goal s Do not listen to the naysayers because most of the time you ll find that they ve never actually pursued their own dreams or even fulfilled half the things they thought about doing for themselves Why should you listen to someone that lacks experience and or knows nothing about your field of work Don t be so scared to fail that you can t even try That is one of the worst things you can do to yourself Those who matter don t mind and those who mind don t matter This is all the advice given to me that I wish to share with my readers too Thank you Page 26

Monica Halyoonda also known as Moniq Stylez The Dancehall Cream musician born and brought up in Livingstone Zambia Africa She recently won the Best female Dancehall artiste at the ZED RASTA AWARDS 2022 ceremony Lusaka Zambia Jay from Lazie Indie Magazine speaks to Monique about her journey in music so far Thanks to Marvin for introducing Moniq to Lazie Indie Magazine Jay Can you please tell us more about your career so far in a nutshell Moniq So far so good signed under a record label called Nuff Respect 28 1 LIM Page 28

Did my singles in 2017 and in 2018 was connected to Denroy Morgan the father of the Grammy winning group called the Morgan Heritage before he passed on I did my Reggae EP called Sweet Girl from Africa which is available on all digital platforms Jay How did you come into music Who were your influences Moniq I discovered my talent of singing at a tender age being groomed in a churchchoir and having to and having to watch the likes of Rihanna Beyonce Whitney Houston and later Patra Lady Saw etc made me have the dream of becoming my own star Jay How do you go about creating your music Moniq I create my music according to my day to day life It depends on what I am thinking of on that particular day and has to be meaningful to my thoughts It s like how I would have a dream and get all those pieces and assemble for people or should I say my fans to relate Jay What are your latest releases Where can we find them Moniq My latest releases after my Reggae EP are singles from my upcoming Dancehall EP called Trending they are Blow My Mind ft JR Reds Netherlands on itunes and IRONY ft T Sean one of the top Zambian Dancehall acts and released on our local blog called Zambian music blog But the EP will be ready and available on digital platforms for the year 2023 Jay What do you prefer Writing songs recording or playing live Moniq Anything to do with music is to die for so I will preferably say all Jay What is the best advice you received and what would you tell a fellow musician as a piece of advice Moniq The advice I have received is to stay focused love what I do and make it part of me as I make history So I would encourage other musicians to share the same advice with me and always thank the creator for the gift and life given Thank you LIM Page 3o

Renowned for the passion she brings to music whether a show or recording or writing Sarah Smith is respected for her passion she puts into her act She has been in the music scene for more than a quarter of a century after being in London Ontario she moved to British Columbia s Pender Island After being in the legendary proto Punk band The Joys Smith began started on her own in the 2010s She has chronicled the loves and losses of her life throughout her recording career on a series of evocative solo albums including the acclaimed Stronger Now 2012 The Journey 2014 11 2016 A Christmas Wish and Live in Concert both released in 2018 through 2019 s Unveiling and Sarah Smith The Lovers of London 2021 She also released thirty co written songs all remote collaborations during the pandemic on Songs From When The World Went Still 2021 An in demand performer Sarah has played on stages both massive and intimate sharing the bill LIM Page 32

with the likes of Melissa Etheridge Nancy Wilson KT Tunstall and more Jay from Lazie Indie Magazine spoke to this fabulous musician to know more about her career so far and her plans for the future Special thanks to Pamela of Big Records for introducing Sarah Smith to Lazie Indie Magazine and heloping out with this interview Jay How do you feel your music has helped people Sarah I can only speak of my own experience and how music has helped ME It has healed me helped me reflect shown me ways out of bad situations guided me through storms given me answers and brought me into a life of gratitude It has stood beside me my whole life being a constant friend listener and supporter I do hear from fans that my music has helped them some have even said it saved their life I think what really happens with music is that we can relate to another s struggle and it helps us find our own strength to get through whatever we might be going through in life Music is the great healer Jay How and when did you come into music When did you make your first clear step into music as a career Sarah I grew up in a musical family My mom was the church choir leader and my dad was a hobby country singer and acoustic guitar strummer Music was always encouraged in our household and community I sang my first church solo when I was five years old I remember looking around at all the white haired older people who were crying and I remember realizing then how powerful music really was When I was fourteen I got an acoustic guitar for Christmas and immediately began teaching myself chords and writing music I always wrote songs about my inner feelings those feelings I just couldn t let out to anyone else My songs were my truth Out of high school I joined the Canadian Military I knew I wanted to make a change in the world and thought this would be a great way to do it During my first year of service my LIM Page 33

sergeant encouraged me to follow my heart and live a life of music I quickly asked for an honourable discharge and followed my heart straight into a rock n roll band Jay Why did you pick up the genre Who were your musical influences Sarah I ve always loved songs that are catchy yet have depth and emotional content As a teenager I was obsessed with the raw power of Alanis Morissette and later found myself drawn to other female artists such as Sheryl Crow Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge It s really hard to decide what genre of music I fit into so I ve created this description in hopes that it can clearly paint a picture of who I am as an artist Sarah Smith Raw Canadian Roots Rock Jay How do you go about writing your songs How do you record and produce your music Sarah I write in stillness When I take a few moments in a day to be still the LIM music comes to me I usually find myself reaching for my guitar creating a chord structure humming a melody and letting out the words For me music comes from a place of no mind and complete surrender In other words I don t think I just allow At the end of this session of stillness I usually leave with a song I then revisit the song and edit the lyrics before presenting it to my band or recording it in studio Jay Which is your latest music release Tell us more Sarah During the pandemic I put a callout to friends and fans who were looking to put their life story their poetry or their writings into a song The response was amazing I co wrote 30 songs during that pandemic and released a USB called Songs From When The World Went Still I have released a few of these songs with videos such as Meet Me At The Crossroads and Your Name God Q6 Jay Tell us what you like the most Page 34

I guess the best advice I was given pretty young was If you want to make music your career you should be sure to have a clear mind a strong body and believe in yourself and your dreams Writing Producing or Performing Sarah I am definitely a performer 100 Performing feeds my heart and soul But I am also an ever changing being who enjoys my privacy and solace and that s what my songwriting gives me As far as producing I usually leave that up to people who are much more advanced than I am I love working with different producers Their brains are INCREDIBLE Jay What is your plan for the immediate future say 2023 as a musician Sarah I have so many exciting things planned for this coming year First of all I am going to be releasing new music with a record label I ll be making that announcement soon I am excited to start the preproduction of these songs and get them out to the world Secondly I am so happy that I have the chance to tour this year I ll be playing in British Columbia Canada Mexico Costa Rica LIM Germany Netherlands Austria Ontario Canada and maybe even India I am just so very grateful to be able to be living this beautiful life of music Jay Tell us more about any tour or event that is happening soon or one that you just completed Who doesn t love sunny destinations Sarah This February I am joining a few of my band members from The SheWolves of London for a week in Costa Rica I ve never been to CR and am very much looking forward to this trip Let me know if you want to join and I ll send you the details During the pandemic I got asked to play the part of Janis Joplin in a pilot theatre show in Germany called Forever Young The Story of the 27 Club Well it just so happened that an influential agency was in the crowd loved the show and bought it So I get to tour with this show in Page 35

Germany this year I m super stoked I also get to bring my Canadian band back to Europe again this fall Super grateful Jay What is the best advice given to you and what would you share with fellow young artists Sarah I guess the best advice I was given pretty young was If you want to make music your career you should be sure to have a clear mind a strong body and believe in yourself and your dreams I was encouraged to quit drinking and any addictions I had it was suggested to hire a trainer and learn how to eat properly and keep my body in good shape and most importantly learn how to love myself Someone once told me When you take care of your inner world the outer world will give you all you desire Thank you LIM Page 36

Teddy Holly is a 21 year old indie artist based in Long Island and Oneonta NY His sound is indie rock and bedroom pop that s heavily influenced by soul jazz funk blues R B and folk He aims with every song to make something sonically that he wishes had existed earlier while lyrically trying to make something that emotionally connects with a listener His debut EP Better Late Than Never is now available everywhere and has been his passion project for the last two years or so His releases have gathered much support and he is sure looking forward to seeing where this and further releases can take him Jay from Lazie Indie Magazine spoke to this young and upcoming artist let us check LIM Page 38

Jay Tell us more about your career so far in a nutshell TH Teddy Holly Since high school I ve played in a few bands with friends done some gigs and have played a good amount of shows in my college s music scene That being said to be honest there s not much of a career to talk about just yet but I sort of like that Creatively speaking it s allowed me to remain super open to any sound or scene that interests me because there are not a lot of people watching right now Jay How did you come into music Who were your influences TH I don t remember a time before walking by the local spot where everyone would take guitar lessons and saying to my mom and dad that this was what I wanted to do Eventually I was able to take lessons and I ve never really looked back since then Some people that immediately come to mind when I think of my influences would be John Mayer LIM Dominic Fike Jimi Hendrix Kevin Abstract John Frusciante Peach Pit the Grateful Dead and Frank Ocean but there are a bunch more Jay How do you go about creating your music TH It always starts with a single idea whether that s a chord change a lyric or even a genre I haven t tried yet It doesn t really matter what the idea is I just have to be digging it enough to want to make it something After that expanding on it could mean a million different things I might pretend it s a song that already exists and try to remember how it goes find some sounds and instrumentation for it or whatever else Once I have the meat and potatoes of the idea I ll generally sit on it for a while and slowly add or take things away Eventually the song just feels finished and that s when it s done Page 39

Jay What are your latest releases Where can we find them TH My latest release is a five song EP called Better Late Than Never It s the first body of work I ve ever created and I ve honestly never worked harder on anything in my life Hopefully that translates through the music Jay What do you prefer Writing songs recording or Playing live TH It really depends If I m in a time of my life that feels special I ll probably be deep in writing mode I m constantly trying to capture that main character feeling in my music so it makes sense I d be writing more then I like recording if I m in a creative drought since I ll already know what the song should sound like so now it s just executing it It allows me to make progress even when new ideas won t flow As for playing live shows I love it There s something so present about that exchange of energy and I don t see myself getting tired of it any time soon Jay What is the best advice you received and what would you tell a fellow musician as a piece of advice TH Sometimes when I was in middle school I heard Carlos Santana talking in an interview once about how he needed to get goosebumps from listening back to what he had recorded before he even considered releasing it Even though I wouldn t start recording my songs until 5 or 6 years later that always stuck with me Any musician who I ve ever heard talk about the music needing to matter to the artist before they can expect it to matter to anyone else is one that I d also give major credit to in that regard Thank you LIM Page 40

The Southern Outlaws Band came together in October 2020 Band is made up of 5 dedicated musicians Each member has their unique style All five members bring their creativity with their writing and collaboration skills to the band The chemistry that they have is amazing on stage or during our recordings they become one The band won several awards for their original songs and has been nominated for some of the greatest awards like Josie Awards for Southern Group of the Year The Southern Outlaws Band joined forces with Big Records and Rise Up TV and will be traveling very soon Jay speaks to members of the band to know more about them post their association with Big Records LIM had interviewed this band before so this time it is to know more about their latest release plans and ideas they want to incorporate going forward Jay spoke to Arlis Walker LIM Page 42

Jay How do you feel the band s musical journey has been so far TSOB The Southern Outlaws Band We feel that our journey so far has been amazing we have the most supportive fans family and friends Jay How and when did you come into music TSOB Each of us started at a younger age We all have been very fortunate to have a very supportive family to help us start our dream to become musicians Jay When did you make your first clear step into music as a career TSOB We started The Southern Outlaws Band during the pandemic We were able to work on original songs and finished and produced our first album The Southern Outlaws Jay Why did you pick up the genre TSOB We didn t pick the genre it picked us We each have always liked southern rock outlaw country music Jay Who were the band s musical influences TSOB Just to name a few Lynyrd Skynyrd Black Berry Smoke Kentucky Headhunters and David Allen Coe Jay How do you go about writing your songs TSOB Every member contributes to the writing of our songs we write our songs about life experiences and from the heart Jay How do you record and produce your music TSOB We record and produce our songs at Tune Town Studios in Newton Falls Ohio with award winning engineer Mike Talanca Jay Which is your latest music release TSOB Our latest release is Folsom Prison Blues we paid tribute to the Johnny Cash Family with a unique style and they were honored with our version Tell us more We also had a worldwide release of Louisiana Water by Big Records on November 1st We are very happy to have joined Big Records and Rise Up TV Jay Tell us what you like the most Writing Producing or Performing TSOB We would have to say that performing for our fans and bringing our LIM Page 43

music to the world stage Jay What is your plan for the immediate future say 2023 as a band TSOB Working with Big Records Rise Up TV and a few other sources we are hoping to start our touring very soon We will also be releasing our second album in the spring of 2023 Jay Tell us more about any tour or event that is happening soon or one that you just completed TSOB We are looking forward to getting on the road and sharing our love of music with our fans The S O B Nation we will also be doing a few local shows we will continue writing and creating magical notes Jay What is the best advice given to you TSOB Best advice that was given was always make the music your own and what would you share with fellow young artists Be true to yourself be grateful to your fans and last but not least music is the universal language that LIM brings us all together Jay Can you please let us know more about your latest release TSOB Written by a good friend Phil Brady We saw the potential of the song right away with this song we wanted to bring to attention the amazing state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans We wanted to highlight the culture and fun atmosphere of New Orleans The live performance of Louisiana Water shows the energy we bring to the performance Jay Who worked on the release TSOB The Southern Outlaws Band came together on this release with Arlis Walker on lead vocals Dave Weilacher II on lead guitar Guitarboogie Bob Furda on lead guitar Kool Ray Cross on Bass Mike Bright Jr on drums Jay What has been the response so far TSOB The response has been amazing having over 65 000 streams on all platforms since the release We can not wait to go to New Orleans to shoot the Page 44

official music video Jay What and when would be your next release planned TSOB One of our next releases will be called One hell of a Woman which will be released in early 2023 We are actively working on our next album in hopes to have it ready for release in early 2023 Thank you LIM Page 45

Before the curtains went up at IIMF K ovalam was true to its character unpleasantly warm in the afternoons The heat saw us all recede into the asylum of the airconditioned halls at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village and sip cold drinks or dab at our sweat drenched faces There was a bit of tiredness pervasive in the air among us behind the scenes people But even then a disctinct electricity ran through each hand shake and each smile exchanged from artists to organisers from volunteers to the audience The cold November Rains were a welcome respite from the heat but they did give the ground the consistency of a Belgian Chocolate Thick Shake Well yes like the old adage goes nothing is ever as it seems and with an event the scale of the International Indie Music Festival noone can even dream of making the whole process a breeze But like a very sweaty Jay remarked in the middle of running around making sure everything was going perfect this feels like coming home the energy the vibes and everything about this Standing next to me sipping on our hot chai tea yes we Malayalis are maniacs when it comes to drinking tea even in the unforgiving sun at the tiny little shop next to the venue Jay had nailed the entire feeling encapsulating the event The word International in IIMF brought the scale of the event to the forefront and the word Indie in it brought up the camaraderie and the feeling of cordial oneness It was a conflation of cultures to a degree that hasn t yet been introduced to the deep recesses of Kerala yet in the context of music International artists multinational award winners accomplished musicians at international stages coming together with local artists and putting them on a stage the likes they haven t been on before yet for sure they belong to The effortlessness on display completely masked the herculean tasks of getting setlists ready in just a matter of hours the showmanship and presentation completely justifying every little bead of sweat shed by the organisers in putting together such a successful event To the casual observer the uninitiated what goes on the stage was a carefully orchestrated brilliantly put together show giving them every single rupee s worth of unadulterated entertainment But boy the kind of stories us working behind the scenes were privy to Lyia Meta one of the biggest names in the bill came over from a stint in the US with just her husband accompanying on rhythm guitars and the entire band was put together in a matter of hours with musicians from Kerala s own Skreen6 but the limited time of preperation was not the story on stage where the massive wall of sound came down on the audience produced by a band that had been rehearsing for months at the very least Here s another story of how music for the sake of the musical art triumphs cultural or ethnic differences Roc Flowers was rehearsing on the concert hall and incidentally Anslom was in the audience too Anslom checking out the band and in his charecteristic unfiltered style just yells out to the saxophone player hey man you should play with us And just hours before their set Anslom had saxophone in his ensemble and boy that was a sonic masterpiece on stage These are nononsense musicians at the height of their craft just lending each others LIM Page 48

irreplaceable capabilities to the cause of music and for their love of the pretty sounds All this led to a mesmerising spectacle for music lovers some of whom had travelled cross country to witness the birth of this massive festival Nobody could have unknowingly said that this was the first iteration of IIMF The careful planning and the impeccable musical ideologies that went into birthing this masterpiece of an event was indeed a joy to behold and to be a part of it was surely a once in a lifetime opportunity The work done by Lazie Indie to bring the kind of artists that lit up the stage both domestic and overseas must have been gargantuan And we can only assume at the scale they will achieve in the coming years Even the fact that big name artists like Devan Ekambaram who came in as a last minute addition and without his regular band or ensemble could put on a show that was at par with his regular concerts goes to show what an achievement the event was The cultural footprint that the show left at the coastal village of Kovalam is a mark of bigger things to come for music lovers and up coming artists alike The local shop owners to old timers sipping on their chais and smoking their beedees outside the venue were left curious about what the events stood for and excited for the welcome hustle and bustle added on to their usually sedentary lives I for one am sure even the balmy evening air to the coconut palms of beach side Trivandrum has been left with an impression that they won t be able to shake off for a long time to come Heartiest congratulations to Lazie Indie and the KACV team who came together to give the far South of the Indian Subcontinent five nights they will never forget Article contributed by Harikrishnan Padmakumar of Indian Joint LIM Page 49

Chesney Claire has done it again with her new single The Problem Chesney Claire a 21 year old Pop R B award winning singer songwriter producer is all the rage this Summer as she keeps showing the world her talent s Chesney is scheduled to star in a feature film with A list actors that starts filming March 2023 in Arizona Not only has she gained tons of experience in those fields her main passion is in music Last year Chesney won 25 Music Industry Awards including but not limited to Female Vocalist of The Year at the ISSA and at Indie Star Radio in Hollywood CA She won 4 World Songwriting Awards a Nomination from The Hollywood Music In Media Awards She earned a Half A Million Streams Spotify Award and a coveted Josie Music Awards Nomination amongst others Google Chesney Claire to learn more or visit her website www chesneyclaire com LIM Page 54