An English Girl In New York (and San Fran.. and L.A)

Good morning bloggettes and blog-men?!
I hope you are enjoying the turning leaves and crisp air of autumn (although you may well be in a sunny land and if so - lucky you!)

As some of you may know (or scroll down and find out) I went on a mini 'promo' tour of America a few weeks ago- this was mainly to play a few gigs and meet a few people that may want to help us on our way- and a nice little preview of the big tour that we are going to do there next March.
So we had some time to kill and explore and SHOP!
I feel the need to apologise to my drummer at this point as MY shopping ended up on HIS credit card and I am still paying him back...
It's not my fault... it's America's fault... the shops are just TOO good to say no too!
Especially in San Francisco where this mammoth blog begins...

My favourite shop EVER- Trunk in Lower Haight

  The shops were so ME- I had such a hard choice of getting just one thing in each place- If I had my way I would get one of EACH item! Victoriana lace collars, upcycled jackets made of old ties, (fake)fur arm warmers, amazing jewellrey EVERYWHERE and they were all decorated and displayed like my dream shop. I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO (NB- the areas that really excited me are Mission and Haight Ashbury). 3 shops that really struck a chord with me were 'Trunk' where I met Silver, the lovely shop keeper who had her designs in the store- turns out that everything in there is by independent designers and they all share the shop and take it in turns to look after it - I love their community spirit! I had to stop myself buying the whole shop and instead settled on an amazing neck piece of fur, tassles and lace!

Silver also pointed me towards my other new favourite shop round the corner- Swankety Swank
full of more lovely trinkets, upcycled garments and friendly people with much the same independent ethos... I walked away with a gorgeous dusty pink layered lace collar (sadly I didn't get any pictures of this shop!) Walking towards the main high street of Haight Ashbury (also full of gems) I spotted a little sign saying 'vintage and handmade items this way' and I found myself in the wonderful world of the adorable 'Aline's Closet' - I love the way she decorated her shop with beautiful furniture, candles and antique mirrors- not to mention the dolls house above her door... I could live there!

In the Haight I also fell into my new facourite place in the world- AMOEBA RECORDS... Holy wow this place is incredible. EVERY CD, Record, DVD etc you could possibily want in the style of 'Empire Records' complete with a stage in the corner where I just happened to catch my newest 'girl group crush' - Grass Widow playing.

I felt like I was actually in the 70s and it was a pretty powerful place to be- very inspiring and ALL about peace and love. Of course with every alternative town came the crazy people- in abundance... it's a drug fuelled place that I definitely wouldn't live in but makes for a very interesting place to visit and people watch!!

Oh and the gig, although on tiny stage in a laundrette went rather well...

I'm wearing some S.F purchases- the collar was from Trunk and the Headpiece from P-Kok

 Next we were treated all week to the amazing FOOD of L.A by our host- the extremely lovely,  generous and talented Al Stewart who is full of amazing stories and insights to the music scene of the 1970s and knew all the tales of the sunset strip in Hollywood and more importantly, to my stomach, THE best places to eat in town... of course it would be rude not to sample them all. I won't go on because when I start thinking about food I get hungry but it was gooood... especially the Sushi and Italian fish, oh and breakfasts- mama mia- I ate VERY well!

We did a great gig at Hotel Cafe - which is dark but a fantastic venue with amazing sound...

I did say dark... Headpiece by UglyLovely, Dress from Vintage Secret, Adam in Beyond Retro

Another place I loved in LA (because let's be honest it's not exactly my kind of place- orange tanned girls with nothing to say and BAD music don't tend to excite me that much!) was ANTHROPOLOGIE...

 Oh and L.A's very own bigger version on Ameoba Music (I'm slightly obsessed)

I actually managed to be allowed into the staff loos and was feeling mischievous...

hee hee!
In my defence there was A LOT of graffitti on those walls...

We also went vintage shopping and crazy people watching by Venice Beach...

 

The sun ain't so bad...

Then we spent a week in New York (no I wasn't deported from drawing on the toilet wall!) - where I purchased a good camera for once in my life - about time too! So I will leave you with some snaps from a great 7 days of sights, comedy, hip hop and new friends in the big city!

When I went to stay in Brooklyn- I was greeted with this sight...

 I joined MC Undakova doing some improv (singing not rapping!) at a Manhattan Hip Hop jam...

I was blown away by the art at the MOMA- including my favourite- Kandinsky

I sang/shouted a one note song as part of Yoko Ono's 'art' at the MOMA

I met the lovely and talented Katelan Foisy who showed me around the Village for a day- we laughed a lot!
Don't you love her sunglasses?! She oozes style and everything I love about New York!

 We had brunch (eggs benedict for me) at Yaffa- which you can see is pretty awesome!

 Then to Screaming Mimi's vintage shop - which is where Cyndi Lauper used to work and happens to look like her wardrobe. This was the only shop in NYC that let a London blogger take pictures in!

Katelan and I went a little crazy in Pearl River - a chinese shop full of lanterns, fans, birds, butterflies
and everything you could possibly want - I did and had a lot more to pack after our trip there!

 At the Italian festival we saw lots of great things and I found my dream coat at an up and coming designer pop up shop - I got this coat in black and white stripes from (my only blank... I have to go back to my flat to find the designer's name but all of his clothes were brilliant) and won't take it off- ever!

This was people paying $2 to watch snakes - as you do...

Patricia Field's shop is AWESOME!

After a long day of shopping it was high time for a nap on a bed of bread called "Comfort Eating"
which was one of the many pieces of Edible Art at the Last Supper Saloon in Brooklyn!

We got to make our own edible art out of junk food that Katelan and I named- "Bibically Political"
...which it was.

The lovely Katelan had an amazing soiree at her beautiful flat full of the loveliest, creative and
inspiring women I have met...complete with homemade cupcakes and pink rose tea! :)

 We did a secret gig at Hotel on Rivington which went down a storm even though I was worried how we would be received in this 'bump n grind' r&b nightclub!

I got this hat from my new mecca- Cheap Jacks in NYC - LOVE!
I couldn't help but try out my new camera in the amazing bathroom there!!

 We finished the trip with a lovely gig in a lovely venue with my wonderful friend, Kate Sikora who is super talented and beautiful, supporting us...
 I wore a great outfit from a NYC designer Julie Schworm who was so kind to lend it to me!

Kate Sikora and I in the dressing room of Joe's Pub

In other exciting news that I can't help but share-

I signed a contract for a licensing deal in Europe with World Connection!!!

My song was used in this GORGEOUS fashion film for Beautiful Soul's new stunning collection:

Beautiful Soul SS:11 Believe. from oliver Prout on Vimeo.
Eco-aware fashion label, Beautiful Soul, teamed up with photographer Oliver Prout, illustrator Zarina Liew and recording artist Gabby Young, to create a short film to celebrate their Spring/Summer 2011 Collection, ‘Believe’.

The poster competition was amazing- and will be a blog of it's own very soon. I am soooo excited about them!

I will leave you with some pictures of my family in MerriMaking animal hoods from Gabberdashery and the dogs! Just because...

Awwwwwwww

I started writing this with a good morning and now I can leave by say good afternoon!
Xox Gabhomey xoX

Ahoy me hearties!

This is a bit of a nautical post for two reasons; firstly to thank you all for coming to the secret gig on the wonderful Tamesis Dock boat last week; and secondly because by the time you read this, I'll be an ocean away in the good old USA!

You can see the beautiful set of photos Gemma Hall took of me before the gig here, my dress is from Beyond Retro, make up and hair by Jennifer Nash using Illamasqua products.

Gabberdashery took up the top floor of the boat, whilst we performed down below; I 'm afraid I still have no sea legs but luckily the river was quite calm!

You can read some lovely reviews of the gig by blogger Lira Leirner and on entertainment site Skiddle.

So now I'm in the States, please, please come and see me if you're this side of the pond!The lovely Nonita has blogged about my visit on the Spanish Moss Vintage American blog here.
I've chosen the winners of the poster design competition and left them back in the UK working on some really beautiful designs for the UK tour, can't wait to come back and show you! I'll leave you with some amazing pictures from Shambala by Richard Shakespeare- I'm wearing the dress  Rosa Bloom made for me, and make up and hair is by Jennifer Nash again.We ended the festival season on rather a damp note- in true British style!

Missing you all already,

Gabs 

xxx

Gabberdashery Calling!

Photo by Jo Lowes of me in the Gabberdashery shop @ Standon Calling

wearing an amazing dress by Inbar Spector and 'Gabby' brooch by Love from Hetty and Dave for Gabberdashery! Of course my hair and makeup was beautifully crafted by Jennifer Nash.

.....

What a weekend! Not only was I at Standon Calling as a musician - playing a full band set on their massive main stage on Sunday but also as a fancy dress judge, a model (lots of photoshoots this weekend) AND A SHOPKEEPER! I was lucky enough to have my very own shop in the Dickensian row of street boutiques - so GABBERDASHERY was alive and very very well!!
Katie and I piled a little hire van full to brim and arrived at our shop aghast with excitement - WE HAD OUR OWN FRONT DOOR! We didn't know what to expect - a festival type open shop was what I had in mind but no- it was beautiful, special and very Gabberdashery! We spent hours making it look beautiful - flowers and birds sat upon antique Tiffany lamps and lined the wicker mannequins and lay out all our wonderful stock and rails of my very own 2nd hand clothes for sale! It was rather like my bedroom but with a lot less mess and everything was for sale...

more gabberdashery pics here


We stocked wonderful pieces by Rosa Bloom, Merrimaking Hoods, Love from Hetty and Dave(who made Katie and I our own personalised brooches which you can read about in their blog), Creme Nouveau, Bbel, Hatastic, Her Curious Nature, Alice Gabb (who also shop-sat for us while Gabby was playing-thankyou!) my sister Nicky Young had her brilliant TShirts, the gorgeous smellies of The Green Grocery, infectious art by Tinsel Edwards, Twinkle Troughton, 'Gabby Young customised merchandise' by Vicky Sennett of Hungamunga, as well as cakes from Love Bakery and zines by Ladyfest. And of course a rail of my own clothes - I did a massive clear out just before the festival!


Here's a idea of what we got up to courtesy of WinkBall.Com



And a great video of a stripped down unplugged set we did in the tiny Rough Trade tent filmed by Gareth Bradshaw:



A lovely picture by Holly of our main gig:

This summer is such a success here are some more press links for your perusal -
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-barometer-still-corners-beck-wavves-yuck-lofifnk-gabbyyoung-and-other-animals-darker-my-love-glasser-2044368.html

http://ireadfaux.com/charles-darbyshire/new-blood-gabby-young-other-animals/

http://www.thebeatsurrender.co.uk/weekly/reviews/gabby-young-other-animals-were-all-in-this-together/

http://www.xtaster.co.uk/publiccontent_Article.aspx?id=8996


And I would love your help again - if you have a minute- we have been nominated for the best UK female album of the year and if we win (which would be rather lovely) we are giving the £50 prize money to Cancer Research, as it is very close to my heart.
http://www.wearsthetrousers.com/2010/08/introducing-the-venusno-penis-music-prize/


I will leave you with my favourite picture of the weekend - By Jo Lowes...
Hope everyone is a happy chappy!
Love and Loganberries,
Gabberdashery
xox

A 90% picture blog...

This summer has been a whirlwind of festivals, amazing dresses and exciting press. If I started writing about everything I would carry on till the morning and seeing as it is already 1.39am on my ONLY night off until September I'm just going to show you a run down in pictures instead....

Above is Stephen and I doing an acoustic set at Latitude - you will notice that if there is no Jen to do my makeup then I will probably be wearing sunglasses!! Also it was really bright - I'm not doing it to be cool - honest! Clothes- models own (I've always wanted to say that!!)

Then we went and performed a headline slot at our first international festival - De Affaire in Nijmegen to about 3000 screaming dutch!!! It was amazing and I still don't fully believe it was real!
I was lucky enough to wear a one off by INBAR SPECTOR who has to be my new favourite designer- as you will see from the next 2 dresses- I'm a bit addicted!

Photos (in order) by Stewie1980 ,  Mellissa Kamps and Thijmen Sietsma
My favourite moment of my career (so far) is this:

 

Captured by Thijmen Sietsma

 
Before this momentous gig we did a lovely unplugged session in a chapel where I was wearing another beautiful Inbar Spector creation:

Gabby Young and other animals from Marcus Moonen on Vimeo.

Then we drove all the way to Wiltshire (where I've lived all my life) to play at WOMAD -which is a HUGE honour for me and another big success....

Yes- it's Inbar Spector again... and although you can't see it this dress had a massive train of layered tenticles it was amazing to dance in!
The two days I was there were full of interviews and sessions and on the second day I wore a gorgeous dress from my other new favourite designer- Kumiko Tani

Photo by David Mbiyu

We have since had 2 brilliant reviews in national papers for our performance at Womad -
Guardian = "The most original British contribution came from the new Charlie Gillett stage (an excellent touch), where the flamboyant Gabby Young mixed brass and banjo with impressive ragtime vocals." Robin Denselow

Financial Times = "Gabby Young (as local as they come, having been born in neighbouring Malmesbury) was more distinctive. Clad in a white dress, red hair teased into what looked from a distance like a giant geranium, with a tracery like Victorian gothic ironwork over her right eye, she delivered what she termed “circus swing”. Her band, Other Animals, provided the swing, pumping trombone and wheezing accordion and the blocky beats of a Balkan wedding. Young was the circus, twirling a Bridget Riley umbrella and coaxing the audience to sing along." David Honigmann

and we were on the BBC news - Points West on Friday and Saturday - not bad for a weekend's work!
I couldn't have done this without our lovely festival publicity agent - Lauren Roth De Wolf who is a saint!!


Of course the unstoppable force that is Jennifer Nash was with us all the way and for our last day of this mental tour for Secret Garden Party we decided to get the wigs out and create this little masterpiece with me adorned in more Kumiko Tani . I had practically lost my voice by this show but the audience sang along with me the whole way - THANKYOU GUYS!!

Photos by Katie Antoniou

Amelia's magazine did a lovely review of this with a couple of mindblowing illustrations like this one below by Michelle Urvall Nyrén who I am now obsessed with - thanks to Ameila and Co. for the mention and introducing me to so many talented artists through the years.

So what's next after my epic sleep... STANDON CALLING
Not only are we playing the main stage on Sunday (2.30pm) but I'm judging the fancy dress on Saturday (!), playing and signing a special set in the Rough Trade tent AND I'll have a Gabberdashery shop there ALL WEEKEND! We have so many amazing artists, crafts people and designers contributing to our shop I will find it hard not to buy everything myself AND I will be selling all my own second hand clothes from my massive clear out - (it's all good stuff just doesn't all fit in my wardrobe) so come and say hello if you're at Standon this weekend...

http://www.standon-calling.com/2010/07/19/dressing-up-dancing-and-shopping/


Oops I still ended up writing more then I was meant to...

So it's beddypies for me - yey!
Good nightings
Xox GabZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

PS- I can't believe I forgot to show you our new music video so here it is:


The second 'candy coloured' dress is by Lee Klabin who is not only a lovely woman but an amazing designer about to break through big time. And the headpiece is by the wonderful Rosa Bloom. I also was honoured to work with the stylist Jakob Brondum on this video and am very thankful to his team and especially to Jonny Levene and Aaron West for putting this together.

now I'm really going to bed! Xox

ILLAMASQUA - The make-up for my alter ego

One of the perks about my job is I get to wear amazing things by designers and collaborate with incredibly talented people and this includes MAKE-UP. As you are all aware, (because I can't stop going on about her) I am lucky to have my own hair and make-up stylist - Jennifer Nash, and she has become one of the most important parts of our live show - making the band look great and not just great but completely different every gig and ALWAYS unique and eccentric. SHE IS A SAINT TO US...
So when we came across a make-up brand that has the same ethos as ours -to dress the alter ego that comes out of me when I am onstage - the showgirl, the vamp, the starlet, the circus ringleader etc. naturally we were eager to find out more.
This brand is:

http://www.illamasqua.com/

It just so happens that the people that run this brand are equally lovely and have taken me under there beautifully decorated wing and will be supporting myself and Jen to create the looks that we aspire to for the future. We are so excited and in love with there looks it appears to be a match made in heaven.

To start with I have recieved my own kit to use when Jen is not around for me to be creative with and l have just recieved a beautifully packaged box of Illamasqua make-up.

Now I have had a chance to play with it all I can honestly say that it is the best make-up I have ever had - it is a dream to apply and actually doesn't end up under my eyes or faded after a few hours which is what I have been used to for years (and that is from some high end brands not just Tesco's own!!)

Here is a run down of my specially chosen Illamasqua kit...

NB, I would do before and after pictures but I am too embarassed to be seen in my current no sleep or makeup state...

CONCEALER in CC15 - I am definitely human and have regular outbreaks (annoyingly this started after my 18th birthday which upset me as I always thought adults don't get spots!!)

ANYWAY I have found it hard to get a good concealer to cover these naughty bits but this one does the job (HALLELUJAH!!) it's light and masks a whole manner of marks.

POWDER FOUNDATION in PF 120 - I've been lead into using a liquid foundation before and always got it a bit wrong (being taken aside at a party to remove streaks from your neck is not so pretty!!) so I decided to go with powder and I am pleased I did. This really stays and gives me that clear complexion that I aim for.

ILLUMINATOR in POISED (rose pink) - A new thing for me but I tried it out on my cheeks, eyes and lips and really loved the glint it gave them - it has now replaced blusher and will be a great addition to my make-up bag. It does wonders for my cheekbones!

LIQUID EYELINER in SHATTER (black) - I have to admit I went off the pen type eyeliners because of smudging and dripping but was willing to try it again as the pot and brush is just a little bit trickier when you are in a hurry so WELL DONE ILLAMASQUA I finally have one that STAYS and is so easy to draw with- I like to do all sorts of curls and spots with my eyeliner and this one lets me be really creative. 

VOLUME MASCARA in HARNESS (blackest black) - Like most girls I know - mascara is the bain of my make-up life ... I have tried so many and although I like some and have stuck with them for a while I am yet to love one... could this be the love of my life?! I'm sure by now you must all be thinking - she can't love them all THIS MUCH but I'm telling the truth when I say I will NEVER use another Mascara... I have annoyingly short eyelashes and now I feel like Rita Heyworth!!!

LIPSTICK in BOX (red red red) - This was a colour designed by the mindblowing make-up artist Alex Box who happens to be Illamasqua's creative director:

Yup- this is her work.... WOW! The lipstick is wonderfully matt and a great colour so when I feel like vamping it up I know what to reach for!

NAIL VARNISH in Untold (Red Glitter) -Glitter nail varnishes always rely on many layers to look good and I did 3 for the ultimate glamourous diva look! Their varnishes glide on beautifully and the brush is easy to apply with so I will definitely be adding many of these to my collection.

PENCILS - FINE in EERIE (black) and MEDIUM in SPELL (pillar box red) - both of these are great - good colours and show up nicely on my skin. I used the fine pencil for under my eyes and it worked like a fine kohl which I was impressed by and then 'Spell' makes a great lip liner for 'Box' Lipstick- as above- too.

ACCESSORIES - EYELASH CURLER, LIP AND POWDER BRUSHES - My happiness at these products goes right the way through... I especially love the lip brush that gave me perfect precision.

I did an acoustic gig on Friday at Marlborough Jazz Festival and wore some of my Illamasqua kit and after 10mins in the bathroom this is how I looked :

Dress By Lira Leirner ... but more on that later...

Jen will be able to create some amazing looks with these products so keep an eye out for my alter ego!

This is also a perfect time to intro you all to Illamasqua because at the moment they are running a brilliant campaign where you can take in your old makeup and replace it for new with 25% off everything!

It's also an inexpensive way to add some high end products to your collection - there is something for everyone!

Do go and check it out for yourself...

I assure you that I feel passionate about this brand I don't want you to think I have been in any way swayed to write this blog, I just wanted to do my bit to thank them for their generosity and spread the word to you as they are worth it and you are too!!

Till next time,

Gabbamasqua (!)

Xoxxoxoxoxoxox