Hey Guys!

Check out Skindred with their new video for “Game Over”.

What’s more, check out guitarist Mike wearing his Big Deal Party Vest!

The Big Deal Party Sweaters are selling fast, so if you are wanting one I’d grab one fast! http://www.bigdealclothing.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=100 (Taken with instagram)

Groezrock 2012 by Andi Scott Shaw of We Are Fiction

Groezrock 2012 raised the bar for partying for myself and the rest of the Big Deal Clothing crew. This weekend was not only about branching further afield with the brand and taking these fine garments to the Europeans across the pond, this weekend was also about some hardcore partying, rock star attitudes and alcohol drenched evenings that I know Big Deal as a brand is all about. The underground, music fuelled, free spirited, fast paced community is the demographic and Groezrock held these people in abundance, a crowd of young men and women all wearing clothes that speak just as loud as themselves.

It seemed the weekend was set for failure from the offset, with Big Deals very own Dougie booking the Eurotunnel for the wrong day, meaning we turned up 24 and a half hours late! Brilliant job. Nonetheless we managed to wangle getting our van and all the Big Deal Stock shoved on a freight train across the pond, this in turn meant we had to share the shuttle bus and the train with 20 - 30 tired, red eyed, massive foreign dudes, an experience to say the least. Especially when ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ starts blasting through the radio whilst im squeezed into the armpit of some sweaty beast of a fella, that was definitely a moment in my life where I kind of had to step back and think. “What the fuck am I doing right now?”.

Of course, we made it. Tired as fuck and smelling like a gym sock. Luckily we managed to get hold of a friend of ours, Jeff, who manages a Big Deal supported band from Belgium called CAMPUS. Jeff aloud us to get a few hours sleep at his place before we cracked on with setting up the stall and sorting out the presentation, little did I know this would pretty much be the only decent sleep I/we would get for three days or that later that night I would be hanging of the back of a stolen festival truck with three Begliumese guys and my own band mate and fellow Big Dealer Phil Barker. Quite how a calm day of setting up the stall ready for a long weekends selling culminated in this, no one will ever know. However from what I remember, that nights events started with Phil and I managing to get on the main stage at Groezrock and having our very own lightshow done for us by the awesome stage techs that were setting up, then not long after that we were drinking with some even awesome-er Dutch guys who insisted we steal a festival truck with them. Seemed like a good idea so we tagged along. The next half hour was a drunk-driving mess around the festival and surrounding roads, something I would never condone usually, but it was fun despite. Fun that very nearly ended in tears as I nearly drove said truck head first into a car full of security, who then let us off because we were ‘artists’. Wow. The fun didn’t end there, it wasn’t long before we then has the entire Big Deal crew hanging for dear life on the back of this thing as we gave everybody a lift back to the campsite. A highlight for me was the fact that neither Dougie, Te Ara, Danny or Marianne asked any questions about why we were driving this truck until the next morning.

After that long night of extremely random partying, waking up bright and early to actually do what we were there for, selling Big Deal, wasn’t easy but lucky we are all party veterans and within an hour everyone was on it for the first day. The stall looked rad, well presented, tidy and in my opinion better than the other stalls that were around us. This I think contributed to a lot of the initial sales, with the massive Big Deal banner hanging high above any others luring people over to our stall with no inhibitions. I’ve been a part of the Big Deal crew now for a while, selling, helping and networking at a number of events. I didn’t quite know how Groezrock was going to go , mainly because of the language barrier. It seemed to not matter one bit, I just did the standard loud and slow talk which always does the trick!

A massive selling point for Big Deal over the weekend, and one of the reasons the stall did so well was the function of the clothes for sale as well as the fashion. During the hot days the vests were flying out then as the day cooled off into the evening, the brand new stocked Big Deal sweaters were also flying off the shelf. That’s what I love about Big Deals clothes, the ability to be functional and fashionable. No one wants a uncomfortable piece of clothing, its not practical, and not one piece of Big Deal stock isn’t soft, well fitting and comfortable. Apart from maybe those little short-shorts, but I don’t think they are generally made for dudes…

With the first day done and drink already flowing I was a little bit worried that the evening was going to be boring considering the previous night was absolutely fucking epic. Nahhh. It was even more random. We all kind of went our own separate ways which was strange, even myself and Phil who seemed to end up at different parties in the camp site busting beer bongs with Germans, I even vaguely remember speaking to a Dutch dude in a We Are Fiction [mine and Phil’s group] t-shirt, so if you’re reading this massive shout out to you! Oh and I cant leave out the fact that it was this night that on jumping a fence I managed to slice open my right hand and bust the knuckle, something which is still hurting right now. If all that wasn’t strange enough for the evening already, what happened afterwards got even more ‘out there’. Basically me and Phil [the troublemakers] ended up talking to some more German people, these Germans had sweets. Sweets that we innocently thought were just sweets in a clear bag.

We asked, again innocently, for some [im not sure why, we were slaughtered] and the chap in possession began tearing one in half advising us that we ‘don’t need a whole one’. This random act didn’t deter us and we ate the sweat. To cut a long story short what followed was being apprehended by the security, put on the back of a truck, running away from said security and then Danny Coy [Shadows Chasing Ghosts/Big Dealer] finding us talking to a fence. The sweets were quite obviously doused in acid/lsd, a common form of serving said drug. It goes without saying, never take sweets from strangers.

Day two of selling started a lot like day one, hungover and tired. The previous nights of absolute insanity had taken its toll on all of us. Despite we took control and made sure we still kept the energy around the stall. It was a slightly different crowd than the Saturday, with less punk bands on the bill and more of a broader alternative range of people coming up and checking out our clothes. I loved how a lot of the European people we had come up to the stall were so friendly and outgoing, im not sure whether that just a difference in attitude or whether everyone was just pissed. Either way, we didn’t come across one dick head for the entire weekend. Everyone running the festival was a pleasure also, the security don’t get down your neck for every little thing, the sound and lighting tech were amazingly relaxed, they had stages with no crowd barriers, the entire festival sets the bench mark. I cant think of one British festival that ive been to or am familiar with that is run as smoothly as Groezrock even with so many restrictions’ not in place like in the UK. However they manage it, I don’t know, but they nail it and us guys at Big Deal had a fucking awesome time. I think we maybe had too much fun. My hand hurts.

It was definitely a shitter that we had to leave despite how much we needed sleep and a shower, it seemed others had partied just as hard as we ended up giving Set You Goals a jump start on the morning of our departure and tonnes of weary eyed festival goers dragging themselves out of the site. The entire weekend was a success, from getting the Big Deal name out there and on to peoples backs, to getting away with shit we shouldn’t have got away with to just partying harder than I think ive ever partied. A shout out to Monster Energy for sorting us out with the energy to carry on. A Massively huge shout out to the Big Deal Clothing crew, Phil , Danny, Marianne Harris, Te Ara and of course Dougie for being such awesome company and an even bigger shout out to Groezrock and its staff for putting up with us and showing us how its done Belgium style. I hope to be back next year.

Andi Scott Shaw

We Are Fiction -  www.facebook.com/wearefiction

Stay Young, Live Free! Www.bigdealclothing.co.uk (Taken with instagram)

[Competition] Tonight we start our competition on our Facebook Page to win a pair of Hit The Deck Festival tickets and a Big Deal Vest! Each night up to Friday 13th around 6pm we will ask you to do something to enter, Each time you do it you will get entered, so the more you do the more chance you have of winning! Tonight all you have to do is share this video PUBLICLY (if you don’t do it publicly we can not see you have shared it) and tell us your fav part of the video! Simple! Then come back on our page tomorrow night to see how you can enter again!

[Competition] Tonight we start our competition on our Facebook Page to win a pair of Hit The Deck Festival tickets and a Big Deal Vest! Each night up to Friday 13th around 6pm we will ask you to do something to enter, Each time you do it you will get entered, so the more you do the more chance you have of winning! Tonight all you have to do is share this video PUBLICLY (if you don’t do it publicly we can not see you have shared it) and tell us your fav part of the video! Simple! Then come back on our page tomorrow night to see how you can enter again!

Takedown Twenty Twelve - Via Andi Scott (We Are Fiction)

Takedown Twenty Twelve

After having 2 hours sleeps due to partying way to hard the night before, waking up at 6am to go to Southampton’s ‘Takedown 2012’ festival was a slight struggle.  However, it wasn’t long before myself and everyone around me suffering from potential Sunday morning hangovers still scraped together the remaining party demons inside to take on a long day of Big Deal Clothes, music, bands, models and shit loads of fun. 

The entire day was an absolute banger, with bands like Deaf Havana, Fei Comodo, Mallory Knox and many more tearing up stages across Southampton University in style that could be expected by bands currently touring the world.  Big Deal Clothing being a shoe-in on the UK’s ever expanding music scene and one of the most popular alternative clothing brands allowed for us guys running the stall to make some fairly easy sales with fans and bands alike coming into the stall and grabbing at the rails.  With a name like Big Deal and the association the brand has with some of the most talked about up and coming bands, days like this selling and running the stall are by no means work.  Infact, Im pretty sure I’d class it as a day of partying and hanging out with friends and some of the coolest dudes ive met!

The highlights of the day for me have to be the people coming into the stall.  I love chatting to everyone that comes in, and that goes especially for those at Takedown 2012!; asking what bands they’re seeing, asking what they think of Big Deal and generally just chatting about random bollocks. From the few times ive now helped run Big Deal ive made tonnes of friends which I now keep in contact with just because ive partied with them in the Big Deal tent and most likely attempted to make them leave wearing something from the rails.  Along with this, I love how comfortable people are in the tent to just chat away and even have a dance with us, with some of them even willing to just whip of their clothes and try shit on there and then with no hesitation.

Despite spending the majority of my time in the tent making sure everything is kept running smoothly, I also made sure I had time to see the festival, party with some people, spread some Big Deal love and see some of the awesome bands on the line-up. Even managed to catch up with some old friends like Marianne Harris as well as some friends ive met on my travels and in bands playing on the day. 

Takedown 2012 for me was one of the better ‘lesser known’ festivals ive been too, everything seemed to run smoothly with little to no unnecessary drama.  The people were fun, the staff were friendly, the venue was spacious and the food and drink was reasonably priced.  I’ll most likely go next year also, whether im helping Big Deal Clothing, playing in my own band We Are Fiction or even just buying a ticket and going for the party!

What Takedown Festival 2012 definitely goes to prove this year is that If any of you are ever about at a music, or even a non-music event and see a Big Deal Clothing tent. I strongly advise you come in and have a chat, whether you want to buy something or not, I’ll guarantee there will be someone in there worth talking to and game to have a laugh!

Andi Scott

We Are Fiction

www.facebook.com/wearefiction

Marianne Harris on…down time. That turns out not to be down time. (Or random catch up blog)

I vaguely feel like a stand up comedian trying to make a comeback (you know, the ones with velour lounge jackets and high pitched voices), but…HELLO! It’s been a while! How was your Christmas?? Oh wait, it’s already February..damn.

The last two months have been strange. Or just a bit different maybe. I’ve been busy, in fact I’ve been OFF MY FACE busy. Just not in the usual ways. My life for the last 5 years has generally been music, photography, bands, family, school (this is work btw, I’m not 15. Sadly), driving, editing, Myspace/Facebook. And music and photography have taken up the majority percentage of that time.

Things lately have been moving in different directions, and I kinda like it. I welcome it in fact. The bigger question is whether I have time to do all the things I want to be doing. Time is pushing me closer and closer to giving up my day job.

One of the things I’ve been doing is working for a local promotions company. Advance Promotions (look them up!) are no doubt one of the biggest independant regional promoters in the UK, and are the reason I’m a photographer full stop. A couple weeks ago I started working for them more officially. One of the things I’ve been doing is helping out with admin/press stuff for Takedown Festival Twenty Twelve, and I have to say I am loving it. There’s so many awesome things happening at this event! I can’t wait. www.takedownfestival.co.uk

I’ve also been spending MAD amounts of time with the bands I manage: Death of an Artist, We Start Partys, Housefires and The Valiant. I’m seriously happy with them, and there are damn cool things happening and/or in the pipeline. That’s like the classic thing to say right? Haha. But seriously, both DOAA and Housefires have releases out around Easter time. I think you should check them all out! 

In photography news I’ve got some shoots and events/shows coming up that I’m properly excited about. One of the best things about music is that it has this awesome ability to make age irrelevant, and I don’t feel stupid at all saying it gets me excited. If anyone finds a better word in the English language to describe how music makes you feel please let me know because ‘excited’ never seems to really do enough justice to how it actually affects me. But yeah, if you’d like to know where I’m going I’ve put up lots of dates on the Bandpage on my Facebook photography page. Can I just say that there are FAR too many good shows in February to choose from!

In Big Deal news, well we’ve been planning a shake up for a while, and it’s coming together nicely. News about some new bands will be posted up soon, but in the meantime we’re bloody stoked to be able to say we’re one of the sponsors for Takedown Twenty Twelve. Yes, go check out the lineup, it’s NUTS! Well for mad lovers of alternative rock and metal like me it is. Plus there’s some damn good pop punk/rock bands on it too. I’ve already booked my hotel (posh one right near the uni) so I hope everyone’s up for some partying after!

Finally, I’m having some surgery soon. BOO! Luckily it’s only a minor thing to remove a growing lump from one of my fingers, but you’d think it was a major thing judging by all the palaver. I have to go into a hospital theatre even though it’s only under a local anaesthetic, been told not to put any pressure at all on it for at least 2 weeks, and not to get it wet. And that it may well get infected anyway. Being a photographer and a mother, and that it’s the finger I take all the weight of my camera on, none of these things are doable or likey. Fun times!

Ok I think that’s all for now. Go grab a bargain from the Big Deal website…the sale’s been extended til the end of February. Wahoo! www.bigdealclothing.co.uk

Mar x

Couple of big deal bits popping up in the new @frontmag, the wristband we sponsored at @hevyfest and on the @uprawrbirmingham & @uprawrlondon advert (Taken with instagram)