leading on your... feature.

Photos by Sam Javanrouh, who I really ought to email asking if I can use his photos so much.
NB: I haven't actually transcribed my interview all the way through, so these quotes might not be exactly worded. That'll be fixed in a couple days at the latest.


One--descriptive

There's always music playing in Waterloo Records, at just the right level for listening, loud enough so you can't hear the other shoppers and quiet enough to concentrate. Four employees stand near the cash registers, chatting while their eyes casually follow the few customers milling about, working their way through the near-endless rows of CDs and LPs. The air is lightly scented with the smell of vinyl, new and old. It's a music fan's nirvana.
"I've wanted this job since I was a teenager," Matt says, scanning the store fondly. Now in his thirties, Matt is the manager of Waterloo Records.

King Street East at Ontario

Two--descriptive also 

All of Waterloo Records is divided into two parts. 
Wander through door, the logo hand-painted onto the glass. In one half of the store, rows and rows of CDs sit with their titles exposed. Pieces of blue paper flag employee picks with hand-written descriptions and recommendations. On the other, rows of LPs rest in their dust covers. Some sit in racks, some in bins. The smell of vinyl compliments the music pipped throughout the store. It's a homey sort of place, especially to the music lovers who have flocked the store since it opened in '82.

Sherbourne Queen Pedestrians Crossing

Three--direct quote

"Nirvana played here, too, over where the cash registers are. It was packed." Matt, a thirty-something-year-old music fanatic and manager of Waterloo Records, indicates a corner of the store with a wave. It's easy to see he loves his store as much as the music collection it contains. Rows upon rows of CDs and LPs sit arranged by genre, artist, employee preference and price, creating a maze of music punctuated with DVDs, hats, and kitchen utensils shaped like guitars. Music and the scent of vinyl fill the air, while music lovers are scattered across the floor. 

 

Adelaide Princess

So yeah. Comment or whatever.

'Kay thanks bye.

Literaturely yours,

IBI

Clyde's Feature Leads

Narrative:
It's a sweltering summer day on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas. Every time a car comes rumbling down the busy street, you want to scream in pain as the hot blast of exhaust crawls across your skin, raising the temperature around you to at least boiling. The spicy scent of Thai food from the food trailers across the street is making your eyes water and you are pretty sure even your fingernails are sunburned. Nearly blind and scrambling for shelter, you tumble into the nearest doorway. It creaks open with a tinkle of bells and suddenly you're face-to-face with a display of peacock feathers standing in a cool, dimly-lit room that smells like the sweet spices of Thanksgiving. Your sigh of relief quickly turns into a gasp as you catch sight of the racks and racks of lovely, unique vintage clothing that surround you.

Descriptive:
A tangle of antique gold necklaces clang softly against shiny mile-long strings of pearls. Old floorboards creak under scuffing footsteps. The musty smells of cinnamon and well-loved clothes fill the air, drifting on the gentle breeze that wafts in through the glass door, making the many peacock feathers scattered throughout the store wave like hands, greeting the few customers stylish enough to know of this store's existence.

Compare/Contrast (or pathetic last effort):
For some people, getting dressed is just a matter of fitting in, finding things that match (maybe) and don't look too much like you're wearing a trash bag. But, for others, it's an adventure, an opportunity to put on a costume and become someone you can only wish you were. These people are easy to spot with their sequin jackets, lace up boots, and shoulder-length feather earrings. And of course, many of them can be found at Feathers.

OMO's Feature Leads

ONE - descriptive: Sunlight spills in from the windows, illuminating the otherwise dark room. An earthy-toned painting of a cup rests above the sofa, hanging simply without a frame. It is mid-day, and the house is bustling with activity. A young boy cantankerously enjoys his Star Wars video-game, leaping around the living room with a game controller. Outside, a man in his thirties bends over a green Toyota, intently repairing it. A metal garden frog calmly regards his endeavors from the grassy lawn. This is the home of marketing director Christina Bennett, who manages the advertising and communications aspects of the Austin-based company, Survey and Mapping (SAM).

TWO - sort of descriptive, sort of my last resort: Christina Bennett must create. She says, "I discovered that making things is like a critical component to my well-being, to being happy in myself and what I do." As the marketing director at an Austin-based surveying company, she is responsible for making sure their clients are content. But at home, she has more freedom to produce whatever she wishes.

THREE - narrative-ish: She designs, she creates, and she...manages the marketing department of a surveying company? Christina Bennett graduated from the design program at UT, intending to work as designer. Somehow, life has led her astray from her semi-original intention. But she's cool with that. Christina thoughtfully remarked, "I mean, if I had to do it all over again, I would still do the exact same thing I did, even though I’m not a graphic designer or an art director..."

~ OMO

EJE Leads

Here are some of my leads. I guess:

Descriptive:

1) Already at his drums, Suren de Saram of Bombay Bicycle Club waits for the rest of the band to come on. The small crowd of hipsters cheers when every guitar is tuned and Jack Steadman begins to quietly sing, gaining energy with each note. By the end, he's headbanging during Jamie MacColl and Ed Nash's guitar and base solos. After, many of the listeners offer to buy him drinks, but he declines, as the musician of five years is not even of legal age.

Now and Then:

2) Five years ago, Bombay Bicycle Club meant a bicycling group in India. Five years ago, Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash were 15 and in high school. Five years ago, these four boys had no idea they'd be traveling to different music festivals around a foreign country to perform.

But now they're living their once teenage dream, just like many other artists who were once playing in their mom's garage.

3) Five years ago, The Canals walked onto stage at their school; it was just another school talent show. The four boys making up The Canals weren't attempting to be a band, they only wanted to play the instruments they loved.

Now, the four young men are still playing the instruments they love, they're just doing it under the name Bombay Bicycle Club and for their over one hundred thousand fans around the globe.

Here's what I really want to do, but kinda is not what you're supposed to:

Imagine what it's like to be hit by a bus while riding your bike on a river and die.
Jack Steadman has to imagine too. He's just the lead singer in the British band, Bombay Bicycle Club, not Jesus.

Since the beginning of time, there have been hippos. But not really, we don't care about hippos here. We just care about Bombay Bicycle Club, an indie band from Britain.

Oxygen has 8 protons. Jack Steadman, lead singer of the British band Bombay Bicycle Club, breathes oxygen. He's just like us.

Against all odds, Jack Steadman has survived the black plague. He wasn't alive then when it was a pandemic though, he's alive now and in a band!