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Thursday, 28 August 2008

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The Man Behind the "Rock Nation"

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nikhil.jpgThe music scene in Dubai is still on the 'cradle' stage. Like Dubai Lime's initiative to grow and encourage musicians in Dubai, there are people in the city who are trying to nurture the Dubai music scene. Nikhil Uzgare is one of these people - he organizes "Rock Nation" to prove that music and other form of entertainments are a very promising venture in Dubai.

Here's an interview with Nikhil Uzgare, the organizer of Rock Nation:

Tell us something about you.

Well my name is Nikhil Uzgare. I’ve been in Dubai for the past 5 years. My roots are Indian and I was born and brought up in Mumbai. I own an ad agency. The ad agency is called Hook Line and Sinker.

 

So, aside from being the owner of an ad agency. You are also a musician, has a band called Point of View and you been playing in the open mic with Dubai Lime – what other gigs you’ve done in the Dubai or UAE so far?

     I’ve been singing from the age of 9. My first song that I can say, put me on a singing career map was Harry Bela Fonte’s version of “Jamaican Farewell”. I remember winning a prize in school, for that one. I am a founder member of the band “Point of View”. I formed it along with a close friend and Point of View bass guitar player, Yohann Dsouza.

 

 

Lauren Whitby - Lead Fitness Instructor

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lauren2.jpgLauren Whitby - Lead Fitness Instructor

Lauren hailing from London in the UK is a Lead Military Bootcamp instructor and personal trainer.

Lauren is no soft touch.

Qualifying as a fitness instructor 3 years ago in London she decided to change careers from the music industry and head into the world of fitness after finding a skill in helping others feel motivated and enjoy exercising.

Teaching circuit training, body combat, core strength and body conditioning for the last two years in London, Lauren decided to move to Dubai a year ago and begin a new phase in fitness as a personal trainer.

Her highly motivational, tough and diverse training methods have seen her client base grow at a speeding rate.
Lauren's skills lie in explosive sports and combative exercise. A keen kickboxer Lauren intergrates her boxing and kick boxing skills into her clients schedules and regular workouts as well as outdoor training and running sessions come sun or more sun!

Lauren strives in keeping her clients motivated and confident with her friendly but stern London manner! Get enrolled into BootCamp Now !

 

Interview with David Newsum

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david_newsum.jpgIt's another week of summer heat and there's nothing we can do about it. However, this is perhaps a good time to talk to some people in Dubai and just chill out in an air-conditioned place.

This week, Dubai Lime catch up with David Newsum just to talk about his opinions about the radio shows, summer in Dubai and the entertainment scene in the city since he has been in this business for quite sometime now.

Tell us something about you and what do you do?
My name is David Newsum and I’m a DJ, Radio Presenter, Promoter and many other things.

What do you think of the entertainment scene in Dubai?
Its okay, nothing special though. Dubai’s got thousands of square miles of desert which is perfect for hosting parties and events and yet you just can’t get a license, i.e. DJ/Entertainer licenses, no dancers, 3am closing which I’m sad to say means Dubai will always have second rate nightlife compared to the rest of the world if you are a club person.

How can Dubai be improved in terms of entertainment?
Let concert venues, clubs & bars be built anywhere like warehouses, near offices etc. The two best venues Dubai has/has had are Chi @ The Lodge and the now closed IBO, both are privately owned and are away from hotels. If I have the money and want to build an amazing club in any other country I can find a building and convert it into a club as long as its not near a residential area. Now how many hotels have a spare 60,000 sq. ft. spare to build a club in?


Summer is coming what do you do?
Go and live in Hong Kong! Well ,that’s what I’m doing anyway!

Do you entertainment people ever see sunlight?
Looking down at my pasty white arms I’d have to say no. To be honest, there is nothing more dull than sunbathing. I get so bored after about 10 minutes of lying in the sun and the feeling of sweat dripping down my body I hate it! So, I use sun beds now - out in 8 minutes and you can do it at 9pm!!

What can you handle and what makes you twist?
A door I can handle and Elvis makes me twist; what sort of question is that?

What do you think of the radio shows in Dubai?
Where do I start. There are many good presenters here in Dubai however without listener figures it is difficult to care about making their show the best. A presenter in a market with listener figures could work their socks off making the most amazing radio show and when those figures come in at the end of the quarter they’ll be up and he’ll probably be rewarded financially by the station or be head hunted by a bigger station.

Here in the UAE, though there are no listener figures and so some people put little effort into making their shows great because there is no way of monitoring how well they are doing. Also the best shows are generally the ones that generate the most complaints. A joke always has someone or something that is being made fun of and someone will at some point get offended. Look at how popular Howard Stern is yet look at how many complaints he receives?

Presenters who open themselves up and give opinions are always going to make themselves easy unjustified targets. In more developed markets if a complaint comes in, there is a process they follow to see if there is any validity in the complaint which 99% of the time the authorities conclude there isn’t and you’ve just hit a raw nerve with someone.

In Dubai, there are no set rules and it depends on how your bosses are feeling on any given day or who has made the complaint as to if the presenter gets fired/punished or not. With a presenter who is making lots of jokes and being creative doing new things there are bound to be slip-ups, Humans aren’t machines. Ask everyone which would they prefer: radio where the presenter announces song names and tells the time but that’s about it or a presenter who does creative features, has fun, cracks jokes, makes you laugh and smile while listening but will occasionally go too far or let slip a swear word. I know I’d go for the later every time and I’m pretty sure most people would too. Sadly here in the UAE if you make one slip up your given the boot or punished which isn’t how radio should be as it leads to no presenters taking risk with creative new features pushing things forward.

Who are your influences?
I’ve always been a big fan of Johnny Vaughan since his Big Breakfast days. That would have been my dream job to present that show. Club DJ wise, Judge Jules helped me a lot in my early days and I have a lot of respect that he personally replies to every email he receives which is something pretty much no other DJ does (he gets about 1000 a week).  Also Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk as musical influences.

What does Abu Dhabi shout out to you?
I don’t normally talk to cities -:)

Have you heard any of the rumour’s about new entertainment laws happening in Abu Dhabi regarding DJ’s and bands?
Not in Abu Dhabi, however I’ve heard that they may be extending the opening hours on weekends in Dubai until 6am after Ramadan this year, although that could just be a rumor.

 ** Interview has been edited by Dubai Lime - Sorry David - We know what you really said though. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hanging out in Dubai

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pippa.jpgDubai is all about hard work during the day and party hard during the night. Andi M from Dubai Lime sets off on his new quest to talk to different people in Dubai who love to party and hang out somewhere. This week he chats with Pippa Jackson about her favorite place and the entertainment scene in Dubai.

What’s your name and where you from?

Pippa Jackson from Dorset, UK

What do you do in Dubai?

I’m a crazy party animal that works for a computer outsource company called Unlimited.

 

Any plans for the future?

Take it as it comes.

 


 

 

Stories of the People Behind the Counter

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Spending more time at Berts Cafe because of my work, made me an attentive connoisseur of people. From the people going in and out of the cafe after their meals and drinks, to the servers taking endless orders.  I don't know if you have been to Berts at the Marina in Dubai, it's a small coffee shop full of arty types that breeze in an out, working execs and of course the odd Lime team members. However, what grabbed my attention was the servers who always respond to the needs of others no matter how busy they are. Not to mention of course that they have to smile, listen and be polite to the patrons no matter how good or bad their day is turning out to be.

Perhaps no one bothers to ask them how they are doing since the servers are always running up and down with the food and drinks and sometimes we think of them as just part of the package. Also, the fact that we see them everyday in restaurants, bars, coffee shops etc., some of us I know can take the people serving us our tea and coffee, food, burgers and petrol forgranted.

With these reasons, I took few minutes of my time to talk to four hardworking crews at Berts Cafe, and listen to their stories for a change. Not them listening to mine and taking orders. 

 

 

 
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