I have decided to write an article rather than an interview in my magazine because I find that articles are more informative to the reader. Despite my target audience liking less text as possible in a magazine, i thought that because the featured band are a teenage band, the information in the article may relate to them therefore they would want to read it.
Being in a teenage all girl band in a male dominated industry can't be easy for the new and upcoming band from London. However, being all girls doesn't stop Right Hook Ruin having some serious fun.
Right Hook Ruin, a four piece alternative band from London aged 16-17 are new on the London music scene. Despite their youth, the band have already played venues such as the Camden Barfly and O2 Academy Birmingham. And after supporting Kill Casino back in October, the girls say they're ready for bigger and better things.
"We feel 2010 is our year, we're going to be the up and coming band that everyone's talking about" states vocalist Vix Allaway with confidence. The singer, 17, from Woodside Park has no doubt that they'll make it big in the future. Not only does her confidence reflect in her body language, but in the way she performs on stage with her fellow band mates.
The four piece formed at The London Rock Academy in South Kensington back in 2007. All four angst-ridden girls had the same thing in mind, they wanted to form a band and be famous.
"I found out about the academy through school and I mentioned it to TJ and she came along one day and then we got placed in a band with Vix and Sian and there was this instant connection between us, we all knew what we wanted" says drummer Billie - the youngest of the group.
"I don't think people really expect much from us being a girl band, and when they hear our stuff they're literally blown away," says bassist Sian. And she couldn't be more right. In a male dominated industry, the slightest mention of a girl band is just laughed at. We stereotype females in the music industry as having very little or no talent at all, we just assume they lip-sync and sing other people's songs. Right Hook Ruin, being one of the few exceptions aim to show not just London, but the world what girl power can really do. "I think we might stand a chance, as we're an all girl band who can actually play instruments rather than lip-sync!"
In 2008 the band recorded a 4 track demo at the Imperial College studios. The way the songs have been recorded emphasize the vocal line and powerful lyrics.
"It was the first time we've all ever really properly recorded we were so nervous!"
The band hope to release their songs Scrape on the knee and Feisty Mandy as singles in the near future. Scrape on the knee is a calm song about a dysfunctional relationship, the lyrics of the chorus are "give and take" which represents a person's unhappiness about a relationship being uneven and how a person feels like they're giving it their all and they're getting nothing back. Whereas Feisty Mandy, a song based on a “slag from hackney" contrasts greatly not only on what the songs about, but the musical elements too. Scrape on the knee features one powerful guitar riff that completes the song. The verse is based around 3 broken chords which slots together perfectly with the vocalist's soulful sound. The chorus is based around the same chords but are strummed to create a beautiful harmony in the major key. Feisty Mandy is slightly more complex with a descending scale of power chords that are harshly played which fit with the harsh sound, lyrics and the image of the band. The band has been described as “20th century grunge/noise pop” which reflects in this song.
The band has a rather unique and interesting sound; the vocals will be the first thing to strike you. They are fluent and soulful and could be compared to Kate Nash, which clashes with the look and attitude of the band. The actual songs are memorable and filled with melodic heavy riffs that scream teen angst and could even be described as The Spice Girls gone wrong. The band has been compared to Blood Red Shoes and Paramore because both bands have female vocalists.
"It's nice to be compared to Blood Red Shoes, as last year they were only just starting out really so it gives us hope for the future"
Rowland Rivron have described them as "Hook by name, hook by nature" Which couldn't be more true. I feel this group has definite promise and their sound could definitely dominate 2010. They have a very unique yet modern look which definitely fits with their style of music.
"It sounds stupid when people ask you what you want to do in the future, and your reply is rock star but it's really what we want to do"
The girls have yet to release an official demo/CD but Right Hook Ruin say that 2010 is their year.
This is my mockup for my first double page spread. I have used several DPS conventions such as, slug, caption, main image, article, page number and by line. My image is slightly over half the page so it crosses the gutter. My article title follows the third rule, it is slightly off centre to show the informality. 
This is one of my double page spread drafts. I have stuck to the colour scheme of pink black and white which features on my front cover so this avoids confusion and complexity for my target audience. I have chosen bright colours because it will attract my target audience. I have chosen bright pink because my featured band is a girl band and i'm sticking to stereotypes, codes and coventions to appeal to more people. My header is entitled "Spice girls gone wrong" This will attract people who like the Spice Girls. My image of the drummer and vocalist. I have asked them to pose like this because it shows anarchy and rebellion and they look quite angry which relates to the stereotype of teen angst. This will appeal to teens as they too will be experiencing a phase of rebellion, it may even influence them to start their own girl band. I have stuck to a number of double page conventions. I have used a slug and a caption in the top left hand side of the image. A slug is a short snappy bit of writing at the top corner of a magazine. In this case it's entitled "news" This will tell the reader that this section of the magazine is based on news. To fill the space under the article i decided to use other images i have of Right Hook Ruin. I have added a grungy polaroid picture effect to meet the needs of my target audience. I have added an introductory paragraph as it is a double page spread convention. I have decided to include this because it gives the reader an insight to what they are reading before they decide to read the entire article. It also fills the space above the image. I have made the text slanted to show informality. I have quite a lot of white space in my image, I have edited it this way to avoid the page looking too busy, this caters for my target audience as they have a short attention span and if the page is too busy they won't absorb all of the information. I have added a page number at the bottom right hand corner of the page. This will tell readers what page they are on. I have also added the magazine name next to the number. I thought this would look better than just having a number. I have used the same font as the masthead on the front cover. It's also in a bigger font so teens will prefer to read this. I have used grungy brushes from photoshop to emphasize that the band are grungy. I have used these as backgrounds for text and my page number. 
This is a mockup of one of the double page spread that i am designing. I have set it out so it follows the eye flow rule. The reader will see the header first, then read the introductory text, then see the image, and the read the article. I will use grungy shapes to meet the needs of my target audience. I will include a slug and caption as they are double page spread conventions and will inform the reader about the magazine. I have added supporting images to fill the space and my target audience prefer more images than text.
