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John Lennon
Educational Tour Bus to be unveiled!
2013 marks the unveiling of
a new non-profit John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, which was made
possible by the generosity and support of Yoko Ono Lennon. The bus
is dedicated to providing the young people of Europe with free
hands-on opportunities to produce original music, video, photo, game
app and broadcast projects within the bus's mobile recording
studios. This revolutionary program is made possible by
international companies such as Montblanc, Apple and Sony whose
contributions of state of the art equipment and funding underscore a
commitment to art, culture and education.
Yoko, along with special guests, will be in Liverpool for the
European launch of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus on Wednesday
8th May at the Museum of Liverpool. The event will be streamed live
for a global audience.
"The educational bus is a huge success in the USA. But John would
have been extra thrilled that it is now launching in Europe,
starting in Liverpool, his home town." – Yoko Ono Lennon.
Attendees will be able to preview this extraordinary vehicle before
it sets off on an exciting tour of the UK and Europe.
The bus will also be at the Yoko Ono curated Meltdown Festival on
the South Bank in London this June, amongst other soon to be
announced dates.
Yoko Ono Lennon adds:- "I'm so thrilled that the Educational
Tour Bus will be situated at Meltdown. All kids who are interested
in making music and learning how to use instruments in the recording
studio should come and make use of this freebie!"
Plans for Lennon Bus Europe have been evolving since the first US
Lennon Bus hit the road 16 years ago. Yoko Ono Lennon developed the
outreach project with Executive Director Brian Rothschild and
legendary music manager, David Sonenberg to provide young people
with access to state of the art studios as a way of inspiring them
to create original projects reflective of their ideas, values, and
creativity.
Like its original sister bus in the US, Lennon Bus Europe is staffed
by a crew of three producer/engineers, and will include stops at
local schools, colleges and festivals; providing free tours and
workshops in which young people produce original songs, audio
recordings, broadcast quality music videos and livestream events
using equipment from Apple, Sony, Avid, Gibson Guitars, Epiphone
Litepanels, Roland, Genelec, Neutrik, Thomann, SSL, Audio-Technica,
NewTek, Todocast by Globecomm, and more – all in one day!
The US Lennon Bus also has an illustrious history as a hit maker,
with chart topping singles from The Black Eyed Peas and Fergie
recorded on board. Continuing the tradition, the European edition
will invite name recording artists to participate, mentor students,
and utilise the facilities throughout its journey. The new larger
facility boasts 2 studio environments, robotic video cameras,
switchable glass doors that change from clear to opaque for privacy,
green screen production capabilities from Reflecmedia, Manfrotto's
Sky Track system for suspending lights, cameras, and speakers, and
the new upper level "Peace Deck" created for interviews, live music,
DJs, and bands.
Lennon Bus Europe is a unique one of a kind vehicle designed and
built by the Ketterer Truck Company, with studio integration
provided by Sony Professional Solutions Europe. Interiors were
created by designer Tom Junglas. Lennon Bus Chief Engineer, Jeff
Sobel worked closely with all parties to produce the perfect
environment for students and professionals alike.
The UK & European tour schedule and interactive map can be found
at:-
lennonbus.org, where visitors
can also see all of the content created on board. Plans are underway
to further expand the project to China and Japan.
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Commissioner
meets Policing Ministerm
LANCASHIRE'S residents had
their concerns about policing taken to the top today when the
county's Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw met with
Policing and Criminal Justice Minister The Rt Hon Damian Green MP.
The Commissioner had a meeting with Mr Green as part of the
Minister's day-long visit to Preston, and took the opportunity to
share what the public in Lancashire want to see from their police
force.
Clive Grunshaw said:- "I welcome the Minister's visit to
Lancashire and I am pleased to say it was a productive meeting where
we discussed a range of policing and crime issues. During my time as
Commissioner I have engaged with and listened to the public about
policing, and today's meeting enabled me to reflect the public's
views back to the Minister. We spoke about the budget cuts the force
is facing and I stressed the public expectations around visible
policing and neighbourhood policing and the need to maintain that in
the future, given the financial challenges we're facing. I told him
it is becoming increasingly hard to find the savings, but stressed
what a good job the police and partners are doing in Lancashire to
maintain performance and the importance of maintaining frontline
services."
During the meeting, which took place at Preston police station, the
Commissioner also discussed police reform and victims' services, and
thanked the Home Office for releasing funding for the new Central
Lancashire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, in Preston.
Clive Grunshaw added:- "I'm looking forward to working with
Damian Green on police reform and the wider criminal justice
partnership, especially around the importance of joining up services
to victims and maximising efficiency in the criminal justice
sector."
During his time in Preston the Minister also met with Lancashire
Constabulary's Chief Constable, Steve Finnigan, visited the City's
Magistrates' Court and went to HMP Preston.
MEP pledges backing for
e-cigarette responses
A North West MEP has
pledged to fight a bid to introduce new controls to restrict the
availability and strength of e-cigarettes.
Liberal Democrat Chris Davies says he has hundreds of letters from
constituents claiming that e-cigarettes have helped them stop
smoking tobacco.
E-cigarettes provide users with a nicotine boost similar to
conventional cigarettes, but contain no tobacco that is the cause of
smoking-related disease and premature death.
As nicotine is highly addictive the European Commission has proposed
new requirements that e-cigarettes should be classified as a
medicinal product and the nicotine content restricted.
But Davies, a member of the European Parliament's public health
committee, says that this would undermine their value as a means of
weaning hardened smokers off tobacco.
He wants them to be sold alongside conventional cigarettes and says
that former smokers are able to judge for themselves how much
nicotine to inhale.
Davies said:- "Many addicted smokers have written to tell me
of the difference that the availability of e-cigarettes has made to
their lives and their health. There's no doubt that nicotine is
addictive and light touch regulations are needed, but it is tobacco
that kills. Living is better than dying and the benefits of
e-cigarettes far outweigh any disadvantages they may have."
But Davies predicts an uphill battle to fend off the proposed new
regulations and urges users to make their views known to MEPs in
other parties.
A selection of the responses received by the MEP can be seen on his
website at:-
chrisdaviesmep.org.uk. |
