Author: Angi Baleta

I am the eternal optimist, the girl who carries my South Africa tattoo with pride, the girl who runs social media pages promoting the positivity of the country that burns its love into my soul but every day, inch by inch, my positive force is wearing thin. My heart is broken and my eyes fill with tears for my country that seems to have lost its way.  Tonight our President (who is far from deserving of the title) will deliver his State of the Nation address and Eskom have just advised us that there is a high probability of Stage…

This morning I awoke to the news that one of my ultimate actors and favourite people had chosen to leave this earth by taking his own life. Robin Williams has to be one of the funniest and incredibly talented people of my generation and my heart broke that at 63 he just could not continue. I have read so many comments regarding his state of mind and people expressing shock that someone who had the ability to make everyone around him happy could suffer so much that ending his life was the only answer. This is where it stuns me…

For those of you who have grown bored or have lost interest in the Oscar Pistorius trial, let me put it to you……. Where have you been in the last three weeks where this Trial has not come up in conversation? I don’t think any Hollywood writer could script this very tragic story. We have a man who, in the face of serious adversity, rose to fame. Oscar overcame his severe disabilities and the early loss of his mother to become the golden boy of South African Sports. We have a beautiful, young lady with a wide smile and an…

Being an avid Twitter user I am often the brunt of my friend’s jealousy for continually winning competitions and when I won two tickets to go see Jimmy Carr’s Gagging Order in Durban – it was probably one of the best competitions I have won. I won the tickets through Computicket and because it was a competition I expected our seats to be average and possibly near the nose bleed section at the Durban ICC. I was pleasantly surprised when picking up my tickets to see that we were seated just four rows from the front and yet the concern…

In a world of fake artists and bubblegum lyrics that any five year old could write, it is refreshing to find an artist who is not only true to herself but also incredibly talented; an artist whose lyrics make you believe the song was written for your life and whose melodies make your skin vibrate with happiness. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you DILANA! When I was introduced to her music about three months ago, she fast became my top female artist. The opportunity to interview DILANA was one I would never pass up.  Once it was arranged, I started doing…

The Mark Haze Band (formally known as 12th Avenue) are what I would term a genuine rock band. I know for many of you the name Mark Haze is synonymous with SA Idols 2011, but that isn’t all there is to Mark. The Mark Haze Band is made up of four talented musicians, namely Mark Haze (vocals and guitar), Bjorn Faree (guitar), Gareth Haze (drums) and Brian Lee (bass guitar). These four rockers are dedicated, hard-working and passionate about music. The road to success has been nothing less than bumpy, yet with the sheer determination and their belief in music,…

Picture the scene, a smoky room, you’re sat in a couch that envelopes you in and you’re sipping on your favourite whiskey.  There is a smoky blue haze and on stage a man is drawing out emotions from you, that you never knew existed.   The guitar is doing things that should not be possible and the voice is so sultry that it is all you can do not to weep with joy.  He is singing to you, for you and nothing else in the world is important at that moment.  This is how I felt watching Dan Patalansky play, except,…

Red Light Stereo have been rocking together for two and a half years. I had a chat to them. “Daydreaming” is one of the funkiest SA rock songs on our airwaves at the moment. Red Light Stereo is made up of Dylan Rhodes (vocals), Gareth Purchase (Lead Guitar), Donovan Blom (Drums) and Lliam Scholtz (Bass Guitar). Not just a four piece rock band, two of the band members, Dylan and Lliam are both studying their LLB and will soon be fully qualified Attorneys. Although they are both going to focus on the music rather than getting people out of jail; for…

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you would have seen or heard about the National Anthem mishap last night. Ard Matthews, founder and lead singer of Just Jinjer has been preparing for weeks for what he calls, “one of the greatest honours of my life”.  Ard was requested to sing the National Anthem at the Springbok World Cup squad announcement. He botched it up.  He froze and he forgot the words and let’s be honest here, how many of us, including some of the rugby squad, mumble the parts where we can’t pronounce certain words or they are beyond…