Neil is in a band with his 77 year old grandad Ken - Ken and Neil McDonnell. Playing 50s and 60s rock and roll. They’ve already made three albums in their first two years. Ken is a tough creative lead and has a clear vision of how he wants audio, image etc. for the band. He is motivated to be productive while he ‘still has his faculties’. Ken gave Neil his first guitar when he was 10, and ever since they’ve been jamming at family gatherings. There is a band with a parrot singer called Hatebeak. Chat about ALL the Black Sabbath covers bands - Mac Sabbath, Bat Sabbath, Zakk Sabbath. The joy of playing music together and bonding with your family. Big up Card Trick Music. Ken loves sending ideas for songs over WhatsApp, he doesn’t stop thinking about music and lyrics. Ken does not eat Werther’s Original, he still has too much to do in his life. Neil also plays ice hockey, for Chelmsford Reapers, but is a very gentle soul. Ken is also a very chilled guy. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles chat. Batman chat. Will Ken and Neil ever play a gig? Probably not. Ken has mostly been playing music for himself his whole life, apart from one song at Butlins. Nick has a good story about Stephen Mulhern. We talk about Take That, Clacton Butlins, Chelmsford Spectacular, Eurovision, Pitbull. Creating a digital record of older generations, recording songs and stories to listen to in the future. Neil’s Mum is deaf, and he loves that she can feel the vibrations of bass when he plays. Adelle’s picture has been on Lorraine for the Trans Is Human campaign - we're not worthy!

Ken and Neil on Instagram
Ken and Neil on Spotify

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK

What does an art director do? They make things look nice! Having visual ideas, organising photoshoots, video, social media, layouts, typography, Ben even designed the HEAT Magazine logo…. Ooooo! Telling the story visually is essential. The features editor will assign a celebrity and a small time frame to shoot images for the magazine. The art director has to have ideas, and arrange the photography shoot. A creative director will lead people on their team to come up with great ideas. How do you ask celebrities to do crazy things for photos on set? Working with Alan Carr and making silly photos. Finding a way to visually achieve things on a small budget - the DIY attitude - learned from skateboarding. Constraints make the best work. What do you do when a celebrity turns up and says NO to the ideas? How do you get 30 celebrities in the same picture at the National Television Awards? Ben thrives from pressure and short deadlines. Fixing photoshoots that didn’t go so well. Ben loves AI, any tool that allows him to create and experiment. Working with Katie Price is always fun. Navigating selects and approvals for photos on set. Ben wanted to be a musician and his band Elemental Child supported Oasis at Chelmsford Army & Navy! WOW! His school didn’t really encourage art, but he heard about Art College and did a Foundation Course. A great creative time in his life - the art foundation opens up opportunities to learn about all creative and arts disciplines - its a sandbox. A great place to meet other artists and creatives. Putting a giant Monster Munch in formaldehyde for art. Dealing with impostor syndrome as you progress in your career. Back-filling your artistic reasons for making something that looks good. Creatively hacking a final dissertation to do less work. Stick a horse on it! Being told ‘go create’ is the most amazing thing. Having self-belief but staying humble. Challenging yourself and thinking your best work is still ahead of you. Embracing AI in creativity. Nick and Ben LOVE AI! Using AI to make pottery. Being lied to by AI.

Ben on Instagram

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK

Furniture maker. Cabinet maker. Just don’t call him a carpenter! What does it all mean? Jim started out making cabinets next to Liam Howlett from The Prodigy’s house… that’s like Essex’s answer to Buckingham Palace surely! Jim started his creative journey polishing furniture, and then learned more about how to make it. When do you know you are ready to set up on your own and become self-employed? Applying craft, skills and unique materials to create bespoke cabinets on massive budgets for wealthy people. Jim also makes art from wood. Usually by identifying potential in knotted wood offcuts. He makes skulls from black walnut. Finding faces in ‘hairy’ wood. Jim built the bars at Hot Box and Radio City Social in Chelmsford, and even made beer pump handles from old skateboards. Jim made some hardwood skateboards at school. He went to art college for a bit, but it wasn’t for him. He made skateboard ramps and half pipes growing up. Jim’s favourite wood is Black Walnut. He loves the smell of Cedar - proving that he is not a moth. Celebrity trees from classic paintings. Growing interesting patterns in wood grain with mycelium. AND Sangita won a Panic Award for community spirit! Big up Queen Sangita!

Jim Rands on Instagram

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

Don't forget to like, subscribe, share and all the good stuff.

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK

MEFF ARMY! Singer and guitarist in the punk rock band The Meffs. Born and raised in Colchester. Going from playing Hot Box to 100 people to Alexandra Palace to 10000 people in just a few years - WHAT A LIFE! What is the optimal strategy for a pre-stage wee? Recording at Frank Turner’s studio on Mersea Island. How not to do gang vocals! WHAT!? What’s it like supporting Alice Cooper? And Primal Scream? When does a duo become a band, even if it’s two people? How does Lily get a huge guitar tone and make enough noise to not need a bassist - three amps! Is being the drummer the worst job in a band? No! Do bands need bassists? Lily plays a custom Gordon Smith guitar, how do you choose components? What does a luthier do? How does Lily still play guitar during crowd surfing? What is MEFF ARMY and how did the band get such a fanatical following? Why do The Meffs use a normal sized skateboard as their backdrop for small venues. The Meffs started in 2019 - then COVID slowed it down - things really kicked off in 2022. How weird were gigs at the end of COVID?! Talking about legendary Colchester venue The Twist. Gigs is exciting! Summer festivals. Confusing BabyMetal backstage. The Lily origin story - Horrible Dolphins and playing small venues in Essex. The Meffs first gig was at Chelmsford Bassment. What makes Essex bands so interesting, original and alternative? Farage Against the Machine! Finding inspiration from what’s happening around us. Punk is inclusivity. Representation at gigs. ‘Female fronted’ and tokenism in music. Big up Colchester Arts Centre and Anthony! Big up Unit 1 and Wayne! Big up Maniac Squat! Starting out DIY. Advice for young bands starting out and finding first gigs. Becoming a role model through music to make people feel comfortable expressing themselves and being themselves.

The Meffs on Insta
The Meffs website
The Meffs Bandcamp

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

Don't forget to like, subscribe, share and all the good stuff.

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK

Co-founder of Essex Witch Museum. Researcher, historian, marketing genius, and part of the creative force behind the project to bring Essex’s witch history to life. Everything Emma has ever done in her career is coming in useful on the journey to create a new museum. Adelle invents Witchipedia - let this be a permanent record. What is a ‘familiar’? It’s a demon in the form of an animal which will do their evil bidding. Like Satan the Cat/Toad/Dog. Who belonged to Agnes Waterhouse. Sent after a neighbour for not giving them any cheese. Witch trials happened on Tindal Square in Chelmsford. Essex was once known as Witch County because of the number of trials that took place - take that Salem! What is the difference between ‘the cunning folk’ and witches? How a German book ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ by Heinrich Kramer and the invention of the printing press spread witch spotting fever - reaching Essex. Hopefully the museum will help educate people so we don’t make the misogynistic mistakes of the past - museums are important for reflection. Persecutory words like ‘witch’ can be so loaded and powerful due to history. Some people accused of witchcraft were imprisoned in Colchester Castle awaiting trial. A lot of people living today could have been accused of witchcraft back in the day. Researching original documents is difficult, many are written in Latin with cursive script, but because the Essex Records Office holds so many detailed documents, it provides invaluable insights and records of the time. To date the Essex Witch Museum have researched and recorded 909 indictments in Essex. They need more volunteers to help look through the records. Nick also talks about smelling Brad Pitt. Adelle has been the face of Westfield for Trans Day of Visibility.

Essex Witch Museum
Essex Witch Museum on IG

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK

Writer, spoken word artist, journalist, DJ, historian, researcher, poet, slam poet, life-long student. Peter deGraft-Johnson is The Repeat Beat Poet, aka PJ, and Mr. Loose Egusi (his afrobeat DJ name). Talking about flâneurs, Argentinian funk, plumbing, and other random things. Slam poetry is a fake-competitive parlour game of poetry, where two poets go head to head in front of a very vocal and involved audience. The line between poets and rappers has gotten thin. Poetic writing can elevate theatre, drama, film, music - The right words, in the right order, being delivered in the right way. We feel faster than we can think. Poetic constructs can deliver emotions and meaning. How the church and spirituality forged PJ’s creativity. Music in the church was formative, recorder, clarinet, piano, jazz piano, drums, percussion, guitar, singing, saxophone. Bill Legend from the famous rock band T-Rex taught PJ drums. Essex legend Scroobius Pip was a big inspiration for PJ’s writing, also Kae Tempest, Saul Williams and East-coast 90s hip hop. How George Bush’s foreign policy inspired the ten year old PJ’s first poetry. A poem isn’t finished until it’s read aloud and responded to. The struggle to make poetry a full time job and income. Why did he have to go to London to find the poetry scene he wanted? Re-discovering your birthplace, and the city you grew up in. Big up Chelmsford Forgotten facebook group. A yacht getting stuck in Chelmsford viaduct united the city in comedy. Big up Thirst Drinks Syndicate, Matt Chinnery and Danny Bounce playing African music on vinyl with PJ at Loose Egusi - the name itself is a triple pun, too much for our humble brains! If you’re interested in poetry, speak to teachers at school (if you’re young), find a local poetry night, or look online to watch videos. Sangita is going to write some poetry and perform at Waxes Lyrical - Ethan she has committed! PJ reads his poem about Chelmsford ‘Questions for my City’ which is on display at The Meadows shopping centre Chelmsford.

Repeat Beat Poet
Loose Egusi

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

Don't forget to like, subscribe, share and all the good stuff.

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Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK

This is the way! Cosplay is when you dress as a popular character from film, TV, games. Cosplayers usually start by buying costumes, and then realise it’s cheaper and more fun to make your own and customise it. Emily is involved with Chelmsford Takeover with Essex Cosplayers and Chelmsford For You. The whole town centre gets taken over by characters and vehicles, with chances to learn about craft and meet creators, and get selfies with RoboCop (next event Saturday 12th April 2025). Featuring the famous cosplay conga, where you can see George Lucas (not the real one), Transformers, Star Wars characters and White Walkers all partying down Chelmsford High Street. Emily’s most famous character is Bo-Katan from The Mandalorian, badass strong female role model character played by Katie Sackhoff. Emily’s helmet is 3D printed and then hand painted and finished, with added interior foam padding (a washing up sponge). For Star Wars there are a lot of 3D models available to buy and print yourself, and Etsy has a lot of cosplay cutting guides. Emily’s latest creation is Dame Aylin from Baldur’s Gate 3, which has massive angel wings and armour - made from polythene underlay for flooring and EVA foam. YouTube is your friend for research for materials, templates and builds. Polyprops is a great website for EVA foam - cut it, heat gun it into shapes, stick it. Costumes take a lot of work, Emily’s latest was 3 months working all day every day. Emily updated Bo-Katan with furry ears to join a furry meetup - cosplay fun is encouraged! Cosplayers can occasionally get called in to work on the movie and TV franchises they love - as creators and as background actors (like the 501st for Star Wars). Nick goes on a long monologue about RoboCop - sorry. Emily only started cosplay in lockdown, she started face painting, then dressing up on Twitch streams (Ciri from Witcher III: The Wild Hunt), doing TikTok dances, and following motivation from positive feedback the cosplay escalated. Cosplay is very hard to make a career from - for most it’s a hobby or a side-hustle. Doing cosplay you stealth learn so many varied creative skills. Cosplay is a supportive community, reach out to people to ask them questions about their craft. Nerdiness is becoming much for accepted and trendy in society. How to compete at cosplay competitions. Cosplay secrets: They get dressed in the Comic Con carpark! How gory can you go in cosplay before it’s unacceptable?

Emily on Instagram
Emily on TikTok
All Emily's links
Essex Cosplayers
Chelmsford Takeover

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

Don't forget to like, subscribe, share and all the good stuff.

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Send comments, questions, or suggestions for fascinating creative people in Essex give us a shout on our Instagram

Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK

Competitive story writer, namer, brander, and editor/designer of Menticulture magazine. Overall creative legend, and nicest bloke in Essex. Originally from the glorious hill of Danbury. Ben trained as a graphic designer as a mature student. Now he runs his own naming and brand agency The Identity Bureau. Naming is finding what a company is going to call themselves. A name that’s memorable and describes the company. A good name should be easy to say, easy to spell, easy to remember. Company names have the most brand longevity, outlasting multiple logo refreshes etc, so it’s super important to get right. Namers work through about sixteen points to make sure they get to a good name that scores ticks on the list. Why changing the name Twitter to X was a bad move because they lost brand equity. Having a rigorous process, but also when to trust your gut instinct to judge creativity. Ben has created Menticulture magazine, which is a bit like a printed version of this podcast, all about creativity in Essex! Oi oi! It is printed on a risograph in bright pink and black on cartridge paper at Colchester Maker Space. The importance of proofreaders. What is an interrobang‽ Nick has a story about how his logo design ended up in a shocking discovery online. Ben partakes in short story writing challenges for microfiction, writing under time constraints with a genre, a word to use, and an action that needs to be included. What the competitors write in 24 hours is fascinating. Ben reads his 100-word (a drabble), 24 hour short story ‘Remember Bees Dad?’. Check out the NYC Midnight website for details of the next challenge.

Identity Bureau
Id Bureau on Insta
Menticulture Magazine
NYC Midnight

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam at Lawker Media, Chelmsford, ESSEX
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

Don't forget to like, subscribe, share and all the good stuff.

Follow our Instagram for latest news and behind the scenes photos

Send comments, questions, or suggestions for fascinating creative people in Essex give us a shout on our Instagram

Thanks to NGDA for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK