The Bulletin: Arts & Culture Roundup | 29 November

HUMAN IS NOT ALONE RAISES THOUSANDS FOR MARIE CURIE
Back in September, we published a feature about Human Is Not Alone, a charity compilation and series of benefit gigs organised by Laeto drummer Robbie Cooper, who wanted to give something back to Marie Curie Cancer Care, who have helped him during his ongoing battle with cancer. The shows were a roaring success, raising over £3,000 for the charity.

Murray Easton, Fundraising Manager for Marie Curie Cancer Care, offered some thoughts on the project today: "The Human Is Not Alone shows and the merchandise sales have raised a great amount of money for the charity," he writes. "They’ve also done much, much more. They have been a great example about the power of friendship and the therapy that can be offered by music. I was at the Glasgow show and the sense of community and goodwill in Stereo was incredible. Chris Cusack from Bar Bloc worked incredibly hard to make this happen to support his friend Robbie Cooper and Marie Curie. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in this extremely positive project. It has been a genuine pleasure to meet and work with Chris and Robbie."

Now, Cooper and Marie Curie have released a video discussing the compilation, the concerts, and Cooper's experience of staying in a Marie Curie hospice. Watch it in full below – and if you want to donate to the project, the compilation album is still for sale here.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE UNVEIL AWESOME XMAS JUMPER (NSFW)
Remember Slayer's awesome Christmas jumper? It was pretty much the coolest thing in forever, that is until Queens Of The Stone Age stole their march this week, with a traditional Christmas pullover with an NSFW twist.

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The jumper is available from the Rekords Rekords store. Get Santa heavy telt!

ON TOUR: ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT
Rocket From The Crypt have confirmed they have a new album in the works, produced by none other than Dave Grohl. The 50s-styled rockers are touring the UK as we speak, coming to Manchester's Gorilla on 1 December, and Glasgow's The Classic Grand on 3 December. The band will be releasing a set of six limited edition 7" vinyl singles to commemorate the tour – and on Tuesday, the day of the Glasgow gig, we'll have an EXCLUSIVE stream of one of the tracks, a cover version of a song by Gerry Rafferty (can you guess which one?). The band are incendiary live – grab tickets while you still can!  Here's a RFTC classic.

RON REYES FIRED FROM BLACK FLAG
Seminal punk band Black Flag reformed twice this year, and perhaps that was their first mistake. Harsh words and accusations of scene-stealing being levied since the announcement of the revived Black Flag, masterminded by Greg Ginn, and featuring Ron Reyes on vocal duties, began to clash in public and even in court with FLAG, an alternative Black Flag reunion featuring Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena, Bill Stevenson, and Stephen Egerton. First, Ginn's band began referring to Morris & co. as "fake" in their press releases. Then, Ginn lost a legal challenge to prevent FLAG from performing Back Flag songs. 

This week, things came to a head with the departure from Black Flag of Ron Reyes, who was the singer in the original band's 1979 lineup. Reyes, in a post on Facebook, seemed to indicate that he had been fired while on-stage. "Mike V comes on stage stares me down, takes my mic and says 'You’re done, party’s over get off it’s over…'" Reyes relates.

Reyes goes on to criticise Ginn, painting him as dictatorial and vain: "I refuse to treat someone like an infallible Pope figure," Reyes writes. "No guitarist deserves such unquestioning blind devotion." His rant continues, and even includes an apology to the members of FLAG: "I truly apologize for being in or more accurately 'appearing' to be in competition with FLAG. They know my heart on this matter. From the beginning I was happy for them and fully supported and understood why they would want to rock those songs and have a good time with friends and family."

With Black Flag's new album, featuring Reyes' vocals, due to drop next week, the future of the band seems uncertain, although Reyes also speculates that Mike V may take over vocal duties. FLAG have not issued a statement on Reyes' departure. Read Reyes rant in full here. Here's some Rollins-era Black Flag from the archives.

SCOTTISH FILM IN TROUBLE?
This week, the Scotsman published details of a leaked report from Creative Scotland on the health of the Scottish film industry, aiming heavy criticism at the BBC, ITV and even itself over the failure to invest in and support the current crop of Scottish film-makers. 

The report offers damning evidence of a shortfall in funding and investmet in the sector, echoing comments made by filmmaker Gillian Berrie in our recent feature on Scottish film. "Many contributors cited a lack of infrastructure, investment and development funding as causing a loss of talent to other areas and countries where there is a more vibrant sector," says one section of the leaked document. "Many commented on the reliance of film production in Scotland on lottery funding, rather than Scottish Government funds, and saw this, alongside the requirement to make a return on investment to Creative Scotland, as indicating film is treated differently from other art forms."

"The last cluster of successful Scottish films before the current batch dates from the mid-late 1990s," the report continues. "While there is no guaranteed formula for a hit film, Scotland needs to make more films if it wants to produce more hits. Setting a target to produce significantly more – say, 12 in five years’ time – might be a useful approach.”

Again echoing Berrie, the report also mentions the lack of a Scottish studio as a major setback for the industry, and draws attention to the challenges faced not only by film-makers, but by Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Glasgow Film Festival as well. Read the article in full at The Scotsman.

FESTIVAL WATCH: FIELD DAY, ATP ICELAND, BOOK YER ANE FEST
A quick round-up of festival news: Field Day 2014 (7-8 Jun) have announced their Sunday headliner - returning rock giants Pixies will head up the 2-day performance in London's Victoria Park, with more acts to be announced soon. Details and tickets here. Here's a podcast from the Field Day organisers,including an interview with the current Pixies line-up.   

As it prepares to call time on its UK festivals, the All Tomorrow's Parties organisation have announced that they will hold a festival in Iceland next year for the second time. The date in July is yet to be confirmed, but they have announced a headliner – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. You can already order Earlybird tickets here.

Finally, up in Dundee, Book Yer Ane Fest returns for the seventh year running, with gigs from DIY punk bands at Kage nightclub running all through today, tomorrow and Sunday. Check the lineup here for full details.

GEORGE R.R. MARTIN & CAST DISCUSS GAME OF THRONES
And finally, a between-seasons treat for Game of Thrones fans – series creator George R.R. Martin is joined on stage by actresses Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) and Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark) at the Sydney Opera House, to talk about the series, its themes, its characters, and its phenomenal global success, both in print and on TV. Cancel your plans for the next hour and get comfortable!