Emma Van Duyts
Obi-Wan Kenobi / Queen Bee / The Boss
AKA: Emizzle Van Dizzle, EVD
About Me:
My publicity career began in the press department of Warner Bros Records in 1994 under the guidance of PR legend Barbara Charone and continued my career with Andy Prevezer.
At WB, I had the privilege of working with some of the biggest and best bands on the planet. From Green Day (Dookie - American Idiot), Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory and Meteora), Taking Back Sunday (Louder Now), and Glassjaw (Worship & Tribute) to a diverse range of acts such as William Orbit, Bootsy Collins, Jaheim, E-40, The Walkmen, Avenged Sevenfold, Jonathan Richman and many more.
I set up Public City in June 2007 and spearhead the publicity campaigns for the incredible artists on our roster such as Deftones (since the release of Adrenaline), UNKLE, Mastodon (Blood Mountain onwards), Henry Rollins (since 2007), Parkway Drive (since 2007), Public Enemy, Nova Twins, Beartooth (from the very beginning) and Good Charlotte among others.
Enjoys:
DODGEBALL, Collecting sneakers, comics, Star Wars, Masters of the Universe toys, graffiti art prints, hanging with my dog MJ, going to shows, watching movies, baking cakes!
Favourite Bands/Artists:
Deftones, Public Enemy, Jane’s Addiction, Mastodon, glassjaw, Prince, N.W.A, 2 Live Crew, A Tribe Called Quest, Taking Back Sunday, The Cure, Parkway Drive, UNKLE, Chromeo, Cypress Hill, Hall and Oates, Ice Cube, Barkmarket, Schoolboy Q, Rival Schools, Faith No More, Stone Temple Pilots, Run The Jewels, Sam Cooke, Team Sleep, Childish Gambino, Idiot Pilot, Black Flag, Snoop Dogg, Head Automatica, LL Cool J, De La Soul, Michael Jackson, Depeche Mode, Palm Reader, Jeff Buckley, He Is Legend, Against Me!, Phil Collins, Michael MacDonald, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Quicksand, Will Haven, Kid ‘n Play, DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, Eric B. And Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, LIZZO, Kendrick Lemar, Bad Rabbits, Q-Tip, Every Time I Die, Otis Redding, George Michael, Notorious B.I.G, Fever 333, Bad Brains, †††, letlive.
Favourite Books/Graphic Novels:
Get in The Van - Henry Rollins, Black Coffee Blues - Henry Rollins and books about graffiti and photography. I’m also super busy, so Audible is my best friend.
Favourite Movies:
Back to the Future, Bill and Ted ( Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey), Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Ichi the Killer, Heathers, Point Break, New Jack City, Boyz In The Hood, Grandma's Boy, The Wedding Singer, Mr Deeds, The Matrix, CB4, The Goonies, Dodgeball, Akira, Grease, Calamity Jane, Spiderman, Mean Girls, Elf, Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore, Planet of the Apes, The Wedding Crashers, The Notebook, Transformers, Green Book
Favorite Food:
Sushi, Tacos, Nandos, In-n-Out and all the coffee.
Podcasts:
Star Talk with Neil Degrasse-Tyson, Hollywood Babble-On with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman, SWIM with Daniel P. Carter, Distraction Pieces with Scroobius Pip, Life In The Stocks, Riot Act, Huddled Masses, Script Apart, The Last Podcast On The Left, Off The Beat & Track.
Favourite Cartoons:
Adventure Time, He-Man & The Masters of the Universe, Thundercats, Robotech, Battle Of The Planets and pretty much any Manga film or series!
Favourite Quote :
“Be excellent to each other”
Hayley Codd
Princess of Plugging / Head of National Radio and Television Promo
AKA: H, Hales
After graduating from Manchester University with a degree in Multimedia Journalism, I moved to London where I began my plugging career at LD Promotions. My roster included The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Gary Numan, Iron Maiden and Fun Lovin’ Criminals, amongst many others. I also worked a plethora of events in my time there, including The Brits, Kerrang! Awards and The Q Awards.
After 2 years I moved on to All About Promotions, where I worked with the likes of Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, Reel Big Fish and Gym Class Heroes. After a few years, I made the decision to set up my own national TV and Radio company, joining forces with regional PR company Chuffmedia. After 3 successful years at Chuff, here I am now!
Enjoys:
Music (well, obviously) , Psychology, Thai-Boxing , Neuro Linguistic Programming , Travelling (anywhere I haven’t been and back to the old favourites - God bless Ryanair!)
Favourite Artists:
I like all sorts but I’m a rock girl at heart. Placebo, Green Day and Blink 182 have been consistently at top of the pile. I also love The Prodigy, Muse, All American Rejects, Billy Talent, Nine Inch Nails and System of A Down.
Favourite Books/Graphic Novels:
Love books with a psychological slant, or based on a true story. The Game is a favourite.
Favourite Movies:
All the usual classics plus a great deal of blood and guts usually works for me. Classics including blood and guts are clearly the best.
Favorite Food:
Curry and Thai. Preferably cooked for me
Favourite Quote :
Got loads but I always seem to forget them. Like jokes. Guess they cant be THAT good after all?!?
Siobhan Connor
Publicist
AKA: Siobhan lends itself to plenty of nicknames, ha! Shaz, Shiv, Shivvy.....even Sharon, I’ve probably had them all.
I started my PR career when I moved to London for university and picked up some valuable internships alongside my studies; I spent a lot of time running from university to the office and on to shows or festivals in the summer, all to be back in time to start my bar shifts at night.
After a brief foray into the world of fashion PR where I worked with clothing brands including HYPE, Nicce and Money after graduating, I found myself deep in a world of global festivals, charity initiatives and music-focused brand activations at Zeitgeist. There I worked with major festivals; Slam Dunk, Reading & Leeds, Rock Werchter, Pukkelpop and Snowbombing, actualised the campaign for #IAMWHOLE’s Music 4 Mental Health, oversaw publicity for Dr Marten’s Boot Room which played host to Idles and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, and lead an influencer campaign for Barcelona’s Primavera Sound which included trans model/activist Munroe Bergdorf and Chicken Shop Date creator Amelia Dimoldenberg.
I had an opportunity to dip my toes into the comedy industry when I joined Gaby Jerrard PR and subsequently worked with some incredible comics and writers including Big Mouth creator Nick Kroll, Netflix’s Daniel Sloss, Nick Offerman, Taskmaster champion Mark Watson, Sofie Hagen, Jamali Maddix to name a few! During this time, I decided I couldn’t get enough of music PR, and started working with new and developing acts The Dunts, Spyres and The Roly Mo on the side as well. Now, I’m at Public City, with those artists and a few more, how exciting!
Enjoys:
Music - of course - cooking, dabbling with painting, visiting art exhibitions, excellent conversations with friends, and hayfever-free summers.
Favourite Artists:
Nine Inch Nails, Friendly Fires, Handsome Boy Modelling School, NWA, Slipknot, Vince Staples, Alexandra Savior, Garbage, The Gits, Calvin Harris, Joey Bada$$, The Roly Mo, Gang Starr, Mono, Vic Mensa, Anderson Paak, The Doors, Mogwai, Big K.R.I.T, Turnstile, Joy Crookes, Eazy-E, Bikini Kill, Green Day, Spyres, J Cole, Rina Sawayama, Shame, Tupac, Deftones, Faith No More, Skepta, Princess Nokia, Kali Uchis, FKA Twigs, Mura Masa, Dr. Dre, Confidence Man, Soundgarden, Kendrick Lamar, Injury Reserve, JPEGMAFIA, Rosalia, Queen Latifah, Deafheaven, Placebo, Grave Pleasures fka Beastmilk, The Dunts, SZA, Blood Orange, Metallica
Favourite TV Shows:
Comedy is my favourite, whether it’s stand-up specials (should this be in movies?), sketch shows, series or cartoons - I love it. Ultimate favourites? The Chappelle Show, Bob’s Burgers, Green Wing. I usually can’t stomach gore but I adore Sons Of Anarchy too.
Favourite Books:
Anything by Haruki Murakami but especially Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth and anything by Kurt Vonnegut too. I'm happiest reading stories with captivating characters, real or fictional. Corey Taylor’s A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven and Motley Crue’s The Dirt are standouts.
Favourite Movies:
I’m pretty sure I wanted to live in Kevin Smith’s View Askew universe when I was 18 but Clerks is definitely my favourite. Y Tu Mama Tambien, Exit Through The Gift Shop, Drive. Chevolution is a masterpiece. American Psycho, American Beauty, The Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, The Butterfly Effect, The Last King Of Scotland.
Favourite Food:
Always in the mood for Japanese food or pizza. God tier food is anything from Tacos Sinaloa in Oakland, CA. It’s been about 2 years since I was last there and have I considered a plane ticket just for their shrimp super burritos? Absolutely.
Favourite Quote:
“Without new ideas success can become stale” - Anthony Bourdain. It was a tough choice though, it was between this and the one about garlic.