StudyVox FM award winner Emma McGann was named Band of the Month for June by BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. The Coventry University music composition student has had an eventful few years as she has set up her own music night and met Kylie Minogue at The StudyVox Bursary Awards in February. Emma has also just released her debut album ‘Start The Show’.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire caught up with Emma to ask her a few questions...

How did you get in to music?

I've always played really. I taught myself guitar and wrote songs from as far back as I can remember. Guitar's my first instrument but I dabble in others... drums being a favourite! Eventually I decided to play around some live music nights around Coventry which people seemed to really enjoy and it sort of took off from there.

What have been your musical highlights so far?

Performing to Kylie tops the list of course. Surreal like you would not believe! And as for winning a music award, I'd never won a thing in my life, if you don't include the odd pub quiz.

Tell us a bit about your debut album

It's due to be released in Summer 2010. Very excited about it all! It's entitled Start the Show, mostly pop and indie tracks but I squeezed a couple of acoustic goodies in there too! Really this is the first music project I've taken seriously. The reaction we had from people after listening to the tracks in their early stages motivated us to put the album together. I couldn't have done it without everyone involved in the project and the support I've had from family and friends. Do keep an ear out and grab yourselves a copy.

What are your plans for the rest of 2010?

Apart from the album I'd love to get gigging properly again in the summer if I find the time! I've been so busy with uni and the album that I miss getting outside of Coventry and performing in new places! Watch this space for the new album/website/gigs.

To find out more about Emma McGann, visit her official website by clicking on the link below:

MySpace: Emma McGann

Source: BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

An 18-year-old business student, Wilkins is running for Parliament as an independent in Erewash, central England. He saved up money from a weekend job at McDonald's to pay the £500 election deposit. Inspired by President Barack Obama's innovative use of the Net to attract campaign workers and funds, he sought 10 pound donations from 100 people to pay to have leaflets printed.

Despite the parties' enthusiasm for new technology, some say this election could reveal a generational divide that is wider than ever before.

With the economy weakened by recession and debt, young people face higher unemployment than older age groups, along with disappearing pensions and the looming burden of paying for their aging elders. And many still don't think politicians are speaking their language.

''They're all 'Blah blah, stop immigration, stop this and that.' It doesn't help get young people anywhere,'' said Resa Banjica, a 19-year-old London fashion student.

Many older people, meanwhile, see youth as a threat -- a view encouraged by media stories of teenage criminals and drunken louts.

Ben Page of pollster Ipsos Mori said last week that teenage misbehavior was a huge factor in whether people liked where they lived. He told the BBC that surveys sent a stark message: ''The more teenagers there are in a local authority, the more miserable people are.''

The Youth Council's Delaney is encouraged to see politicians reaching out to young people online, but thinks more needs to be done to bridge the generation gap.

''I'm encouraged to see that the political parties are doing more social media stuff,'' she said. ''But not all young people have broadband and are whizzing around the social networking sites. Traditional ways of engaging with young people are as important as new ones.''

Source: New York Times