DALLAS — Blast has been talking about TwiCon, the nation’s largest fan-run “Twilight” convention for a long while now, and it’s finally come and gone. With 3,000 attendees, the convention centered loosely on standing in lines for specific events like photograph sessions with the cast, autographs and the question and answer session, but the cast, as well as other guests like Bobby Long, Marcus Foster and Sam Bradley, made sure it was all worth the wait.

Jackson Rathbone was probably the busiest cast member at TwiCon this past weekend, attending not only as the actor portraying Jasper in “Twilight” but as a part of his band, 100 Monkeys. They played a concert at TwiCon, and in downtown Dallas, to huge, adoring crowds. Blast was backstage before the TwiCon show, and got to see the boys getting hyped up, and Rathbone having a moment with his family before going on stage. Rathbone also wrapped up the convention with a private question and answer session on Sunday morning after his late-night 100 Monkeys concert Saturday night. Charming, and no doubt as tired as he could be in the same clothes he was wearing the day before, he was carefree as he joked with the crowd. When asked which musician of all time he would pick to play with, he chose Bach. “That would be awesome” Rathbone laughed. “He could be crazy on the piano and I would play some electric guitar. So yeah, Bach.”

Alex Meraz, the “New Moon” actor playing Quileute werewolf, Paul, had a private brunch event with about 250 lucky attendees. Sweet and honest, Alex answered questions, including how Stephenie Meyer approved of his casting and his advice to Taylor Lautner to lay off the weight lifting and weight gaining in between films.

Throughout the weekend, Blast’s favorite Brits became a fan favorite as well. Each took turns playing at the VIP party on Thursday evening, followed by Sage, a musician and friend of Nikki Reed. The sound situation wasn’t ideal, and the boys had to mic the guitars as if they were playing back at the open mic nights they met at years ago in London. The show was still great — intimate and endearing, and they all had more shows at Poor David’s Pub in Dallas during the weekend, and all performed at the Volturi Masque Ball event on Saturday night.

The cast Q&A session, though definitely too short, was hilarious. Between Peter Facinelli’s death defying act of jumping off the stage and running down the aisles of screaming fans and Jackson Rathbone’s snarky answer concerning Peter’s layered birthday acting method, the cast put on a great show. The session included all of the cast attending the convention: Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone, Alex Meraz, Kellan Lutz, Billy Burke and Christian Serratos. Questions were sent in by fans, and while some elicited humorous answers on their own, like when Kellan misheard the question and thought he had been asked “which werewolf would you eat” instead of “which werewolf would you be” a great number of the questions centered around how the actors “prepared” for their respective roles. And while preparing to play vegetarian vampires might have been a challenge in the beginning with “Twilight” most of the development wasn’t that drastic in “New Moon” and could have been answered with “I prepared for my role by going to acting school.” However, Rathbone instead started in on a very complicated technique of acting in order to make things more interesting: Peter Facinelli’s birthday technique.

“Peter told me” Rathbone began, “to get into the darker side of Jasper, I needed to pretend like people know it’s my birthday, but they forgot. Then he said that wasn’t dark enough, so I had to pretend it was my birthday, people knew, but then they threw a party for this girl instead. I thought she was my cake.” After pausing for a moment to allow for the uproar of laughter, Jackson finished saying, “actually, Peter has a book coming out and it’s called, “ËœHow to Act and the Birthday Technique.”

YouTube sensation Evil Iguana Productions (we discovered them!) was also attending the convention as special guests, and premiered their latest “Twilight” spoof, which was received with lots of laughter. While introducing the spoof, Craig Deering asked, “Why another ‘Twilight’ spoof?” to which Allen Murphy answered, “Do you know how many girls love ‘Twilight?!’” He’ right of course, considering at least 2,990 of the 3,000 attendees must have been female, and definitely love EIP.

Check back for more exclusive pictures and interviews from the TwiCon weekend.

NEW YORK — Anyone can hear the talent and potential of Bobby Long on his MySpace or his iTunes single “Left to Lie,” but there is no way to fully understand how far this boy will go until seeing him perform live. There’s something about his humble, apologetic humor that endears him to audiences, and something about the honesty and vulnerability of his music that captivates and moves them as well. The contrast in the two makes for an absolutely great performance. One minute the audience is giggling in response to Bobby’s impression of Justin Timberlake (his version of “Cry Me a River” may or may not have been better than the original) and then next they are completely silenced by the haunting lyrics of a new song.

Blast Magazine got to witness Bobby Long perform live three times in New York City this week and sit down with him for an interview.

The last time Blast spoke with Bobby, things were just beginning for him. “It was just after the premiere so I was just realizing what stuff was like,” he said, “but it’s been great, it’s just grown and grown … since Christmas we decided to come to America, and this is what’s happened.”

Long has been receiving a lot of attention lately, in part due to the release of his first single, “Left to Lie,” on iTunes. The first day the song was out, it climbed the charts. “It was really cool. It went up to No. 8 on the Folk chart which was really great because it didn’t have any advertising at all, just word of mouth, really. Just being up on that list with all these incredibly famous folk musicians — not like lightly famous — but these incredibly famous folk musicians and having my name there as well was just really, really good feeling. Really unbelievable though, as well.”

With all this great publicity, Bobby was still surprised to find that he’s already being recognized.

“One girl called my name out in the street — that was weird, and it scared the hell out of me. She just yelled ‘Bobby!’” 

Long’s first gig in the U.S. was in a charmingly shady dive of a bar in Alphabet City, Manhattan. With a maximum capacity of about 150 people, the venue filled up pretty quickly and had to eventually turn some away. Once Long arrived, the room was lined with women (and a few men). Some pushed up against the windowed wall, some crammed almost up to the low stage, face-to-face with Long, himself.

“It was a little bit overwhelming,” he said of the crowd, “but it’s just nice. People coming to my shows.”

His set included most of his MySpace songs, as well as his single “Left to Lie.” He also introduced a few new songs such as “Who Have You Been Loving,” which will appear on the demo CD and “Two Years Old,” which Long said he hopes to release as his next single on iTunes.

“I like that one a lot. It’s kind of annoying. I wish it was on the CD, but I wrote it literally last week and on the plane over here I was learning the lyrics.”

Long also played two shows at Arlene’s Grocery, a great venue, which was larger and still packed. When asked if he would play even bigger venues still on his tour this summer, he said, “to be honest, as long as people show up, I don’t think it matters where you play.”

And it seems that wherever Bobby Long plays, people are going to show up.

While in the states, the Brit has been in “endless meetings,” with magazines and music labels.

“To be honest at the moment I think the ball is in my court,” Long revealed when asked whether or not he thought he would be signed by the summer, “and there’s no need for me to rush into anything. If I find the right person then I’ll sign tomorrow.”

For now, he just plans on finishing up this mini-tour of the states, continuing to go solo (although he has played a few gigs with a pianist called Alex Starling back in London), and embarking on his full blown tour of the U.S. this summer.

He’ll meet up for a few gigs with Sam Bradley and Marcus Foster over the course of the tour. “At the same time I think we want to keep our stuff quite separate.”

To hear Bobby’s music or find out about tour dates, check http://www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong and check out his single “Left to Lie” on iTunes.

The Twilight Soundtrack has spent 12 straight weeks in the top 10 (settling currently at #5) and is about to break the record for the longest run in the top 10 since 8 Mile. For some artists included in the soundtrack, this might be old news, but for Sam Bradley, Bobby Long, and Marcus Foster, this could be a career jump starter, and we were lucky enough to talk to all three of them this week about their involvement in the Twilight soundtrack, their music, and their upcoming endeavors.

If you haven’t heard of them, these three Brits are friends and musical collaborators with Rob Pattinson, who performed their songs “Never Think” (co-written by Pattinson and Bradley) and “Let Me Sign” (written by Foster and Long) on the soundtrack.

Eager to get closer to anything Rob, Twilighters have shifted their die-hard gaze towards these three and have accidently stumbled into some really genuinely‚ good‚ music. Now before you listen, be aware that these aren’t the typical musicians you’d expect to gain worldwide attention from a teen phenomenon. We’re talking Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Jeff Buckley inspired music – not anything like the Disney pop Jo Bros or Miley Cyrus hits blaring in teen girls’ ear buds across the country (thank goodness). What makes Twilight so different from most teen phenomenons, and what I believe gives these boys so much hope, is the huge presence of twenty-something, even thirty-something fans that might have already grown up on this type of music. Either way, needless to say, the guys don’t mind the sudden influx of new fans.

“It’s put me on the map that’s for sure,” Long said. “I used to play 5 gigs a week for like 2 people because I always thought it was important to get an education in music and play for like nobody and learn how to play. Now all of a sudden. . .”. Now all of a sudden he has gone from around 50 plays a day on Myspace to around 700, and has girls screaming at his gigs in London – one girl even ran up to kiss him before being asked to leave. Unphased by his new audience, Long described the change: “Well, it’s nice. It’s really nice playing to people but it can be a bit uncomfortable. . . it’s not at the stage like Rob has it, though.”

At this point, it’s a good thing they’ve all witnessed Robert’s rocket to fame and how wild fans can be. “They’re insane,” Long laughed, describing Twilight fans, “but they’re funny and I think they’re aware they’re like that, so they have a sense of humor. But they’re all nice people”. Marcus recognizes how many of his new fans are Twiligthers as well; something hard to hide when they have profile pictures of Rob. “It’s crazy. I get lots of messages every day, it’s quite funny.”

Joking about the vivacity of the Twilight fans, and claiming he would never have‚ too‚ many fans, Sam stated, “if I was to be chased down by fans, that would be a good thing. It would be fun – I reckon I can run faster than them”. The three musicians even have a livejournal community dedicated to them – “land of dreamers”.

Just a year ago, none of them (not even Rob) could have expected they’d be talking about being overwhelmed by fans. Sam, Marcus, and Rob all went to school together in London and met Bobby by playing different venues when he came to London to study and do his music as well. “He was one of the guys playing at an open mic,” Sam said about meeting Bobby, “we looked at each other from across the room, our eyes met . . . and the rest is history”.

While Marcus has been playing for years, both Sam and Bobby have had late starts into musician-dom, not learning the guitar until 17. “It was something that just felt kind of natural,” Bradley said about playing. Long seems to have had a similar beginning: “I was just this shy, lead guitar player in like, grungy bands. . .I only starting singing about a year and a half ago, two years ago”. And thank goodness he did.

Despite their modest start, all three have big plans for the future.

Sam Bradley is in the studio all this week in Vancouver recording and then off to Paris to finish production for the rest of the month where he will meet up with Foster and Long to do back-up vocals.

“I heard about that,” Bobby said in reference to the collaboration in Paris. He didn’t hear it from Sam. “Someone else on Myspace told me”. Oh the wonders of the modern world.

“I just say it out loud and assume he knows it” Sam joked, proving their communication to be only a little strained from Vancouver to London with the help of loyal fans. Fortunately, Sam did e-mail Marcus to ask, and he’s confirmed he’ll be on board if he can get there.

Set on a tight schedule, Bradley has basically a month to get everything done. “I’m so tired, it’s been really good. We’re getting some really good stuff,” Bradley said in reference to the recordings. In addition to Marcus Foster and Bobby Long, Sam’s regular band will be playing on the album, and his sister will be providing some vocals as well. “It’s a mash of people playing, basically . . . everyone connected means something”.

As far as what can be expected on his new album, he stated, “there are lots of new songs, there are also some that have been on the Myspace but they’re different – it’s more professional.” Sam also disclosed that one fan favorite, and Sam’s personal favorite, “Sea Blue” will be appearing on the new album.

While in France, Bradley will also be playing at Kord Unplugged, right in the heart of Paris on February 12^th. “It’s going to be really intimate and really, really sexy,” Sam promised of the gig.

Currently working on a demo, Bobby Long is planning a trip to the states in April. This will be a crucial trip for Bobby, considering a great majority of his listeners are from the US (remember, Twilight was biggest here). He’ll also have the chance to meet with industry people and record labels. Arriving in New York on April 12^th, he’ll be playing at the Lakeside Lounge April 13^th‚ and Arlene’s Grocery on the 14^th. After that, he’ll be heading to Los Angeles, where he is still looking for venues: “we’re looking around, we have a few offers in LA but we’re looking for places to play on the 15^th‚ 16^th‚ and 17^th, so if anyone has any ideas. . .”.

If you do have any suggestions – feel free to leave them below in the comment box. Also, according to Sam, he “better be playing” in these gigs as well, so if you’re a fan it could be a great chance to see them both.

As far as New Moon goes, Bobby revealed that there were a few songs that he wrote with Marcus around the same time they wrote “Let Me Sign” that he thinks could be appropriate for the next Twilight installment, if they are asked to contribute.‚  Although they have talked about recording “Let Me Sign” themselves, Bobby and Marcus aren’t exactly how to work it out. “We don’t know whose album we’d put it on. Like, we kind of wrote songs together last year and that was one that we kind of gave to Rob. We preferred the other ones actually . . . maybe Rob can keep that one,” Marcus laughed.

Marcus, hoping to broaden his fan horizon from just Twilighters, will have another song featured in an upcoming movie. Starring Christopher Walken and Sharon Stone, the “Five Dollars a Day” soundtrack will include “Make it Easy”.‚  Foster also has an upcoming gig in Brighton on February 6^th, but has had his focus elsewhere for a while: “At the moment I’ve just been doing a lot of recording, and concentrating on that and also I’m trying to get a band together as well so I’ve been kind of waiting to get the right kind of group of people”. All this recording however, does mean he’ll have new songs to upload on his Myspace in the near future. This might come as bad news to all the fans that have grown to love the current songs listed there, but Marcus is excited about the change: “I’m actually quite tired of them at the moment, like, I’m looking forward to changing them in a week or so”.

This summer, all three are hoping to tour the states together. “We had this amazing plan at the start where it was going to be US and go to Vancouver and rehearse and then get a car and then just drive down to America,” Bobby said laughing before revealing the more practical reality: “we’re just trying to get visas”.

The styles of their music vary slightly, as is to be expected with individual endeavors, but their musical collaborations are seamless. Their personalities obviously contribute to their charm, with Sam’s humor, Bobby’s sweetness and Marcus’ general mystery, there’s a strong balance between all three that makes them fascinating to listen to. And then, of course, let’s not forget the accents.

Whether there is more Twilight action to be expected or not, Sam Bradley, Bobby Long, and Marcus Foster are at the dawn of their careers. All three were very adamant about how much they appreciate the support and love they receive from their fans, so if you want to help along the chance that they might be able to tour in your city this summer, the best way to help that along would be to show your support at Bobby’s gigs in New York and Los Angeles this Easter.

Be sure to check out their Myspace pages:‚ 

Sam: www.myspace.com/sambradley06

Bobby:‚ www.myspace.com/musicbobbylong

Marcus: www.myspace.com/marcusfoster