'DGJ in the USA' - Will He Make It To L.A.?

DGJ in the USA!! Official Pledge Page on IndieGoGo

DGJ in the USA!! Official Pledge Page on IndieGoGo

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Subscribe to David Garland Jones YouTube Channel

YouTube Guru and
cultural ambassador
for Wales

   The Countdown Is On: 92 Days To Go   

On Friday May 6th 2011 David Garland Jones officially announced details of the campaign to fund his appearance at this years West Coast Eisteddfod in L.A.. Full details appear on this page. This appearance will mark the latest milestone in his meteoric rise from total anonymity to relative obscurity. We KNOW that you will want to support this effort and play a role in changing the course of Welsh movie history. Here is the link once again:- DGJ in the USA!!

    Other ways To Support The Campaign   

Help spread the word and follow the campaign:-

Join the 'AmeriCymru - West Coast Eisteddfod FanPage' on Facebook

Join 'AmeriCymru' - Joint organizers of the West Coast Eisteddfod

Please check back for updates and tell your friends.


The story so far: David's latest project is a trip to L.A. where he has been invited to play the 'starring' role at this year's West Coast Eisteddfod. There are , however, some conditions attached. Please watch the AmeriCymru4 video above for the latest update. Watch all four If you haven't followed the story to date.

What will David do at the Eisteddfod?


David Garland Jones will be an important cultural ambassador for Wales.

• He will be modeling various ensembles in the Welsh ( Male ) National Costume Competition at the Oberon's Henry Morgan Welsh Pirate Bar.
• He will also be present at our Tom Jones karaoke and 'live' panty throwing event.
• He will present a performance of his fabled mime adaptation of Dylan Thomas' 'Under Milk Wood' .
• He will also present a US premiere of his new movie 'Rob Brydon's Racing Snail' at our film festival on Sunday. After the screening David will host a Q&A session about the film and his amazing career.

West Coast Eisteddfod Schedule:-   Friday Saturday Sunday

Find more Welsh humor and Welsh jokes on AmeriCymru

Brothers & Sisters...and Hairdressers - DGJ and Matthew Rhys

Matthew Rhys and David Garland Jones - The Early Years

Guru of YouTube comedy

In a previous post we referred to guru of YouTube comedy David Garland Jones and his ongoing efforts to make it to L.A. for the West Coast Eisteddfod. In this , the second part of the series David's connection with Matthew Rhys ( star of ABC television show Brothers and Sisters ) is revealed. They used to work together as hairdressers in Treorchy, South Wales.

But how will this impact David's chances of a starring role at the forthcoming event? All will be made clear in episode 3 of 'DGJ in the USA', coming next week. Bookmark this blog to ensure that you do not miss further rip-roaring adventures in this series. See our previous post here:-

David Garland Jones - Welsh Actor Extraordinaire and Guru of YouTube Comedy


DGJ In The USA! Will He Make It To L.A.?

Watch the Video

David Garland Jones - Welsh Actor Extraordinaire and Guru of YouTube Comedy

Guru of YouTube comedy

David Garland Jones is set to make his US debut in L.A. later this year ( maybe ). This is a man who has stared disappointment in the face  many times, whinged, gone to the pub and always come back for more. It would be unwise, given his track record of tragi-comic failure to predict a successful outcome in this, his latest venture. Indeed it might ruin his image if the planned trip turned out to be anything less than an unmitigated disaster.

David Garland Jones is a YouTube comedy phenomenon who has amused tens of thousands in the UK ( and increasingly in the US ) with his online chronicles of rejection and despair. David , a friend of Matthew Rhys ( of 'Brothers and Sisters' fame ) hails from Port Talbot in South Wales where  they once both worked together as hairdressers. Since then Matthew Rhys's career has been on the up and up. Davids?... not so much.

We pick up the story just after David has been invited by  seedy U.S. event promoter 'Pontypool Boyo' to attend this year's West Coast Eisteddfod, a Welsh cultural event in L.A.. Their first teleconference has been preserved for posterity:-

Who can say where this will go? The producers of DGJ videos have promised us that this story will run and run. Apparently further YouTube comedy vids are in the works and Davids attempts to make the big time will be a matter of public record. We can only wish him luck. There has to be a first time for everything.

Before we close we thought we'd treat you to Davids biggest YouTube comedy success to date. For US readers it is important to remember that there has been a spate of spoof song videos in Wales recently. The trend began with Newport State of Mind an adaptation of an Alicia Keys number.

For more sensational YouTube comedy from David Garland Jones go to:-
http://www.youtube.com/user/DavidGarlandJones

Book Review: Patagonia, Matthew Rhys

Matthew Rhys, a native of Cardiff now living in Los Angeles, has appeared in more than 30 roles for film and television, including "The House of America," "The Edge of Love," and the television drama "Brothers and Sisters."

In 1885, a group of Welsh settlers in Chubut, Argentina set out to explore the Andes and found and settled Cwm Hyfryd, "Pleasant Valley". They were members of the largest Welsh settlement in South America, founded twenty years earlier by the passengers of the Mimosa.

Actor and author Matthew Rhys joined a group of the descendants of the original Cwm Hyfryd expedition to recreate their accomplishment, on horseback as they did themselves. Rhys has published a beautiful book of his photographs and commentary on this experience: Patagonia: Croesi'r Paith/Crossing the Plain, a photographic memoir of this journey by horse through the Patagonian landscape and some of its Welsh history.

Although formatted as a beautiful coffee-table style book, Patagonia is about equal parts text and photographs, mainly black and white. It's presented in English and Welsh, including an introduction in those languages and Spanish. Rhys has included some background history of Welsh immigration to Argentina and the story of the original journey, including a few wonderful historic photos of those early settlers and the Argentina of their time. Instead of a linear description of the trip, chapters focus on Rhys' companions and elements of his experience, with titles like "Lunch," about the routine of easting, resting and riding and "Knives," which gives some insight into the arrangement of the trip. Rhys describes the following encounter:

"A number of farmers, and their wives and children, came out to greet us. One old gentleman gestured toward me inviting me to slow down. He ventured something in Spanish, and I gave him my customary response:

"'Perdon, no hablo catellano, señor.'

"'Wyt ti'n siarad Cymraeg, fachgen?' ('Do you speak Welsh?') was his answer."

The photographs are excellent. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heroically panoramic. Sometimes warm and small and precise little narratives themselves of people and things.

Patagonia was a comfortable pleasure to read. Picture and narrative together subtly built a sense of place and people, of Rhys' experience, the things he saw and the men who accompanied him, the marks on the land the original settlers left and the effect all this had at the end of the trail. The people, the landscape and customs are brought vividly and splendidly to life and conjure the desire to enjoy an asado in the Andes with these wonderful people, in this beautiful place.

Patagonia is published by Gomer Press and is available through Amazon.com