musicians GOT platform at Fatburger’s

BLOGG BY : IRFAN-UL-HAQ
EVENTS BY LOTUS PR

About Fatburger:

Fatburger is an internationally acclaimed quick service chain of high quality, gourmet burgers. Having originating in the state of Los Angeles in the USA in 1952, the brand wasintroduced to Pakistan in 2013 by BIL Foods, through the launch of its first outlet in Karachi’s prestigious Dolmen Mall in January 2013. A Hollywood favourite, Fatburger is now set for its biggest global launch to date, with the opening of its Lahore flagship fast food store in May 2013; indeed Fatburger’s largest outlet worldwide. The Lahore outlet is located on M.M.Alam Road, the city’s most popular hub for gourmet cuisine.

Armed with a five decade strong legacy of originality, Fatburger is a brand that has come to be synonymous with fresh, mouth-watering fast food, where their award winning signature hamburgers are created live on the spot, in the leanest halal meat. Indeed, the brand has received numerous accolades and has been voted Best Burger in Beijing, Dubai, Jakarta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the past[1]. Renowned for its hearty portions and distinctive seasonings, all of Fatburger’s menu items are all freshly prepared, sourced from non-frozen raw materials and cooked using only the most hygienic and high quality ingredients. All products are cooked-to-order, live in front of patrons and their menu in Pakistan draws upon Hollywood and the regions’ favourite choices such as JapalenoFatburgers, Chicken Sandwiches and unique items such as the Western BBQ Fatburger, Turkeyburger, Veggieburger, Homemade Onion Rings and real hand scooped ice cream shakes.

With its humble beginnings in the kitchen of Ms.Lovie Yancey in LA, Fatburger grew quickly to become a Tinseltownfavourite, with a now strong association with the Hollywood film industry, regularly frequented by renowned movie stars and media personalities including Tom Cruise,the Beastie Boys, Terrence Howard and Kate Bosworth among others, of whom some including Kanye West, Queen Latifah, Magic Johnson, Montel Williams also have ownership of the brand’s franchises abroad. All of the brands’ 150 stores worldwide have been designed by renowned architects who ensure that Fatburger provides the perfect welcoming environment for a retro, rhythm and blues based culinary ambiance. In Pakistan, Fatburger stores have been created by the celebrated Hong Kong based architect Robert Lee.

Fatburger is a project of international investment company BIL Foods, a public limited company incorporated in Pakistan, who are the brand’s Master Franchisee locally and have a mandate of developing 5 stores in the country by 2014 – 2015.

The platform is envisioned as a creative outlet for all potential musicians, no matter how refined or raw their music abilities. Fatburger has provided aspiring musicians performance space in its Lahore outlet, accompanying instrumentation and mentorship to promote and exhibit their musical gifts.

Out of the original pool of applicants who submitted their demos for auditions, the following 8 acts were shortlisted: Sixth Sense, Mark & Co., Mousiqa, NUM, Usama Baber, Asad Ali, Ali Imran and KumailJafri, all hailing from Lahore. Each band was provided 45 minutes to perform a set of music consisting of original material and cover songs of other artists.

All performances were shortlisted and evaluated by a panel of judges comprising of Griffin James, a Master degree holder in Western Classical Music from the Trinity College of Music, London in piano/pipe organ technique and voice re-production and AsrarChisti, the Head of the Music Department, College of Arts and Design, Punjab University, a gold medalist in Tabla and Ghazal. Based on their assessment and user feedback garnered from the official Fatburger Facebook page, the highest rated act will be honoured as the“Fatburger Livewire Ambassador” and willbe provided opportunities to showcase their musical talent through exclusive performances, seasonal funfairs and other youth initiatives

Speaking about the Fatburger Livewire platform, Mr.A.Kamal, CEOBIL Foods Ltd., the Master franchisee of Fatburger in Pakistan said; “From its very inception, Fatburger has always been associated with good music,in fact it is one of the core values of our brand! With Livewire, our aim is to provide aspiring musicians a platform to exhibit their talent. Whether you have professional training or are a closeted shower singer, we invite you to take part in the Fatburger Livewire platform and showcase your talent in front of a live audience.”

The Fatburger Livewire platform showcases live performances of participating music acts twice a week on the weekend from 7:00pm to 8:00pm at the Fatburger Lahore outlet located on M.M. Alam Road. The platform will be open to Karachi based performers from November 2013 onwards, with the schedule of live performances to be updated and shared on the brand’s Facebook page once the Karachi audition phase has concluded.

Fatburger is famously known for its strong association with Hollywood and the international music industry, with restaurants abroad regularly frequented by renowned media personalities including Tom Cruise, the Beastie Boys, Terrence Howard, Justin Bieber and Kate Bosworth among others, of whom some including Magic Johnson and renowned musiciansKanye West and Queen Latifahalso have ownership of different international Fatburger franchises.