On the Rock n Roll

Venues closing. It’s always sad. The first venue I ever put my very own club night on closed last week. I am not one to put a candle there or add to the small shrine.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/walesmusic/2010/09/cardiff-barfly-closes.shtml

Did not part with the venue on great terms, we had to go find a new home after half a year. It sad for our city as its another live music venue that has closed and is endemic of the erosion of these places over the last few years through licensing clamp downs, sound level restrictions and the ensuing noise complaints and also the sad news that fewer and fewer children are taking up music in this country than in their parents generation and they don’t see it as important.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11179448

They just want to get little jonny and jenny into the good university because? F*** university form a band.

What seeing the venue all boarded up did was cast my mind back many moons to when I first entered the hazy world of the “entertainment” industry.

I was 18 and green and in need of some. Green that is. Dollar. Not dope.

Working for a club in the city I went to university, a small national chain, shall we call er the Turban Club.

I enjoyed my job a lot, bashing up posters, dropping off flyers, “dressing” the venue for events, reping round student halls – good way to shark crumpet for the purpose of horsing.

The venue itself was Moroccan style through out, with quirk nooks; crannies and sweeping bars spread over two floors with room for 1,000 happy dancing people. It is still one of my fav venues ever frankly. It ware I caught the bug, once you get that first bite of promoting, DJing, putting on gigs its hard to stop.

One summers morning we turned up for work to be greeted by the site of two large box vans parked up in front of the club and the contents of the club being loaded in.

Our rather gaunt looking bosses were sitting on the front steps and duly explained that, despite the fact we were a busy venue the company as whole was heading down the crapper. Fast.

They were to be sent to other venues in the UK but that we were all being let go as of there and then.

Now having just signed a lease for the summer for my digs I was somewhat of a tiz. Having foolishly thought that I would be employed. Seeing the club I worked and loved a little bit literally being torn apart and gutted before my eyes was horrible.

I am not proud, of what I and the other promo dorks did next. We essentially robbed the place. Anything that worth anything and we could carry away of throw into our bags we took.

For me this was booze and some seating cubes. I had a rather well stocked bar and some extra comfort in my longue for that summer let me tell you.

The venue reopened a couple of years later under new ownership and had a whole new look and feel. Wasn’t the same. However the story of what happened next is er sort of interesting, what did I do unemployed and in possession of couple of hundred pounds worth of booze? Watch space etc.

When Shredtember Cums.

I am aware the title is puerile. Now between the months of September and October each year in university towns and cities up and down the country their a in general a massive bun fight to get the fresher’s attentions for your club night and venue. Get them at this time of year and they will merrily come back week after week for the next 12 months.

Thus posters become larger and bolder, bemoaning the virtues of “town Xs biggest bikini beach party every Friday” or “all drinks now £1 and kick out at 5am”*

The point being these large, juiced up, posters need space, which is at a premium anyway due to, http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/326679.pdf , actually fairly uninteresting reading by the way and the local authority speak and jargon which shall probably make you go crossed eyed but the bits about traveling circuses were a personal highlight.

So with space a premium for these 8 weeks and the unwritten law of the promoter, that most stick too, that you do now cover up or rip down other people posters unless the event or night has passed.

It is also during this time that we will take on some new “reps” to help out with the flyering and postering. There is no selection or training for this, sadly; in general if you can make it to the interview and can sign your mark you are in.

Upon instructing one of my new charges, as assistant promoter, to pop the posters up only on empty and disused buildings and shops. I hoping he was buoyed by the thought of the free entry he was going to be getting and six quid an hour we were paying him, had taken in my instruction carefully.

I like to do this, personally, on a Sunday evening with a good mix tape on my blackberry as on the Sabbath there are in general far fewer, PCSOs, keen young bobbies, local councilors, business owners, old people and local busy bodies who will bother be and call me a cock and a vandal.

So the newbie dually went off on his task on a street where there are number of places to pop our garish neon signage.

I of course in my capacity as assistant promoter went to check his work. He had indeed plastered them on empty shops. But also every shop that had a set of roller shutters down at the time. Needless to say come morning rather than everyone knowing about our club nights the street was littered with shreds of neon confetti.

People have no common sense. Doom.

* This highlights two things, sex, or at least the thought of sex sells (duh!) and in turn raises the question of why does we need to drink £1 drinks til 5am? It satisfies two of the three main reasons to come university, to f*** and be f***ed up for three years and eventually end up with 2.2

Any way I have digressed into moral high ground that I am far to hypocritical to be getting chopsy over considering I am a merchant and facilitator of these activities.