Those who live within their means suffer from a lack of imagination

Bonjour, Guten Tag, Ciao, Hola, Hello......

Never really no how to start a new entry, could do with a cup of tea tho, maybe that may help to stimulate my mind, ate to many cookies feel a bit sick if I'm honest, currently listening to Florence's cover of Take Care such a good cover alot better than the original, so much has happened since I last posted but Im not really the type of person who writes something ever week for the sake of it so your probably find the things I do write are no where near as interesting as the things i forgot... Sorry

So a few weeks ago I flew out to Dublin to check a new venue out called the Grand Social and to talk about hosting my nights, it was one of the most amazing venues ive ever been to, its a very special place and well worth popping along for a gig if your ever in Dublin. Had a good chat and I will be hosting a night there once every 3 months in the new year, its strange starting from scratch again in a new country and trying to find press and even support bands, you think it would be easy these days with the internet and such but it all takes time. I often wonder what it would of been like 15-20 years ago as a promoter or even as a musician, how do you get your message out there, I think it would of been impossible to do what I do back then, my nights are over a 1000 miles apart, even typing that it seems crazy. I think when i started this i wanted to do something that hasnt really been done before and sometimes i think there is reasons for this, but when you can fly over 600 miles and most people know your name and you meet some amazing people you no your doing something good, and all of this, it isnt about money its all about the memories and thats the most important thing still to me, that is why i will sometimes put a band on a bill who no has heard of, everyone has there own goals and dreams and if you can help someone to achieve them then your become a better person for doing it....

Sorry went off on a tangent then, so yeah Dublin Sessions will be coming in 2012 there is certainly a scene for it out there so got high hopes for it, first act is all booked up but got get all my press sorted first.

Very much obsessed with Azealia Banks right now, i found her just before the NME Tour was announced so it looks like im jumping on the band wagon but she is amazing check her out if you haven't already, she is certainly on the Asylum Session hit list right now, something about American girls using the word cunt that is very appealing..

So on to Vienna think the last time i had posted i had just booked Carl Barat, ok so here goes a few things i need to say... Went over to Vienna for I think about five days landed on the Thursday and it was a little nippy, not a fan of the cold, so anyway went into hibernation until Friday then i did an amazing DJ Set at Flex with my friend Vanessa, the place was packed and I think our choice of music went down well, then Saturday did the tourist part on a very heavy hangover , went to some of the art gallerys, well if you call 2 hulla hoops against a wall art but there was also some lovely paintings, but it was hard to enjoy when swallowing a lump of sick in your throat just before you create you own piece of art.

Saturday night was a special night me and most of my friends went out for a Viennese meal of Goose and it was awesome there was about 30 of us at this meal so it was a good crack then i had to quickly shoot off and go to a venue called Chelsea to do another DJ Set, I love getting out there and doing sets as much as possible as its a brilliant way to network.

Sunday on pretty much no sleep again i had to go and pick up some CDJ's for Carl, its not until you carry a pair about 3 miles and travel with them on Trains and Trams can you appreciate how heavy they are.

Sooooo on to the night I had 3 great bands playing and then Carl and Didz djing they wasnt landing until 10.30 so had time for sound checks and a few drinks before heading over to pick them up. After the first band finish i had to shoot off and leave my girlfriend and friend on the door which is never that easy when you dont speak the language. 2 girls were really kind and gave me a lift to the airport to pick them up and then we went back to the venue with a little detour to the hotel, I had met Carl a few times in the past but it was good to have a proper chat with him and he is a true gent, same as Didz and it was good to hear some English accents as the night before my dream was in German (which isn't bad, but haven't got a fuckin clue what it was about)

Got back to the club was packed Carl and Didz did a 2hr set and mixed with the crowd and had a laugh... Right now here we go, rant coming up, you ready???

The idea of my nights and the reason i do it how i do is that i want fans to really part of the night i never wanted Carl and Didz to be on a stage doing a set in a place no one could get to them, I want fans to be able to be right on top of it and thats one of the reason i love B72, A few people after the show didnt like the fact that Carl and Didz was playing ping pong (doing a track each, not the game, that would be weird) and inbetween they may chat to fans from the booth and get the picture took, sign something you no the normal thing, not at any time did they miss a track or there was a gap between them and thats how i wanted it to be, Carl and Didz was happy for it being like that as we spoke before and there was enough bouncers to create a barrier if needed but the crowd was great. Im sure more people would prefer it like that then them coming in doing there set and disappearing after.

So this is how it is, my nights wont have any barriers if there artists are happy with it like that, if you dont like it please go to a larger venue and watch from behind a barrier, but my nights are nights for the fans and they will remain like this for as long as i do them for.

So whats next for Vienna... Well me and Adam Ficek will be back there on Jan 15th as he will be doing a dj set at B72 and there is 3 great bands on the bill, then something that hasnt been offically announce as im just putting the finishing touches to the line up but on Feb 14 Asylum Sessions will be host The Maccabees afterparty at B72 after the show at Flex, there going to be doing an intimate 90 min dj set and a few drinks with fans, tickets are capped at 250, there will be 2 - 3 bands playing before them then another DJ Set after there's.

Really looking forward to these 2 nights huge huge fan of the Maccabees and quite a few of my close friends are going to be flying out for it so it will make it extra special.

The Vienna nights are now getting some great press (thank you to some certain people) Carls night went worldwide and even Absolute Vodka was involved glad to see all that money I have invested in them wasnt wasted.

As for the future, 2012 needs to be a big year i love to set myself goals that seem impossible when doing my nights, one that i always thought would be is one in New York, but there maybe a special annoucement coming around May time to celebrate my 25th brithday, nothing is set in stone yet but its looking possible :) And how about this for a goal 7 nights in a row in 7 different countries, 7 different headliners, all sold out... haha maybe one day

Before i finish off big thanks to my friends that travel with me, my girlfriend for her help over the last few months and also everyone in Vienna :)

So think that maybe it, but i started with an Oscar Wilde quote and think ill end with one

"Be yourself, Everyone else is already taken"

Been a while....

I forgot all about this blog, been ages since I last posted and quite a bit has changed.

Still doing alot of nights but no where near as many as the start of the year as it taught me a few valuable lessons and there things you can only learn when you make those mistakes, like trying to put to many nights in one venue, people do and will get bored of going to a night more than once a month and it makes it so hard for the promoter to promote a night with only 2 weeks or less to do it and its not fair on a bands, as people don't got enough time to check out there music.

Which brings me on to my next announcement about a month ago I decided to give up my nights in Swindon (where I live) I finished with Gary Powell from the libertines taking over my nights for one day and we put 15 bands on to raise profile for his new label "25 Hour Convenience Store".

It was a great day and meant alot to finish with someone I grew up listening to doing a night with me.

It was a really hard thing for me to give up as for me its where it all started and I have made some amazing friends and I owe them all so much, when I announced it I received some really touching messages which made it even tougher but I think the time is right :(

Swindon is a strange place no one is interested in original music, there interested in there friends bands, its even harder due to there being no university, so you find the same bands will go around and around and around and there will be only so many times that there friends will come along to see them, so a band that for there first few shows will bring 40 people along give it a few months there be lucky to bring 10 along as they have played every other week.

Due to the fact above about that no really goes along to watch original music it makes it pretty tough to predict an outcome for a night and as a promoter it gives you no reason or faith to give a financial commitment and bring down a band that's selling out in London and then will headline a show in Swindon but everyone has left before they come on stage because there friends band has already played.

The perfect night in Swindon is just to put local bands on but I never wanted my nights to be like that, I always wanted them to be a band that people could come and watch and in a few month when they get mentioned in a magazine or on the radio they can say they saw them months ago, and its a shame as the bands in Swindon are hugely talented and it is a great experience to meet bands out of the area and build up a few connections and maybe stay in tough and support them on some gigs further a field.

Anyway rant over, i think..... Sooo what else has happened, took a dear friend of mine Alan Wass out for a show in Vienna and Alan's a guy i love to bits and we had a great time, I really enjoy the time I spend with everyone in Vienna and Ive decided to change my nights slightly as the fanbase is great out there, so in October I will be taking Carl Barat out to there to do a DJ Set and there will be 3 live bands playing before so its going to be a long night, but the venue hold only 250 people so its going to be a special night for everyone who comes along and the way tickets are selling its not going to be long before it sells out.

Ive also managed to get some worldwide press from my nights which is an amazing thing and it shows everything is moving in the right direction, I think as it stands the nights will stay to being every 3 months but i would love to go to every 6 weeks but due to the reasons at the start of the blog I may leave it how it is.

Im currently looking to set a night up in Germany but its tough I think I no the venue I want but its not like its just down the road and I can wander in for a quick chat and a cup of tea, its all done through emails and I love European people but there really shit when it comes to emails, so this is still very much work in progress.

Think that takes me up to here and now, I did an interview with Frock and Roll when I was last in Vienna, check it out if you have 5 minutes

http://youtu.be/Nr2O-ykuwZ0

The past is now part of my future

Once again my blog has been neglected, lost count how many nights has been put on since i last posted but guess ill just start from a week or so ago the rest is very blurry.

So as i mentioned in my last few posts that i was doing a night in Vienna and it finally happen, been about 9 months in planning so it was glad to get it out of the way.

Started of with an early morning flight from Gatwick to Vienna where i met a friend at the airport and then got the train in to the city, i was staying with my friend but for the first day i decided to get a hotel as i was due to do a dj set at midnight and thought it would be cool to get some sleep, a fine plan on paper, but with the hotel being pretty much part of a brothel it was never going to be easy, so went off for a wonder in to the beautiful city that is Vienna and treated myself to some local cuisine (Mcdonalds).

I then return to get a quick power nap which again wasnt going to happen so ate some chocolate and read some books (very rock and roll).

My set was at a nightclub called Flex that a very dear friend of mine had set up for me, its always tough to know what to play when in another country but it seems in Austria they follow the UK Music scene better than most people in the UK so just played abit of everything (Clash,Blur,Plup,Libs,Maccabees,Strokes and so on) the set was for 4hrs and i think it went down really well, people seemed to be having a good time, but after i was feeling abit tired was up to 48hrs with 5hrs sleep so went back to the hotel about 4ish straight after and managed to sleep till about 8 when the maids set to work, think they should be allows to turn a hoover on until check out time.

So i went over to a friend called Kath who's apartment i was staying at for the rest of the weekend and we went to the zoo, it was amazing had penguins and everything!!!

I met up with an old friend on Saturday night and had a few drinks, in an irish bar... Once again push the boundaries of a foreign experience

Sunday i cant really remember for some reason, but i know that i went to watch Yuck at B72 in the evening, thats where i met up with Doll and the Kicks as they was going to be staying with us in the apartment, its always tough to know what to expect from a band but they was some of the nicest people ive ever had the pleasure to meet, but they had been travelling from Switzerland so we went straight back to the apartment and then out for a few quite drinks, one thing which was worrying was how ill Hannah was but she stayed in to get some sleep.

Monday was gig day and was spent worrying about Hannah and checking ticket sales, but i did manage to go and meet up with a friend called Erwin, who without it i doubt it would of been possible to do the night, so we had a quick catch up before i had to go to soundcheck.

The venue was perfect, i hadnt of seen it before but i couldnt of designed it better myself, they did a quick soundcheck and Hannah only did half a song to save her voice, i was really worried as i didnt want her to push it to hard as i knew they had a few gigs left on the tour and this week there doing SXSW in Texas and you have to be soooo careful with your voice.

But the gig was amazing there was loads of people there and also loads of people stayed around after for the after party which i was doing a set at. It was a great experience for myself as the plan was and still is to do a night every 3/4 months, it just takes alot of time, anyone who has done a night in there home town will realise how hard it is, now imagine doing one in a city 800 miles away, its really tough, but i love the challenge and the reward you get from pulling it off.

We got to bed about 5ish abit worse for wear and had to get up again a 7 to catch the flight home and DATK had to go to Zurich, but i worked out that from Wednesday till the following Tuesday i had the grand total of 12hrs sleep...... The airport felt like how i imagine hell would.

As for now im going to slow down my nights in my home town of Swindon as ive been doing 2 a month and can start to lose its appeal and i dont want that, im currently setting a very special night up with Gary Powell to promote his new label, 25th hour, so thats something for the Swindon people in the Summer and i have also launch a new night called Position of the Week which has its first night Easter Sunday, There is also the nights in Paris where im working with another promoter the seem to be coming together nicely and hope to be going out there with The Supernovas next month and im just starting to plan for the next Vienna night.

There is the plan as i like a challenge to do a night in...... New York, with Doll and the Kicks, there management are based there so not that crazy, but means starting everything from scratch, but would be an amazing thing for me to aim for and lets face it no reason why it cant happen, so now you are all up to date :)

One last note on the Vienna gig just want thank everyone for there help and support, couldnt of done it without you!

(Insert title here)

Been nearly 2 months since my last blog sorry about forgetting about you all, don't really no where to start had the flu thing over Christmas but i got some really special presents to make up for it, and i had to take a part time job just doing some bar work to keep some money coming in every week so i had to work there for new year, not very rock and roll.

But on the plus side I think the tide is turning and there is some amazing new music coming along and every tho i regret the purchase i got quite excited when I read the NME and saw all the albums that are due to be released in 2011, names including Arctic Monkey, The View, The Strokes, Kanye and Jay Z doing an album together, Damon Albarn, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Kills, Maccabees plus loads more, if you compare that to last year its going to be a great year, imagine the Reading and Leeds line up! My money is still on The Stroke to headline.

As for new music there are some great bands out there, bands like The Vaccines, Heartbreaks, Patch William, Younghearts, Supernovas, Krakatoa and plenty more.

Im hoping this is the wave of music that we have been needing for the last few years and it will push mainstream radio stations to play more home grown bands because there are plenty of great ones out there.

Since the new year its been manic currently promoting 5 nights in Swindon, booked up until April and of course there is Vienna, which as you all know I've been wanting my own night there for a long time and its turning out to be a great learning experience, a bit tougher than I thought but that's not always a bad thing, just getting all the posters and flyers printed at the moment, but what is brilliant is how friendly and helpful everyone has been and all the nice messages I've received makes all the long hours and emails worth while, the final line up has been decided sat for hours listening to bands and im really happy about the bands I've chose, hope everyone else likes them!

The gig is on March 7th at B72 but flying out on the Friday to do a dj set at flex and to meet up with everyone and buy them a few drinks to say thank you, then the weekend will just be promoting and thank you meals for the people who has helped me out as it wouldn't of been possible to do these night without them.

Planning the next one for start of June, I know who I want but we will have to wait and see....

As for the Swindon nights there going really well had a band called Bleech from London in December who was brilliant make sure you check them out if you can.

This month was ment to be Doll & the kicks but unfortuantly they have had to pulled most of there UK tour to record in America which is a brilliant opportunity for them and you cant blame them for taking it, but they still are doing a few of the dates and i still have them for Vienna so its not all bad.

Ive replaced them with the band called Patch William who i have been a fan of for a long time, there is a song called "Skinny White Boy" which i cant stop listening to.

Ive also got the London based band Younghearts playing in Feb which im really excited about as i think there something special and could go a long way.

So I think that takes me up to now, there is some things id love to mention but probably best I don't right now but maybe in the next few weeks ;)

Back to Civilization

Getting home after being on tour is always a strange feeling as you have months building up to it and then the excitement of going away and then you get home and everything is always more boring than before and plus for some reason when ever I have been on tour I always get ill when I come home and this time wasn't any different but feel better now so everything is good.

So for the last few weeks my life has been took up by a certain band called Doll and the Kicks and a certain city called Vienna, its something that I'm really excited about doing as I fell in love with the city when I went over earlier in the year and to be able to put a night on over there will be great. The plan is to make it like my night is the UK where there not really your regular gig, there still organized like one but have more of a party feel, there are going to be 3 bands supporting which I don't think happens very often in Vienna so hope everyone will come along and enjoy there-self, Its going to be in March next year when there on the European leg of there tour so there is still plenty of time to do all the promotion, also a good friend of mine who is helping me out there has offered me a DJ Set so that will be great to do a few days before.

Next month is going to be the return of my Asylum Sessions in my home town of Swindon which is great to do as there is always lots of friendly faces, haven't done one for a few months as ive been busy, then went on tour, but on Dec 10th its my Xmas special and have a band from London who I really like called Bleech playing and some amazing support, there is going to be 4 support bands so its going to be a really busy night, its going to be really tough to choose the running order as I love each band for a different reason and they all mean quite alot to me, may even let the crowd decide....

Ive been also lucky enough to confirm Doll and the Kicks to play for me in Swindon (as well as Vienna), it going to be the first gig of there European tour, its on the 29th Jan and I'm really looking forward to it as there a band that I have been a fan of for a while and have mentioned them on here a few months ago, but promotion for that will really kick in after the 10th, but tickets are on sale already and for a fiver you cant go wrong, plus I've got some very special friends coming down from London.....

What else have I been doing ummmm trying to get some press for my nights and myself as I really need to start to push things forward and I feel there is alot more potential in the situations I create and also the ones I find myself in, I did a podcast the other day just having a chat about my nights which I will post when I get it back, I also did an interview in Glasgow which was great I will post the final version when I get it back as think there is going to be some music added to it and so on.

But next year is already looking really exciting, Adam has a Paris date in Jan so going to go out for that and Im also trying to co arrange with another promoter for a night in Paris in Feb so that will be great if we can put something together. There is also something very very exciting happening in the Summer but cant speak about that at the moment.

Anyway I leave you with a video of Doll and the Kicks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV_aYN4PImk

Roses Kings Castles Tour Part II

Ok so left the hotel had missed breakfast due to writing the last blog but nevermind, had to wait a bit for the bus to pick me up, my own fault because I went to a different hotel in the middle of no where.

We had also gained a new member of the band called Ross who comes from Glasgow, he was a really nice bloke and glad to have met him. He had what some would say as the most important role in the tour, even more so than maybe Adam's and that was to be on "Og Watch" which is no easy task.

So got on the bus and on we went to Edinburgh which is a really beautiful place, its amazing how it is built on all the different levels, we was playing at the Cabaret Voltaire which I still cant say, we met the promoter called Dan (who did a great job) and then unloaded the equipment and did a soundcheck, while they was doing that I took the bus back to the hotel and Og roamed the streets with a bottle of Jack.

So met up with them all for a meal a few hours later and everyone was in good form, Og was singing and dancing round the poles in the restaurant, the band then went over and Me, Og, Adam and Ross stayed for pudding which had plastic in it so we all got extra free..... Now this is where the night begins, I gave everyone a wrist band to get in to the venue, Og decided he was going to be kind to some lads he insulted a few minutes before by giving them his wrist band, when we go to get in Og wasnt allowed which was a simple situation to solve until Og tryed to shake the bouncers hand and he wouldn't, so Og called him a dickhead and then it all kicked off, so after a shouting match Og was in and everything was ok, went to the dressing room everything was good and we had a good laugh while Ross was getting an "African Kiss".

Me and Og went down and watched a support band called The Ok Social Club which were great, think they was the best of the tour, after Og got on stage to introduce Roses Kings Castles but maybe the words "Now listen up you little Scottish pricks" didn't help but it got there attention of the crowd and also the bouncers.....

So Og was pulled of stage and given a final warning, Roses came on and sounded really good there is a video below, Og had made friends with a few people by this point and was dancing away with them, the floor was quite slippery and Og and this bloke feel over and landed on top of each other, the bouncers came running over grabbed Og and dragged him out.

I carried on watching the gig until Ok Social Manger came running over to me and said you need to go outside straight away Tayo is about to be arrested so off me and Ross go (a bit like Batman and Robin from the Only Fools and Horses episode)

Now Im not to sure of how much I can put about what happened next but Im guessing if you was outside at the same time as us you would know so lets pretend you are... Og and the bouncer was arguing and another was trying to calm it down and Og said they was beeing racist, then a riot van turns up and starts asking us questions, Og had been drinking for days by now but he can come across as being so sober it was amazing to watch but then he came out with a brilliant line, one of the Police officers was black, so Og goes "I think it is because I am black" the officer goes "I am black too tho Sir" "Yeah but I iz blacker than you" Dont think there was an answer in the Officers handbook to deal with that point, butt all you could do is laugh. So after a quick chat and by showing them the hotel check in receipt "We was going back to" of we went to the pub.

Next morning it was the drive back down to London so we set off about 10, it was Me Mark, Ad, Sam, Toryn and Og the rest of the band made there own way back down, but coming home it was a real good laugh with Og singing all the way through Scotland "Grandad touched me and made me cry, I said grandad thats not fair" over and over again and better not mention what happened at the service station....

We got back to London about 5ish then I drove on home, the next night was Hoxton which I didnt go to as I had some work to catch up on, but from what I have heard it was a great night and really busy.

Thursday night was Birmingham at the Hound and Hares which was a great venue and I think the band sounded the best they did all tour. After went back and stayed at Adam's, we had a good chat in the morning and I feel really lucky to have Adam to chat to about advice with music and where I want to go to things, last night was Tunbridge Wells and it was a great turn out of people and sold quite a few copies of the new album, but we managed to get pulled over twice on the way home by Police which never helps a situation.

Also never sit in the back of a car with Sam Ficek.... His wondering hands go everywhere.

So think thats it really I know I have missed loads out but its been a great tour and the band have been fun to be with, and also Lee the booking agent has done a great job and made my part in this tour a lot easier.

Og in action -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXX9FpM6VcY

Roses Kings Castles Tour Part 1

Thought id give everyone a quick update as the maid in the hotel kindly decided she would walk in at 8.30 this morning and woke me up then starts hoovering next door.

So where to begin, left London on Friday morning got a really nice splitter with tv, xbox and other things and drove up to Stockton on Tees to a venue called the KU Bar, the drive was going ok until i had a go, its only me which can take us off a motorway to a huge residential estate but once the sat nav had sorted itself out it was ok.

Think now is a good time to tell you who is with us, we have a full band, Adam and Tayo who if you have meet him before you will know what this could mean but he is a diamond and great fun to have on tour.

So yeah we got to Stockton about 19.30 and did our soundcheck and then got some food, we had abit of time to kill as we wasnt on till 11.30, but after bottle of gin, 2 creates of drink and 12 bottles of wine we was good to go. Then we had to check in to the hotel which sounds an easy task.... We stayed a premier inn and we was all paying for rooms and Og's (tayo) room was £10 more than everyone else as it was booked at a different time, so the receptionist was explaining this to him and he goes "Right thats it im going to get my cousin on the phone, im not paying this" and she said "who is that" then he comes out with the best answer ever "Lenny Henry hahahahahahahaha (Og Laugh) at that point i thought he was going to be homeless for the night but all was ok.

Oh yeah forgot the most horrific thing ive seen in a while, we was at a service station next to a motorway and a big husky dog ran across the motorway from nowhere and got ran over it was horrible and you want to go and get it but it was to late, but horrible thing to see, thought id share that story with you.

So gig went well went back to the hotel to sleep and the rest followed shortly, I was woke up about 2hrs later by Og and Adam laughing in the room next to me and Og shouting this went on for a bit but i fell back to sleep, only to find out security had to come to Og and Adam twice in the night due to the noise and complaints and i think his famous cousin came in to play again and Adam decided it was a good idea to start tweeting that Og had been arrested (Thanks for all your kind words for him tho)

Next day on the road again about a 3hr drive to Glasgow, Og was quite proud that he had left nothing behind in the hotel room, 10 minutes later phone call from premier inn, "Mr Baker who was in the room 42" "Tayo Ogidan" "Seems like he has left in a hurry and left alot of things behind, Shirts, chargers, toiletry's" so i pass the phone over to "Can you arrange next day delivery on these things"

So got to Glasgow its sooooo cold up here there like superhuman, did the soundcheck, Adam and the band went to do an instore while i did an interview about young people and music and my experiences which ill post in a few weeks or so the had a meal and then the gig which went great. Its really great to come back after last year, so many friendly faces which we all havent seen for a while, So that takes me up to about now sitting in a hotel room waiting to go to Edinburgh and the maid has just walked in again...... Anyway post again in a day or so, make sure you get Adam's new album which is available now