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
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