How long have you been active in the north east music scene and what do you do?
Hey, I’ve been active since I was 18 years old as a musician, I think I put my first gig on when I was 22 as a promoter? I’m 33 years old now, it’s been a long long time. My main role is co-promoter over at KU Promotions alongside Jimmy Beck but I also am a rep for other gigs and even more recently also take photos/videos of gigs. Bass playing wise I’ve played in a fair few projects most notably Cape Cub but currently playing with ‘Travis Shaw’ and ‘Church, Honey’ with a couple others TBA (that’s a promoter joke but also true).
How did you become involved in music and what have you done to get where you are today?
I’ll speak mainly as a promoter from now on as that’s been my full-time work for so long and probably more interesting than wanting to perform on stage ‘because it’s class’. I wanted to put gigs on because I wanted my mates to have somewhere to play at the start. I did everything myself to keep the costs down to please the venue owner at the time which meant setting up, doing the sound, taking little breaks away from the desk to take photos and serve some drinks if the bar was busy. I did that four, sometimes five nights a week for three years. I do think I’m still here because I’m very honest and friendly and people can see I’m horribly working class, I’m not from money in fact my parents were both disabled growing up. I am a people pleaser and somewhat live my happiness through the events I put on. I love live music, I don’t think there’s anything better than a dead good gig.
What advice would you offer to others looking to be more involved in music?
If you’re wanting to be a promoter I’d say find your local small venues, go in and watch the gigs as early as possible, maybe turn up at the door time. Stay as long as you are allowed and watch and take in what’s happening. Usually these gigs have the lowest overheads so speak to the owner of the building and see how feasible it would be to put a night on and explain it’ll be your first. Thankfully the buzz with your mates about your first promoted gig will be enough to fill a small room but then comes the graft. Little tips that always work is to keep the bands happy with expectations of what the gig is and how sales are going. Keep your engineers happy by sticking to planned timings and give them enough space and time to work. Keep everyone safe and most importantly, look after yourself. It’s a tough craft at times because the buck literally stops at you, if an event fails it’s because you didn’t get it right and that’s okay.
What are your favourite things about the north east music scene? Are there any particular highlights from your experiences?
I think the word wholesome is the vibe for me. I love seeing people succeed in their own expectations. My favourite thing is listening to people talk about something they really care about and the music world is full of those kinds of people.
Are there any upcoming events that you’re especially excited about and, if so, why?
The big one we’re promoting this year is a new music festival in Stockton called The Gathering Sounds festival. The best way to describe it to gig going fans is that it is a very slightly smaller Stockton Calling festival. Six stages all in established music venues like Georgian Theatre, ARC and KU itself. We’ve got This Feeling and Under The Influence promoters curating their own stages at this years festival. The line-ups announced please do check out because I could write a book about them all by now, headliners are Red Rum Club, Sophie and the Giants and The Mysterines, Du Blonde and Himalayas. It really feels like this is the year for a bloody big all day music festival ey?
Where can others find out more about your work and how can they get in touch?
My personal social media accounts are full of my work or you can check out KU Stockton on the usual places, I’m over at @SimonShawBass. Always happy to answer questions and I love a good natter so if you spot me at a gig let’s chat. Thanks very much for the questions Northern Music Collective.
KU Stockton: Facebook | Simon: Instagram & Twitter
Tag: Teesside
How long have you been active in the north east music scene and what do you do?
Oooh. This is a hard question to answer as I’ve been in and out for years, ha! But if we’re focusing on what I do currently, then I would say since the start of 2021.
I had the idea of wanting to create a newsletter database for gig-listings for when the world is out of the pandemic. I got too excited and launched The Tyne Tribe on International Women’s Day. In it’s current form, it’s best described as a curated newsletter of some of my favourite musical discoveries from the North East who I call “The Tribe” (I spent four years in London so I’m basically re-educating myself) and it also features some small-scale reviews, shares other publications articles’ and songs I’m currently listening to.
As lockdown restrictions ease it will focus more towards listings, events and music news but for now I am enjoying sharing some of our regions best talent and being able to provide another platform to shout about how wicked everyone is.
How did you become involved in music and what have you done to get where you are today?
So I used to have a couple of online zines from around 2011-2015 that focused more on promoting acts from the UK and USA rather than necessarily regionally. I went to University in Sunderland though, so had some very ad-hoc single review pieces published in The Crack and on the Uni’s website as well.
But my zines helped me land an internship at Sony Music so I moved down south and worked on various releases including Blue, Judas Priest, Carrie Underwood and Live Lounge. After my year was up I moved to a digital agency where I spent three years creating social strategies and album campaigns for Ward Thomas, Calum Scott, Tom Walker, Years & Years, The xx, Ellie Goulding and loads more! It was a brilliant experience and I loved seeing the real industry side of things that seems to be hidden to us Northerners.
After four years down south I decided to come back up North and for a while I didn’t do too much. I was briefly involved with Sofar Sounds and also did some live music photography which is a big passion of mine, but only this year did I decide to properly get back into the scene because I miss it so much and it’s also grown bloody loads which is amazing.
What advice would you offer to others looking to be more involved in music?
Just go for it. Regardless of what area you want to get into whether its writing, photography, promotions, playing in a band – just give it a go. I spent years being scared to network because I thought people wouldn’t take me seriously so have the confidence to fight for whatever it is you want and as long as you work hard you’ll get there. Also be nice to people, the music industry is way smaller than you think and connections are everything.
What are your favourite things about the north east music scene? Are there any particular highlights from your experiences?
The people. Honestly, I know everyone says it but it’s so true. I haven’t got a lot of connections in the North because I was too scared to make any before I moved (so hiya if you’re reading this, let’s grab a beer) but since I have started The Tyne Tribe you can see how truly supportive everyone is of each other and it’s refreshing to see.
I think my personal highlights are just becoming more familiar with the local venues since coming home. I took them for granted before, but now they’re some of my favourite places to be.
Where can others find out more about your work and how can they get in touch?
If you’re interested in The Tyne Tribe we’re on Twitter @thetynetribe, or you can subscribe to the newsletter that goes out twice a month here (it’s free) https://www.getrevue.co/profile/thetynetribe.
If you wanna be pals with me and grab that beer, I’m at @bekkacollins on Twitter, but also still do freelance social strategy work and shoot gigs when I can www.bekkacollins.com
How long have you been active in the north east music scene and what do you do?
I have had a voice in the music scene for nearly nine years. Famous Last Words started in 2016 and the majority of the organising, planning, designing the work, promotion and managing I have done myself.
How did you become involved in music and what have you done to get where you are today?
Following the blog, I took an interest in the event organisation, planning and the behind the scenes of live music events. This included preparation, familiarising myself with all aspects of the event, equipment and promotion. In doing so, I started working with events company Ten Feet Tall, that at the time were based at the Middlesbrough Empire. During my work with them, I created Famous Last Words. FLW has been a huge personal success as I have worked with incredible local artists and some further afield. I have also had the pleasure of managing stages at Stockton Calling, The Gathering Sounds and Twisterella over the past few years. FLW have also managed it’s own all day festival called MUNRO for the past two years.
What advice would you offer to others looking to be more involved in music?
The three most important tips I always give to people, if they ask me this question, are:
Tip 1 – Get to know everyone within the music scene, physically go to gigs, have a look around see who is there; 99% of the time people will always have a chat with you and if they don’t know something they’ll help you by directing you towards someone who does.
Tip 2 – Get involved because you love music, not because you want to make money from it. I can’t stress this enough, at a grassroots level everyone is doing it because they love music. There isn’t any other reason than that.
Tip 3 – Don’t be a doyle. Simple advice.
What are your favourite things about the north east music scene? Are there any particular highlights from your experiences?
The North East music scene is amazing, from Newcastle to Hartlepool, from Sunderland to Stockton, it’s full of class talent.
The togetherness as such, everyone is wanting everyone to do amazing things and take it to the next level, I think because sometimes the North East does get over looked in some ways, it gives everyone a motivation to prove people wrong and the area has been doing that for years now which is class.
My highlights as a promoter would be selling out gigs, Cape Cub & Michael Gallagher are probably the highlights for me in that sense because they were the first two I did. Working with Stockton Calling is always a blast as well, always one of the first things I write on my calendar whether it be as a promoter or as a ticket goer.
The highlight that is always in every gig and I don’t know if anyone else does it as a promoter but I watch people leave and if I see people leaving with a smile, I have done my job, giving them a nice night, bit of entertainment. Always something I look for.
MUNRO is always a highlight, working with the likes of The Lottery Winners, The K’s, Komparrison, Plastic Glass, Club Paradise, Walt Disco. I could spend all day chatting about MUNRO but I don’t want to bore your readers too much.
Where can others find out more about your work and how can they get in touch?
Famous Last Words can be found @FamousLastBoro on all socials! I do prefer if bands want to send me something or are wanting to work with me, to email me at FLW_events@hotmail.com
Famous Last Words: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
How long have you been active in the north east music scene and what do you do?
I was first introduced to the music scene about 2003 when I was in a punk band called Verbally Withdrawn. But right now I have my own music blog which is named after that band called That Verbally Withdrawn Music Blog. I also still play I’m currently in a blues-influenced band, Grim Lizard (formally Dark Passenger), as the bass player.
How did you become involved in music and what have you done to get where you are today?
My interest in music started when I got introduced to the band Blink 182. I just loved everything about them; the image and music all seemed very cool to me. Over the year I’ve been in and out of bands and have made many friends along the way. I’ve also been very keen on supporting over bands and going to as many gigs as I can. That’s why I started the blog and, I think, the more I do the more popular the things I have posted have gotten.
What advice would you offer to others looking to be more involved in music?
My advice, if you’re interested in going to gigs and getting involved yourself, is to find other people with the same interests and catch some shows together. If you’re interested in writing, maybe start your own blog or get in touch with people already involved like local zines or magazines for a little help.
What are your favourite things about the north east music scene?
The support that people give each other, especially recently, has been incredible to see. I also love that events aren’t just limited to music acts; you get all types of art being displayed at events. People using art to send out a message. There’s really been loads going on over the past few years. On a personal level, I’ve enjoyed being involved in many things like bands messaging me upcoming tracks to review, and being in the band getting to play festivals like Stockton Calling, Heelapalooza and Volkspower, were so much fun. One of my favourites was playing Salsola’s single launch for the song “Cass”. I’ve always enjoyed launches that are organised by the band. It’s always been a fun and creative way bands to support each other.
Where can others find out more about your work and how can they get in touch?
Mostly on the socials such as Facebook or Twitter, for the blog just search “That Verbally Withdrawn Music Blog”, and for the band search “Grim Lizard”.
That Verbally Withdrawn Music Blog: Facebook | Twitter | Website
Grim Lizard: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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