Interviews

Check out these interviews

Julian Deane: ex-Toploader guitarist

11/03/2007

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway This interview originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. After graduating from Sussex University Deane planned to do aid work, instead he became a pop star! “It was a slog playing up and down the country; then we did Dancing in the Moonlight and it happened really quickly. We burnt out really quickly.” After Toploader, Deane moved to Brighton. He taught music business studies at Brighton Institute of Modern Music. “I understood the intricacies of the business. In the early days of Toploader I drove to get us management. Even then I harboured desires to be a manager.” He spotted psychedelic popster Paul Steel’s raw talent,” Deane recalls, “I built his confidence as a writer and performer for 18 months. It’s important to develop a relationship without contractual obligations. I recommended other managers to him, then he asked if I would do it.” Last year Paul Steel supported Sean Lennon, Aqualung and Ed Harcourt. “13artists were crucial in developing a fan base. Getting a Sean Lennon support put us in front of the right people at an international level.” 13artists are the agent for Deane’s other band, the Xcerts. Steel signed to Polydor. “Lots of labels were showing interest. We did a fantastic lunchtime showcase at the Half Moon in Putney. It was pressure for the band – every move was scrutinised. They needed live experience to match the recordings, which everyone loved from day one. Labels want to see you can promote yourselves with a live band.” Influences include the Beach Boys, Super Furry Animals and Rufus Wainwright. Steel is producing his album at home and mixing it with Tony Hoffer in LA (producer of The Kooks, The Fratellis, Beck etc). “I met the Xcerts in Brighton. It was easy to decide to manage them, they’re a phenomenal live band. I’m into the same influences: Pavement, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine.” Often described as very Scottish, distorted pop, Deane says “The Xcerts sounds only like itself, which I’m interested in when discovering new music.” Their debut single ‘Breathtaking Fight’ - which Steve Lamacq called “ludicrously punchy” - was ‘Single of the Week’ on 6music. They had a Lamacq live session for Radio 1. It was playlisted nationally with XFM. “The best way to break the Xcerts is to keep on the road. They don’t have a record deal, but there is a national radio plugger and TV plugger in place. This is a strong position. We’re recording our own stuff and licensing it, or maybe signing up with a major.” Their new single is out in April on Sony BMG funded, Glasgow-based indie label: One Records. Deane’s advice for would-be managers: “You need drive. Be prepared for vans breaking down, and phone calls at 1am. You must be clued up and have good contacts.” Advice for artists? “Few bands are ready for management. A common excuse is ‘if we had a manager, it would be okay.’ Once you’re ready for record and publishing deals you need a manager. Most managers need to know you’re already doing it for yourself. Don’t invite industry people to see you live until you’re really great. They won’t come back.” www.myspace.com/paulsteel www.myspace.com/aprilandibypaulsteel www.myspace.com/thexcerts www.myspace.com/raygunmusicmanagement

Alice Friedl-Harris, Attitude is Everything

11/03/2007

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway This article originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. Attitude is Everything promotes disability equality in the music industry and improves disabled people’s access to live music. They formed in 2000 in response to complaints from young disabled people who could not get access to music events, clubs and festivals. Music venues and the music industry in general were not aware of their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) so the project was set up to raise awareness and encourage venues to become more proactive in meeting the requirements of the DDA. I talked to Alice Friedl-Harris about her new role and what she’s currently focusing on. “We’re working in partnership with Mean Fiddler Music Group, Live Nation and Channelfly (who put on The Great Escape) amongst others. We’re currently trying to branch out into the South East region to encourage more South East venues to sign up to Attitude’s Disability Equality Training and our Charter of Best Practice.” Attitude is Everything are recruiting six local disabled or deaf experienced disability equality trainers to deliver this training specialising in the music industry and local venues. “There’ll be a particular focus on the Brighton Festival Fringe and The Great Escape Festival. We hope to involve as many local venues as possible in becoming more inclusive. The trainers need some experience of disability equality training but we’ll train them up on the Attitude brand of training,” says Friedl-Harris. “They need to be passionate about music,” she adds. Asked what her specific role is: “I was taken on to get venues up to standard in their equality awareness. I’ll be approaching local venues, doing access audits to see what provision they have in place and trying to get them to sign up to disability equality training for their staff. Payment for the courses is on a sliding scale according to the size of venue. We also have cheaper taster sessions.” But Attitude is Everything is also about changing attitudes to disability, and encouraging and promoting inclusivity. They are trying to make the music industry wake up to this issue by putting on more disabled musicians at events, stewards at festivals, and employing disabled people in other industry jobs. “With lateral thinking there are lots of things that can be done to make venues more accessible,” explains Friedl Harris, “all public premises should be made accessible by law. There aren’t many law cases yet, but once there are more examples of venue owners being prosecuted or sanctions being taken against them, the owners will begin to take their responsibilities more seriously.” Quite a few venues have signed up to Attitude is Everything’s charter, which provides benchmarks for venues to aspire to. “The charter gives guidance on what kind of adaptations and changes in policy that we’d expect from a venue committed to disability equality. So far in Brighton we have the Dome and Concorde II as charter venues, and we need lots more.” Asked if she enjoys the job, Friedl-Harris enthuses “It’s a dream job for me, combining my two favourite things: promoting disability equality and socialising and clubbing.” To find out more, please contact Alice, Suzanne or Graham: Email: regional@artsline.org.uk Office: 0207 3882227 Website: www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk

Anna Moulson: music promoter, Melting Vinyl

14/01/2007

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway This interview originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. Moulson got into promoting music when at university in Newcastle. “I helped some friends put gigs on. I always used to feel uncomfortable at blokey gigs, so I started doing it myself. It was a hobby. I just loved music.” She started promoting in Brighton at the end of the rave scene. “I threw myself into it. I remember the first band I put on asking me where the monitors were, and I thought ‘I dunno, what are monitors?’ But the gig went really well. I was on a high. I made 20 quid and thought I’d made it!” The Princes Trust gave Moulson some funding to get things started, but in the early days she learnt things the hard way. “I put on a festival called the Brighton Crawl to promote bands on indie labels. The first year was really successful. It was like a medieval riot - we had to hold the doors to stop punters getting in! Then ATP music festival came along and I lost thousands.” Asked what it is like to be a promoter in a “blokey” role, she responds: “Brighton made me. It’s totally acceptable for women to be promoters here.” Moulson has had the passion and interest to keep going for the past 10 years. “I did the flyering, postering, dealing with agents, cooking and ran all the shows,” she recalls. Now Moulson works a 4-day week and has people helping out. “It’s a young person’s game. You need the energy to read NME every week and keep up with what’s happening.” Originally into “trashy bands that couldn’t play their instruments very well,” she has moved into booking singer songwriters and roots based music. “These artists have more longevity, which gives my business more stability as I can re-book them over the years,” notes Moulson. Moulson likes to take time over her publicity, making flyers and posters informative and well designed. “You really need to sell the show and describe it”, she says. And she’s political too: “There needs to be proper legislation for promotion. At the moment it’s a free for all. Agents can just pull a show at the last minute. I’d like a revolution to happen.” She is part of a music committee in Eastbourne and is helping to develop the music scene there. “People are beside themselves when they see a good gig in Eastbourne. You know when you get a smell or taste in your mouth about something happening. It’s an adrenaline rush, and you think ‘we are the chosen ones at this really exciting gig,’ like when I booked the White Stripes before they got huge.” Plans for the future? “Work part time, earn lots of money, get a dog and go walking on the downs. I’m happy for Paul (at Melting Vinyl) to bring in new ideas,” she enthuses. She enjoys teaching, and promoting cult specialist tours such as live soundtrack to film events. For a ten-year celebration Moulson wants to return to the old days where she hired out community venues and church halls “people were just relaxed and enjoying themselves, as they weren’t formal venue settings. It was exciting,” she remembers. She is looking at working with bands that pull lots of people but don’t have a high profile in national press. “I want to do a celebration around town, broadcast from Birmingham. It’ll be grassroots, public-driven.” Any advice for ‘would-be’ promoters? “Get a mentor. You need lots of pre-production experience, technical knowledge, good communication and organisation skills and to work out finances under pressure. Brighton Music Network is a great support system to tap into because it opens up your eyes to other things happening around town. Don’t be afraid to ask for good deals with venues or too proud to seek advice. Keep up-to-date, look at radio station playlists, read music mags and balance the business out with some regular guaranteed work. There will be highs and lows, but you have to stick at it.” Email general-enquiries@meltingvinyl.co.uk if you are interested in doing work experience for Anna Moulson, or if you want to send your favourite Melting Vinyl gigs of the past 10 years. Moulson is thinking of putting on an exhibition and your comments could well be used. www.meltingvinyl.co.uk www.myspace.com/meltingvinyl Tune into totallywired with Anna Moulson and Marcus O'Dair on Juice 107.2 FM every Sunday night from 8-10pm and on demand on www.totallyradio.com

Steve Farris

07/01/2007

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway This article originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. “My first break in the music industry was doing lights and sound at the Zap Club in the heady days of acid house,” remembers Farris, “then I became the Levellers lighting engineer for five fun-filled globetrotting years. I moved onto a job as A&R assistant at EMI Publishing.” Later at Sony Publishing Farris signed deals with Skint’s publishing company, Snow Patrol, Rae and Christian and Belle and Sebastian amongst others. “Then I took an A&R job at peoplesound.com who were at the forefront of MP3 distribution in the dot com era,” he continues. Eventually Farris moved back to Brighton where he finds himself working with the Levellers and Skint again but in a different role. “I am part of a team running the Levellers record label (On the Fiddle recordings) and publishing company at the Metway Studios. On the Fiddle’s first release is a career spanning greatest hits DVD - called “Chaos Theory” - and has been well received by the fans and press alike.” Farris also manages a hip hop/funk/soul artist called Kidda who released two 12”s on Catskills and is currently putting the finishing touches to his debut album “Going Up” for Skint records which is due out this year. The album features guest vocalists Blak Twang, Beatnuts and Gary Lightbody. They plan a series of limited 7”s to get the ball rolling. “I also co-manage Phil Hartnoll’s new project Long Range with Dave Philpot (Skint),” says Farris. “The Long Range debut album “Madness and Me” will see its initial release in Japan in January 2007 and we are talking to UK labels for a release here. The band has already been approached to play major festivals in 2007.” I asked about his workload: “Securing overseas releases for the Chaos Theory DVD for the Levellers and planning the next studio album. I have just set up a new WAP mobile phone site for the band and we are doing some interesting things online. With Kidda I’m just tying up the loose ends around the making of the album and working out a plot with Skint. My main focus with Long Range has recently been getting assorted A&Rs and media to a show at Cargo in London.” And plans for the future? “To earn a living doing what I do in Brighton. I am enjoying working with all three acts and overcoming the different challenges that come my way. They are lovely people to work with, who are talented and make great music.” And his advice for anyone wanting to get into this line of work: “If you get offered a way in - however humble the job is - be brilliant at it and learn from the people around you. A degree of unwavering self-belief helps too!” For more info have a look at: www.myspace.com/kiddauk www.myspace.com/longrangemusic www.myspace.com/levellers

Jonny Reggae: Director, Catskills record label

01/01/2007

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway This article originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. Jonny Reggae studied underwater photography at Plymouth where he met a couple of musicians, including Bushy (DJ on the Catskills Label), and formed a band. “We moved to Brighton mid ’89 and got jobs at Revenge where John Digweed and JC from Skint were resident DJs. I got into DJing and house music.” Reggae went on to DJ for Killa Riddim Sound System, and in 1994 opened reggae specialist record shop Riddim Records. “Two years later a couple of mates started Catskills with me.” Ten year old Catskills Records, started out as a Big Beat label, and now offers all kinds of different music: “We always wanted the label to reflect what we’re into personally, musically..” says Reggae. Currently their roster includes indie punk band The Ripps, the folktronica/ambient pop of Icelandic Husky Rescue, hip hop band Black Grass, punk band Hardkandy and “crazy electronica” from Pepe Deluxé whose soundtrack for the highly successful Levi’s Twisted Jeans ad ‘Before You Leave’ went into the Top 20 in 2001. “We set out to be like Beggars Banquet. Majors always have a wide range of artists, and we didn’t see any reason we couldn’t do this as an indie. It keeps the vibrancy.” To add to this impressive list of artists, they would like to sign a really good Drum ‘n’ Bass producer, and they are always interested in receiving good music. “We get bundles of CDs every week,” Reggae told me, “and listen to everything that comes in.” I asked him to give advice for bands looking to be signed to an indie: “The music has to be brilliant. The artists have to be good to work with, hungry for it, professional...” And what about setting up a record label? “Keep money tight: even if it pours in, save it for rainy days. Only release music you’re in love with. Work extremely hard,” offers Reggae. Jonny was off to the printers to arrange for some T-shirts to be made, to proof and deliver the album artwork for The Ripps and then on to interview someone for work experience at Catskills. “I look after the production side, working with the artists through the recording process, but I’m pretty deskbound,” says Reggae, “however glam it might seem.” Catskills are taking on more people to work for free on their intern program in their Brighton offices. Ideal candidates must commit to at least 2 months to take advantage of the program in which they will get a broad knowledge of the music industry across Catskills’ three companies: Catskills Records, Catskills Music Publishing and Beathut.com digital downloads. They have to be available for 3 or 4 days a week. “It’s very difficult to get work in the music industry. The only way in is through work experience. It’s vital. At majors you have to start right at the bottom. At Catskills we offer you a chance to spend a couple of weeks with each director. The more you put in, the more you get out of it,” enthuses Reggae. “You start off with basic office admin,” he continues, “but eventually get to work across all aspects of the business from the publishing company and legal and finance through to club promo, plugging and marketing.” If you’re interested, give Jonny Reggae a call on the Catskills office number: (01273) 626245 or email: jonny@catskillsrecords.com. Catskills’ upcoming releases for the new year: www.Husky-Rescue.com: 2nd album “Ghost is not Real” release date 29th January 2007. “It has a glacial feel to it. It sounds like where they come from: Helsinki.” Reggae www.myspace.com/theripps: debut album ‘Long Live The Ripps’ due for release 19th February 2007. “The trio’s brand of catchy and quintessentially English power-pop only furthers their case for an all conquering ace-ness that deserves to escape the region.” NME www.pepedeluxe.com: look out for the new Pepe Deluxé album to be released end of April 2007. “A music fanatics’ and producers’ album. He doesn’t play instruments. He wrote every note on MIDI.” Reggae

Jayne Houghton - Excess Press

03/12/2006

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway This article originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. Jayne Houghton, a partner in music PR/event management company Excess Press began as a music business photographer. Things took off when The Happy Mondays and Stone Roses - Manchester bands she was photographing - needed to raise their profile in London. Jayne was working with a guy who ran a PR company. He needed space to set up the Heavenly Records label. “I took the company,” recalls Jayne. Suddenly she had an enormous roster of bands including New Order, Wet Wet Wet, Des'ree, Kula Shaker, James, and Kiss. “I was thrown in the deep end,” she reflected, “I worked events like Reading Festival. The Mondays were at the height of their career. New Order had just finished World in Motion. I had 6 staff. I was flying by the seat of my pants.” Jayne shared some highlights of her career. “We thought ‘what’s the daftest place to make a video?’” They put New Order on the Baywatch set in LA. “The Baywatch babes and David Hasslehoff sprinting across the sand in the video was just so incongruous with a dour Manc band like New Order!” Or watching bands from the side of the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury with her baby, Sam, in 1994; doing PR for Reading Festival when Kurt Cobain came on stage in a wheelchair. It was Nirvana’s last UK show before he died. “Kurt jumped into the press pit and got stuck and a few of us hoisted him back on stage,” remembers Jayne. We discussed the downside of PR: “The superficiality of the music business. The frustration when you think a band’s brilliant and you can’t get a buzz going. It can be demoralising.” And the upside? “Appreciating talent, being open-minded, taking chances on musical styles outside of the norm, rather than following trends. When something like Guerrillas or The Streets comes along. I like supporting people that are left of centre The massive upswing when you’re proved right and one of your bands takes off.” Jayne is working on a Joy Division film and reissues, a Happy Mondays comeback album, The Great Escape, Glastonbury, and local label Life is Easy, which puts out releases by bands like My Little Problem featuring a couple of guys from Electric Soft Parade. She finds the balance of working on major label campaigns and supporting local businesses rewarding. “We’re having a party to celebrate Rounder Records’ 40 years as Brighton’s coolest indie shop (in Brighton Square). Norman Cook’s helping us because he worked there. There’s as much satisfaction getting small ultra keen local acts their first national press piece, as in chasing Shaun Ryder for a month and finally pinning him down to get a good story out of him.” Asked about a typical working day, Jayne lists “Meeting with colleagues, client meetings in London, writing campaign plans, weekly updates for clients, thinking of angles for stories, chasing up journalists and doing press releases for 3 months ahead.” Coming up Jayne has music conferences in Amsterdam and Norway. She’s just back from a conference in Montreal. “Between all this, I have to have a life,” she laughs. “It’s great that I get to travel all over the world at someone else’s expense but I don’t do much of that now. I tend to be office-based and steer the company.” Jayne’s advice to anyone considering a career in music PR: “Do work experience. Offer yourself about to help. Once you have a foot in the door, work hard and prove yourself. Don’t bother doing a degree course. I don’t know anyone in music PR who did it that way. You learn music PR by doing it.” If you missed this year’s The Great Escape, get your wristband in time for 2007: 17th-19th May in Brighton. Watch www.escapegreat.com for updates. Also worth checking out: My Little Problem (www.myspace.com/mlpsongs)

Mark Hobrough: 1917 Corp

20/11/2006

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway This article originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. This week I met up with Martin Tibbetts and Mark Hobrough. This duo used to run the very successful Revolution Promotions throughout the 90’s: Mark was MD and Founder, Martin was General Manager. Together they set up the UK’s first independent street promotions team. Revolution was utilised by all UK major labels and most indie labels. They had a star-studded client base: Muse, Feeder, Oasis, Robbie Williams, Radiohead, Moloko, Fat Boy Slim, Placebo, The Verve and loads more. And now they’re back with a promotions and marketing consultancy - 1917 – the year of the Russian Revolution. “We want something more focused, more of a boutique so we can work with a smaller number of artists in more detail, and we aim to come up with new ways of raising band’s profiles to reach new audiences,” Martin told me. I asked Mark who their new clients were: “Sony BMG contacted us about the new Clash Singles Box Set. It was excellent to kick off the new company with that.” 1917 wanted to do something memorable and creative, that people would enjoy, so they came up with the idea of putting on an exhibition in Brighton of the Clash’s original sleeve artwork. It attracted a good turnout of fans, bands and local music industry. They have also partnered with Rounder Records (no – not the excellent record store in the Lanes, but one of the US’s biggest indie labels) working across their roster to raise the profile of the artists on the label with targeted promotions that provide a different slant from the usual way of doing things. This is a fantastic opportunity, with Rounder specialising in American roots music of all kinds, including Bluegrass and old-time Country: artists ranging from Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alison Krauss, Madeleine Peyroux to all the Jamaican Studio 1 records, including the earliest Bob Marley recordings. Martin says: “Rounder has a slightly older audience, but then we’re getting older and losing our teeth, so we want to focus on things we like.” At the moment, they are busy promoting Nanci Griffith’s new album ‘Ruby’s Torch’ also on the Rounder label. They manage artists too: alternative folk rockers Viarosa, powerpop punk band Teasing Lulu, pop, a’capella, blues band Cordelia Fellowes & Co and Emma King, who, according to Mark is “a very talented singer-songwriter who has a phenomenal voice with a country edge.” I caught Cordelia Fellowes and Teasing Lulu at this year’s Brighton Live and was impressed with both acts. Last week Teasing Lulu released a song on www.daddyfresh.com called “The Ex Factor” which will be in a horror movie called ‘Reverb’. The Stranglers’ bass player, J J Burnel is producing Teasing Lulu’s latest album, which should be finished and ready to be purchased in time for your Christmas stocking. If you are interested in working with them, email revolt@1917corp.com with some info about your act or label, or if you want to have a listen to the music mentioned here, look up myspace.com/1917corp. 1917 certainly know what they are talking about.

Martine McDonagh: ex-James manager

11/11/2006

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway Lisa Holloway chats to ex-James, now Fujiya & Miyagi’s Manager Martine McDonagh. This interview originally appeared in Latest7 magazine. I asked Martine how she got into managing bands. “I drifted into it. I was working at Rough Trade doing independent PR. I was one of four women who set up an independent promoting company. We got the job of doing Factory Records’ promo.” James was on the Factory label. When they asked Martine to manage them, how could she resist? Martine recalled the highlights: “The real buzz is when things start to build and you feel a response to all your hard work … like when James went into the charts for the first time with ‘Sit Down’ and seeing people in the street wearing James t-shirts.” After ten years with James, Martine did an MA in Creative Writing in Manchester whilst living in Brighton. “I wrote on the train. At the time there were train strikes, so sometimes the journey took 8 hours. My friend and I ended up taking our pyjamas and a toothbrush to get ready for bed on the train!” Martine met Pete Fijalkowski and began working with his Brighton based-band, Polak. “It went well,” Martine remembers, “we did a deal with One Little Indian. Then there was a change of personnel and it just didn’t work out. My Dad died, and I decided to devote most of my time to writing.” Martine is now back in band management. I wondered what made her return. “I’d known Fujiya & Miyagi for a long time.” Martine went to lots of their gigs and saw them at the ICA, where she said to a friend “that’s the only band that could persuade me back into management.” One day they asked for some help, and she just carried on helping. I asked Martine what managers are looking for in a band. “They have to be talented musically, a bit eccentric. I’m not interested in the mainstream: stuff I’ve heard a million times before. You can’t expect anyone to be completely original, but whatever their influences and genre, they have to have taken it and done something that is unique to them. Fujiya & Miyagi are not kids. They know about the industry. They know what they want to achieve. They’re very good at what they do and they’re great people.” Martine’s first novel, the first part of a trilogy, has just come out with indie press, Myriad Editions, who published last year’s successful Brighton Book. Martine is still rooted in the world of the independent: “There’s still lots of stigma attached to it in publishing. I come from a music background where to release independently is a cool thing to do. I’d rather be published independently than by a big publishing house at the beginning of my career.” After our talk, Martine was catching a 21:30 flight for a midnight gig in Berlin. Then a photo shoot and a plane back early the next morning. Sounds glamorous? Sometimes it is. But as Martine has proven, to get results you have to be prepared for some hard graft. ‘I Have Waited and You Have Come’ Myriad Editions, price £6.99 Fujiya & Miyagi album ‘Transparent Things’ on Tirk Records (Tirk 017)

Phil Nelson: Aqualung's manager

17/10/2006

Interviewed by Lisa Holloway Here's the first ever Brighton Music Network column published in Latest7 magazine. This column celebrates the Brighton music scene. This week I chatted to Phil Nelson to get the background to Brighton Music Network. “An interesting turning point in the evolution of the Brighton music scene was when the Levellers purchased the Metway in 1994. They wanted to put something back into the town that helped break them, and built a recording studio and recorded their next four albums there.” The Levellers and Phil - their manager for 15 years - rented it out to like-minded businesses and artists, creating a community. “Brighton didn’t really have bands that broke out of the area. Primal Scream lived here for a couple of years. Frazier Chorus came and went. Apart from the emergence of Big Beat, there was no real scene.” Phil had a chance meeting with Mike Bradshaw, a contemporary of Jo Whiley on BBC Brighton – now BBC Southern Counties – on the show ‘Turn it Up’. “Mike introduced me to Daniel Nathan (Juice 107.2)”, Nelson recalls, “and from that, the Metway Sessions were born.” A Metway Session is an established milestone for aspiring artists in Brighton, and over the years these sessions have spawned a clutch of successful Brighton bands: British Sea Power, Electric Soft Parade, Eighties Matchbox, Electrolane are just a few. 1994-2000 saw an unprecedented influx of music professionals to Brighton which turned it, says Nelson, “from one of Morrissey’s ‘seaside towns they forgot to close down’ into what is arguably the third biggest music economy in the country. A bi-product of so many new arrivals was a group of individuals who did not know or engage with each other.” Nelson conceived of a networking agency that would get people working together. He called it Brighton Music Network. In 2004 I gave Phil a call, and the rest as they say… “Originally, we were working in tight groups or with known partners in London. Steve Stark (Totally Wired/Juice 107.2) and Mark Hobrough (1917) set about opening up these groups,” noted Nelson. We established regular monthly networking meetings where everyone could meet each other, discover common objectives and do business. A team of people built the online directory (with considerable assistance from James Drohan, drummer with Autumn Red and Little Wonder) and website, and we now work closely with the two major music industry festivals in Brighton: Brighton Live and The Great Escape. Now BMN has a big enough membership to be a ‘real’ network we have recruited a Board. There will be more about what we are doing over the coming months. For now, here is the first official announcement of the Board. Thurstan Crockett: Head of Sustainability & Environmental Policy, Brighton & Hove City Council Mark Flannery: MD, Panic Room Productions; Head of Songwriting, Brighton Institute of Modern Music Jayne Houghton: Partner, Excess Press - PR and event management consultancy Lisa Maisey: MD, Lout Promotions, Lout Events Ltd; Director, Brighton Live Dean Marsh: Dean Marsh & Co. Solicitors; MD, Independent Label Scheme Allan McGowan: Consultant: ILMC, Wintrup Songs, vip-booking.com Joe Pidgeon: MD, Contenda – brand development and product launch consultancy If you want to be considered for a free recording session at the Metway and air time on Juice 107.2 and Totally Wired see www.metwaystudios.co.uk/metway.htm or www.totallywired.co.uk/pages/senddemo.php for details.