I could be using this space to further vent
my anger at that exploitative, throatfucking corporate wannabe bastard Amanda
‘Cunting’ Palmer and her various crimes against legitimacy, art, friendship,
trust and truth over the last few years that peaked so sickeningly last week
with her attempt to steal the very souls from the sleeping, open mouths of her
fans’ children*
I could be using this little corner o’ the
internet to further bemoan the lack of originality, adventure and general care
that went into this years Mercury Prize nominations;
Or, I thought, I could use it for something
positive. After all, that’s why I write about music – fan first, cynic second –
I wanna celebrate and share the things I love. It’s a struggle to keep it that
way sometimes but there’s no point spreading further negative beams of bile and
hate into an already brutalized, moaning, squirming music world when there are
brighter sides to life (and I should know, because I’ve seen them), and so
we’re going to talk about my friend Carl.
Carl has promoted music at my local and
favourite pub, The Fox in Lewisham, for the past 8 years. He’s booked every
band I’ve been in during that time – from when I was in a group that could pack
the place out regularly to the evening Mark, Shaun and I donned animal hats and
played an entirely improvised electronica set to a dozen or so bemused faces,
he’s booked my bands because he’s willing to give people a fair go. Sometimes
even to his own detriment.
I know for a fact that he’s gone home
penniless at the end of rough nights where the punters simply didn’t show up,
wrists were not stamped and beer was not bought, while the bands have all taken
home a little something to reimburse them for their efforts. That, as the boys
from the Wire would have it, is just how Carl do.
The whole time he’s been promoting there
(and promoting is a key word – unlike almost all other London promoters** he
actually promotes the bands he books because he thinks they deserve to be
heard, because he wants you to see them at this excellent venue and he wants to
be striving towards a positive result for all involved from the punter to the
brewery) he’s been a payoff guy. Everybody gets paid. Every time.*** Even if he
doesn’t.
Aside from that little bit of wonderment
there’s the fact that he’s booked so many awesome bands – the likes of Breton,
William and Gemma Ray all cut their teeth at this venue for this guy. He knows
talent when he sees it and even on a night when the music wasn’t to your taste
you could tell that this wasn’t just some mug of a booker just throwing bands
on to fill spaces. It always made sense in one way or another.
Now this praise isn’t to be taken as some
massive backslap for a mate – Carl and I haven’t always seen eye to eye by any
means – but our mutual respect, both personal and professional has kept us
tight even when our hackles were up with one another.
Carl has put his heart and soul into
booking for the Fox and this Saturday will be the last time he does so, at
least for a little while. People just don’t come to the Fox like they used to,
at least not as regularly or with the same level of enthusiasm. While the
nation’s belt has been tightening the crew at the Fox have been doing
everything they can to keep the place running, healthy and vital (three words
one could easily attribute to the Fox’s amazing landlady Emily). It’s hard
work. Harder than they’d ever let on I shouldn’t wonder.
For Carl it’s all become a bit too much of
a struggle I suspect. He hasn’t told me his reasons for leaving (albeit
potentially temporarily), nor would I pretend to know with any level of
certainty. All I know is that for me personally this guy has been important. I
never would have met my bandmates were it not for Carl’s nights at the Fox, I
never would have seen Blue Balloon play, we never would have signed him, we
wouldn’t be looking at the band we’re considering for the label now…hell, Mark
and I probably wouldn’t have a label. I’m sure it’s the same for dozens, maybe
hundreds of people who’ve frequented the Fox over the last decade. Their lives just wouldn't be the same.
Maybe live music at this level is never
gonna go back to how it was just a few years ago, maybe the ‘scene’ has had its
way with this little Lewisham bar and moved on, callous whore as it is, and
maybe, just maybe, with a couple of months to ponder his next move and recharge
the musical engine Carl will be back booking, aflame with enthusiasm and
generous measures of scotch. Either way, what fucking fun we’ve all had.
Come and celebrate the Fox and Carl with us
on Saturday 22nd (There's bands on and it'll be awesome) because the places where our memories are made, where the most
important people in our lives congregate and where we have experienced
wonderful things over and over again over so many years don’t just happen by
themselves – those experiences are engineered and facilitated by people like
Carl, and that should never be forgotten. It's not like he's going away - Carl is still running quiz nights, club nights and so on in the immediate future - maybe you should tap him on the shoulder when you see him and ask him when he's making his return to full time live music promotion?
If you value your local pub, venue and
promoter then fucking go there, spend the little money you have and tell them ‘thank
you’ at the end of the night. Because otherwise you’ll lose the things you
love.
Come back soon mate.
XMichael
*she didn’t actually technically do this
**I said ALMOST all, don’t get your panties
bunched
***shaun still reckons carl owes him a few quid from foxfest 3 years ago