By Adam Littlemore
A venue in Holmeside has launched ‘The Brand New Club’, a new monthly live club night for new music, aimed at both the seasoned band who’d like to try out new material as well as groups looking to get their first ever gig. I spoke to Ben Richardson who is the promoter of the Independent and had a quick chat with about him the event and this is what he had to said:
“The Brand New Club is Independent’s recently launched event for brand new music, a monthly live club-night aimed at both the seasoned band who’d like to try out new material as well as groups looking to get their first ever gig. Taking place on the last Thursday of every month, The Brand New Club has quickly established itself as a melting pot for talent in Sunderland”
“We’re always looking for new bands to come play at Independent – they’re the life blood of any music scene – but we also know how difficult it can be to get your first gig so we’ve come up with The Brand New Club as a platform for bands who want a gig quickly and easily. We’ve made the event as easy as possible for bands to get involved with – as we provide a full drum kit and all the amps and backline that a band will need – they just need to bring their instruments and some original songs and we’re away.”
“Bands who perform are restricted to just four, original songs”, as Ben continues
“we don’t want this to become a buskers night so we strictly enforce the originals-only rule, and minimising the amount of songs just takes off any pressure that not having a full set brings. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere for everyone – both performers and audience – and is becoming a good social event too, as everyone has opportunities to catch up with old friends and make new ones”.
‘The Outtakers’ were first. It was their first time performing and they did an amazing job. I loved how they were interacting with the audience getting the crowd going and singing along to their songs with powerful riffs with the drum.
The second band up were ‘Cosial’ who blew away the crowd and I loved how they started playing really mellow then starting to go from mellow to drums and guitar clashing together to form a wall of sound.
The third band was ‘Divine Image’, and the only words I can use to describe their sound is really heavy grungy in your face music. This was my first time seeing the band perform, and wow, I wasn’t expecting what I was in for with the heavy chunky riffs along with the loud bashing drums with heavy bass.
The last band of the night were ‘Badger’ who I have been meaning to see perform for a long time and I was very happy to see them tonight. It’s very hard to describe their sound and I just can’t wrap my head around it, you just have to go and see them live.
