Contacts/venues within driveable distance of London (Brighton, Oxford etc)

[Clarky]

Hi all, was discussing with Nigel xilddx the other night how hard it is to get gigs in London and how we end up gravitating to the same venues (usually Camden/Hoxton/Shoreditch way), playing to the same people

We (All The Queens Ravens) would love to play further afield but to do so we would have to have some idea of venues and/or promoters that would be able to put us on a sensible non-clashing bill (ie, don't mix our folksy/poppy/flamenco stuff with a death metal band and an indie shoe-gazer band!) and it would probably have to be within say 2 (max 3) hours drive so that we can all get back.

So pretty please does anyone have any suggestions of venues/promoters in the likes of Brighton, Oxford or within the 2-3 hour catchment of London that we could approach that might fit the bill as discussed above? Cheers in advance

For those that don't know us, this what we are like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0noHL4khCeM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EysgZI-BPc

[TheGreek]

Lozz196 and I saw a band with BCer Lawrie MacMillan in a nice cafe style venue but for the life of me I can't remember where - PM either for more info.

[TheRev]

Is Bristol too far away? I can think of a couple of venues that would suit.

[Clarky]

Hi Dave, just googled and its says 2h 15 drive time which works

[JamesBass]

Best advice I can give is find someone to manage you guys if you haven't already? It might help in getting gigs elsewhere! My band are in the process of sorting things out with our management once again!

[Clarky]

We don't have a manager and the main voices in the band (not me ....) seem somewhat reluctant to get one, although I have suggested it on several occasions. I agree with you but its not down to me unfortunately

[mrtcat]

Oxford sucks. Live music other than metal struggles as all the venues were so up their own @r5es that they went under. Even the Bullingdon arms has gone downhill and that used to be ok. For a city with such a student population it's really disappointing.

[Clarky]

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1394823510' post='2395702']
Oxford sucks. Live music other than metal struggles as all the venues were so up their own @r5es that they went under. Even the Bullingdon arms has gone downhill and that used to be ok. For a city with such a student population it's really disappointing.
[/quote]
That sounds very disappointing I was there more years ago than I care to remember and it was quite lively back in the 1980s

[JTUK]

Faversham is lively and you'd do ok at the Hop festival...
Not sure if you HAVE to have a presence in the town before then ( to get on the stages )
and you might need to grace a few pubs beforehand...
depends how you handle that..

Have a look at this [url="http://www.playinginfaversham.com/"]http://www.playinginfaversham.com/[/url]
for a few ideas.

[matski]

How about The Forum in Tunbridge Wells?

http://www.twforum.co.uk

Edited March 16, 2014 by matski

[molan]

Maltings in Farnham might be your sort of place Clarky

https://farnhammaltings.com/events/

Global Cafe, South Street and Sub 89/The Bowery in Reading might suit as well

http://www.risc.org.uk/globalcafe

http://www.readingarts.com/whatson/

http://www.sub89.com/events/

Edited March 16, 2014 by molan

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Have you tried the lemon rock website? You can browse where other bands are playing , and you may find something that way.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1394818764' post='2395639']
Lozz196 and I saw a band with BCer Lawrie MacMillan in a nice cafe style venue but for the life of me I can't remember where - PM either for more info.
[/quote]

It was The Gallery Cafe, in Bethnal Green, link below (and good call Mick, was a really nice setting)

http://www.stmargaretshouse.org.uk/home

[Clarky]

Thanks for all your suggestions gents!

[EliasMooseblaster]

A bit of a shot in the dark, Clarky, but how do you think the Queen's Ravens would feel about sharing a bill with a band like Cherry White? Only, I'm working on a night up in Cambridge on 17th May and am looking for at least one more band. Since I'd already got local band Bouquet of Dead Crows on board, I thought it'd be nice to have a female-vocalist theme connecting the bands (not to mention a corvid connection with two of them...)

We're at http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/ and BoDC can be heard at http://bouquetofdeadcrows.bandcamp.com/album/together-we-fall-2 - I realise there's a pretty big gap between us all stylistically, but I'd been thinking we could always step it up from folk-flamenco-pop to hard rock via blues-rock...just a thought!

[Clarky]

Hi Ralph I really appreciate the offer. To be frank I have taken a listen to Bouquet and they are pretty far away from us genre wise, so that I can envisage the crowd being at the bar nattering while we are prancing around on stage singing about being valiant in Spanish! Many thanks for thinking of us but I think we need a more folksy evening to capture the crowd's attention

[timmo]

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1395084666' post='2398517']


We're at [url="http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/"]http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/[/url] and BoDC can be heard at [url="http://bouquetofdeadcrows.bandcamp.com/album/together-we-fall-2"]http://bouquetofdead...ether-we-fall-2[/url]
[/quote] I listened to the Bouquet of Dead Crows, and i like them. Pity they are Cambridge based otherwise i would go see them.

[Mykesbass]

Con Club, Lewes. Some gigs there are promoted by Union Music, an Americana music/record shop also in Lewes. Hope to see Burrito Bass' band Case Hardin there in May.

[skankdelvar]

Maybe more for next year, but Oxfordshire's usually knee-deep in slightly chi-chi and / or trust-fund boho [url="http://www.festivalsforall.com/festivals-in-oxfordshire"]festivals[/url] from late Spring to early Autumn.

Given the stuff that occupies the middle-lower reaches of Cropredy and Cornbury, you'd storm them.

[gapiro]

Cambridge - Portland Arms is a pretty good venue - worth a look. Also "The Corner House" . There are quite a few bands similar genre too who would tend to play portland arms.