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I f you want a low down and dirty Rock night with bands, booze and birds, writes Wild Krissy Stixx, look no further than the New Tower in Hull, which plays host to a blinder of a new Rock night every second Saturday in the month. The old Tower ballroom, in the less than salubrious surroundings of the rear of the train station, had the enviable reputation of knocking shop extraordinaire, a dim dive of a place. “Go to Tower for an hour and snog a dog!” used to be the phrase we’d all utter, staggering the 50 yards from city centre to venue drunkenly when the pubs dispatched us onto the streets.
But times have changed. The city centre of Hull is home to new and shiny shopping centres, a state-of-the-art travel exchange only moments from the Tower’s doors, and the whole place reeks not of stale cigarettes and broken dreams but of vitality, vigour and promises not yet made. So what are we waiting for? It’s NOT always dull in Hull!
Lightning Jack Cane is the host behind this new venture, already huge on the Hull Rock scene as DJ at the regular Ringside pub Rock night and also the Rock Revival brand. I fired an email at the poor guy in between organizing travel so I could get to the next event on 8th August, to find out more about why now is the right time to go bigger and louder than ever before in the North...
You run a club night at the Ringside pub on Beverley Road in Hull, and it's a popular night. What made you decide to start something new up in another venue?
Jack: This new night I have started is something that my regular weekly crowd have been requesting for some considerable time, since in fact I finished my last monthly night at the Welly Club in Hull in 2007 (The Welly decided dance nights were the way forward). Ringside is a very popular destination with the Rock crowd but a big city centre Nightclub feel with live music on a Saturday night is something different altogether.
We know a bit about The Tower's history, but what made you decide to use it for this new club night?
Jack: Well, after a very successful meeting between the owners & myself back in May, I knew they had the right attitude and were willing to work towards what I was trying to achieve. As soon as I walked through the door I just knew this was the right venue, the décor is nothing short of spectacular and even includes a large waterfall! It`s also very roomy without being over large, if you know what I mean. The New Tower can hold 950 people, spread across 3 different areas: the Main Dancefloor, the Balcony (inc dancefloor) and the chillout area. Another plus was the large stage area which is easily big enough to be able to bring to Hull some bigger name bands (I`m currently talking to 6 household names and hope to be able to publicise our plans soon).
I s it really possible that there are enough people in Hull who are into Rock music to sustain such a variety of pub and club events (e.g. Gingerman Revival) as well as a dedicated Rock night at a club? How do you promote it and ensure its survival?
Jack: When I first started out again with Rock Revival in 2003 there was absolutely nowhere in Hull a Rock fan could have a decent night out which is why I decided to do this. It`s fair to say that over the last 2 years we have become a little swamped with them, but where something is successful others will always see an opportunity to make money! There have been a few that have come and gone but only the good ones remain, such as Gingerman Revival as you mentioned, which harks back to a regular event of the 80’s. Adie, who runs the Gingerman Revival, works very closely with me and we promote each others events & this seems to work very well.
I also know from my Welly Club days that there are easily enough Rock fans in Hull to make this new venture a success. Rock Revival @ The Welly regularly pulled in around 400 people each month. With the added bonus of a live band at Rock Revival – Thunder In The Tower, I`m expecting to draw a good many more. Also, the bands featured each month will be bands that are not regulars on the Hull live music circuit so in most cases you will only be able to catch them at Thunder In the Tower - a little bit of exclusivity is always a good thing! As I mentioned above, come 2010 I will be bringing some bigger bands to Hull…
A variety of bands will be playing at The Tower. How does a band get in touch, and what are you looking for?
Any bands that wish to play Rock Revival – Thunder In The Tower should first of all supply me with studio recorded mp3 file/files which they feel best represents their style… or provide me with a MySpace link containing the music. I can be reached in numerous ways, you can find me on Myspace :
www.myspace.com/lightninjackcane
through my website/forum
www.hullrockers.co.uk
or via email on my Arfm Radio account
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
my Ringside account
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Or finally at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
I`m looking for anybody that puts on a great show, but please no Screamo/Black/Death Metal bands!
Shamelss! Let’s talk briefly about the UK Rock scene as a whole. In recent times, members of the music profession have said that music is no longer the soundtrack to people's lives - they now have games/movies/chat just a click away, and radio doesn't hold sway. How true do you think this is? What has changed?
Jack: First of all I believe for any “TRUE” music fans, music will always be the soundtrack of their lives. I know nothing will change that for me. I also believe that modern technology is a great thing and brings much more music into peoples lives. As you say, it`s all just a click away and the fact that music has now captalised on the games side of things is another plus, in particular the Guitar Hero phenomenon. It has given Rock Music a real shot in the arm! In fact, I actually read somewhere last week that taking into consideration ticket sales, merchandising and CD sales, Rock Music out sold all other genres through 2008. Rock music may not make mainstream radio in the UK these days but those figures show you it`s still as strong as ever, just a little more underground. We also see the result of Guitar Hero popularity at Ringside and The New Tower as it brings in a younger crowd. So what we have is a very wide age range on any given night, from 18 year olds to people in their late 50’s. In my opinion that is great to see.
Sure there is a downside to modern technology with people illegally downloading music and I`m afraid in my opinion that will never stop but there are ways to combat it. For instance, most of the labels I`m with (Frontiers, Roadrunner & AFM), they all watermark their new releases before making the promos available to media partners, which means somebody actually has to buy copy. Needless to say it will eventually end up online somewhere, but I also have to say that for lesser known, obscure, or newer bands, it is a way to get there music out there. I do know of one instance where illegal downloading actually ended up in a band getting signed, so it ain’t all bad news, but I`ll say no more on that…
This is your chance to plug - what makes Thunder in The Tower good, and worth travelling for? How much is it, what promos are there, and why do we wanna come?
Jack: What makes Rock Revival – Thunder In The Tower good? Well, first of all it`s a 100% request driven night, so you know you are going to hear music you actually like! I I play everything from the late 60’s Hendrix/Cream/Doors to 70`s Glam & Classic Rock, 80`s Hair Metal & Thrash, 90`s Grunge to today’s new, modern & sleazy hard rock bands & everything else in between.
Thunder In The Tower is also Hull’s only weekend DJ Rock night to offer live music and from time to time there will be featured artists nights and giveaways. Hopefully we should have a Lynyrd Skynyrd night set for September. We have a very competitive entry price of £4 (with flyer) before 11pm, our main rivals are charging £3.50 which means you are getting a live band for 50p, now that’s not bad by anybody’s standards is it! There will always be drinks available for £2.50 a pint & with The New Tower being situated right behind Hull’s new travel interchange it is very easy to find, with buses and trains stopping right outside the back door so to speak. This has seen people make the trip from all over the UK from places such as Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham & Grimsby to name a few. With a very cheap B&B available just across the road, literally within 2 minutes’ walking distance, it means you don`t have to worry about making the trip home until the morning after. I’d urge anybody that is into the Rock scene to give it a try, The New Tower is an awesome venue and I haven`t even touched on the sound rig. Give it a go and tell me what you think on one of the contacts above, all feedback, be it good or bad is welcomed! Keep Rockin’!
For those who want to quiver with terror, I will be at Thunder in the Tower No.2 to let you know just how much of a cool night it really is!
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