BACK LIST
intending to enlarge shop and stock over the next few months.
0 Sheena McNeill Music 7 Barclay Terrace. El 1 10. 239 9685. Mainly classical sheet music and books. small pop selection. A few instruments. cg. recorders.
0 Sound Advice Musical 313 Dalry Road. lil ll 1. 3370304.
0 Sound Control 17 St Mary's Street. lil l l . 557 3986. Huge range of instruments in this large shop. (ittitars: Fender. Aria. Westone. Washburn. Marlin. Vigicr..ll). (iibson. Schectcr. Yamaha. ()vation. Wal. Steinbergcr. etc. Keyboards: Yamaha. Roland. Korg. Sequential Circuits. ()berheim. Ensoniq. Steinberg. Atari. Amps: Peavcy. Marshall. (‘arlsboro, Trace Elliot. Session. Roland. Polytone. (‘ustom Sound. Fender. Drums: Premier. Pearl. Yamaha. 'I‘ama. Rcmo. Paiste. also drum machines. And much more. Home recording: 'l'ascam. Fostex. Yamaha. Teac. Studiornastcr. Soundtracks. M'I'R. Boss. Drama. Alessis. Repairs on guaranteed instruments. (iood second hand selection. All accessories. ‘(‘omprehensive hi-tcch dcpt.‘ Instant credit.
0 Varsity Music Shop to Nicolson Street. [ii 18. 556 3373. Solc distributors for Moriss Shotaka guitars. also a selection of Fender Squicrand (iibson. Keyboards mainly Yamaha and Casio. Drums: Pearl. Sonor and Rock (also exclusive distributors). ll+ ll amps. but are cutting back on amplification. Books. pedals and accessories. Wide selection of classical instruments. Part-exchange and credit schemes. Also 10“} discount to Young Scot cardholders.
MANAGEMENT AND PROMOTION
The general concensus here is that there is a severe lack ol good managementlor young rock bands inthis area. The good agencies that do exist. like Schoolhouse. are linding enough at theirtimetaken up with their existing acts and are not taking anyone else on. Most managers tend to start out by managingtheirlriends, but a new HND course in Music Management started in Bathgate last year. Seven ol the 14 students have solar landed jobs in the music
lREHEARSAL i l sruoros
l o Scotia Enterprises 29 NiddryStrectJilll10R. 3366630. livery lidinburgh band has practised at some time in this cayernotls rabbit warren. Legends have sprung up around the complex's dampness and lack ol toilets. and a break-in last year caused mtrch distress. Now. how ever. dc- httrnidification has gone a r long way to alleviating the dampness problem. toilets are being installed and Scotia’s security is stringent to a fault. At present 67 bands are using the 4‘) rooms. at a rate of £130 per month (£60 sharing). More rooms are available. but because ot dampness they will only be rented otrt if specifically requested. Once a band has moved in to a roorrr the rent. payable by standing order. does not increase. Scotia also have two ; carpeted session rooms. which can be rim-a by the : day . at a cost ol £7. and hire out equipment: amps.
PA. drums. monitors, mic-stands. leads. ctc. Alongside the crisps and juice available at the office one can also buy guitar strings. with drumsticks and plcctra soon to follow. Part of
their costly overhauling has involved the fittingol' metal-plated front doors with (‘hubb alarms and the fitting of fire doors. The process of placing special high-security locks on practice room doors is now about a third ofthc way through.
Opening hours are Mon. Tue. Fri 9am- 10.30pm: Wed. Thurs. Sun
1 lam—10.30pm: Sat llam~-6pm. ll previously arranged with the office there is no problem in getting equipment back into the rooms alter gigs.
business. but have
gravitated towards London
because. sadly. there isn't
the work up here.
One managerwe spoke to
r was of the opinion thatwhat we need up here is a kind at
'Citizens' Advice Bureau' lor musicians, a projectthat l someoneisactuallytrying i to get through the SDA at thistime. There are very lew people in Central Scotland who are taking
ROCK REPORT
o The Wash House 9 to Abbcyrnount. [ii is. (153 0533. Started tip by the (iateway Exchange crew. The Wash l louse quickly showed itself to be a serious contender in the city. The old converted wash house has five rooms. the smallest (about 15ft x l5ft)costing £1 .50 per hour. the price graduating up to £6 for the largest (about 30ft x 30ft). which comes with a lk PA. Students and l'B-lll-lioldcrs can get concessions on the rooms. and also on the equipment the Wash llousc hiresout: guitar and bass amps for 75p per hour. drumkits for L‘ l .50 per hour and microphones tor 50p per hour being the usual rates. The three larger rooms are carpeted on the walls and floor to deaden the noise. but not everyone wants their sound dcadencd. so the small rooms are better for a live sound. Refreshrnentsare available.
It is possible to book the rooms for as long or short a time as desired. but all bookings must be made in advance. Access to the building can be had at any time of the day. but odd times should be arranged at least two or three days beforehand.
0 Inch Community Centre lnch l louse. (iilmcrton Road. 664 4710. Recently the (‘entre had four otits seven rooms taken over permanently by a music school. and what with being popular with its bands. there are nospaces currently available. Rent is £15 per week fora shared room. where equipment can be stored all the time. Access is possible from late rnorningtill 10pm. including Saturdays and Sundays. Inch House is set in the middle ofa park. and so problems with noise complaints are uncommon. though not unknown.
bands on.
As with approaching a manager, when trying to attract a promoter. it is essential to send a demo (no more than two orthree tracks). a photo and a well-thought-out biography. The biog should be no Iongerthan a page. ‘Give an idea olwhatyou are and where you're going. but leave them curious.‘ said one promoter. Pestering them on the phone won‘t do any good. You'll only get progressively rattier responses. Ilthey say they’ll get back to you. then letthem.
RELEASING A RECORD
Now you‘ve got yourlape in your hands you haveto decide what you're going to do with it. There are basically three choices: you can use it as a demo to tryto attract maiorrecord companies. which isa whole ball game in itsell. torwhich itwould helpto have a managerwith contacts in MR departments; you can take it to a local independent label (orone lurtheralield); or you can release ityoursell on yourown label.
To release ityoursell requires that you take care olall the dillerent processes at making it. such as cutting and pressing the disc. produce the sleeve and arrange to have the record distributed. Fast Forward (031 ~226 4616) in Edinburgh distribute iustaboutevery independent record in Scotland. so itwould be vital to take them a tapeto see how many discs they would be interested in taking belore you press them up.
llyour record looks like it might sell out its lirst pressing have extra copies ollhe sleeve printed up. as theytake much longerto print than a record takes to press. It you have any control in the operation. try not to get your record cut on
the cheap. as it could end up too quiet. Also. when choosing an index number loryour release. make ita code that no one else is using.
Alew words oladvice it you’re planning to sign toa major record company: Get your contract checked very carelully. making sure that your royalty rate is at least 70%. Joe Strummer's advice to young hopeluls. alterhisterrible experiences with CBS. was neverto take an advance. but it's a tact at life that it you wantyourrecord actually to be a hit you may have to lorce as large an advance as possible out of
the company. They will be more inclined to treatyou as a ‘priority' act hopingto recoupthe moneythey've given you. It you haven‘t got an accountant bythisslage. see about it pronto. From the moment you getyour lirst cheque you are being Ieeched oil. though you may not realise it.
Most oi the local independent labels have been tormed by bands wanting to put out there own material. and are nottaking anybody else on. Many ol the others have a general style. outlook oraesthetic that might be a good home tor your music. Do search around.
MajorVenues
o Playhouse Theatre (irccnsidc Place. .55" 3603. l'nlessthc promoter
has been scour mg the area
lor‘ popular local groups to
put on as a strppor 1 act. you catr lorgct ll. 'l ills ts big league
0 Oueen's Hall ( ’leik Street. hos 3-15!» Same gocsas lot aboye. though small bands ha\e played together at benetrts here Big .'\lltlltl l)y narnrte and Julian ( 'ope drew good crowds here recently
Universities and CoHeges
0 College olAll Lauriston Place. 33‘) 14-13. The legendary Wee Red Bar is closing. but bands have played in the dining hall and upstairs.
0 Edinburgh University Union (‘harnbers Street. 335 4833. Had their licence pulled off them for a while last year. but have a large upstairs hall which. a lot of bands have frequented. including We Free Kings and The Pritnevals.
o Teviot How Union m7 3091. Played host to a few
live bands last year. including Bop Sh'Bam.
o Potter How Unionom 031-1. Some medium-sized bands. like That Petrol limotion and Husker I)u have played upstairs here. local bands like We Free Kings and Shop Assistants attract good crowds. Small bands can get suppport or headlining status.
0 Moray House Union lloly'rood Road. 556S455. .\'ot used as much as it was. but still worth trying. (iot quite popular at weekends. though how many ofthc students actually turned up for the bands is debatable.
O Napier college (’olinton Road. 33‘) 8791. Been quiet for a while.
Miscellaneous
0 The Assembly Rooms (ieorge Street. 335 3614. Medium-sized venue. which has had a variety of bands playing there. including The Proclaimers and Wet Wet Wet.
0 New Calton Studios ('alton Road. 556 .7066. Some local bands have attracted \cry sizeablc crowds here. including Fini Tribe and Dancing Bears. Random Promotions and the lidinburgh Mtrsical
('ollcctive have ttscd it quite a bit.
Clubs
O The Venue (alton Road.
55/ 3073. ()ncc'l’he Jailhouse. refurbished earlier this year. it's probably got the most pleasant surroundings for viewing bands. New lighting rig just installed. .\'ot a house PA. but on contract hirc. which works out much cheaper than hiring your own. Not a hard and last rule. btit Saturdays (Speed 3: 553 9-106) are the young indie nights. Sundays (Soundcheck Rock (‘lubz 5568-155) are heavy
rock metal and Mondays can be any kind ol’ethnie music at all. Rest ofthc week it could be anything. Bands are booked through the ( ‘osmos agency (336 4537 l. and can vary from well-known indie or cult bands down to a local band doing their first gig.
l'nknown local bands take
a percentage ol the door and there is a nominal fee tor small bands travelling from outside lidinburgh. Recent names to have played there include Nico. 'l'hat Petrol [imotion and Head. Also local bands like The Ambassadors have played to large
The List 31 Aug — 3 Sept 41