AGENDA
I
Glasgow is to host next year's Sound City, the annual week-long live music extravaganza jointly sponsored by Radio One, the 8P! and the Musician‘s Union. But unlike the previous two events, held in Norwich in 1992 and in Sheffield earlier this year, the plan is not to isolate the ‘Sound City’ tag to the week of the Radio One broadcasts in early April. but to extend events throughout the year.
‘We intend for it to be something lasting for Glasgow.‘ explains King Tut‘s Geoff Ellis, a member of the Sound City 94 committee. ‘Something good will be left at the end of it whether it be better facilities for bands, like a new recording studio, or training courses or bands getting signed.‘
Glasgow is no stranger to industry and punter-friendly conventions. 1990's New Music World, conceived as a modest version of New York’s annual New Music Seminar, took place a year before Manchester’s In The City convention was founded.
Like its predecessors, Sound City 94 will take in a whole programme of gigs to be broadcast not just on Mark
Sound of music
Whiteout Goodier's Evening Session as it has been in past years, but casting the net wider to involve other Radio One Dis like Pete Tong and other strands of music like country. In addition, there will be a round of workshops and seminars with big names tackling topics like Scotland‘s representation within the music industry, the strength of Glasgow as a record-buying centre, and advising bands on how to get a manager.
‘We want to put a lot back in, education-wise, do a schools tour with a well-known act where the schools provide the support bands, road crew and security,’ says Ellis. ‘Everyone involved is altruistically motivated; we feel that only good can come out of this.‘
It‘s too early to confirm any acts, though there is the intention to promote a large event in George Square. However, a Scottish showcase has been organised with Whiteout, King Hash and John Harley and the Pack playing an In The City gig at Manchester's Phoenix on Tue 14 Sept. (Fiona Shepherd)
_ Samye Dzong
A new Tibetan Buddhist Centre is about to open in Glasgow. Replacing earlier temporary accommodation, the Samye Dzong in Pollokshields will be linked to the Tibetan monastery at Eskdalemuir and to the recently acquired Holy island off Arran. The new centre will have three main functions combining work distributing and producing food for homeless people with classes in Buddhism and meditation taught by Tibetan Lamas as well as offering workshops in holistic and complementary medicine.
The Glasgow Samye Dzong is one of the many charities which help with the soup kitchen in George Square. Members of Samye Dzong have run it every Monday night for the past eight years and now intend to Open a new one later in the year, converting the coach house of their new property into the central food production and
distribution point.
An opening ceremony with Tibetan music and traditionally dressed Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns. led by the Venerable Lama Yeshe Losal (Holy lsland Retreat Master), will take place at the Samye Dzong Tibetan Buddhist Centre, 23 Bruce Road, Pollokshields, O4] 429 1875 at 7pm on Thurs 16 September. (Tatiana Harrison)
Virgin territory
Rikki Fulton’s dour kirk minister, the Reverend l. M. .lolly, could become a real-life broadcaster if Caledonia FM’s application for the central Scotland independent radio franchise is successful. Caledonia’s proposal, which is backed by Fulton and a collection of famous Scottish names, is for a ‘Chrlstlan-based’ radio station with a mix of music and speech.
It is one of seven applications submitted to the Radio Authority last week for the franchise to broadcast to Glasgow, Edinburgh and surrounding areas which have an estimated population of 2.3 million. The licence will be awarded to the station which the authority believes is most liker to extend the listeners’ choice in the independent sector. Each applicant has emphasised that it had a commercially-viable package and aimed to create a new radio audience.
Three of the applicants proposed 24- hour stations with strong news and talk-based formats. ‘Vle are going for an audience that doesn’t listen to much commercial radio because they are not into music,’ said Tony Currie, managing director of Radio Six which would run a talk-only service. ‘There is a clear gap for a station based on speech.’
Coast to Coast Radio is aimed particularly at drivers and would offer a mixture of news, travel information,
weather and easy listening music. ‘Research tells us conclusively that the majority of people want a good balance of music and speech,’ director George Mackintosh said. Central Scotland Radio, which is chaired by Sir David Steel and has the backing of Grarnpian Television, promises a ‘popular journalism, local information and musical mix’.
The other three proposals are principally music-based. Cross Country Radio aims to capitalise on
’the Scots’ love of country music while Central Scotland Broadcasting plans a programme of predominantly Scottish and Celtic music. CSR FM, backed by Edinburgh-based book publisher Mainstream, believes there is a market for easy listening music aimed at the over-35s.
The Radio Authority is expected to select the winner in llovember and the successful station could be broadcasting by September of next year. (Eddie Gibb)
Laing undato
A plan to build a £3 million design centre on a gap site in Morrison Street forms the centre piece of the bid to make Edinburgh the British City of Architecture and Design In 1999.
The exact function of the centre is unclear but a spokesman for Edinburgh District Council, which owns the site, said it could be used for training and promoting design and architecture in the city and throughout Scotland. An architects’ competition to produce a design for the building will be held in 1995.
Edinburgh will be competing for the
title with cities and areas throughout Britain, with Glasgow and the Borders also planning to submit bids. The Edinburgh proposal plays down the city’s historic buildings and instead emphasises new projects such as the Festival Theatre, the International Conference Centre and the extension to the Royal Museum of Scotland. The Glasgow bid is still being prepared but is likely to emphasise the ‘soclal’ character of the city’s architecture rather than large-scale, flagship buildings. (Eddie Gibb)
4 The List 10-23 September 1993