20

Please mention when responding to our advertisers. Thank you.BEVERLEYMAG

Local People, Local Lives BeverleyMag NOVEMBER 2014

Chris Warkup of BeverleyMag has had the pleasure of interviewing Alan Raw the presenter of Radio Humberside’s ‘BBC Introducing’ programme. We discussed the thriving Local Music scene which he promotes through this show and his other various cultural activities.

So first of all tell us about your musical career?“I’ve played in local bands for decades. I started out as a ceilidh band drummer as my family are all Irish musicians and I have played in lots of folk bands for years. In 1979 I joined the Green Ginger Band and have played in the world of folk music ever since.”

“In my teens I decided to diversify and got into reggae. I was in a band called Back To Base and made an album with Benjamin Zephaniah. I have been a session drummer since then and played on various albums. These days I play the drums for ‘Endoflevelbaddie’ which is Electro Hip Hop music and headlined both the Freedom Festival and the ‘Humber Street Sesh’. I’m also the drummer in a duo called ‘Verne Duels’ who opened the recent Cornucopia Festival Main Stage. I also drum with world dance fusion group Celtarabia.”“I’m also a member of the ‘World Drumming Network’, which is co-ordinated from Hull . We have members all over the world including 150 drum schools in America . Thanks to the drumming I’ve done I’ve become an endorsed drummer with ‘Rhythm Tech’ & Regaltip and do various drum clinics and lessons” So how did the BBC shows develop? “I’ve organised festivals for several years including one called ‘Impro’ which I ran 6 years in Hull from 1997. The BBC wanted to work with that festival on something called BBC Music Live during 2002 and whilst doing that festival together, they spoke to me and said “you know an awful lot about music and you’re good at introducing people on stage, so would I be interested in doing a radio programme.” I declined and suggested several others much better people, but they had made their decision. Also at that time I was lucky enough to be interviewed by John Peel who had been to Hull for the Sounds of the Suburbs Programme on Channel 4. As part of that programme we had a wander round the docks and talked about being a drummer in Back to Base. With all this going on for me, the BBC said they wanted me to do it. So I agreed to give it a go for six weeks and it is now in the 13th year.” “In 2002 there were just 2 or 3 stations doing similar shows for new music and they were mainly in the south though I was the first one to have an all unsigned play list. Our focus was on the stuff I did anyway which was Community & Youth Arts support and bringing those values into a new music radio show. It wasn’t just about playing the acts it was full of useful information as well. This format has become quite an

influence on other shows. We ended up going from ‘Raw Talent’ in Hull to similar shows in Leeds, Sheffield and York.After John Peel died I helped with the ‘BBC Electric Proms’ which culminated with a tour of the country and a very big event in Camden . We had bands from Hull playing in the Camden show. All this sparked off ‘In Music We Trust’ at the BBC and this was the beginnings of ‘BBC Introducing’. The format of our show has now gone to BBC Introducing shows all over the UK.”

So what is the format of the ‘BBC Introducing’ shows? It all revolves around a thing called the ‘BBC Introducing Uploader’ which is the way that people share their music with us and then we share it with the other programmes. It’s through this we receive the new music and we have recommended many artists who’ve had national air-play. A few of them have gone on to play BBC Introducing stages including Leeds and Glastonbury festivals. The uploader and shows can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/introducing. The Shows are broadcast 8-10 pm on Saturday’s. My Leeds show is live but the Hull one is recorded on Thursday nights. Bands are recorded live in the BBC Open Centre with a professional engineer. In our first year we did a ‘Raw Talent sessions album’ but not had the opportunity since. The show includes a full band session and then a live acoustic session from another artist or a local DJ set. Plus many tracks received through the Uploader. We have recorded around 1500 live sessions now. It will be difficult to pin down who are the most exciting bands at the moment, but I could say the best option is to tune in on a Saturday night and have a listen. It’s good to see people playing in more than one band too. It keeps the mix exciting so if one band is better at recording and another at live gigs the musicians get the full experience and explore different styles.

THE RAW TRUTH

21

BeverleyMag NOVEMBER 2014 Local People, Local Lives

BEVERLEYMAGTo contact please email: ask@beverleymag.co.uk or telephone: 01964 552 470

How would you describe the current state of local music around Hull & Beverley? “This area does punch way above its weight. Yorkshire as a whole has always been a hotbed of talent. I’m lucky to have started these shows when I did in 2002 as the talent had been building up and there has been a progression ever since. The festivals in this area have also been fabulous. Well run with people who put their heart into them such as Beverley Folk Festival, Cornucopia, Humber Street Sesh & ReCOGnition Festival. What do you think of the new live music gigs that are starting at Hodgesons in Beverley? I think that you can’t help but have a great line up when you begin to run gigs in Beverley as there is so much talent and things going on. There has also been another folk revival where local artists are in the midst of it. I have noticed lots of alternative folk styles at the moment and I’m seeing this from gigs I attend for ‘Verne Duels’. There is lots of local talent around in this such as Jody Mckenna and Emily Moulton who are as good as anyone who’s headlining a folk festival. You are starting another outlet at the right time as everything is happening right now.” Do you think local music gains the national attention it deserves and do you think 2017 may help? “I’d like to think that it would. It’s a bit ridiculous that with the talent we have had over the past decade that we haven’t had more acts from this region become nationally successful. Not sure why that is, I’ve heard lots of theories why. I’m not certain if ‘2017 City of Culture’ will give it the final push and tip the scales, but it should do. I’ve been shouting about Yorkshire and Hull for long enough at national conferences and when presenting the unsigned stage at Leeds Festival etc . People do know about it through social media too. We are making a big splash in all media platforms nowadays and the level of talent is undeniably high. It is of course entirely possible that Yorkshire is capital of the universe and you can’t get a better place to play than here and we’ll agree to welcome some bands from other parts of the world to join us.” What do you listen to apart from new local music? At home I usually listen to quite avant garde experimental stuff because I’m Chief Exec of an arts charity called The Creative & Cultural Company, with numerous galleries and arts spaces. In those spaces sound art is a really important part of what we want to showcase. We have a lot of performances happen and I get to hear stuff that is quite unique. We’ve also had 5 album launches in our art spaces the last month with ReCOGnition and there’s monthly music nights happening now too. We’ve got various exhibitions and activities happening in the spaces all the time, usually centred around ‘POP’ Pride of Place Art Space at Princes Quay. We have HIP Hull International Photography Gallery opening next door next month which links to HIPfest. Downstairs we have The Glitch with is a digital arts space for people to use and develop their own individual arts. There’s also performance and rehearsal facilities which can be used and lots of Carnival Arts activity. Just get in

touch with us via www.creativeandcultural.com especially if you can do a bit of volunteering or want to join The Creative & Cultural Network. We are involved in lots of exciting partnership work with other cities in Holland, Belgium and around the UK. So come and see whats on offer. Is there anyone who inspired you? “John Peel without a doubt. I listened to him as I grew up and I soon learned there was more to life than folk music. I was lucky enough to meet him and get to know him and that just added to his influence. Another inspiration is Benjamin Zephaniah. He writes wise words and he once got me through a difficult flight by talking to me all the way through an electrical storm. And of course my folky family who got me into all this musical stuff.” Do you have any ambitions? “I would love to have time to fix my campervan! It needs rebuilding from scratch and it only gets attention when I need it to get me home from festivals. I want to see Hull City win the premiership, be good at my work and drum more. Only other thing I’d like to do is be a really good dad and that would surpass any other ambitions.” Alan Raw: CEO at The Creative and Cultural CompanyBBC Introducing PresenterOutreach Coordinator at Higher Rhythm/Music Industry Yorkshire.Curator at POP (Pride Of Place) Artspace Hull UKwww.creativeandcultural.com www.alanraw.com

The Ming City Rockers (above) and Breeze (below) with support from The Velvet Dolls play the new Quiet Riot venue at Hodgsons, Beverley on 21st November (see page32 for more information).