Ramsgate Music Hall
‘Winning the NME Best Small Venue is just the start…’
On the coldest Sunday for a long time, BOO! headed over to Ramsgate to sit in the lovely Belgian Café and chat to Jules Bigg, bookings manager, genial host and one of main partners (along with Robin Hyman) who set-up the Ramsgate Music Hall in October 2013. The Music Hall seemingly sprang out of nowhere, tucked away behind the back-end of Ramsgate High Street, a few doors away from a shop that supplies all your vaping needs. Against the odds, inside was a revelation to all of us who checked it out early doors and those who have continued to be drawn in. Inside is a perfectly-formed small capacity venue, with a carefully stocked bar upstairs, a lift and some amazing old cassette players decorating the bar. But none of that was the real surprise. The two big shocks were 1) The crystal clear sound (which meant everyone from the un-miked Stanley Brinks with Wave Pictures to the distorted drone of PC PC sounded awesome) and 2) The quality of the acts this little venue was able to bring in, right from the start.
Everyone notices the amazing sound, Jules tells us, because it’s the one thing a lot of small venues don’t get right. We chat about what makes the sound so good and how from the off they knew the sound was the one thing that they had to get right. Tim (one of the early partners) and Al Harle (the sound engineer) spent a lot of time researching what they needed so everything was carefully selected and designed from the speaker system (D&B) to the room itself and sound-proofing. Jules believes they really landed on their feet when they found Al, as he says that although he knew they needed the best equipment he did not realise how much difference a good sound engineer makes. “He just turned up when we were still building.” Jules still can’t seem to believe the luck. “He’d been involved in venues in London (most notably the equally fine sounding Lexington) and had moved down. He just has the best ears. He knows the system inside out and so he makes it sound better than anyone else. This means even when the sound is astonishingly loud it will still be true, which makes it more enjoyable and not painful to the ears. I love standing by the doorway, saying ‘bye and thanks’ to people as they head out or up to the bar. They are always saying ‘God, that sounded amazing.’ It’s wonderful.”
As for the quality of the bookings, there were some early breaks but it was more than luck that got this little venue so quickly to where it is. “At the start we made a decision to spend money on the acts rather than on the advertising, so we paid a lot for the acts (relatively) to ensure we could get them to come to this tiny venue that they probably haven’t heard of. We got acts like Sweet Baboo and Cate Le Bon and it paid off because we got a great write up in the NME, not just about her gig but about the venue too, so the investment in the bands paid off.“ Jules tells us that there’s been a real snowball effect with the bookings as well, not just because of the great sound but because they treat the bands well, which the UK doesn’t have a great record for.
“How we deal with bands is another reason we are well loved” explains Jules “We treat them like friends because we are so happy they are here, playing this small venue in this shit-arse town. So we feed them at Kumars (an award-winning restaurant around the corner from the venue) and look after them. There was a lovely back and forward chat between Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods and Geoff Barrow (Beak>) just praising how good we are. Ultimately it’s not that hard to smile and be half decent. It’s important because A) they might come back and B) they’ll tell others.”
The geography is an advantage too, as in the close ferry links over to France. It’s meant that bands (or more often their agents) looking to fill a date and avoid the money-draining ‘day off’ will often look kindly on a request to play Ramsgate. Add that to the now great reputation and you have a great formula. “We find we are often the last or 1st date on a UK tour, because of where we are” explains Jules. “Or people use us as a warm-up for a bigger show. We got Viet Cong because they were coming over to do ATP. Then we got Cuz’s first ever show (Cuz features the legendary Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Sam Dook from Go Team). Both those shows were amazing. Because of the energy of the room you do get great performances. Lou Barlow (Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr) played the 02 the night after coming here and told their promoter that the Ramsgate show was one of Sebadoh’s top 5 gigs of all time. When ‘Walk’ a Mancunian duo played here the singer apologies after one song, he forgot for a moment where he was and thought he was playing in his bedroom, because the sound was so lush”.
Audiences clearly love the place too, a cursory look at the reviews on TripAdvisor and the RMH Facebook page reveal that yes, audiences do notice how great it sounds and are made to feel welcome. “There’s a small group of people who do come back again and again” Jules says. “But at present there’s not enough early music adopters here. There are probably about 20 people who come really regularly because they trust us now, they know that if we’ve booked it, it’s probably going to be good and they know it will sound great. We could do with that number being more like 60.” With so many venues going under Jules comes across as acutely aware of how fragile this venture is, wondering how long they will be able to keep it going. “When we started this we were imaging ourselves old and greyer, standing at the back still watching great bands passing through our town, so fingers crossed, as the mass exodus from London happens, many more proper music fans will discover the Music Hall. More than ever I’d say there aren’t many better musical experiences than in an acoustically beautiful small venue, such as ours, where you can see the whites of the artists’ eyes and physically inhale their music with a small bunch of other music lovers. Then after the show buy a chunk of the bands vinyl and get it signed too. Magic!”
Having had a couple of star-struck experiences myself at RMH with Mike Watt and Lou Barlow I ask Jules whether he has ever felt star-struck. “I’m just about get over it by just pushing through and saying hi” laughs Jules. “Neneh (Cherry) was amazing. I got my old copy of ‘Raw Like Sushi’ signed and she was so utterly sweet and gorgeous. I did have a moment that really whacked me in the stomach with the first Jungle Brothers show. I’m an old hip-hop head, it’s all I really listened to from 87-95, so seeing Mike G on stage sound-checking, I just thought ‘Fuck, what have we done? What is he doing here?’ This is amazing.’”
The reputation certainly is building and has enabled some world-class acts to be booked over the last two years and some amazing shows to happen. Jules cites Sleaford Mods, Neneh Cherry, East India Youth and Jungle Brothers as some of the stand-out nights. The music hall has also given some fantastic opportunities to local bands too, to play some showcase nights and to support the bigger acts. Have there been any local acts that have impressed Jules? “There are some great bands locally” he says “Cosmic Thoughts and Mass Lines from Hot Salvation Records in Folkestone, Eat Me, plus Get Inuit and Gang”. I tell him we featured Eat Me in the last issue of BOO! “They are great and getting better,” he says “Al recorded them recently at his studio (Big Jelly Studios) so that’s going to be something to look out for. Big Jelly is another great thing we have on our doorstep. Ramsgate has this buzz, that something special is happening, music minded people are attracted to it.”
So what’s next for RMH I ask? Are there any dream bookings? Jules would love to get Parquet Courts, White Denim, John Paul Jones and Graham Coxon. “Some acts who felt out of reach in the past may be possible as a warm-up show now”, he says tentatively. “It does help that I can now put NME Best Small Venue 2015 at the bottom of the sign-off” laughs Jules “but my brother (who has had his own award winning bars) assures me that getting the recognition when you are a new player is almost the easy bit. Now we have to cement the reputation. So this year is going to be all about making the right bookings, continuing to build things like our You Tube channel and spreading the word as far as possible.”
Jules starts reminiscing about the great bands he saw in Brighton’s now defunct Top Rank as a teenager. This is what he and his partners are trying to replicate for us lucky people in Thanet. Let’s hope it can go from strength to strength “Drink a bit more and we’ll be here” says Jules. We laugh about the fact that maybe music fans don’t realise how much venues are reliant on their fans ability to drink, as this is their main form of income, as the ticket sales fund the bands. So anyway the great musical experiences that RMH offer are set to continue at least for the time being. Pere Ubu, Kieran Leonard, Wendy James, The KVB, Ought, Girls Names and Meilyr Jones are just a few of the names booked for the coming weeks. Get your arse down there, be welcomed, be enveloped in gorgeous sound, have a drink and long may RMH live.‘Winning the NME Best Small Venue is just the start…’On the coldest Sunday for a long time, BOO! headed over to Ramsgate to sit in the lovely Belgian Café and chat to Jules Bigg, bookings manager, genial host and one of main partners (along with Robin Hyman) who set-up the Ramsgate Music Hall in October 2013. The Music Hall seemingly sprang out of nowhere, tucked away behind the back-end of Ramsgate High Street, a few doors away from a shop that supplies all your vaping needs. Against the odds, inside was a revelation to all of us who checked it out early doors and those who have continued to be drawn in. Inside is a perfectly-formed small capacity venue, with a carefully stocked bar upstairs, a lift and some amazing old cassette players decorating the bar. But none of that was the real surprise. The two big shocks were 1) The crystal clear sound (which meant everyone from the un-miked Stanley Brinks with Wave Pictures to the distorted drone of PC PC sounded awesome) and 2) The quality of the acts this little venue was able to bring in, right from the start.Everyone notices the amazing sound, Jules tells us, because it’s the one thing a lot of small venues don’t get right. We chat about what makes the sound so good and how from the off they knew the sound was the one thing that they had to get right. Tim (one of the early partners) and Al Harle (the sound engineer) spent a lot of time researching what they needed so everything was carefully selected and designed from the speaker system (D&B) to the room itself and sound-proofing. Jules believes they really landed on their feet when they found Al, as he says that although he knew they needed the best equipment he did not realise how much difference a good sound engineer makes. “He just turned up when we were still building.” Jules still can’t seem to believe the luck. “He’d been involved in venues in London (most notably the equally fine sounding Lexington) and had moved down. He just has the best ears. He knows the system inside out and so he makes it sound better than anyone else. This means even when the sound is astonishingly loud it will still be true, which makes it more enjoyable and not painful to the ears. I love standing by the doorway, saying ‘bye and thanks’ to people as they head out or up to the bar. They are always saying ‘God, that sounded amazing.’ It’s wonderful.”As for the quality of the bookings, there were some early breaks but it was more than luck that got this little venue so quickly to where it is. “At the start we made a decision to spend money on the acts rather than on the advertising, so we paid a lot for the acts (relatively) to ensure we could get them to come to this tiny venue that they probably haven’t heard of. We got acts like Sweet Baboo and Cate Le Bon and it paid off because we got a great write up in the NME, not just about her gig but about the venue too, so the investment in the bands paid off.“ Jules tells us that there’s been a real snowball effect with the bookings as well, not just because of the great sound but because they treat the bands well, which the UK doesn’t have a great record for.“How we deal with bands is another reason we are well loved” explains Jules “We treat them like friends because we are so happy they are here, playing this small venue in this shit-arse town. So we feed them at Kumars (an award-winning restaurant around the corner from the venue) and look after them. There was a lovely back and forward chat between Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods and Geoff Barrow (Beak>) just praising how good we are. Ultimately it’s not that hard to smile and be half decent. It’s important because A) they might come back and B) they’ll tell others.”The geography is an advantage too, as in the close ferry links over to France. It’s meant that bands (or more often their agents) looking to fill a date and avoid the money-draining ‘day off’ will often look kindly on a request to play Ramsgate. Add that to the now great reputation and you have a great formula. “We find we are often the last or 1st date on a UK tour, because of where we are” explains Jules. “Or people use us as a warm-up for a bigger show. We got Viet Cong because they were coming over to do ATP. Then we got Cuz’s first ever show (Cuz features the legendary Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Sam Dook from Go Team). Both those shows were amazing. Because of the energy of the room you do get great performances. Lou Barlow (Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr) played the 02 the night after coming here and told their promoter that the Ramsgate show was one of Sebadoh’s top 5 gigs of all time. When ‘Walk’ a Mancunian duo played here the singer apologies after one song, he forgot for a moment where he was and thought he was playing in his bedroom, because the sound was so lush”.Audiences clearly love the place too, a cursory look at the reviews on TripAdvisor and the RMH Facebook page reveal that yes, audiences do notice how great it sounds and are made to feel welcome. “There’s a small group of people who do come back again and again” Jules says. “But at present there’s not enough early music adopters here. There are probably about 20 people who come really regularly because they trust us now, they know that if we’ve booked it, it’s probably going to be good and they know it will sound great. We could do with that number being more like 60.” With so many venues going under Jules comes across as acutely aware of how fragile this venture is, wondering how long they will be able to keep it going. “When we started this we were imaging ourselves old and greyer, standing at the back still watching great bands passing through our town, so fingers crossed, as the mass exodus from London happens, many more proper music fans will discover the Music Hall. More than ever I’d say there aren’t many better musical experiences than in an acoustically beautiful small venue, such as ours, where you can see the whites of the artists’ eyes and physically inhale their music with a small bunch of other music lovers. Then after the show buy a chunk of the bands vinyl and get it signed too. Magic!”Having had a couple of star-struck experiences myself at RMH with Mike Watt and Lou Barlow I ask Jules whether he has ever felt star-struck. “I’m just about get over it by just pushing through and saying hi” laughs Jules. “Neneh (Cherry) was amazing. I got my old copy of ‘Raw Like Sushi’ signed and she was so utterly sweet and gorgeous. I did have a moment that really whacked me in the stomach with the first Jungle Brothers show. I’m an old hip-hop head, it’s all I really listened to from 87-95, so seeing Mike G on stage sound-checking, I just thought ‘Fuck, what have we done? What is he doing here?’ This is amazing.’”The reputation certainly is building and has enabled some world-class acts to be booked over the last two years and some amazing shows to happen. Jules cites Sleaford Mods, Neneh Cherry, East India Youth and Jungle Brothers as some of the stand-out nights. The music hall has also given some fantastic opportunities to local bands too, to play some showcase nights and to support the bigger acts. Have there been any local acts that have impressed Jules? “There are some great bands locally” he says “Cosmic Thoughts and Mass Lines from Hot Salvation Records in Folkestone, Eat Me, plus Get Inuit and Gang”. I tell him we featured Eat Me in the last issue of BOO! “They are great and getting better,” he says “Al recorded them recently at his studio (Big Jelly Studios) so that’s going to be something to look out for. Big Jelly is another great thing we have on our doorstep. Ramsgate has this buzz, that something special is happening, music minded people are attracted to it.”So what’s next for RMH I ask? Are there any dream bookings? Jules would love to get Parquet Courts, White Denim, John Paul Jones and Graham Coxon. “Some acts who felt out of reach in the past may be possible as a warm-up show now”, he says tentatively. “It does help that I can now put NME Best Small Venue 2015 at the bottom of the sign-off” laughs Jules “but my brother (who has had his own award winning bars) assures me that getting the recognition when you are a new player is almost the easy bit. Now we have to cement the reputation. So this year is going to be all about making the right bookings, continuing to build things like our You Tube channel and spreading the word as far as possible.”Jules starts reminiscing about the great bands he saw in Brighton’s now defunct Top Rank as a teenager. This is what he and his partners are trying to replicate for us lucky people in Thanet. Let’s hope it can go from strength to strength “Drink a bit more and we’ll be here” says Jules. We laugh about the fact that maybe music fans don’t realise how much venues are reliant on their fans ability to drink, as this is their main form of income, as the ticket sales fund the bands. So anyway the great musical experiences that RMH offer are set to continue at least for the time being. Pere Ubu, Kieran Leonard, Wendy James, The KVB, Ought, Girls Names and Meilyr Jones are just a few of the names booked for the coming weeks. Get your arse down there, be welcomed, be enveloped in gorgeous sound, have a drink and long may RMH live.
