17
- 23 May 2003 |
Preview
- Clubs - Track And Field - London
There's arguably no music-obsessed crew that has done more for flying
the flag for independent and alternative 1960s flavours in London in the
past few years than the two-man team of Steven and Paul, otherwise known
as Track And Field. But after four years of leading the way in top notch
meshing of indie, 1960s, soul and Fracophile sounds on a monthly basis
the London club takes a last bow this Friday. Luckily, doesn't mean the
end for Track And Field, nor the club's punters. WhileTrack And Field
concentrate their energies on their increasingly influential label and
on larger gigs, Track And Field's indie pop stars Kicker will carry the
torch for Modern Lovers, Belle and Sebastian and Michael Polnareff fans
and add some new spins with a new monthly club, Plan B, in the same venue,
starting July 4. Twice the reason to raise a glass in a toast.
KATRINA DIXON
|
 
February
2002
|
1.When
was the Track & Field organisation formed and how did this come about?
We formed in April 1999 as a club night through frustration at a lack
of places where the DJs seemed to truly believe in the spirit of pop music.
Most places we came across only seemed to play the records they were sent
by PR companies together with a few indie standards. You tend to find
that most clubs are genre specific which i suppose is easier to package
and so things either become too snobbish or they're just lowest common
denominator. With Track & Field it was a case of anything goes but we
wanted to provide something that was hopefully a bit more challenging.
We used to have a slogan on our flyers which read "the club for music
that they never play on the radio" because no one seemed to play the bands
that we wanted to hear. So you might get the Apples in Stereo and the
Shangri Las followed by the Four Tops and the Make Up followed by the
Action followed by Saint Etienne followed by the Pastels. Ultimately T&F
is about pop music and hopefully the people who come to our nights can
see the pop link between independent guitar bands, motown, 60s psyche,
electronica and northern soul. We talked to people at the first Bowlie
Weekender and we knew that there were other people who felt the same way
as we did. So we put the word out and less than a month later the first
Track & Field night sold out in half an hour. Once the club became established
we started promoting bands and then we thought the natural extension to
it all was to put out some records (the first single came out in April
2000 with the first LP following a year later). And it's just gone on
from there. It's a bit of a hand to mouth operation sometimes but we're
answerable to no one but ourselves which means if we like it we try to
make it happen. We only put on bands we like personally which means we've
turned down the chance to have one or two very successful bands playing
our nights. But they wouldn't fit the Track & Field aesthetic so that's
just too bad.
2.How
many people are involved in the day to day running of T&F?
T&F is run by myself and a friend, Paul Wright. But we both have day
jobs too so we're also more than happy to abuse the good will of our friends
and families when required!
3.What
artists are currently on your roster?
Dressy Bessy, Saloon, Great Lakes, I am the World, Kicker and The Loves.
In the past we've also worked with Tompaulin and the Tyde.
4.Best
moment so far in running the organisation?
Steven: The Pow! to the People 2 all-dayer at the Monarch
(Easter 2001).It was just one of those magical days... In a two hour spell
we had Belfast hip-hop madcaps, Olympic Lifts followed by the Aislers
Set, The Tyde and Beachwood Sparks one after the other.It was such brilliant
music and an incredible atmosphere. Anyone who couldn't enjoy that is
clearly deaf. Other highlights would be the UK tours by the Tyde and Great
Lakes, and the Pattern playing their first UK show for us at the Arts
Cafe - completely mental and probably illegal but a good laugh! Paul:
At the second Bowlie we threw an after hours chalet party. The place went
berserk and was the talk of the site for the rest of the weekend. We were
evetaully closed down by the security at about 6am and reports even made
it into the NME and MOJO after a rumour that thing had got rather out
of hand for several people. Of course, we can neither confirm nor deny
any of those stories.
5.What
has been your most difficult hurdle to overcome with running T&F?
I think certain agents have been a bit wary of us because we're not part
of the established circuit. We like to use venues that are a bit different
and I think this has gone down well with punters and the more independently
minded bands. But if we've wanted to attract a bigger name to a show it's
often been met with initial scepticism. But hopefully once people have
worked with us we can show that we're professional and do a decent job.
Time is also a problem. Because we have day jobs it's often difficult
to find time to do everything at the standard we'd want, make calls, send
out mailings, etc. It often means sitting up til 3am stuffing envelopes.
Not particularly glamorous but a necessary part of making everything work.
6.What
are your plans for the future?
LPs from Dressy Bessy, Saloon, I am the World, Kicker and Great Lakes
are planned for this year. We're also compiling an LP of tracks by bands
who have played T&F shows. Hopefully this will include the likes of The
Tyde, Ladybug Transistor, Butterflies of Love, Aislers Set, Fonda 500,
Beachwood Sparks and many more... there are also singles planned by the
Loves, Cane 141 and Stephen Hero. We've also got the 3rd annual all-dayer
on Easter Sunday. Full details to be announced in due course
7.Which
records are you currently listening to?
New stuff... "Know By Heart" LP - American Analog Set LP, "Oh, Inverted
World" LP - The Shins, "Once We Were Trees" LP - Beachwood Sparks, "You
Don't Need Darkness To Do What You Think Is The Right Thing" LP - Geographic
label compilation, "Smash the System" LP - Saint Etienne Old stuff...
Best of Martha Reeves & the Vandellas LP, "Sunflower" LP - Beach Boys,
"Scott 4" LP - Scott Walker, "Forever Changes" LP - Love, "On Fire" LP
- Galaxie 500... erm, sorry bit of a long list... we like records!
Martin Kahn
|
March 2000 |
Track
& Field Club
"MOST of the clubs in London are very generic," Track And Field DJ Steve
Drew explains. "You get fleeced going in, the beer's expensive and it's
not geared to having any kind of a good time." With two like-minded souls,
Russell Duke and Paul Wright, Steve sat down and came up with a plan for
an enthusiastic club where people cared about what they were doing.
A
year later, Track And Field is the product of that sense of frustration
with Corporate Indie Plc's grip on clubs. Under the banner "the club tor
the music they never play on the radio", this monthly event packs out
two floors of a London pub with a friendly crowd attracted by the mix
of underground sounds. Belle And Sebastian provide a focus for the club
as it takes its name from their song "The Stars Of Track And Field"
and that last year's Bowlie Weekender proved that there was a large number
of indie fans who danced and drank to the small hours.
"The bands almost became superfluous at Bowlie," Paul remembers. "It was
a festival where you just talked to everyone and made loads of friends."
That weekend, the three aspiring DJs distributed cards asking people to
send their names and addresses if they were interested in coming to a
club in London.That venture created a database of a hundred people who
were then told about the first night and asked to spread the word. It
sold out within an hour of the doors opening. A newsletter is sent out
each month, Steve explains, "to tell people what we're up to, asking for
their feedback about the club, being as open as possible and telling them
about the new bands we like and what records are available."
JANUARY'S club night follows a series of three consecutive gigs, which
showcased bands such as Tompaulin, Woodbine and Kicker. Called The Winter
Sprinter, these gigs served to raise the profile of the club and liven
up a notoriously dull month. The ethos of Track And Field is that if what
you want isn't happening, go and do it yourself. "Basically, you need
a room in a pub, a PA, some decks, a record collection and a love of music,"
Steve says. It's not expensive, either; with the cost of the equipment
decreasing - or fairly cheap to buy second hand - setting up a club is
becoming an accessible part of the DIY indie ethic. "When you go to the
pub with your mates, you spend money on the jukebox anyway," Russell points
out, "so all you need to do is get all your mates to come to the upstairs
room of a pub and you'll have a good time for about the same cost."
It does seem like the people here constitute one large gang of friends
without it being a clique. Paul, 19, an electrician from St Albans, comes
to the club each month and testifies to its friendliness. "It's close-knit,
and people just come and chat to you. It's different in that when people
come and talk to you, it's not awkward when in other clubs you'd assume
that it was a chat-up." Delia, who works in the Rough Trade record shop
supplying punters with the latest records from the international pop underground,
explains the difference between Track And Field and other clubs is in
the camaraderie. "I used to go to 60s and mod clubs, but they were always
really stuck-up. You get that music here, but you also get really nice
people talking to everyone they see. I've been here twenty minutes and
I've already met two new people."
MANUMISSION it ain't, but you can dismiss the myth of indie pop fans being
lollipop sucking virgins who wear their haircuts backwards. You don't
even need to go to this club to find that out - check out the Sinister
internet mailing list for Belle and Sebastian fans and you'll see pictures
of listees' body parts and find a popular topic is "up-the-bum-sex". In
fact, Belle and Sebastian is just a small part of this diverse club. Anne,
24, a fanzine writer, says, "I like Belle and Sebastian, but I don't want
to hear them all the time. They play anything here." Indeed, with three
DJs, the music policy is naturally broad, starting out from an indie pop
base and broadening out to cover Northern Soul, west coast pop, psych
and 60s tunes. 'We play records that even if you don't know the songs,
you'll get them first time," Russell says. "It's not snobby or elitist
- it's pop music."
"We get some dance kids coming down," Russell says. "They've probably
been dragged along by their friends, but have ended up having a really
good time." It must be a refreshing change if you're used to queuing for
three hours to be charged £15 and then get ripped off for a bottle of
water to come here, pay £2.50 entrance and find it's pub prices all night.
If this sounds like your type of a club, start one yourself. It's easy,
it's inexpensive, you'll make loads of friends and have a great time.
Let us know how you get on
BEN
CLANCY
|
| Select
February 2000 |
Club of the Month-Track & Field
21st century Londoners are this month treated to three consecutive nights
at this fun-sized club. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday see live gigs
from such indie-pop underground stalwarts as Tram, Miss Mend, Woodbine,
Airport Girl and Comet Gain, whilst Friday night continues the monthly
club night playing "music that you don't hear on the radio".
As well as publishing its own newsletter, the club has rapidly become
a fixture on London's indie scene. Select caught up with DJ Steven
Drew on the eve of his club's festivities.
What's the Track and Field ethos?
"Basically independence. We've been quite concerned that clubs and
gigs in London have got to the point where they're out of the price range
of most Londoners. Even if you see a band in a pub in Camden you end up
paying five quid just to get in, even before you've had a drink. We set
out to put together a night without fleecing clubbers and playing music
that didn't really get any exposure elsewhere. Pop music with spirit."
The club's named after a Belle & Sebastian song. What's the importance
in relation to the club?
"Well, it would be fair to say that Belle & Sebastian have been
instrumental in reviving the British indie scene and giving people something
to rally around. Bands like The Pastels are just as important to us at
Track & Field, just for continuing to make pop music. Domino Records
are really important as well-stuff like Pavement and Smog. But it's fair
to say that Belle & Sebastian have been an inspiritation."
Why do you think it's so important that fans have a band to rally around
like that?
"People have become quite apathetic. We put on gigs and do this club
because we like pop music. I know from personal experience that there
are a lot of people that are into the music-just because it's not in the
music press doesn't mean it's not important. There are bands out there
that are great but hardly get any coverage."
What does the future hold for the club?
"Well, we're continuing our monthly residency at The Betsey Trotwood
and we're going to continue to out on bands that we have an affinity with.
We're also planning an event like last year's Scalarama all-dayer. And
we're doing a night on a boat on the Thames."
PAT LONG
|
