#gigglepics

GIGGLEFEST Band Spotlight No.14 – Introducing Smoking Grace

We’re nearly there, band number 14 of 16 playing #gigglefest is…. Smoking Grace.

Smoking Grace are a 4 piece alternative rock band from Whitstable.  When they applied to play we had only come across them via a single track review we did for them in 2013.  However once they had applied and been picked the boss actually got to see them at a gig and review them live.  Read what she had to say via…

We continue our 'Friends of...' series with an interview with Sarah Quinn from GIGglepics, a Kent-based music news website chock full of interviews, podcasts, reviews and photographs.

Hi Sarah, can you tell us a little bit about GIGglepics and what you do there?

Hi guys, thanks for including us in your 'shine a light' feature.  GIGglepics was a solo hobby project initially, photographing gigs which has grown in epic proportions.  Attending various gigs around Kent and London I found a huge passion and decided I wanted to do something to try to help the local music scene.  I decided to start a Facebook page to host the photos and then someone suggested a blog.  From there I decided I wanted people to experience the feel of a live gig as much as possible to attempt to get more people out to gigs and listening to live music.  I started to write live gig reviews and post up links to the band pages, obtain music from the band to post into the review with the photos, so people could read about the bands, see the bands and hear the bands.  These became so popular others started to get in touch and ask if they could get involved.  We now have over 50 volunteers on our books, each working to gain a published portfolio and references for paid employment in the music industry.  Through this we have developed massively and now do live gig reviews and photography, EP/Album reviews, 2 monthly original music podcasts which are hugely popular and are even putting on our own first event with a 12 hour, mixed genre, original #gigglefest in June.

I expect you receive a lot of emails from bands asking for reviews and features, is there any advice you can give to musicians on the best way to catch your eye and make you want to invest your time in listening to their music?

The very first thing I'd say is try to make it slightly personal.  None of us like receiving cc emails sent to the masses.  Be polite, introduce yourself and say hi!  You'd be surprised how many we receive with 'check out our bands music' and a mere link to a page.  Include links to all your social media pages and a short description of your band. Treat it like a job application, if you can't be bothered to put the effort in then why should we?  Don't demand or expect.  Music review sites receive massive amounts of emails asking for help.  Lastly I'd say drop a follow up email over but not too soon.  We frequently get bands email us a couple of days after the original email.  We want to help you but due to high demand it may take a while.

One of the main reasons behind Oh Mercy! Records was to bring the music of independent and 'unsigned' bands to a larger audience and show that there is a lot of talent, not only in East Anglia, but around the country. Would you say the music scene in Kent is thriving? Who are the bands in the area that are making waves?

This is a difficult one.  We often see and debate the local music scene with many feeling that the local scene is dying!  In some ways we do agree, with many venues closing down however all is not lost or that glum.  We're attending so many great gigs around Kent and London right now.  I think we live in a society that expects things to be handed on a plate these days.  To many expect stardom and are no longer prepared to put in the hard graft to get there.  We are seeing a huge growth in Kent bands making it onto various BBC Radio 1 playlists via BBC Introducing.  Right now I'd draw attention to Feed The Rhino, Story Books, Get Inuit, Mourning Birds, House on Fire, Gentlemen of Few and CoCo and the Butterfields in particular.

We're seeing a decline in the number of venues willing to put on original bands and tribute/cover bands are still the ones making the money from gigs. What do you think needs to change in order for people to realise that original music should be respected and rewarded?

Hmm this is a very difficult question and one that we debate frequently.  There seems to be a big down turn in original music at the moment which is extremely frustrating.  We are always pointing out to people that covers are originals and were once unknown!  At the moment originals bands are finding it very hard to not just book gigs but also to make any money from them.  Covers/tribute bands make good money but they do not have the extra task of writing material.  I think main stream radio could do far more to help this by including more unsigned independent music on their shows.  Original gigs seem to be becoming more and more 'underground' and not gaining the attention from the public that it deserves.  We also need more original bands playing festivals, we have many covers bands small family day festivals down here but few originals.  

Finally, if anyone reading this is interested in getting involved with GIGglepics, either as a musician seeking a review or someone wanting to write for you, how can they get in touch?