Industry news & advice blog

Jamie McLeod is the Events Booker for established Edinburgh Venue, The Cabaret Voltaire, a venue which is built underneath the city and has seen acts such as Frightened Rabbit, Little Boots and Foals grace the stage in recent years. We sat down and had a chat with Jamie about his venue…

What happens on a typical day when you have live bands playing?
On the day of a show I normally begin by double checking through the bands information i.e rider, tech specs etc. After making sure everything is in order it's time to go and get the rider. Then it's a matter of waiting for the band to arrive for sound check, due to the fact that they will inevitably be late this gives you time to get your tech specs to the engineer and make sure everything is fine in that department. After that, just let the bands and the engineer do their thing, in which time you can check your ticket figures and take them off sale. Get your will call ready, check for guest list names, print off your show times, do a quick walk round the venue, and then cross your fingers and wait for the people.

How many unsigned acts would you tend to have on your bill each month?
We have a lot of local promoters using the venue so I'd say that would account for around 20 bands, not including possible supports for bigger touring acts.

Have any acts played at your venue that are now doing extremely well?
Frightened Rabbit, Broken Records, Foals, The View, Calvin Harris, Los Campesinos, Florence and the Machine, Little Boots, Miike Snow, The Twilight Sad

Any bad habits you've seen that you think some bands should avoid?
Don't walk around like you're Liam Gallagher, we've seen it all before and no-one really cares. Just try and be nice to everyone, it pays off later.

Are there any up and coming acts that hail from Edinburgh that our readers should check out?
Meursault, Jesus H Foxx, Boycotts, Bwani Junction, Conquering Animal Sound, Emily Scott, The Party Programme. Also, they're not from Edinburgh but my favourite band right now is The John Knox Sex Club, go check 'em out!

And finally...any tips? How do bands get a gig with you?
I think the best thing is to go out there, get some shows under your belt, cut your teeth and just work hard. I think if you can get your name out there rather than sending out loads of demos and emails it's more effective. Make it hard for someone not to book you.

For more information, please visit http://www.thecabaretvoltaire.com