Has the sesh ever been about having the biggest stage, best pa, lights etc though?

For me, The Sesh says f**k all youre fancy equipment and perfect settings - its all about the raw passion, energy and bollocks that makes it our best local night. I just dont know if itd be the same in a "proper" venue.

Discuss ;)

Think its around the 20/30 quid mark. Which is good to have as a guarentee.

Used to have free entry nights but nobodies gonna miss a quid and gives bands at least some sort of incentive. When my lot have played bigger venues like Leadmill, theyve used the same system and it seems to work well.

Also means if a band really do make an effort (Lavellion supposedly have nearly 100 coming along in few weeks) theyll make some decent cash out of it. Were also happy if the takings are really good to share more cash out from the bar takings, dont see how we could be any fairer? The majority of gigs we play are non-paid/pay to play - to be fair unsigned bands really get shafted these days.

THIS WEEK AT SQUARE ONE

Surely one of our best lineups yet... following on the brilliant Strands last week, Square One welcomes...

Kick Riot + Gods of Whatever + Nova-Caine

3 completely different bands - all top of their game. This one should be beautiful!

£1 - remember to say on the door who youre there to see - then the band gets paid ;) Support local talent!!

Doors open half 7.

For further info on all things Springhead check out www.springheadlive.com

Its that same old dilemma - does having loads of gigs in the same town on the same night help develop a great local scene, or does it simply mean the quality gets unneccessarily diluted and devalue the whole point- after all every gig should be seen as an "event".

I think Hull in general has a better core of venues than most - Sesh has a brilliant vibe and atmosphere, Welly has a good stage, Adelphi has the history and intimacy. I gig regularly out of town and we often underestimate what we have here - Leeds (for example) is often seen as great town to gig in but personally I think, with the exception of Cockpit, its awful.

I have no issue with new venues trying out gigs, as long as, as mentioned above, its for the right reason. Afterall we (Square One) started off at The Dorchester, which quite frankly is a nightmare of a venue.

What it did allow us to do is give some of the newer bands on the circuit a try (bands who play regularly include Fine69, The Cliques, The Strands, Lavellion and Jokerz). When it was originally hard for these guys to get gigs, id like to think we gave them a go, and after some brilliant performances theyre all now regulars on the national scene and headlining gigs like The Sesh and Club NME. So from that point of view, the small venues work well as a platform to the bigger stuff.. gigs breed gigs.

On the other hand it has to be done right. Bands need looking after. It takes months and sometimes years to get anywhere near the sort of regular following The Sesh has - many have tried and failed. Venues need to understand that until that point happens, a promoters job of picking the band that will bring the most friends/family/fans is even more important. What they then must realise is that its costing these bands a fortune to play, as theres very rarely a fee involved. Thankfully at Springhead (something we were never able to do because of logistics at The Dorchester) we can now charge a door charge, with all the cash going to the bands. I had considered leaving a donation box on the door, as mentioned by Mak a while back for the bands.

These bands need looking after becasue ultimately, theyre keeping us promoters and venues in jobs.

Speaking of The Springhead, id be interested to hear peoples thoughts as to how suitable it is as an unsigned venue. Personally I didnt think it would work as obviously its stooped in coverland history, however after our first 3 weeks feedback has been great. Id say the plus points for the bands are decent stage, good lighting, we now have a house kit, and theres a decent backstage to chill. On the negative side I need to get rid of some of these crazy posters!

If anyone fancies a look for themselves, www.myspace.com/squareonepromotions

Good debate chaps