The biz's brightest new talents their stories. This week it's the turn of Charlie Simmonds, bookings manager at The Dome/Boston Music Room.
What’s your favourite thing about working in music?
“My favourite thing about working in the music industry is doing it with some of my closest friends. Knowing we all get to work in this industry and rock out together is such a wicked privilege. I’m the bookings manager at The Dome and Boston Music room in Tufnell Park, so it really makes my week when a friend is working on a show here in whichever capacity.”
What makes a great gig?
“I don’t think there’s a formula to this, I’ve seen so many bad bands play good gigs in bad venues. As long as you’re up for it and in the right mood I reckon even your least favourite band playing their worst set could feel like a great gig. It helps if the venue has a good selection of soft drinks, mind.”
What does the live sector need more of?
“We need more support. There are so many things we wish we could do that we just can’t. Our venue doesn’t have enough support from our local council to be able to recycle, that’s ridiculous! We don’t have the financial support to be able to make our venues accessible for both ambulatory folk who need assistance and non-ambulatory folk. Ultimately, it’s on us to fix these problems, but a little hand in giving us a big blue recycling bin wouldn’t be that difficult.”
What defines rock music in 2019?
“There’s no real set of rules or guidelines for defining rock music anymore. With artists like Show Me The Body rocking harder with a banjo than most bands do full stop, the goalposts have well and truly been moved. If it makes you bang your head or punch the air or even just smile and politely nod your head then that’s good enough for me to call it rock music.”
What’s your best music biz story?
“Years ago, I played in a band called Death Rattles. We’d been booked for Leopalooza festival in Cornwall but broke down on the way there. We eventually got towed the rest of the way to the festival by a curly [strange] guy who claimed he invented techno, and we had to do a quick 10-minute set at midnight. After the show, we were wandering around looking for extracurricular activities and met Leo of Leopalooza. He invited us back to this secret family and friends guest bar where we saw Thom Yorke DJing to his kids while they were playing table football.”
CHARLIE’S RECOMMENDED TRACK:
FOLLOW 
