- Thu, 2008-12-18 00:00
The Gaymers Camden Crawl 2009 will take place in Camden town, London on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th April from 12pm- 4am. This year crawlers will have two days to visist any of the 40 Venues involved, which will play host to over 150 groundbreaking artists and special guests, with their access all areas wristband. Artists will be gracing all manner of venues, inside and outside, from pubs, clubs, youth centres and shops to this years addition of The Roundhouse.
The spirit of discovery is the essence of the Camden Crawl. Set up with the intention of exposing its audiences to great new music, the full line-ups and stage times remain a closely guarded secret until each day, with surprise guests appearing at any time and at any venue. An ethos that attracts crawlers and artists alike.
Though the Camden Crawl is strongly centered around music, the event plays host to all manner of other activity, including live street art and exhibitions, comedy, poetry and book slams, magic and theatrics, art and crafts, film shorts, aftershow parties and much more.
With such a lot going on I Like Music decided to delve a little deeper into the crawl. Before we knew it we were sat in the office of festival organiser Lisa Paulon finding out how it all began, the mystery behind the secret performances and what crawlers should expect from the 2009 Gaymers Camden Crawl.
ILM: How would you sum-up the ethos behind The Camden Crawl?
Lisa: We started it in 1995 and the ethos is pretty much the same now, even though it has grown so much since then. We try to use the festival as a vehical to turn people on to new music, and at the same time give them as much value for money as possible. I like the idea that we don't sell tickets on the basis of who is playing. We try and announce the acts after the tickets have gone. You don't want people just to go to a concert, you want them to have the experience, meet people on the street, end up chatting in the queue...that's the best thing about this year...[whispers] Magicians in the queue! You WILL want to queue this year! hahah! If you can't beat the queues you have to make them really fun, that's this years plan!
ILM: How did The Camden Crawl start?
Lisa: When we started, 1994-5, it was really difficult for indie labels, indie promoters and independent venues. It was difficult to get new acts exposure because they weren't getting covered in the mainstream press, radio or TV. There weren't as many outlets and online hadn't really taken off. A bunch of us got together and picked out what we thought were the best new underground acts happening. We decided that instead of doing individual gigs we we would put them together under one umbrella, make the ticket price really cheap so that it was accessible to everybody and then use all of our mutual experience and influence to create publicity around the event. It was basically just a promotional experience that would give new music we believed in exposure.
In 1995 it was 1000 people, 5 venues and a fiver to get in. We also gave everyone a free CD so that if they couldn't catch all the bands they could go home and listen. In turn those acts got a great deal more exposure than they would get playing to 20 people on a Thursday night. That's how it all started. It has just grown year on year. The ethos now is completely the same. Although, instead of it being the five of us, it's 25 organisations or individual taste makers putting forward the acts and music that we think is the best. Then we all vote in a committee. It's completely democratic. The idea is that it is just the best new music. All the stuff that is happening in Britain, and some international if they're available.
ILM: This year there are more venues involved than ever before...
Lisa: Yeah, last year we had 32 venues, this year we have 40. It's turning youth centres, clothes shops, anything that is licensed into a venue in the walkable area. That's one of the things that is most exciting. You can go to all of these venues without having to pay an entrance fee. We've centered everything in the Electric Ballroom in the past but this year we are moving to the Roundhouse. The Electric Ballroom is right in the centre and there is so much congestion around the tube, moving everything to the Roundhouse this year means it'll be slightly easier. That is where all the ticket exchanges will happen. It will be one of the three main hubs, along with Koko and the Electric Ballroom.
ILM: Do you have a favourite venue?
Lisa: I love the Black Cap. It's just kind of glitzy-sleazy, I love it! That's why Queens Of Noize want that venue every year...hahah!
ILM: The Camden Crawl seems to take a very organic approach, it's about the music not about big names and lots of money. Do you treat all artists the same?
Lisa: Yes. It's very democratic. All the artists get paid the same. Everything is equal billing. They don't get to chose which venues they play. Everyone has the same catering, everyone has the same rider. It's all about big artists coming to support the new artists, doing it for the fun of it and everyone coming together because of a love for music and art. You get people that get it and people that don't. And that's fine. I don't want people to play that don't want to be there or are just doing it for the money. That would defeat the purpose.
ILM: Though the festival has a very strong leaning toward indie rock, the line-up is actually quite diverse. How do you go about getting that balance?
Lisa: That's a thing people overlook. We have a specific agenda to make it as diverse as possible. To be honest, it is the nature of the beast that it will be 40-50% guitar acts. But we do want people to be exposed to different kinds of things as they evolve. In 2005 when we brought the event back after 7 years of being dormant, the musical climate had changed vastly. Now, in 2009, you will see a lot more electro and poppy styles coming through. The emergence of folk singer songwriters, that wasn't really around in 2005 and all of a sudden it is very prolific. Also the re-emergence of British rock. We all like such a wide variety of music. I look at my record collection and there's Black Sabbath and AC/DC and then The Pixies, no one likes just one type of music.
ILM: What's the difference between The Camden Crawl in the day and The Camden Crawl in the night?
Lisa: We're trying to keep people sober in the day! Everything starts at midday, so if you really want to be dangerous you can try going for 16 hours, which is what I do! The day time is about pop quizzes, poetry, book slams, comedy, exhibitions, bingo, karaoke and interactive experiences that are just fun, that people can enjoy and just dip in and dip out of. There is plenty of live music in the day too, but it tends to be a little more 'unplugged.' We only do a couple of fully live stages. We want people to be able to pace themselves and then enjoy the evening bit too. When we do open the doors, no matter what time, all the venues fill up instantly, so no band has a bad slot.
ILM: And in the night...
Lisa: The late night thing is a completely different kettle of fish. We have some really interesting club stuff happening this year. The Jazz Cafe will be doing some old school hip hop stuff, also Greco Roman, Joe from Hot Chip etc, will hopefully be doing a club night which will be more electro-rave, and then we have bands playing at Koko until 3am...That's where the Klaxons did their first London slot! Also we should be doing a big power rock night too! I'm sure we will do some chill out stuff as well.
ILM: The Camden Crawl has become known for the expect the unexpected vibe...Big artists popping out of nowhere and secret gigs. How did that come about?
Lisa: I don't know how that started. It wasn't meant to be like that. Actually, I think Graham Coxon started it. I bumped into him on the street, I'd known him from years ago, and said Guess what, I'm thinking about bringing back the Camden Crawl. And he just said Can I Play? and I was like Er.....yeah!, then he said Can I play Dublin Castle?, and I obviously just said Yeah! You can play wherever you like! So it just turned into that thing. Then every year, whether it's been Amy Winehouse or Supergrass, something just happens. It evolved like that. People mostly ask us to do secret shows rather than us planning it. Also, sometimes people just turn up and do things! Last year Santogold had a float, and turned up and just played a gig. It was completely nothing to do with us! The only problem I have now is that I have every band asking me to play a secret gig!
ILM: How many people work on The Camden Crawl?
Lisa: It gets bigger and bigger and bigger. We have PR people, online, radio and TV press. Then we have a guy who does our website, our WAP platform, then our partners like BBC and MTV. We start really early, we started in September. From January the production starts. We have an independent team of people that come in, all the venue reckies who hire all the gear in, hire all the security, hire all the stage crews. So all of a sudden there will be 20 people working for the Camden Crawl in March, but normally there is just two of us, being stressed out!
ILM: When you look back over the previous years, which Camden Crawl moments stand out for you?
Lisa: Last year I didn't enjoy it because I was stressed out! I vowed a few years ago that after working on this for nine months I would experience as much of it as possible and enjoy myself. I did that the year before last and had an amazing time! The weather was stunning, it was 28 degrees in April and I was sat on a roof tower watching everything unfold and it was really great! I can't remember a specific moment, it all goes by way too quickly! Although watching Noah And The Whale really early in the morning was fantastic..!
ILM: What would be your advice to The Camden Crawlers of 2009?
Lisa: They need to come with the right attitude. If they have come to see a certain act it is probably not the best place to be. They need to come not knowing what is going to happen. The whole randomness, meeting people and music discovery is what it is about. That's what I really like about it and what the bands like about it too. You have 16 hours of activity and madness, so try a bit of everything!
