Two wise monkeys and some Wet Nuns…

Glen Braybrooke-Smith of Oasis Audio had a chat with Peter and Simon Wilkes of the Brass Monkey…

GBS: Firstly, what’s happening with the Crypt?

P&S: Nothing that we know of. We shut down a year ago and it’s out of our hands. It was a difficult thing to do as we’ve been there since 1990, but the entertainment landscape has changed so much in that time and finally we couldn’t justify staying open.

GBS: So what has changed?

P&S: Until 2007 and the licensing law change, everyone knew that after the pubs closed at eleven, and folks wanted to go on, they’d go on to a club, and this gave us a guaranteed crowd which in turn gave us the latitude to be experimental with bands and acts. It was great for everyone because we could promote local talent and they’d have a great crowd. The ’07 law change meant everywhere staying open later, people going out later, and so the formula that had worked so well for years stopped working. It was an ill-thought out and clumsily applied piece of legislature, meaning that we were bracketed with ‘venues’ such as the Kebab Hut, and, coupled with the blanket ban on smoking, means that actively promoting entertainment, as opposed to just providing a trough to get sozzled in, has become a risky business.

Hastings has always been well liked by touring bands as we have a  reputation for our very appreciative audiences. We’ve always been able to champion local bands as support acts for up-and-coming bands such as Muse and Coldplay, plus there are now more venues for bands than ever before, which is great on one hand because the creative energy is as vibrant as it has always been, but without clear long-term vision, it’s very easy for a band or act to become overexposed locally, so, regardless of how popular they are, they don’t have a big draw. For example, we’ve got a bit of a coup on Saturday 25 of February when The Wet Nuns are playing, they’re only doing a handful of gigs nationally and we want to feature a support act that’ll make it special, and that’s proving to be an interesting issue.

Although our background is in live acts we’ve always been aware of the validity of quality DJ and other electronic based acts, and as time goes by we’re seeing the resurgence of vinyl style turntablism, especially with the advent of vinyl controlled digital media like Serato. The growing popularity of our Friday nights with DJ First Rate, the DMC world champion, and the Silent Disco’s are testament to that.

As a local concern we are committed to providing the best service and we’ve recently brought in a new Opus Audio rig which is clearly the best sound in town. As ever it’s the independent traders that give a town its flavour, and that is particularly true of Hastings given that it has always embraced its quirky and avant garde side. But with the national corporations moving in, the essence of the town is being marginalised, by personality-free coffee houses, and cheap booze-oriums staying open all hours, the maxim ‘Use it or Lose it’ has rarely been more relevant.

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