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FeaturesYou are in: Suffolk > Entertainment > Music > Features > Drum & Monkey re-opens  Drum & Monkey re-opensIpswich has a new dedicated medium-sized venue for live music. The Drum has played host to The Stereophonics in the past - and it's hoped it'll become part of the national gig circuit again. It's been standing empty and grim-looking for a couple of years now, but a team of three musical musketeers is re-launching the Princes Street venue.  Whoever thought 1996 was a golden age? The launch party is on Saturday 4th March featuring Fuzzface, Charlie Brown, Nova Souls, Rosalita and Imagineers with acoustic music from Brendan Ware, Dan Foden and James Severey. There will also be fifteen DJs playing a variety of styles. It's £4 on the door and runs from 3pm-1.30am. The venue is owned by the people behind the Ipswich Village project, but it's rented and run by landlord Michael Carter, who's come fresh from The Swan pub opposite the Corn Exchange "Everyone knows the Drum for music. With other pubs, including The Swan, the buildings just aren't the right shape for a stage which actually has some space in front of it. Here it's perfect to get big bands and just really push it."  John Peel Day 2006, Ipswich Steamboat The music side of things will be run by Sonic Flower Promotions who are Dan Ratcliffe and Kerry McLaughlin. They've already painted the walls in a retro-sixties style and it's looking frightfully groovy, although not quite finished when the BBC visited. Dan says Ipswich is crying out for this sort of venue "We used to do club nights at the Corn Exchange and we brought in signed bands who were touring, but it wasn't our venue and we couldn't always use it on the nights we wanted to. With The Drum we'll have it 365 days a year and that's what booking agents are looking for. We're hoping local talent will be able to support the better known bands we've got coming such as The Open, Lady Fuzz, Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster and Sunshine Underground."  Rosalita at The Steamboat, Ipswich "We've also got a tie when the Red Hot Chili Peppers come to Portman Road in the summer. The support band !!! [pronounced tchk tchk tchk, if that helps] will be coming here afterwards for a DJ set. We're hoping DJs will be a big part of things alongside live bands." But even if it's a success - it can only be short-term. Michael Carter only has a limited lease "Whatever happens the building will be demolished to make way for the Ipswich Village development in two or three years, so we're just hoping to make a go of it and leave some happy memories."  Work in progress The stage-room has a capacity of around 150 while the other bar could fit 100. There'll be lunchtime food, but CAMRA members will be alarmed that there's no cask bitter at the moment. However, they say if there is customer demand they'll be looking to offer Greene King or Adnams or maybe something else. So the message is there's going to be a Sonic Flower Attack on your district, but do not panic.... come along and support it. last updated: 17/11/2008 at 15:19 SEE ALSOYou are in: Suffolk > Entertainment > Music > Features > Drum & Monkey re-opens   |
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