The Glasgow School

Glasgow's music scene, for at least the past thirty years, has been noted for its constant nurturing of young, innovative bands. Many of the figures involved speak of the institutional support, if you can call it that, offered by the triumvirate of Glasgow Venues: Nice'n'Sleazy's, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (which was voted one of the top ten global tourist destinations by an American magazine) and The Barrowlands.

The sustained media interest and constant excitement around the music scene has, in recent times, led to an explosion of new live music venues and nights. Good guys include Mark Robb, the ever-lovable owner of the original Buff Club, who will be opening a new venue beneath Red Lizard, which will host live bands, and Alec Downie, who single-handedly ran NEMIS (New Music in Scotland) and is now the manager of a new venue called the Classic Grand, which will play host to all sorts of glam bashes, from the Babyshambles Aftershow to nights showcasing local talent. Challenging the hegemony of Sleazy's on Sauchiehall Street, a whole host of venues are opening up. The G1 Group have opened a live music themed venue called Capitol on the street, the owners of pop-spot Blanket are opening a venue called Guru and an old cinema, the ABC, has successfully made the transition to venue status, with a cavernous main space and smaller room for local bands.

Whether this explosion of venues and independent promoters is actually good for the music scene, or a slightly opportunist business strategy, remains to be seen. The explosion of independently run or corporate gigs, held in sushi bars, pubs, old men's clubs and derelict wrecks, certainly offers excitement and boredom in equal measures. Currently leading Glasgow's latest wave are bands like ShitDisco, famed for playing gigs in muddy tunnels beneath Kelvingrove Park or in their home cum squat on West Prince's Street. This kind of Glaswegian Guerrilla Gigging was, of course, pioneered in recent times by Franz Ferdinand, who were instrumental in the setting up of the Chateau, a clandestine and legally suspect space for artists, musicians and pigeons to work in grotty proximity. Those crazy Art School kids are normally the people to ask about these underground events.

Band-wise, The Skinny has constantly pioneered the best in local talent. A clutch of the which to look out for are Uncle John and Whitelock, Bricolage, The Royal We, Popup, The Low Miffs and Mother and the Addicts. You can read about them on our website. Otherwise, we'll see you out and about.