This article appears in A Beginner’s Guide To Grassroots Music in Calderdale. Keep an eye out for a copy in venues, pubs and community spaces throughout the borough. You can also read the magazine online or download it. The publication is part of CultureDale’s Youth Music Takeover initiative.
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The Blind Pig is a lively street corner pub-venue in the centre of Sowerby Bridge. Set across two floors, the spiral staircase connects the downstairs bar to the quirky, top floor, open-plan gig space.
There’s a great sound set-up at The Pig, overseen by Callum Hall, who works for Pro Audio Systems. His aunt, Julie, is the manager of the venue. Between them, they put on a varied mix of top live bands every weekend with a leaning towards DIY, punk, hard rock, metal and emo.
They also run a sister venue, The Turk’s Head, across the street.
Looking to the future, Julie and Callum have just put in a new stage and undergone a rebrand aimed at a more youth-oriented market. They’ve also made moves to improve their accessibility by running a TV feed of the upstairs gigs to a big TV screen on the ground floor.
They’re keener than ever to help train and support the next generation of people who want to be part of the live music scene.
Mentoring Future Talent
Julie: “We’ve already got two or three young lads that will quite often pop in to mentor under Callum. So while he’s doing the sound, he’s explaining everything to them. It’s a digital desk, which is great for them to learn with. And Callum’s a great teacher, one of the best to learn from. He could go full-time as a sound engineer all over the world.
Anyone who comes in here is well looked after. I’ll make sure they’ve got a taxi home and they’ve got drinks while they’re there.
We’d love to do a young bands showcase at least once a month, putting on two or three bands on a Sunday afternoon. We’ve done it a couple of times and it’s been really successful.”
The Sunday Sessions
“I got in touch with The Caymans after their gig with The Libertines. They come in to watch the bands anyway. I said, ‘Well done, lads. You need to play on this now. You want to get some gigs.’ We had them play on a Sunday afternoon and we put the Deep Sea Lemons on.
We want to get these young people playing with a proper sound system to a proper audience. You can have the most amazing band, but they need to be able to read an audience.
It’d be lovely if a group of younger people took that over, the whole event, from the sound tech to the bands to promoting, to ticketing. They’d get paid for it, because I wouldn’t charge for the room or anything. They can come along, set the ticket price, go for it and keep the takings.
I’d be there to help them, guide them and set up the events. Once they’ve done a few, they’d be up and running.”
Quickfire Questions with… Callum Hall
Callum is in high demand. As well as sound engineer at The Blind Pig, the 31-year-old has a busy day job with Pro Audio Systems and still finds time for regular freelance gigs.
He first got interested in music when he was at school. He learned the bass and started gigging at 15. Callum then studied Music Technology at college and Sound Engineering & Production at Birmingham City University.
Soon after, he started doing the sound for bands at The Blind Pig – where Julie, his aunt, is the landlady – and quickly fell in love with the place.
Q) What makes The Blind Pig such a special place?
“Julie’s passion for free-entry gigs means that anyone can come and enjoy themselves, which brings in a real mish-mash of genres and subcultures.
The PA is the best I’ve seen in a small venue. It’s a dream to work with. On top of that, the bands are looked after and paid fairly, so everyone wants to come back, which keeps the standard of performers high.”
Q) What’s the best night you’ve experienced at The Blind Pig?
“Last year’s Noise in the Valley Festival. We had brilliant up-and-coming bands, a venue full of appreciative fans and we were working with another local venue, The Puzzle.
Q) And the most stressful?
“It’s those gigs where there’s a lack of trust from the artist. Fortunately, it’s been years since this has happened. I’ve got better at communicating with bands, to ensure they know I’m there to support them and want the best for the gig.”
Q) What have been your biggest lessons?
“I got thrown in at the deep end with my first real gig after uni. I joined a regional theatre tour at the last minute. They were desperate for someone with an audio background. But audio is such a broad spectrum. I’ve found it best to throw myself into whatever work I can and lean on the experience of other crew members to improve my own skills.
The most important thing to learn is signal flow and how to troubleshoot effectively. When there’s a problem the last thing you need is to waste time chasing a fault in the wrong place. Being level headed and logical helps greatly.
Sound Tech: Callum’s Top Tips
- Build your skills.
- Learn to drive and get your own reliable transport.
- Learn about IT infrastructure.
- Become great at networking.
- Be nice and be positive.
- Know your worth.
- Persevere.
- Be realistic.
And finally… Remember, everyone has bad shows from time to time, so analyse what went wrong and be honest with yourself. If there’s something you could have done better, learn from it in time for the next one.
Get Involved
For more info, contact Julie via The Blind Pig’s Facebook page – facebook.com/theblindpiguk. Or message Callum on Instagram – @callumhallaudio
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