I met BomberLeo for the first time when she performed for Rob Warren’s CD launch event at Betty,TOO!. Since then, she had played a couple of times for us (one at the time of Cannabis Cup 2010 and another for a leaving party for her friend) before she passed by one day to say that she wanted to host a series of regular acoustic music nights. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she thought the upstairs space at Betty was ideal for her plans. I was thinking that the space was too small for any live music event and the audio equipment that we have was pretty basic. However BomberLeo said that the size was perfect for an intimate atmosphere and there was also no need for many equipments. She said that she wanted to get together with a couple of artists, including experienced ones and the not-so-experienced and emphasis was on connection amongst the artist as well as that between the artists and the audience. Clearly it was not a simple open-mic that BomberLeo wanted.
We as the team Betty also wanted to contribute whatever we could do to make this project a bit special for all of us and thought it would be a perfect opportunity for us to find a way to work together for something bigger. Say, BomberLeo, a long-standing artist from Amsterdam knows a circle of great artists and other people who appreciate the art and friendship. She holds the core spirit of the community. She can bring together a group or artists from different backgrounds but the same interests. Meanwhile, Betty’s resident DJ Kableguy has been passionate about promoting artists under creative commons lisence and already has experience of working with other artists and labels. He is also able to provide essential technical support in terms of setting up the venue, broadcasting and recording. And as a DJ, his always looking for a new piece of music. In addtion, other staff at Betty are open to new and alternative ideas and are supportive of those who understand what we stand for. Also, geographical spread of Betty has already found artists from other parts of the world who are willing to participate.
So Bomberleo, Kableguy and I had a chat hoping to find a direction to maximise all the potentials that we have as a team. It is an interesting experiment and requires enormous commitment from everyone over a period of time if we want some result. Well, it may all sound very dry and business-like but our conclusion was that certain things had to be done whilst it was pretty certain that everyone would be willing to contribute because we like to work together. I am confident that the gathering on this coming Thursday and future shows into the new year will be successful with many artists and audience making friends with each other and work together to promote great music with inspiration from BomberLeo. I really like the way the whole thing started very organically but the core members are pretty much driven and proactive instead of waiting and complaining.
Sorry I wanted to write about initial planning and the idea behind ‘Bomberleo & Friends’ this time but it may sound very dry and boring for an article on an innovative art event…Then come join us and you know the end product is exceptionally creative. The standard of performance is already so high that my secret dream of making a debut as a singer in one of the sessions is already tarnished.
