kevin molloy #1 - ik:toms
By: Kevin Molloy
'Internet Killed the Open Mic Star' night launches
- New breed of acoustic night launches at Camden's legendary Liberties bar
- IK:TOMS heralds the beginning of the end for behemoth online 'communities'
Disenchanted by thrown together acoustic nights, and despairing of the live music scene, singer, songwriter and rockfeedback scribe Kevin Molloy and partner in crime Nick Ward have decided to reclaim the agenda for live acts in London.
Launching the revolutionary 'Internet Killed the Open Mic Star' night on 31st May, Kev and Nick have wrested the new music agenda away from the faceless identikit void of Myspace and are waging a campaign to put live acts back where they belong, on a stage in front of an audience in a buzzing bar.
IK:TOMS is the result of Kev's four years experience of gigging the London circuit. Kev says:
"Some promoters run 4 or 5 nights a week, charge £5 on the door, and only book acts on the basis of how many people they'll bring to the night. IK:TOMS is deliberately different. Being unplugged is just one facet of going back to roots with the whole thing: we don't charge entrance before 8pm, because we want to keep the music free as far as possible, any money we do make goes to the acts. Most importantly we also look at who we're booking, and make sure the night works as a whole, with really, really good musicians. I want IK:TOMS to run against the trend that nights are taking in London."
Believing that the Myspace 'phenomenon' has been little more than media hype, Kev and Nick worry that rather than promoting talent online networking damages the live music scene. Armed with Nick's computer science background and know-how the boys have developed their own niche networking site for IK:TOMS aficionados. Nick says:
"Of course you can't blame everything on the internet, but it certainly has something to answer for. There is no 'scene' online... a good thing to a point, but live acts need a scene to thrive. 'Community' websites like Myspace just aren't supportive environments. They're great for allowing people to hear your songs, and for shameless self promotion, but there is no actual community behind it all. Kev and I felt that the internet has substituted a massive, unfeeling, sprawling, unchosen community into the place of a small, supportive network. IK:TOMS wants to reverse that and switch fluorescent strip bulbs for campfires, and warehouse-like Wetherspoons for wood panelled drinking dens."
Adopting a classic, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy the boys have acknowledged the power of online networking, but are doing things their own way by launching the bespoke IK:TOMS Community on 31st May. Unlike Facebook, Myspace, Bebo et al, the IK:TOMS Community will be open solely to IK:TOMS performers and attendees. Amongst the usual and not-so-usual features fans will be able to chart their IK:TOMS gig history, download exclusive content, and buy mix CDs of the music they hear at the nights.
IK:TOMS will launch to the (not so-)raucous sounds of IK:TOMS unplugged on the Camden High Street. Kev comments:
"Camden is IK:TOMS' spiritual home: there's no challenge, Camden reigns supreme on the live music scene right now. Glamour and scuzz in equal measure, we can't wait to add our sound to the mix."
IK:TOMS TAKES PLACE TONIGHT (17/5/07) AT LIBERTIES BAR, CAMDEN HIGH STREET!