An Interview with Remake Remodel

Working under the tagline The nations saving grace of alternative, rock n roll, Remake Remodel has quickly become one the coolest club nights in the North West. With its underground venues, raucous music and chaotic charm, Remake Remodel has spoken out to the passionate rock n roll fans who were becoming increasingly aggravated by mediocre indie nights. I had a chat with the people who make it all happen, Liam and Victoria.

Youve established a decent following in both Liverpool and Manchester, how did the night start out?

Victoria: Liam and I had worked together at 5th avenue and hated it. 5th ave and similar clubs like 42s claimed to be indie clubs, yet played chart music like Rhianna and Lady Gaga. They are not very adventurous with music either the playlists are very strict and exactly the same every single night. Its all about playing commercialised music and selling cheap drinks to get the most students in. There is no passion towards the music at all.

So we thought something had to be done, Manchester needed a night that focused on taking people on a musical journey through Rock & Roll.

Liam: Yeah hearing Sex is on Fire by Kings of Leon every night was driving me nuts. Manchester and rock n roll music in general has such a great history for music but there was just no guitar based nights here that played current bands like The Kills, B.R.M.C and BJM and they all have a massive following.

Victoria: Or even older bands like Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, T-Rex, The Ramones (who have plenty more than Blitzkrieg Bop), Jesus and Mary Chain and The Fall etc..

Liam: So we got the opportunity to put in on at South and gladly took it. Goodbye Mr Brightside and Lady Gaga for us, ha.

Musically, has Remake Remodel filled a gap that was previously lacking?

Victoria: Yeah, I believe that it has.

Liam: Definitely, well we hope so. That is for the people to decide to be honest, but I think Remake Remodel has brought a night to the city for people who just want to go out and hear true alternative Rock & Roll, past and present.

Where does you love of alternative rock n roll stem from?

Victoria: Mine was from my childhood. My Mum would listen to bands like Pink Floyd when cleaning and my Dad would play his guitar to my brother, sister and I at bedtime. He would play bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and artists like Bob Dylan and David Bowie. When he played Bowies Space Oddity though he would have to change the song slightly so it had happily ever after ending or else we would cry and not go to sleep.

Liam: Mine kind of evolved over time to be honest. When i was a teenager I liked all the usual Libertines, Cribs, Smiths etc all those kinda generic indie bands. However, my best mate at college gave me Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Baby 81 cd. That changed everything for me. From there my music changed and grew up along with me, I dropped all the stuff I was listening to before as it just didnt sound good to me anymore- from Black Rebel i found Jesus and Mary Chain, Pixies, Velvet Underground, Hendrix, The Doors, Bowie, The Fall, Jonestown, The Kills, etc.

Who are some of your favourite current artists?

Victoria: Best Coast, Cats Eyes, Tame Impala and Crocodiles are my favourite most recent bands but I love B.R.M.C, BJM, Dandy Warhols, The Fall, The Black Keys and The Kills who have all been around for a while but are still releasing new music and touring.

Liam: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Kills, Tame Impala, Crocodiles, The Horrors, Yuck and The Fall whove been around since punk but always changing always evolving and i recently found a brilliant one called Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats thanks to someone on our page recommending it to us, so a big thank you to her! BJM should be a good gig in July at The Ritz, their last gig here was like one big party at Manchester Academy!

How do you rate the current Manchester music scene?

Liam: Good and Bad. The good- people like Now Wave putting on the best in new music around the city and its venues. The Bad- people seem to linger onto the past a lot in Manchester and its bands especially those involved in the madchester era. Of course its fine to celebrate a great music history, its just sometimes feels that it lingers a lot here.

Victoria: I think that Manchester has got a good music scene because its very mixed bag. People here are quite open minded with music. Every night here there are lots of great club nights on from techno to retro. There are so many options to try out and I think that is the reason Manchester is so open minded. Dubstep and Techno seem to be at the top of the scene at the moment though. There arent as many Rock & Roll based club nights in comparison.

From a fashion perspective Manchester looks more like a Rock & Roll city than it actually is. I think Topshop and Topman have a large part to play in that with their band t-shirts. Dr Martens boots, an icon of punk fashion, have come back in a big way too, they are on nearly every passing foot. But the reality is its a massive trend not a musical statement. It would be nice if everyone who wore a Fleetwood Mac or Nirvana etc t-shirt actually listened to them.

To someone whos never attended Remake Remodel, how would you describe it?

Liam: Expect to hear the best in alternative rock & roll, hits, album tracks and rarities from the 50s to now. Stomping guitars and dirty baselines. There may be some tunes that people dont know so its also about discovering new music.

Victoria: Its a night where like minded people go to dance to bands like Joy Division (and not because The Wombats tell them too).

And the Remake Remodel crowd are great, it is them who make the night as successful as it is. People come down get drunk-merry and have fun dancing to music they are passionate about. There are no wankers down just for a cheap night(although the drink offers are good) to pull and get into a fight. The fashion taste of the crowd is great too it is quite creative and as varied as the different eras of music.

Describe a Remake Remodel night in three words

Victoria: Twistin, Reelin and Rockin

Liam: Rock and Roll

Tell us a bit about the DJs

Victoria: Well we have two Djs Bill and Liam. Bill is great because he totally understands the principle of Remake Remodel. Bill runs The Castle club in Oldham which puts on a lot of gigs so he comes from a band orientated background. Bill tends play more of the Retro rock than Liam so together they bring something different each to the night. It works well.

Liam: Ive lived in Manchester for nearly 4 years now having moved from Stoke to come to Uni to study Psychology. Moving to Manchester was the best thing i ever did as i found a place that suited me in every aspect of my life. Now im doing something that I love, promoting and playing the music that i love.

I can only speak for Manchester (South & Ruby Lounge), but how important are those venues in particular to the overall success of the night?

Victoria: Very Important. The venue should echo the clubnights ethos in someway. South is an underground basement dive with scuzzy walls and a dark colour scheme. It works well with scuzzy guitar and bass riffs coming out the function 1 speakers. Then there is the outdoor bar and smoking area with a massive projection screen. Our favourite film to play is coffee and cigarettes by Jim Jarmusch. Its great that people can socialise, smoke and drink with brilliant visuals for a background. It makes a good setting for taking photographs too, smoking always looks cool in photographs doesnt it.

Liam: Then there is The Ruby Lounge another underground venue we like it because it is a venue that revolves around bands they have gigs on nearly every night. The walls are plastered with gig posters and the Djs set up on the stage where the bands play. You definitely get a Rock & Roll feeling from this venue the second you step through the door.

Are there any club nights from yesteryear that have influenced you?

Victoria: hmm no not really club nights as such. I was more inspired by clubbing and partying scenes from movies, like the scene in Quadrophenia where Jimmy is at a club in Brighton dancing to Green Onions and Louie Louie.

Liam: Up The Racket had a big impact on me when i first moved to manchester. I went to one of their David Bowie specials in my first year at uni, was in a dreamland for me to have a night dedicated to the thin white duke as i had nothing like that in Stoke. I remember stealing the poster at the end of the night sacred i was going to get caught! Of course now I know this is ok, ha. Kinda weird how UTR Mondays just finished as we started RR, it felt like evolution of the passing of the torch kinda thing. The nights are quite different but still have a similar kind of ethos

Youre currently having a well earned break over Easter, what can we expect from your highly anticipated return?

Liam: New music like Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats and Pond and of course the usual rock n roll and Jagerbombs.

Victoria: A new poster. We went to see The Dandy Warhols recently and took some great shots. We ended up using one of the shots for our Summer poster at Ruby Lounge. And you can of course, grab one from the stage and the dj's on the night.

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