Laurence Jones plays East Sussex in support of grass-roots venues
Laurence Jones is delighted to be hitting the road with MVT Cohorts (Music Venue Trust) to play some of the finest grass-roots independent music venues across the UK.
The tour, which includes a headline show at The Piper in St Leonard’s on Friday, February 21, will see Laurence travel around the country including two nights in Wales, four nights across Scotland and shows throughout England.
“My agent called me up and said we have got this amazing opportunity with these concerts, and I just really wanted to be part of the effort to help these venues. I started out playing the grass-roots venues years and years ago, 15 years ago... and that's a long, long time in the music business!”
Generally it's a mixed picture for venues in this country right now: “Some of the venues are amazing. We just did The Apex in Bury St Edmunds which has had millions put into it and they have got a very good venue in Milton Keynes but there are others that are struggling, that are independent, that just haven't got the resources behind them. They are trying really hard but it's difficult for them. Maybe they just haven't got the right support or the right programme or the right budget or maybe the equipment isn't as good but hopefully we can bring a bit of money to them and just help them out a little bit.
“There is always a bit of competition with a lot of tribute bands being booked in these places rather than original artists which are harder to sell. A lot of venues are choosing to put on cover bands at the weekends taking up spots for people like me who are in the middle ground, and they book the tribute bands just because they're easier to sell.
“But the fact is that venues can make a huge difference. They really do. If you're playing somewhere that's nice and clean then people will come out. Maybe people are less inclined when it looks like the venue is struggling, those places that we call spit and sawdust venues. I have played lots of those in my time and you'd play one week and you get eight people and then you'd come back another time and you get 20 and then you'd get 60 and then you get 200. And that's what I mean about wanting to support these venues, helping them to build audiences.”
Laurence is promising a set which will draw on his eight studio albums so far which number 80 to 90 songs: “I will choose the best 13 or 14 tracks and a few covers and probably a tribute to my hero Jimi Hendrix. He was first great guitarist that really drew me to the instrument and just mesmerised me with his playing.”
Laurence also considers a hero the late great Jeff Beck who lived in East Sussex: “I supported him in the Netherlands and I got to see him and we got to have a good chat. I once watched Ringo Starr from the side of the stage with him and I certainly didn't expect that! Ringo was headlining and Jeff was on and I was just before Jeff, and when Ringo came past and went on the stage Ringo high-fived Jeff. And Jeff was just absolutely starstruck. He had been high-fived by a Beatle! He couldn’t believe it. He was just the nicest guy, a lovely guy.”