Mama Bear Music Management started on a phone conversation at the end of January 2021. A music industry high hitter saved me in his phone as "the manager". I wish to prove so. I'm daily learning artist management. Still.
I "have form" which should help. Since leaving the music industry, I ended up not being able to stay away from grassroots gigs. I've been a 90s-PR-experienced DIY event promoter, creating art punk moments as a Love Pirate, since 2003
17th April 2020 album 'Almost Everything Is Bullshit' by MOSES (Spotify). We have been on a journey to get there and it's now taken us to fresh futures which pop-up single, 'Pawns' (Winter 2020/2021) has enabled.
There is more "form", but it goes on a bit (scroll down), so in short, I feel that after nearly two decades of DIY punky art creativity, scouting, promotion and artist nurturing/development, I'm still excited.
#MamaBearMusicMgmt is part of Rocklands Music Group
I dig being a vintage West Indian rock chick working with an East European, Northern Irish, Southern English phenomenom while living a real time surreal movie in dystopian Brexitannia. The songs seem to drop at the right time to soundtrack our current situation.
Further reading
In the naughties, a Corporation:Blend band meeting created Pop Of The Tops, my first gig-club. It spawned "The New Cross Scene" (2003-2004). Then...
2005-2010 ArtfulFest, October 1-31 Exhibition (revived on line in 2020)
2006 First Rocklands outdoor stage, thank you Creative Lewisham/People's Day Festival
2006 P.O.L.E. club with DJ Jane Heartbreaker
2006-2011 City Showcase involvement learning the blueprint of multi venue eventing under the guidance of instigator, Nanette Rigg (various venues around London including The Apple Store, 02 British Music Experience, Goldsmiths S.U.). Was an official City Showcase Rocklands, also.
2006-2011 City Showcase involvement learning the blueprint of multi venue eventing under the guidance of instigator, Nanette Rigg (various venues around London including The Apple Store, 02 British Music Experience, Goldsmiths S.U.). Was an official City Showcase Rocklands, also.
2007 Rocklands Party (the "24 Hour Concrete Glastonbury")
2007-2010 management/tour manager adventures with Officer Kicks. Here we are sharing "the bright pink coat" at Bestival.
2008 Today Deptford - 3rd and 4th July Independence across Deptford and New Cross
2008-2010 RAR! (14+ monthly live punk n grime club)
2009 - New Year birthed Uniqulture. City Hall Olympics meeting with 'Mare Johnson, Westminster Abbey for Oloadah Equiano, Houses of Parliament via Denis Fernando, for Ken Livingstone's long worded version of Uniqulture
2010 Bronze Year - Panda Power (co-promoting Jean Genie Graham's creative music socials)
2011 Silver Year - Rocklands Stage at People's Day - The Otherside and Floodliners are on the bill.
2012 Gold Year.
Spring: Playhard live music stream TV show averages 16k global viewers for new music, monthly, before the technology is available. Co-pro headed by video, tv, film creative, Heather Minx Ferguson. Yeah, "Women promoters in Camden", deal with it. Launched at the International Live Music Conference. Credible Music TV: Sham 69 at Playhard kicks off the 40th anniversary of Dingwalls, January 2013
Autumn: ArtBeat Amersham Arms monthly music socials and creative sessions. By the end of 2013 #TheZineUK was co-created when venue manager, Andy Palmer (supportive star) let us still have the rider even though I didn't have a show that month.
2014 - New Year, ArtBeat on Tin Pan Alley. Punk and poetry. Camden Crawl festival head Lisa Paulon was there and gave us the Saturday Solstice show that year. Also got a stage at #TGE14 (The Great Escape). #TheZineUK doc has been involved, officially, at a music festival every year.
Mid-March #TheZineUK chapter 001 uploaded as a picture book designed and mostly photographed by Rupert Hitchcox. We'd shown it to some bloke at a hip shoreditch based magazine and he said it was nothing special. Seven years on I'm still diary documenting. Its not an "influencer" but it is influential.
2015
Spring #No3 Expo. 42 stages (including the Live Music Stage and The Bar) at The Ministry Of Fluff And Dreams, Number3London, where I was Events Manager from 2014 until hipster hell apocalypse followed by a brilliant #TGE15 (it's all documented!). Autumn ArtBeat Amersham Arms was an impromptu expo.
Summer These Animal Men and S*M*A*S*H at ArtBeat Amersham Arms for the sold out premiere of Flawed Is Beautiful Movie. QnA after the screening and live songs from These Animal Men.
2016 - April 2nd-3rd ArtBeatFest new music expo at Amersham Arms. Through a twisted series of fortunate incidents via Mourning Birds, I staged #ThatBandMOSES and it was a moment for both of us. Industry picked them up and they went public with a debut release for Crosstown at the end of that year.
July attended the inaugural DecoloniseFest planning meeting. A brilliant festival for punx of colour with an inclusive audience of anybody who likes great entertainment and welcoming festy vibes.
October - was blown away by The Blinders playing This Feeling. Met Alan Wells down the front of the stage. At Venues Day they were a last minute replacement at The Roundhouse, so we met again.
2017 - Rock n Roll Zeitgeist - people were still asking "where are all the women in music? where are the working class?" "where are the people of colour" blah di fucking blah blah. I continued being one of the allies on the grassroots music venue circuit who were just living what we were reporting. Pop Dreams where it's all happening.
Spring : Punk at St Paul's. Summer : Isle Of Wight Festival.
Autumn : #TheZineUK doc split between an eco-system and an ego-system. The start up that died down.
Then changed cast and crew with new writers and returned to why we started - having FUN. In celebration and steered by having an actual editor, now, Dizzy Spell. We attended the Q Awards and Venues Day together and whatever she is doing keeps the readership and profile rising. We celebrated with the #MusicPeopleParty.
Some of my amateur snapshots of the journey from 2014 to 2017 are now a video slideshow of our 2021 cast and crew's journey.
Pictured below, November 2017, l-r Taylor Hetherston of Live Circuit, Monefa Walker and Sandy K. Moz of TheZineUK. In the background, Dan and Toby of The Velvet Hands in conversation with Mikey of This Feeling, the live music rock club we're at. Often.
17th December #MusicPeopleParty launches, The Velvet Hands kick off something special including #TheZineUK Season 2 - probably the wildest ride of a music movement moment rounded off by what #2020Vision actual was in January 2021.
2018 : When we were proud to be English courtesy of how our footy team carried themselves on a global stage. #FootballMusic cover of #The|ZineUK with the permission of Bands F.C. - Art, Artful, ArtBeat - all artfully like an artful dodger, baby. Click 'n' Flick the documentary.
Adventures Galore. In June I meet up with MOSES to start working with their return from the brink. That September Kick Out The Jams launches #TheCamdenMixUp and a whole new brace of brillness ensues, then MOSES begin a series of seasonal single releases and visual arts collaborations.
2019 : CroCroLand Festival is an illumination. So thrilled to be part of that.
2020 : 24th March, the day after official "UK" lockdown, Balcony Online Festival begins. We came together to make and do something in this tragic pandemic.
2021 : At the end of January, 2020 felt like it finally ended.
On 25th January Marshall Amps launched their live booking agency. This Mama Bear dived in and suggested MOSES for their rosta. So glad they agreed. The rest is future.