4 Projects in Scotland's DIY Punk Scene That You Should Know About! - Scene Radar

Welcome to SceneRadar, where we give you advice on how to get involved with your local music scene, as well as what you should be looking out for in terms with the latest DIY activity across Scotland! 

Today we're talking about 4 projects from Scotland's DIY punk scene that you should know about! These projects are keeping DIY alive through their respective genres and areas around Scotland, and can be useful in giving inspiration for you to start your own project! Please check out each project's social media to keep updated on what they're currently up to! 

1 - Hunk of Plastic 

Founded in 2021 and based in Fife, Hunk of Plastic have been one of the most active labels in the connection of US Emo and Skramz to the UK through physical distribution. Working from their small store on LimitedRun, they have been the distributer of choice for many artists within these genres, as a fan of Skramz and Emo myself I am aware that getting physical copies of Tapes and Vinyl from the US is very challenging due to extended delivery times alongside the increased shipping costs which prevents many fans from buying merchandise from overseas. Hunk of Plastic provides opportunities for US artists to have their physical products sold overseas by working with them and their record labels directly! 

Hunk of Plastic Links: 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hunkofplastic/ 

LimitedRun - https://hunkofplasticrecords.limitedrun.com 

2 - Heavenly Creature Records

Heavenly Creature has also found itself to be a growing part of the Scottish DIY scene through similar but different means to Hunk of Plastic, this label has been building it's online "Community" through releasing tracks from artists from all over the world, primarily in Scotland and across the pond in the US where such genre's are thriving. One place where Heavenly Creature has excelled since launching in 2021 has been it's charity compilation albums featuring covers by friends and fans of the label. Their latest release in collaboration with Gold Mold Records is a Modest Mouse Compilation titled Wherever You See Fit, with all profits being donated towards SFAD (Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs). 

Heavenly Creature Links: 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heavenlycrecs/ 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/heavenly-creature-records-109609961515648 

Bandcamp - https://heavenlycreaturerecords.bandcamp.com  

3 - Gold Mold 

Gold Mold is an older name within the Glasgow music scene, being active since 2013 providing DIY tapes, records and live shows for the bands involved with the local scene. More recently, Gold Mold has been  the Glasgow music scene with local Punk shows whilst also working to release tapes for bands such as Bleaks, Gossiper and Polly so far in 2022. Gold Mold has certainly engrained themselves as a staple project within the Glasgow DIY music scene. 

Gold Mold Links: 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/goldmoldrecords/  

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GoldMoldRecords 

Bandcamp - goldmoldrecords.bandcamp.com 

4 - Mutual Scum 

Launching in 2022, Mutual Scum are a brand new collective of DIY promoters who aim to create a friendly, fair and fun environment for the Scottish music scene. The collective involves: GoldMold, Heavenly Creature, Sunken Sofa, Struggletown, Make That A Take, and Toadstool. Whilst the collective is certainly in it's early days, it is clear that this is something that the DIY scene is in great need of and the collective has high hopes to restore and build the DIY music scene in Scotland to the best it can be. Mutual Scum have their first outing on Saturday the 18th of June, with US Emo Band "Riley!" playing Ushi's Coffee Corner with Support from Sheffield's "Slash Fiction" and Glasgow's own "Frog Costume" 

Mutual Scum Links: 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mutual_scum/  

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mutualscum   

BigCartel - https://mutualscum.bigcartel.com  

Thanks for taking the time to read, if you wish to keep updated with SceneRadar, you can follow Sunken Sofa on Instagram to be notified when there's a new post! 

Hosting an event: 4 essential tips to a successful first gig in Glasgow!

Today we are going to be discussing your first time hosting an event as a live music promoter in Glasgow's live music scene! 

As you might already know, breaking into your local music scene can be really difficult, especially if you have no experience with the live music industry or music scene's as a whole - if you're looking for how you can get your foot in the door, our last post showcased some local networking events in Glasgow for newcomers to the music scene! 

Tip 1 - Know Your Audience 

Our first tip for making sure you host a successful first gig is making sure you know your audience, this is particularly important when designing the poster for the show! Things to consider are, what genre are the artists you are putting on? Pop/Rock/Metal/EDM? Getting an idea of your lineup's genre(s) will be important in creating a poster that not only will attract people to the show, but also fit the tone of the artists playing so that those who may not know the artists will be able to guess the type of music without listening to them! 

Tip 2 - Know Where to Promote your Gig

Our second tip is to know where to promote your gig to! of course physical posters can be useful to let the local scene know about your event, but there are plenty of other opportunities for the free promotion of your event! Whilst many may see Facebook as an outdated source for promotion, posting your event on local musicians and live music pages will help get the word out to those who you know will be interested in the music you're promoting! 

Within Glasgow there are a variety of groups that are ideal for this particular type of promotion, such as Glasgow Music Scene and Glasgow Gigs, Musicians, Promoter's and Venues which can be ideal for finding a general audience to attend your show! It is also important to refer back to our first tip from this blog, as there are also many Facebook groups for more niche genre such as Scottish Pop Punk and Ecoss[emo] for those who are into more alternative types of music, it's definitely worth looking out for a group that suits you best! 

Tip 3 - Remember, things go wrong! 

It's an important thing to mention that everyone's first gig goes wrong in some way, whether a piece of equipment is missing/forgotten about or one of the bands are running late and won't make it to soundcheck. 

Whatever may happen, we recommend to take a deep breath and improvise as much as you can, a lot can happen in the space of a few hours but it's unlikely that unless the issue is show-stopping (literally), the chances of anyone noticing any minor issues (such as the door time being delayed, or a band having to do a simple line check rather than a soundcheck) is very small. Issues happen to even the biggest promoters, so it's completely normal to have a few spanners in the works at your first show, just keep going and try and work through it! 

Tip 4 - Pay before Profit! 

The Ethos of SceneRadar and a vast majority of DIY practitioners agree that profit should never be a priority or even an expectation when promoting live music. Hosting a live event involves a lot of costs, paying the venue, the graphic designer for your poster, any instrument rentals, and most importantly - paying the band that you have booked for the show. 

From ticket sales you should expect to cover all of the above before you see any cash yourself, which is sometimes the case but at times it just doesn't happen and you will lose out on money. It is always important to be upfront with anyone expecting money from the show (e.g. the band), especially  if you intend to pay them only from the tickets sold rather than a guaranteed advance payment.

Letting the band know in advance how you intend to pay them will prevent a lot of awkward conversations post-gig, and help maintain your own reputation as a live music promoter. A lot of bands will be understanding and won't mind too much if you are upfront with them from the start, but always make sure the artist gets paid before you see any profit! 

Thanks for taking the time to read this week's addition of SceneRadar! Remember that for the most part, putting on DIY gigs is meant to be enjoyable and the more you put in, the more you get out of it - take the opportunity to meet new people, chat about music, make friends and connections and enjoy yourself!