This, our first event, was a huge success, selling out and generating more than £700 for Oxfam.
Held at the very popular live music venue The Hopein the centre of Brighton, we packed upstairs with around 100 rock and metal fans, not to mention a few of the brain-hungry Living Dead, who had wandered in from the annual zombie walk, Brighton Beach of the Dead. Here at Skief Promotions we’re very much into equal opportunities, and struck a victory for Sentient Dead Rights by offering, as far as we know, the first ever ‘Zombie Discount’ deal.
We had so many headbangers crammed into the venue in the end we were turning people away
Our DJ, Preston, was on hand to ‘gently lull’ the audience from bands to band with some rock and metal classics (not to mention some well-timed Monty Python).
Those who attended, alive and Undead alike, were not disappointed. Our first band, By Polaroid, impressed everyone and especially some young ladies who went as far as to hurl their knickers at them. Although fairly new to the Brighton music scene, their most recent track ‘Drifters’ seemed to have everyone singing along whether they’d heard it before or not, and they kicked off the Hope Headbanger in fine style.
Southern Discomfort, also new and up and coming in the Brighton music scene, managed to mix a distinctive blend of jazz and blues in with their rock AND managed to get the serious headbangers going. They also provided an Alice in Chains cover which we would definitely describe as interesting.
Dead Empire, already a fixture on the Brighton rock circuit, having won accolades such as Band of the Year 2010 (Kooba Radio) and Best Breakthrough 2010 (Jackhammer promo), had many fans present, judging by the scatter of black and yellow t-shirts and thundering shouts of approval which greeted every song. They also prompted the night’s first mosh pit, an accolade in itself.
Alas, our headliners Vier had succumbed to the zombie curse, but being Undead didn’t stop them delivering a set to shout (or perhaps scream?) about. They kicked off the home leg of their current tour with a raw energy unprecedented in the ranks of the Living Dead, and proved to everyone present what we’ve always known; that girls can headbang just as hard. Their single ‘Wrong’ had an explosive impact, and finished the night on a huge high.
But it wasn’t over yet! Some lucky winners walked away with donated prizes including £100 of HMV vouchers and a rehearsal session at Sound Central Studios, and we settled down to count our cash. We are delighted to say we raised over £700 for Oxfam, smashing our original target. That’s enough to provide some of the poorest and most poverty-stricken people in the world with 3840 buckets for clean water, or six emergency shelters, or fresh, clean water for 780 people. We knew we couldn’t stop there, and so that was the night Skief Promotions was born.
