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Chris Revett: ‘Bigger bands miss off this area due to a lack of promoters… We want to turn that around’

CamBlast

CamBlast is rapidly establishing itself as one of the leading promoters of metal and hardcore music in the region. We caught up with Chris Revett, its irrepressible founder and one of the hardest-workin’ men in music promotion, to find out more!

What’s CamBlast all about, what’s your ‘mission’?
CamBlast is about bringing the best in punk/rock/metal/hardcore bands from around the UK to venues in Cambridge and Peterborough, it’s about growing a scene and a sense of togetherness. Our mission in the end is for heavy music in the area to be synonymous with CamBlast. In recent years we’ve seen bigger bands completely miss off this area from their tours due to a lack of promoters/venues willing to take them on – along with smaller audiences as a result. We want to turn that around and put Cambridgeshire back on the map for heavy music in the UK.

When did you start?

CamBlast had its first event on 4 May, 2013, at the Man On The Moon, Cambridge. CamBlast initially was borne out of me playing in bands and being somewhat dissatisfied with the way some promoters/venues conducted themselves, and wanting to grow the number of people coming to shows. I began to think: ‘There must be an audience for this type of music out there!’ and set about trying to find them.

Who is CamBlast?
CamBlast as it stands today is just me, Chris Revett. I have some close friends that help out on the night at shows. I’ve also worked closely with a few other local promoters in the area, namely Fratricidal Promotions (Peterborough), Belligerent Promotions (Cambridge) and Millertron Events (Cambridge). In the future, CamBlast will be expanding and a new business partner will be joining me – I can’t really talk in full about that yet though!
 As mentioned, I’ve played in bands for a number of years so when CamBlast started I had an understanding of how this should work; however, promoting gigs these last 16 months has been a very steep learning curve – I don’t know if I’d say I have expertise but I know what I want to achieve.

Describe the sort of acts you promote

I’ve been into heavy music since I was about 13 and have played in metal bands, so naturally CamBlast is focused on the typically ‘alternative’ genres; metal, punk, hardcore etc. Within this there’s huge diversity, I book bands that I’m into and that I think will work well in a certain city/venue, regardless of whatever tag they might have attached to them. 
Some bands will work really well in Peterborough but not in Cambridge, some would work really well at the South Grove Centre but not at the Met Lounge, for instance. For me it’s all about what’s right for the night.

If I came to a CamBlast evening, what sort of night out could I expect?

I think you could expect a great time (although I would say that wouldn’t I?), our events have always had a really great atmosphere. We’ve been complimented by venue staff on how ‘well behaved’, friendly and relaxed our punters are compared to those attending other nights at their venues. 
For the uninitiated, our events could appear a little scary; potentially you are walking into a darkened room with hairy fellas headbanging, while a band on stage screams indecipherable lyrics over really complicated rhythms with distorted guitars… but this is freedom, fun, expression, love, hate, sex, death and everything in between if you’re willing to give it your unprejudiced attention. 
Expect to see some high-quality acts at the top of their game, expect to meet awesome, friendly people (bands included!), expect a fun night out in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

Tell us about your next gig?
Next up in Peterborough for us is ‘P-TOWN SMACKDOWN’, a three-night event across different venues, between 16 and 18th October. This is the biggest thing we’ve done to date in terms of the amount of bands and people involved – we are really pleased to have the support of Attica VIP, The Met Lounge, South Grove Centre, Fratricidal Promotions and The Noise Cabin.

The whole idea of the event is to bring the music lovers of Peterborough together for one big event. There are tickets available for £15 which gets you entry to all three gigs – door prices are higher by comparison to encourage people to get a cheap ticket for all three gigs.

Each night is covering a different part of what we love at CamBlast. Thursday (16 Oct) at Attica VIP is more of a punk night with Giants and Excellent Adventure being prime examples of what the local and wider national scene has to offer in terms of high quality punk. Also playing are Stringfinger and Dead Silence.

Friday (17 Oct) sees us at the Met Lounge taking more of a heavier turn with a focus on hardcore. Heavy tech-death band Doomed From Day One headline with local heroes Let’s Meet Jesus in main support. We’re also really pleased to have Crossburner, Dispossession and Rivers Edge representing heavy sounds from the South-east.

Saturday (18 Oct) we are back to our spiritual home at the South Grove Centre. This night is put together by good friends of ours, Fratricidal Promotions. It sees us descending into the murky waters of extreme metal, with local black metal legends The Infernal Sea headlining and closing out the weekend. Also performing are local ragers Razoreater, P S O T Y (formerly Pet Slimmers Of The Year), Disinterred (over from Belgium for two exclusive UK shows), metallic hardcore band The Projectionist and youngbloods Trampled.

The final night of the weekend holds a Halloween theme, all the bands will be getting involved so we are hoping everyone else will, too.

Tickets are available from www.camblastpromotions.bigcartel.com and the following places/people:
Attica VIP
The Met Lounge
Excellent Adventure
Dead Silence
Let’s Meet Jesus (Spike / Human Canvas Tattoo)
Trampled / Jake Berry
Razoreater
Stringfinger

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