The Mirror Dance in conversation with Sneaky Pete’s

At the tail end of the month Ransom Note will have the pleasure of touching down in the Scottish capital for a late night affair at the club in collaboration with The Mirror Dance. Ahead of that we asked the guys to talk shop and reflect on what makes the club great.

So, Sneaky Pete’s used to be an ABBA bar? How did it fall into your hands, and how has the club changed since you opened?

Well I think we all know if it was still called ABBAR I’d have a proper business on my hands haha.

About twenty years ago I’d given up being a chef after a few years of mega graft and I was going to a lot of gigs, and a bit of clubbing. I was helping a friend run their punk night too. I picked up some bar work at a nearby nightclub that was doing well, and just kinda got stuck in wherever possible. The place was putting on Justice and MANDY, that sort of thing. I was putting on some of my own gigs there, helping out with tech, and a couple of days a week I was the cleaner too. After a while I got a DJ residency every Thursday and we’d put on bands at midnight and the odd special guest DJ. 2006 era Diplo was a memorable one…

Anyway I was making myself useful enough that when the venue took on the failing Vodka Club shots bar around the corner, they parachuted me in as the manager. I turned that place around enough by putting on DJ nights that it was worth them selling the lease. So I was in the awkward position of basically having put myself out of a job unless…

I once heard something about a loan for a new kitchen…

Yeah I said “if you’re selling, can I buy it?” and the lease owner said yeah. But I didn’t have a bean. My dad got a loan to “install a new kitchen in the house” and I used the dough to take on the lease myself alongside a really good gig promoter PCL that I’d been doing some work for. We just did everything totally DIY, including changing the name back to it’s original name in the 80’s and 90’s: Sneaky Pete’s.

We still work really closely with PCL, share bookings, and to some extent we’re part of the same team, all just passionate about putting on the best shows. They are so massively driven, and I do my best to keep up.

‘Open and busy every night’ is your tagline, a brilliant self-fulfilling prophecy! Can you speak about the value (and challenges) of running a seven-day-a-week venue in a sea of two-night-a-week clubs?

Yeah it certainly wasn’t busy every night at the start but you have to dream big haha

Challenges… hmm. Well we do about 600 shows a year, which is pretty taxing to even keep up with. Y’know like “remind me who’s playing tomorrow???”. And usually I’m asking Dan that question. And he always knows.

We have a big pool of resident clubnights that are all really good. The Mirror Dance obviously. Hand Made with Love, RARE, Postal, Lionoil, Soul Jam, Ride n Bounce, Telfort, neurons, mantle, Volens Chorus. It’ll be awkward if I leave anyone out here. They are all like world class.

We book a lot of the DJs and the bands in-house. And there’s also lots of great promoters who use the venue too. Mostly my solution for keeping up is to have a lot of passionate talented people working here. Sometimes. Dan’s so essential to me keeping on top of things. Monica and Grace are the best venue managers of all time.

The weekday thing is really interesting. It doesn’t hurt that Edinburgh has a lot of students, and we’ve always been a spot for hospitality staff to come down after work. Edinburgh has a really good midweek culture. It always has. I think many cities are lacking that now.

Being open on weekdays means we can offer shows to DJs who would normally play bigger venues for better fees. I don’t know if touring DJs think playing here is prestigious, but they do ask to play and they do have a very good time. And loads of our frequent flyers like Moxie, Mr Scruff, Midland… they all played for us on weekdays first.

You’ve spoken before about the importance of small venues for emerging bands and songwriters, but from Numbers to LUCKYME, Sneaky’s has been lifeblood for the Scottish electronic music scene too. What are you proudest of on this front?

Well in the case of LUCKYME and Numbers, it was them that gave Sneaky Pete’s the shot in the arm to be honest. Both those labels choosing us for their residencies, which was Jackmaster’s idea really, started to put us on the map. I’ll always be grateful.

I’m very proud of some Scottish artists who’ve come through the venue. I hope in some sense I’ve put them under my wing. Young Fathers, Hamish Hawk, Scott from Frightened Rabbit used to play, or sometimes just hang out with friends here. Jacob Alon is the next real star to have played early shows for us. And Josh (now known as Barry Can’t Swim) played a live show or two as part of someone else’s electronic project. It’s a surprise when they remember me for those shows. And when a band like IDLES, Tame Impala or Self Esteem plays the venue, it’s very rewarding to see them play big theatres and arenas down the line.

I feel like we’re hearing more guitar music getting played in clubs of late. Trash founder Erol Alkan, rocker-turned-DJ Haai and genre hopping Daniel Avery are friends of the club – you got any tips for new bands bridging the gig-club gap?

That happens to be a list of the soundest people I know! Teneil (Haai) used to be in a great band. Daniel Avery now has a band. Erol’s produced some incredible records like Mystery Jets ’21’ and he did a Duran Duran album fairly recently. I guess I’m drawn to DJs who have very broad tastes.

My best advice to musicians, whatever lane they are in, is just like “Be Really Good” y’know. Whatever genre or crowd lane you’re in, or working through. Just be dedicated and put your heart into it and go for it full pelt. Musicianship and playing to a room take time to learn, but kindling that spark, that’s where I’m at really.

Sneaky Pete’s is a good place to take a risk, there’s freedom to fail here when you’re only playing to a maximum of 100 people. And we’ll probably put on your band or production project even if you’ve not really got your thing worked out yet. Cos it takes ages to get really good and you have to do it in front of people to really get there.

I have pretty normal taste, I just get to hear things first as part of my job. I think most people in my position when they come across a really talented artist get the same feeling, that this person, this band, this DJ, they are stars. When I hear something I think other people will like down the line, I try to engage, take a chance on it.

Mark from Music Venue Trust has a line that “grassroots music venues are the research and development hubs of the UK Music Industry”, and it’s absolutely true. So I guess I’m here to help musicians fulfil their potential, even if all I can do most of the time is offer a gig and try to get people to come.

People are still wanging on about the kid these days being sober, in bed at 8pm ,and preferring to be at a Hyrox than in a stranger’s kitchen at 6am on a Sunday. Despite that, Sneaks still has a healthy amount of young heads in the crowd every night. Do you think the concern is overplayed?

Gimme a sec to look up what a Hyrox is. Oh ok right.

Well yeah, I mean there’s maybe fewer kids going to clubs in general just now. I’m not convinced. And if it is true, well might change soon. I feel like something is in the air.

Maybe online you’ll see pictures of people posing at the gym instead of the club. Whatever. People always did things that were less interesting than going to clubs, they just weren’t taking pictures of it before.

Sneaky Pete’s isn’t having a problem with attendance. We are having a record year. And we do events in lots of other clubs and live music venues, including more shows through in Glasgow now. And there’s audiences for it, no doubt.

People of all ages want to go out and make meaningful connections to other people and to music. I don’t think that’s really changing. And there’s more tickets sold for shows across the UK than ever before.

The ‘destination event’ thing, £25 quid to see a DJ basically play a concert, has it’s place but it’s not Sneaky Pete’s main vibe. Sneaky Pete’s is like Cheers for people who really love music. The social scene and sense of belonging is really strong. Honestly I can’t take all that much credit for that. The venue team just have this really strong inclusive culture. There’s still loads of people who will come out to see whatever is on at the venue they most like to go to. I’m grateful that for a lot of people that means going to Sneaky Pete’s.

Grab tickets for the party HERE.

Photography courtesy of Alice Leach & Anni Cameron.