Thoughts of Chairman Craig!

The above photo is of the Bearwood Promoters motley crue! Craig's the one at the end looking very cool in his shorts and shades! Thanks to Keith Bloomfield's flickr page for the shot!

Craig Goodall's an all-round good guy! He's chairman of Bearwood Promoters and you may remember DJ Craig from Bearwood Shuffle#1 because that's him too!

With less than 5days to go till the next Shuffle welovebearwood spoke to Craig to get his thoughts on Bearwood Shuffle, the Bearwood Promoters team and what he thinks about living in Bearwood.

Here goes....
How did the idea of Bearwood Shuffle come about?

This is quite a long story so I'll spare you the full details!

Basically a few of our group decided there wasn't enough live music in Bearwood and that they were going to do something about it and 'Bearwood Promoters' was formed with the vision of continuing Bearwoods rich musical heritage.

Blog posts were written, new members volunteered and recruited and many, many, many hours and pints were sunk debating different types and styles of gigs before the idea of an event in the bandstand with eclectic acts stuck and 'The Bearwood Shuffle' was born.

How would you describe Bearwood Promoters as a group?

Hard working, enthusiastic and determined!

There's a core group of 10 who do the majority of the organising with another 10 who chip in when they can and help out at events. It's good because everybody plays an important part in each event and brings different skills to the table. Being Chairman is the easiest job in the world cos everyone is so keen to muck in, share ideas and make our events happen.

Everyone in Bearwood Promoters is a volunteer and gives their time for free.

Bearwood Shuffles are almost a year old, how has the last 12 months gone?

It's been an education! No one in the group had ever organised a gig before, let alone an outdoor one, so we've really had to work hard and learn quickly.

Our first event was a resounding success in the July sunshine and our second event was marred by some serious technical difficulties caused by a surging generator knocking out bits of equipment left, right and centre but in true Promoters style the show went on.

The experience from these two shows showed where we needed to improve over the winter. One such area was the PA and thanks to Andy Ward from Musoplex Studios this years Shuffles will be pumping through a much improved sound system.

What are the plans for Bearwood Shuffles this year and for the future?

We're looking to grow our roster of artists and we're looking to bring in well established acts alongside more up and coming musicians.

As well as the Shuffles on the bandstand we're doing two other events this year.

On the 21 July we're doing an event at the Skatepark working with Ideal Skates. There's going to be professional skate displays and competitions as well as music. We're hoping to persuade DJ Switch (3 x DMC World Supremacy DJ Champion) to come down and show his skills alongside many others.

In addition to this we're also running the music stage at the Warley Woods Picnic in the Park on 15 July. There maybe one other event you'll find us at but that's still tbc at the moment.

Away from events the main aim is to make the Bearwood Shuffle financially sustainable. It costs approximately £400 to put on one event and all that money has to be raised through hard work and donations. So next time that bucket comes around at one of events please chuck in a couple of quid.

Every penny we raise goes straight back into the next event. And if anyone wants to sponsor us then we'd be delighted to hear from you via bearwoodpromoters@gmail.com.


What band/s would you like to see at future Bearwood Shuffles?

I want to see the best and biggest Birmingham acts on the Bandstand and I'd be delighted to host any huge acts that maybe touring in Birmingham when our events are on.

From the local scene bands like Goodnight Lenin, Troumaca, Peace, Strangle Kojak would be great.

And I'd be delighted to host Paul Weller on the bandstand sometime in the future. How's about it Paul?

What's your best moment from Bearwood Shuffles so far?

The feeling after the first event when hundreds of people turned up despite hardly any promotion and enjoyed themselves in the sunshine.

What's your connection with Bearwood?

I moved to the area from Hereford in 2008 after getting a new job in the Midlands. We lived in Harborne at first but we crossed Hagley Road after a year and haven't looked back.

Do you think Bearwood has changed over the years? What do you think the Bearwood's future is?

In my time here I've seen the high street decline but I've also seen the emergence of a really strong community spirit and togetherness.

What makes you smile about Bearwood?

The Villagey feel it has on High Street when its not congested. The fact you can stand in a wood despite living in a city. And the creativity that is bubbling away amongst the people.

Who/what or where is your Bearwood All-Star?

This is easy. Neelams Kebab house. Best ever and I've eaten a lot of kebabs.

What makes Lightwoods Chippy' chips orange?

If I told you I'd have to kill you.

Cheers Craig - see you on Sunday!