STEVE DAVIS - founder of SSD Concerts - Q & A interview - Part 1

To say that Steve Davis is a controversial figure in the local music scene would perhaps be going too far but he certainly has his supporters and his detractors. Some accuse him of trying to accomplish too much with the result being that sometimes an apparent failure to pay attention to detail can lead to disappointment. Others say that without him the local live music scene would be a far less interesting and busy one. Either way you look at it, Steve Davis is someone who is worthy of our attention and so we caught up with him recently to ask some of those questions on everyone’s lips.

NE:MM: What was your motivation to start promoting live music events?

Steve: I have always been a huge music fan and although I can play guitar this whole thing probably started from me having the want to be a rockstar. I quickly realised that wasn’t going to happen so the music side mixed with my desire to earn £ led me to promoting shows. To this day there is still nothing like the thrill of securing a big show.

NE:MM: You began as Gigs North East. When and how did it all begin and what will become of Gigs North East following the foundation of SSD Concerts? 

Steve: Gigs North East, although it was founded 10 years ago still hasn’t launched in full. It’s an exciting year for this project and there will be lots to come from it in the very near future. When I started promoting it was going to be the company promo name but we quickly started doing shows outside the region so it was shelved. The long term plan for it is great and it will be a platform and source of information for bands/promoters venues etc starting in the summer of 2014. Gigs North East will be self financed as it will stand on its own two feet due to several income streams it will develop. Generator have helped a lot with the initial stages and putting the website together. It will have an instant impact on the regions ticketing for live shows.

NE:MM: When and why did you form SSD Concerts?

Steve: SSD was formed 10 years ago or more now I wish I kept the date and our first show written down so we could tack it and have annual birthdays etc but at the start it was more of a fun thing, we didn’t know where it was going back then so everything was just thrown together and off we went. We were going to be Gigs North East but that name limits us to this region so it became SSD Concerts. It was going to be a consortium of people whose initials spell SSD but they backed out at the last minute and I had already had the logo designed so I just kept that name. It doesn’t really mean anything now the name, although people think its my initials. My Initials are actually SAD, so luckily we aren’t called SAD concerts or we’d have to put on acoustic gigs every night to make it fit : ).


NE:MM: How is SSD Concerts run?

Steve: I run it and have a small team of people I can rely on to help run the shows. I am a radiographic practitioner at a hospital for most of the week so can’t do everything myself. We’ve put on at least 1,000 shows but I can’t tell you exactly how many. 

NE:MM: You’ve had some big bands who must demand large fees. How do you manage to avoid huge losses?

Steve: By sending the right offer for each band, it is easy to offer the earth for most bands but most of the time you would be surprised what they actually get paid. I look at each artist as a long term relationship, you never make money on the first show you do with most emerging artists. I tend to look at each artist as a 5 show relationship you will lose on the first 2 but make on the last three. Its getting harder now though as artists are getting catapulted from the bottom to the top in 5 minutes nowadays, so by the time we have lost on the first two shows Zane Lowe has blasted them to stardom and the big boys like SJM and Kilimanjiro have taken them off us.

In part 2 of the interview we ask Steve about why Think Tank? moved from Hoult’s Yard to Digital, how the Riverside deal came about, Interpol, Courtney Love, Prince rumours, what plans he has for the future and his response to criticisms about his style of promoting.