On The Record »

• Banter: The Evolution of the Hipster

  January 31, 2012 @ 9:06 am | by Jim Carroll

  After a very successful Banter session on the Joys Of Running the other week, we’re taking a very different tack this time around with a look at the evolution of the hipster.

  The spiel: as long as we’ve had street culture, we’ve had hipsters. They were known as different names in different eras, but the mods, rockers, punks and ravers of old were the hipsters of their respective generations. There has always been tastemakers and early adopters, those who set the scene for everyone else to follow.

  However, these days, the hipster has become a much maligned figure. The word is now more a term of abuse than endearment, a neat bit of shorthand to have a dig at someone who stands out rather than fits in.

  Our panel consider the evidence and examine what has happened to the hipster and street culture in the 21st century. Did the internet kill street culture? Are we all hipsters now? What would the pioneering hipsters of old think of the new kids on the block?

  The panel: Garry O’Neill (Where Were You?), Mick Heaney (The Irish Times) and Eimear Fitzmaurice (Not Saying Boo/Forward Slash/Bodytonic Music).

  The venue: Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1. Date and time: Thursday February 16, 8pm. Admission: €5 on the door or sign up in advance to our guestlist here.

  This panel was partly inspired by Where Were You?, Garry O’Neill’s fantastic book on Dublin street culture. The book was published in late 2011 and sold out almost immediately. A second print run will go on sale in April and will be available from the website or a number of independent book and music stores in Dublin.

  

  Another Banter date for your diary: back in November 2010, we held a very lively discussion on Publishing 2020 and we’ve been meaning to get back to the topic again ever since. Rip It Up and Start Again takes a closer look at the current state of the trade, where it goes from here, the rise of content aggretators and curators and what this means for more established publications and titles. It takes place at the Twisted Pepper on Thursday March 1 and we’ll have full information on the panel in the next few weeks.

  Comments (34)

• Banter: The Joys Of Running

  January 10, 2012 @ 8:42 am | by Jim Carroll

  On your marks, get set, go! It’s Banter time again and our first outing for 2012 is The Joys of Running.

  It really seems as if there is someone running up and down outside your window at every hour of the day and night. Running has always been a popular pursuit but, in the last couple of years, it has become a phenomenon. This might be down to the recession, as people decide to keep mind, body and soul together by putting one foot in front of the other and keeping going until they run out of breath, or it might be down to an addiction which leads to marathons, triathlons and even Ironman pursuits.

  This Banter panel rounds up everyone from 10k newbies to marathon veterans to discuss the joys (and pains) of running. Why do we do it? What do we get out of it? Where does it go from here? Will we be heading back to the gyms when we have money in our pockets again? Or is running now an addiction for life?

  On the panel: Ian O’Riordan (Irish Times and author of the excellent “Miles To Run – Promises To Keep”), Barry Redsettaz (POGO and Jam the Box DJ and marathon and triathlon veteran) and Raedi Higgins (Run Like A Girl). Couch to 10k newbie: me.

  The date is Thursday week January 19, the venue is the Twisted Pepper (Middle Abbey St., Dublin 1) and full details are here.

  Comments (17)

• Banter: Review of the Year

  November 22, 2011 @ 9:15 am | by Jim Carroll

  As we did in 2009 and 2010, it’s time for the annual Banter Review of the Year, as we gather a panel of thinkers, talkers and troublemakers to review the flotsam and jetsam of the year nearly gone by. Yes, it’s the end of 2011 as we know it and we feel OK. This is usually a very entertaining session as freewheeling guests make merry with the events of the past 12 months.

  By any means, it has been an extraordinary year. We’ve seen the arrival of a new government and president at home, visits from the British queen and American president, the Arab Spring and Occupy street movements, lots of cultural hellos and goodbyes from Stone Roses to R.E.M. to Westlife: the last 12 months has produced more drama than an omnibus edition of your favourite soap opera.

  The panelists joining me to reel in the year are Sinead Gleeson, Miriam O’Callaghan and Conor Pope. The venue: Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1. Time and date: 8pm on Wednesday December 7. Admission: €5 on the door or sign up in advance to our guestlist here.

  We have some very entertaining (and possibly rambunctious) Banters lined up for the new year so stay tuned. If you want to catch up on Banters past and find out what it’s all about, check out the new website, complete with lots of videos and podcasts.

  Comments (17)

• The news at 9: Sligo Music Industry Day, OTR Presents & Arthur Russell Tribute

  October 17, 2011 @ 9:00 am | by Jim Carroll

  One for those in the north-west: Sligo Music Industry Day is an initiative from the Sligo Music folks and will see an assortment of music business talking heads trying their utmost not to utter phrases like “going forward”, “piracy” and “IMRO” at The Model, Sligo on Thursday October 27. I am one of said talking heads and will be taking part in a Meet the Media panel with Niall “NIaller9″ Byrne and Una “Una” Mullally on the day. Full rundown on all the panels and other relevant information here.

  The next OTR Presents gig will feature live sets from The Field and Walls at the Twisted Pepper, Dublin on November 19. Tickets are €15 (or €12, if you’re a Bodytonic member) in advance and can be purchased here (no booking fees or TM charges). But that’s not all: you can also hang around for the Twisted Pepper third birthday bash afterwards which features Joy Orbison, Floating Points, Barry Redsetta, The Vertical Rhythm Joint and much, much more. OTR Presents: spoiling youse….

  There’s a special celebration of Arthur Russell’s life and music happening at the Bernard Shaw, Dublin on Sunday October 30 as part of The Beatyard weekender. Sound Now, Seek & You Will FInd will feature performances from Angkorwat, Patrick Kelleher, School Tour, TR One, Quarter Inch Tape Collective, Conor L, David Kitt and Louis Scully plus The Eatyard food festival and an exhibition of Arthur Russell memorabilia. I’ll also be having a Banter conversation with Tim Lawrence, the author of the fantastic “Hold Onto Your Dreams” biography of Russell (and the excellent “Love Saves the Day” history of 1970s’ American dance culture). Admission to this one is free and proceedings get underway at 2pm.

  

  Comments (14)

• Banter’s little acorns and all of that

  May 3, 2011 @ 9:30 am | by Jim Carroll

  It was a pretty damn busy weekend in the world of Banter. We started out on Saturday night with the Sonar Story with Enric Palau and Georgia Taglietti from the Barcelona-based electronic music and arts festival yakking about the event’s past, present and future. They talked about how the festival’s night-time base grew from a 1,200 capacity hall (the downtown Apollo) to a venue which holds 20,000 (Gran Via) in the space of a few years, the economic impact study which showed that Sonar is now worth €48 million annually to Barcelona, their scouting methods for new music and their recent expansion to A Coruna. Big thanks to Enric and Georgia for coming to town and to everyone at Bodytonic (especially Eoin) for looking after this one.

  On Sunday afternoon, it was a Banter Uptown session at Mindfield where The End Of Pop Culture discussion featured Todd Zuniga, Nathan Rabin, Una Mullally and myself as the chief mourners pouring over the ashes. This freewheeling, wide-ranging eulogy referenced (deep breath) John Morley (the one-time Chief Secretary for Ireland who was the first to mention popular culture in an 1876 speech), R, Kelly, Odd Future, Black Eyed Peas, Community, Youtube videos of cats, authenticity, irony, short attention spans, Bosco, Twink, Dan Charnas’ The Big Payback, Weird Al Yankovic, Timothy Leary, Shaun Dunne’s Homebird and much, much more. It was also the only Banter to date which featured (a) Shane McGowan in the audience heckling panelists by singing The Village People’s “In the Navy” and (b) a bunch of children running around the place (which certainly cut down on the amount of cussing and swearing from the stage). If you weren’t there, you missed one hell of a do. And no, I don’t think it was recorded (sometimes you just have to be there). Thanks to Todd, Nathan and Una for their superb contributions and to Derek, Naoise and everyone at Mindfield for inviting us to Merrion Square.

  We’ve had a swell time at Banter over the last couple of months with some great, memorable discussions on everything from the future of media to climate change. Banter was set up in July 2009 when Trev from Bodytonic approached me with an idea to make use of some space in the Twisted Pepper and it really has become something else, something which none of us involved in it ever thought it would or could be.

  Proof of this comes with an email from Caroline Duke (who posts on OTR on occasions) and Natasha Duffy about Spirit of Folk, a festival they’re going to be doing at Dunderry Park, Co Meath from September 23 to 25. It’s a folk festival which means you’ve acts like Gay Woods, the superb Lisa O’Neill, Rob Cunningham, Fiach, The Young Folk, Owensie and St John the Gambler on the bill. This new boutique festival will also feature “archery, falconry, battle re-enactments, storytelling in a candle lit kern, burning effigies, medieval games, fireworks, community games as well as a Mind, Body, Soul area and Ceili Mor”.

  The reason why we’re talking about Spirit of Folk here is because Caroline and Nathasa were at the Banter session last September on The Ins and Outs of Running an Irish Festival, with Castlepalooza’s Cillian Stewart and Earagail Arts Festival’s Paul Brown, and this gave them the final push to do their own event. As Caroline explains, “myself and Natasha attended your Banter talk last year which gave us the courage to put our ideas into motion. Hearing particulary Cillian’s story cemented our belief it could be done but its taken a lot of hard work and guts to get this far”. Both of them know that it’s tough out there – especially this summer, when there seems to be a new small festival happening every weekend between now and September – but they’re prepared to give it a go so best of luck of them. There were also others in the audience that night who were talking about mooted events and festivals and I’d like to hear from them if they went ahead with their plans.

  Another Banter-related plug is for For Food’s Sake. After Well Done Steak, the Banter chat on Irish food in January, a bunch of food writers and bloggers got together to put on their own bi-monthly food session which, For Food’s Sake mover and shaker Aoife Carrigy says very kindly, “was inspired by and spawned from Banter”. The topic for the next For Food’s Sake is “Are Irish restaurants up the swanny?” and it happens on May 26 at the Sugar Club, Dublin with panelists Paul Cadden (Saba, president of the Restaurant Association of Ireland), Caroline Byrne (Dublin editor of the Bridgestone Guide), Joe Macken (dude behind JoBurger and Crackbird, who made a guest stage invasion at the Banter session on new businesses in March) and guests. There will also be a bunch of food testings from Irish producers. And again, best of luck to them.

  One more Banter session to come before the summer break so stay tuned for details, yakking fans.

  Comments Off

• The last Banters of the season: Sonar, the end of pop culture and general election 2011

  April 18, 2011 @ 2:18 pm | by Jim Carroll

  It’s been a busy couple of months in the Banter department, with everything from stage invasions to Fade Street featuring in the mix. However, I think last week’s session, An Evening With the Climate Wise Women, was my favourite of the current run so far.

  Constance Okollet and Ursula Rakova had some incredible stories to tell about how climate change has impacted on their communities and what they’re doing to solve those problems. Hearing Ursula talk about what’s involved in evacuating an island and moving its entire 1,700 population to another island – and why the evacuation is necessary – was quite inspiring and humbling. Huge thanks also to Gavin Harte, who provided some Irish insights, and to Tracy Mann, for bringing the CWW tour to Ireland and asking Banter to get involved.

  Before we take a break for the summer, we have three more Banters for you.

  The Sonar Story will see Enric Palau (Sonar co-director) and Georgia Taglietti (Sonar Head Of Press) talking about the past, present and future of what is now the world’s leading electronic music festival, where music-makers and music fans go to hear, see and experience cutting-edge sounds and art. A must for anyone who has ever headed to Barcelona in June to get some of the Sonar buzz and any electronic music makers looking for inspiration. The Sonar Story takes place at the Twisted Pepper, Dublin on Saturday April 30 as part of the Beatyard festival. Full information here. This is part of the Beatyard weekender, which also features Modeselektor, Joy Orbison, LTJ Bukem, Beardyman, Kormac, Star Slinger and many more.

  The following day (Sunday, May 1), it’s The End Of Pop Culture, a Banter Uptown session in association with Mindfield, the festival which takes place over the May Bank Holiday weekend in Merrion Square, Dublin. The End Of Pop Culture is going to be an all-guns-blazing obituary for pop culture with Nathan Rabin (The A.V. Club, The Onion), Todd Zuniga (Literary Death Match, Opium magazine), freelance journalist Una Mullally and and myself as the mourners. Full information here.

  The last Banter in the current series is War Stories: Reporting General Election 2011. It is what it says on the tin: a look at how the general election was reported online, offline, on radio, on TV and everywhere else. Full line-up to be announced and the place and date for your diary is the Twisted Pepper on Thursday May 19.

  What the hell is Banter?: Banter is a series of panel discussions on all manner of stuff which kicked off in July 2009. Events are chaired by me and Banter is presented by Bodytonic Music. Full information on past Banters here.

  Comments (3)

• Banter: An Evening With the Climate Wise Women

  April 5, 2011 @ 9:17 am | by Jim Carroll

  It’s Banter time again and our next one promises to be quite a night with a visit from the Climate Wise Women on Monday next, April 11, at the Twisted Pepper, Dublin.

  CWW is a global initiative to promote women’s leadership on climate change and to give a human face and voice to this issue. It features women leaders from regions and communities directly affected by climate change going around the world and talking about their experiences. In 2010, Climate Wise Women spoke at 16 different events in North America and in April 2011, they will visit Dublin, London and Hamburg.

  The CWW visiting Dublin are Constance Okollet, chairperson of the Osukuru United Women’s Network from Tororo in Eastern Uganda, and Ursula Rakova, executive director of Tulele Peisa, an organisation seeking to voluntarily relocate 1,700 Carteret Islanders, whose islands and food supply are rapidly eroding, to mainland Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

  The more I hear about what Constance and Ursula have been up to and what they’re doing in their respective communities, the more impressed I am. While that debate on whether climate change actually exists is going on in the western world, communities worldwide are counting on Climate Wise Women like these two to find solutions and provide leadership. What they have to say should be important to anyone interested in the topic – unseated Green Party TDs, ministers and councillors and their advisors are especially welcome to attend.

  An Evening With the Climate Wise Women will feature Constance and Ursula along with Gavin Harte and myself. Doors open at 7.30pm and the discussion will get underway at 8pm-ish, followed by questions from the audience. More details here and you can sign up for the invite list here).

  The following day (April 12), Constance and Ursula will take part in a panel discussion on “Women Leaders on Climate Justice – a Grassroots Perspective” at the Edmund Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin along with Mary Robinson and others. This event is co-sponsored by the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice and Oxfam Ireland.

  What the hell is Banter?: Banter is a series of informal discussions on all manner of stuff which kicked off in July 2009. Events are chaired by me and Banter is presented by Bodytonic Music. Full information on past Banters here.

  Comments Off

• Banter’s April agenda: An evening with the Climate Wise Women and The Sonar Story

  March 15, 2011 @ 9:24 am | by Jim Carroll

  Last week’s very lively Young Guns Go For It Banter on new Irish businesses produced our very first stage invasion when Joe Macken from Jo’Burger and Crackbird joined the proceedings to tell us about how his pop-up fried chicken joint on Crane Lane came about. There were also plenty of brilliant insights on the night about sustainability over scalability, keeping it local, not working for The Man and other topics from our guests Anne Bedos (Rothar.ie), Colin Harmon (Third Floor Espresso Coffee & Café) and Al Coleman (Onlineadvertising.ie).

  Our first Banter for April is An Evening with the Climate Wise Women on April 11. Climate Wise Women is a global initiative to promote women’s leadership on climate change and to give a human face and voice to this issue. It features women leaders from regions and communities directly affected by climate change putting their narratives on public view in a traveling speaking tour. While the world continues to debate whether climate change actually exists, communities are counting on Climate Wise Women to find bold solutions and provide leadership.

  In 2010, Climate Wise Women spoke at 16 different events in North America and in April 2011, they will visit Dublin, London and Hamburg. The Climate Wise Women visiting Dublin are Constance Okollet, chairperson of the Osukuru United Women’s Network from Tororo in Eastern Uganda, and Ursula Rakova, executive director of Tulele Peisa, an organization seeking to voluntarily relocate 1,700 Carteret Islanders whose islands and food supply are rapidly eroding to mainland Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

  At Banter, Constance and Ursula will be joined by Gavin Harte and the panel will be hosted by myself. Doors open at 7.30pm and the discussion will get underway at 8pm, followed by questions from the audience.

  The following day, the Climate Wise Women will participate with Mary Robinson in a panel discussion on “Women Leaders on Climate Justice – a Grassroots Perspective” at the Edmund Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin. This event is co-sponsored by the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice and Oxfam Ireland.

  The second Banter for next month is The Sonar Story on April 30.

  Since it was founded in Barcelona in 1994, Sonar has established itself as the world’s leading electronic music festival, where music-makers and music fans go to hear, see and experience cutting-edge sounds and art. As well as the Barcelona event, Sonar has also begun to hold a simultaneous festival in A Coruña in Galicia and has hosted events in London, New York, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Frankfurt, Chicago and Tokyo.

  Come along to hear the inside story of Sonar past, present and future from festival directors Enric Palau Pujols and Georgia Taglietti.

  What the hell is Banter? Banter is a series of informal discussions on pop culture stuff which kicked off in July 2009. Events are chaired by Irish Times journalist Jim Carroll and Banter is presented by Bodytonic Music in association with Barry’s Tea. Full information on past Banters here.

  Comments (5)

• The business Banter – and OTR Presents 2012 gig

  March 1, 2011 @ 2:40 pm | by Jim Carroll

  The next to-do in the current Banter series is Young Guns Go For It – the good news about new Irish business in 2011. It happens in the Twisted Pepper, Dublin on Thursday March 10.

  The pitch: it’s the day after the TDs elected to the 31st Dail meet for the very first time but, as our new government prepare to take office against a backdrop of economic doom and gloom, life outside Leinster House for new, aspiring Irish businesses goes on as normal. The well-documented problems which businesses face on the ground won’t change overnight just because there’s a new man at the helm of the Department of the Taoiseach.

  But while these are tough times for business people like our three guests, this state of affairs has not stopped them – or hundreds like them – from giving it a go. Instead of expanding energy on giving out or planning a life abroad, they’re spending their time and energy working on nascent business ideas and seeing where it all goes from here.

  On the agenda: innovation, ideas, ingenuity, funding, optimism and the future.

  On the panel: Anne Bedos (Rothar.ie), Colin Harmon (Third Floor Espresso Coffee & Café), Al Coleman (Onlineadvertising.ie). Trying to avoid saying “going forward”: Jim Carroll

  Doors open at 7.30pm and the discussion gets underway at 8pm-ish. Admission is 5 euro in advance or 7 euro on the door. You can sign up to the invite list here.

  And don’t forget that the first of the OTR Presents 2012 gigs happens tomorrow night (Wednesday) in the main room of the Twisted Pepper. Daithi: kicks off the night at 8.30pm, The Kanyu Tree are on at 9.20pm and Jennifer Evans & The Ripe Intent will be onstage at 10.10pm-ish. Admission is a tenner on the door or you can purchase advance tickets here (no booking or ticket agency fees apply).

  Comments (4)

• Banter’s TV special

  February 9, 2011 @ 9:50 am | by Jim Carroll

  Pass the remote-control and move up the sofa, it’s Banter on the telly. 99 Channels – The State Of Irish Television is the next Banter discussion panel and will be held, like all our Banter chinwags, at the Twisted Pepper (Middle Abbey Street), Dublin on Thursday February 24.

  The bit from the RTE Guide: 99 Channels – The State Of Irish Television is about what makes it to our HD-ready plasma screens every night of the week and, in particular, the homegrown shows which define the Irish channels.

  RTE and TV3 may spend a good few bob on buying in shows – well, the shows that Sky Atlantic didn’t grab first – but it’s the Irish produced shows which always provokes the biggest reaction. Irish shows for Irish people? Despite what many viewers may think as they scream, tweet and throw things at the screen, these shows are a reflection of Irish culture and society. And there’s definitely a market for domestic shows of every ilk – both here
  and, sometimes when you get the format right, out foreign.

  99 Channels – The State Of Irish Television will probably not make you rush out to buy a TV licence, but it may well stop you flicking over to Setanta.

  The talking heads: Patrick Freyne (TV critic, Sunday Tribune and Today FM’s Last Word), Vogue Williams (Fade Street), Derek O’Connor (scriptwriter – Celebrity Salon; Young, Dumb & Living Off Mum; Roy, Doris/Magee and Popcorn) and Darren Smith (managing director Kite Entertainment – Celebrity Bainisteor, Anonymous, Just For Laughs, I Dare Ya etc). Reading the autocue: Jim Carroll

  Doors open at 7.30pm and the discussion gets underway at 8pm-ish. Admission is 5 euro in advance or 7 euro on the door. You can sign up to the invite list here.

  The teletext: Banter is a series of informal discussions on pop culture stuff which kicked off in July 2009 and is presented in association with Barry’s Tea.

  Future Banters for that diary you got for Christmas and haven’t used yet include Young Guns Go For It (the good news about new Irish businesses in 2011 – March 10), the Climate Change Banter (an evening with the Climate Wise Women and guests – April 11) and the Sonar Story (the inside story of the world’s leading electronic music festival, as told by the people who made it all happen – April 28)

  Comments (9)

• Banter’s winter/spring 2011 collection

  January 17, 2011 @ 10:23 am | by Jim Carroll

  A new year, a new run of Banter discussion panels. We had a pretty impressive run over the last few months – some memorable debates, squabbles and rows – so the hope is that the next set of panels will be just as informative, thought-provoking and informative.

  We start with Well Done Steak: Irish Food in 2011 & Beyond on January 27. Once upon a time, you’d be mad to open a restaurant in Ireland which didn’t feature a few happy staples. We knew what we liked and, even if that was a well done steak, chefs and proprieters grinned and chargrilled it. The customer was always right. But in recent years, that customer has become a lot more adventurous. Chalk it down to our travel lust during the boom years or a welcome side product of the returned emigrant or even a genetic disposition towards a more advanced palate, but a menu which doesn’t star a goat’s cheese salad or a steak no frightens the diners and our supermarkets have shelf space for more interesting ingredients.

  There will plenty for our panel to chew over. What does the current state of our taste buds mean for the Irish restaurant scene? Will the diversity of recent times continue to be the norm? Or will the tougher economic climate mean leaner times for the more adventurous restaurants up and down the country as diners go for the safe option?

  The Banter dinner-party will feature Elaine Murphy (The Winding Stair, Dublin), Aoife Carrigy (freelance food and wine writer and Holy Mackerel blog) and David and Darragh Flynn (The Happy Pear, Greystones). I’ll be the maitre d’ on this occasion.

  For the early birds, the 3FE Café will be providing free samples of their new 3FE sandwich range.

  Doors open at 7.30pm, the discussion gets underway at 8pm-ish. Admission is €5 in advance or €7 euro on the door. You can sign up to the invite list here.

  Future Banters to tease, titillate, tickle and cause trouble include 99 Channels: The State of Irish TV (February 24), Young Guns Go For It: The good news about new Irish businesses in 2011 (March 10) and The Sonar Story (the inside story of the world’s leading electronic music festival, as told by the people who made it happen; April 28).

  Comments (6)

• The Banter re-up

  December 16, 2010 @ 10:03 am | by Jim Carroll

  BIg thanks to last night’s Banter panelists Gerry Godley (Improvised Music Company director and Lyric FM presenter), Sophie Gorman (Irish Independent Day & Night and Arts Editor) and Richard Seabrooke (Offset Festival co-founder and creative director at Dynamo) and an up-for-it audience for what turned out to be a very lively and thought-provoking discussion.

  It set out as a review of 2010 and preview of 2011 and, like a blog post, quickly morphed into a long, intriguing, very twisty free-for-all discussion which covered the Rubberbandits, Fianna Fail, the Arts Council, the rise of Irish counter-culture, civic duty seven-and-a-half-hour Polish plays, alternatve spaces, collectivism, happy emigrants, education, AIB bonuses, trade unions, protest marches, reform and a couple of dozen other topics as well. Hugely entertaining fare with only one mention of “going forward” (Richard was the guilty party). And yes, before you ask, there will be a podcast.

  The next Banter will be a food-themed one on January 27 and we have a couple of other potentially lively Banters to come in 2011 so watch this space for more details.

  Big, big, big thanks to everyone who made this run of Banter the best yet, especially Eoin, Dave, Conor, Trev and all at the Twisted Pepper/Bodytonic Music, Matt, Laura and the folks at Thinkhouse PR and the good people at Barry’s Tea for the refreshments.

  For now, here’s the podcast from the Banter discussion on Publishing 2020 from November. A lot of people have asked me about this discussion so here’s your chance to catch up with it if you weren’t there on the night. Those who are new to Banter can find out what what all the fuss is about by having a listen. If you like it, mark January 27 in their new diaries. If you don’t like it, well, you probably don’t have a horse outside either.

  Comments Off

• Banter: Reviewing 2010, Previewing 2011

  December 9, 2010 @ 2:26 pm | by Jim Carroll

  The last Banter of 2010 gathers a panel of erudite soothsayers to answer the question “We are where we are, so what’s next?” with a look back at the year that was and an attempt to preview that year that’s on the way. It happens at our spiritual home (Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1) next Wednesday (December 15).

  The spiel: to those who know their Latin, it has been one hell of an annus horribilis. Economic woes to the left of us and more economic woes to the right of us mean none of us will forget the horrors of 2010 in a hurry. But what’s next? Where do we go from here? What does 2011 hold in store? What do we need to do to get out of here? Can we get out of here and get to a better place? Surely, the next year can’t be as bad as the last 12 months, right?

  A garrulous trio – Gerry Godley (Improvised Music Company director and Lyric FM presenter), Sophie Gorman (Irish Independent Day & Night and Arts Editor) and Richard Seabrooke (Offset Festival co-founder and creative director at Dynamo) – join me to look back and look forward. And yes, we’re probably going to be optimistic.

  Doors open at 7.30pm, yakking starts at 8pm, there will be free tea and sweet treats for all (courtesy of Barry’s Tea) and you can get more info and sign up for the invite list here.

  Comments (2)

• Banter recap

  November 25, 2010 @ 10:11 am | by Jim Carroll

  A full house for last night’s Banter which starred Hugh Linehan (online editor irishtimes.com), John Ryan (Broadsheet.ie and formerly of Blogorrah, New York Dog and dozens of other titles), Michael McDermott (Le Cool Dublin) and Blathnaid Healy (news journalist, rte.ie) waxing lyrical about the future of the media.

  On a day when there was so much doom and gloom around the place, it made a change to have a discussion which provided a bit of positive(-ish) food and drink for the future of online and offline publishing (even if Hugh was quick off the mark to point out that no-one can predict the future). We had a few rows (Hugh and Blathnaid locked horns a few times though I think that one was a draw in the end), a couple of laughs and some great comments and questions from the floor. A couple of people were tweeting from the room and you’ll find their tweets (and the retweets by the likes of Joe fecking Duffy, of all people) here.

  Huge thanks to the guest speakers and to the audience for coming out on the night. A podcast of the discussion will be available soon and I’ll link to it here.

  Comments (12)

• Banter and the media’s bellyfluff

  November 10, 2010 @ 9:40 am | by Jim Carroll

  It’s surprising that there has yet to to be a spot of media omphaloskepsis at Banter (especially given the amount of other bellyfluff examined since proceedings began in July 2009), so it’s time to make amends. Publishing 2020 will be a chance for several media practitioners to say “we are where we are” and then predict where we’re going from here.

  The spiel: it’s the end of the publishing world as we know it and, well, how do we feel? For those in the media business, it’s a brave, scary world out there. Everything the professionals knew about the who, what, why, how, when and where of getting news and views to the masses has been turned upsidedown and inside out over the last 10 years.

  The questions: what about the next 10 years? Where will the media business go from here and what will it look like in 2020? Will topics like citizen journalism, paywalls, Twitter, blogs and Facebook updates still be on-trend in 2020? Will we still be ROFLOLing about pictures of cats? Will people actually be making money from that sort of thing? Actually, scratch that, will anyone be making cash from the media 10 years from now?

  The talking heads: Hugh Linehan (online editor irishtimes.com), John Ryan (Broadsheet.ie and formerly of Blogorrah, New York Dog and dozens of other titles), Michael McDermott (Le Cool Dublin) and Blathnaid Healy (news journalist, rte.ie). The man on the 123 bus: me.

  This Banter happens at the Twisted Pepper (Middle Abbey St., Dublin 1) on Wednesday November 24 at 7.30pm. Full details here.

  Comments (4)

• Banter pocast from the Earagail Arts Festival

  July 22, 2010 @ 1:21 pm | by Jim Carroll

  Last Saturday, Banter hit the Earagail Arts Festival for “Outstanding In Their Own Fields – Where The Irish Music Festival Goes From Here”. The discussion featured Paul McLoone (Today FM, The Undertones), Una Mullally (Sunday Tribune, TG4’s Ceol Ar An Imeall), Declan Forde (POD Concerts and Electric Picnic booker) and myself looking at the current health of the domestic music festival scene and how things might look five years from now. You’ll find a podcast of the discussion here. Big thanks to Derek for getting this sorted so quickly.

  Comments (6)

• Banter hits Donegal

  July 15, 2010 @ 11:55 am | by Jim Carroll

  The next Banter session happens on Saturday next (July 17) at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny as part of this year’s Eargail Arts Festival.

  “Outstanding In Their Own Fields – Where The Irish Music Festival Goes From Here” will feature Paul McLoone (Today FM, The Undertones), Una Mullally (Sunday Tribune, TG4’s Ceol Ar An Imeall), Declan Forde (POD Concerts and Electric Picnic booker) and myself looking at the current health of the domestic music festival scene and how things might look five years from now.

  Further information on Banter at the EAF here

  And if you’re in the mood for more EAF activities, Villagers play at The Grill (Port Road, Letterkenny) on Saturday night with support from Windings.

  Comments (8)

• Banter with Andy Votel

  June 1, 2010 @ 2:00 pm | by Jim Carroll

  The latest Banter session will feature the one and only Andy Votel in conversation next Saturday (June 5) at the Twisted Pepper, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1.

  DJ, producer, musician, graphic artist, label boss (Twisted Nerve, Finders Keepers etc) and sneaker pimp: a chat with Votel can and probably will go in many different directions.

  The Banter session will be preceded by a screening of Stone, Sandy Harbutt’s timeless Australian cult film about “a new breed of motorbike gang” which comes with a banging soundtrack of electronic sound effects, psychedelic guitars, cosmic grooves and funky basslines. See trailer below.

  Doors open at 7pm, the film starts at 7.30pm-ish and Banter will get underway around 9.30pm. Admission is a fiver in advance (sign up here).

  Afterwards, Andy will be DJ-ing on The Stage with Micí Durnin at Cock Diesel.

  

  Comments Off

• Banter at the Beatyard

  January 18, 2010 @ 11:09 am | by Jim Carroll

  The first Banter sessions of 2010 take place as part of The Beatyard at the Twisted Pepper (Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1) next Saturday (January 23).

  The Beatyard is an all-day music expo featuring workshops, panel discussions, a record fair and showcases.

  The first Banter session at 3pm is The All-City Story. Nearly ten on years from opening its doors in Dublin’s Temple Bar and having operated out of four different buildings on the same street, All City’s Olan O’Brien charts the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Dublin’s only dedicated hip-hop and graff supplies store. Plus how the shop’s label has evolved to the stage where its “7 x 7″ release with cuts by HudMo, Mike Slott, Onra and friends was one of the must-have compilations of ‘09 for beats heads worldwide.

  Then, at 4.30pm, it’s In Bloom: Irish Music Now. 2fm DJ Jenny Huston’s book “In Bloom: Irish Rock Now” tracks the current state of Irish rock with profiles of many of the leading players on the scene and we’ll be using this as a jump-off point for an assessment of the current state of Irish rock music. Is the current scene the same as it was in the 1980s and the 1990s? Are all these bands just hometown heroes with little chance of doing anything beyond Ireland? How hard is it for an Irish act to make a living from their music in the 21st century? The discussion will feature Jenny, Nick Kelly from the Irish Independent and myself.

  As always, admission to Banter and The Beatyard is free.

  Comments (9)

• The Beatyard & Banter

  December 2, 2009 @ 4:20 pm | by Jim Carroll

  The Beatyard is an all-day music expo taking place at the Twisted Pepper (Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1) this Saturday (December 5).

  Organised by Bodytonic Music, The Beatyard will feature a ton of music, art and multimedia workshops, talks and performances as well as a music and record fair, food stalls and much more.

  The full line-up for Satuday is here.

  I’ll be hosting a number of Banter discussions on the day in The Mezz. Here’s the schedule of what to expect.

  2pm – The Scoop Foundation – Founders Andy and Calvin Sweeney talk about their body’s approach to charitable fundraising and the projects they are involved with.

  3pm – Gigging for a living – Peter Symes from Skinny Wolves on the who, what, how, where and when of promoting shows and running a record label

  4pm – How to run a weekly clubnight – Is this really the hardest gig in showbiz? Dave Parle from Antics and Giles Armstrong from Electric Shock tell all

  5pm – The Choice Cuts story – Interview with Choice Cuts’ founder Mark Murphy

  The Beatyard is open to all ages and admission is free, but we’d like folks to make a donation at the door to the Scoop Foundation’s project to build a music studio at Crannog Nua, a high support facility in Donabate which caters for young people with emotional and behavioral difficulties.

  Comments (6)