The Importance of Being Indie

If you've picked up the April/May issue of the zine you will have found some words of wisdom from Gary Anderson, Cardiff promoter, dj, and the man behind Twisted by Design. Gary gave us such ace answers to our oft clumsy questions it seemed cruel not to print them in full, so here they are!

-Hi Gary! Could you tell our lovely readers a little bit about who you are and what you do?

I’m generally known as Gary Twisted (despite years of trying to avoid pseudonyms) and I primarily run and DJ at an indie disco in Cardiff called Twisted by Design. It’s been running now for nearly 9 years, always upstairs at Dempsey’s, and was voted second in the Ultimate Indie Disco of All Time by listeners to 6Music. In addition to this I DJ a couple of nights a week at Clwb Ifor Bach and have a second Twisted night every Thursday, again at Dempsey’s.

So what kinda started out as a hobby has pretty much ended up as a full time job, which is cool. I’m also a promoter and sound engineer and general supporter of the local scene.

-So. How did you get started with this? Were there any particular inspirations?

Before ATP took over Camber Sands, there was a festival organised by Belle and Sebastian called the Bowlie Weekender. This literally changed my life by introducing me to a whole world of new music and bands I’d never heard of before. Not only the bands who played but also from the numerous new friends I made that weekend. I spent pretty much every other weekend for the following two years travelling to London and staying with people I’d met at Bowlie, and seeing loads of new bands and discovering the delights of London’s indie pop scene.

One night in particular was the very first Track and Field indie disco upstairs at the Betsy Trotwood, which I loved so much. It made me think why Cardiff didn’t have any nights like this and whether it might work there.You have to remember that at that time there really wasn’t much going on in Cardiff. The indie nights there were full of Charlatans, Stone Roses and Stereophonics. Certainly stuff like Belle and Sebastian and Stereolab would never be played anywhere. So I found a pub with an upstairs room and decided to have a go myself, fully expecting it to last no more than a couple of months. I’m blown away that it’s still going strong nine years later.

-Do you think people appreciate a more independent approach to creativity?

I hope so, I know I do

-Has it been difficult to maintain this approach? Sometimes you must feel like you're putting yourself on the line a lot.

Absolutely. Twisted is completely run by myself. I have a lot of help from friends along the way but at the end of the day I am Twisted by Design. It’s me up there all on my own. Anything I do reflects on the night and everything that happens at Twisted reflects on me. For someone who is actually quite shy and not exactly a natural extrovert it can be quite stressful and scary. It can also be a lot of fun of course.

-There seem to be a lot of like-minded individuals in Cardiff, and it's certainly been a positive influence on us. How much does this kind of camaraderie keep you going?

Without help and support from friends and like minded people there would be no Twisted. Cardiff is a small city and the indie scene is obviously even smaller. There can sometimes be a little bit of complacency because Cardiff has had it so good for so long and people naturally think it will always be like this.

Twisted has been under threat ever since it started from breweries or venue managers not understanding what you are trying to achieve and how much of a niche market you are catering for. Without the fantastic support I get nights like mine would either die or have to become something totally different to appeal to a larger audience. Personally I’d rather DJ to a hundred Kenickie fans than a thousand Oasis fans any day!

There’s a definite trend recently for people to go out to clubs later and later. This is a problem when the venue is concerned with bar takings (they are a business after all). A solution came from a couple of local promoters (who are also in bands I absolutely love), Graf from Gindrinker and Adam from Last Partisan. They both run a monthly band night under the banner Freakshow. They suggested that maybe they could do an extra Freakshow a month at Twisted by Design. This has been a huge success and resulted in people coming out much earlier to the gigs and staying for Twisted afterwards.

-How did you make the jump from club/gig nights to releasing This Town Ain't Big Enough? Are there any plans to follow it up?

Ah, the Twisted compilation CD. Well, a few years ago Cardiff seemed to have far more than its fair share of amazing artists. It’s always been an ambition of mine to release a compilation CD of local artists and this seemed like just the right time. Harri (from local band Little My) had a similar idea and it seemed a good plan to combine forces and together I feel we produced a seriously great CD. We were very lucky to catch Los Campesinos! just as they were on the rise and their track on the CD was, strictly speaking, their first release. As for a follow up, maybe when the time feels right again. Although twisted is ten years old next year so maybe it might be nice to do something to commemorate this.

-How does it make you feel to see bands like LC! really moving into 'stardom'?

It’s always nice when friends’ bands do well, particularly when they’re as great as Los Campesinos! It’s also a little strange to see your mates up there on stage playing to thousands of people at festivals and their videos on MTV2. I count Neil Campesinos! as one of my closest friends and miss him loads at the moment with them spending half a year in America, but obviously I’m really pleased for them.

To have a band of that quality write a song about your night is the most flattering thing ever I think. You! Me! Dancing! will always be very special to me.

-What advice would you give someone wanting to start their own night?

All I can say is that if you are passionate about starting a night then just do it. You’ll never know until you try. But just be prepared for a lot of hard work as well as a lot of fun.

-What, to you, is the real importance of being indie?

This probably sounds patronising but I really believe that in an industry increasingly dominated by corporations and chains, independence is so important. Whenever the indie scene goes through a peak you always get the big players moving in trying to get their piece of the pie. However, major labels no longer seem to want to invest in new talent and it’s up to independent labels and promoters who genuinely believe in these artists to support them.

Indie is all about the people who love the music scene and are passionate about it, and continue to promote and support music regardless of whether it is currently trendy or not. In return people should support the indie labels, shops, venues and promoters as much as possible in order for them to continue.

For more information about Twisted By Design nights visit twistedbydesign.co.uk