Interview: Josh Lipworth
Josh Lipworth, the joint organizer of many of the silent disco events in St Andrews last year tells us how he did it.
What is Headphone Disco?
A Headphone Disco is - A room full of people, each with their own wireless set of headphones. There are two DJ's on the stage and each set of headphones has a switch were you can choose between them. It’s a simple yet amazing concept because you can half the room dancing totally out of sync with the other or singing something completely different and there’s no need to shout when you want to speak.
How did it all start?
I was 18 years old when it all kick started, I'd just finished school and had taken a gap year, I really had no idea what I wanted to do in it. I met a guy called Nat Dixon while I was working as a chef in McKay’s and over a lunchtime pint in the west port the idea was born.
Where did you get the ideas from?
The whole thing started over a pint with my friend where we were talking about the summer and as always.. a chat with Stacy Lee. Nat who helps run them with me had a history of promoting bands and we were wondering if we could do the same. Once we'd decided we were going to do it - we did a bit of research, got a few quotes from different companies and decided on Headphone Disco. We then scoured the town for venues and decided on the Union as it had a large capacity.
How did it all happen?
We initially did everything ourselves. We were a two man band! From designing posters and flyers to doing PR or sitting on the stall and selling tickets or negotiating with Headphone Disco and the Union. It was pretty stressful, and we had no financial backing, it was pretty much skin of the teeth stuff, using the cash flow from ticket sales to fund everything as we went along. As we had done it entirely independently if it wasn't a success the burden and debt would fall on us, which neither of us could afford.
Do you have a history or experience in similar activities?
I've hosted quite a few parties here and there, and used to run the common room of my sixth form centre - I started charging people to get in so we could buy equipment and refurbish it, so I only had a rough idea of what I was doing.
What is your personal and professional music basis and taste?
Aside from Headphone Disco I'm a DJ and I enjoy listening to heavy baseline dance that’s as genre specific as you'll get out of me! On my playlist at the moment is Foamo/Doorly/Justice/The Smiths. I also enjoy anything from Chet Baker to Rachmaninov and any subgenre in between, I think that a good song speaks for itself and despite constantly being asked what genre I play, I refuse to pigeonhole myself. If it's good, I'll play it, if it's not, I won’t.
What other interests have you got away from Headphone Disco?
Other than Headphone Disco I have a wide variety of interests, I am otherwise a DJ and when starting out in St Andrews I DJ'd in McKay’s and the Victoria Cafe. I have also promoted nights across Scotland and continue to DJ everywhere. I am classically and jazz trained on the piano and I have a small studio in my home where I produce music. I enjoy cigarettes, lots of red wine, documentaries, analogue synthesizers and cooking brilliant food. I used to do running to a national standard until I became a disgusting slob, however I've entered myself into the London Marathon and aim to get fitter again.
What were your initial Setbacks/Problems?
On our first event we made a pretty horrific loss despite the number of people that came which was over seven hundred. We'd basically over budgeted and had basically done a terrible deal with the Union over venue charge; we were in pretty deep at that point. However the owner of Headphone Disco approached us and asked whether we'd be interested in working for them instead of doing it independently with a little help from the owner we wiped out our losses in the next event and continued to run great events until the end of the year.
When did you realize that it was a Success?
When I walked into the Union for the first time to see a queue snaking into the main bar and Nat frantically running round trying to appease everyone (I'd been having a pint or four to steady the nerves)
What projects are you working on now, and do you have any planned for the future?
My next projects are launching a new club night down in London, writing an EP, getting back to doing some serious academic work and I have two potentially very exciting projects in store for St Andrews, I'm in talks now and should have confirmation by September.
Do you have any advice to those wanting to follow in your footsteps?
It’s not as easy as it looks. You will lose money at some point, a lot of it. Always aim to break even. Don’t spend money where you don’t need to. And if you do decide to do it, make sure your doing it for the right reasons!
What is Headphone Disco?
A Headphone Disco is - A room full of people, each with their own wireless set of headphones. There are two DJ's on the stage and each set of headphones has a switch were you can choose between them. It’s a simple yet amazing concept because you can half the room dancing totally out of sync with the other or singing something completely different and there’s no need to shout when you want to speak.
How did it all start?
I was 18 years old when it all kick started, I'd just finished school and had taken a gap year, I really had no idea what I wanted to do in it. I met a guy called Nat Dixon while I was working as a chef in McKay’s and over a lunchtime pint in the west port the idea was born.
Where did you get the ideas from?
The whole thing started over a pint with my friend where we were talking about the summer and as always.. a chat with Stacy Lee. Nat who helps run them with me had a history of promoting bands and we were wondering if we could do the same. Once we'd decided we were going to do it - we did a bit of research, got a few quotes from different companies and decided on Headphone Disco. We then scoured the town for venues and decided on the Union as it had a large capacity.
How did it all happen?
We initially did everything ourselves. We were a two man band! From designing posters and flyers to doing PR or sitting on the stall and selling tickets or negotiating with Headphone Disco and the Union. It was pretty stressful, and we had no financial backing, it was pretty much skin of the teeth stuff, using the cash flow from ticket sales to fund everything as we went along. As we had done it entirely independently if it wasn't a success the burden and debt would fall on us, which neither of us could afford.
Do you have a history or experience in similar activities?
I've hosted quite a few parties here and there, and used to run the common room of my sixth form centre - I started charging people to get in so we could buy equipment and refurbish it, so I only had a rough idea of what I was doing.
What is your personal and professional music basis and taste?
Aside from Headphone Disco I'm a DJ and I enjoy listening to heavy baseline dance that’s as genre specific as you'll get out of me! On my playlist at the moment is Foamo/Doorly/Justice/The Smiths. I also enjoy anything from Chet Baker to Rachmaninov and any subgenre in between, I think that a good song speaks for itself and despite constantly being asked what genre I play, I refuse to pigeonhole myself. If it's good, I'll play it, if it's not, I won’t.
What other interests have you got away from Headphone Disco?
Other than Headphone Disco I have a wide variety of interests, I am otherwise a DJ and when starting out in St Andrews I DJ'd in McKay’s and the Victoria Cafe. I have also promoted nights across Scotland and continue to DJ everywhere. I am classically and jazz trained on the piano and I have a small studio in my home where I produce music. I enjoy cigarettes, lots of red wine, documentaries, analogue synthesizers and cooking brilliant food. I used to do running to a national standard until I became a disgusting slob, however I've entered myself into the London Marathon and aim to get fitter again.
What were your initial Setbacks/Problems?
On our first event we made a pretty horrific loss despite the number of people that came which was over seven hundred. We'd basically over budgeted and had basically done a terrible deal with the Union over venue charge; we were in pretty deep at that point. However the owner of Headphone Disco approached us and asked whether we'd be interested in working for them instead of doing it independently with a little help from the owner we wiped out our losses in the next event and continued to run great events until the end of the year.
When did you realize that it was a Success?
When I walked into the Union for the first time to see a queue snaking into the main bar and Nat frantically running round trying to appease everyone (I'd been having a pint or four to steady the nerves)
What projects are you working on now, and do you have any planned for the future?
My next projects are launching a new club night down in London, writing an EP, getting back to doing some serious academic work and I have two potentially very exciting projects in store for St Andrews, I'm in talks now and should have confirmation by September.
Do you have any advice to those wanting to follow in your footsteps?
It’s not as easy as it looks. You will lose money at some point, a lot of it. Always aim to break even. Don’t spend money where you don’t need to. And if you do decide to do it, make sure your doing it for the right reasons!