Closing down sale…
February 18th, 2009
My local record retailer Jibbering Records is closing its doors this Saturday with 50% off all stock.
The Mamas have had an important relationship with Jibbering over the years; indeed Bobbie and I first met when I was DJing for them at Drop Beats Not Bombs in 2006. We both at some point have worked in the shop, I used to do every Friday and Bobbie and I both used to work on the door at the Jibbering sessions at The Cross. On one late Sunday night I stayed in the shop till after 2am with the boys, when we decided it needed a little spruce – painting the ceiling and fixing up some curtains my mom had made.
Within a month of the death of James Brown, Bobbie and I had organised a tribute by using Jibbering Records as a temporary events office. Bobbie did the lion’s share of the organising by nesting in the shop with her laptop, drinking tea and bagging musicians to play in our JB’s band and DJs to play at the event, she got a collection of at least 16 musicians and DJs not to mention much needed advice from Dan and Oli.
It is this collaborative and community approach that makes Jibbering and certainly Shambala Festival (the love child of the Jibbering boys) such a success. The majority of DJs and some of the bands that play at the festival have a long standing relationship with Jibbering and are old time friends, creating a fair trade off – of skills and opportunities.
There is an article on the BBC website that talks of the doom and gloom…another victim of the credit crunch. I like to think of the achievements of the Jibbering crew (Jon, Dan, Oli, Rich & Robin) and how the shop has contributed to a sense of community in the alternative music scene in Birmingham. Their new venture sees them host a creative space in Digbeth and continue with their events and successful art exhibitions.
So for you creative types; the go-getter’s and the do-er’s… there is an opening for a creative hub in Birmingham, somewhere folks can go and drink tea and set sh*t up – it must be friendly, have knowledgeable staff, be cheap and welcoming to all – It seems strange that we have such a successful online community with active arty twitters and Created in Birmingham winning the 2008 Weblog Award (for Best UK Blog), but when it comes to a real life place you actually have to leave your living room and go to, we seem to fall down.
The mamas salute Jibbering and the opportunities that have arisen from being able to hang out at the shop. I am not worried about the creative community in Brumtown or the future of Jibbering enterprises, as we all know the future is bright, and apparently the future’s orange.
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