Oh Yeah (music centre)

Oh Yeah is a music centre located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the Cathedral Quarter. It was founded primarily to support young talented musicians and rockbands from Northern Ireland and its enormous growing music and artist scene by backing space, help and promotion, technical equipment for band-practices, recordings, gigs and event-organisation, performing space and releases of band-compilations (Oh Yeah Sessions). The Oh Yeah Music Centre's music-genres are varying in its manifoldness of Alternative rock, Indie rock, Electronica, Post rock, Post punk, Crossover, Experimental rock and further musical stylistic ways and conceptions.

Formation

The project was formed after a meeting between Gary Lightbody (of Snow Patrol), Stuart Bailie (former Assistant Editor of the NME, who has been presenting radio programmes for the BBC since 1999), Martin Neill (a multi-media professional and head of the web design business "No More Art") and Davy Matchett (who has been involved in business and banking for the past ten years and shares a passion for music) on December 29, 2005. Everyone agreed that the project would prove beneficial to Belfast and the country's music scene. Additionally, the group decided that Oh Yeah would be a non-profit organization.^[1] They did a lot of fundraising and charity work for the centre, and Lightbody's band Snow Patrol donated a huge sum. Lightbody felt it was time to get assistance from the government, and the group met Secretary of State Peter Hain on January 11, 2007 with their idea at Millbank, London, and they succeeded in securing backing and financial assistance from the government.^[1][2] Tim Wheeler from Ash and Radio1’s Colin Murray are among the active supporters of the Oh Yeah.

“	What the Patrol would have given for the advice of professionals; the space to rehearse or cut demos; a place to hang out and listen to music and meet people that might one day change your life. “What is needed is a nexus to focus musical energy into and to unite the Belfast music scene in a way that has been elusive until now. It is staggering how simple music is when you boil it down: people, together.	”
—Gary Lightbody, Snow Patrol[3]

Location

A band practice room.

The venue is a former bonded whiskey warehouse in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter, Belfast’s booming cultural district. It measures 14,500 square feet (1,350 m²) over three floors and will soon be home to rehearsal rooms, performance space, a café and office units to incubate new music businesses. The venue was inaugurated on May 5, 2007 and featured performances by Snow Patrol, Starsailor, Duke Special and actor James Nesbitt.^[4]

Recent activity

The 2008 Fate Awards supported the project, and part of the profits^[5] made from the event were donated for the project. Project manager Stuart Bailie said: "The guys at Fate are actively raising funds for Oh Yeah - to literally put a roof over our heads. Fate instantly recognized that trying to establish a dedicated music centre for Belfast is a very tough process. We hope to become good friends with Fate and their contribution will go a long way to Oh Yeah realizing its potential."^[6]

Band compilations

"Oh Yeah Sessions 2008"^[7]

1. When Jackie Shone - Cashier No.9
2. Kansus – Kowalski
3. Where's Your Sense of Urgency? – Panama Kings
4. A Little Bit Of Solidarity Goes A Long Way – And So I Watch You From Afar
5. Golden Ticket – The Jane Bradfords
6. Of The Bear – Mojo Fury
7. Please Take Your Time – General Fiasco
8. Mr. Heskey – Lafaro

Bonus tracks:

9. Align the Planets - In Case of Fire
10. Rides Again - David Holmes

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Oh Yeah, Now That's What I Call Music". Culture Northern Ireland. http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article.aspx?art_id=1998. Retrieved 2009-07-19. 
2. ^ "Pop star's stage fright at Assembly". Metro. 21 February 2008. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwqnd5Ba. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 
3. ^ Gary Lightbody, Oh Yeah Belfast
4. ^ "Snow Patrol, Starsailor celebrate opening of new Belfast venue". NME. http://www.nme.com/news/snow-patrol/28228. Retrieved 2009-07-13. 
5. ^ "Fate Awards planned for Belfast this month". Hot Press. 5 February 2008. http://www.hotpress.com/news/4413823.html. Retrieved 2009-10-14.  Note: Archived page, can be found here.
6. ^ "Celebs to learn their FATE at Waterfront Hall". Belfast Telegraph. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/news/celebs-to-learn-their-fate-at-waterfront-hall-13492093.html. Retrieved 2009-07-13. 
7. ^ http://www.ohyeahbelfast.com/ohyeah-sessions-08/index.php

External links

• Website of Oh Yeah Belfast
• Oh Yeah on MySpace
• Recommendation of the Oh Yeah by a German Travel Guide for Ireland
• Gary banks on the future