Few days pass whereby west-side locals, Tom and Llewy wouldn’t find themselves hanging out at Mamma Chens. An inclusive, all-embracing arts and music venue in the heart of Footscray, Chen’s isn’t just a place for the pair to catch gigs and cigs. With the duo plying their respective trades as the venue’s sound tech and booker, exposure to the eclectic range of local talent is ever-present. Inspired by a community which have come to call Chen’s home, the music mates’ idea of archiving live sets has resulted in the founding of Silly Gremlin Records. With further aspirations to empower and inform those new to the scene, it’s clear that this label’s ethos echoes that of the venue from which it was catalysed.
Having met 10 years prior studying music at university, the only metalheads in the course, the pair’s plans flowered from Tom’s intention to archive the active Footscray scene; “Zane from Grups was wanting a cut of their band’s live set, so I’m like, I’m gonna learn how to record from the desk, mix it down. I liked this idea of archiving stuff. I could send it to the bands. Then, I thought this would be kind of a cool community project”. Gaining traction in 2024, Tom and Llewy secretly strove to cut stems from sets and hit the mixing desk: “If I saw the bill and people were nice, I’d secretly set things up. I wouldn’t tell them I was recording because it can freak new artists out. I’d tell them after the set or show”.
Before long, the idea for a compilation album, Live At Chen’s’, began to take hold. In keeping with the diverse array of artistry presented in the 80-capacity bandroom any which weekend, the duo didn’t constrain themselves to any set style or genre; “I think I recorded 50 sets, trawled through all of them and I wasn’t judgy on the performances, more the general vibe and, did it sound like this room, and this venue. Did it represent this venue and this community”. Taking the raw input from each microphone on stage, Tom opted for as minimalist a mixing approach as possible; “All the drums are open, the snare’s rattling, there’s bleed from the snare getting into the vocal mic and there’s a delay on the vocal mic but being authentic as possible has been really important”. With experience behind Wrangler Studio’s monitor as well as mixing bands onstage, capturing live recordings presented one unexpected challenge for Tom; “With things coming in raw, the hardest thing was to make it sound a bit “shit”. It comes out super crisp and clear and it doesn’t sound like it’s in the room at all. It took a lot to emulate the room sounding as boxy as possible”.
Artists like Orange Orange, Prokop, Sibyl and Clover Blue, to name a few, featured on the comp were selected for their familial association to the venue and support of the local scene itself; “There’s no really big names, it’s all regulars, people who play here very often and people who really supported the venue. The bands who come here regularly to play and hang out with other bands, come and see other bands who are active in the scene, but maybe haven’t really figured out how to crack the next level”. As Llewy explains, it was this intention to extend further support than what any comp could offer that then coined SGR; “There’s just so much a musician is expected to do now, it gives me anxiety. You have to write, record and find time to network. We just wanna be able to let bands play and give them a bit of a leg up with stuff like social media promotion, regional tour booking or business stuff while paying them and being transparent about it”.
With future comps on the cards, the heads of SGR are considering additional ways to help green groups flesh out their portfolios; “We’re trying to look at getting grants to book a studio for 2 weeks and have bands come in and do very high, studio-quality productions”. Offering to guide artists through what can be a stressful and financially frightening time, SGR want to change the experiences they’ve had as musicians; “You might have 5 or 10K to record an album and it’s just a rushed affair. There's no time to think, ‘mmm, how do I feel about this’ and ‘what if I want to play that this way’”. Formerly a music teacher, Llewy is leaning into the fulfilment gained from guidance since taking on the booking role at Chen’s: “I get so much out of helping new bands and showing them things like how to book a show, I mean, that shits hard. Nobody teaches you how to do that. We both have music degrees, and nobody taught us that. Since I’ve stopped working in the classroom and started booking at Chen’s, I feel I’ve been more meaningfully able to help people get onto the stage and through setting up a show, something I didn’t feel I had the space to experience in a school”.
As much as the goal is geared towards featuring bands, so is the aim in spotlighting Footscray’s home of live music. Spread over four days at Mamma Chen’s, each night befitting a different genre, SGR has arranged a fest to celebrate the launch of the comp heading into the holiday period; “This is a small venue and for them to close for 10 days so that the owners who work 6-day weeks can have a break is a big cost at a time when a lot of venues are struggling. We wanna help them sell some booze before the end of the year and have people come to see that this is a place”.
Since Chen’s opening in 2022, the female/ non-binary/ queer-fronted business offers something special that few can; “Footscray’s really rough. I remember going to the Reverence and it was very punk. I feel like this place is a bit softer and safer. The strength of the queer community has been really important. My favourite shows are often the Carabiner shows that Chloe puts on and the emphasis on having femme bands and queer artists is important”. Llewy qualifies that, “everyone here has a place, indie kids, punk, folk. It’s inclusive, there’s no genre of person in here that’s all the same and that’s what the comp reflects”.
Ultimately, a symbiotic relationship between venue, label and community, Silly Gremlin Records offers up an example of how the local music scene can survive and thrive; “There’s a community of people here who are doers here. When I first came here, I was going through a real shit point in my life, was very close to going down the mortgage train and then Tom hit me up to come out to Chen’s for the first time. Just being here was such an inspiration to be like, no, I wanna keep doin’ music stuff”. Live At Chen’s Volume 1 is available on Bandcamp right now and in CD format for purchase at Mamma Chen’s from 19th December 2024.
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