“Where’s the post office?” is a question that Andrea Keenan, manager of Kemptown Trading Post & Coffee Shop, has received more than once- despite the fact that the shop window looks more like someone’s living room, albeit an impeccably styled, vintage-chic one. But for those who accidentally happen upon the place, it will almost certainly not be their only visit.

‘There’s not a day goes by that we don’t get at least one person come in and say, “What a fantastic place, what a great idea’”, says Andrea. However, for the born-and bred Brightonian, the concept ‘seemed quite a natural thing.’ The potential of the large space (it functioned as the hardware store for around 30 years, which has now moved next door) coupled with Kemptown’s history of antique trading and general quirkiness, led to the plan to split the space into various units, which are each owned by independent sellers. Likewise, individual holders are responsible for the eclectic range of items inside display cabinets, where Italian vases stand alongside Ray Ban sunglasses.  

Behind the eye-catching window arrangement, where a focal point is the 50-year-old chair reupholstered in fuchsia pink- the cafe area is comfortably nestled. It is here that one can sit with a perfect, velvety, skinny cappuccino (eat your heart out, Starbucks) and a great vantage point of the light, airy interior.  

Unlike a typical antique store, flea market or similar, the ever-changing stock is set out in such a way as to allow a leisurely browse rather than a frantic rummage; Andrea describes her arrangement as ‘fresh and open’, and frequently sees customers returning because of the general atmosphere of the place.  

A wander around reveals the store space to be even more extensive than it first appears. Different areas are accessed by a series of little archways, through which different eras and styles are encountered. The casual explorer will come upon a pyramid of retro luggage, upon which is balanced an old American baseball mitt and ball. Slightly closer inspection of the nearby wardrobe reveals a few carefully selected vintage dresses. Rather than jumbled rails of material, items of clothing are artfully arranged around restored pieces of furniture. Thus, it’s easy to find things that you’re not looking for… a fact which hopefully justifies the blue vintage bag that I ended up taking home after my first visit.

Kemptown Trading Post & Coffee Shop is open from 8am Mon-Fri, and from 10am weekends.

They also do a late night Thursday and Friday for the long summer evenings. Find out more and take a sneak peek at the collections: www.kemptowntradingpost.co.uk

Amid the 7589 runners, 1700 stewards and 80,000 supporters filling up the sunny streets of Brighton and Hove on Sunday 18^th April, the Heart Radio Feel Good stage was an oasis of calm at the bottom of Grande Avenue. The sea of Heart deckchairs provided a perfect place to soak up the atmosphere of the first ever Brighton Marathon, and enjoy live music from the best local bands.

Among the acts featured was rock/pop band The Suburbians, fronted by Essex-born brothers Mark and Ben Kostantinovic. “All of Brighton’s bands applied to play- I think it was something like 350 bands. Then Heart FM took all of the submissions and chose the Suburbians as one of 20 to go forward [to public vote],” Mark explains a couple of weeks later. “I play drums, and sing, and play guitar- and my brother plays guitar, bass and piano as well. So the song that got us through [4 Blue Walls, a brilliant original track first heard in November 09], I played all the instruments on it… they put us through as a full band, but it was actually just a duo. So we found out that we’d won the Heart FM competition and were playing the Brighton Marathon- but didn’t have musicians!” Enter drummer Craig Read drums and Charlie Roberts on bass. Performing as a four-piece for the first time on Marathon day, the Suburbians treated the crowd to a brand new original track, You Know This, plus many of the great covers that have brought them such a large following as an unsigned band- including their ever-popular version of Single Ladies, which they originally did as an acoustic. “We did it with a full band, the whole shebang- with the reggae beats and solo guitars coming in at the top- a much bigger sort of version.

“We’re playing at Camden Crawl festival this Friday, opening at the Fiddler’s Elbow, and then at Water Rats Theatre on Saturday, and that ends our kind of epic two weeks where we’ve just been gigging loads. Now we’re going to focus on making an 8-track EP and putting it on sale.” By July, Mark hopes to be taking this EP to the digital market (Amazon, iTunes etc.) and then beginning to approach record companies and management.

Also in the long-term plan is a permanent move back to Brighton. Mark first landed here in 2006 to attend Sussex University (he graduated with a Physics degree in July 09), but was simultaneously pursuing the live music scene for much of that time. “We started a residency in Pav Tav in my second year. That was the first place we ever actually got payed for playing music!” Pav is still up there with Mark’s Brighton favourites, both as the place they started out and for “a dirt cheap night out where you can also see Brighton-based talent.”

Even after some “awesome” uni years here, Mark puts Marathon Day at the top of the list of Best Brighton experiences so far. “Playing on the seafront, open air stage, sun beaming down, sea in the background, and we just thought: This is the place, this is the place to be!”

Find The Suburbians on Facebook – THE SUBURBIANS

www.thesuburbians.com

Aside from a “brief middle period”- spent, funnily enough, in the Midlands- Alex Murray has spent his life in the city which birthed his passion for music. As manager of One Inch Badge Records and, more recently, of independent music venue The Freebutt, everything that he has gained growing up in Brighton amid it’s eclectic music scene Murray is now putting back.

OIB Records was in fact created to support the local music scene- more specifically, to enable one of Murray’s “all-time favourite local bands”, My Device, to release a 7inch single.  His vision was, however, wider than that one venture: “At the time the Brighton scene just wasn’t getting the support that it deserved, there were so many incredible bands bubbling under that just had to be heard.” It’s unsurprising that OIBs successful first release led to a rapid snowballing of acts, such as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Lovvers, The Death Set, SJ Esau, Pope Joan, Lonely Ghosts, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Kopek, The Tumbledown Estates…

Many of the extensive list are described by Murray as “local heroes”, and he maintains that, even now, “the Brighton music scene is incredibly integral to the development of One Inch Badge. Brighton is the city that formed OIB and will continue to shape it for years to come. While we may have branched out to release artists from around the world that we believe in, we always try our hardest to stay true to our roots and support our local scene as much as we possibly can.” To this end, the label is soon undertaking the “ambitious project” of a twenty strong compilation record, whose aim is “showcasing what we consider to be the most important bands coming out of the Brighton scene at the moment.” They intend to retail it “super cheap”- part of an ongoing commitment to make Brighton music ultra-accessible to people across the UK.

What is it, then, that Murray wants the rest of the nation to hear? “The key to Brighton’s success and individuality lies in its diversity, there is undoubtedly no other city of our size that can boast to having such a rich and diverse number of scenes co-existing right on their doorstep. From the doom-sludge-electronica of DJ Scotch Egg’s Drum Eyes to the ferocity of Ghost of a Thousand and the incredible folk-noir of Sons of Noel and Adrian and the Willkommen Collective, Brighton offers ground-breaking artists in nearly every genre imaginable.”

Murray is able to continually search out rising stars in this melting pot of creativity not only in the capacity of OIB manager but through The Freebutt, which he has recently restored to its original glory as “the seminal indie venue.” Having grown up discovering ‘real music’ within its walls, Murray is now adamant that “any new band worth their weight has the Freebutt in their gigography”, giving stage time to around 100 acts a month.

Though currently promoting outside of Brighton, with shows coming up in Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, it is crucial to Murray that “whatever the future holds we retain ties within this city… I’m certain that Brighton will continue to thrive and produce some of the finest bands in the country.” And it’s not only the music he misses when out of the city. “Besides my friends I’d probably say the beach, Bill’s breakfasts, the Peter Pan adventure golf course, and the South Downs.”

Coming up @The Freebutt… Don’t miss:

Mount Eerie: April 7^th

^{High Places: May 3rd}

Final word… the Freebutt is a key venue for the Great Escape this summer. Murray’s top tip is Real Estate, who will be playing there as part of the festival.

Professional trumpeter Chris Wintermeyer is one-seventh of pop-jazz-soul band The Cover Up, and a familiar face in the live music scene that
dominates Brighton nightlife. Now well established as a function band, they work across the UK. However, The Cover Up is still based in the city of Brighton, where regular appearances at two of the most popular clubs in town has cemented their reputation as one of the most entertaining live acts around.

Born and bred Brightonian, it is the popularity of music in his home city, and the availability of so many genres, that first sparked Chris’ determination to pursue his musical talent within the sphere of live performance. “Being in Brighton, with the Dome and everything, you’ve always got that base of music. Always get great artists coming in. So I guess I was probably inspired to play from that as a kid. And then Brighton and Hove Big Band, that was the start- we were playing in venues around Brighton while I was still at school.”

With the youth Big Band, Chris’ first local gigs included the Old Market, Komedia, and the Brighton Dome itself. He was back there last summer with his own outfit: The Cover Up provided the entertainment for Sussex University Graduation Ball, something of a testament to how far he has come as a musician in a few short years- and also of how his early performing experience and friendships set him up for a career.

“Me and Ed Mitchel (saxophone) have been playing together for years. In fact we were busking together in Kensington Gardens when we were both thirteen. We made a killing!” It was within Brighton and Hove Big Band that they met the keyboard player, bass player and drummer. “So that formed the rest of the core band, and then we met the other guys, guitarist and singer, up in London.” Their first Brighton residency as a jazz quintet was at the George (Trafalgar Street); their first major gig as The Cover Up, however, was for the prestigious Oceana Group. “We had actually done a function up in High Wicombe where the owner of Luminar (Luminar Group Holdings, which owns a number of the UK’s major club chains), one of the CEOs was there and liked us, asked us where we were from etc.” From this conversation came the Oceana gig. They played in the Deep Bar for three nights of the Oceana Brighton launch week back in October 2007, when queues stretched along the seafront. The residency here led to work at Casablanca, where until recently the band played every Thursday night. Despite the fact that the club no longer funds a 7-piece outfit on such a regular basis, “Casablanca is, hands down, still one of my favourite venues to play at in the UK.”

“The music scene in Brighton is great but it’s small. It’s of a really high standard, I’d say second only to London out of all the scenes in the UK. Obviously I’ve got a bias, but from what I’ve seen of other places it is of a higher standard.”

At the moment Chris is trying to balance his professional work with completing his music degree at Chichester University. The gigs are obviously important- employment will be his focus as soon as the course ends- but so is his dissertation. “It’s a bit of a juggling act at the moment.” Additionally, he has recently debuted Slinfold, a jazz-fusion group which is very different to his work with The Cover Up as their repertoire is entirely composed by the band members. His performing history indicates that, although it’s early days, Slinfold will do pretty well. Chris knows the score when it comes to the live music scene: “You get work if people like you. This is what’s great about the music business, is that it’s all social. There are auditions and things like that, but even on the top doors in London it’s mainly down to if people like you… and obviously your playing ability!” It doesn’t seem that there would be problems either way for Chris: whether he branches out from the jazz side onto an R n B tour, or spends time building the reputation of his new band, it seems that the best is yet to come.

Check out www.slinfoldband.com
www.thecoverupband.co.uk

Last night, HA!HA! Bar saw the return of DRAW JAM, the simultaneous art and acoustic music competition devised by Paul Promotions in association with Brighton Electric. The success of its first run in 2009 means that this year’s event is set to be even more popular, with between 200 and 300 gathering for the final in May.

The concept is an original take on the standard open mic format : unsigned musicians each get stage time, alongside three blank canvases on which competing artists draw. There are a couple of rules: only use the materials provided (black marker pens), and only draw what you hear. This is a night which appeals to the huge musical and artistic community of Brighton- and to their supporters, who can enjoy £3 cocktails whilst soaking up the duel creativity in the room.

After moving many years ago to Brighton, Miles left a career in education to jump in at the deep end of small-business management along with his wife Lisa, making their dream cuisine a reality in the form of the Bubble Kitchen. “It’s rare that premises come up in the North Laines, especially that already have that category of a food outlet.

“We always had an idea of this type of cafe, but were more limited at the beginning- we were planning to do lots of different types of Bubble n Squeak [a preference that remains in the café’s name!] but quickly realized that we had to really do a selection to make a living.” Now, the wide menu is all cooked on site and meals are made to measure. When we arrive late in the day, Miles has a frying pan in one hand and only a few minutes to sit down before continuing the closing shift. Another rapid realization, he explains, was that they’d have to work 7 days a week to make business viable.

Already familiar with Brighton before arriving here in ‘98, Miles says that a big draw was the unique culture of the city: “I’m a bit of an obsessive about history of literature and pop culture, and Brighton’s really central to all that stuff… so I was a bit like a boy in a sweetshop really!” Some of these passions are reflected in the fun, retro décor of the café, which includes a Fisher-Price mini TV and other “bits and bobs we’ve collected along the way”, like a scooter from Brighton’s Old Market.

One stand-out figure is sadly no longer with them- “outside, for the first year and a half, we had a mannequin dressed in a 60s coat, but it got stolen. Lisa was really upset because she collects vintage clothing it was a vintage coat- a vintage Burberry actually- plus a great wig that she used to wear clubbing.” Once recovered from my horror at this loss, I observe that the array of vintage stores in this part of town means that the couple have ample opportunity to expand the collection.

One part of the Brighton heritage that first drew Miles- it’s music- is a major part of his own life here. As we talk about his band, The Clowns, I wonder if running a full-on, full-time business and a family of young children, leaves much time for music? “Not really, no!” But despite this, Miles writes melodies and lyrics, and gigs with the band in London- as well as in Brighton itself. Not only does their distinctive cafe fit snugly into the culinary eclecticism of Kensington Gardens, but it’s owners seem very well placed to make the most of what this unique town has to offer.

Lewis Crathern, widely known in association with Jake Scrace and their daring jump of Worthing Pier on a pair of kite boards, is immediately recognizable through the snowy streets of Worthing by the shiny red van in which he meets me. “I’ve taken it through about three sponsors now,” he grins.

Although not big on self-publicity, Crathern “could talk now in front of hundreds of thousands of people, no problem, about kiting, because I know all about it.” After being invited back to the school where he and his best mate were deputy head boys- “all the sports stuff was mint because of us!” – to present trophies, he now goes into local schools to do assemblies. After a ‘show and tell’ of his kiting equipment, he also encourages them with his own learning process. “I put up squares showing, ‘this is what I did at college’ and ‘this is what I’m doing now’- trying to explain how everything they do at school will come back and help them.” Ultimately, “I’d love to introduce kiting to more people in their lives, I think people need it.”

Having taken a step back from competition, Crathern has a few exciting targets for 2010- including a kite-surf around England, and one to get to France. The latter “is a big deal,” Crathern says, “because it would be a massive highlight to the wind energy stuff again.” Closer to home is his idea of jumping Brighton Pier. “It would be cool to do it at night, especially with lights all over the kite…” He’d like to ring up the universities and request a load of little flashing LEDs for the occasion, basically telling them, ‘I want my kite to look like a plane!’

Crathern admits that he’d quite like to be on land to photograph the moment. Having recently acquired a waterproof camera, he’s been capturing his own experiences out on the water, which is “mind-blowing. I can now show my side of what I’m doing. I really want to go miles out and show what it’s like- that actually changes your perspective of where you live, when you can look back at it. You’ve almost doubled your living area! I see all this space now as part of where I live.”

It is this kind of unique experience that fuels his enthusiasm for sharing kiting with others. “It’s almost frustrating, keeping in how good it is! That’s why I’ve started talking about it, to kids and to the council.” Crathern’s passion for both his sport and his hometown mean that his long-term plan is to establish a kiting school. “We’ve been noticing every year that our numbers are doubling. Where we kite on Goring Green is like the best place in the world to kite surf. And I’ve been to loads of places.

“You need clean space for wind to be clean, and you feel that with your kite. With wind being clean as far as is here, which is like forever, it’s the perfect place to kite surf.  So if it’s not windy enough to go in the water you can teach people on the land in a very light wind.”

The very day after our interview, Crathern is heading off to Devon and Cornwall to try out snow kiting for the first time. Three weeks stay on land due to the recent ‘cold snap’- accompanied by almost no wind- is a new experience for Crathern. But the frustrating conditions have only increased his enthusiasm for the sport. “It’s like with anything, if you could do it every day, I’d be bored of kite surfing. The fact you can’t do it when you most want to, that’s almost the special thing about it… it keeps on making it amazing.” And although being here rather than in Cape Town for the January-March season “is a new experience for me,” he maintains, “I’m quite happy here. It has such a feeling of happiness about it.” It seems that wherever the wind takes him, Crathern and his board will always find a wave back.

Check out Lewis’ inspirations and adventures at www.windmachine.biz