Thank You

An incomplete list of people I would specifically like to thank for ten years at The Hamo

“There’s something magical about all your friends being in shitty bands with no intention of really making it. Columbus is like any other midsize-but-close-to-big city. It overflows with talented people who don’t always know where to place their talent, and sometimes there are far less talented people who just have access to a stage and enough people to watch them”
- Hanif Abdurraqib

Ten For Ten: Night One (Photo by Lauren Moulton)

It’s been a heartwarming and emotional week. Thank you to everyone who reached out with kind words, it meant the world to me. This job can sometimes be a bit isolating - there’s a lot shaking hands and chatting at gigs, but most of the work is done sitting at a laptop listening to records by myself.

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to Ten For Ten Weekender. They were bloody good shows. Honestly, I could not pick a favourite set of the weekend. It was an incredible weekend of live music and another great reminder of why I love this.

A huge thank you to Boudicca, Soyboy, Melvic Centre, The Tryouts, The Shadow Cast, Amends, Pinch Hitter, Jen Buxton & The Slaughterhouse Five, Max Quinn, and Jack R. Reilly. Thank you for donating your time to a great cause. I hope it goes without saying, I love you all and I think your music is fucking great.

Together we raised $2666.05 (🤘) for the The Hazzy Forever Foundation; which is going to go towards helping and supporting families as they fight childhood cancer. It’s so beautiful that we are able to do that together. Thank You.

There are a bunch of people I’d specifically like to thank for the past ten years...

Scott & Wendy - unsung heroes of The Hamo and the live music scene. Their dedication and belief in what is happening here has kept music live and loud in the pub for years.

Dan & Tris - thanks for making this venue what it is, thank you for steering the ship through any waters, and letting me derail your plans at every opportunity.

Tris, thanks for taking a punt on me. I’ll never forget it.

Liam T, Kyle, Joe, Adam, & Julien - thank you for making magic happen with some questionable equipment. You built the stage both literally and metaphorically. I feel like I am forgetting someone here, but if you’ve ever done sound at The Hamo, you’ve probably saved my ass in some way.

Liam Hewitt - thank you for everything. The work you do behind the desk at The Hamo is the tip of the iceberg. If everyone in the music scene was like Liam the world would be a better place.

Slingtown - for a decade of caffeination

Thank you to all the staff past & present at The Hamo for putting up with my shit. Thank you especially to Dale, Dee, Rangi, Kyal, Tsui, Kurt, Richo, Johnny, Elena, Ash, Scotty, Corey, Jarrah, Charles, Lex, Viv, and Zoey.

I’d like to shoutout a handful of people I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years (please know that this is the just the tip of the iceberg): Georgia, Brodie, & Ash at Oztix. Casey, Jimmy, & Katie at Select. Ash, Jess, Em, & Lochlan at Destroy All Lines. Candace at beastmode. Jess & Kim at Cult Artists. Jake at Damaged. Chris at Blue Murder. Jasper at Polite Production - thank you for letting me learn by doing.

There are literally hundreds more promoters, techs, and musicians I could thank. I spent about an hour trying to write a list of bands, but I couldn’t get close to expressing it all. Not to mention the people who support the local music scene without ever picking up an instrument. It’s a community I’m so proud to be a part of.

Newcastle is, pound-for-pound, one of the best music cities in the world - and it has been one of my greatest joys to be part of it.

In short: Thank You. Come Hamo.

Spencer
xoxo