New DIY Venue Launches In Palmerston North

An all ages DIY venue named Great Job! is set to open later this month in Palmerston North on Grey Street. The venue is the brainchild of local musicians Cameron Wilkes (Given Names, Splitting Atoms, Losses), David Stevens (Us As Robots, Losses, Slower Motion) and Harry Lilley (Man In Rug), who recognised the lack of decent live venues in the city to support the flourishing music scene.

"We believe not having a space like this has had a lot of flow on effects for the music community," explains Stevens. "Having nowhere appropriate for artists to perform means that these artists get to perform less often, as there are less events. Fewer events mean that artists have less incentive to practice and create, hence fewer artists. Also, the community is less used to having the opportunity to see artists perform, so audience numbers drop and events are less successful, so even LESS events are put on, and the arts community in the city doesn't flourish, it plummets."

The announcement coincides well with last week's release of Blink's book The Problem With New Zealand Music, which discusses the need for more good DIY venues around the country and gives a step-by-step guide on setting up such an establishment. (Read our review here).

The Great Jobs! crew are looking for local investment, and have started a Kickstarter page aimed at raising enough funds to help assist with start-up costs. "We would like the community to be the figurative fourth investor in this project," Stevens says.

For its first gig on 18th July Great Job! will be hosting All Seeing Hand and Seth Frightening with support from Man In Rug and Gains.