Jon manages Hot Box in Chelmsford. An independent community venue for music, poetry, chess, comedy, drag, retro gaming and other things. At a small venue everyone has to muck in and do all the jobs. Venue is 110 capacity, but has seen huge acts like Fat Boy Slim, Frank Turner, High Fade, The Meffs, Beans on Toast, Native James. Norman Cook has come back to DJ many times, and once to help raise funds to save the venue. Venues and events make memories for the staff and crowd. How starting a new venue fired up a creative community in the city. Hot Box started as a ‘head shop’ selling smoking paraphernalia, then diversified into being a skateboard shop, then evolving into a multi-use shop and venue, then into a pure venue. Hot Box became a Community Interest Company (CIC). Providing space for communities, helping communities build, supporting young people. Filling Hot Box with 100,000 balls for a charity gig for Angus. How important it is to have places to support creative projects and let people experiment. Electronic Music Open Mic (EMOM) nights where electronic music artists can play their music through the professional sound system at Hot Box. How dominos has caught on in the venue. How superstars Squarepusher and Adam Buxton collaborated on a fundraising single about Shorts to raise money for the venue after COVID. Creating a community space that is also a sustainable business. Training young people on how to promote a gig, mix sound, set up and control lighting. Being transparent with the costs and numbers for promoters and ensuring people get paid fairly. Being on a mission to make Chelmsford cooler! Petition to make a statue of Dave Hot Box with a cup of tea and shorts. Organising the multi-venue Sounds Good festival event and working with multiple partners and volunteers from different sectors. Filling in funding applications. Booking bands for events. All about High Fade Band and why they always kill it at Hot Box! Jon played bass in a band and played at Brixton Academy when he was 15 - supporting Chelmsford’s finest Rat Boy. Country music is popping off in Essex. Being the president of the Ignite Creative Partnership in Chelmsford - Jon is a BIG DEAL! Fair pay for creatives initiative. The economics of playing live music. Music Venue Trust and Kate Nash and their amazing work.

Hot Box Live
Sounds Good Festival
Music Venue Trust

Are You Creative? recorded by Adam from Lawker Media at Lawker Media Studio
Edited by Nick Hearne
Artwork by Alpaca Antenna

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Thanks to NGDA, City Sound and Essex County Council for their support

Recorded in Chelmsford, Essex, UK