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THE 013 VENUE, TILBURG-NL
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This time REZ went to one of the finest venues in The Netherlands: 013 in Tilburg. We talked to PR employee Patti Huyben about everything 013. But first
this… INTRODUCTION In the heart of the city of Tilburg, The Netherlands a prominent building has sprung up. Located on the Veemarktstraat, in the near vicinity of the entertainment district, both the inside and the outside of the complex are of an amazing beauty.  The centre, designed by Benthem Crouwel architectural firm, shows an exterior which more or less reflects what can be expected on the inside. With the use of materials such as steel, concrete, rubber and CD’s (!) the architect succeeded in creating an atmosphere of live music, even before one single note has been played. 013 offers a wide range of musical styles: rock, reggae, pop, punk, country, core, dance, singer/songwriter and much, much more. In addition to this, a variety of clinics, workshops and DJ performances proves that 013 is an organisation as well as a building solely focused on popular music and culture. Music Popmusic and culture; terms that cover a large area. A more or less young form of art that contains many aspects like music and dance, theatre and multi-media. The main purposes of 013 are presentation, education and service as well as creating a popular hangout and supplying entertainment. Popular music is a trendy, passing, unstable and massive phenomenon. On the other hand it is of vital importance, it has a timeless and individual character and it will last forever. 013 offers something for everybody. The emphasis will be put on confronting and challenging programmes with possibilities for (groups of) people to make a contribution. 013 stands for dynamics and a permanent interaction between audience and (amateur) musicians. 013 appeals to all lovers of popmusic from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and, in time, the whole of Europe. Quality, public opinion and affordability are of great importance. 013 will grow into a centre in which some 400 activities with an expected amount of 200.000 visitors will be organised each year. The programme will consist of local as well as national and international well known artists and bands. A broad variety of new sounds, musical veterans, chartbusters, underground bands, local talents, experimental encounters, young musicians, multi-media, festivals and inter-disciplinary cross-overs, you name it. Dance in all it’s shapes and forms, meet and greet in the café, cyberspace and of course loads and loads of music. Two concert halls In the premises there are two concert halls: The Choice is the name of the main hall, and De Kleine Zaal is the smaller one. Furthermore there are the Bat Cave, with a club atmosphere, and also practise rooms, an information desk, a café and a boxoffice for ticketsales and reception. In the basement there is a big parkingspace for bicycles.  |
The café
The ground floor based café opens daily and is the centre of interaction between the audience, artists, crews and employees in 013. It is a meeting-point with a broad selection of drinks and food, a terrass, facilities to listen to the most up-to-date music and easy access to the internet.  TALKING TO PATTI HUYBEN, 013 PR LADY. Hi Patti. Thanks for taking time to talk to REZ about everything 013. First question: how did you enter the 013? You're welcome. Well, I was a volunteer at the Noorderligt since 1986. I grew up with that venue. When the 013 ideas became more and more realistic, I went along with it and entered the 013 in that way. My contract is one of 38 hours, mostly between 10.00-18.00/19.00 hours. But, I tend to be here a lot at nights as well. Checking out great bands or other artists. It's addictive, haha.  What about the main purposes of 013? Did you already realise them? Yes, within the first year 013 managed to realise our main purposes. As you know, the main purposes of 013 are presentation, education and service as well as creating a popular hangout and supplying entertainment. We also wanted to have 200.000 visitors in our first year. Well, we achieved that and so much more. From the beginning 013 was able to attract big names to our city, partly because of the Noorderligt heritage. The Noorderligt was a famous venue, also in Tilburg and we learned a lot during that era. Can you tell us something about the 013 staff? At this moment, december 2002, we have 60 full-time employees. We began with 23. This shows the growth over the past 4 years.  Furthermore we have 160 volunteers of which 80 people get paid for their hours. Looking back, I think 013 has learned a lot about being a professional organisation and got more of a business aproach. You have to if you want to survive, it's as simple as that.
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 The 013 website is always very well updated. There's something new every day. Tell us about this. Yep. We think publicity is very, very important. That's why 013 recruted someone especially for our website. In general, we have a very well equiped PR section. You have to promote yourself. What are succesful bands at the 013? What acts always sell out? Dutch bands and artists like De Dijk, Kane, De Kast or Marco Borsato and André Hazes always sell out. Heavy acts like Motörhead as well. Lemmy guarantees a sold out 013 every time.  Also R & B lounge nights are very succesful. We often present a band, maybe metal or not and right after that we have this R & B lounge evening. The metal band plays until 23.00 hours and the R & B night starts at 00.00 hours, no problem there. REZ has been doing a lot of interviews with all kinds of bands over the years. Talking about venues in The Netherlands, they are always very positive about the facilities at the 013. It's nice hearing that. We know we have a great venue. 013 learned a lot from the Noorderligt era. We have an experienced team and also used the knowledge from technicians, musicians, roadies et cetera to build as good a venue as possible. The stage has to be superb, sound and lights have to be as good as it gets, loading the gear has to be easy for the roadies et cetera. We have great dressing rooms, good showers and quality food from our own kitchen. 013 wants to offer the artists the right curcomstances to perform at their best. Are the bands that are playing on the What are the main goals for the 013 in the upcoming years? Keep on improving the way we are working right now. 013 is going strong but we have to stay right on top of things every day. We can't sit back and relax. Our management team plans things ahead 1 to 1,5 year ahead. In concrete we can't plan things further than 3 or 4 weeks from now. Situations within the music scene change all the time, you know. That's why budgetting our activities is mainly based on experience. Thanks for your time, Patti. Any last comment? Well, the 013 just wishes every REZ reader a very good and rocking 2003. See you at the 013! (Review: Marcia Gransbergen & Johan Godschalk, Pics: 013 website, www.013web.nl) |