Last week we asked you if you had any questions that you would like to throw at Slinky for us to answer. The response was excellent and we've put together the best ones from the batch. Slinky director Richard Skaife has answered each one so we hope this helps you to get a better understanding of our plans for the future and what we thought of the year just gone.

1. Do Slinky plan to put on nights that are not necessarily trance nights, hosting people like Deadmua5 & James Zabiela and catering for a wider dance audience. Plus are they going to push Yakuji Love by getting in headlining DJ's each month and also getting more local talent in (as this was the promise).

RS: Personally I would love to see acts like Deadmau5 and Mr Zabiela as both are DJ's I have soaked in some tunes from ,but would they fill a club in Bournemouth that holds nearly 2000 people when they are not tried and tested in this area?-Well that I'm not sure on.

Yakuji Love is a tricky one as we have played DJs such as Hausworks and other crossover DJs and I would love to build the back room sound. The problem is the cost of the talent and if whether these DJs want to a play what is in effect a back room. I will be looking at very closely during 2009 at what we do so please watch this space.


2. Are there any plans to get Armin van Buuren or Tiesto on the line up? Both were mentioned when we received news that Slinky was returning in January but neither have been included this year! And who else can we expect to see next year?

RS: We have spoken to both DJs and all I can say is watch this space again. These DJs have more booking requests then dates available and it takes time for the message to go around. But 2008 and the fact we are back and on full form and that our rammed-out shows are bucking the trend in clubland is a message that is Slinking in to all the relevant managers.

3. When is the first date for Slinky 2009? Plus what are DJ line-ups, is there any chance of Armin van Buuren and Above and Beyond?

RS: We hoped to get Armin on at Slinky this year and sadly it looks like no Above and Beyond also this year. They were booked to play for us at the Portsmouth and Southsea Festival which sadly got cancelled. We did originally think we would get the guys down early in 2009 but due to some international commitments it was not to be.

4. This year's Slinky event have been very trance-orientated, with less emphasis on hard house and hard dance. Will this be the case next year too, and will Slinky be doing more Slinky Hard events?

RS: I would say that 2008 has been the same as most years gone by with about 40% of our shows having harder sounds. Yes we will doing some Slinky Hard shows in 2009, so fear not lovers of hard beats - Slinky will continue to offer a broad spectrum of dance music.


5. I really miss Slinky being every Friday every week and want to know whether or not we will ever see it return as a weekly clubnight?

RS: Well never say never - but I'm afraid clubland has changed now and people simply have less money to spend. Not only that but the lack of support from people at the likes of Radio One means dance music does not get as much broad exposure as it used to.

2009 will be the year where less is more for us which I know will upset some of our hardcore fans. But I think this will help smaller clubs get a regular audience in and allow us to focus on world class DJs and top flight production values.

6. How come Slinky isn't doing a Christmas or New Years Party like they used to? One Nation has been there the last 2 years now I think - the Slinky NYE I went to before was amazing!

RS: I’m afraid that Christmas and NYE were not on the agenda for us this year. Christmas is always a tricky one in clubland and NYE is either one or the other, hit or miss.

7. Have any of the Slinky DJs ever made any really outrageous demands for their changing room or rider?

RS: Nothing really that outrageous, just some quite strange ones. For example the flasks of coffee from certain well known chains of coffee shops (and how your supposed to keep coffee warm for eight hours in a flask I'm still not sure!) Particular brands of sweets, changing the types of champagne they want 30 minutes before they board a flight and it’s always Grey Goose Vodka (which is three times the price of Absolut).

Lee Haslam who handles all the bookings gets to see all the requests , mind you his own rider is quite surreal, twenty jam sandwiches served by Dwarfs covered in green body paint!

8. Since Slinky came back to the Opera House in 2008, what have been your highlights?

RS: The two real “stand out” moments have to be the emotional return show with Eddie Halliwell, plus of course the Paul Van Dyk 2 hour set.


9. Is there any chance that Slinky would ever do any weekenders? I know that Richard came up with the Tidy Weekender concept so thought they could be something happening there!

RS: For me its all about coming up with new concepts so if Slinky was to return to shows that are more then just club nights it would have to be something equally as exciting as the Weekenders - but equally different. It’s always a tricky one, but I have a few ideas ;-)

10. Is Amadeus from the Tidy Boys still involved with Slinky?

RS: Amadeus remains a shareholder in Slinky, but commitments to his other projects has meant he has not been as hands on as I know he would have liked. We all remain good friends (something which in clubland is pretty rare) and we wish him all the best now he is back at the helm of the good ship Tidy Trax.

11. What would be your dream line-up for Slinky?

RS: Well it would definitely be a money is no object and purely intellectual concept as follows in this running order:

Lee Haslam V Dav Gomrass
Deadmau5 live
Above and Beyond
Paul Van Dyk
Tony De Vit

Maybe with Tiesto and Armin at the after-show party. Alas the tickets would be about £100 each with this talent!

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Slinky's Opera House Halloween Ball 2008


TICKETS

This is Slinky's fastest-selling show of 2008 so far - here's the situation:

75% of all advance tickets - SOLD
VIP - SOLD OUT - in record time
Early birds - SOLD OUT - in record time

If you've not got your ticket make sure you get it now to avoid having to join the longer paying queue on the door (we are holding tickets back for on the night entry).

Hmmmmm, dont remember the prices of beers (but i had a few lets put it that way). I guess money was no object by the time i eventually reached the bar as i would of died from thirst if i waited any longer!

Crank Get the profit from the Bar sales and the door entry to fund the dj line ups they booked

however as Richard has pointed out the owner of crank has declared bankruptcy so wasn't very clever in the long run was it!?!?

Slinky higher the Opera house now where as when the owner of slinky had the lease on the venue (B4 it shut for refurbishment) that cost was never a factor, and by having the control of the venue they could also take the bar profits to balance out the cost of DJ's and other costs, which can no longer do so all costs have to be covered by the door tax

my mistake - not sure how that one happened!

Win free entry to Slinky in Bournemouth for a year

Being Halloween, I would say the scarier your outfit the better. We will award one lucky clubber on the night free entry to all the Slinky Bournemouth events of 2009.

All you need to do to win is make the biggest and best fancy dress effort. The person we reckon beats all other costumes hands down will get free entry to next year's Bournemouth events... so get planning your outifit now!

very good read, roll on nxt fri! :D

Paul-Van-Dyk mmmmmmmmmm or course Every month if i worked for the opera house.

I personally think the Deadmau5 thing is a no brainer. This guy is easily THE biggest name in dance music right now and he should be given the stage he deserves, where better than Slinky.

I can understand how tough it must be though, from a booking & money point of view.

Never even heard of him... does he play hard house?

how can he DJ if he's a dead mouse?

I've heard of the name but I dunno wot 'it' plays

i think he was one of the baddies in the new star wars episodes?

i dont think he is at the moment, and beside hes not exactly hard dance in a slinky stylie

I am afraid that club land is changing and if Slinky wants to stay ahead i believe upto 5 or 6 quality nights a year is the way forward. Gone are the days of making a fortune from clubs and promoting. DJ's cost too much and people have less money so you need to promote more,

And anyone that thinks a club / promoter can fund the night from the bar is badly mistaken

And here lays the problem - people are going out less , if our fans cant make all the shows , what chance do we have in the monthly market , it takes over 1500 people to come to make a show break even , any less then that and you loose cash !

Although i would of gone out more this year if there had been events worth going too. and a bit more local! if i lived north of Birmingham it probably wouldn't of been a problem, seems like a bit more going on up that way. I speak for friends who have not gone out as much due to lack of choice without travelling a million miles away also.

I think your right about dance music not being popular anymore particualrly (Trance, Hard House), i think perhaps people are moving over to hardcore as that scene seems to be flourishing from what i can see.

Everything goes round in peaks and troughs , I remember when Hardcore was a dirty word and would be about small parties , I also remember it from 15 years ago at its first peak , sounds change , crowds change , part of our success has been able to change and go with the flow.

Nice interview Rich. I am determined to make it down to a Slinky event in 2009 so hopefully see ya there

Could it be due to the fact that there was a very strong following for Cocoshebeen back in the day, and thats why Slinky is seeing less number becuase you havent got that 500+ following in the back room.

Perhaps Yakuji Love should present more of an Electro / DnB / Dubstep approach to attract the people back who used to love Coco. DJ's like Herve, Sinden, Kissy Sell Out, Scratch Perverts, Crookers, A-Trak & Surkin come to mind.

Just a thought anyway...

are you serious ?

Totally. Numbers are down, including the current economic climate, i think that is a perfectly fair assumption as to why.

Get Punchfunk Boys in the back room!

Fingers crossed for next year and some awesome line-ups...please get Randy Katana back as I'm missing this one :(