Last updated 11:37, Thursday, 05 June 2008

The MySpace site proclaims that SiZe is “... West Cumbria’s No1 indie night”. A bold claim and one that founder/promoter/DJ/organiser Simon Mattinson is dedicated to proving.

The Shallow Call: ‘You have got to be passionate about what you do’

He dreamt up the club night a year ago, out of desperation at being so hacked off with the music being played in Workington’s bars and clubs.

After hosting a couple of house parties featuring unsigned bands, he decided to take it a step further and now has a spin-off record label to manage as well.

The first SiZe night took place last September at the Rosehill Barn and featured three bands.

It went so well that it was quickly followed by another – and a switch to Monroes Bar, Workington.

There were 151 there for the first event and since then, he has steadily built up a reputation that has seen every night sold out with up to 140 inside and 80 being turned away at the door.

The key, he reckons, is to provide a mix of good bands to watch and good music to listen to.

“I just want it to be like a really good house party,”he explains. “I don’t want three or four bands all sounding the same. I will put on an acoustic act and a solo female singer. I will give them a jangly guitar band, but also something they have never heard before, and hopefully broaden their horizon.”

Now he has signed two highly-regarded young bands to SiZe, which he reckons is Workington’s first-ever record label.

Manchester band The Shallow Call released their second single on the SiZe label earlier this week and launch the track Where We All Hang Around at the latest SiZe club night at Monroes on Friday, June 13.

Three other bands will be on show: Sam Isaac and band, Luke Leighfield and My First Tooth.

The band are on course for a slot at this year’s V Festival, while Leicester’s The Dandilions (who will provide the second single on the SiZe label) will be appearing at Glastonbury this summer.

The record label came about by accident: “I was chatting with The Shallow Call after the played up here and after one or two shandies said I would put out their next single, thinking they would say ‘no’.

“They talked about it a few times, then agreed. A week later, a major label offered them a deal, but they decided to stick with me!

“Nowadays, major labels are not the only way to go. You have got to be passionate about what you do and be prepared to bash down doors.

There is no contract and I would not promote a band I was not passionate about.

“I have good contacts at Radio 1, I am putting on gigs in Manchester and Glasgow, it is all about blagging – and no one blags better than the northerners!”

Simon, a factory shift worker (“it’s too boring to tell you about it”), has high hopes for both bands and is looking to set a trend for his new label.

“It will be a stepping-stone to the major labels,” he says. “We will put the Dandilions single out in the summer, but Island records have seen them a couple of times and they are going to sign them, there is no doubt about that.”

Tickets (£6.50) for next week’s gig are available from The Carnegie box office (01900 602122). For more information, go to:

www.myspace.com/size_workington