Jason Dormon

Last updated

Jason Dormon
Born (1969-05-02) 2 May 1969 (age 52)
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Genres Post-hardcore
Occupation(s)Musician, venue owner, promoter
InstrumentsBass guitar
Years active1990s-present
LabelsUnlabel
Fierce Panda
Associated actsJoeyfat, Unhome, Alex Tucker
Website MySpace Page

Jason Dormon (born 2 May 1969) is a British bassist and venue owner. He is most noted for his work in Joeyfat and also for his running of the Tunbridge Wells Forum.

Contents

Early life

Dormon was born in Tunbridge Wells and educated at Bethany School.

Music career

In 1991, he formed the post-hardcore collective Joeyfat and spent the early 1990s releasing music with a number of independent record labels including Fierce Panda, as well as touring with the likes of Green Day, China Drum, Jawbox, and Scarfo.

In 1996, Joeyfat broke up and Dormon went on to form Unhome, alongside Alex Tucker, [1] who were a post-rock hardcore 5-piece. The band released one album, A Short History of Houses, and a split single with Papa M.

Unhome split in late 1999 and at this point he formed the band Rebus [2] who played for a few years before splitting. Around 2000 Jason got back together with Joeyfat to play a series of shows to promote The Unwilling Astronaut, a sixteen track collection of studio, live and session work spanning the years 1991 to 1996. They have since remained together, and have been playing gigs at a steady rate and releasing occasional tracks.

Their debut thirteen-track album, You Can Change People's Lives With Your Mouth / The House of the Fat was released on CD, and limited edition vinyl, in 2003 on Unlabel. Also in July 2003, Joeyfat recorded a Peel Session for BBC Radio 1. [3] This was followed by a 2CD collection of tracks from singles and compilations, Ye Bloody Flux in 2011, [4] and a second studio album, the double vinyl Suit of Lights in 2013. [5] Joeyfat recorded a session for Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6music in June 2017. [6]

The Forum

Dormon's career in music promoting began on 17 May 1988 when, along with a group of friends (including Ian Carvell, Stephen Cookson, David Jarvis and Haydn Wood), they put on The Brilliant Corners at the Rumble Club in Grosvenor Park Rec hall in Tunbridge Wells. The Rumble Club, as a music venue went on to use various premises in the area, including The Watson Hall, Langton, The Hand & Sceptre in Southborough, and the lower floor of the former Winchester pub on Nevill Street, Tunbridge Wells (now the Thorins wine bar). Jason has said that he and his friends put on shows because they were fed up with the cost and travel of going to London to watch bands.[ citation needed ]

In December 1992 Dormon and a group of friends opened Tunbridge Wells Forum [7] [8] as a new music venue in a building on Tunbridge Wells Common which was previously used as a public toilet and a brass rubbing centre. It has since hosted a number of acts who have gone on to achieve significant commercial success. [9] [10] [11]

In 2010, Dormon was featured in The Independent's "Happy List", profiling people who make Britain a better place to live. [12]

In 2011, Jeremy Pritchard, bassist with the band Everything Everything, named Dormon as the person who has creatively influenced him the most. [13] [14]

In 2012, The Forum was named as the NME Best Small Venue.

The Music Venue Trust came into being in 2014 to protect and nurture small independent venues. Dormon was appointed a trustee. [15]

Related Research Articles

Royal Tunbridge Wells Town in Kent, England

Royal Tunbridge Wells, previously just Tunbridge Wells, is a town in western Kent, England, 30 miles (48 km) south-east of central London, close to the border with East Sussex upon the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formations at the Wellington Rocks and High Rocks. The town came into being as a spa in the Restoration and enjoyed its heyday as a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted significant numbers of visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town remains highly popular and derives some 30 per cent of its income from the tourist industry.

The Pantiles

The Pantiles is a Georgian colonnade in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Formerly known as The Walks and the (Royal) Parade, it leads from the well that gave the town its name. The area was created following the discovery of a chalybeate spring in the early 17th century and is now a popular tourist attraction.

Tom Middleton British electronic recording artist and DJ

Tom Middleton is a British electronic recording artist, sound designer, composer, music producer, remixer and DJ.

Michael Legge (comedian) Northern-Irish comedian

Michael Legge is a London-based Northern-Irish stand-up comedian and television host.

Tunbridge Wells (UK Parliament constituency)

Tunbridge Wells is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Greg Clark, a Conservative who served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2016 to 2019.

Toilet circuit

The toilet circuit is the network of small music venues in the United Kingdom which rising indie, rock and metal bands often visit to gain support and promote themselves. The name may refer to the size and often the cleanliness of the venue, or a lack of dressing rooms leading to the band being required to change in the toilets.

Eric Knowles is a British antiques expert and television personality, whose main interest is in ceramics and glass.

Royal Victoria Place Shopping mall in Kent, England

Royal Victoria Place (RVP) is a mostly covered shopping centre located in the town of Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The centre features a three-floor Fenwick's department store, a two-floor Marks and Spencer, a two-floor Boots and around 110 other stores, as well as a community centre managed by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

Targetfollow is a property investment and development company in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 and specialising in city centre buildings.

The Forum, Tunbridge Wells Music venue

The Forum is an independent music venue in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, with a standing capacity of 250. The venue opened in 1993, the building having previously been a public toilet.

Everything Everything

Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. The band have released five albums to date – 2010's Man Alive, 2013's Arc, 2015's Get to Heaven, 2017's A Fever Dream and 2020's Re-Animator – and have been widely critically acclaimed. Their work has twice been shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and has received five nominations for Ivor Novello Awards.

Tom Williams & The Boat are an English folk-rock band from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England.

The Reads are an alternative rock band from North Wales and Chester, England. Their debut studio album, Stories from the Border, was released in 2011. Their follow up album Lost at Sea was released in 2014. Tracks from both albums have been played on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Merseyside, XFM and Amazing Radio, amongst others. Their music featured on BBC 2's "Our Coast" in February, 2020. They list Doves, Elbow, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Boards of Canada, The Flaming Lips, The Beatles, The Bluetones, The Stone Roses, Aphex Twin, Spiritualized, Father John Misty, John Grant amongst their influences. High profile fans include Jeremy Vine, Adrian Chiles, and TV Chef, Bryn Williams. Their third album "Crossfire" was released on 3rd April, 2020 and has already received plays on BBC Radio Wales.

Alex Pritchard English footballer

Alex David Pritchard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Championship club Huddersfield Town. He has represented England at U20 and U21 level.

Everything Starts with an E 1989 single by E-Zee Possee featuring MC Kinky

"Everything Starts with an 'E'" is a song by E-Zee Possee featuring vocals from MC Kinky. It is considered by many to be the anthem of the acid house movement of the late 1980s, with the "E" in the title widely understood to refer to the drug Ecstasy (MDMA).

Just the Tonic is a comedy club with branches in Nottingham and Leicester, which also takes acts to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The club opened in Nottingham in 1994, followed by a Leicester branch in 2012.

Dont Try (Everything Everything song) 2013 single by Everything Everything

"Don't Try" is a song from British indie pop band Everything Everything. The track was released in the United Kingdom on 16 June 2013 as the fourth single from the band's second studio album, Arc (2013). The single's B-side is a live recording from the Maida Vale Studios of The Korgis' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime". The recording comes from 17 October 2012, where the band covered the track for BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe.

This is the discography of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a British electronic music group. It consists of releases of music and sound effects.

Bombay Monkey are a UK indie-pop electronic music group from Crowborough and Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, United Kingdom

References

  1. "u n l a b e l : Artists : Unhome". 26 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008.
  2. "u n l a b e l : Artists : Rebus". 26 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008.
  3. "Radio 1 – Keeping It Peel – 23/07/2003 Joey Fat". BBC. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  4. "Joeyfat - Ye Bloody Flux". Unlabel.net.
  5. "Joeyfat - Suit of Lights". Unlabel.net.
  6. "Marc Riley: Mon 12 June 2017". Bbc.co.uk.
  7. "BBC Radio Kent – BBC Introducing in Kent, Tunbridge Wells Forum turns 18". Bbc.co.uk. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  8. "madasafish". Users.globalnet.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  9. "Shopping, Eating and Drinking on the Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells. | Pantiles Tunbridge Wells APT" (PDF). Thepantilesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  10. [ dead link ]
  11. "Forum founder recognised for making people happier". Archive.today. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  12. "The IoS Happy List 2010 – the 100 – News – People". The Independent . 25 April 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2013.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  13. "Jeremy Pritchard of Everything Everything on Jason Dormon | Creative Times". 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.
  14. "Jeremy Pritchard of Everything Everything on Jason Dormon | Manchester Publicity Association". 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012.
  15. "Music Venue Trust". Musicvenuetrust.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2020.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)