Interview: Dan Flanagan talks TotRockinBeats
Dan Flanagan set up “Don’t Believe The Hype”, the magazine for Dads that were 70’s/80’s kids and, off the back of it, he has created “TotRockinBeats” for families to party together in the afternoon and “DadLaSoul” a community gathering for dads and their kids to learn and play together. 25ThC caught up with him in advance of the first TotRockinBeats in Eastbourne, in the South East of England on Sunday 09 December:
You are the head of the Don’t Believe The Hype (DBTH) agency. When and why did you decide to set this up?
Don’t Believe The Hype started life as a personal blog four years ago. It was just something to do to help kill the commute. I’d write about things that interested me, such as film, music and being a young dad. It then grew to the point where it now features contributions from 18 dads, from vastly different backgrounds and locations writing stories they want to tell. It’s the magazine for dads that were 70s/80s kids.
Twenty years ago, we were all reading mags like FHM, NME, Melody Maker, Loaded etc, but ‘New Lad’ has become ‘New Dad’. Our priorities have shifted, but there was nowhere to call our own, that’s where ‘The Hype’ comes in. On the back of this, I set up DBTH ‘The World’s First Agency Of Dads’ after I got fed up being pitched stereotypical ‘dad’ related campaigns from PR Agencies who looked at dads like we were some kind of 70’s character. The type that is scared of nappies, unable to operate the washing machine and couldn’t dance. Now as an agency we work with a number of high profile brands and create content that actually resonates rather than patronises.
A main part of DBTH is TotRockinBeats (TRB) which has been going for over two years now and has been a great success. What and who is involved in TRB?
As for TotRockinBeats, one of my first clients was a music promotion agency that was putting on gigs with bands like Ocean Colour Scene and Fun-Lovin’ Criminals. During these shows, I noticed that a lot of the audience were people that I would see on the school-run, so I had the idea to combine them. Good music, a chance to dance, a load of activities to keep the nippers happy and do it in the afternoon so no-one needs to be held to ransom by babysitters.
That was two years ago, (actually on Fathers Day). Now it has grown into pretty much a full-time job where we are doing shows for up to 1,000 people in theatres, art galleries and museums around the South East. I am very fortunate to work with a number of very talented mums and dads, that just happen to be shit-hot DJs, street dancers, circus performers, virtual reality artists, graffiti artists, promoters and part-time revolutionaires. Together under the TRB banner we have re-imagined what raving should be, by putting a social conscious at the heart of it.
What do you put TRB’s success down to and how does it differ to other child/family events?
Where we differ from other ‘baby-raves’ companies that have sprung up is that we are a social enterprise which means we do what do because we love it not because of the money. We focus our work on bringing different communities and generations together, so we have young families, people in their 80/90s and young adults with additional access/learning needs, partying with Hip-Hop DJs, graffiti artists, circus performers, street dancers, rappers and entertainers.
This has an incredible effect on tackling social isolation, the people that come to the events are part of a tribe called ‘TotRockers’, and together we have built something very special indeed. As for the success, I can only put it down to a lot of hard work, sleepless nights, weekends spent handing out flyers at parks, harassing people on school runs to get the message out there. I think in the main, it’s about standing for something positive, people want to belong to something that makes a difference, in a world the is massively disjointed.
TRB has been held in some interesting venues and festivals. Where have you most enjoyed performing?
That is a toughy! I don’t think I can pin it down to just one I’m afraid. – Top three in no particular order:
St Paul’s Art Centre in Worthing. This is where we did our first TRB on a Sunday afternoon I had 450 people queueing round the block to come to something, that only a few months previously, was an idea in my head.
Assembly Hall in Worthing. This is a stunning venue that holds over a 1,000 people with a stage where my musical heroes like The Who, Soul 2 Soul, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix had stood on. We sold it twice on previous NYE’s.
Brighton Open Air Theatre. This is a beautiful open air amphitheatre in Brighton that we sold out for our birthday party on a glorious sunny day in May. If you’ve seen the film WildStyle, and the part where the graffiti artist Lee stands at the back looking over the thing he has created, this was my WildStyle moment.
December sees TotRockinBeats first event in Eastbourne. Can you tell us about the venue and what you have planned for it?
This really excites me. The Towner is a huge Art-Deco art gallery and museum in the middle of Eastbourne. At TotRockinBeats we love challenging the norm. What do you think of when you hear the words ‘award-winning contemporary art gallery and museum in Eastbourne, on a Sunday?’ – Is it whispered conversations by middle-aged people, pondering the meaning behind the artwork and exhibits? Or is it a full-on, David Bowie, hero-inspired, fancy-dress, intergenerational rave with 5 amazing DJs playing old-school dancefloor classics, street dancers, Lego, soft-play and interactive virtual reality tech that allows your kids to create artwork and then project it on the walls, so they can be part of an exhibition?
You also run Dad La Soul a community based gathering for Dads and their kids. Can you explain the thinking behind these events and what they comprise?
Through my work with DBTH and TotRockin,’ I was meeting a lot more dads, and the conversation became more common. Being a dad is an incredibly rewarding but hard job than can be very lonely. So I thought rather than spend our time at ‘Mum & Toddler’ groups being looked at weirdly because we don’t have ‘proper’ jobs, or even worse, because we want to play with children. Or a soft-play at weekends being surrounded by people staring at the phones, I’d take all the equipment I had from the, events and build somewhere that the dads and kids could hangout and learn/play at new skills. That’s how Dad La Soul was born.
We now have everything from DJ & film-making to science lessons and stand-up comedy workshops, all taught by the dads. We are based in an old-folks day-centre so the older ‘wannabee’ grandpas can join in. If you’ve seen the amazing ‘Old Folks Home For 4-Year Olds’ that was on TV last year, you will have seen the amazing benefits putting different generations together can have. I’ve just taken that idea, made it for dads and added in some hip-hop flavour. I hope that we are going to build a national network of these clubs, so no matter where you live you can have a community of ‘Dad La Soul’, nearby to help support.
DTBH also runs a blog with articles from some of the dads. What type/style of articles do you feature?
I really love proper stories that resonate with dads like me. Anything from moving stories about mental illness and the struggles around it, right the way through to gig reviews, interviews with bands/DJs and funny tales how we are constantly outwitted by our toddlers!
What do you have planned for the rest of the year and going into 2019?
As I mentioned we are at the Towner on the 9th December, have a couple more Dad La Soul events, then we are doing two events this NYE. One at 11-1pm and then again at 4-7pm. We’ve booked DJ Format, the Stick It On and Get It Together DJ crews, Wannado Streetdance, kids entertainers, circus performers, soul singers, visuals and a wonderful guy called Zach Walker is an international multi-disciplinary artist,and VJ. For the past 5 years he has been collaborating & performing with 2 x UK Beatbox Champion Reeps One for his live performances and his fine arts exhibitions. Based on this work he was commissioned by Guerilla Science and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute to create his interactive audio video sculpture, Visualizing Vibrations. This is some incredible crazy shizzle!!
In 2019 we are already working on launching Dad La Soul in 4-6 other locations around the UK, a Dad La Soul weekend summer festival, taking over some incredible venues like the Brighton Dome and working with some VERY famous performers.
I might need a nap, first of all.
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Find out more here: https://www.dontbelievethehype.biz
Interview by 25ThC.
