Jazz hands
It's not every day that an international DJ decides to up stumps and relocate to Sydney; but that's exactly what Russ Dewbury has done, as Andrew P Street discovers.
Behind on of these doors is the Jazz Rooms - but choose wisely as the other dorors conceal angry, angry bears
"I came here five years ago on a DJ tour and I just found a lot of potential here," the enthusiastic Dewbury explains. "It inspired me to come back twice a year on DJ tours, and then I took it a step further by co-promoting some live tours with local promoters. And they were really successful and I saw a lot of potential here, and so thought ‘OK, I'm going to try and get a visa' - which, as you can imagine, is pretty difficult."
So it proved.
"I hooked up with a lawyer and we decided that I'd go for this thing called the Distinguished Talent Visa, but the Australian Government only award 200 of these a year to the world, normally to sportsmen and actors, and you basically have to prove that you have a longstanding international reputation. My lawyer said at the time that it's a real leap of faith and, long story short, three years later I got it! I'm the first ever international DJ or music promoter to get it."
It's no shock that it took three years. First up Dewbury had to provide a very detailed Statement Of Intent for his application, "...like, incredibly detailed. It was like going back to college. You've basically got to prove that you're bringing something unique and new to Australia, and then you have to back that up with press proving that you've performed all over the world and have a significant reputation in the industry." It helped that Dewbury had a couple of old pals from his hometown who were more than happy to pen testimonials attesting to his talents. It helped even more that they had names like "Carl Cox" and "Norman ‘Fatboy Slim' Cook".
In his hometown of Brighton Dewbury has worked as a promoter, publicist, radio DJ and dance label A&R man, but the thing he's best known for is the founder of The Jazz Rooms - officially the world's longest-running club night (21 years!) and Dewbury is clearly excited about bringing it to Sydney.
"It offers something completely unique in terms of clubbing, really, because I've always taken an anti- commercial stance in some ways, and obviously mainstream clubbing on a Saturday night you're only ever going to hear a particular kind of music. So what I try to do with The Jazz Rooms is provide unique music that you're not gonna hear anywhere else," he explains. "It's across the black music field, from jazz to funk to Latin to soul, and with that music comes a unique atmosphere as well, and that's what I've very much built the Jazz Rooms on in the UK. It's all about doing something completely different and turning people on to this music, basically. It's maybe a little bit deeper than what the city it used to in terms of a Saturday night, but I think the people are out there."
The parent club will continue in his absence back home. "I had to make a decision, moving to Australia, whether to close it or not. And as you can imagine after 21 years it kind of runs itself: the crowd's still there and I've got some very trusted guest DJs who play down there, so it makes sense to keep it open and I'm sort of running it remotely from here. I'm gonna be going back twice a year to play there and keep my hand in."
He seems very happy about his decision too.
"I've always gelled with Sydney," he grins. "I've always loved everything about the city and I've always really liked DJing here as well, so it was just the most obvious place to come and do it."
The Jazz Room launches at the Civic Hotel on Sat 7 Jun, with giveaways of A Night At The Jazz Rooms for the first 50 through the door.