Interview: Mind Your Music

It’s a sad fact of life that mental health issues are becoming more and more prevalent in the UK. We may have the latest Smartphone and gourmet food delivered to our homes while we binge on the latest must-see but plenty of us are suffering with all kinds of issues. It’s a depressing though that suicide rates in the UK are increasing, and an even sadder fact that men in the UK aged 20 to 49 are more likely to die from suicide than any other cause of death. But it’s not all doom and gloom, many people are willing to talk about mental health issues, more enlightened businesses are recognising the problem and dealing with it in the same way they would a physical illness. There are also splendid people doing something about helping like Elliot Hall and Sarah Larkham, organisers of Mind Your Music. Unfortunately this marvellous outfit is under threat – Sarah took time to tell us all about the crisis and what you can do to help.

How did Mind Your Music start?

The group was set up in 2003 by Elliot and musician / actor Ernie Bell (now sadly passed on)…it has gone from the original once a month music group in a community centre to twice weekly music workshops at Factory Studios Barton Hill, individual tuition, gigs, social events, festivals…we even put the guys on at the Colston Hall a couple of years ago.

How many people are involved in the Group?

We reach around 30 vulnerable people every week and some of these people have literally no-one else in their lives. Some of them will only go out of the house for Mind Your Music. For many of them, our social events are the only social occasions they ever go to.

And what sort of people make use of the group, what’s the demographic?

Mental illness can strike anybody, therefore we have people from a wide age range coming to our group, from 19 to nearly 70, and all ethnic backgrounds and sexuality. And all walks of life – we have a former journalist, an artist and an actor coming to us, although most are currently out of work due to their mental health issues.

What do the guys get up to – describe a typical session?

We get through an amazing number of songs in a typical session – including cover versions we all agree on such as One Love by Bob Marley, whole group original songs and individual open mic style performances; jam sessions, improvisation; drumming circles and planning towards concerts and events. We always make time for tea and biscuits and a bit of social time too.

What’s happened to cause the funding crisis?

For many years we were funded by The Big Lottery and Arts Council England but recently funding cuts have meant that they have rejected us this time. For the past year we have been surviving on small grants from independent sources such as The Funding Network. But we only have enough money left to last until the end of December, and will have to close (hot on the heels of Dancevoice and Superact – very sadly) unless something changes.

What can people do to help?

We are entered into a competition called the Aviva Community Fund, and we are asking everyone to register on the website and use their 10 votes to vote for Mind Your Music and help keep us alive. If we can get through to the final we are in with a chance of securing our funding for the next year.

Is there anything else people can do to help right now, can people make donations for instance?

We always welcome donations through our web page. People can also come and support our gigs. We are performing on November 9th at The Grain Barge in Hotwells, for example, and December 17th at The Elephant House in Bedminster, our Christmas party, where there will be a pay-what-you-like buffet and raffle. Details on our website.

And assuming you’re successful (fingers crossed), what can people do to help you keep running in the future?

The same! Donations help keep us afloat so every penny counts. If you come across a crowdfunding event for us in the future, please remember us and spare a few quid. And coming to our events helps support our members – even if it’s just being the all-important audience!

So there we have it, the fallout from Austerity continues and we’re all in it together, it’s just some people are more in it than others… If you’d like to do the right thing then please register and use your votes for this exceedingly worthy enterprise.  And more importantly, if you’re struggling then talk to your family, talk to your friends, talk to your colleagues or talk to the ever fabulous people at the Samaritans 0117 983 1000.