Clydesdale Inn gig for Lanark band Weekend Debt

But that’s certainly true of ambitious student Dougie Scott from Lanark.

Having organised the bands he played in, as well as managing their publicity and social media sites, he decided to go one better – launching his own artist management company.

And as his brother Grant is also in the business – lead singer with Indie rockers Weekend Debt – it made sense for that band to become the first group to sign with Dougie’s company, Dovecot Artist Management.

But the canny young businessman isn’t just keeping it in the family – he believes Weekend Debt are going places.

Dougie is in the third year of his BA degree in commercial music at University of the West of Scotland. But that hasn’t stopped him working flat out to organise a Lanarkshire showcase, headlining Weekend Debt.

The gig at The Clydesdale Inn on Saturday, April 15, will feature a host of local talent including Lanark DJs Higgie and Jamie Mac and Jay Gunning, famed for his Attic Room Sessions broadcast live from his home on the outskirts of town.

Also on the bill are Wishaw band Lafleur and The Banter Thiefs from Motherwell.

Dougie said: “I know the bass player of The Banter Thiefs, Derek Watson, and he’s been doing a great job in Motherwell getting gigs for local bands.

“Weekend Debt played at the Motherwell Makes Music three day festival in March and I asked Dougie then if they would play in Lanark.

“It will be great to showcase the bands here.

“I know Weekend Debt are looking forward to finally playing a gig in their home town.

“There’s been quite a bit of demand for it but we needed to find a venue.

“Luckily, I used to work at The Clydesdale Inn and I know the staff well so they were happy to host it.”

Having launched Dovecot Artist Management in January, Dougie was keen to showcase the talented teens closer to home.

He explained: “They are doing pretty well and playing a lot of gigs in Glasgow but haven’t played locally.

“Despite that, they have a strong local following. Demand was there so it made sense to line something up.”

But Dougie also wanted to showcase other local bands and DJs.

He said: “A lot of these guys play in Glasgow and further afield every weekend but they all live locally.

“It seems a shame that local audiences have to travel all the time.

“So for a change, fans won’t have to – they can see all of these talented Lanarkshire musicians performing in Lanark at The Clydesdale Inn .”

As for the future, Dougie is convinced Weekend Debt – singer Grant Scott, lead guitarist Ewan Legg, bass player Russell McInnes and drummer Harvey Boyle – are heading for the big time.

The band formed in October last year and have already played gigs at King Tut’s, Broadcast and Audio in Glasgow. So Dougie’s optimism isn’t misplaced.

However, he said: “It is a cut-throat business and it’s quite tough to break through.

“But the band work hard and are confident they can make it.

“That’s one of the reasons I came on board – so they can concentrate on the music and I can take a bit of the pressure off.

“When I was in We Were Kings, I played gigs all over the country with the likes of The Darkness and The River 68’s so I made a lot of contacts along the way.

“I wanted to use that inside knowledge to help other bands – it seemed like a good career move to me.

“I enjoyed organising the bands and the social media side of things so it was a natural fit for me.

“If I’m doing that, Grant can concentrate on writing lyrics and the band on the musical arrangements.

“They are all 17 or 18 years old and met at Lanark Grammar School but they’ve got a good idea of where they want to go.

“It’s my job to make sure I promote them and get their music out there to a wider audience.”

And that’s exactly what will be happening at the gig in The Clydesdale Inn on Saturday, April 15. Doors open at 7pm.

Tickets are priced just £5 and are available from the venue or any of the bands.

Due to licensing laws, the Lanarkshire showcase gig is open to over 16s until 10pm but it will be strictly over 18s from 10pm onwards.

Lanark’s fab four release EP

Weekend Debt launched their first EP, Boyfriend Averse, on March 25 at Broadcast in Glasgow on IF Records UK.

It showcases three of the band’s tracks, namely Three Oh Three AM, Boyfriend Averse and acoustic bonus track, Magnetic Girl.

The EP is avilable now on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and from all other major distributors.

Alternatively, you can buy hard copies on the Weekend Debt website at www.weekenddebt.com, where you can also keep track of the band’s fortunes and latest gig news.

All of the lads were in the same year at Lanark Grammar, with Grant and Harvey in the same class and Russell and Ewan in another. Grant and Harvey have been close friends for a number of years and they all played in a variety of bands before getting together to form Weekend Debt. The band has already received radio airplay on a number of online stations including Amazing and Pulse FM in Glasgow, where they performed an acoustic set for listeners.

In addition to regular band rehearsals and gigging, the lads are also at college and university, where they are following in Dougie’s footsteps – on commercial music business courses. They are, of course, hoping they won’t need to put those skills to use if the band hits the big time...watch this space