George Carmichael is moving on from Family Nightclub and taking his promotions kit bag with him. He's leaving with crates of memories and well wishes from industry colleagues and punters alike.
Family is part of Katarzyna, a company which operates Empire Hotel, Bunk, Birdees, Cloudland and Press Club. On the reasons for moving on from such a well-stocked bar, George admits "It's been a crazy ride and Peter Pan must someday grow up. The Industry is a young man's game and unless you own a club or an event or you are a music producer, the never-ending nightlife can run thin. I just didn't want to be 'that old guy' still getting wasted every Friday & Saturday night."
Favourite moments? "I've been with the company for 8 or 9 years and there have been so many. Narrowing it down is pretty tricky... I've run, or been a part of, so many events from the early days with Fake blood, Boys Noize & A-Track and nights like the huge gay brand 'Horse Meat Disco' at Empire to artists like Eric Prydz or events where we've had massive in-club rigs like the cube set-up for Ferry Corsten.
"I'd say one of my top moments would deffs be a series of events. When I was looking after Empire (Hotel), a cool cat called Sam Beck or Chopsy as he was known used to run a series of events called 'Lick-It' at the venue. So many awesome internationals were on those nights but I like to remember the interstate artists we had just before they or as they blew up. Artists like the late AJAX or Muscles or Flight Facilities. Those were great nights and awesome memories.
"Another top moment, and this is more for the generation of culture, was when I created 'Rage Crew'. The name actually came from the person who runs the biggest gay night in Brisbane, 'Fluffy', the great man himself — Harry K. Monastery had just become Oh Hello and there was an opportunity to really cultivate the harder (& fun) side of music. So I got a few old Mono Djs, like Noy, and some new ones, like Hertz, who at the time was planning his world DJ record-breaking 'Longest DJ set', and created a crew that played hard from open to close every Friday.
"I feel that because of Rage Crew, Brisbane was able to see nights like Dub Thugs come into fruition and pave the way for the 'Biscuit Factories' and the 'Bass Freqs' of now.
"But my number one memory — and this was just for sheer volume was the night — was Calvin Harris at Family. Tiesto was before my time but the Calvin Harris night was massive. It was the weekend of O-Week and the line was down to Zuri before we had even opened the doors.
"One visual that I'll never forget was walking Calvin from the green room to the booth for his set. He was so tall that in a sea of people he towered over everyone. Yeah we broke a few club records that night.
Does he have any advice for industry aspirants? "Hmm... I’d call it the BHP of the industry. Branding/ Honesty/ Party. Branding: You always need to see yourself as a brand. Its simple you’re in control of the Branding messages you convey by what you wear, what you say and how you act. As long as you’re controlling your brand message you will get recognised and all for the right reasons.
"Honesty: The hospo industry is way too small to screw anyone over or stab anyone in the back. Reputations are like mud, they stick! I’m not saying to be transparent in all of your work — I mean you still need to keep some mystery about yourself — but if you do need to deliver bad news to anyone be honest about it. I’ve had my fair share of hiring people but I’ve also had to fire a few. As long as you’re honest about it any blemish in your ledger will fade over time.
"Party: I said branding was a good way to get recognised but partying is key to building your network of friends. And if you have a big network you’ll get recognised quicker. When I started out I parties Wednesday to Monday (Mondays used to Hospo night) and that was basically how I got my job with the company. I was the guy that was everywhere.
And the random question of the day, can you throw down a prediction — anything from lifestyle to politics? "I’d like to say that we’ll discover interstellar travel technology within my lifetime but who am I kidding? However Fortitude Valley is definitely on the rise! The more developments that go up (and I’m seeing more and more) this place is going to a hub of people and excitement!!"
George is immediately taking up a digital marketing role running the online aspect of Urban Wear. His main focus is to finish up at uni, and after that? "Well, then the sky's the limit really."
