For this week we have Tom Cooke as our Campus Celebrity! He is a Masters student here at Exeter and is taking this week to combine work and play with his Beats and Bass Charity Mixathon in aid of MS Society. You might recognise him from his bright yellow puffa coat around campus or behind the decks around Exeter. This is a pretty crazy idea for a fantastic cause and he’s pulled it all off!
What gave you the initial idea for to host a charity Mixathon?
I did a 127 hour Rowathon in 1st Year and that was really good fun, I wanted to combine the marathon element of that with my DJing. I’ve always wanted to do a charity event to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis because my Mum’s had it for as long as I can remember. I also wanted to do something a bit different that would get loads of people involved so that we could raise as much money and awareness as possible.
How far have you managed to spread the word? Are there are any big names we can look forward to?
We’ve got all the Banoffees Pie gang – record label, night promoter and clothing brand – coming down from Bristol. We should have one of the guys from Alfresco Disco coming down from Bristol as well! We’ve got some other random people from Bristol who have signed up which is great! People from Plymouth, Exeter and naturally there’ll be all the normal faces from Exeter dance music.
When did you first get into DJing?
I had a little programme on my laptop since first year but because I was rowing I didn’t have any time to do anything with it. It was when I got injured that I thought this is something that can take up all the free time I now have! I’m now working for a record label in Exeter called Paradise Club Recordings as a runner so I send hundreds of emails to people. I’d love to work for a record label in the future, and keep the DJing mostly as a hobby but also as a little side-earner.
This week, what’s the schedule for the event? How do people get involved?
People can get involved just by coming down and having a boogie, that’s the main aim. It’s in the Ritazza space within Cornwall House or the Lemmy as it’s more commonly known. We’re going to have a big pre-lash before Thick as Thieves on Tuesday night, Bannoffee Pies will come and do a takeover on Wednesday afternoon which will be really fun and they’re bringing Sam Mole and others from Bristol who are really good DJs.
So definitely the place to begin your night?
Yep. We’re going to charge corkage for bringing your own drink so you can come and enjoy the music and just make a small donation. We’re really encouraging everyone to stop by and begin the night before they go into town!
Is there a big finale planned for Saturday night?
We understand that a lot of people are going to Hannah Wants & Grum at the Phoenix which we discourage obviously because our night will be bigger and better and it’s for charity! But we are going to hold a really big pre-event from about 6pm and we’ll also be taking over the second room of the Lemmy for the whole night as well.
How can people donate and raise awareness?
We have a Justgiving page (http://www.justgiving.com/Beats-and-Bass). We are also filming the whole week on a livestream (http://new.livestream.com/accounts/7316510/mixathon) so from 10am on Monday morning you’ll be able to tune in when you’re in the library or at home and get a groove on! Hopefully we should be getting a screen in the Forum and Long Lounge for the whole week so that people can enjoy it that way as well. Share the link to the livestream, share the link to the donations page, get as many people to join the events page as possible!