How RePublik was Born

RePublik was born in the summer of 2005. It came about when Warren & Tony were running events in Waterford to promote their record store, Inspire Musik. They enlisted Kenno to be resident DJ alongside Warren, to play at their events. At the time Warren was also resident DJ at Groove, a new weekly house club at Axis Mundi.
Whilst been involved with Groove, Warren helped the club’s promotions manager, David Hennessy with promoting and booking some of the guest DJ events which included Doc Martin, Miguel Migs, DJ Heather, John Cutler and Kenny Dope to name a few. Also at the time, Gavin & Mac were resident DJs at Resistance and along with Ray C , who hosted ‘Streetbeat’ a dedicated house music show on national radio; were also playing at Plan-B Bar, where the pre-parties for Groove were held and between all the different nights around the time, the guy’s paths crossed, although all the guys knew each other very well anyway.

When Axis Mundi was taken over the new owners wanted a different direction. However having felt that things were just falling into place after a few months hard work, the guys were adamant that the city was still in need of weekly or regular house nights. They decided to get together and try run their ‘own’ night, so they invested their cash, time and effort into getting everything set up from scratch. With their new ideas in black & white they set about looking for a new venue and were given a trial run at Ulysses, who was managed by Resistance main man, Mick O’Keeffe. Needing to come up with a name, the guys put their heads together and with the concept about the new night being that the punter having more of a say in guests booked and events held, the name Re: Publik came about.
The guys idea wanted to bring in fresh names to the local dance scene and always wanted to showcase some up and coming talent from all around the world and this was reflected in the amount of times they have brought DJs to Waterford and in some cases Ireland for their very first time. The first official guest DJ to play for RePublik was a guy who was no stranger to Waterford, having already played twice with Warren over the years.. They wanted to bring in a DJ who wasn’t pigeon-holed musically and a DJ who had a broad range of house from tech to deep to funk. So it was a great moment for the guys when Rob Mello agreed to come play as their first guest. The event itself was due to be held at Axis Mundi, who agreed to check out how a dance event went, as their own idea’s had not been very successful in the few months since they took over, However they pulled the venue with just a couple of weeks to spare. Once again they guys turned to their old pal, Mick who agreed to let them host Rob at Ten, where he was also running events with Resistance. The night was a success and the guys were offered a regular night in the famous Waterford venue and the rest as they say is history.

Gathering Pace...

With some resident parties and a guest event under their belts, the lads set about getting RePublik off the ground. After Rob Mello, Canadian house legend Jason Hodges was next on the horizons for ‘RePublik’ .
Jason was seen as a sign of things to come as this was his first visit to Waterford, and he certainly didn’t disappoint the masses. December 2005 was a pivotal month for RePublik. In an off chance meeting at the red bar in Ten, the lads thought up a plan to try cut off the bar from the rest of the venue and use it as an intimate venue for their Christmas party. Once again the plan worked, as the night which was advertised at a ‘secret venue’ was a huge success and THE LOFT as we know it today, was born. Stephens Day came around and one of Waterford favourite Irish DJs was enlisted to host the busiest night so far, with Ten close to selling out on the night and one half of Fish go Deep (Shane Johnson) providing a master class. 2006 started with another top guest booking, with Liverpool’s favourite funkster, YOUSEF rocking Ten in January. Februay of 2006 saw THE LOFT back in action with the launch of The Loft Sessions, a bi weekly party which is now back in full swing 2 years on. March of 2006 saw another step on the ladder for RePublik, as they got a slot on Myhouse-YourHouse.net Web radio. This enabled the lads get their music out there every week and also enabled them bring RePublik to the world with a weekly internet radio show featuring sets from the guys and their guests, The show still happens every Thursday from 10pm . March 2006 also saw Bodytonic from Dublin came to play and with another first for Waterford when Charles Webster came by in April of 06 but it was the summer of 2006 that really saw RePublik on the map. July was the Waterford debut of one of the world’s favourite DJs, Mark Farina. In fact the whole production of the Mark Farina night saw the guys come of age with everything from the lighting, to venue decor nothing short of top notch.
For the First birthday Miguel Migs came to Ten on what must have been the wettest night Waterford has seen for many a year, but the rain didn’t dampen the spirits and a year on RePublik was well and truly on the map as been one of the most innovating Irish Dance clubs. 2006 ended it as it began with another sell out in Ten. This time Fish Go Deep were joined by Charles Webster, who just 7 months earlier had rocked the blue-room in Ten for the guys. So by the end of 2006 REPULIK had firmly put Waterford clubbing back on the map and in doing that had
Become recognised as one of the top house events in the country. All the idea’s of just a year or so earlier had come to fruition and the next step was ready to be taken.

Venues

2007 started and a new venue was on the horizon for RePublik’s smaller events. Stage 2 bar at The Forum was
Hosted in January 2007 and it played host to some memorable parties with some local DJS aswell as guests from Germany’s AME and UK’s Alex Wolfenden playing storming sets at the all new venue. The venue itself was just re-opened after a make over and for a few months was good home although the venue itself lacked the atmosphere of The Loft in Ten. Inland Knights in February 2007 became the last night that RePublik hosted in Ten , as the famous venue was put on the market. Sad days indeed!! Problem was RePublik had some major events planned for the summer of 2007 and with Ten now closed, many thought this was the end. However along with Resistance , RePublik had come to an agreement to host some parties at another favourite Waterford venue
The Forum’s Main Room, which was to be closed for a renovation. The renovation was put on hold and it allowed RePublik to press ahead with its’ crazy May calendar that included 3 events in 3 weeks with some of the best
names in house. First up was Sunday May Bank Holiday and the return of Mark Farina which was held at Stage 2 in the Forum. This was one of the guys busiest ever nights with close on 800 punters dancin’ and prancin’ on the night. May also seen RePublik’s first LIVE Show, when US’ funky house band Greenskeeprs, came to party. May also seen RePublik play host to a re-scheduled gig for DJ Sneak who had to cancel his Easter Sunday show due to illness. So after what was a mental and busy few months the guys decided to take it easy for the summer. By midsummer they felt refreshed and ready to go and with that an offer to play on the terrace at Electric Ave which had been re-opened and renovated in Ulysses with a more laid back intimate feel.
The venue itself was always a long time favourite of RePublik and again the chance to work with Mick, and so they jumped at the chance. Not only that but they were also given the chance to run some nights in Electric Aveunes main room with the likes of Fish Go Deep, Billy Scurry and once again Jason Hodges rocking RePubliks regulars. RePubliks 2nd birthday was also held at Electric Avenue and this was a celebration of RePubliks friends both locally and internationally, as along with some of the city’s best house DJs on the bill were the UKs Myhouse-yourhouse crew who were joined by a surprise guest who came in the shape of a RePublik fave, Chalres Webster., By the end of the summer, a plan was hatched when THE LOFT became available again
and when The Bowery Club closed for the final time, RePublik offered the guys at Bargroove the chance to come
get involved and with so much going on. RePublik was expanded, with the addition of the guys at Bargroove, (Daz & Martin) along came our very own graphic designer; Dos and more resident DJs (Paul Bryan) and so 3 years on from the original idea, RePublik is going from strength to strength and with more guys involved then ever before, we are sure RePublik will never rest on its laurels. 2008 started with their first ever National award, when at the Irish Dance Music awards in January, RePublik picked up the gong for the best small club/promoter in Ireland. Not bad for a 2 year venture. RePublik has certainly come a long way in a short period of time. However, The original idea is still in evidence. RePublik was always about trying to get a community vibe into their clubbing events, the bigger venues, although good was never what was intended and now that they are back in THE LOFT, they can really get their plans in action. Already in 2008 some of the best names in house have been lined up to play at a more intimate venue which suits everyone from the DJ himself to the clubber, who can get up close with their hero’s. 2008 will also see the guys host their first multi room parties and whilst they still plan on bringing in the BIG names, it will be always at more intimate venue’s such as Electric Avenue’s Main Room and of course their own LOFT. 3 years on RePublik
have now in place what their original plan was. A weekly community of like mined heads coming to enjoy themselves and hearing some of the world’s best at the same time. Who knows what the future will bring....Bring it on!