Who or what is Metropolis? Where has it come from? Do other cities have Metropolises or is this a new, independent venture?
Metropolis is a new ‘umbrella’ brand for our three core businesses: Jesters Comedy Club, Cool Struttin’ Music and Hoochie Coochie Kabaret (yes, spelt with a ‘K’). David Trew had been running Jesters for 15 years, mostly in its smaller venue on the other side of Cheltenham Road. When he took over this amazing grade II listed former silent cinema in 2007, he saw the potential for live music but couldn’t find anyone he wanted to work with. A chance meeting at a party led to a visit to the club and as soon as I saw the venue I knew it was exactly what I was looking for - perfect size, great viewing and the right look for the kind of venue I hoped to create. This is the first one but it’s nice to think that maybe if we can make this one a success it may lead to the opening of a few more.

Now that Jesters has become the Metropolis, what differences can we expect?
Jesters Comedy Club still exists and since the closure of Jongleurs in October is busier than ever. In fact we are so busy we will be running comedy nights on both weekend nights in 2010. The main difference is the addition of a comprehensive program of live music. The Metropolis brand is really showing our commitment to a wider range of genres of entertainment. The Jesters brand is fantastic and stronger than ever, but to be taken seriously in other areas, especially live music, we needed a brand that demonstrated this. Metropolis is that brand.

Who is Metropolis for?
Anyone who feels the funk! When you are programming music at one venue it’s very easy to fall into the trap of booking music for yourself. Anyone who knows me would agree that our line up for 2009 was a line up of my favourite bands. But you have to start somewhere, so Metropolis has been influenced by the acts that I have seen over the years at the Jazz Cafe in London – a venue that I have always believed would be just perfect in Bristol. The music policy is very biased towards jazz, funk and soul but we will include hip hop, reggae, ska and world music. We keen to include a handful of important acts from other genres, such as The Fall. The comedy here caters for parties, stag nights and anyone up for a laugh. Our third brand, Hoochie Coochie, has been one of the city’s biggest sensations, ever since its promoter Keda Breeze ran the very first one at Jesters in February 2008. Every one since has sold out, and they are a sight to behold – literally! You couldn’t imagine a more perfect fit for an event and a venue. Hoochie Coochie is a form of burlesque cum circus cum pure cabaret, straight from 30s Berlin, and set in our Edwardian Baroque/Art Deco styled building. The majority of the audience dresses up in the style of the theme that Keda chooses for each Hoochie Coochie; it’s almost as much fun to people-watch as it is to watch the performers.

How will Metropolis fit in with the music scene in Bristol? What does it offer that sets it apart?
I’d like to think that all the major jazz/funk/soul artists will come here and we will carve out our place as Bristol’s answer to clubs such as the Jazz Café or Ronnie Scott’s. Stokes Croft is enjoying a massive renaissance at the moment, in my humble opinion, because of the work of the licensed venues and the PRSC. As such, it’s fast becoming one of Bristol’s newest destinations. When you consider the fantastic venues in this part of our world, it’s little wonder: The Croft, that David set up with Ed Gibson (now the owner of The Apple cider boat in Welsh Back), Hamilton House, The Pipe and Slippers, La Voglia, Rice and Things, The Junction, Leftbank and Zazu’s kitchen. It’s now an area that you can just go to and take your pick from several great nights out. I’d like us to become a venue with an intimate setting but has the line up and facilities you would expect from a 2,000 capacity venue.

You’ve been open for a couple of months now, is everything going to plan? Getting a good response?
Opening any venue in Bristol is difficult but in late October and November it seemed like we were winning the battle and we had some incredible gigs from the likes of Marva Whitney, Mayer Hawthorne, The Haggis Horns, Brand New Heavies, Breakestra and The Herbaliser. It’s very encouraging that all the best gigs were my favourites from the line up. We still have some minor issues to resolve with the sound but at the moment both the comedy and the music are going very well.

Where do you want Metropolis to be by the time you’re celebrating its 1st birthday?
In New York City! Seriously, I would love to believe that we’re considered to be the city’s very best medium-sized live performance venue, but that’s never for us to judge of course. All we can do is just keep doing our best, booking bands that Bristol wants to see, improving the venue in any way we can, and letting our passion for what we do shine through. I’ve always believed that you can’t run any business successfully unless it’s your passion, and this is certainly mine, so perhaps that’s a good place to be right now, let alone for our first birthday. As far as acts that we hope to get back for our first birthday, Mayer Hawthorne on the Friday and Omid Djalili on the Saturday would be my perfect weekend but as long as we are attracting big name acts to the venue then I’ll be happy.

www.metropolisbristol.co.uk