We caught up with Dom or shall we say Dom P the man behind one of the most successful music venues in London.  Notting Hill Arts club has played a huge role in launching careers of Mark Ronson and Lily Allen to name a few.  The success of nights such as YoYo and Death Disco has put the venue on the map, in the top 100 music venues in the world.

MILK:Dom- We’ve got to ask, what’s your full name?  You’re like the Mr big of music venues? 

Dom P and I’m certainly not the Mr Big of Music Venues…

How did you get into venue management?  

I’ve been DJing and promoting since I was 16 and properly (i.e. semi successfully) since I was 18…at some point I realised that I’m a better promoter and booker than DJ and I’m lucky enough to have the space to do what I feel is right 

What would you say are the pitfalls of your job? 

If you’re not careful you can confuse rock ‘n roll with getting pissed and fucked up all the time…a drink is nice but you gotta look out for yourself…stay off the nose bag kids 

Notting Hill is so residential.  Have you ever had any complaints from the locals? 

Keeping the residents happy is a large part of my job…we work extremely hard to be a positive influence in our neighbourhood…we champion local artists we support local small business we put art in the streets we regenerate areas that aren’t working etc etc…on a personal level we try and have good communication with all our neighbours so if they are unhappy they have an outlet to complain to…nowadays with the way the law is structured you can’t take any chances with your licence…saying all that we still get complaints now and again…its tough out there 

Why do you think NHAC has been soooo successful over the years? 

It’s difficult for me to say how successful we’ve been…as far as I’m concerned we can be far more successful! I think what success we’ve had has been through forming strong long term partnerships with people we respect that have something to say musically…our most successful nights: lazy dog, death disco and yoyo have all run for many years and weathered many ups and downs but with hindsight have all contributed to their respected scenes because they were fairly uncompromising.  

What advice would you give to anyone who wants to run a music venue? 

Don’t spend all your money making it look flash…keep some in the bank for the rainy days…you will have them!  

We know each night differs but what would you say is the general criteria for bands to be booked at the NHAC? 

As long as they make music for the right reasons and have good fun doing it they have a good chance of getting booked  

A hard one I know- Can you give us your top three NHAC performances? 

That is very tough… Lupe fiasco, Jazzy Jeff and a band from Zimbabwe called Harare who played a few months ago and tore the place to pieces… Still that list will change if you ask me tomorrow 

You run a Norwegian festival every year- What’s that like? 

Its fun and a lot of work…its different in that its in a Norwegian national park, very beautiful and serene nature, the production level is much higher than London as they have more cash to burn and the Norwegians are well into black metal so you have Satiricon on the same bill as Jay Z…odd 

What are your music preferences- what/who are you listening too right now? I have a very very wide taste in music so I listen to almost anything…carnival is coming so lets keep it bashy!  

What makes you most happy? 

A job well done…