Pepe 16 Toneladas

What inspired you to open 16 Toneladas?

I really wanted to own a concert hall since I was 16 when I went to a small venue hin Valencia called a gas station.  What happened there drove me crazy, it was a very very dodgy place!  I decided then I wanted to have a concert venue that was safe and enjoyable with great bands.

That was the 80s and now things are not the same, but I think 16 Toneladas has a little bit of that spirit still with the bands, the people and the atmosphere.

Who was the first band to play at the club?

The inauguration was performed by a band who were my friends who I met through my job at the time.

Before opening the club, I worked as a sound technician for a theatre company, and they had an instrument surf group called the Surfonics – this was the first band who played here. I remember they were really good!

What is the best band that has played here?

There are too many, I couldn’t choose one! We have had so many incredible bands play here – big and small. Nick Long from Dark waves, Marky Ramone, Los Rebeldes, The Chamelons – the list is endless.

If you could book any band – who would it be?

Thats a hard question! Billy Brands I have always loved – he is a harmonist from Chicago. Lux Interior would be incredible, but now not possible because ErickLee is dead. Los Lobos I love - I guess any of the bands I grew up with because of how they made me feel when I listened to them as a teenager.

When you are not working, how do you kick back

I never relax and I find it impossible to relax! Today is a Tuesday and have just had 23 consecutive nights of concerts. had 23 consecutive days of concerts. So, from the moment I open my eyes until I close them, I am working! I don’t get time to sleep or relax! I might have 2 spare hours and I have to decide - do I sleep or eat? Sometimes I sleep and dot have time to eat! I hope to slow down a little soon and let someone do part of my work because I cannot always work like this.

Why is the club called “16 Toneladas?”

It comes from a song composed by Merle Travis in America in the 1940’s. It was re-recorded in the 1950’s by Ernie Ford and became famous and spent 8 weeks at number 1.

It was a song about a miner who has bad luck in life and always tries to please his boss and tries to earn more money. He dies a poor man after making his boss richer. It could be a class song and it's a very unionist song which I found funny.

During the time of Franco's dictatorship in Spain, it was sung by a man named José Guardiola in Spanish.. It was very literal and there was a censorship that controlled a lot of the politics and political songs at the time, but they didn't even realize that this was a union song, and I really liked it.

So the 10th Anniversary party – some pretty exciting bands playing…

We have three incredible bands playing – the one excites me the most is The Undertones. They are a band I never imagined could play here and the fact they are is an accumulation of coincidences. They were going to play at the Benidorm Festival that a friend of mine was doing and the festival was cancelled.

He had signed the contract with the Undertone, so I told him why don’t you tell the Spanish promoter that they can do it here and I will pay them the same amount that you were going to pay at the festival. Initially they didn’t want to as we are a small venue, but I told them that they do not need to play a big stage to have an amazing night and they agreed to come!  it's going to be the best night. Yes, yes, I'm sure, it's going to be a very nice moment for us all!

The second group is one that I admire a lot from Castellón called “The Heatwaves” - they are like a cool band from the 60’s with a really rock sound.

The final band are part of the 16 Toneladas family and my friends – The Deaf Devils. They guys have so much energy and are just punk!

And finally, Pineapple on pizza – Yes or no?

Well, it looks good on pizza – but I only eat one kind! I eat kids’ pizza, ham and mushroom.  So, I cannot say! But yes, it does look good, maybe one day I will try and decide!

Words and photos: Rhyan Paul