Six years ago, our community lost one of its most loved figures. After Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington tragically took his own life, a photograph of the powerhouse vocalist spread across the internet – a stunning picture of him beaming ear-to-ear with his family, just days before his death. It was a sobering reminder that none of us ever truly know what’s going on behind someone’s eyes.
Many of us questioned what could be done to prevent a loss like this from happening again. How can we ensure our friends and loved ones don’t ever go through this?
Tucked away off a busy road in Birmingham city centre, alt. club promoter Jack Davis decided that he wanted to form a mental health charity, with hopes to offer free counselling to 18-35 year olds by therapists who love the same bands that we do.
It was when he left college in 2010 that he first launched Uprawr at The Asylum Venue. Over roughly six years, the emo club night expanded across seven different cities, with weekly events happening across London, Southampton, Bristol, Newcastle, Glasgow and more.
When we arrive at the hometown venue to interview Jack he takes us on a tour of the building, which spans a live music area, as well as a grungy bar sprawling with signed drum skins and pop culture posters, and a long corridor of music practice rooms.
He takes us inside one of them so we can chat uninterrupted, and inside sits two large couches, quotes from artists such as Yellowcard and Gerard Way on large posters, a candle, a box of tissues, and a table of snacks and bottled water. The vision, he explains, was to recreate what people imagine the backstage areas of gig venues look like, but one more suited to an environment for therapy.