The Ten O’Clock People had only been a band for 10 days when they were named as the official house band of Clark Hall Pub.

The band won the title in a Battle of the Bands competition last month. They’ve since played 10 shows at Clark. Clark’s marketing manager, Michaela Trelford, said the idea for a house band came from the popularity of the pub’s Live Band Bingo event on Wednesdays. The pub’s bingo cards feature different actions the band can perform, which the audience marks off as they occur.

“We thought the addition would not only enhance the events we already hold, but allow us to offer a wider range of events to attract a larger and more diverse crowd,” Trelford told the Journal via email.

 She said the Ten O’Clock People’s broad range allows them to appeal to the diverse crowds at Clark.

“They can play a wide range of genres,” she said, “giving them the ability to play popular covers, which is what we need in an event like Live Band Bingo — yet they have their own sound that you can hear in their original songs.”

The band’s bassist, vocalist, guitarist and drummer, James Gilbert, said it wasn’t just the band’s talent that makes them a good fit for Clark.

“We’re drunk most of the time and so is the crowd,” he told the Journal via email.

Trelford said the band came with a loyal fan base when they started at Clark, but now the pub reaches capacity whenever the Ten O’Clock People play.

“Clark patrons love coming out to see the Ten O’Clock People and the popularity of almost any event they play really shows that,” she said. “They really know how to draw a crowd and I think it’s because they love performing and the audience really responds to that.” 

The band recently underwent a change when vocalist, guitarist and drummer Devin Clancy went on exchange to China for the semester, forcing the band to replace him with Colin Richards.

“Devin going on exchange was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Gilbert said. “Thank God he’s gone. No, it was very hard, we were really struggling to find someone to fill in for him on drums, and we went through a series of drummers before we found Colin through our mutual friend.

“It also sucked because Devin wrote great songs we would play, but luckily Colin does too. The Ten O’Clock People could not exist without both of them.”

Gilbert said Clancy is welcome to rejoin the band when he returns next year.

“We miss him very much, and would really like him to play with us again,” he said. “If he doesn’t, we’ll beat him up and take his lunch money.”

In addition to Richards, the band has also added vocalist and bassist Josh Wilson and guitarist Alex Burnett. Gilbert said the band’s expansion led to an unexpected discovery.

“It turns out Colin and I are cousins,” he said. “We only found that out about a month ago, after we’d been playing for a few weeks already.”

The Ten O’Clock People play Clark Hall Pub every other Wednesday. They play the Mansion tonight at 9 p.m.