This article reviews a number of all age-venues in Seattle.
Entertainment | All-ages venues popping up all over | Seattle Times, 7/20/07: "The number of youth-friendly shows in Seattle has steadily increased since the demise of Seattle's restrictive Teen Dance Ordinance in 2002. The rules governing such shows became less severe with the current All-Ages Dance Ordinance, and a plethora of new venues are reinvigorating the scene.
While it is dominated by indie-rock and punk, kids can also get live doses of metal, hip-hop, ska, alternative, rap, jazz and open-mic nights.
There's also a thriving underground, do-it-yourself movement, including popular house venues like Camp Nowhere in the U District. Even bars that are normally off-limits for under-agers — like Chop Suey and Neumos — are hosting some all-ages shows. Nectar Lounge plans to start an all-ages lineup beginning in late August."
Showing posts with label clubs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clubs. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Live music in a small Texas town
A small town in Texas Hill Country, about 30 miles from San Antonio, is seeing an expansion of venues, which might make it a significant stop for Texas music lovers.
'Cowboy Capital' could be a new Branson -- San Antonio Express-News, July 22, 2007: "... the self-proclaimed 'Cowboy Capital of the World,' long known for live country music in rustic venues and a picker's paradise for its come-one-come-all jam-session attitude, is busting out all over....
While Bandera County is one of the fastest growing in Texas, the farm and ranch community's official population is 957 ..."
'Cowboy Capital' could be a new Branson -- San Antonio Express-News, July 22, 2007: "... the self-proclaimed 'Cowboy Capital of the World,' long known for live country music in rustic venues and a picker's paradise for its come-one-come-all jam-session attitude, is busting out all over....
While Bandera County is one of the fastest growing in Texas, the farm and ranch community's official population is 957 ..."
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The piano bar as neighborhood hangout
This venue is closing, a victim of rising real estate and fewer people stopping in, but places like this are still needed.
Singing a Sad Song for Their Piano Bar - New York Times, 7/19/07:There was the story, for example, from about 10 years ago, where a glassy-eyed gentleman wandered in, steadied himself against the bar and with little ceremony unburdened himself with the force of a racehorse.
Kristine Zbornik, a professional singer and actress, was at the microphone at the time. When the gentleman’s stream advanced toward her, she raised her left foot and switched songs midway through and started belting out, “Cry Me a River.”
When news of the closing of Rose’s Turn spread last weekend among the bar’s longtime patrons, many say they felt devastated. Susan Finkelstein McElroy, 50, a regular patron who lives in North Babylon, on Long Island, received a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2004. She credits song-filled nights at Rose’s Turn with helping her endure the rigors of chemotherapy.
When she read the bad news in an e-mail message on Saturday, Ms. Finkelstein McElroy wept.
For 56 years, since it opened during the Truman administration, 55 Grove Street in the West Village has been a piano bar, cabaret and comedy club for the quick-witted and full-throated. First it was Upstairs/Downstairs, then the Duplex (which remains open at another location), and finally it became Rose’s Turn."
Singing a Sad Song for Their Piano Bar - New York Times, 7/19/07:There was the story, for example, from about 10 years ago, where a glassy-eyed gentleman wandered in, steadied himself against the bar and with little ceremony unburdened himself with the force of a racehorse.
Kristine Zbornik, a professional singer and actress, was at the microphone at the time. When the gentleman’s stream advanced toward her, she raised her left foot and switched songs midway through and started belting out, “Cry Me a River.”
When news of the closing of Rose’s Turn spread last weekend among the bar’s longtime patrons, many say they felt devastated. Susan Finkelstein McElroy, 50, a regular patron who lives in North Babylon, on Long Island, received a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2004. She credits song-filled nights at Rose’s Turn with helping her endure the rigors of chemotherapy.
When she read the bad news in an e-mail message on Saturday, Ms. Finkelstein McElroy wept.
For 56 years, since it opened during the Truman administration, 55 Grove Street in the West Village has been a piano bar, cabaret and comedy club for the quick-witted and full-throated. First it was Upstairs/Downstairs, then the Duplex (which remains open at another location), and finally it became Rose’s Turn."
Thursday, July 05, 2007
A film about classical music in unusual venues
The End of New Music - Free Speech Zone - Music - Column - New York Times, 7/04/07: "The film ['The End of New Music] documents a 2005 tour of rock clubs and alternative spaces by Free Speech Zone, a collective founded by Mr. Greenstein, David T. Little and Missy Mazzoli. In it, these three busy, highly regarded composers, whose boisterous, attractive music is influenced by neo-Romanticism, Minimalism and rock, forcefully reject the standard conventions of concert halls and academia....
“The main thing is understanding that you can actually take control over the way that your music is heard,” Mr. Greenstein said. 'Once you see that you had that power all along, then it suddenly doesn’t become ‘you versus the system’ anymore. It’s just you behaving as an adult, going out and making decisions in the world.'"
“The main thing is understanding that you can actually take control over the way that your music is heard,” Mr. Greenstein said. 'Once you see that you had that power all along, then it suddenly doesn’t become ‘you versus the system’ anymore. It’s just you behaving as an adult, going out and making decisions in the world.'"
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Do free concerts hurt clubs or build audiences?
This article suggests that while the free jazz concerts in Chicago increase the popularity of jazz, they hurt small club discouraging fans from going to them and by driving up prices for artists.
Chicago Tribune news, 7/01/07: Scatting from clubs to larger concert venues: "Perhaps no one did more to affect that change than Lois Weisberg, commissioner of the city's Department of Cultural Affairs under Mayor Richard M. Daley and a cultural advocate in previous administrations. By steadily expanding free concerts in Grant Park and helping to transform the old Chicago Public Library building into the bursting-with-music Chicago Cultural Center, Weisberg put the city's muscle and money behind music.
'There's no other city in the country that does so much free music,' says Weisberg, noting that the city now spends about $2 million a year on various music events, much of it jazz.
Furthermore, by joining forces with organizations such as the Chicago Jazz Partnership -- a collection of blue-chip corporate foundations that committed $1.5 million to Millennium Park's 'Made in Chicago' jazz series and other jazz events -- the city has leveraged additional resources to jazz concert-going."
Chicago Tribune news, 7/01/07: Scatting from clubs to larger concert venues: "Perhaps no one did more to affect that change than Lois Weisberg, commissioner of the city's Department of Cultural Affairs under Mayor Richard M. Daley and a cultural advocate in previous administrations. By steadily expanding free concerts in Grant Park and helping to transform the old Chicago Public Library building into the bursting-with-music Chicago Cultural Center, Weisberg put the city's muscle and money behind music.
'There's no other city in the country that does so much free music,' says Weisberg, noting that the city now spends about $2 million a year on various music events, much of it jazz.
Furthermore, by joining forces with organizations such as the Chicago Jazz Partnership -- a collection of blue-chip corporate foundations that committed $1.5 million to Millennium Park's 'Made in Chicago' jazz series and other jazz events -- the city has leveraged additional resources to jazz concert-going."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Where to put some music venues
I've started to do a bit of research for a project I am working on. And I just discovered this. It's a good place to find info on what Denver urban areas are being redeveloped.
DenverInfill.com: Downtown Denver and Its Urban Infill and Redevelopment Projects
DenverInfill.com: Downtown Denver and Its Urban Infill and Redevelopment Projects
Thursday, June 14, 2007
San Antonio Music Venues
San Antonio has several new music venue offerings: a ranch, a cowboy bar, and an amphitheater.
Area's music-venue options grow by three - MySA.com: Music, 6/12/07
Area's music-venue options grow by three - MySA.com: Music, 6/12/07
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Family Dog in Denver
The Family Dog was famous for bringing so many 1960s acts to Denver (many of the collectable posters from that era were for shows there) and for giving Barry Fey, Denver's most famous rock promoter, his start.
My college roommate worked at the Family Dog and I used to go there. The only two shows I can remember were the Doors and Canned Heat (the night they got busted for the Denver police).
Denver's Family Dog had roots in, like, the Summer of Love RockyMountain News, 6/8/07: "It was 40 years ago on June 7, 1967, that Fey flew to San Francisco to meet with the Family Dog folks in what would mark the genesis of The Family Dog concert venue here at 1601 W. Evans Ave.
Fey was looking for a place to feature original music when he contacted Bob Cohen with the Family Dog. Cohen liked the tape of local band Eighth Penny Matter so much that he flew from San Francisco to Denver during the Summer of Love.
'That's how the Family Dog was born,' Fey said. 'That was the most important day in Colorado music history.'
Denver's Family Dog opened with Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin. Others who graced the stage were Blue Cheer, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Grateful Dead, The Doors and Buffalo Springfield.
The club, which never made any money, in part because tickets were $3.50, eventually morphed into The Dog until it closed with the return of Joplin in June 1968. 'The week before we closed Bobby Kennedy was shot,' Fey said."
My college roommate worked at the Family Dog and I used to go there. The only two shows I can remember were the Doors and Canned Heat (the night they got busted for the Denver police).
Denver's Family Dog had roots in, like, the Summer of Love RockyMountain News, 6/8/07: "It was 40 years ago on June 7, 1967, that Fey flew to San Francisco to meet with the Family Dog folks in what would mark the genesis of The Family Dog concert venue here at 1601 W. Evans Ave.
Fey was looking for a place to feature original music when he contacted Bob Cohen with the Family Dog. Cohen liked the tape of local band Eighth Penny Matter so much that he flew from San Francisco to Denver during the Summer of Love.
'That's how the Family Dog was born,' Fey said. 'That was the most important day in Colorado music history.'
Denver's Family Dog opened with Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin. Others who graced the stage were Blue Cheer, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Grateful Dead, The Doors and Buffalo Springfield.
The club, which never made any money, in part because tickets were $3.50, eventually morphed into The Dog until it closed with the return of Joplin in June 1968. 'The week before we closed Bobby Kennedy was shot,' Fey said."
Monday, June 11, 2007
Marc Ribot: The Care and Feeding of a Musical Margin
A detailed article about the need for subsidies for music clubs -- particularly jazz and new music clubs.
Marc Ribot: The Care and Feeding of a Musical Margin - All About Jazz, 7/7/07: "The market is failing as a means of funding downtown new music venues. The venues have either abandoned new music booking priorities (like Knitting Factory did at the end of the '90s), switched to being subsidized by musicians (like Tonic and the above mentioned new venues are doing now) or both. Musician benefit concerts and recordings, once a 'special' situation, are being normalized as a means of funding....
New music composers of the '40s through the early '60s didn't expect to make money through the live performance market; many taught to earn a living. John Cage's income wasn't based on packing a nightclub with door-fee paying, drink-buying customers; many of his history making premieres were attended by fewer people than attended an average gig at CBGB. He was supported mainly by commissions and performance fees, by grants from private and public foundations. In experimental jazz, things were much the same, although less generously funded; avant gardists through the '70s played a 'loft' scene not known for generating big bucks. Cecil Taylor worked as a dishwasher while developing his history-changing style. And when he was able to quit his day job, it was due to the backing of mostly European, subsidized festivals....
The idea behind European public arts subsidies, the reason why NYC jazz/new music artists for at least the last 40 years have played Paris, Cologne and Zurich many more times than they've played Hartford (and how many have ever played Des Moines?) is a doctrine called “the European cultural exception”, a set of government policies based on the concept that, even within a market economy, art/culture is to be treated differently from other commodities."
Marc Ribot: The Care and Feeding of a Musical Margin - All About Jazz, 7/7/07: "The market is failing as a means of funding downtown new music venues. The venues have either abandoned new music booking priorities (like Knitting Factory did at the end of the '90s), switched to being subsidized by musicians (like Tonic and the above mentioned new venues are doing now) or both. Musician benefit concerts and recordings, once a 'special' situation, are being normalized as a means of funding....
New music composers of the '40s through the early '60s didn't expect to make money through the live performance market; many taught to earn a living. John Cage's income wasn't based on packing a nightclub with door-fee paying, drink-buying customers; many of his history making premieres were attended by fewer people than attended an average gig at CBGB. He was supported mainly by commissions and performance fees, by grants from private and public foundations. In experimental jazz, things were much the same, although less generously funded; avant gardists through the '70s played a 'loft' scene not known for generating big bucks. Cecil Taylor worked as a dishwasher while developing his history-changing style. And when he was able to quit his day job, it was due to the backing of mostly European, subsidized festivals....
The idea behind European public arts subsidies, the reason why NYC jazz/new music artists for at least the last 40 years have played Paris, Cologne and Zurich many more times than they've played Hartford (and how many have ever played Des Moines?) is a doctrine called “the European cultural exception”, a set of government policies based on the concept that, even within a market economy, art/culture is to be treated differently from other commodities."
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The growth of mid-sized venues in NYC
Here's a bit of an overview of Bowery Presents, a promoter that has grown enough to take on Live Nation and AEG in NYC.
Bowery Presents - Concert Industry - Music - New York Times, 6/7/07: "It started with the 250-capacity Mercury Lounge on East Houston Street, which opened in 1994 for $250,000, some $35,000 of which came from the maxed-out credit cards of Michael Swier, one of the Bowery Presents partners. Four years later came the 575-capacity, $1 million Bowery Ballroom, and in 2004 the company began booking Webster Hall, which fits 1,400. Last year it acquired Northsix in Brooklyn, which will open in September as the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and the 3,000-capacity former Exit dance club on West 56th Street, to reopen as a rock hall in October."
Bowery Presents - Concert Industry - Music - New York Times, 6/7/07: "It started with the 250-capacity Mercury Lounge on East Houston Street, which opened in 1994 for $250,000, some $35,000 of which came from the maxed-out credit cards of Michael Swier, one of the Bowery Presents partners. Four years later came the 575-capacity, $1 million Bowery Ballroom, and in 2004 the company began booking Webster Hall, which fits 1,400. Last year it acquired Northsix in Brooklyn, which will open in September as the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and the 3,000-capacity former Exit dance club on West 56th Street, to reopen as a rock hall in October."
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Melbourne losing music venues
Live venues hit rock bottom | Herald Sun, 5/31/07: "WITH the number of live venues dwindling fast, Melbourne's music industry is on the verge of a crisis.
Melbourne's live venues seem to be dropping like flies, Melbourne losing two rock rooms last week alone.
The 1880-capacity Palace will close in two weeks to make way for the $300 million redevelopment of the St Kilda triangle site.
And Fitzroy's Spanish Club, which holds about 500, will close on June 23 after a long stoush with residents, council and liquor licensing....
That means Melbourne will be without a 1800-2500 capacity standing-room live venue for the foreseeable future, with the Forum the closest candidate at 1500.
"
Melbourne's live venues seem to be dropping like flies, Melbourne losing two rock rooms last week alone.
The 1880-capacity Palace will close in two weeks to make way for the $300 million redevelopment of the St Kilda triangle site.
And Fitzroy's Spanish Club, which holds about 500, will close on June 23 after a long stoush with residents, council and liquor licensing....
That means Melbourne will be without a 1800-2500 capacity standing-room live venue for the foreseeable future, with the Forum the closest candidate at 1500.
"
America's 40 Best Music Venues
Paste Magazine :: Feature :: America's 40 Best Music Venues: "Sometimes it’s the view—you’re at Denver’s Red Rocks, your eyes darting back and forth from the band to the landscape, and the music seems changed by the surrounding beauty. Sometimes it’s the history—a young band, onstage at The Fillmore, stands on the shoulders of the giants whose music helped reshape the world. Sometimes it’s the sense of discovery—you’re at L.A.’s Hotel Cafe, and you suspect the night’s opening act is headed for stardom. And sometimes, like with The Bowery Ballroom in New York, it’s simply the fact that on any given night, you know they’ve booked another great show.
To help find America’s best music venues, we went to the experts—you. In addition to our many contributors scattered across the country and many of the artists driving from club to club, Paste readers nominated more than 500 different venues at PasteMagazine.com—from hole-in-the-wall rock clubs to elegant theaters, legendary halls to brand new bars, quiet listening rooms to rock extravaganzas.
We weighed history, setting, sound, character, comfort, atmosphere, vibrancy, uniqueness, and their roles in helping launch careers. Among hundreds of worthy choices, these 40 venues rose above their peers. Our picks for the best music venues in America follow in this special section..."
To help find America’s best music venues, we went to the experts—you. In addition to our many contributors scattered across the country and many of the artists driving from club to club, Paste readers nominated more than 500 different venues at PasteMagazine.com—from hole-in-the-wall rock clubs to elegant theaters, legendary halls to brand new bars, quiet listening rooms to rock extravaganzas.
We weighed history, setting, sound, character, comfort, atmosphere, vibrancy, uniqueness, and their roles in helping launch careers. Among hundreds of worthy choices, these 40 venues rose above their peers. Our picks for the best music venues in America follow in this special section..."
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Creating a music promotion business from the ground up
How a college student went from club booker to full-time music promoter.
Promoter helps rock scene thrive - Chico Music Guide, 5/16/07: "Devil Kat Rock Productions founder Katie Perry has always been passionate about music, but it wasn't until she moved from Redding to Chico to attend college that she found her ardor for music promotion.
'I love rock 'n' roll,' Perry said. 'I honestly think I would be entirely lost if I didn't do this.'
Perry is a music promoter who promotes, stage-manages and books various music talents, both local and national, to perform in Chico and Redding. Since starting in 2002, she has had a full calendar of shows. On top of her 40-hour-a-week day job, she pumps out another 30 to 50 hours under her alter ego Devil Kat Rock Productions....
'Having shows is like rolling the dice, I really don't know how many people are going to come,' she said. 'Some people are going to talk shit and critique - telling me how I should do things - these people are generally the ones that don't get off their asses and do something.'"
Promoter helps rock scene thrive - Chico Music Guide, 5/16/07: "Devil Kat Rock Productions founder Katie Perry has always been passionate about music, but it wasn't until she moved from Redding to Chico to attend college that she found her ardor for music promotion.
'I love rock 'n' roll,' Perry said. 'I honestly think I would be entirely lost if I didn't do this.'
Perry is a music promoter who promotes, stage-manages and books various music talents, both local and national, to perform in Chico and Redding. Since starting in 2002, she has had a full calendar of shows. On top of her 40-hour-a-week day job, she pumps out another 30 to 50 hours under her alter ego Devil Kat Rock Productions....
'Having shows is like rolling the dice, I really don't know how many people are going to come,' she said. 'Some people are going to talk shit and critique - telling me how I should do things - these people are generally the ones that don't get off their asses and do something.'"
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Putting jazz clubs into perspective
An interview with Branford Marsalis.
MetroTimes Detroit, 5/16/07 -‘Jazz has never been popular’: "Marsalis: Jazz music has never been popular. I think that we need to get away from that lie. Jazz clubs back in the day, were considered places of counterculture. If you listen to records like John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard and Bill Evans Live at the Village Vanguard, what you will hear is a lot of people talking and treating the music with relative indifference. In the '50s, if you wanted to go to a cool place to hang out and have some drinks and talk, you went to a jazz club. Where were you going to go? Lawrence Welk didn't have a club where you could go to. Now they have all kinds of clubs that didn't exist back then. Whoever heard of a cigar bar or a wine bar?"
MT: In those venues the music is secondary to the ambience and the socializing.
Marsalis: The music has always been secondary; that is why you hear people talking. Jazz has never been popular. I think that is just a common thing to say, and I don't know why. Just for research purposes, you should get the Time magazine with Thelonious Monk on the cover [from 1964] and read the entire article. What you'll notice is there's very little in that article about jazz music. It's more focused on the personality and jazz as a lifestyle. The American aesthetic has always viewed all music as a form of entertainment. Any idea of music as an art has always been something that America has rejected since we have had a country.
MetroTimes Detroit, 5/16/07 -‘Jazz has never been popular’: "Marsalis: Jazz music has never been popular. I think that we need to get away from that lie. Jazz clubs back in the day, were considered places of counterculture. If you listen to records like John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard and Bill Evans Live at the Village Vanguard, what you will hear is a lot of people talking and treating the music with relative indifference. In the '50s, if you wanted to go to a cool place to hang out and have some drinks and talk, you went to a jazz club. Where were you going to go? Lawrence Welk didn't have a club where you could go to. Now they have all kinds of clubs that didn't exist back then. Whoever heard of a cigar bar or a wine bar?"
MT: In those venues the music is secondary to the ambience and the socializing.
Marsalis: The music has always been secondary; that is why you hear people talking. Jazz has never been popular. I think that is just a common thing to say, and I don't know why. Just for research purposes, you should get the Time magazine with Thelonious Monk on the cover [from 1964] and read the entire article. What you'll notice is there's very little in that article about jazz music. It's more focused on the personality and jazz as a lifestyle. The American aesthetic has always viewed all music as a form of entertainment. Any idea of music as an art has always been something that America has rejected since we have had a country.
Live shows in movie theaters
Movie complexes get in tune, will offer live music shows - BostonHerald.com, 5/15/07: " National Amusements Inc. plans to launch its own branded live music venues within its chain of movie theaters, according to president Shari Redstone.
The Dedham company is developing the concept with guidance and booking assistance from the Bensusan family, owners of the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City’s Times Square and the renowned Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village.
'What we see is creating auditoriums in several of our theaters that are primarily devoted to live entertainment,' Redstone said....
The as-yet-unnamed venues would be modeled after the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, which offers patrons both dinner and entertainment. ...
National Amusements is testing a live music program at its Showcase Cinemas Buckland Hills in Manchester, Conn., which is being turned into a Cinema de Lux entertainment concept. The venue’s Chatters Bar & Grill hosted a four-week run of a cabaret-style show with Carol O’Shaughnessy this month and last, and is starting to feature live bands on Saturday nights."
"
The Dedham company is developing the concept with guidance and booking assistance from the Bensusan family, owners of the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City’s Times Square and the renowned Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village.
'What we see is creating auditoriums in several of our theaters that are primarily devoted to live entertainment,' Redstone said....
The as-yet-unnamed venues would be modeled after the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, which offers patrons both dinner and entertainment. ...
National Amusements is testing a live music program at its Showcase Cinemas Buckland Hills in Manchester, Conn., which is being turned into a Cinema de Lux entertainment concept. The venue’s Chatters Bar & Grill hosted a four-week run of a cabaret-style show with Carol O’Shaughnessy this month and last, and is starting to feature live bands on Saturday nights."
"
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Alternative venues for indie music
Music venues have been closing in NYC, but shows in non-traditional locations are doing well.
New York Night Life - New York Times, 5/11/07: "'Anything is a venue,' said the promoter Todd Patrick, known professionally as Todd P. For six years he has made it his mission to program music in far-flung places, from divey bars in Greenpoint to Lutheran churches to private lofts. Now New York’s alt-location guru, he has recently expanded to work with bands on the verge of stardom (Animal Collective, which he booked in 2005) and even nationally known acts (Oneida, Trans Am) at large clubs like Studio B in Brooklyn, winning the attention of the music industry.
But Mr. Patrick’s hallmark remains the cheap, on-the-fly, do-it-yourself concert, promoted through his Web site (toddpnyc.com), his e-mail list (13,000 strong) and MySpace, blog and newspaper and magazine listings. Essentially a one-man band, Mr. Patrick, 31, has interns who work the door (ticket prices rarely go above $10) and stamp hands (he only does all-ages shows) while he helps set up.
'Because the idea is about D.I.Y., I like to show the strings,' he said. 'I want people to come to the show and see me build the P.A. system, see that there’s nothing glossy about what we’re doing. I think alternative venues are a great way of doing that. It just kind of throws it off. If a club is the quote-unquote appropriate place to see music, why do people have so much more fun in a warehouse?'...
Nearby, interns counted the door money; Mr. Patrick takes 10 percent before expenses (security, interns) and the rest goes to performers....
Along with low overhead other common traits of this scene include out-of-the way locations (a long walk from the subway is common), online promotion, candles instead of spotlights and a high tolerance for graffiti: GlassLands, where the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performed as part of a video shoot, has two rooms where anyone can scribble on the walls, markers and paint provided. Many places lack proper licensing; Mr. Patrick switches locations often to avoid the authorities. (Don Pedro is a legal establishment with a liquor license; the loft space was not.)"
New York Night Life - New York Times, 5/11/07: "'Anything is a venue,' said the promoter Todd Patrick, known professionally as Todd P. For six years he has made it his mission to program music in far-flung places, from divey bars in Greenpoint to Lutheran churches to private lofts. Now New York’s alt-location guru, he has recently expanded to work with bands on the verge of stardom (Animal Collective, which he booked in 2005) and even nationally known acts (Oneida, Trans Am) at large clubs like Studio B in Brooklyn, winning the attention of the music industry.
But Mr. Patrick’s hallmark remains the cheap, on-the-fly, do-it-yourself concert, promoted through his Web site (toddpnyc.com), his e-mail list (13,000 strong) and MySpace, blog and newspaper and magazine listings. Essentially a one-man band, Mr. Patrick, 31, has interns who work the door (ticket prices rarely go above $10) and stamp hands (he only does all-ages shows) while he helps set up.
'Because the idea is about D.I.Y., I like to show the strings,' he said. 'I want people to come to the show and see me build the P.A. system, see that there’s nothing glossy about what we’re doing. I think alternative venues are a great way of doing that. It just kind of throws it off. If a club is the quote-unquote appropriate place to see music, why do people have so much more fun in a warehouse?'...
Nearby, interns counted the door money; Mr. Patrick takes 10 percent before expenses (security, interns) and the rest goes to performers....
Along with low overhead other common traits of this scene include out-of-the way locations (a long walk from the subway is common), online promotion, candles instead of spotlights and a high tolerance for graffiti: GlassLands, where the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performed as part of a video shoot, has two rooms where anyone can scribble on the walls, markers and paint provided. Many places lack proper licensing; Mr. Patrick switches locations often to avoid the authorities. (Don Pedro is a legal establishment with a liquor license; the loft space was not.)"
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Salt Lake City nightlife, or lack of it
This article discusses the pluses and minuses of nightlight in Salt Lake City. Some of the challenges are no central entertainment district, restrictive liquor laws, and too many empty streets.
Salt Lake City Tribune, 5/6/07 - In search of Salt Lake's night life: "Once you find the places to go, there are some great places here,' said Allison Martin, a development researcher for the Utah Symphony, who moved to Salt Lake City from Austin, Texas, four years ago. 'It's funny - you go out and you see people you know all the time,' Martin said. 'It's 'Small Lake City.'
The relatively small number of Salt Lake night owls means club owners such as Louise Millington have to work harder to woo customers.
'You have to capture a niche for yourself, and I think that's what makes good night life here,' said Millington, who owns The Red Door, a martini bar. 'You have to know what people want here.'
... the perception remains, said Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, that buying a drink is an ordeal.
'There is absolutely no good modern-day justification for a private-club membership requirement,' he said. 'If you want to go to a couple places during the course of the night to hear music, or dine one place and go have a drink somewhere else, it can be very expensive and a huge hassle. And if we experience that as natives, consider how bizarre and inhospitable this is for people visiting our city.'"
Salt Lake City Tribune, 5/6/07 - In search of Salt Lake's night life: "Once you find the places to go, there are some great places here,' said Allison Martin, a development researcher for the Utah Symphony, who moved to Salt Lake City from Austin, Texas, four years ago. 'It's funny - you go out and you see people you know all the time,' Martin said. 'It's 'Small Lake City.'
The relatively small number of Salt Lake night owls means club owners such as Louise Millington have to work harder to woo customers.
'You have to capture a niche for yourself, and I think that's what makes good night life here,' said Millington, who owns The Red Door, a martini bar. 'You have to know what people want here.'
... the perception remains, said Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, that buying a drink is an ordeal.
'There is absolutely no good modern-day justification for a private-club membership requirement,' he said. 'If you want to go to a couple places during the course of the night to hear music, or dine one place and go have a drink somewhere else, it can be very expensive and a huge hassle. And if we experience that as natives, consider how bizarre and inhospitable this is for people visiting our city.'"
What's a college town?
This is a very thorough look what creates a "college town" atmosphere.
Macon.com | 05/06/2007 | Is Macon a college town?
According to Blake Gumprecht, an assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire who studies college towns, a college town usually has at least 20% students. But the article outlines other factors that create a college town atmosphere, which could be adopted no matter the size of the school population.
Entertainment/eating establishments that are open past 2 a.m.
Bars and clubs for ages 18+
Low-cost/free entertainment
Small, funky shops
Large college sporting event
Strong independent music scene
College radio station
Community/college partnerships
Also mentioned in the article, but not listed above, is a specific district, within walking distance to campus, that caters to students.
Macon.com | 05/06/2007 | Is Macon a college town?
According to Blake Gumprecht, an assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire who studies college towns, a college town usually has at least 20% students. But the article outlines other factors that create a college town atmosphere, which could be adopted no matter the size of the school population.
Entertainment/eating establishments that are open past 2 a.m.
Bars and clubs for ages 18+
Low-cost/free entertainment
Small, funky shops
Large college sporting event
Strong independent music scene
College radio station
Community/college partnerships
Also mentioned in the article, but not listed above, is a specific district, within walking distance to campus, that caters to students.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Churches make great venues
Although this article is about comedians who play the church circuit, the points made apply to musicians as well.
Christian comics change lives one joke at time — JSCMS, 4/24/07: "'Nationwide, there are more than 300,000 churches and less than 300 comedy clubs,' said Lenny Sisselman, 49, a booking agent based in Nashville, Tenn., who specializes in Christian acts. And 'some of these churches have better performance spaces than the clubs. They have better sound systems, lighting and more seats. [The audience members] also have longer attention spans. Remember, these are people who enjoy sermons.'
Some mega-churches, like televangelist Joel Olsteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, seat upward of 16,000 and have an architectural style closer to Radio City Music Hall than a traditional church. They even have giant video screens that allow for close-ups of the speakers."
Christian comics change lives one joke at time — JSCMS, 4/24/07: "'Nationwide, there are more than 300,000 churches and less than 300 comedy clubs,' said Lenny Sisselman, 49, a booking agent based in Nashville, Tenn., who specializes in Christian acts. And 'some of these churches have better performance spaces than the clubs. They have better sound systems, lighting and more seats. [The audience members] also have longer attention spans. Remember, these are people who enjoy sermons.'
Some mega-churches, like televangelist Joel Olsteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, seat upward of 16,000 and have an architectural style closer to Radio City Music Hall than a traditional church. They even have giant video screens that allow for close-ups of the speakers."
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
One of Denver's legendary music dive bars
Here's a good profile of Cricket on the Hill in Denver. It's one of those rough-and-tumble neighborhood bars that has attracted its share of "street life" tales, but through it all, it keeps going as a music venue. I'm not sure if Kerouac actually did ever go there, but it is easy to imagine him having spent time in a place like this.
The Denver Messageboard: "Dates and heresay about Kerouac and Ginsberg and Dylan and Hendrix and Judy Collins and Clapton hanging out, here, have been withheld to make a point. I could've killed myself researching such- and I started to- but once my sources proved to be exclusive- and largely irrelevant, upon meeting 'The Man'- I decided to skip all of that."
The Denver Messageboard: "Dates and heresay about Kerouac and Ginsberg and Dylan and Hendrix and Judy Collins and Clapton hanging out, here, have been withheld to make a point. I could've killed myself researching such- and I started to- but once my sources proved to be exclusive- and largely irrelevant, upon meeting 'The Man'- I decided to skip all of that."
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