This article talks about a jazz festival in Boston and gives an overview of Boston's history as a jazz town from the 1950s to the present.
Scene & heard - The Boston Globe: "Jazz Week offers more than 150 events -- concerts, lectures, discussions, and family events -- at 50 venues in the city and suburbs....
The Jazz Week calendar confirms this in abundance: churches, high schools, community centers, bookstores, restaurants, and bars and cafes are all in the mix. Pauline Bilsky, JazzBoston's executive director, points out that many events are ones that would be taking place in a regular week; it's simply taken Jazz Week to highlight them under a common banner.
But the Boston jazz scene also faces some peculiar challenges. One is how to retain some of the talent that leaves town each year. Another is how to properly value what Harvey calls 'the indigenous scene' -- Boston's many professional musicians who might or might not teach at the schools but belong as much to the tradition in which jazz is transmitted through apprenticeship and osmosis, not curricula.
Brown points out that it's hard for these musicians to compete for gigs. 'Some of us have been playing here for up to 40 years,' he says. 'But a lot of promoters will go for a developing musician' -- one who costs less to book. As a result, Brown says, many of Boston's finest musicians are known for having trained major stars but are themselves rarely heard in local venues."
Showing posts with label boston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boston. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Local support launches and funds a film
How Jay Craven made and promoted his film, "Disappearances," by focusing on local resources.
The same idea is where bands should start. Find support from your friends and neighbors before dreaming of the rest of the world.
'This will happen come hell or high water.' - The Boston Globe, 1/28/07: "Part of Craven's credo is to build on local talent and local investors. His films' fates are also inextricably stitched to local audiences. In the age of Netflix and Blockbuster, and cineplexes booked solid with, as Craven puts it, 'cars, pirates, supermen, and snakes on a plane,' Craven's solution to reaching Vermonters was to bypass typical venues and present directly to the farmers, loggers, and factory workers who wouldn't normally be exposed to an independent film.
His '100 Town Tour' last summer screened 'Disappearances' in town halls, church basements, high school gymnasiums, and opera houses. Students at Marlboro College, where Craven teaches film, dragged a portable AV system up and down the state, from Derby Line to Brattleboro. The tour grossed $170,000 and reached 18,500 people. Best of all, Craven's Kingdom County Productions reaped most of the financial rewards.
'The idea [is] to act on a populist impulse and be inclusive but go beyond what [the audience] is used to,' Craven says. 'Filmmaking for me is about community and family.'
The former arts center director-turned filmmaker is adept at leveraging connections and getting people fired up about his projects. On the phone, he freely switches among roles as filmmaker, fund-raiser, and cheerleader.
'What's the possibility of 'Disappearances' in West Newton?' Craven, 56, says to a Boston-based theater booking agent. Wearing a headset, his gray mane tucked under a baseball cap, Craven mans the helm of his hilltop production office -- a modest house hundreds of miles from the centers of mainstream filmmaking. He reminds the booker of his past successes. '['Where the Rivers Flow North'] played for eight weeks. We're about to do a mailing to 3,000 people [in Boston].'"
The same idea is where bands should start. Find support from your friends and neighbors before dreaming of the rest of the world.
'This will happen come hell or high water.' - The Boston Globe, 1/28/07: "Part of Craven's credo is to build on local talent and local investors. His films' fates are also inextricably stitched to local audiences. In the age of Netflix and Blockbuster, and cineplexes booked solid with, as Craven puts it, 'cars, pirates, supermen, and snakes on a plane,' Craven's solution to reaching Vermonters was to bypass typical venues and present directly to the farmers, loggers, and factory workers who wouldn't normally be exposed to an independent film.
His '100 Town Tour' last summer screened 'Disappearances' in town halls, church basements, high school gymnasiums, and opera houses. Students at Marlboro College, where Craven teaches film, dragged a portable AV system up and down the state, from Derby Line to Brattleboro. The tour grossed $170,000 and reached 18,500 people. Best of all, Craven's Kingdom County Productions reaped most of the financial rewards.
'The idea [is] to act on a populist impulse and be inclusive but go beyond what [the audience] is used to,' Craven says. 'Filmmaking for me is about community and family.'
The former arts center director-turned filmmaker is adept at leveraging connections and getting people fired up about his projects. On the phone, he freely switches among roles as filmmaker, fund-raiser, and cheerleader.
'What's the possibility of 'Disappearances' in West Newton?' Craven, 56, says to a Boston-based theater booking agent. Wearing a headset, his gray mane tucked under a baseball cap, Craven mans the helm of his hilltop production office -- a modest house hundreds of miles from the centers of mainstream filmmaking. He reminds the booker of his past successes. '['Where the Rivers Flow North'] played for eight weeks. We're about to do a mailing to 3,000 people [in Boston].'"
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Basement venues in Boston
An article by someone who hosts shows in his basement.
My house the music venue - The Phoenix: "Within weeks in either direction of me moving into my house, nearly every small, independent-minded concert venue in the city of Boston was shut down. Art spaces, a record store, other houses, and even a small bar ceased hosting bands. Allston’s Reel Bar, Re: Generation Records, the Lilypad in Cambridge, and a house known as the Cuntree Club were all casualties of the same period of under three months. Necessity, as it turned out, was the mother of five Finnish men as old as my parents playing Discharge-inspired hardcore at my house.
When the dust settled and the information about my basement started to reveal itself, the various operators of some of the venues began to come to us with show proposals. A friend who booked shows at the now-showless record store knew a band called Diswar, who were on tour with Kohu-63. It evokes the sequences in old sitcoms where split-screen telephone conversations would go on and on, with each new person hanging up and calling someone else.
Even when the venue climate is relatively barren, bands from Boston can always get local shows — it’s not so easy for bands from a few states away to keep their finger close enough to the city’s pulse to know who to ask and, for the time being, my roommates and I have no problem hosting them.
The long and the short of it: I like basement shows and I like music — that’s why I’m willing to enter this situation and go to bat for all these people. I think a lot of my friends and a lot of their friends are doing interesting and fun things musically. I’m more than willing to break the law so my friend Brian, his high-pitched voice, and his acoustic guitar can sit on a PA speaker and cover 'I Wanna Be A Homosexual” by Screeching Weasel.'"
He makes reference to an early article that discusses the concept in length.
It came from the basement: "Bloodstains Across Somerville is one of a handful of rental-house basements in the area that moonlight as live-music venues. Some of the rawest rock shows in town are performed in DIY places like this, beside dusty furnaces, cylindrical water heaters, and laundry hampers. They’re accessible only through crawlspaces and creaky back doors, down peeling-paint bulkheads and wobbly wooden staircases. The best, most frenetic, in-your-face shows in town sometimes happen quite literally underground, sometimes only for an audience of 30 — in craggy-walled, cramped, dingy cellars situated in cheap-rent districts like Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, Brighton, Allston, and Somerville."
live music
clubs
indie
Boston
My house the music venue - The Phoenix: "Within weeks in either direction of me moving into my house, nearly every small, independent-minded concert venue in the city of Boston was shut down. Art spaces, a record store, other houses, and even a small bar ceased hosting bands. Allston’s Reel Bar, Re: Generation Records, the Lilypad in Cambridge, and a house known as the Cuntree Club were all casualties of the same period of under three months. Necessity, as it turned out, was the mother of five Finnish men as old as my parents playing Discharge-inspired hardcore at my house.
When the dust settled and the information about my basement started to reveal itself, the various operators of some of the venues began to come to us with show proposals. A friend who booked shows at the now-showless record store knew a band called Diswar, who were on tour with Kohu-63. It evokes the sequences in old sitcoms where split-screen telephone conversations would go on and on, with each new person hanging up and calling someone else.
Even when the venue climate is relatively barren, bands from Boston can always get local shows — it’s not so easy for bands from a few states away to keep their finger close enough to the city’s pulse to know who to ask and, for the time being, my roommates and I have no problem hosting them.
The long and the short of it: I like basement shows and I like music — that’s why I’m willing to enter this situation and go to bat for all these people. I think a lot of my friends and a lot of their friends are doing interesting and fun things musically. I’m more than willing to break the law so my friend Brian, his high-pitched voice, and his acoustic guitar can sit on a PA speaker and cover 'I Wanna Be A Homosexual” by Screeching Weasel.'"
He makes reference to an early article that discusses the concept in length.
It came from the basement: "Bloodstains Across Somerville is one of a handful of rental-house basements in the area that moonlight as live-music venues. Some of the rawest rock shows in town are performed in DIY places like this, beside dusty furnaces, cylindrical water heaters, and laundry hampers. They’re accessible only through crawlspaces and creaky back doors, down peeling-paint bulkheads and wobbly wooden staircases. The best, most frenetic, in-your-face shows in town sometimes happen quite literally underground, sometimes only for an audience of 30 — in craggy-walled, cramped, dingy cellars situated in cheap-rent districts like Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, Brighton, Allston, and Somerville."
live music
clubs
indie
Boston
Sunday, December 31, 2006
First Night Celebrations
The growing popularity of First Night celebrations (a non-alcoholic alternative to the club scene) is another indication of the increase in family-friendly music events.
First Night: 15 venues, 70 performances, 13,000 people - Columbia Missourian: "First Night, a community celebration of the new year with music, art, performances and festivity, has come of age in Columbia. This year, the event boasts more than 70 performances and activities at 15 downtown venues....
"Karen Ramey, director of operations, said that about 12,500 people attended First Night last year and this year’s crowd is expected to be near 13,000. The economic impact, based on information about hotel bookings, shopping and restaurants from the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Development fund, is estimated at $1 million, she said. ...
"A First Night admission button opens the door to a wide range of music and other entertainment that includes jazz, polka, swing dancing, rock, children’s performers, bluegrass, Irish dance, storytelling, rhythm and blues, magic and a venue just for teens.
"Buttons are $8 for those 8 and older and can be purchased online until 4 p.m. today. After 4 p.m., they will cost $10.
"Ramey said that only a quarter of the First Night organization’s $800,000 budget comes from button sales; donations and grants account for the majority.
"The event is part of First Night International, held in about 150 U.S. cities as well as Canada, New Zealand and England. The idea originated from a group of civic-minded artists in Boston in 1976, who began the tradition of bringing communities together to celebrate New Year’s Eve in an alcohol-free event filled with entertainment."
_____
Here are just a few other First Night celebrations as examples.
Burlington, Vermont
About 200 events featuring 1,000 performing artists in 25 venues throughout the city.
Spokane, Washington
Between 25,000 and 30,000 people expected at 40+ venues.
St. Petersburg, Florida
More than 30 venues.
_____________
And here is some info about the First Night that started it all:
cbs4boston.com - Fun Facts About First Night Boston 2007: "This year’s event features over 1000 artists in 200 performances and exhibitions at over 40 indoor and outdoor venues around Boston. Expected attendance is 1 million celebratory people.
Funding
•First Night is a private non-profit corporation, which is supported by private donations and corporate sponsorship and through First Night button sales. More than 70 percent of the annual budget funds artistic programming and production. First Night artists are paid for their work.
•The City of Boston is a major supporter of First Night Boston, providing many services. First Night could not happen without the generosity of the Mayor and the City. The budget for First Night Boston 2006 is 1.4 million dollars, which is about $150,000 higher than last year, and accounts for an expanded development effort – part of a new business plan to cultivate more individual contributions as corporate and government contributions continue to wane for us and other non-profit arts organizations.
•If the budget is 1.4 million and 1 million people attend, that means First Night’s cost per person served is just $1.40. Quite a value!
•Traditionally, First Night funding has been 1/3 button revenue, 1/3 corporate sponsorship and 1/3 foundation, individual and government support.
•According to a recent economic index, First Night Boston generates $47 million dollars for Boston businesses in the fourth quarter. This figure does not include the admission fee (button revenue)."
music scene
economic development
tourism
music festival
live music
clubs
all ages
First Night
Boston
First Night: 15 venues, 70 performances, 13,000 people - Columbia Missourian: "First Night, a community celebration of the new year with music, art, performances and festivity, has come of age in Columbia. This year, the event boasts more than 70 performances and activities at 15 downtown venues....
"Karen Ramey, director of operations, said that about 12,500 people attended First Night last year and this year’s crowd is expected to be near 13,000. The economic impact, based on information about hotel bookings, shopping and restaurants from the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Development fund, is estimated at $1 million, she said. ...
"A First Night admission button opens the door to a wide range of music and other entertainment that includes jazz, polka, swing dancing, rock, children’s performers, bluegrass, Irish dance, storytelling, rhythm and blues, magic and a venue just for teens.
"Buttons are $8 for those 8 and older and can be purchased online until 4 p.m. today. After 4 p.m., they will cost $10.
"Ramey said that only a quarter of the First Night organization’s $800,000 budget comes from button sales; donations and grants account for the majority.
"The event is part of First Night International, held in about 150 U.S. cities as well as Canada, New Zealand and England. The idea originated from a group of civic-minded artists in Boston in 1976, who began the tradition of bringing communities together to celebrate New Year’s Eve in an alcohol-free event filled with entertainment."
_____
Here are just a few other First Night celebrations as examples.
Burlington, Vermont
About 200 events featuring 1,000 performing artists in 25 venues throughout the city.
Spokane, Washington
Between 25,000 and 30,000 people expected at 40+ venues.
St. Petersburg, Florida
More than 30 venues.
_____________
And here is some info about the First Night that started it all:
cbs4boston.com - Fun Facts About First Night Boston 2007: "This year’s event features over 1000 artists in 200 performances and exhibitions at over 40 indoor and outdoor venues around Boston. Expected attendance is 1 million celebratory people.
Funding
•First Night is a private non-profit corporation, which is supported by private donations and corporate sponsorship and through First Night button sales. More than 70 percent of the annual budget funds artistic programming and production. First Night artists are paid for their work.
•The City of Boston is a major supporter of First Night Boston, providing many services. First Night could not happen without the generosity of the Mayor and the City. The budget for First Night Boston 2006 is 1.4 million dollars, which is about $150,000 higher than last year, and accounts for an expanded development effort – part of a new business plan to cultivate more individual contributions as corporate and government contributions continue to wane for us and other non-profit arts organizations.
•If the budget is 1.4 million and 1 million people attend, that means First Night’s cost per person served is just $1.40. Quite a value!
•Traditionally, First Night funding has been 1/3 button revenue, 1/3 corporate sponsorship and 1/3 foundation, individual and government support.
•According to a recent economic index, First Night Boston generates $47 million dollars for Boston businesses in the fourth quarter. This figure does not include the admission fee (button revenue)."
music scene
economic development
tourism
music festival
live music
clubs
all ages
First Night
Boston
Thursday, August 17, 2006
A recommended local music podcast
Bostonist: Wednesday Webcast Review: Band In Boston: "The Band In Boston podcast is a podcast, of course, about music. What this podcast does is provide the listener with suggestions of local music to check out in the upcoming week. In addition, they will often play selections of music from the artists which they are recommending that week. ... They will also feature exclusive live performances from their living room. These live performances definitely provide the frosting on the oh-so-delicious cake.
"Like we said, the show is all about Boston. It doesn't get any better than that. Well, actually it does, as the hosts, Andy and Jen, are fantastic as well. They are extremely knowledgeable of the local music scene and provide many amusing moments in addition to sharing all that musical wisdom. The show does slant towards the indie-rock scene, but having some focus is not a bad thing at all. We just hope more 'casts like this spring up for other musical genres. The Hip-Hip In Boston podcast would be great. Any takers?
"If you haven't guessed it, we are completely enamored with this podcast. We wish all podcasts could provide us with this amount of joy. If you enjoy supporting local music acts and venues, then you need this podcast. Yes, we said need. And with that, we say, 'Thank you Andy and Jen, Boston needed this podcast.'"
"Like we said, the show is all about Boston. It doesn't get any better than that. Well, actually it does, as the hosts, Andy and Jen, are fantastic as well. They are extremely knowledgeable of the local music scene and provide many amusing moments in addition to sharing all that musical wisdom. The show does slant towards the indie-rock scene, but having some focus is not a bad thing at all. We just hope more 'casts like this spring up for other musical genres. The Hip-Hip In Boston podcast would be great. Any takers?
"If you haven't guessed it, we are completely enamored with this podcast. We wish all podcasts could provide us with this amount of joy. If you enjoy supporting local music acts and venues, then you need this podcast. Yes, we said need. And with that, we say, 'Thank you Andy and Jen, Boston needed this podcast.'"
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