[Dixielandjazz] Re: Dixielandjazz Digest, Vol 7, Issue 32

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/12/03 4:36:20 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

> They played well both times. They had large audiences both times. (unless 
> all
> the people came to see Barbone Street) They got great crowd reaction. We
> preceded them both times and a half hour break separated the two 
> performances.
> 
> As my ears heard them, they play better than many bands, and not as well as
> many bands. Personally, given our style, I thought we out played them. But 
> that
> means nothing. The crowd loved them as well as us. We both had supporters.
> 
> 

Since I have expressed my personal opinion about the PHJB and my experiences 
in other posts I will still defend them and their existence and the purpose 
that they serve whether I personally like their act or not.  It is a form of 
OKOM and the crowd reaction that Steve  describes herein is not surprising.  WHY?

Because they are performing on a festival STARVED for OKOM entertainment 
because more bands like Barbone Street do not go out and market themselves to 
these events and get themselves booked to show the festival promoters that there 
are alternative choices for this kind of music, it has not all died, and many 
of them are better than the PHJB.

I have heard many bands performing on the streets of New Orleans for free and 
tips better than the best PHJB that I have heard in my past twenty-five 
years.  Sorry to disappoint some of you folks that think they are a Great Band, you 
have definitely bought into the MYTH or it has been so long since you heard a 
really GOOD band that you have forgotten and lowered your musical taste 
standards a few notches.

But folks if you don't spend the time and money and energy that guys like 
Steve Barbone and I do to market and book these bigger events you will die 
playing local Jazz society private parties and deprive the younger generation of 
proper exposure to this great art form and music.

If there was another good OKOM band that would work as hard as Steve does to 
book Barbone Street 160 dates a year I would venture to say that Steve would 
only have about 100 dates unless he wanted to play more and go manufacture 
other dates.

Why does he multiple book Barbone Street?  There could be a couple of 
reasons, but I suspect that the primary reason is because all the other OKOM band 
leaders in his market are sitting on their asses waiting for him to call with an 
extra gig rather than going out and trying to book their own gigs.

That is exactly how I became one of the major booking agents in Northern 
California back in the 1970's.  My band was always booked and on the best gigs, 
and I built a reputation of providing top notch professional acts and every 
other band leader in the area started calling me for my extra gigs.

I however booked all of them under their own names and built a reputation for 
them under their own name and advanced their professionalism as a group and 
increased their earning potential in doing so.  I took my booking commissions 
and built several major acts in those days and made them a lot of money and a 
fair percentage for my efforts as well.

The problem Steve faces with simultaneous bookings is not that he does it, 
but that the implied perception that every band is actually the BARBONE STREET 
BAND.

The same thing would apply to any of you who call your band by your personal 
name i.e. 
The Benny Goodman Show, Jimmy Dorsey Band. Glenn Miller Band, etc.

Now if Steve booked A Band only as Barbone Street Jazz Band and Barbone 
Street Combo under the direction of Jimmy blowshard, as Band B, and the Barbone 
Street irregulars under the leadership of Tex Wyndham etc. he could avoid all 
this flack.

Better yet:

I book my Show as Saint Gabriel's Celestial Brass band, not Tom Wiggins, 
therefore it truly is and ensemble show no matter who is performing.  I supply 
every promoter a list of the performing personnel for every tour.

I have clauses in my contracts with the Major festivals that specifically 
state that if any prominent member of the listed personnel is replaced prior to 
the performance for any reason other than a legitimate illness or act of God 
that the payment for the show shall be reduced substantially.  Hence if I book 
that show with special guest star performers and they don't show up I am in 
deep trouble financially.  They have the right to publicize and promote my show 
with the listed personnel to attempt to attract knowledgeable ticket buyers who 
know these players.

Steve Barbone being a retired barrister knows what he is doing and works hard 
to book OKOM music and his band, and I am certain he is not intentionally 
trying to commit fraud or deceive his audience as is indicated in other posts.  
However I can understand how it could be interpreted that way by the folks who 
took him to task.

Jazz Jerry is a retired Policeman in a culture that views these kinds of 
representations to the letter.  And technically I can agree with him, Something 
you all know I rarely ever do on other subjects.  However this practice has been 
going on for well over fifty years in American music as evidenced by the 
other two prominent band bookers mentioned in the recent posts.  Old habits die 
hard and are rarely challenged as long as lazy non hustling musicians and 
bandleaders go along with the situation.  Therefore if you are too lazy to go hustle 
your own gigs, and want to sit around and wait for the big Yellow gig bus to 
stop in front of your house and take you to a gig pay you, and bring you back 
home again, then you have no reason to complain about how you got the gig or 
whose name is on the marquee, or how much money you got paid either.

Mike and the Asunto family is a worse case scenario about what can happen if 
you don't properly take care of the business and protect your act and tangible 
personal property and proprietary interest such as the legitimate Name and 
use of the name of your act.

We should all know the Dukes of Dixieland Story by now, and how the name was 
legally (I assume) picked up and used by a sharp slick promoter to take 
advantage of the value of the name to sell tickets and draw crowds of OKOM listeners 
to hear the music of others that had actually established and built that good 
name and reputation.

We can all thank the great conservative President Reagan for signing a law 
that allows folks to advertise anything they want and they don not have to prove 
it unless it is challenged in court and proven other wise.  In other words it 
is OK to blatantly lie to the public consumers and you do not have to worry 
about it unless you get caught and some sues you.  Unfortunately, we have 
become a society that condones this behavior in many places other than OKOM.

MIke's distaste on this matter is due no doubt to his integrity as a good 
ethical booking agent, something else that is in short supply these days.  But 
that is a different story for another day.  He is referring to Steve the Band 
Leader versus Steve the booking agent and the complications that arise from 
being both under the same name.  And as evidenced by the reference to the two 
legendary band leaders of yesteryear who did the same thing, it still does not 
make it ethically correct to do it that way even if it has been being done by 
others for years.  My explanation above would certainly have been equally apropos 
for them.
 
Cheers,

Tom Wiggins