[Dixielandjazz] Unions - Musicians - Cabaret Card

[Mike C.]

That's is frightening. Why didn't the union do anything about this harassment? Well, I guess you already answered that.  Corruption. Thanks for the input Steve I reallly appreciate it.

Mike




>  -------Original Message-------
>  From: Steve Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
>  Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Unions - Musicians - Cabaret Card
>  Sent: 05 Nov '06 10:50
>  
>  Mike asked about who killed the unions? And whether in my 802 days you had
>  to have a Cabaret Card to work in NYC. Here are my opinions.
>  
>  First the Cabaret Card. Yes, you had to have a Cabaret Card. It was issued
>  by the NYC Police Department and necessary because "musicians" were scum and
>  needed to be readily identified as possible perps when drug and sex crimes
>  occurred in public Dance Halls and Cabarets. Especially jazz musicians. It
>  contained your passport type photo and your thumb print. along with the
>  usual ID information. That was the first time I was ever fingerprinted.
>  Damn, where was the ACLU. :-) VBG (Remember, in those days "seduction" was a
>  crime and even Frank Sinatra was wrongly charged with it)
>  
>  You could not work in a club in NYC if you did not have this card. And the
>  police could arbitrarily take it from you upon "suspicion" of a crime or
>  immoral act. No conviction necessary.
>  
>  When I got my first one, (good only for 2 years at a time), I was a young
>  teen, and will never forget the smirking cops taking my photo and prints and
>  making comments about how, as a "jazz musician" (occupation listed on the
>  card) I was probably a drug addict scumbag, or thief. I still have the last
>  one issued to me, Mar 1, 1961, expired Mar 1, 1963. I keep it in my clarinet
>  case as a reminder of how musicians were once treated by the police in NYC.
>  
>  The unions? Well, their demise is very complicated. Lots of reasons
>  including the general "musician" population. Some reasons below:
>  
>  1) Greed and Corruption of the union leaders. They were in power too long
>     and power corrupts. (Just ask the Republicans in the Government today)
>  
>  2) Greed of the Club Owners. They want the bands as entertainment and could
>     care less about QUALITY. So they went for the cheapest price out there.
>     Artie Shaw learned this in the 1930s with his first band when he talked
>     about how he hired the best musicians in NYC. The club owner said:
>     (paraphrasing here) "I don't give a Goddam about how good your band is.
>     If the customers come in here to see you drop your pants and take a crap
>     on stage, then I'll pay you to do just that, every night, as long as they
>     come here to see you do it."
>  
>  3) Changing live music scene. Its all about entertainment. Nowadays there
>     are many more competitors for the entertainment dollar and many venues
>     discovered that live music didn't make a difference. Somewhat helped by
>     those bands which act as if the music is enough and look bored.
>  
>  4) Amateur bands who give the music away. With the exception of those on
>     this chat list, most fans haven't got the vaguest idea what good music
>     is. They hear Joe Schlump and his Dixiecats as being as good as Condon
>     Groups, Turk Murphy, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong et al. So when Joe
>     Schlump plays free, or for beer money, or pays his own transportation to
>     play in Europe or Asia for beer money, or plays a jazz cruise for no
>     money, the venue is delighted. No union can exist if the competitors give
>     it away. And face it, by and large, the public, even some who attend OKOM
>     Jazz Festivals, does not notice the difference in the music.
>  
>  5) Too many musicians in each market competing for too few paying gigs.
>     Local 802 in NYC gets $35 for parking + scale in many venues, but those
>     venues that thumb there nose at the union, pay $40 a night and the
>     musicians flock to perform there.
>  
>  6) The passage of "Right to Work" laws.
>  
>  Cheers,
>  Steve Barbone
>  
>  
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