[Dixielandjazz] The state of Jazz in the UK (and USA)

Fri Apr 27 14:30:50 PDT 2007

Steve -- We can talk about being entertainers vs. good musicians, about 
uniforms, and
all sorts of trivia. But the fact remains that if we do not talk about the
AUDIENCE, or lack thereof, the other stuff is really meaningless.

LW --I thought that was what we were talking about - what the audience 
expects.  I didn't start the styles or the expectations but ignoring them is 
sure gigacide.

There is available here what one would think is the perfect venue.  A large 
college campus within very easy walking distance of a 2300 seat auditorium. 
My only problem is they want $4000 during the week and $6000 on a weekend to 
book the place.  I simply don't have that kind of cash to risk on anything. 
Even the big guys in town don't try it even with a more sure R&R program. 
There is a great smaller Venue located one block away with reasonable 
seating (500) and it costs about $1100 a night.  It's still within one block 
of the College.  I played a review, which by the way was excellent, a couple 
of weeks ago and the promoter lost his ass on it.  Even at $20 a head there 
weren't enough paying people to cover the hall and the band even though it 
was a charity event and most of the band members and all the singers donated 
their time.

Well if you can't enough sell tickets to break even on events in that area 
I'm not about to try.  So the other alternative is to book parties or other 
events as a band.  The standard approach which is not really building an 
audience.

I would love to be able to do all the things you and others would like to 
see done but I don't have those "nerves of steel".

Steve --And by putting OKOM into an old folks niche, we are dooming it to a 
constant decline.

LW - Unfortunately that's true but if it weren't for the old people there 
would be no OKOM as we know it.  I can say exactly the same about swing 
bands.  Their audience is aging out too.

If the Trad and Swing bands turned down work from everyone over 50 that 
tried to book them there would be no trad or swing bands in this town.

St. Louis is a tough music city no matter what you play.

Life's a Bi**h, then you die.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 2:47 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] The state of Jazz in the UK (and USA)

> John Petters <jdpetters at btinternet.com>
>>
>> Greetings folks,
>> Bandleader, drummer  and festival promoter Pete Lay wrote a very
>> realistic assessment of the Traditional Jazz Scene in the UK which was
>> published in Just Jazz a month or so ago. I responded. My letter has
>> been printed in full and I offer it here for consideration and possible
>> suggestions for solutions to the problems that jazz musicians are facing
>> today. It is rather long so my apologies in advance.
>>
>> "Re: An Open Letter to all Jazzers
>> My thanks to Pete Lay for his well argued piece about the current
>> Traditional Jazz scene. As festival promoters Pete and I are
>> competitors, but it gives me no satisfaction to know that he is finding
>> the business of promoting jazz breaks as increasingly difficult as I am.
>> The financial risk involved with this activity takes nerves of steel and
>> a willingness to lose one's shirt if it all goes wrong.
>
>> The Dying Gasps of The Trad Boom . . . remainder snipped for brevity.
>
> Well said John. Both the USA, and now the UK, if you are correct, are 
> having
> severe problems with the viability of Dixieland. Trad Jazz, or whatever we
> wish to call OKOM.
>
> We can talk about being entertainers vs. good musicians, about uniforms, 
> and
> all sorts of trivia. But the fact remains that if we do not talk about the
> AUDIENCE, or lack thereof, the other stuff is really meaningless.
>
> The viability of any performance endeavor has always hinged upon the
> audience. And by putting OKOM into an old folks niche, we are dooming it 
> to
> a constant decline.
>
> Yet is seems as if many people just don't want to discuss attracting 
> younger
> audiences. Perhaps figuring if we ignore it, the problem will go away. 
> Just
> the opposite is true. If we do not first recognize that we have a problem,
> we certainly will never find a solution to it.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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