[Dixielandjazz] Musician's Club

[Robert S. Ringwald]

PHIL WILKING wrote:

"""""
I have maintained for years that, here in my home are - New Orleans - jazz
musicians should stop griping to each other about the lack of venues and
find a location for a jazz joint.
Just a bar and tables, with a limited food menu and a dance floor. Not in
the French Quarter where rents are astronomical for filthy dumps, but on the
streetcar line, so it would be safe, simple, and inexpensive to get to and
from after dark and the rent would be more reasonable. Then jazz musicians
could play there on a cooperative basis. I envision this as a true
cooperative, where all the participants - musicians and service personnel -
would be shareholders. It probably wouldn't last as a cooperative more than
a year or two, but it would be a start, and it would prove whether or not
there really is enough demand for New Orleans jazz to make it more than an
occasional novelty act or something trotted out by a museum once a year to
show off its antique instruments.
I believe the market is here to be served. I know a tour bus driver who
tells me that not a tour goes by without his riders asking where they can go
for some New Orleans jazz; not rock, not zydeco, not swing, not country,
jazz. He has to tell them there are only 3 or 4 places where there is any
chance to do so, and the prices are high.
I know that there was a band 20 years ago, The Louisiana Repertory Jazz
Ensemble, which played on Wednesday nights in a real dump (Munster's Bar) in
the stevedores' and longshoremen's neighborhood: the "Irish Channel." They
filled the place every Wednesday with college students. They did it then,
nothing much has changed around here since, so I think it could be done now.
However, all the musicians I have spoken to about this studiously ignore the
subject and go back to complaining to each other about the paucity of venues
and the low wages at those few.
So, see point 1 above, and what practical way is there to get around it?
"""""

 Phil,  The idea sounds good but...

Putting together a nightclub, raising the money, finding a location, 
remodeling, doing all of the  paperwork required from all of the rules and 
regs, licenses, especially liquor license, satisfying all of the city, 
state, federal rules and regs, getting and paying insurance, hiring 
employees, scheduling musicians, advertising, etc etc etc, is quite a job. 
Who is going to do this?  It just doesn't happen over night.

If you have a kitchen, there is more overhead, health dept, food ordering. 
Food has a funny way of walking out the back door, as does booze.

 In order to do all of this, you need to hire a manager.  To get someone who 
is qualified to do all of this and manage a night club too...  Will cost...

So you hire someone to get the club all set up and then hire someone else to 
manage it.  how are you going to raise that much money?

Then, who is going to oversee the manager?  you can't just trust one person. 
You will need a board of directors who are versed in business and can read 
P&Ls, books, etc.

The books will have to be audited every year.  This costs, believe me.

 I am not saying it can't be done.  But it is a far more complicated thing 
to do than just to talk about it.

If you think it is a good idea, why don't you spearhead it?

There was a similar club in Vancouver, BC some years ago.  I believe it was 
operated by the Jazz Club in Vancouver.  They had music 6 or 7 nights a 
week.  I wonder what ever happened to it?

--Bob Ringwald K6YBV
530/642-9551
916/806-9551 Cell
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band

"If you think health care is expensive now,
wait until you see what it costs when it's free"!
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