I recall my parents having way more energy, and what seemed like more free time. I succeeded in raising my daughter, seeing her married (twice), three grand kids, chased every meaningful relationship out of my life, I just put one of two dogs to sleep and now find myself wandering around my home thinking "its too big..." well, ok, maybe I need that because I have too much stuff so it works..., but still... I'm too restless to read or write music. I'm not hungry enough to cook for one. I'm rarely that interested in TV. In an hour, I have to go back to work for about an hour. Then what? I could be prudent and go home and not watch TV, read or cook.... I'll likely go waste money at a bar, hoping a couple of beers will make me feel tired enough that I can go home and not mind being too restless to actually do something productive. So as I wander from room to room thinking "this would be fine if I had Alzheimers... but then of course I wouldn't be having such thoughts..
I realize I may not be the norm, but what is the norm? In my teens, 20's, 30's, it was pretty easy to figure out what I wanted, what I was supposed to be doing with myself. Now those things have either been achieved or slipped from my grasp and lost forever. So what do I do now? How do I move forward? It seems those simple skills that came so easily to a younger man elude me now. So I end up in a house with a dog feeling like I'm destined to be the crazy old grumpy guy on the block where all the neighborhood kids are afraid to go past the house... Oh, and BTW... Stay the heck off my lawn!!!!!
Now for the really funny part.. well, maybe not so funny.. I don't remember how long ago I wrote the above words.. At least a year?? But the thing is, they rang true at the time.. a year or less and a big difference.. I was then contemplating life and now I am contemplating death. I was lamenting a future I may soon long for but which might no longer be available to me. How quickly things change. One moment I am making fun of what a tough thing it is to get older, and the next I am wondering if I will ever be old enough. I suppose there is never a good time for it to end. Whether 60 minutes or 60 years, it is never enough time to get where you wish you could have been. I guess some do it.. Eienstein.. McCartney.. Carlin.. genius has a better chance at it, but do (did) they feel they have (had) achieved all they could and wanted to in life? Were they content with their contribution?? I am not, for sure! But I am not of that caliber. Still I have to believe we all want to leave a mark on this world. For many, a family business or a family ripe with progeny is sufficient. Perhaps a plaque on the Memorial Day Town Square or a new wing on the hospital.. to each their own of course. I believe it to be a personal bar, a self imposed standard of achievement that one sets for themself that measures our relative level of success in this world. Within our own terms. Really it just says "I passed this way, remember me, I hope I made a difference..". I oft times feel that had someone in my life pulled me aside and explained it all to me, I would have been better equipped and done a better job of maximizing my potential. A suffiecent head start as it were. Sure, people like Aristotle, Newton, DaVinchi could likely feel fulfilled in our eyes, but likely they were not. There is always going to be regret that fades with us. Those final thoughts that say "If Only!!" If only I did.. if only I didn't, regrets in one form or another... But still, in spite of it all, regardless of those regrets there is so much to to be thankful for, having passed through this life. Simple pleasures like food, sex, laughter and flowers. Friends, the ocean, a sunny day. A true love... Does existence continue or is dead just dead. Will I miss those things? I can't help but believe I will... I'm starting to already..
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
LI Music Scene Part II
Some time ago I wrote about the Long Island music scene. In doing so, I approached it from the perspective of a musician, as well as one that grew up on Long Island in what could be considered it's hey-day of live music. There were venues back then that filled the space between the local pubs and places like Madison Square Garden and Nassau Coliseum. Mid-size places. By mid-size I mean places that could hold more than 30 people and up to 300-400 people. They had names like Hammerheads, Wooden Ships, Rumbottoms, Speaks, Malibu, The OBI, Rumrunners, and of course My Fathers Place. You could go to these venues and see all kinds of music from great cover bands to original artists including some that would become legends of their era. Those days seemed to have disappeared. Or, at least the venues of this type did. Economy? Changes in the drinking age? Changes in smoking and DUI laws? A combination of all of these? Add to that the changes in the music industry both in genera as well as distribution. CD, mp3's, iPods, Internet peer to peer sharing all made going out to see a band seem like more effort than was necessary. Classic Rock while still enjoying the remainder of it's 9-lives is mainly found on the radio and in smaller bars where the bands playing it rely on their aging friends to come out at what is excessively late for working middle class people with kids to have their 8/10ths of a drink per hour with a two drink limit and to get home in time to pay the baby sitter or make sure the teenagers aren't having a party of their own, and still be able to do their weekend errands the next day. The newer genres such as rap, hip-hop, electronic, house, dub, etc, all tend more towards a DJ / dance club environment and less a serious live music venue. Jazz is all but gone and best found in Manhattan. Other than Metal / Hard Core which seems to dominate the Long Island "live" music scene, there's not a lot of options.
Recently (and by karmic intervention) I've had the opportunity to approach the experience from the venues perspective. In a sincere attempt to help a local fraternal organization of which I am a member, the Glen Cove Moose Lodge, I attempted to use the opportunity to make a plug for live music. It started as a small open mic night which would use the main hall of the lodge as a place local musicians can go for free and play and anyone can go and listen or join in. With $100 from my pocket, I purchased a small PA for this purpose. The word went out and interested musicians showed up. Quiet a few after a few months and we had to upgrade the PA. No problem there, it was worth the effort and working out. Once a week, whatever musicians we interested came down and either played solo for the crowd or joined in a larger jam. Unfortunately as the warmer weather approached people had other things to do and the City also hosted a free downtown concert series on the same night. They obtained fairly large name acts and drew a good crowd. There was no thought of competing with that. In fact, there was never a thought of competing at all. The entire exercise had been to help the lodge stay afloat while promoting music for both musicians and their audience. That was about to change.
As the fall off in attendance was felt, I used the wonders of modern technology to advertise the lodge facility more. A hall that could hold 100 people, a PA system, a full bar downstairs complete with a free pool table, dart board and shuffle board table all available to musicians and bands at no cost to do a show... what more could one ask for? I'll tell you... My advertising was noticed by some promoters of the metal / hard core genera. They inquired about doing shows. We set it up with them and its worked out wonderfully. In fact so much so, that we had to upgrade the PA system again. This time substantially. (They play loud!) So... with funds donated by a very generous member, we put in four large 3-Way JBL speaker cabinets powered by three separate power-amps with an active 3-Way crossover and EQ pre-amping them and a small mixing board. A separate monitor system with its own power-amp and 4 speakers we also added ...and while we were at it, we decided to add a small lighting system. What did we end up with? A real venue. It wasn't planned that way, it evolved that way. It dawned on us when one event drew over 200 people that we needed to be able to handle all this. With the upgrade to the PA and the lights, came the need to upgrade the way we were doing business. Business??? Yes.., it became a business. We had to have staff, clean up before and after every show, stock supplies, have security, ID people, purchase food, maintain the equipment and all the activities and costs that go with the territory. We ended up with a mid-sized venue. The very thing I had lamented on the loss of. So now I know first hand what's involved in running such an enterprise. But here's the thing... we don't want to restrict it entirely to this genera. We have a great facility. One that's still evolving and improving. But we can't seem to break out of this genre.
As a not-for-profit fraternal organization, we are not a traditional business. We are not really a bar or open 6-7 days a week or serving food or any of that. This is reflected in our drink prices which are kept well below what most bars charge. Since this is done for our membership that won't be changing. So we're not able to pay bands from our bar take. There isn't much of one to speak of and what we do make goes back into keeping the doors open. It was our original intent to make the place available to musicians and bands to "do their thing". We always let them have the option of doing a door charge for a show and that's fine. We want no part of that. Run the show however you think best. We have a great place for you to do that. And we've had some great local cover and tribute bands come and play. In fact, many are top-notch entertainment. But the crowd isn't there. Where are all the local people??? We've had an outstanding Pink Floyd tribute band, an amazing Soul -Motown band, a rocking Led Zeppelin tribute band. All well worth a 5$ or $10 door charge which will be made up in the savings on drink prices. Even the soda and water is cheap. So... Where are all the local people??? We have a show featuring a Metal band from California and people come from Fl, MD, TN, IL, VA and Canada to see them. Yes.. Calgary, Canada. People come from all over the country to the Glen Cove Moose Lodge to see a band from out-of-state, but a local band, a GREAT local band cant seem to draw 30 people.... So what is the real problem here? Is there a complete apathy on Long Island for live music?? Have most of the people who would appreciate these other genres gotten too old or mostly died off? Are they too poor or too cheap to pay $10?? Is Glen Cove so far across town that it's too much of a drive? I am at a complete loss as to what factors are at work here...
A simple attempt to bring local music by local musicians to the local community has been a miserable failure while becoming an international success...
What is going on??? Anyone?? Anyone? Bueller??
Recently (and by karmic intervention) I've had the opportunity to approach the experience from the venues perspective. In a sincere attempt to help a local fraternal organization of which I am a member, the Glen Cove Moose Lodge, I attempted to use the opportunity to make a plug for live music. It started as a small open mic night which would use the main hall of the lodge as a place local musicians can go for free and play and anyone can go and listen or join in. With $100 from my pocket, I purchased a small PA for this purpose. The word went out and interested musicians showed up. Quiet a few after a few months and we had to upgrade the PA. No problem there, it was worth the effort and working out. Once a week, whatever musicians we interested came down and either played solo for the crowd or joined in a larger jam. Unfortunately as the warmer weather approached people had other things to do and the City also hosted a free downtown concert series on the same night. They obtained fairly large name acts and drew a good crowd. There was no thought of competing with that. In fact, there was never a thought of competing at all. The entire exercise had been to help the lodge stay afloat while promoting music for both musicians and their audience. That was about to change.
As the fall off in attendance was felt, I used the wonders of modern technology to advertise the lodge facility more. A hall that could hold 100 people, a PA system, a full bar downstairs complete with a free pool table, dart board and shuffle board table all available to musicians and bands at no cost to do a show... what more could one ask for? I'll tell you... My advertising was noticed by some promoters of the metal / hard core genera. They inquired about doing shows. We set it up with them and its worked out wonderfully. In fact so much so, that we had to upgrade the PA system again. This time substantially. (They play loud!) So... with funds donated by a very generous member, we put in four large 3-Way JBL speaker cabinets powered by three separate power-amps with an active 3-Way crossover and EQ pre-amping them and a small mixing board. A separate monitor system with its own power-amp and 4 speakers we also added ...and while we were at it, we decided to add a small lighting system. What did we end up with? A real venue. It wasn't planned that way, it evolved that way. It dawned on us when one event drew over 200 people that we needed to be able to handle all this. With the upgrade to the PA and the lights, came the need to upgrade the way we were doing business. Business??? Yes.., it became a business. We had to have staff, clean up before and after every show, stock supplies, have security, ID people, purchase food, maintain the equipment and all the activities and costs that go with the territory. We ended up with a mid-sized venue. The very thing I had lamented on the loss of. So now I know first hand what's involved in running such an enterprise. But here's the thing... we don't want to restrict it entirely to this genera. We have a great facility. One that's still evolving and improving. But we can't seem to break out of this genre.
As a not-for-profit fraternal organization, we are not a traditional business. We are not really a bar or open 6-7 days a week or serving food or any of that. This is reflected in our drink prices which are kept well below what most bars charge. Since this is done for our membership that won't be changing. So we're not able to pay bands from our bar take. There isn't much of one to speak of and what we do make goes back into keeping the doors open. It was our original intent to make the place available to musicians and bands to "do their thing". We always let them have the option of doing a door charge for a show and that's fine. We want no part of that. Run the show however you think best. We have a great place for you to do that. And we've had some great local cover and tribute bands come and play. In fact, many are top-notch entertainment. But the crowd isn't there. Where are all the local people??? We've had an outstanding Pink Floyd tribute band, an amazing Soul -Motown band, a rocking Led Zeppelin tribute band. All well worth a 5$ or $10 door charge which will be made up in the savings on drink prices. Even the soda and water is cheap. So... Where are all the local people??? We have a show featuring a Metal band from California and people come from Fl, MD, TN, IL, VA and Canada to see them. Yes.. Calgary, Canada. People come from all over the country to the Glen Cove Moose Lodge to see a band from out-of-state, but a local band, a GREAT local band cant seem to draw 30 people.... So what is the real problem here? Is there a complete apathy on Long Island for live music?? Have most of the people who would appreciate these other genres gotten too old or mostly died off? Are they too poor or too cheap to pay $10?? Is Glen Cove so far across town that it's too much of a drive? I am at a complete loss as to what factors are at work here...
A simple attempt to bring local music by local musicians to the local community has been a miserable failure while becoming an international success...
What is going on??? Anyone?? Anyone? Bueller??
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