As I was headed out the door to do my free
gig at the Olive
Branch for the Downtown on the Town Benefit for the C.Springs
Philharmonic my wife commented that it was a remarkable
thing we
were all doing. She noted that here we are, mostly a bunch
of on
the edge musicians many of whom play for $50 a night in
clubs where
people drool over beers and couldn't give a damn about the
music,
donating OUR time to perform in a benefit for the Philharmonic.
I
immediately caught her drift. The Philharmonic is primarily
made up
of a certain class of folks who when they perform, get paid
nicely, have attentive crowds, and play in the lovely Pikes
Peak
Center. Now, don't get me wrong, I love classical music
and I
really enjoy the symphony, though I typically choose not
to attend
events like that in favor of say, buying groceries, or putting
$50
in my Roth IRA. Still, I was happy to do the event to support
them even though I haven't recently heard of any events
where
string quartets were playing for free in downtown restaurants
to
help out struggling folk/rock musicians. Can't you just
see it?
The Colorado Springs Downtown Business Association sponsors
a
benefit where restaurants donate food and the Symphony donates
their musical talent to raise money for struggling
singer/songwriters in the Pikes Peak Region. It's like ducks
in a
tree, it ain't happening! Why? Because the Philharmonic,
much
like public radio (which my wife and I also donate money
to), has
the aura of "art" about it. Like somehow, in that
particular
realm, they are above the demands of a marketplace which
the rest
of us must labor and compete in.
My brother John is a farmer and business owner
in upstate New
York. The entire upstate NY region, an area historically
rich in
farmland and industry, is struggling. There are numerous
reasons
for this but the flight of industry (due to high labor costs,
costly
benefits and a heavy tax burden) as well as the depression
of the
price of housing has caused tremendous strain on the social
fabric
there. (Side note: If we transplanted our house - worth
approx.
$180k - to upstate NY we would be paying about $6000 in
property
taxes a year as opposed to our current $750 or so.) Unless
your
small NY state town is near a metropolitan area, your town
is
drying up at an alarming rate. In only 10 years school roles
in
certain areas have shrunk by as much as 25%. Why do I bring
this
up? To point out that economics matters, and governmental
decisions can have unforseen consequences that can adversely
affect
citizens. Oh, and yes, to point out that what we choose
to spend
money on will in fact manifest a market demand in an ideal
system.
Rap music is successful because people are spending money
purchasing
it. So, what about the Philharmonic and more importantly,
what
about me?
I have maintained that musicians in our town
(and I know some
good ones) generally whine about the lack of venues and
the lousy
pay and the terrible hours, but they
often won't attempt to tweak what they do to make their
product
(which is music and the performance of it) unique. There
is not one
to blame though. I do not believe club owners, or restaurant
owners, or private citizens are responsible for creating
a
succussful marketplace for us. It is up to us to create
music that
draws listeners TO US. If we do that, with some honesty
and
integrity, venues will appear where none did before. (See
house
concerts for example.) Now I know we all would appreciate
a bit of
help here and there. Most of us are good hearted and that's
why we
donate our brilliance for a benefit like the Downtown on
the Town
event, but the bottom line is really quite basic. If people
like
what we do and desire to spend money on it, then there is
a market
for our services. If they don't, we will suffer. The Philharmonic
has struggled in the past and has attempted to tweak what
they do in
an effort to draw listeners. I believe that this is a good
move for
them and that is partly why I decided to do the benefit
for them
this year, for the first time. I will admit though that
I could
use a couple high end string players on some tracks for
my new CD
and I'm wondering how long I'll have to wait for a union
cellist and
violinist to give me a buzz and say that they would be happy
to
DONATE their expertise to my artistic endeavor.
My wife just called me to the kitchen where
she pointed out a pair of mallard ducks perched 20 feet
up on the branch of a large ash tree where our neighbors,
Josh and Jessica, live. In 47 years I've never seen it before.
I guess that goes to show you, anything is possible. Peace
all.
Here's the digs on gigs:
Wed. June 6th Garden of the Gods Campground
C.Springs 6-8 pm Ice Cream Social. Free and open to the
Public. 30th and W. Colorado in the center of the campground.
Saturday June 9th The evening show
will be a house concert at the home of Phil and Helen Hollar,
the ministers of the Rocky Mountain Church of Religious
Science. The event is $12/$6 for kids and will begin with
a potluck at 6pm, with the concert to begin at 7PM. The
home is located at 3035 Dublin Blvd which is about 1/4 of
a mile east of Union on Dublin in Colorado Springs. Please
contact hellenhollar@msn.com for furthur info and for reservations.
I'm bringing the banjo for this event.
Thursday, June 14th Outdoor concert
at Liberty Heights Housing Community at 12105 Ambassador
Dr. which is in northern C.S. off of Voyager and Ramtron.
Contact mstearns@seniorlifestyle.com for furthur information.
Showtime 6-7:30pm Free and open to the public. This will
be the first show in summer concert series so keep it in
mind as the summer goes on!
Sunday, June 17th. Garden of the Gods
campground C.Springs. 6-8pm Ice Cream Social with B.B-que
from Howards' available on site. Free and open to the public.
Corner of 30th and W. Colorado.
Sat. June 23rd. House Party, Nick and
Cathy Gurin, Black Forest, CO. $10 Contact ngurin@att.net
for reservation or call 303- 814- 3149 4pm potluck, 6pm
music, with Charlie Hall special guest.
Wed. July 11th Classic Homes and Norwood
Dev. Group sponsors this Wed. night Concert series at America
the Beautiful Park, Colorado Springs. Farmers market runs
from 4pm -8pm and the concert is from 6-8pm. With special
guest yet to be named.
Friday, July 13th. Guffey, Colorado
Peaceful Henry's Restaurant and Bar. 6-9pm. With special
guest, Jim Sokol. Lovely drive. Incredible venue. Great
food. Always magical. Contact Richard at 57tr3@ris.net for
reservations.
Blessings. Peace Joe
Uveges News Archives:
July, 2008 Uveges News
"Swimmer's Ear, The RUB, etc. "
June, 2008 Uveges News
"THE RUB, plus the updated summer Schedule,
N.Mexico, Spokane, Missoula Penrose"
May, 2008 Uveges News
"Summer Schedule, Touring and 'Driving' Now Available"
March/April, 2008 Uveges News
"Karl Marx Lesson, Colorado Springs
and Denver shows, N.East tour"
January, 2008 Uveges News
"Portland OR, HPUUC, Soul Link, and NASCAR"
October, 2007 Uveges News
"When Freedom Calls CD Release Concert "
September, 2007 Uveges News
"The End of Summer . . .Portland,
Black Forest, Monarch"
August, 2007 Uveges News
"Working Boys (Cont),
Aug./ Sept shows, Olive Branch Returns every Thurs"
July, 2007 Uveges News
"On summer projects, boys, and schedule"
June, 2007 Uveges News
"Ducks in trees, the Philharmonic, and schedule for june, july"
(click here)
April/May, 2007 Uveges News
Late April, Early May shows
and the story of the "Stinking Ant Eater"
(click here)
March, 2007 Uveges News
This weekend in C.Springs, and New Hampshire end of March
(click here)
February, 2007 Uveges News
Soul Link with S. Rissman, N. Hampshire etc.
(click here)
November, 2006
Pre-marital Sex, Tours and End of Year Shows
(click here)
September, 2006
CABOOM!!!
(click here)
August, 2006
August 06 Co.Springs, Creede, Trinidad
(Click here)
July, 2006
On Maggot Farming and the summertime schedule
(Click here)
June, 2006
Summer Musings and Schedule Through Late August
(Click here)
April, 2006
Music and Rafting on Bighorn Sheep Canyon
(Click here)
March, 2006
March shows and Monarch Ski resort
(Click here)
January, 2006
Soul Link
(Click here)
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