[NewMusic] discounts

[Robair, Gino]

Despite the fact that Zorn ate a bag of potatoes a month, and Woody Woodman
is apt to charge students extra for saying they're students, I think the
student discount is very helpful...in the real world.

I teach an intro-to-recording course at Diablo Valley College on Saturdays,
and the students in my class often don't make enough money to pay for the
books the class requires. (We're talking city college, not some expensive
private school, so there are not sugar-daddies sending my homies off to
college....)

Some of the students are just out of high school and are literally working
burger-flipping gigs (because they have no other job opportunities at their
age in the bay area). But they're musicians in their soul, and they want to
see shows. They take my class so they can have unlimited studio time for
something like $75 a semester. Smart kids, if you ask me. And damned
talented, some of them are.

There's no way they can afford a $75 ticket to the opera, or $25 to see a
show at the Finger Palace. But wouldn't it be cool if they COULD be exposed
to that music. Sadly, some of the venues have jive policies because the
grownups that run 'em have a chip on their shoulder.

And I have no compunction about telling my students to look for comps and
free ways to get into gigs: if they can help seat the old ladies or setup
the stage, they deserve a treat to some live music. If they know someone who
knows someone, go for it. When I was in college, I did my share of stage
managing to see the local symphonies (before I was able to sub in the
percussion section).

FWIW, y'all.