[NewMusic] Ribot rant and subsidized spaces in Europe

[Robair, Gino]

Thanks, PG, for posting that. I just got back from Europe, having played a
few subsidized spaces, and was intrigued by Ribot's ending comment:
<<Whether the musicians know it or not, almost every venue we play over
there is subsidized, at least by the city or state donating the performance
space The europeans have this situation for one reason: because they fought
for it.>>

I think there's truth in that, but there's a deeper issue: Europe has a
culture that supports art! The bottom line is that American's --- on the
whole -- are not interested in supporting 'art", unless it's
"entertainment." I say "on the whole" because, although we can point to some
kick-ass stuff in the bay area and other enlightened areas, there is not a
general cultural view in the US that accepts art as useful, as Europeans
seem to have (or, at least, did before the McDonaldsification of its own
culture happened). 

Nearly every musician I spoke with on this tour lamented that there is
nowhere to play these days over there! (Kinda hard to believe. Many of them
still remember the days when they could make a living playing improvised
music...) They should try building a tour from here to Chicago! ;-)

In Europe, you have state-run radio and television stations funding new
music performances. Here you have annoying infomercials and Yanni concerts
on public TV in order to fundraise. What message does that crap send?

So, I suggest taking up the Ribot fight in our own backyard. But a reminder
that we are up against more than just general apathy. The utility of audio
art has to be seen as important in some way, otherwise, who gives a rat's
ass...


On 4/5/07 9:00 PM, "newmusic-request at music.mills.edu"
<newmusic-request at music.mills.edu> wrote:

> Subject: [NewMusic] More Tonic News/Discussions
> To: "'Bay Area New Music Discussion Group'" <newmusic at music.mills.edu>
> Message-ID: <000c01c777bb$28a83350$4001a8c0 at PG>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Hey bListers,
> 
> On the thread of the closing of Tonic, here's a thoughtful missive and
> invitation to come to a meeting that Marc Ribot sent...
> 
> (I doubt that anyone can make the meeting, but it's an interesting
> missive nonetheless)
> 
> PG
> 
> This Thursday: april 5th
> 6:00 pm
> where: the back room at the PINK PONY restaurant
> 176 ludlow st, between houston and stanton st.
> 
> Please rsvp...
> 
> welcome: musicians who played tonic, tonic staff, musicians who would
> have played tonic but were unable to due to restrictive booking
> policies,  
> and all other downtown/new music/experimental/jazz/free jazz/free
> improv/experimental rock or just plain weird musicians PISSED OFF at the
> complete abandonment of new city's new music cultural scene and the
> musicians/composers who work on it.
> 
> Also welcome: activists willing to help DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
> Not welcome at this point: press
> 
> 
> Background/framework:
> The closing of tonic is part of a pattern of the closing, downsizing, or
> relocation to bklyn of many other new/jazz/experimental music venues.
> Often venues which remain have abandoned hard fought for rates of pay
> for musicians (like the 75% rate at tonic) or progressive booking
> policies. 
> 
> John Zorn's Stone is an important exception (as I'm sure The Tank is),
> but  
> Its hard to believe the stone's 80 capacity room can make up for the
> space lost (Tonic's 180 capacity). Looked at together, the rash of club
> closings  
> of the last year represents a larger problem than the simple
> mismanagement  
> of one club: there is a market failure in new music presentation in nyc.
> 
> The market failure has left an increasing number of non-profits fighting
> for pieces of a shrinking grant/public funding pie.
> 
> An increase in NYC public funding directed towards new/jazz/experimental
> music is the only thing (short of a serious crash in manhattan real
> estate prices) that can change this equation. But its not going to
> happen unless people fight for it.
> 
> The new music community is very divided in its feelings about
> tonic: its booking policy, especially in the last 2-3 years, has
> not been what many of us might have hoped. Still, they have a lot of
> support  
> in at least some parts of the community: they raised over 90,000 in less
> 
> than 4 months last time they almost closed.
>        
> We are NOT proposing a fight to keep tonic open in its current
> form:
> John and Melissa have already agreed to surrender the space to the
> landlord. But there is going to be anger felt in the community as yet
> another venue gets closed so some landlord can rent the space to a
> starbucks. 
> 
> I think it is in all our interest to not let that anger dissipate,
> but use it to fight for increased funding for experimental/jazz/new
> music.
> Again- not to keep the current club open, but to use its closing as a
> focal point for a political drive.
>  
> A fight on this issue this has more of a chance of success than
> most of us realize:
> Mayor Bloomberg himself showed up at one of the save cbgb's rallies. The
> club's closing got 2 consecutive days of front page NYTimes coverage,
> and the NYTimes gave Richard Hell (!!!) an op-ed column. That translates
> into major political clout- what political struggle in nyc ever gets
> that kind of coverage?-  but the people behind the save cbgbs campaign,
> for whatever reasons, chose not to use it once it was apparent the club
> couldn't be saved in its original location.
> 
> Most of the people on our own scene make most of their money touring in
> europe.  Whether the musicians know it or not, almost every venue we
> play over there is subsidized, at least by the city or state donating
> the performance space (this is also true of squats).
> 
> The europeans have this situation for one reason:  because they fought
> for it.
> We can do the same.
> best, 
> marc ribot
>