Music Venue

[tmray]

I had a conversation with Doug recently about the venue and we had
talked about the limitation of a venue charging the door. And while it
is possible to put on a free event without charging at the door the
venue would still need payment for sound and an engineer plus you'd be
at the mercy of what day they would want to book you etc, etc... This
got me to thinking. Overall, using a set venue you're waiting on a
third party's answers on things you need to know a lot of the time.

I was talking about this to my guitarist Mark one evening, who owns
DNA Studios in Madison, and he said why don't we do it in the back
warehouse at his studio. I think this will be a great oppertunity for
the event and the musicians.

* We would have built in quality recordings for, and of, the bands
that they and the visitors could have, use and share.

* Since it's not a club, plenty of time to set up the event the way we
want (cameras, tables, computer stations, what have you).

The warehouse is approx. 1200 sq ft. has high ceilings and is located
near-east downtown on Winnebago St. by The Alchemy and The Barrymore
Theater.

They have hosted events for "Arts Week" in the area for the past
couple of years. Working closely with the artists to accommodate their
needs and supplying technical equipment and assistance needed for each
artist.

You can learn more about the place here. http://dnamusiclabs.com

I think this would be the best place for the event as opposed to the
typical venue.

Hit me back with any questions or comments you might have.

Thanks,

.tom

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 5:38 PM, tmray<tmr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was talking about this to my guitarist Mark one evening, who owns
> DNA Studios in Madison, and he said why don't we do it in the back
> warehouse at his studio. I think this will be a great oppertunity for
> the event and the musicians.
>
> * We would have built in quality recordings for, and of, the bands
> that they and the visitors could have, use and share.
>
> * Since it's not a club, plenty of time to set up the event the way we
> want (cameras, tables, computer stations, what have you).

This is a fantastic idea! My initial thought is only something that
you guys probably have already thought off...noise violations. I
don't know know all the zoning laws, but the warehouse isn't
soundproofed like the studio I'm guessing. I'm also wondering about
fire code. I don't know what "Art Week" is, so maybe these problems
are already worked out, but I'm imaging the area being used for visual
art, not music when I hear "art week"...no reason for that to be
reality of course.

[Tom Ray]

Mark said they just need to acquire a cabaret licence for the event. The space has 2 exits front and back. And I asked about the neighbour too, Mark says he's a cool guy and he's gonna talk to him but he should be fine with it as he has been in the past.

tom

--

Tom Ray
---
http://www.lorenzosmusic.com
http://www.homemadecartoons.com
http://yourdaily.blogspot.com
http://polliwanna.blogspot.com

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 12:46 PM, Tom Ray<tmr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mark said they just need to acquire a cabaret licence for the event. The
> space has 2 exits front and back. And I asked about the neighbour too, Mark
> says he's a cool guy and he's gonna talk to him but he should be fine with
> it as he has been in the past.

My apologies to those of you not geeking-out about this like Tom and me.

Considering we have our own venue now, do we want to rethink how many
bands and the times of the show? Also, in interest of keeping this
all ages and free as in hippie Christmas, what about selling alcohol?
Now, having *drunk* people certainly presents some problems, but not
allowing beer seems ridiculous.

In the interested of keeping this community oriented, BYOB might be a
good policy, but at that point I'm not sure how we worry about
under-21ers. When I did show planning before we didn't really have to
worry about things like this since alcohol was not allowed in Chapel
Hill's student union.

To paraphrase Sick Of It All "If you take anything from this e-mail.
Remember this. Punk rock isn't about fashion. It's not cute. It's
an attitude, a way you live."

[Pete Prodoehl]

I like this idea a lot...

If the bands are getting good quality recordings, I'd imagine we could
do our best to educate them on open licensing of their music, and
encourage them to share/publish their recordings under an open license.

Pete

[Pete Prodoehl]

I'd go with an "official" no alcohol policy...

Knowing that you can't completely control or monitor who does what, but you'll do your best to keep it all-ages friendly.


Pete

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 8:40 AM, Pete Prodoehl<ras...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'd go with an "official" no alcohol policy...
>
> Knowing that you can't completely control or monitor who does what, but
> you'll do your best to keep it all-ages friendly.

I'm cool with that policy, but I don't think having/selling alcohol in
any way makes it a non-All-Ages show....unless there's something about
Wisconsin/Madison law I don't know (for instance, BarCamps are all
ages and often have alcohol...)

[Tom Ray]

We were looking at having security for the event too. So it shouldn't be a problem. 

And my keyboardist is the brewmiester at the Great Dane so thats how we could contain the alcohol to one spot. Setting up a bar to serve the beer would keep it contained rather than a bring your own where you don't know who has what.

tom

[Pete Prodoehl]

Will you be selling alcohol, or "giving it away"?

Doesn't selling require a permit/license?

And it may also bring up the issue of insurance, etc.


Pete

[Pete Prodoehl]

Well, "officially" there has never been alcohol at any of the BarCamps in Milwaukee... :)

(It's been discussed though, as we almost had a brewery as a sponsor for BCMKE2.)

Pete



Douglas A. Whitfield wrote:

[Tom Ray]

Probably selling. We'll need to acquire a cabaret licenses for the event anyway.

[Daniel]

Wow, I missed a lot on my 3 days out of town. For events I've done
around my parts, there is usually a local bar that is willing to take
on that task. It saves teh hassle of having to get everything together
and make sure the laws are covered.

They get promotion out of it, make a few bucks, and whatever the split
ends up being helps to cover any other costs, which makes the ability
to have the show free or cheaper more likely.

An interesting idea that I've seen is that it's free for anyone over
21, and 5 bucks for anyone under 21. Wrist bands are pretty cheap to
get, and this saves teh hassle of having to card someone when they
purchase liquor...

Thoughts?

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:08 AM, Daniel<dcos...@gmail.com> wrote:
> An interesting idea that I've seen is that it's free for anyone over
> 21, and 5 bucks for anyone under 21. Wrist bands are pretty cheap to
> get, and this saves teh hassle of having to card someone when they
> purchase liquor...

I'm fine with wrist bands, but charging people under 21 (and no one
else) in a college town seems like a bad idea...especially when we are
trying to revive the Students for Free Culture group on campus.

[Daniel]

Yeah, that's a very good point. I was just trying to think of a way to
make sure costs were covered. Are they asking for a rental fee for the
warehouse?

One other thing to consider, as one of the artists I was talking to
expressed some concern, is not to have the show too close to finals. I
think the weekend of November 13th looks like a good time. No holidays
or major events or anything going on then.

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 1:28 PM, Daniel<dcos...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think the weekend of November 13th looks like a good time. No holidays
> or major events or anything going on then.

I'm in favor of the 13th. This would allow us to promote pretty
heavily to those that come to OE on the 31st (or 1st depending on what
the decision is on that).

[Daniel]

My only thought is that I wonder if a Saturday might be a better day
to do it? There are some later classes that people might have on
friday, and it'll be easier for those who work to get there if they
are coming from out of town (such as Chicago, heh). Votes for the
14th?

On Aug 31, 7:07 pm, "Douglas A. Whitfield" <douglas...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

I'm fine either way. Just depends on what dna wants to do, really

On Sep 1, 2009 11:48 PM, "Daniel" <dcos...@gmail.com> wrote:


My only thought is that I wonder if a Saturday might be a better day
to do it? There are some later classes that people might have on
friday, and it'll be easier for those who work to get there if they
are coming from out of town (such as Chicago, heh). Votes for the
14th?

On Aug 31, 7:07 pm, "Douglas A. Whitfield" <douglas...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 1:28 PM, Daniel<dcosta...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I think the weekend of Nov...

[Alnisa Allgood]

If there were a charge, I think a single charge for everyone, not just under 21. Technically speaking, they'd still be buying drinks, just non-alcoholic ones. Though, I'm concern. The problem with selling alcohol is someone has to buy alcohol upfront. Possible bar sponsorship could handle that, maybe even multiple bars with their own set-ups, they keep cash receipts. Like they do for various festivals and such.

Just an idea. 

Alnisa
......................

Alnisa Allgood
Executive Director
Nonprofit Tech
t. 608.241.3616
e. aln...@nonprofit-tech.org

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 1:28 PM, Daniel <dcos...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Alnisa Allgood]

I think either is fine, but I haven't been following the Identi.ca conversation so would there be any workshops on using CC for artist or just highlighting artist that use CC?

Alnisa
......................

Alnisa Allgood
Executive Director
Nonprofit Tech
t. 608.241.3616
e. aln...@nonprofit-tech.org

[Douglas A. Whitfield]

On Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 1:15 PM, Alnisa Allgood<allg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think either is fine, but I haven't been following the Identi.ca
> conversation so would there be any workshops on using CC for artist or just
> highlighting artist that use CC?

Right now, the idea is just to do the show. I think we should have
"Public Service Announcements" while there are set changes though, and
probably printed material for people to pick up. Perhaps even a
computer where people can burn CDs of artists downloaded from Jamendo.
We need to get a date before we discuss too much so we can know how
many bands we are going to have booked.

[tmray]

Sadly after meeting with Mark and his co-owner at the studio, the
partner was not interested in them hosting the event. They are
currently using the warehouse to store equipment from a transitional
move and have no where else to put it for a while. So security of
items and such were a concern.

I will pick up where I left off talking to The Frequency and High Noon
for a hosting venue as they were showing interest in the event
earlier.

More info as it comes along.

tom

On Sep 2, 2:28 pm, "Douglas A. Whitfield" <douglas...@gmail.com>
wrote: