RTP-area local music and culture

["Glenn Boothe / Local 506" <glennscottboothe AT gmail.com>]

> Umm, what about your lungs? Will this be a nonsmoking event?

I'd consider that.  As everyone should know, I don't smoke so I'm not
against non-smoking events, but ultimately leave it up to the artist to
decide.  We've had a couple recently (Over The Rhine, Shankley's) and
this Friday's Don Dixon show will also be non-smoking.  Likewise, we
haven't had any problems enforcing this on such nights, which is a good
sign.

> I heard a
> shitload of people came out to the Smiths tribute show, which was
> nonsmoking, so apparently it's a viable economic decision.

Not to discount the success of that show, but the attendance was
actually about half as many people who came to their show last year
when the cover charge was twice as much and smoking was permitted. Plus
the drinks per person were actually significantly lower at this show,
than at the prior show.

So, economically speaking, does that suggest that having a cigarette
leads to another drink or two?  I dunno, but when your business is
actually selling drinks, it's not such an easy decision to make
(believe me, it has been discussed a lot.)

With that said, I'm sure there are other factors for this particular
show, such as the fact that the last show had two bands so people stuck
around longer and the fact that it was so crowded we had to start later
than planned which gave people more time to drink.

glenn