RTP-area local music and culture

[david gourley <davidg.nospam.news AT verizon.net>]

local506 AT gmail.com put forth the notion
in...news:7ba5447a-edf3-4221-ba5f-8fc3ef59dae1 AT e23g2000prf.googlegroups.c
om: 

>>>>Which is too bad, because the basic idea of a multi-income venue
>>>>should be a better business model than the old single-purpose
>>>>smelly-black-box rockclub. Unfortunately, the details of the
>>>>implementation still count for a lot. 
> 
> I would agree, three years in and I continue to try and think of ways
> to make money the 20 hours a day Local 506 is not open to the public.
> But I think ultimately something has to give to make this work, most
> likely on both ends of the business.  For example, soundcheck time
> would normally correlate around dinner time, making for an unpleasant
> dining experience (and probably an unpleasant soundcheck.) Or, a
> smaller PA to accommodate more tables but sacrificing quality of
> sound.

A smaller PA with distributed speakers may not sacrifice so much in sound 
quality if done right, but it's still an expense.  The down side is that 
there are more parts to 'go wrong.'

> 
> I do know that we often get the comment "wow, a real rock club" from
> many touring acts which suggests that not only are there many places
> out there running duel businesses, but also that most bands prefer
> venues dedicated to live music.  With that said, the so-called value
> of a dedicated rock club (full PA, lighting system, elevated stage,
> etc.) then becomes another part of a clubs overhead expense as I've
> found patrons are not willing to pay more to see a band at Local 506
> than they are to see them at some of the smaller rooms in town.
> 
> glenn
> 

I think most restaurants that suddenly become night clubs at a later hour   
before they turn into pumpkins again only hurt whatever scene there is to 
be had, and seldom really help things.  Then again, bands that want to 
support this kind of thing are also complicit in that case (IMNSHFO).  I 
see a lot of that being driven by ABC laws, but maybe that's just me.

david