RTP-area local music and culture

[Bryon Settle <ployntabs AT embarqmail.com>]

So what acts would we see if there was a thousand seat space?

grady wrote:
> It all sounds like a bunch of hooey to me. Specifically, the type of 
> hooey that developers toss around when they're getting frustrated at 
> local opposition to their projects. Sort of like "well, we appreciate 
> your concerns, but if we don't get the green-light to proceed with our 
> project by FRIDAY then circumstances beyond our control might force us 
> to build a Wal-Mart with on-premise strip club instead."
>
> Except since it's Carrboro we're talking about, and the developers 
> probably aren't evil, but rather just getting impatient with some 
> late-term naysayers who apparently didn't bother to raise their concerns 
> during any of the opportunities for public input over the past 3 years 
> (remember this thread? 
> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.music.chapel-hill/browse_frm/thread/32360402f81bf7bb/400074a8ace20151 
> ), the doomsaying takes the somewhat more passive-aggressive form of 
> Laura Van Sant making vague statements about how she sure hopes the 
> Cradle doesn't up and move to Durham due to the uncertainty surrounding 
> the development.
>
> Or, to quote (extensively) from the Schultz & Menconi article in the 
> CHN/N&O:
> ------- begin quote -----------
> A developer proposing the renovation of the nightclub's East Main Street 
> shopping center urged the Carrboro Board of Aldermen to approve the 
> project Tuesday night, saying any further delay could send Cradle owner 
> Frank Heath packing.
>
> "It's absolutely an integral part of our project," Laura Van Sant said 
> in an interview Wednesday. "It is a fact he has landlords in Durham 
> offering him free space."
>
> But it's not clear that delaying the 300 East Main Street project would 
> force the Cradle to leave Carrboro. In an e-mail statement, Heath said 
> he gets regular inquiries about relocating the Cradle to a larger space 
> in one of the Triangle's other cities.
>
> "It can get a bit frustrating knowing that our current spot really is 
> where this venue needs to stay, while also knowing that we could benefit 
> from a larger space," Heath wrote.
>
> When asked about Van Sant's claim he'd been offered rent-free space in 
> Durham, Heath answered that it was more along the lines of booking shows 
> elsewhere than a space of his own to operate as Cat's Cradle.
> --------- close quote -----------
> http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1221382.html
>
> I'm not attempting to predict the future, but what I *am* saying is that 
> this project has been in the works for well over three years, and while 
> I'm sure Frank Heath has done a good job of formulating contingency 
> plans, the fact that he hasn't moved before now would indicate that he's 
> unlikely to up & move just because the project is *not* moving ahead.
>
> And just to provide background that's missing from the current coverage: 
> the plan, as it was explained to me, was for the Cradle to move into the 
> Performance Bikes space once it came time to bulldoze the stripmall 
> itself, and then eventually move into a custom-built space near the back 
> corner of the project, along with the ArtsCenter.
>
> Obviously grandiose plans such as those are exactly the sorts of things 
> to get amended &/or jettisoned once time & money get tight, and it would 
> be nice to see the coverage address some of that.
>
> Our friend Dave Menconi is fond of citing the shows that *don't* hit the 
> Triangle due to the lack of a ~1000-seat venue, but unless there's a 
> 1000-capacity building with all the requisites (parking, plumbing, etc) 
> just sitting unused in Durham or elsewhere, I don't think that's going 
> to play into this particular decision.
>
> One other bit of missing information: what's the planned capacity of the 
> "new" Cradle that's featured in the plans for the East Main development?
>
> Ross
>
> Gary Miller wrote:
>   
> > I was walking down the hallway in my building today and spied a
> > headline on the front of the Daily Tar Heel that caught my eye:
> >
> > "Durham Eyes Cat's Cradle"
> >
> > The article is about the proposed development at 300 E. Main St. and
> > quotes someone from Main Street Properties as saying "He's literrly
> > getting offered free space by folks in Durham."  The "he" in that
> > sentence is Frank.  Frank is quoted as saying he's keeping his options
> > open.  "Given the uncertainty with regards to the timing and future of
> > the Carrboro project, Cat's Cradle is trying to keep an open mind
> > about any future locations and configurations for the club."  It goes
> > on to say he's isn't currently planning to move the venue.
> >
> > I realize I'm probably way out of the loop.  But, although I knew
> > about the development, this is the first I've heard about the impact
> > it could potentially have on the Cradle's location, esp. being
> > recruited by Durham.
> >
> > Anyone else?
> >
> > Gary
> > -- ch-scene: the list that mirrors alt.music.chapel-hill --
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ch-scene
> >
> >     
> -- ch-scene: the list that mirrors alt.music.chapel-hill --
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ch-scene
>
>
>