Poor Seattle…

I was watching a show on TV last night that really borderline infuriated me, and I’m trying to figure out why.  I actually really liked the show – it was on Channel 21, the “Seattle Channel,” and the show was titled The Local Music Show, and it was hosted by John Richards from KEXP.  The format was beautiful and inviting, and Mr. Richards was talking to a number of professionals in the Seattle music community.  I recall conversations with the booking manager at Nectar, the owner of Funhouse, the owner (I think) of Chop Suey, Hannah Levin and a member of the Heavy Hearts.  And the conversation was way up there – very smart and engaged people talking about the business of fun in this big little city.

 

I think what I liked most was that there was a conversation going on at all, and that it centered around the question, “why are Seattle audiences so lame, and why are all the clubs closing?”  At least that’s what I came away with.  I didn’t keep a formal tally of the number of times Mr. Richards (he seems a little young to call Mr. Richards, but I don’t really want to call him just John) came forth and said “People Don’t Go Out To Shows Enough In This Town, Including Me,” or some version of that sentiment, but it was plenty.  It felt to me like that was the thesis of the discussion, along with “do people prefer DJs to live music,” “is City Hall doing enough to support the clubs,” and “why do stupid condo owners call the police because of the stupid noise when they were the ones stupid enough to buy a condo above that stupid club?”  And this is where I started to get irritated.

 

Not getting out enough?  KEXP is supposed to be all about local talent.  If Mr. Richards is saying he doesn’t get out to enough shows, what hope is there for this city?  Look at the listings in the weeklies – there are dozens of shows to choose from every night of the week.  These are the people who make up the Seattle music community, not the bands from out of town who bring all the supposed tourists.  There is good music out there, a lot of it for free to whomever wants to watch. 

 

And as for the zoning and condos stuff – what are we, children?  If we want to change the dynamics of the Seattle music community, we need to get going with our list of demands.  First, we need a 4AM closing time, instead of the standard 2AM or earlier (long an issue of interest for DHCPAC).  Second, we need to establish which parts of town are the party districts (Belltown, Cap Hill, Ballard, etc.) and then make this status very clear to those who want to buy property in said districts.  Because people who want peace and quiet and then buy a place above Chop Suey are asking for it.  You should have to check a box on the deed when buying one of these places that says “I am buying a place in a party district, and hereby waive my right to bitch about it later.”.  This isn’t rocket science – it’s simple transparency.  Third, we bulk up construction of new clubs in these club zones and discourage the construction of family housing in those places.  You can still build, but make them sturdy but inexpensive lofts and efficiency apartments, built with class, built to last, but fully intended to be cheap places in the middle of Party Central.  Welcome back, cheap rent in the arts district!

 

We’re too nice about this stuff.  Every time there is a disagreement between property owners and whoever it is that happens to be pissing off property owners at any given time, a task force is established.  Then a task force is created to do a fact-finding study on what the first task force accomplished.  Then someone takes the city council to court to stop all this frivolous and wasteful spending on task forces.  Years later, 20 more clubs have closed, replaced by 20 luxury condominiums.  Enough of that – there are enough young voter-eligible adults in this city to force a change if any of them really cared.  But they don’t.  We don’t.  We can listen to music at home a lot cheaper, and anyway it’s raining and I’m too tired to go out.

 

We (DHC) have been to New York a couple of times now, and we have our next trip planned for January 2009.  Every time I have been there and then returned, I immediately start planning my next trip there.  When I leave it is because I have to, not because I want to.  And the reason is that people there have a good time with music.  We don’t do that here in Seattle.  Here, there are more roadblocks to having a good time than the good time is worth.  Blame it on condo owners, blame it on Mayor Nickels, blame it on a too-early closing time, blame it on lack of parking and transit, blame it on the economy, high covers and expensive drink minimums, but what it comes down to is that Seattleites don’t really know how to have a good time.  Every event has to be filtered through a lens of what is cool, what is kitschy, what is sufficiently rebellious, what are their political leanings, who knows who, and how far you would have to go to experience something different, and whether it would be worth it when you got there, and really, wouldn’t it just be easier to stay home and blog about how shitty the Seattle music scene has gotten and how all the best clubs are closing?  As I watched The Local Music Show, with all of its penetrating discussion, I realized that people have as much fun talking about why the scene is failing as they do going out to see music.  That’s depressing.

Baffling.

I am so happy that we are less than 2 weeks from holding elections.  Because seriously, I can’t imagine dealing with too much more of this stuff.

What the f&@*!

J, DHC

Progress…

Hey everyone – been away for a while, but not really away – just sitting back, rocking down, and watching this beautiful Seattle summer unfold.

 

We (DHC) have been away from our open mic hosting duties for a while now.  The Mainstage is still going strong on Tuesday nights, through the will and determination of the new hosts Sean Hennessey and Andi Francoeur, two of the most talented musicians in town.  And of course, Kat rocks the bar and Gary rocks the soundboard – if you haven’t checked it out recently, you should really do so.  Lots of great music to be heard at the open mics in Seattle, which brings me to the larger point of this post.

 

If you get out there and check out the places with a night to play, you will often run into a few who don’t allow covers.  Sometimes it’s just the way the venue prefers it.  And that is totally cool.  No arguments about that.  But in other cases, the venue puts a restriction on what can be played because of the musicians’/artists’ unions (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and so on).  In order to be sure that musicians and songwriters are getting paid cash money, these unions clamp down on unauthorized performances of licensed material – that means you can’t play Raspberry Beret at an open mic unless you have gotten permission from Prince, and good luck with getting that phone call returned.  More commonly, the business can pay licensing fees to all of those organizations and be covered, but the fees are steep, and the fines for playing without a license are steeper when they add up.  How does ASCAP know who’s playing what on which night?  They send representatives to check it out.  And the business owner might receive a letter a couple of days later with an address where a remittance check can be sent.

 

I for one believe these unions are valuable – I would never want to see dues paying members deprived of their royalties for the work they have done.  The money that ASCAP et al distributes to these folks pays for health and dental and provides a well-deserved income.  But open mics are often held in little taverns and coffeeshops, and generally fall on a slow business night in order to bring out a few more people.  None of the musicians are getting paid; they come out, sign up on a list, wait a bit, have a beer or two, and then play three songs.  In my opinion, an “open mic exemption” from the union rules is overdue.

 

Businesses have shut down their open mic nights, and live or recorded music altogether, rather than pay the licensing fees.  That is a shame.  And I could be wrong, but I think if an appeal was made to the musicians and songwriters that the unions represent, asking to leave open mic nights out of the licensing tangle, those musicians and songwriters would at least consider it.  Musicians want their songs to be heard by as many people as possible, right?  And when some young guitar player steps onstage in front of a little crowd of people and tries a rendition of a pop song he or she loves, that is a worthy tribute.  And if that person goes on to make it big, and starts getting paid to play those covers, then the bean-counters should come back into the discussion.  Fair is fair. 

 

The question is this – does anybody know of an online tool for putting out a petition to the members of ASCAP/BMI/SESAC?  And if these folks received a copy of this petition, do you think they would support it?  Let us know your thoughts on this matter.  An open mic exemption could be very good for everybody – artists, businesses, and humanity in general.

 

Rock it down to rubble,

 

DHC

www.davehateschico.com

 

PS – DHC also keeps up a completely separate blog on MySpace (www.myspace.com/davehateschico2), but due to technical difficulties, you can’t get to them unless you subscribe to said blog.  Technology – what can you do?  J.

Notes on a Seattle cyclist.

Seattle bikers can be real pricks sometimes.  I will say right off the top that I love bicycles.  I think they’re a great way to get around, and I think Seattle does a great job of providing what it can for bikers’ comfort.  But man alive, Seattle bikers can be real assholes and/or morons when they want to.  Of course, the same can be said of Seattle drivers, Seattle walkers, and Seattleites in every other mode of transport imaginable.  I think our people have some real social adjustment problems due to the region’s rapid growth in the 90’s, and its transformation from sleepy fishing village to major center for software and music.  But people around here don’t pay attention to what they’re doing.  Pedestrians stand at lights that have turned green, and suddenly realize that they should cross.  And then they take their sweet time.  Infuriating for a driver who just wants to take a left but has to wait until this person collects his thoughts and get walking.  And I’m not even going to start on the drivers around here.  Not enough room on the internet to open that can of idiotic worms.  Too many drivers out there afflicted with Seattle Nice, which seems to obliterate any and all understanding of the rules of the road.  But today’s topic is bikers, and there’s one prime example that I just have to relate.

 

I scooter these days.  Therefore, I find myself wedged somewhere between bikers and motorists, not truly accepted as a member of either group.  So I watch what goes on from a perspective different from both.  The other day I was heading home from work and witnessed one of the biggest asshole moves ever.  On 34^th Street near Gas Works, there are bike lanes running both directions.  If you’re heading west toward Fremont , there is a bike lane running alongside the car lane.  When you get to Stone Way , there are two car lanes – one to go straight ahead, one to take a right and head north on Stone.  The straight-toward-Fremont bike lane gets swallowed up by this right turn lane, but there is plenty of room for both cars and bikes to share.  So this asshole biker pulls up to the light, dead center of the car lane, no room to get to his right and make the turn.  Cars trying to turn right are stacking up.  The car at the front of the line is edging closer – he needs the biker to move forward 6 inches in order to get past and make his turn, but the biker ignores him and stands firm.  The car finally swings the turn, but the next car behind cannot make the move any easier because this prick won’t move a foot to his left, and there isn’t adequate room to turn if he doesn’t move.  And the clincher to this prick’s prickishness is that he actually looks back toward the third car that is trying to make a right, and he fucking SHRUGS.  Like there is nothing he can do about it.  “Sorry pal, I am unable to move six inches forward or to the left.  Wish I could, but I can’t.”   What a fucking tool. 

 

Because this wanker couldn’t be bothered, the line of cars stacked back to Woodlawn – a long long stretch.  And since that light is really really long, a whole bunch of cars got stuck there idling, waiting for a turn.  I’m sure this guy got off on the fact that he could make a bunch of people wait.  But you know what, fucknut red-spandex biker guy?  You were sitting dead center in a TURN LANE.  In order to keep it moving, drivers need to be on the ball, ready to shoot the gap and take their right turn.  But because you had to feel so superior, you brought all of the work of our great urban planners – all of their planning, common sense and design for that intersection – and brought it to a grinding halt, all to feed your ego.  You’re a bitch.

 

There are plenty of forums that talk about how we need more dedicated bike lanes for the growing community of bikers, but even with the lanes, there are lots of bikers who feel no need to use them.  They ride wherever and however they like, not really caring what anyone else thinks, coasting around in their little bubbles of entitlement, not locked down to the laws of anyone else.  Weaving between cars, running lights, riding on sidewalks, locking their bikes to handrails (which people actually use to walk upstairs sometimes), and wearing stupid Tour de France-style bodysuits.  The worst of all are the ones who ride in the center of a one lane road, maintaining a steady 10 MPH, with a line of 15 cars following behind.  And nobody can pass because there isn’t enough room.  What is going through the minds of these bikers?  I wish I knew.  Can human beings really be so clueless and selfish?

 

And again, I support biking.  I have voted in favor of every levy that has come down in favor of supporting bikers.  And all you good, conscientious bikers who want to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem, I salute you.  I know you’re out there too.  Keep on keeping on.  And if you see that red-spandex shithead out there mucking it up for everyone, tell him to quit being such a dick.  He clearly won’t hear it if it comes from someone driving a car, so it’s up to you guys.

Jeremy

DHC

Such an excellent article…

David Byrne wrote this article for Wired Magazine in late 2007.  I have read it about a dozen times.  One of the best and most thorough articles I have ever read concerning the music industry.  DB is the man.

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne

Hope you enjoy,

Jeremy (DHC)

Open Mic Mystery??

So the time has come for Dave Hates Chico to bid farewell to the open mic hosting. To our dismay, people in

Seattle, musicians mainly, apparently do not want to play music on a big stage with killer sound. The open mic scene in Seattle has always baffled Dave Hates Chico for a number of reasons. 1. people only seem to frequent one or two and do not branch out much. 2. Some are insanely busy and some are just dead week after week and 3. People tend to go to the same ones all the time. What I would like to know is WHAT’S UP?????? Why do you not like to play music on killer stages with great sound?

A graph above shows the overall open mic attendance at DHC’s Mainstage open mic. A relative high in the summer, but a consistant drop off otherwise. Puzzling??

We’ve hosted a number of open mics over the years, some with success and some with no success. We try and find places that have great sound and food etc but no one seems to come. Now our third open mic, the Mainstage is deader then ever? I know there are a lot of you that have come out and supported it, or jammed there. DHC has many theories on why people don’t come out and I have listed these below.

1. People don’t like us leaving and playing- They don’t like the fact that we play at our own open mic and that we step out a lot and don’t listen to people. Look, it’s nothing personal ok, we need breaks, and a lot of them. If you are one of those people that get mad if people don’t watch you, don’t get mad! Everyone is different. DHC has had many people leave, or not pay attention while we play and you know what? We don’t let it get to us. We play for ourselves and for the people that want to listen. We understand that people have a lot going on and can’t watch us all the time. If you don’t play for yourself, then why are you playing? Remember, it’s nothing personal.

Our second theory: people don’t like that we play at our own open mic. Well, I’ve got something to say to that. 1. We can’t sit there all night and NOT play. And 2. if you honestly think that you can sit there all night from 8-1 and NOT play at all, you are high. I haven’t been to one open mic where the host doesn’t play UNLESS he doesn’t play.

2. DHC is obsessed with open mics. We are powered by rock and want nothing more than to uncover and explore new open mic destinations. We believe that some people just go to the same old open mics every week and that’s it. Hey, that is fine, but you really should go check out others

3. People just don’t jam out as much as us and are working on their own albums etc etc.

So there you have it folks. My rant. I’ve been writing this as I have been working, so not sure if it’s flowing well, but to wrap it up. The Mainstage open mic is sadly coming to a close. We will be hosting for the next few weeks, but after that, the 21st. no more DHC open mic.

We may have someone jump in and try to take it over, but we’ll see. For all of you that have consistently come out, we love you and we see the musical rock light glowing inside of you that emanates from DHC. We love you. To all of you that never came out, it’s cool, but I have a question for you? Do you like good sound??

Love ya

DHC

Cats and Music

Cats can be a great inspiration for writing music. They are cute and their little lippies are pink. The like to eat strings and chew your i-pod headphones. But they are cute and that is where the song writing comes in. We recently wrote a song called Butterball about my fatty kitty Maddie. It was going to be about her ninnies, but we decided that it should be about how she rolls on the floor and lies there like a playboy centerfold. She also is very reluctant to Kitty lovin, and does not like kissies on her lippies. Anyway, the following is our song to our butterball Maddie.

Butterball – Words and music by Dave Hates Chico

She’s just a butterball lyin’ on the floor

she’s just sitting there waiting by the door for you

Don’t hassle her don’t bother her or anything at all

she’s just a butter ball lyin’ on the floor.

Word.

The open mics of Seattle…

Hi all,

I have long wanted to take a moment and discuss the status of the open mic nights here in our fair city of Seattle.  This place has been through a lot of changes since Dave Hates Chico played our first open mic night in 2000 at a little place called the Barge Inn.  That is where we met the Man himself, Mr. John “JW” Weiss, open mic guru and all-around great guy.  DHC found its calling in that first show in the little fishermans’ neighborhood of Ballard – we found that, as satisfying as full shows with posters and mailing lists and promotion and all that shit can be, there is an awfully appealing draw to hitting open mics.  It’s like musical sushi.  Sonic tapas.  And we hit the stride right away.

When we started into this realm, the weekly newspapers would do a pretty good job of listing pubs, taverns and coffeeshops that hosted open mic nights.  With the right planning, we were able to call ahead or stop by at 3 or 4 different places on any given night – for example, on a Sunday, we would stop by the Experience Music Project, where Gil hosted an open mic upstairs in the Liquid Lounge, for their 6:00 drawing.  Once we drew a time (10:00 or so), we would immediately head out to O’Shea’s Easy Street in Wallingford for Ricky’s 7:30 sign-up.  If we could grab a spot at 11:30, we were golden.  And from there, we could always stop in at the Rainbow Tavern in the U-District to see about a late-night spot with Fudd.  That’s a good 9 or 10 songs total, played for three different audiences, all places with good friends, talented musicians, and all the rest.  And we didn’t have to make a poster or hand out flyers – again, not that I dislike flyers and posters, but we’re working guys, and I have a little boy at home who needs to hang with his daddy.  So after all the sign-ups, we head back to tune, maybe write a song or two, and then when 9:30 rolls around, we’re off to EMP, play a set, then to O’Shea’s, play a set, then we cap it off with a set at the Rainbow.  Boom boom boom!  Tapas deluxe!

That was a typical Sunday.  A strong night with some of the best stages around at the time.  Unfortunately none of those Sunday open mics are running anymore, which makes me feel all the more fortunate that I was able to experience them while they were here.  Sunday in Seattle is now limited to one open mic, still run by Ricky Herrin, but held at Conor Byrne’s in Ballard.  Luckily he still runs a great show, and DHC makes it there whenever we can.

So that’s why we do it.  Open mics are their own thing – you have to be in for the good and the bad, prepared for crowds that are dead quiet, loud and indifferent, too drunk, not drunk enough, what have you.  It’s always an experience.

Over the next few weeks, I will give my impressions of the current open mics in this town, maybe dig up some memories of open mics past.  There have been a lot of them over these last eight years, but all memorable enough I think.  Let’s see how it goes.

Jeremy, DHC 

(Next post – more on JW, the Gentleman Bandit of the Seattle open Mic community.) 

We are Dave Hates Chico.

Hey people – good to be here.  If you don’t know us already, we are Dave Hates Chico, based here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  We play music on a couple of acoustic guitars and try to lay out some cherry vocal harmonies over the top.  Dave is our good friend and he doesn’t really hate the town of Chico.  It’s a great place – Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves was filmed there.  Pick your name carefully, fledgling bands – you may need to stick with it to the end.

 We play at a lot of open mics in Seattle - almost every night of the week there is a handful of places to play.  We also host a show at the Mainstage in Seattle’s lower Queen Anne neighborhood every Tuesday night, which we broadcast live on a site called www.synclive.com.  Feel free to log on and check out some of the archived shows, and decide if you want to come down and show us your stuff.  We’re right in the shadow of the Space Needle, across the street from Key Arena (where the Sonics play for now).

We also make ample use of another great site, www.openmikes.org.  It’s the best resource out there for mapping your week of playing open mikes, in whatever city you choose.  In Pittsburg for a few nights?  Got your guitar?  Check out openmikes.org and find listings for every venue in the area.  Map it out, take down the phone number, and read the comments.  DHC just got back from touring New York City and Brooklyn for a week, and we wound up playing 11 places over 7 nights all thanks to this great site.  And in our hosting, we often get travelers from all over the country who stop by because they found us on openmikes.org.  It’s a great service and I highly recommend it.

We will keep this blog updated as often as we can – I also post quite a bit on www.myspace.com/davehateschico2, so if you want to check us out a little further, it’s a good place to start.

Mahalo, DHC