We Shot Down Our Own Trial Balloon; But We Have A Plan B

A LITTLE NOTE TO OUR FRIENDS AND PATRONS - WE SHOT DOWN OUR OWN TRIAL BALLOON

HEY IT WORKED, IT WAS NEAT, ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING FOR THE STORE LEGACY - JUST THE WRONG PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

     WE HAVE BECOME RATHER WELL KNOWN FOR PUTTING OURSELVES THROUGH THE HOOPS. I'M GETTING PRETTY OLD FOR THIS KIND OF ADVENTURE, BUT I'M STILL GAME TO PROVE OTHERS WRONG. ADMITTEDLY, SOME TIMES WE HAVE WON, AND WE'VE ALSO FELL SHORT ON A FEW OTHERS. WE'VE TAKEN A LOT OF RISKS. ONE OF THEM WAS MOVING TO GRAVENHURST. ANOTHER WAS SETTING UP MAIN STREET RETAIL, ESPECIALLY WHEN MANY OF OUR CONTEMPORARIES TOLD US OUTRIGHT, IT WAS GOING TO FAIL. SOME OF THESE FOLKS ARE STILL WAITING FOR THEIR PROGNOSTICATIONS TO PAN OUT. IT WAS TEN YEARS AGO, THEY SAID WE'D BE GONE IN A YEAR. FUNNY HOW THINGS WORK. WE HAD DOUBTS BUT WE ALSO BUILT-IN ENOUGH OUTRIGGERS, TO MAKE SURE WE ALWAYS HAD SOMETHING ELSE TO KEEP US STEADY IF ONE OR TWO ENTERPRISES FAILED. WE ARE NO DIFFERENT TODAY. ONE OF THE MOST RELIABLE OUTRIGGERS, HAS BEEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS, WHO, OVER THE YEARS, HAVE ALSO BECOME CLOSE FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES IN MUSIC ETC. IT MAY NOT BE THE KIND OF CREDIT THAT YOU TAKE TO A BANK, TO GET A BUSINESS LOAN, BUT BY GOLLY, WHEN YOU'VE HAD A TOUGH WEEK, WITH MODERATE SALES, HAVING OUR MATES  VISIT, CHEERS US UP ENORMOUSLY. IT'S THE REASON WE HAVE STAYED. WE HAVE BEEN OFFERED STOREFRONTS IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND WE DECLINE ON EACH OCCASION. WE'VE GOT A PERFECT BUILDING, WITH LOTS OF EXPOSURE, AND OUR ONLINE NETWORK IS GROWING ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SO WHILE WE HAVE TO ADMIT THAT IT WAS RISKY FROM THE BEGINNING, IT HAS BEN MITIGATED YEAR AFTER YEAR, BY THE FACT OUR BUSINESS CONTINUES TO EXPAND. I'M NOT THE ACCOUNTANT, BUT I LIVE WITH HER. WHEN SHE WINKS, ALL IS WELL. SHE'S BEEN WINKING A LOT RECENTLY. ISN'T THAT WORTH CROWING ABOUT, ESPECIALLY IN A TOWN THAT TENDS TO DWELL ON THE NEGATIVE.
     WE MOST CERTAINLY OWE OUR CUSTOMERS AN EXPLANATION. LAST EVENING, ANDREW AND ROBERT ANNOUNCED TO ALL OUR FRIENDS, VIA FACEBOOK, THAT WE WOULD BE CANCELLING OUR "SESSIONS" EVENTS, THAT WE'VE BEEN HOLDING IN THE BACK ROOM, OF OUR GRAVENHURST STOREFRONT, FROM JULY LAST YEAR TO A SMALL BUT SUCCESSFUL SHOW, IN LATE JANUARY. WE DON'T FEEL POORLY TREATED BY THE TOWN,  WHATSOEVER, AND ALTHOUGH WE HAVE HAD MANY FALLINGS-OUT WITH THIS MUNICIPALITY, IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, MANY PEOPLE MAY HAVE WRONGLY ASSUMED, WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF ANOTHER BATTLE OF WILLS. THE BOTTOM LINE; WE WILL NEVER DISMISS THE IMPORTANCE OF ADHERING TO FIRE REGULATIONS.
     SO HERE'S HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN. WE FOUND OUT THAT WE WOULD REQUIRE SOME FIRE CODE MODIFICATIONS TO OUR LOUNGE ROOM, AT THE REAR OF THE BUILDING, IF WE WERE GOING TO PLAY HOST TO THIRTY GUESTS. WHICH, BY THE WAY, WOULD INCLUDE OUR FOUR FAMILY MEMBERS, AND THE NUMBER OF PERFORMERS ATTENDING THE EVENT. THE SIZE OF THE ROOM, WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS, WOULD ONLY HOLD A MAXIMUM OF THIRTY, SO UNLESS WE WERE GOING TO RENOVATE AND EXPAND, IT WAS GOING TO LIMIT OUR PROGRESS REGARDLESS. IT'S NOT AS IF WE DIDN'T KNOW THIS IN ADVANCE, AND WE'VE ALSO NEVER EXPECTED MORE THAN THIRTY PEOPLE REGARDLESS. AND TAKE AWAY AT LEAST THREE FAMILY MEMBERS, WHO ARE MANNING OTHER PARTS OF THE BUILDING DURING OUR SESSION.
     NOT WISHING TO VIOLATE HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS, AND FIRE REGULATIONS, FOR A COMMERCIAL ENTERTAINMENT VENUE, WE WEIGHED OVER ALL THE OPTIONS, AND DECIDED, WITHOUT EVEN A FINAL SALUTE, TO SHOOT DOWN OUR OWN TRIAL BALLOON. WE MUST ADMIT TO BEING UPSET BY THE SITUATION, BUT THE REALITY IS, WE HAD, IN THE BEGINNING, ONLY SET UP THE STAGE, AT THE BACK OF OUR ANTIQUE AND VINTAGE GUITAR SHOP, FOR THE OCCASIONAL DAY-TIME PERFORMER. AND FOR SMALL JAM SESSIONS, WITH A MODEST AUDIENCE OF FRIENDS. IT MORPHED A TAD, INTO A ROOM WHERE MUSICIANS, WORKING ON THEIR ACTS FOR UPCOMING TOURS, COULD HAVE AN AUDIENCE OF CRITICS, MORE OR LESS, TO HELP THEM ON THEIR WAY. WELL, FOLKS, IT WORKED THAT WAY FOR A LOCAL COMEDIAN, WHO WAS TRYING OUT SOME NEW MATERIAL, AND WE WERE HIS AUDIENCE. THE SESSIONS WERE NOTHING SPECTACULAR. NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. A BASIC PLAN WITH COMFORTABLE SEATING. THERE WAS NEVER ANY PLAN ON PAPER, OR IN OUR HEADS, THAT TEMPTED US TO CREATE A MAJOR ENTERTAINMENT VENUE. I SUPPOSE IT WAS A VENUE, BY DEFINITION, BUT JUST NOT A VERY BIG ONE. IT'S NOT LIKE WE WERE CHALLENGING THE LOCAL THEATRES TO CLAIM OUR MARKET SHARE. ANDREW AND ROBERT ARE LONG-TIME ENTERTAINERS, AND INSTRUCTORS, AND THEY WERE OPENING THE SHOP TO THEIR FRIENDS. IT WAS THIS BASIC, AND THIS UNCOMPLICATED. SO SEEING AS WE WEREN'T EVEN CLOSE TO THE THIRTY PERSON THRESHOLD, IT JUST SEEMED WORTH CARRYING ON.
     AFTER BEING KINDLY NOTIFIED, THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHANGES IN FURNISHINGS, AND MAKE SOME DECOR AND AISLE ADJUSTMENTS, TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH FIRE CODE REGULATIONS, AS RELATES TO ENTERTAINMENT VENUES, WE DECIDED THAT UNLESS THE ROOM WAS PHYSICALLY EXPANDED, BY KNOCKING OUT SOME WALLS, THIRTY PEOPLE, DOWN THE ROAD, WAS TOO SMALL AN AUDIENCE TO JUSTIFY THE EXPENSE. WHILE IT WAS IMPORTANT TO GIVE THIS A TRY, WE ALWAYS KNEW THAT DOWN THE ROAD, THE TRIAL BALLOON WAS GOING TO EXPAND FOR KEEPS, INTO WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO......TAKE OUR SMALL (AT PRESEBT) TO POSSIBLY BIGGER SHOWS, BACK TO THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE, WHICH IS AFTERALL, RIGHT ACROSS THE ROAD. IT'S THE PLACE WE USED TO RENT FREQUENTLY, UNTIL WE RAN OUT OF MONEY TO KEEP AFFORDING THE RENTAL AND ADDED FEES.
     SO WE PULLED THE PLUG ON OURSELVES. WE DON'T BLAME THE FIRE OFFICIALS FOR CHECKING US OUT, BUT HONESTLY, OUR AVERAGE VISITORS PER EVENT, CAME IN SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWELVE TO FIFTEEN. YOU PROBABLY HAD MORE PEOPLE FOR A FAMILY CHRISTMAS THAN THIS, OR WELCOMED MORE FOOTBALL FANS OVER FOR THE SUPER BOWL. IT WAS A VERY INTIMATE ROOM DURING THOSE SESSION EVENTS, AND IT SURE WAS COMFORTABLE IN THOSE BIG OLD SOFAS, THAT REMINDED OUR GUESTS OF THE FAMILY RECREATION ROOM. BUT THE COUCHES REPRESENTED SOME OF THE OFFENDING FURNITURE, AND THUS, HAD TO BE REPLACED TO PASS FIRE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. SO NOW, WE'RE JUST GOING TO SIT ON THEM AND CONTEMPLATE OUR NEXT MOVE.
     SO HERE IT IS: OUR SOLUTION!
     Many followers of this blog and the boys' music facebook page, will know that we have put on quite a number of fundraising concerts, in the past, at the Opera House. We've run benefit concerts for the Humane Society, the Wounded Warriors, the Salvation Army Food Bank and as a matter of some irony, a community variety show to help raise funds for those families left homeless, by a mulit-building fire, that ravaged the main street, three years ago. We have run benefit events on The Barge, the famous open-air venue on Gull Lake, and handed over money raised, to help Music on the Barge, manager, Fred Schulz, purchase equipment to facilitate the concert series. We have never run a for-profit event at any town venue, which even included a couple of concerts on the stage of the Gravenhurst Senior Citizens Centre. Even in our back room, a little pot was set out, to raise some travel expenses for the featured musician of the night. We would be happy, on those nights, if it would reach fifty bucks, which would cover the musician's gas costs, from Toronto and back. It was never designed as a for-profit venue. It was a plan for down the road. The objective, one day soon, will be to approach the new council for the Town of Gravenhurst, for a plan to decrease the rental rates at the Opera House, which have become cost prohibitive for most town users. As a result of fee increases, and a surcharge on tickets sold, we had to withdraw from the Opera House entirely. We had even run successful smaller events, in the Trillium Court, but even then, we found ourselves short of money to make a meaningful donation to groups, we had made promises. Our businesses have chipped in, as well as some of our corporate sponsor friends, who are always willing to support local entertainment. Our shows, back then, always featured Muskoka district entertainers, and most of them were from our town. We're have been proud of these events, and our annual "A Night Before Christmas," had become a looked-forward-to event each December at the Opera House. It was as much, our own expanded Christmas, and with our student participants, it was just like having a home get-together; that's how familiar and casual it was for all of us, on stage, volunteers, and for those in the audience.
     One of the original reasons we opted to do some trial parlor-shows in our backroom, was to keep our hand in the entertainment business, and help some independent musicians get a crack at an audience.....for a little constructive criticism, in an intimate non-commercial setting. We did have some highly talented performers, who just wanted to play a small venue, where they could interact with the audience, at you might say,  arm's length. If we were looking for a workable arrangement, and successful formula, which I believe we were, I think these few events were helpful, and even a little instructional. We gained experience, in how to approach the challenge, of giving these performers a perfect night out, in a good host town, while not making them feel lesser performers, because every seat in the house wasn't full. We found that there was something much more important here.....and it involved the art of listening. In our tiny venue, our audience listened to the performers. They didn't clang beer glasses, or engage in private conversations when the music was being performed. They were there to listen. Not to drink or play billiards, or engage in political debate during the act. Many of these same performers know what that's like, trying to be heard above the din of glasses shattering on the floor, and tinking together behind a bar. The events were about one thing. The social atmosphere of music. A simple plan and one we saw up close and personal. But we could also see, that by the interest being shown, we were going to need a bigger space eventually. It's why we have our eyes set on a re-engagement with the Opera House. There are just a few details to be ironed out.
     We hope to get some support, for this election year submission, that will ask for a total review of rental prices and use-obstacles, that are presently in place, and consideration be given to rate reductions for citizens and groups representing this municipality. We will also ask that consideration be afforded, a plan for the creation of a board governors, or directors, to liaison between the site manager and the town committee, responsible for its operation. We need citizen input, and fair regard for the public's concern, about use of the building in the future. It is common practice to have a board of directors, just as with a museum, and the only thing standing in the way of this happening, is the present will of council, that wishes to avoid the issue entirely....and hire a new manager with no regard for reform of the standards.....that by the way, have made it cost prohibitive to rent the facility we own as taxpayers. It's why we are no longer able to rent the site and put on community concerts. It's the reason no one has come behind us to do the same thing.
     Is it a ridiculous request, to suggest that frequent users, should qualify for a lesser rate, based on the number of rentals each year. We could guarantee them twelve, if not more, so a little discount would go a long way, to inviting us back to the main stage. We have missed the connection with the building, but we've had no choice. With a new council, hopefully, will come some new ideas on how to revamp the public use of a wonderful old building.
     The best part....is that we are adding to the entertainment opportunities in our town. Not too much, but distinguishable from doing nothing. We have been, and are still generating, a new musical interest in our town, for up and coming musicians, and we are bringing a small but significant group of day travellers on a regular basis. We can make this statement now, that these would be non-profit events, that after expenses, would only cover the musician's costs. In the case that we are using local talent, with no travel expenses, we will donate the money to a local, in-Gravenhurst charity. Do you think the town will want to talk with us? If they won't talk to us now, we will talk to them later. It will be an election issue. Now we need to find some potential candidates who will help us forge ahead. If you live in Gravenhurst, and believe some change of Opera House protocols is needed, please let us know. Of you have four years to spare a good cause, we'd love to talk to you about an election issue close to our hearts.
     Thanks again to all of the friends who have commented already, about our change of plans. It was the right thing to do, for health and safety. Now we have to do what is right for entertainment opportunities in this town. Thanks again, and we do appreciate all of the support we received each week. We see the real Gravenhurst behind all the other stuff that goes on here. It's what we hope will blossom once again, when the municipal elections roll around this fall season.