A Vision for a New Columbia - part 5: entertainment

I've been giving this a bunch of thought and Columbia 2.0 makes me worry a bit. It the Sun article concerning the group, there was a member of the group that books entertainment acts. I really hope there isn't another venue for crappy cover bands that makes a barely tolerable night out on the town. Nottingham's and Sonoma's covers that market rather well, thank you. Then there's the folk music, which is cool, but that won't drag in the youth market. Then there's the high art events, which many young people would go to, but it's not exactly the sort of thing that people would go to on a consistent basis. As I stated in my first post. There's easily 500+ people who go to either Baltimore of DC to see acts doing original music. That's a demographic work pursuing. And that's just the punk and indy rock scenes. Let's not forget the various jam bands in the area. Put that all together, and you have the economics of a vibrant music scene right here in Columbia.

There's also the bands who originate in this town, but they usually don't make it past high school and the others are busy going to either Baltimore or DC to play. After all, there's no acceptable music venue in town for them to play. The current venues will have one band only. In real venues, there's typically 3 bands per night. It might be a small crowd on most nights, but that's generally acceptable. In almost every case, there's the main venue area and a general bar area for those who don't want to see the show, but still hang out. There's options there.

Let's also consider the type of demographic we're talking about here. It tends to be people who are educated. Their earning capacity is varied since some will go into non-profits and others will go into more commercial careers, but part of their decisions for moving to an area rotates around what sort of nightlife options are available. If there's a good venue nearby, they'll move there. If it's accessible by something other than a car, all the better. Like it or not, that's the demographic that's really desirable. Those are the people who form communities of hundreds, and they'll spend the money for a quality nightlife.

And I want a cut if someone steals this idea ;)

--Chris

p.s. It would be very nice if the Columbia 2.0's proposals were online. It looks like GPP proposals on there. Boo on the lack of substance.

Comments

[Mac Cassity]

Hey Chris,

I just wanted to clarify something for you. We are NOT making a proposal for what downtown should be, we are merely looking to galvanize the youth of today to become involved in the process. I attended several of the GGP Town Meetings and do stand behind their plan.

Also, Katie does not book acts...she is an improv comedian...ours is not any kind of personal endeavor for our own pursuits, it is an awareness campaign...up to now, the dialogue has been between folks we know personally through our networking and so forth, but as the website grows (it will, I promise...lol) we will give folks more of a voice there as well. I welcome any questions you have, and I DO appreciate your concerns...it sounds as if you and I are pretty much on the same page with regards to Downtown...the WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS is the thing still up in the air...

[Chris]

Thank you for the clarification. I'm going by what the Sun is reporting.

'Katie Dunn, 26, of Ellicott City, who said she books entertainment acts and performs comedy on weekends, said she was born and raised in Columbia. But when out-of-town friends visit, "there's nothing for me to show them. I want to not have to drive to Baltimore or Washington."'

But then, With a group. Galvanizing groups together is important, but action is always better. I'm a Columbian who grew up in the punk DIY ethic, "Why wait for someone to do it when you can do it yourself?" And that was the way it was with my peers and friends.

I personally feel that the plan is a decent start, but far from adequate for many reasons.

[Mac Cassity]

Hey Chris,

Yeah, the other point is, she is FROM Columbia...she is like the epitomy of the Columbia girl, went to school there, CA swim team, all that good stuff...heck, she MAY book some acts, I don't know really, I guess her and I have always just talked about her improv troupe as that was what sparked my interest when she mentioned it, my point was just that we were not trying to get involved for our OWN personal gain, that's all.

I would love to hear your thoughts though..you have a great voice with the blog here, but perhaps we could talk with you re: C2.0 just to get some of your thoughts. We definitely want to increase the dialogue...I know alot of the folks we have talked to are not in love with EVERY aspect of the GGP plan, but DO want to see positive change...

By the way, now I am in a stuffy suit most of the time, but I spent 15 years as a drummer, still play occassionally. When I was skateboarding... DIY, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Ramones, Siouxsie...I was down...;-)

Mac

[Chris]

Word. I grew up in Thunder Hill myself during the period where our neighborhood was shipped off to Howard rather than OM. I'm working on bumper music for the podcast, so we can probably get something working next week maybe. I'll email you when I get things ready and tested out and I'll give you an open forum for a while to really flesh out the vision of the group and correct the Sun reporting where applicable.