zamykanie nowojorskiego TONIC

[tyszkens]

witam wszystkich słuchających co- a niekoniecznie jak- gra:)

wklejam (za DMG) spory tekst o zamknięciu ważnego dla muzyki improwizowanej klubu. w zasadzie to problem ludzi tuż za wielką wodą, ale chyba nie tylko. ja zawdzięczam Tonicowi m.in. dwie wspaniałe płyty koncertowe: ROVO i Christian McBride. miałem raz okazję być w Nowym Jorku. Tonic był zamknięty. nie wiem zatem jak tam było, nie sądzę, żeby specjalnie pięknie. sąsiednie Stone to dość zabawne miejsce, jeden duży pokój, składane krzesła i toaleta z kartką, żeby nie siusiać w czasie koncertu. a jednak sam Zorn podpisuje setki płyt po to, aby takie miejsca funkcjonowały. bo bez nich tracimy wszyscy. poczytajcie, potrenujcie język i przymierzcie to do naszych miejscowych "strat". mnie się przypomniało COMBO na Słupeckiej w Warszawie - miejsce, gdzie były płyty i zostały zaaresztowane (dosłownie). tam akurat prawa autorskie były ważniejsze od muzyki.

 

DMG & OUR FRIENDS THE WORLD OVER DRINK A TOAST TO TONIC!

THIS IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE SPACE CLOSES NEXT

FRIDAY, APRIL THE 13th AND ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE

HISTORY OF THE DOWNTOWN SCENE DRAWS TO AN

UNFORTUNATE CLOSE!

 

Yes, it is true, one of our [NYC] most

beloved clubs, TONIC, will close next Friday the

13th, after nine years of presenting some of the

best avant/jazz/rock/new music sounds that NYC

has to offer. Many of Downtown's best musicians,

as well as hundreds of great visiting players

from around the world, have found a home and a

welcome atmosphere at Tonic, since it opened in

1998.

As the Knitting Factory moved away from

presenting more adventurous bands and turned into

just another rock venue, Tonic took over and the

downtown scene shifted into a new era and place.

Many folks thought that John Zorn ran or was

financially involved with Tonic. Not true,

although he did help them curate for certain

months and events. The club was run by Melissa

and John, a lovely couple who became friends to

many of us through the years.

Guitarist/composer/journalist, Alan Licht, has

been the main booking person there for much of

their history and drum wiz, Anton Fier, has

worked the door quite a while as well. Their

staff of bartenders and sound people is/are also

some of the nicest folks I know and they too will

be missed.

Here is a short list of some the amazing

gigs, musicians and festivals that took place at

Tonic:

John Zorn's (month-long) 50th Birthday

Celebration, numerous Erstwhile Festivals,

various Derek Bailey Company Fests & improv duos

with Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley, lots of DMG

Anniversary Celebrations & Benefit gigs, Dr.

Chadbourne's Monster Guitar Fest, Irving Stone

Memorial, Schlippenbach/Evan Parker/Paul Lytton,

ICP Orchestra, many Masada sets (1 on DVD) and

Zorn improvs, Catherine Jauniaux, Shelley Hirsch,

Makigami Koichi, Vandermark projects galore,

Peter Brotzmann, Irene Schweizer, Haino Keiji,

Otomo Yoshihide, Painkiller (both versions), Ned

Rothenberg, Mark Dresser, Marilyn Crispell,

Anthony Braxton & Leo Smith, William Parker,

Hamid Drake, Mark Feldman, Sylvie Courvoisier,

Erik Friedlander, Keith Rowe, Loren Mazzacane

Connors & Haunted House, Slowpoke, Burnt Sugar,

Marc Ribot, Henry Grimes, Okkyung Lee, Jim

O'Rourke, members of Sonic Youth, Elliott Sharp,

Tim BerneŠ

The complete schedule for the final week can

be found at the end of this newsletter or at

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A LETTER FROM TONIC:

 

Dear Musicians, Fans and Friends:

 

After more than 9 years as a home for

avant-garde, creative, and experimental music,

Tonic will reluctantly close its doors on Friday,

April 13th, 2007. We simply can no longer afford

the rent and all of the other costs associated

with doing business on the Lower East Side.

 

The neighborhood around us has been increasingly

consumed by "luxury condominiums", boutique

hotels and glass towers, all making the value of

our salvaged space worth more then our business

could ever realistically support. We have also

been repeatedly harassed by the city's Quality of

Life Task Force which resulted in the

debilitating closing of the ))sub((tonic lounge

in January. Coincidentally, this campaign began

as our immediate neighbor, the Blue Condominium

building - a symbol of the new Lower East Side -

prepared to open its doors.

 

As a business, we take responsibility for

mistakes made along the way. If profit had been

our chief motivation we could have changed our

programming to something more mainstream and

financially lucrative. Instead we were more

committed to a certain type of music, and loyal

to the community that supported us. As a result,

we've always just survived but never really

prospered. It is, however, unfortunate that it is

so difficult for small businesses to operate in

this city and that a chain store that can afford

a high rent is more desirable than a place like

Tonic that has a different kind of value.

 

While this is certainly the end of Tonic at 107

Norfolk Street, we remain committed to what Tonic

represents and plan to try again in some form as

soon as possible. In the interim, Tonic will make

efforts to present new music in existing venues

such as the Abron's Arts Center located just a

few blocks away.

 

We invite you to join us as often as you can

over our remaining days to help us celebrate

Tonic and more importantly the amazing artists,

our unwavering staff, and the nurturing community

that made Tonic possible. It's because of you

that we've stayed open as long as we have. Thank

you!

 

Sincerely, Melissa and John

 

 

AND, AN OPEN LETTER TO ANY VIABLE MUSIC-ACTIVIST GROUPS HERE IN NYC:

 

"It's time for [at least one] building to be

bought and owned by a downtown-Manhattan

new-music collective.

 

All future fundraising and energies -

undissipating anger, political drive - should be

towards this goal.

 

The corrupting effect, which began appx 20 years

ago on the real estate market, of national chains

who would pay any amount to have representative

retail outlets in NYC, without heed to the amount

they would pay for rent - they were fully

prepared to take a tax loss - has led to this

current crisis where everyday services

[supermarkets, shoe repair, etc; never mind 'new

music' clubs!] that should, and did exist, in

every neighborhood, no longer do so.

This economic land disease is irreversible,

fueled as it is by the Realtor Agents, who tell

landlords that "of course" this is what the value

of their space should be [because others have

been suckered into it].

We see the result all around us: spaces that

should be in use remain empty for years, while

the landlord is bullied into 'waiting' by the

rental agents, who tell them that their losses

will be more than made up when someone DOES rent

at the extravagant asking price in the future.

 

And if/when, such a building [ideally wholly

commercial in designation] is bought [at city

auction, or from whomever] or otherwise acquired

through grant or political pressure, by some

group collective [i.e. takeittothebridge

non-profit inc, et al], the storefront/first

floor in the building should be rented out FOR

PROFIT to some regular merchant [maybe even DMG,

who knows?], enough to pay for real-estate taxes

on the building, code upkeep, and some/all of the

utilities for the rest of the building, so as to

ease the financial pressure on the performance

facilities itself [located in the rest of the

building, perhaps more than one stage], so that

economic freedom to nurture performers that are

not yet financially viable, even in the best of

economic environs, will exist.

 

All energies should be set towards this goal.

And, VERY IMPORTANT: fundraisers, et al, should

keep secret - from the public - prospective

properties that are being eyeballed.

 

I'm not naive: we're talking at least a million

dollars here, if not more. But if 90K can be, in

fact was, raised between audience and affluent

musical personalities to help Tonic's rent woes a

couple of years ago, cannot the same and more

enthusiastic impulse be brought to bear to give a

down-payment on some wreck, after which more

fundraisers can be held on this new premises to

complete the purchase?

 

I think so. And after the monies are spent this

time, the building will still remain in the hands

of the collective...not a situation again

starting from zero accruing rent liabilities all

over again, with nothing to show for monies gone

by.

 

Anybody listening?

 

Respectfully, one man's opinion

 

Manny 'Lunch' Maris at DMG

 

"The best advice will always be of a nature that

one does not want to hear or entertain it; if it

were not, one would have already begun acting on

it"

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[tyszkens]

Marc Ribot aresztowany w czasie demonstracji przed/w klubie

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