Originally Posted By: MarioD
Notes, the music cops, not a good thing for small or private menu's, and strong DWI laws, a good thing all around, have been the causes for closing many places for bands to play around here.

The strong DWI laws have definitely taken their toll on our business. But driving drunk should not be tolerated. It is never OK to endanger the lives of innocent people.

That's why I moved from the lounge business to the private party business back in the early 1990s. The people in the retirement community can drive their golf carts home. The people in the condominium can take the elevator. The people at the yacht and country clubs come out for dinner with dancing afterwards and leave the club with the legal limit in their bloodstreams.

As the lounge business got worse for musicians, I see more and more competition for the private gigs. That doesn't bother me though, we are better than the majority, and our gig schedule proves it.

I know this is drifting off topic, but IMHO the biggest thing hurting our business is Television.

When my parents grew up, TV was 3 channels in black-and-white with tinny sound. In my younger days TV was a half dozen stations with grainy color, low rez picture(525 lines), and tinny sound (it was a function of the analog bandwidth devoted to the audio part of the signal). In order to see and hear live music, you had to go out where live music was being played.

Now you have a zillion channels, super HD screens that can be more than 50 inches, and up to 7.1 high fidelity digital sound. You can have The Rolling Stones, Slash, Nicki Minaj, or Ariana Grande in your living room. No need to go out. And with a Cable or Satellite monthly subscription payment that can easily climb to $300, who can afford to go out?

To get back on topic. I think the ASCAP people should leave the private party people alone. I know it's the letter of the law, but I think it oversteps the intent of the law. But that is just this layman's opinion.

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