"Non-Traditional" Booking at the Basie

This blog is directed at the anonymous caller who left us a voice mail message over the weekend, expressing his displeasure in the roster of events that we currently have on sale.

First, I assume you know that your phone number is set to “private,” so our caller ID cannot identify you. It would have been nice if you left your name and number. That way, we could have called you back, and we could have had an intelligent conversation. One-sided ranting on our voice mail late at night doesn’t really accomplish much.

Nonetheless, your message raised an interesting question, which other patrons of the theatre might be interested in. So here’s the answer to your question: the reason that there is nothing on our schedule right now that appeals to you is that the Count Basie Theatre’s schedule is ever-changing. We add new events all the time.

The Basie’s schedule is unlike the quote-unquote “traditional” performing arts center. The traditional performing arts center model is to construct a season of performances as a static block of events between October and May of every year, and put them on sale all at once. When customers look at a traditional performing arts center’s calendar, they can see the whole season as a block.

The Count Basie Theatre however is booked on an on-going basis, as tours and concerts become available. Some events are booked far in advance, sometimes months, sometimes years in advance. Some performances are booked just weeks in advance, to take advantage of opportunities as they become available. By constructing a business model that is nimble and quick, we’ve been able over the years to take advantage of opportunities that other venues or performing arts centers, whose marketing revolves around publicizing an entire season all at once, are unable to.

The downside though is that when you look at our calendar at any given moment, it may seem to be lacking in certain genres, but that can change in the blink of an eye. Last summer for instance, anyone looking at our schedule on Thursday, July 14 would not have seen performances on sale by Elvis Costello, Ghost Hunters, Jim Gaffigan or Swan Lake performed by the State Ballet Theatre of Russia. All of those shows were announced to the general public and went on sale the next day, July 15.

Right now there are 58 different artists we are actively pursuing. So if there’s nothing that appeals to you today, make sure to look again next week, and make sure to sign up for our email list so you will be notified when new shows go on sale.

You may also be interested in becoming a contributing member of the theatre. Starting at a very reasonable $100 tax-deductible contribution to the theatre each year, Fellow level members and above have the opportunity to purchase tickets in advance of the general public. There are over 800 such members who support the theatre, and I hope you’ll become one of them. Click here to learn more about becoming a Count Basie Theatre member.

Numa C. Saisselin
CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc.
99 Monmouth StreetRed Bank, New Jersey 07701
Phone 732-224-8778, ext. 105
www.countbasietheatre.org

A New Year And All That Jazz

Over the holidays, Joe Muccioli, director of the Jazz Arts Project and the Red Bank Jazz Orchestra, who we produce the Sinatra Birthday Bash with, gave me a copy of the RBJO’s new CD, Strike Up the Band!

The more I listen to the CD, the more I really like it. They recorded it live in a studio, so it’s got a really great vibe and a terrific warm sound. You can tell the musicians were feeding off of each other. It sounds like listening to a classic jazz album from the 50’s. You can picture the tenor sax player with one of those old giant cardioid microphones practically stuck right down the bell of his horn. If you’re interested you can find Strike Up the Band! on iTunes, cdbaby.com or at the Jazz Arts Project's Store Website.

Numa C. Saisselin
CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc.
99 Monmouth StreetRed Bank, New Jersey 07701
Phone 732-224-8778, ext. 105
www.countbasietheatre.org

Guest Review: Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue’s “Music of the American Graffiti Era”

I thought this unsolicited review from Maureen McCrink of last Saturday night’s show, sent via email was humorous and worth repeating.

Full disclosure: Maureen is a talented vocalist in her own right who has sung on several Rock-N-Soul Revue shows, and her husband Michael is a talented trumpet player who has played on our stage too. So they’re not entirely subjective. But what the heck? It was in fact a terrific show, so here’s the review:

From: Michael Gribbroek & Maureen McCrink
Date: October 30, 2011 12:05:17 PM EDT
Subject: Whattashow!

Words fail STOP what an ensemble, what a visual excitement what a sound STOP Tim McLoone has legs that move, and sings his patooties off STOP Layonne delivers joy as only she can STOP Addeo is the Daddio STOP Everett Bradley STOP!!!! Celestino chugs an unrelenting rhythm along with Maby urging Bandiera's Maybelline lead off any existing chart STOP entire band goes along for the ride STOP smoke gets in our eyes in an extended and previously unheard of instrumental build STOP and the pace, colors, surprises, fun and excitement never stopped. DON'T STOP M&M (balcony viewers – American Graffiti) Sorry - forgot to mention an obvious point (among others, surely): Bob, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" vocal was glorious - HOW did you hit those last notes? You can take that as a rhetorical, or give me a hint. Mo P.S. Numa, love the Free Movie Nights!!!

Numa C. Saisselin
CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc.
99 Monmouth StreetRed Bank, New Jersey 07701
Phone 732-224-8778, ext. 105
www.countbasietheatre.org

National Arts and Humanities Month

It’s October 27 and I almost let the month go by without recognizing that October is National Arts and Humanities Month.

Well, we’ve been extraordinarily busy this month celebrating the arts by actually getting one performing arts event after another on our stage, 24 headline performances in all for October! The performances this month started on Saturday, October 1 with a Doo Wop concert, and ends this coming Sunday, October 30 with the Monmouth Symphony Orchestra, and in between we’ve had films, rock concerts, theatre for young audiences, a symphony orchestra, the original cast of a hit Broadway show, and more.

National Arts and Humanities Month is a coast-to-coast celebration of American culture, and within his proclamation of National Arts and Humanities Month, President Obama stated:

“Millions of Americans earn a living in the arts and humanities, and the non-profit and for-profit arts industries are important parts of both our cultural heritage and our economy...We must recognize the contributions of the arts and humanities not only by supporting the artists of today, but also by giving opportunities to the creative thinkers of tomorrow. Educators across our country are opening young minds, fostering innovation, and developing imaginations through arts education.”

What does this mean locally? Here are just two quick examples:

One, the arts are important for adults. Right here, the Count Basie Theatre’s activities last year had a $12 million impact on the local economy, supporting the full-time equivalent of over 300 jobs.

Two, the arts are especially important for children. Studies show that students with an arts rich education have better grade point averages, score better on standardized tests in reading and math, and have lower dropout rates. The Count Basie Theatre’s Outreach Program, providing free music, dance and theatre classes to over 500 students in the Red Bank Elementary and Middle Schools, helps make this possible right here.

Every time you buy a ticket to a show at the Basie, or make a tax deductible donation to the Basie, in addition to giving yourself an evening out and a temporary reprieve from reality outside the theatre’s doors, you’re supporting economic stimulus, and arts education for children. For more information about supporting the Basie, Click Here.

Numa C. Saisselin
CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc.
99 Monmouth StreetRed Bank, New Jersey 07701
Phone 732-224-8778, ext. 105
www.countbasietheatre.org

Columbus Day $10 Ticket Sale Teaser

Six years ago we conceived the Columbus Day $10 Ticket Sale as a way to make some inexpensive tickets available to those who were willing to take an unsold seat in the side or rear of the theatre in exchange for a cheap ticket.

We thought it was a way to get some new people in the door, and maybe through an attractive ticket price, encourage existing ticket buyers to try a show or two that they otherwise would not have attended. We had no idea what to expect. Frankly, we didn't expect much.

It was just one of those, “What have we got to lose?” crazy ideas.

We were, over course, completely unprepared for the overwhelming response. Back then on a holiday Monday, we would have been lucky to sell $2,000 or $3,000 worth of tickets. In six hours we sold 1,500 tickets worth $20,000! It's six years later, and we’ve also added a President’s Day Sale in February, and on each of these “One Day Sales” we sell triple that number.

Columbus Day is this Monday (10/10). Friday (10/7) we will release the list of shows that will be included in this year's sale. I'll give you a tip - it's a good list. Lots of shows to choose from.

The sale only runs from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Monday. Columbus Day $10 Tickets are only available on the phone, or in person at the Box Office Window. It's an offer you need to spend a little effort to take advantage of, but if you're looking for an entertainment deal, and are willing to wait on line or use the redial key, and don’t mind sitting wherever we seat you in exchange for a really, really good price, then I hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity.

Numa C. Saisselin
CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc.
99 Monmouth Street
Red Bank, New Jersey 07701
Phone 732-224-8778, ext. 105
www.countbasietheatre.org

Behind the Scenes of How We Book Our Artists

Questions Answered:

An audience member wrote this week as follows:

“I am not interested in what’s on the schedule right now. Why? And when will it change?”

We hear this comment from time to time, and the thing we ask people to keep in mind is that the Basie's schedule is not a static roster of events that we fix in place at the start of a season, like a theatre company or a symphony orchestra's schedule.

Our roster of events changes constantly. We add new shows almost weekly. During a 12-month cycle we will typically host 175 to 200 performances, but if you look at our calendar of events on any given day, you may only see 50 to 75 shows on sale. That's because we will add shows as we go along.

Why do we do it this way? Mostly it has to do with the availability of the performing artists. Say for example we have an interest in Big Name Artist #1. I might call his or her agent today, only to find out that BNA #1 is not working right now. Or maybe BNA #1 is working, but is recording for the next few months, and not touring. Then, 6 months from now, maybe BNA #1 is finished recording and is ready to hit the road. So, you might look at our calendar of events today and not see Big Name Artist #1, or any comparable performance either, but if you check back in a few months that might change, and then we might have a terrific run of many, many shows you want to see.

In my experience, these things tend to be cyclical. Some of it is predictable. Like, January is typically a slow month because nobody wants to be on the road right after the holidays. Or December is the big month for holiday shows (obviously) and not so much for just "regular" shows. But some of it is just cosmically strange. Like one month, finding a comedian to book is like pulling teeth, and then the next month, every great comedian you ever wanted to see is hitting the road.

Predictable or not, mostly we're at the mercy of when artists want to work, when their tour is going to be in our region, do they have the same dates available that we have available, and a dozen other variables.

So, this is the extended way of saying that if you don't see something on our calendar today that interests you, keep checking back, because we’re adding new shows all the time.

______________________________

Numa C. Saisselin
CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc.
99 Monmouth Street
Red Bank, New Jersey 07701
Phone 732-224-8778, ext. 105
www.countbasietheatre.org

Hail Fredonia

We like to think of Count Basie Theatre as the crossroads of our community, or at least one of the crossroads of our community. Like a general store counter in the olden days, the Basie is a place where you run into your friends and neighbors on a routine basis - as well as reconnect with old friends. We frequently hear from customers that they came to see artist XYZ, and were surprised and delighted to run into old friends from high school that they hadn’t seen in ages.

Even though I am not a native of this area, here’s my own version of this:

Last Thursday we had a triple bill of Firefall (“Just Remember I Love You”), POCO (“Crazy Love,” “Heart of the Night”) and Pure Prairie League (“Amie,” “Two Lane Highway”).

I was in the Carlton Lounge, our VIP lounge, during the second intermission, and I looked outside and saw Pure Prairie League’s drummer on the sidewalk, looking lost. So I went out to the sidewalk and asked him if he’s lost? Perhaps he was trying to find his way back to the stage door? He said no, their set was done (Pure Prairie League played second) and since he was done working for the night, what he was really up to was trying to find a place to have a drink with his wife. They’d come to the right place! Into the Lounge we went for a round of drinks on the house.

We chatted, and he described the travel day from hell that the band had. It’s worthy of it’s own story line, but by some miracle, they all got here from points north, south and west, they loved the venue, and loved the crowd.

Mr. Drummer’s name is Rick Schell, and he’d been here before. He did a couple tours with Southside Johnny, and played a New Year’s Eve show here in the late 90’s. So we had that connection.

Then he asked me if we have an usher named Judy? He doesn’t know Judy’s last name, but he and his wife had dinner with Gary Tallent, bass player for the E Street Band, in Nashville last night. Rick and Gary play in a Nashville band called The Long Players. The Long Players are Nashville’s answer to our own Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue, coming back to you on October 29 with “Music of the American Graffiti Era.” But, I digress…

So Gary told Rick to look up an usher named Judy and say “hello.” So off went one of our intrepid employees to see if we had an usher named Judy working that night, and indeed we did; Judy Desarno, who, it turned out, is married to a high school buddy of Gary’s. Message sent, message received. Judy, who arrived in the lounge not having any clue why anyone wanted to see her, was as amused as the rest of us.

I’ve never met Gary Tallent, but we have some mutual friends and based on those people, I’ve always assumed him to be a decent guy. Now I can put two more strikes in the “decent guy” column in case we ever do meet in person.

So then Rick the drummer introduced me to his sister and her husband. They were down from upstate New York to see the show and hang with Rick. I asked them where they live, and they told me that I won’t know where it is. I told them that I probably will. I spent a lot of time in upstate NY. My family vacationed there, I used to live in the Hudson Valley, I went to Boy Scout Camp in Trumansburg, NY, outside of Ithaca, and I went to college upstate.

Rick the drummer said, “Where did you go to college?” I said, “Fredonia.” He said, “Me too!” I said, “What year?” He said, “1985.” I said, “Me too!” He said, “I was a Music Business Major, what was your major?” I said, “Music Education.” Now we were truly in the Weird Zone. The Fredonia School of Music at the State U. of New York College at Fredonia (or SUC Fredonia, you can pretty much figure out all on your own how we shortened that into a nickname) only had about 400 students. We never met, or at least don’t remember it now. Rick did two years at a community college in Syracuse and then transferred into Fredonia for his junior and senior years, so for two years, we had to have seen each other at least a few times a week.

Then, like all this wasn’t enough already, as we’re talking about who we knew, and what dorms and off campus houses we lived in, I suddenly remembered I had a suitemate freshman year from the Cortland area. His sister asked who, and I said, “Peter Camp,” and she said, “Oh yeah, he just moved back to the area a couple of years ago. He lives in Homer, NY.” As soon as she said, “Homer,” I remembered this was exactly where Pete lived.

Like the Monmouth County area, the music and entertainment world can be a truly small place, but this meeting was so totally random. If I had not noticed Rick was wandering around looking lost, we never would have had this conversation in the first place.

Come to the Basie, and you never know who you are going to run into!

______________________________

Numa C. Saisselin
CEO
Count Basie Theatre, Inc.
99 Monmouth Street
Red Bank, New Jersey 07701
Phone 732-224-8778, ext. 105
www.countbasietheatre.org