Archive for April, 2007
Methinks this is an easy one…
(click image to THUMPerize)
(previous weeks: 9/12/2005, 9/19/2005, 9/26/2005, 10/3/2005, 10/10/2005, 10/17/2005, 10/24/2005, 10/31/2005, 11/1/2005, 11/2/2005, 11/3/2005, 11/4/2005, 11/5/2005, 11/6/2005, 11/7/2005, 11/14/2005, 11/21/2005, 11/28/2005, 12/5/2005, 12/12/2005, 12/19/2005, 12/26/2005, 1/2/2006, 1/9/2006, 1/16/2006, 1/23/2006, 1/30/2006, 2/06/2006, 2/13/2006, 2/20/2006, 2/27/2006, 3/6/2006, 3/13/2006, 3/20/2006, 3/27/2006, 4/3/2006, 4/4/2006, 4/5/2006, 4/6/2006, 4/7/2006, 4/8/2006, 4/9/2006, 4/10/2006, 4/17/2006, 4/23/2006, 5/1/2006, 5/8/2006, 5/15/2006, 5/22/2006, 5/29/2006, 6/5/2006, 6/12/2006, 6/19/2006, 6/26/2006, 7/3/2006, 7/10/2006, 7/17/2006, 7/24/2006, 7/31/2006, 8/7/2006, 8/13/2006, 8/21/2006, 8/28/2006, 9/4/2006, 9/11/2006, 9/18/2006, 9/25/2006, 10/2/2006, 10/9/2006, 10/16/2006, 10/23/2006, 10/30/2006, 11/6/2006, 11/13/2006, 11/20/2006, 11/27/2006, 12/4/2006, 12/11/2006, 12/18/2006, 12/25/2006, 1/1/2007, 1/8/2007, 1/15/2007, 1/22/2007, 1/29/2007, 2/5/2007, 2/12/2007, 2/19/2007, 2/26/2007, 3/5/2007, 3/12/2007, 3/19/2007, 3/26/2007, 4/2/2007, 4/5/2007, 4/9/2007, 4/16/2007, 4/23/2007)
Here are a few words I posted over on my LJ page about SPACE. I wasn’t there much so there’s not too much to say.
I don’t know how I feel about SPACE… It has and has always had so much potential, but doesn’t seem to make it over that hump. I ended up only being there for 4 hours on Saturday and just stopped in to say hi on Sunday. After leaving on Saturday, Bran and I drove the lenght of High Street and saw just about all of SPACE’s intended audience between campus and the Short Norht. I can’t get venue change out of my mind… Perhaps a Panel event is in order. Speaking of Panel, here’s a couple snaps of the guys at SPACE.
And finally, where Dara should have been soliciting his finest of goods…
The Lifelike promo machine continues over at newsarama. IDW talks about upcoming projects including Dara’s anthology
I pulled this off of myspace. In short due to a dickish landlord, Dougan’s Little Brothers is being pushed out. Attached is a form letter by Dougan. Sad times for Tom. I really loved that club…
To friends, family, fans, musicians and community,
There are rumors flying that Little Brother’s is being “taken over”
or replaced by new ownership, so I thought it was important to clarify
our current situation.
Just as we are hitting Little Brother’s ten-year anniversary in the
Short North this May, I have apparently reached an impasse with the
landlord of the building, who has informed me, through his lawyers,
that the only new lease he will offer me includes, among other
stipulations, an immediate increase in rent of over 40 percent, and
annual increases. It has been clearly implied that someone else has
offered this amount for the space and that I could be asked to vacate
the premises before summer begins.
This came as a surprise, because I had negotiated terms face-to-face
with my landlord earlier this year and we verbally agreed upon
incremental increases over the next five years that would have been
difficult, but not impossible, for us to accommodate over that time.
He promised to send the new terms of the lease in writing. Soon after,
he stopped responding to my calls and recently began communicating
with me only via his attorney.
While business has been good this year, this increase is more than I
can afford. The entertainment business goes through so many highs and
lows, an agreement of this nature could crush us the next time we hit
a slow period. Clearly, if I am asked to leave by summertime, that
gives me little time to relocate the club, which is not something I am
sure I can endure again anyway.
Ten years ago, when Stache’s building was torn down, I was invited by
the previous management company of 1100 N. High St. to move into the
neighborhood between campus and the Short North, which, at the time,
was a much more barren place. They wanted an anchor business to
attract more people and businesses to the area, and gave me reasonable
rent so that I could develop that business.
Still, moving cost more than I could have imagined – there was a
battle when I had to have the building rezoned, and that, combined
with designing and building the stage, the bathrooms, the bar, the
cooler, the sound stage, was extremely costly. In the first two or
three years, we struggled month to month and I was often uncertain
that we would survive.
Just as we finally stabilized, the current landlord came along and
bought the building, offering far more for it than I could afford.
Negotiating with him proved challenging. We have endured one difficult
rent increase after another, while responsibly maintaining the inside
of the building. We have had some good years and bad ones, but
ultimately persevered through many tight times. The added financial
burden made it difficult for me to make the business the one I had
imagined.
Over time, it became clear that this man did not understand the nature
of our business, or the important role it has played in bringing a
diverse range of music to Columbus and supporting the local music
scene. Often, I was told, that a restaurant, or the building re-carved
into some kind of mini-mall would make better tenants, in spite of the
fact that he has had a difficult time keeping any retail tenants in
the storefronts to our north, outside of the Plasma Center. We may
have struggled, but overall, we have been good, reliable tenants.
I can’t claim responsibility for the way the neighborhood has
transformed into the little bohemia it has become over the past
decade, but I do think that our presence contributed, and made it a
much more attractive option for several of the businesses that
relocated from South Campus, as well as new ones.
Last year, I was approached by a couple of young men from out of state
who wanted to buy my business and continue the legacy of Stache and
Little Brother’s. After nearly 20 years of this up and down business,
I was ready to pass the torch, remain as an advisor to the business
and try something new. We reached preliminary terms, but it came to a
halt when they were unable to come to any agreement with the landlord.
So that brings us to today. The landlord has refused to sit down
face-to-face and work out a compromise. Because his terms are
unacceptable, I believe that it is just a matter of time before Little
Brother’s is asked to leave the premises.
I have a liquor license, some gear, the good name of one of the last
remaining long-standing, independent live music nightclubs in the
country and some expertise I can hopefully sell. But at this time, the
cost of moving and starting over is just too much. The lifestyle of a
music promoter is like professional gambling. When I was younger and
still “at the party,” it was all well and good. But my wife, and our
son, who is turning two in May, deserve a more stable lifestyle. I
also have health issues that the added stress will not help.
For our tenth anniversary and perhaps Dan’s retirement, we’re asking
for your stories about Little Brother’s (and Stache’s, for you
old-timers). Write up something about your memories, your favorite
show, what the clubs have meant to you, or whatever strikes you and
send it to lbstories@gmail.com
If this is the end, I need to thank my immediate staff, some of whom
have been with me for many, many years, for their efforts and support.
There will be time for the numerous personal thank yous that I need to
say later. For now, let me begin to express my gratitude to all of the
players, payers, workers and wonks who have kept me in this game for
almost 20 years – not much time to a mountain, but nearly half of my
life.
Take care of your little brothers and sisters.
Your pal,
Dan Dougan
Dear Judge Dinesh Gupta,
Sincerely,
Dara Naraghi
PS. There’s this little something known as the 21st century. You may want to look into it.
PPS. Didn’t your culture invent the Kama Sutra? So really, this is the height of vulgarity? Seriously?
PS. I’m not being a cultularly-insensitive American imperialist. I come from Iran, a country where they’ll arrest and whip you for similar public displays of affection. I just want uptight “public” officials the world over to stop demonizing basic human nature and actually spend their time and energy on shit that matters!
In a separate ceremony last night, PANEL was proud to present the following Bankies for the SPACE 2007 show.
The Claude Rains Invisible Man Award (Or Martha Stewart Award for Achievement in the Field of Hosting): Tony Goins
The What, No Pictures? Award: Those guys who had self-published novels at SPACE. The self-publishing revolution has gone too far.
The Please Spay Your Catboy Award: The Drunken Cat
The English are Coming Award (Spirit of ’76 Award): The Minuteman guy dressed like a colonist across from Camp Ferret. A refreshing change of pace from the big orange cat.
The Attack of the Gamer’s Award: MOMO 2 for booking a video game throw down the same night as the SPACE Launch party.
The Gloeckner Award: Carol Tyler and her class for bailing out early the second day of the show. In hindsight, probably a smart move.
The Saving Face Award: Craig’s dentist, who replaced a missing front tooth on an hour’s notice the day before the show so he wouldn’t look like a character from “Monster Trucks and Baby Mammas.”
The Check Is In The Mail Award: Everyone who says, “I’m just making the rounds right now, but I’ll be back.”
The Why Have the Cow When You Can Drink the Milk for Free Award: The folks who read entire issues of Class of 2006 without buying a copy.
The Clearing Up Any Misunderstandings Award: Ryan Gelatin, winner of the Gem City Uncool Perv Award. Turns out his He-Man porn is not pornographic at all. Mature audiences yes, but not porn. Thanks for the copy of the book.
The Al Roker Forecasting Award: The weather, which finally decided to be pleasant while we were stuck inside for two days.
Feel free to add others in the comments
In this Newsarama interview, prose and comics scribe Brad Meltzer talks about how they ended up putting “…four or five pages of ads for Identity Crisis, DC Comics, Justice League, the Comic Book Locator Service, and more…” in “Somewhere over a million” copies of his paperback books.
Now that’s some serious mainstream advertising for comics, probably the largest in decades.
The Lifelike banner was in full effect at the IDW booth (APE). I caught a glimpse of it over at Pat Lewis’ LJ. Pat Lewis collected is a really good thing.
Tom’s post puts me in mind of the divurgent trends at SPACE. It seems like there’s a schism between those who are heading upmarket and those who are sticking with their Xerox roots.
I’ve been really struck by how many professionally printed, glossy books come out at SPACE the last two years. I remember when I first went five or six years ago, everything was Xerox. Part of that certainly comes from the fact that print-on-demand technology has matured. I think most of it comes from a gradual raising of the bar for everyone.
The thing that bugs me most is the lack of trading. I remember when I could walk in with a stack of 50 cent Nightchild issues and trade something with everyone. I don’t think that happens as much anymore. It used to be a bunch of folks sitting in a room showing each other their stuff. Now, people want cold, hard cash. It’s gone from “Dr. Bob and Irving” to “Sgt. Death.”
Is the move to glossy a bad thing? Not necessarily. But it is a bad thing when the old Xerox guard gets squeezed out — or when I’m paying too much for amateur work.
I had fun despite some minor mishaps. The Journal board has a S.P.A.C.E. recap thread going on by Matt’s favorite poster: Ian Harker. Nothing really controversial that I wouldn’t agree with. The show’s a weird animal. You’d like to see it do really well but it doesn’t poke past the ‘build-it-and-they-will-come’ attitude. Attendance didn’t seem to increase but become more stretched out over two days. I didn’t really see much worth picking up at the show. Missed some familiar faces who didn’t do the show this year. I was reading over Jen Guzman’s report of APE and suprizingly it sounds like we had more of the mini crowd. I think I’m starting to feel my age at these shows. I was a scotch crabby all weekend, due to late nights working on pages.
There were some folks that came back to give the show another shot. It was good seeing Shawn Granton. He brought up some good points for increasing the traffic for the show. It’s not without it’s flaws but maybe an outdoor show? Whetstone Park? Gooddale Park?? Table fees could go to tent rental and tables. Spring’s a crap shoot weather wise. A move into summer. Far enough away from APE and SPX. A more difficult suggestion would be to move the show closer to campus or downtown. Which probably gets more expensive to book a space. Parking’s a bigger issue.
Beauty and the Geek is recruiting a new crop of geeks! Head on down there and find yourself some arm candy.
From Craigslist.org, here’s the pitch:
“Once again, we are looking for very smart guys 21-30 years old with a high IQ and a savvy intellect. If you are more likely to be featured on Jeopardy rather than The Bachelor then we NEED you. This opportunity could make you RICHER IN LIFE (AND EVEN LOVE).”
Animated Kirk would go on this show, but unfortunately he’s too darned cool. That makes him sad.
Sort of an odd one for you this week. Give it a shot, I have a feeling one of you will guess it…
(click image to largerize)
(previous weeks: 9/12/2005, 9/19/2005, 9/26/2005, 10/3/2005, 10/10/2005, 10/17/2005, 10/24/2005, 10/31/2005, 11/1/2005, 11/2/2005, 11/3/2005, 11/4/2005, 11/5/2005, 11/6/2005, 11/7/2005, 11/14/2005, 11/21/2005, 11/28/2005, 12/5/2005, 12/12/2005, 12/19/2005, 12/26/2005, 1/2/2006, 1/9/2006, 1/16/2006, 1/23/2006, 1/30/2006, 2/06/2006, 2/13/2006, 2/20/2006, 2/27/2006, 3/6/2006, 3/13/2006, 3/20/2006, 3/27/2006, 4/3/2006, 4/4/2006, 4/5/2006, 4/6/2006, 4/7/2006, 4/8/2006, 4/9/2006, 4/10/2006, 4/17/2006, 4/23/2006, 5/1/2006, 5/8/2006, 5/15/2006, 5/22/2006, 5/29/2006, 6/5/2006, 6/12/2006, 6/19/2006, 6/26/2006, 7/3/2006, 7/10/2006, 7/17/2006, 7/24/2006, 7/31/2006, 8/7/2006, 8/13/2006, 8/21/2006, 8/28/2006, 9/4/2006, 9/11/2006, 9/18/2006, 9/25/2006, 10/2/2006, 10/9/2006, 10/16/2006, 10/23/2006, 10/30/2006, 11/6/2006, 11/13/2006, 11/20/2006, 11/27/2006, 12/4/2006, 12/11/2006, 12/18/2006, 12/25/2006, 1/1/2007, 1/8/2007, 1/15/2007, 1/22/2007, 1/29/2007, 2/5/2007, 2/12/2007, 2/19/2007, 2/26/2007, 3/5/2007, 3/12/2007, 3/19/2007, 3/26/2007, 4/2/2007, 4/5/2007, 4/9/2007, 4/16/2007)
I picked up this copy of Marvel Knights Hulk/Think in the dollar bin at Gem City. Beautiful Jae Lee stuff but weirdly cropped panels that suggest more foreplay than an actual fight scene. Come on that cover looks like Thing’s being all butch and frisky instead of wanting to tear Banner’s head off.
Not nearly as bizarre as the wack Punisher manga attempt I almost picked up a couple of months ago. It looked like a friggin’ Teletubbie comic with really big guns.