Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Celebrate Summer Solstice with Make Music Madison!

Considering the weather we have faced this winter and spring, the thought of summer might be hard to grasp, but I am looking forward to it for a number of reasons.  One of them being we will be participating in our very first Make Music Madison!

 Make Music Madison will be an annual one-day citywide, free, outdoor music festival to be held on the Summer Solstice, June 21.  The goal is to generate a continuous wall of music as people walk around participating spaces.  Music will play throughout the city – along State Street, in parks, inside churches, at the airport, in schoolyards, at Memorial Union, and at homes.  The festival will include all styles of music, and skill levels of musicians.  Everyone in the community should feel welcome to participate.  Please check out the website http://www.makemusicmadison.org/, find a location to play, support an artist, and of course, come out and listen to the many sounds our City has to offer! 

 Planning for Make Music Madison began months ago, and truly hundreds of people have been involved.  However, there was a major hurdle to surmount.  The technology needed to effectively run the innovative ‘distributed concert’ envisioned would require either a much larger budget, or a number of full time staff.  As neither was available, District 8 Alder Scott Resnick who pioneered the Open Data initiative asked local entrepreneurs to help and once again, the results are astounding.

 From day one, Madison’s tech entrepreneurial scene has been inundated with unique community-focused initiatives such as Capital Entrepreneurs (CapitalEntrepreneurs.com), Madisonium (madisonium.com), and Hacking Madison (HackingMadison.org).

 For Make Music Madison, Michael Fenchel  of BuildMadison.org stepped forward to lead an entirely volunteer effort of almost a dozen talented citizens to design and develop the necessary website and technology.  At the same time, local tech businesses, BendyWorks, Horizon Coworking, and Murfie stepped forward to sponsor space, hosting, and other development costs, enabling the volunteers to get their work done.

 Within two months, the team created a website, a communications campaign and a ‘community matching’ platform that allows artists and venues to link up for performances under city administration.  The platform developed provides a powerful solution for community organization and involvement, while granting the city the necessary ability to oversee the project.

 The matchmaking software, developed by this Madison team, is now also facilitating similar festivals in the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Denver for their World Music Day celebration.  Athens, Greece is also using the software.  A number of other cities are also looking into using the tool, and the project may result in not only a great event, but also in the birth of another successful local tech business.

 

Overture Center for the Performing Arts. Comment Responses.

Tuesday's post, Why Should City Residents Be Coerced Into Expensive Bailout of Overture Center? received many valuable and insightful responses.

Bob D'Angelo, former director of both Overture and the Madison Civic Center, wrote:

MCAD and 201 State were not responsible for the current situation. Investingating the wrong time by the current owner - The Overture Development Corporation caused by the problem with the banks. The operating budget is completely separate and is supported by ticket sales, rentals, fees and a contract with the City to operate the place in the community interest. Thur far the city has saved about $10,000,000 in capital maintenance costs for the old Overture Center.

The real problem is the long term maintenance of the Center. Paul's figure of $120,000,000 over the next forty years may actually be low using examples of what costs were incurred by other centers facing renovation over the years... To solve that pending obligation will take a very substantial endowment.

D'Angelo is correct in that neither MCAD or 201 State are not responsible for the current situation. Unfortunately, they are responsible for two of the current issues. First there are structural problems in the management of Overture. The original design created a board that was  appointed by elected officials but responsible to no elected body. The new board will be even more insulated. That is why the recommended "Focus Model" receives so little support except from those most intimately connected to the problem.  

No one should take comfort in D'Angelos' observation "Paul's figure of $120,000,000 over the next forty years may actually be low..."  Whatever disagreements D'Angelo and I have had over the years is bridged by our shared belief that Overture must have a substantial endowment, a recommendation of our Ad Hoc Committee.

Linda Baldwin, chair of MCAD, wrote:

The City of Madison wasn't involved in the bank debt negotiations because they refused to be. Time and time again, the Mayor indicated that the city would not be a part of the debt settlement...So members of the volunteer and appointed boards, in order to save the Overture Center from going dark or being foreclosed on, moved forward with negotiations with the financial institutions to resolve the debt issue. Conditions of that settlement were imposed by the parties involved and the city was made aware of those conditions during the negotiations.

Invited to sit at the table, but refusing to participate in the negotiations is unacceptable leadership. The city can sit at the table and simply say "no' to participating in the debt settlement. Now the city finds an agreement in place with it owning the building, an unverified economic analysis, management conditions that do not meet its standards, and an unrealistic deadline. Wow.

Tom Bozzo raises one of the most critical challenges inherent in this discussion, one I hope to address in the future:

The real issue to address is whether the percent or so of city expenditures above what would have been spent on the old Civic Center is better spent elsewhere...

I disagree with Tom's categorizing the costs of Overture as being a small percentage of the city budget. In normal economic times even a million dollars is enormous, even though it is less than 1% of the city budget. Viewed by advocates who need as 'little' as $50,000 to continue a program, it is significant. Another was of looking at the issue is to examine the discretionary portion of the budget. As much as 95% of the budget are fixed costs related to basic services, the salaries of those who provide the services, and the equipment they need to carry out the services, ranging from fire fighting and election administration to police and date processing costs.

In a $200,000,000 budget, $1,000,000 is a significant amount. At this point $700,000 represents a significant expenditure in a city with record levels of poverty.

Pete Gruett knows relationships but not proportions. We are not a "tiny Midwestern hamlet saddled with a fancy, New York arts center", but we are a city of 220,000 with an Overture Center for the Performing Arts, a center far more expensive and delicate than anything else in our county, and it is more appropriate for a city of at least 1-2 million.

Given that it took from the 1960's until now for Madison to grow from 160,000 to 220,000, we are not going to hit 400,000 anytime soon, especially since annexation possibilities are virtually eliminated and the city adopted zoning and building codes that inhibit dense development.

 

 

 

Why Should City Residents Be Coerced Into Expensive Bailout of Overture Center?

On June 22, 2010, three organizations, critical to the ownership and operation of the Overture Center for the Performing Arts in Madison, Wisconsin, executed a forbearance agreement with a consortium of lenders that were owed over $28 million dollars. In 2005 these lenders provided financing under a complicated financial arrangement that soured when the stock market collapsed in 2008.

Who Negotiated the Deal (not the city of Madison)

The three interested parties included the Madison Cultural Arts District (MCAD), a public body created under state law that presently operates Overture, and the Overture Development Corporation (ODC), which owns the building.

The third member of the consortium was the 201 State Foundation, presently a private fundraiser for Overture and the required new operator of Overture by terms of the proposed forbearance agreement.   

Although the agreement requires certain actions by the city of Madison, as best I can ascertain, the city did not negotiate the agreement. Clearly the city of Madison is not a party to the agreement. This becomes critical since exercising certain parts of the agreement may violate city ordinances as well as state law.

The City is Obligated Under the Forbearance Agreement

The agreement contains three critical elements for Madison residents and their city government.

The terms require execution of the agreement by December 31, 2010. Secondly, the city of Madison must agree to purchase or otherwise take title to the Overture Center and all of the associated risks of ownership. Thirdly, the 201 State Foundation or its chosen successor will operate the facility.

These terms were imposed and inserted by the Overture Parties (MCAD, ODC and 201 State) not the lenders.  The lenders want their money, they do not care who owns the building if they are paid.

The Overture Parties, without participation by the city of Madison or its residents who will pay the bills, imposed these terms. If at any time you believed that the banks imposed these conditions, rethink the matter.

The Overture Parties, without consideration for the time required for a deliberate and thoughtful response by the city of Madison, imposed these terms.

Originally I Supported Public Ownership

When I agreed to serve on the Ad Hoc Overture Committee, I supported public ownership of the facility.  I was committed to making that work and finding the best operating model. I ranked the possible alternatives of ownership and operations as first:  public/public; secondly, public/private; and lastly, private/private.

I am now convinced that private/private is the best alternative.

I arrived at that conclusion for two reasons. First, the cost of owning the building is beyond the resources of the city. Secondly, the controlling entity that operated the building must have a sound management plan, the confidence of the public, and an appreciation for transparency.

In a later article I will detail the specific problems with public ownership, but past history demonstrates that the proposed Focus Model and the forbearance agreement provide sufficient proof that only under the most unusual of circumstances will public ownership or management work.  

The Building Is Too Opulent and Costly To Own

The building is too expensive for the city to own. Overture was designed and constructed with no regard for public ownership. This is evidenced by the soft floor tiles that were meant for walls, not the pressure of high heel shoes.  There are 700 different style lamps (think light bulbs), many of which are not available ‘at retail’ and which are lacking in energy efficiency.

When the lamps are no longer manufactured or when there is a legitimate desire to make the building green, entire fixtures built into the walls and ceilings will have to be ripped out.

Finally, the published cost of the building is incorrect. The facility did not cost $205 million. For the last five years, I used the figure of over $250 million. It is clear that I was wrong. The cost of Overture is closer to $300 million.

This number is critical because it provides a guide as to the long-term capital cost to maintain the facility. These are not the costs of day-to-day operations but the kind of costs associated with replacing roofs and boilers, curtains and seats.

If we assume that over forty years it will cost 40% of the original construction, we are looking at $120 million, not $81 million, already a massive figure.

If the City Owns and Leases a $300 million facility, we need public bids. Transparency would also help.

On the management side, the arrangement for 201 State to operate the facility becomes more unnerving.

The very nature of 201 State negotiating the forbearance agreement, naming itself as operator, and presuming city ownership tells us what lies ahead. 201 State is adamantly opposed to transparency.

Perhaps someone should ask why the city of Madison should provide a public subsidy of over $2.5 million a year to this ‘vendor’ without competitive bid. There may well be other qualified operators, both public and private, interested in running Overture, if there is a guarantee of city subsidy combined with assurance of the city’s contractual obligations to maintain the building.

Of course, the city will probably not want to insult any donors and will manage to determine that bids are unnecessary because of the viability of this single source provider.

Author's note: more soon on structure, finances, the perfroming arts, and the Crystal Cathedral.

Solomon Burke "If You Need Me" or "Cry to Me"

The death of Solomon Burke will hopefully prompt a renewal of  interest in his significant body of work for Atlantic Records.  I am still not sure which I preferred the most, "If You Need Me" or "Cry to Me." But that is not one of life's critical choices. Both are available on his greatest album, Rock 'N Soul.  Thank you Mr. Burke.

 

For those interested in a far more diverse and dynamic collection of music than Motown offers, check out Atlantic Rhythm and Blues 1947-1974, usually available at B-Side 436 State Street in Madison.

 

Or check out the complete Stax/Volt singles collection.

 

Recognizing Rock's Stars in Madison: Proclamations, Keys to the City and other stuff

This week I was alerted that a number of mayoral proclamations, or at least copies of same, from the 1970's surfaced on eBay. With the city still reeling from the controversy over making WILCO honorary citizens, it was obviously time to reminisce.

Any time a noteworthy musician - rock, folk, blues or jazz - came to Madison, we whipped out the old proclamation paper, a blue ribbon, dusted off the typewriter keyboard, and named the day after the deserving.

If there was an opportunity to present a key to the city, that too was done.

Proclamations honoring Elvis, ("His voice has been heard by more people in the world than any other recording artist in history."), Bob Dylan ("His music and lyrics have been distinctively creative and highly sensitive..."), and The Who ("Peter Townsend has destroyed more guitars in the line of duty that any other modern day rock performer, outraged parent or disgruntled neighbor...") were the fun part of the job.

Keys to the city ended up in the hands of Arlo Guthrie, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, Charlie Mingus and Steve Miller  all of whom were among the honored who left Madison with something tangible.

Dylan and riff-raff backstage at the Coliseum:

What You Need to Know About the State Dance

Last week's post on state symbols, The Wisconsin State Bacterium and Other Blizzardy Thoughts, elicited a chorus of support for Wisconsin's' polka.

Wisconsin is one of thirty one states with an official dance.

Virginia has a named dance for itself, the Virginia Reel.

Twenty-one states celebrate with the Square Dance.

Three states have two or more official dances, such as the official folk dance, the square dance and maybe a 'regular' dance with California's West Coast Swing.  North Carolina classifies clogging as the folk dance and the Carolina Shag as the official popular dance. Neighboring South Carolina has not only the official folk dance, the square dance, the official waltz, the Richardson Waltz, and the official dance, yes--the Shag.

Give credit to New York for the Lindy Hop and of course they Clog in Kentucky and Hula in Hawaii.

Wisconsin, and you guessed it, Pennsylvania  Polka. Why is the Pennsylvania Polka more popular than the Wisconsin Polka?

In each state, go out on the weekend and it will be tough to find a majority of the denizens doing the official dance other than Texas where they Two-Step.

Fun Reopening of the Cardinal Bar

I stopped by the Cardinal Bar twice over the weekend.

On Friday I delivered the names to match the photograph of our fast pitch Cardinal Bar softball team from 1978 (or was it 1977?). I chatted with our host Ricardo Gonzalez, Gladys Benavides, and Stuart Levitan.

I returned Saturday evening for the official opening. Since I returned at 9:15 PM I missed many old regulars who arrived when the doors opened at 5:00 PM.

I still managed to find a dozen old friends and then Ricardo and I sat a table with small glasses of beer as though it was thirty years ago.

You can go home again, or at least to the Cardinal Bar. 

A reporter from the Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times* Katjusa Cisar, sat down to interview us at about 10:00 PM. It’s back: Cardinal reopens, reclaims niche on Wilson Street

People stopped and greeted Gonzalez and Soglin constantly as the men sat remembering.

"Aren't you out awfully late?" joked one young woman to Soglin.

The music was great.

It was way past my bedtime and I soon left.

She told me she was from The Capital Times but when I saw the on line story, the banner said, "Wisconsin State Journal" and I figured I misunderstood her. Drats.

Music Video Awards Meet WWF

In the challenge to control the hearts and minds of the American people it is clear that wrestling is winning the cultural  battle.

Now the Video Music Awards have the finest qualities of a coliseum confrontation, as people in front of both a live audience and a national television audience put their lips to a microphone and talk trash in front of the camera.

Bob Dylan Definitely Did Not Arrive On Mifflin Street

We owe Nadine Goff an incredible heartfelt thanks since she has enough time to research such weighty matters. Recall I posted The Day Bob Dylan Came to Mifflin Street

It was mid summer, I think 1969. A sign went up in front of the Mifflin Street Co-op announcing that Bob Dylan was coming on Saturday. He would play in the empty lot, gloriously renamed People's Park...The crowd faded under the hot Madison afternoon sun.

Nadine Goff, the Central High graduate who researches all things important and not, could not remain idle and so a few days ago she posted: The day Bob Dylan didn't arrive on Mifflin Street (July 4, 1969)

    ...I spend a lot of time in libraries doing research and sometimes I wander off task, diverted by some tidbit that grabs my attention...That's when I remembered Bob Dylan and Mifflin Street. Short and sweet, and lots of names that may draw visitors to my blog. Perfect. So without further blather, here's The Capital Times story about Bob Dylan's non-appearance, written by reporter Jim Hougan:

  
 

Click on picture to enlarge.

Now all we need is the elusive photograph of the sign announcing Dylan's arrival.

Imitations - Madison Music of the 60's. Nothing is over until we decide it is....

Susan Kepecs' article, Free-Jazz missionaries: Madison's Imitations were the sound of 60's radicalism, in this week's Isthmus is important in understanding the connection between the evolution of modern music and and politics. Hart McNee was right.

"The frats paid pretty good, but they were the enemy," recalls McNee. "Everybody in the band was basically left of socialist. We were playing 90% black music. We were playing for snotty rich kids and conservative football fans, but we were for civil rights and against the war."

When I got to Madison in 1962, one of the first things I did was look up Ben Sidran. Our families were friends back in Chicago and there was no problem finding him at Discount Records on State Street. Mike Moss was easy to find as well, since we had graduated from high school together.

The tough part was sneaking into the fraternity houses to hear the Imitations play. They were not pleased that friends of the band would wander in around 11:30 pm, but we stayed in the shadows and were generally left alone. Thank you, Chi Phi.

It was either 1964 or 1965 that someone at the Memorial Union got the bright idea to book the Imitations into Great Hall on Saturday nights. Tracy Nelson modestly recalled in the article:

...I hung around for a while, and they let me join...It was the first time I sang with an electric band. I felt lame and white singing with Irma and Chuck. There was nothing they couldn't hit. But the tunes, the big horn section — people loved us.

Tracy need not make any apologies. She could belt them out and hold her own with Irma Routen and Chuck Matthews. Ten years later, Chuck worked for Dane County, I think with kids, and died at a young age. Heart attack.

Ben did fundraisers for my various mayoral elections from 1973 into the 21st century. Dick Drake, "Fat Richard," did a number of them as well, either with Ben or with his own band, was Ben was booked doing real work. Many were at the Nitty Gritty.

I last saw Tracy when she played Madison about eight or nine years ago with Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball doing their "Sing It!," still one of my favorite CDs. In 1965, Tracy lived around the corner from us, in an apartment on Broom Street. We were are 515 W. Dayton and there was occasional traffic back and forth.

As I reread this, I am wondering if this is important to anyone else.

Susan Kepecs makes the point:

...Not everyone who lived on the front lines of the '60s sold out. The Imitations are a case in point. They broke down racial barriers with their bare hands and pitted their collective voice against the war in Vietnam. Some of them are dead now — Matthews, Drake and others who came and went. A few just disappeared. But the rest keep on keepin' on. ..

As I noted in a post a few weeks ago, "We are not done."