Good news - thanks to the large public outcry against the Promoter Ordinance, the proposal has been pulled from tomorrow’s City Council meeting. There will be further review and undoubtedly this is not the end of the issue, so hopefully everyone will stay informed. We’ll try to keep you updated on the Tangleweed blog. In the meantime, contact your alderman and let him/her know how important the independent music scene is to Chicago, and why an ordinance like this is a bad idea.

For this of you (like me) who are just finding out about this issue, Jim DeRogatis of the Sun-Times has written an excellent blog detailing the ordinance, its history, and public reaction to it:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/

Here’s another blog that was also responsible for raising public awareness.  They collected almost 6,000 signatures for their online petition opposing the ordinance:

http://savechicagoculture.org/

Power to the people!

My friend Julie Benner (banjoist and musical activist) just sent this out. Hope everyone will read and act accordingly…

Hey friends:

Quickly, a plea. There is an ordinance being voted on in the city council meeting tomorrow that will severely impact the freedom of small venues to host events. It is called the Promoter Ordinance and it is going to require venues to pay more fees and jump through more bureaucratic hoops than ever! This means music, performance, theatre, comedy, etc will be affected and limited to only the wealthy and established venues and promoters! Yuk!

I encourage you to email or call your alderman TODAY. Particularly if you live in the 47th ward, as the Gene Schulter himself is the one who brings this ordinance before the council.

Here is more information about the ordinance:
SunTimes.com

And here is a link to find your alderman:
CityOfChicago.org

Extra Credit: Join me and others tomorrow morning at 9 am at city hall to protest! There will be a musical uprising!

I’ll bring the banjo - you bring a guitar, harp, kazoo, castanets, your audition monologue, mime act or baritone uke - whatever! For real, we are going to sing out! 121 N. LaSalle St. The council meets on the second floor. See you there! (The meeting itself is at 10. Attend that for extra extra extra credit and speak out!)

yours truly,

Julie B

ps. forward on to people I don’t know but you do.

Here’s a remarkable display of jawharp virtuosity by Obed Pickard, one of the early performers on WSM radio’s Grand Ole Opry. His earliest commercial recordings were in 1927. This is from 1929, cut for Banner and affiliated cut-price labels (Oriole, Regal, Conqueror, etc).

The tune is Sally Goodin (also spelled Gooden), an old warhorse of a fiddle tune first recorded by Eck Robertson. Pickard’s performance is charming — earnest, understated, and well-played.

Courtesy of Archive.org

By the way, there’s some hot jawharp, played by the author of this post, on the forthcoming Tangleweed CD, Most Folk Heroes Started Out As Criminals.