Just a few Carnival seasons ago, Tipitina’s was playing up The Big Room in the Warehouse District as a premier venue for large concerts during Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and even the “slow” months when the city doesn’t receive large throngs of tourists. Tip’s Decatur Street site in the French Quarter followed last year, and with three locations in New Orleans (including the original Uptown site), it looked as though Tip’s was poised to take over a large corner of the local live music market.
Those plans didn’t pan, and Tipitina’s sold its minority interest in The Big Room last November. Managing partner Roland von Kurnatowski says the club was booking too many private functions and was unavailable for shows. “It was so busy with parties it was hard to get a date,” he says.
Despite the subtraction of The Big Room, Tipitina’s has a lot of Mardi Gras-style activity planned for its Uptown and French Quarter sites. For Feb. 13 at the Decatur Street location, organizers have linked R&B songstress Marcia Ball with the Indians of the Nation featuring Big Chief Smiley. Then on Fat Sunday, Feb. 14, the club will host a private ‘party for Harry Connick Jr.’s Orpheus krewe, then plans to open its doors around 1 a.m. for a late night jam featuring Connick and George Porter Jr.
“The interesting thing about that is we rolled a private function into a show, and that really points out the versatility of the French Quarter spot,” says von Kurnatowski. “Apparently George and Harry Connick Jr. like to jam together, so everything is going to fit neatly.” There’s another big show planned for Feb. 12 at the French Quarter club, with Irvin Mayfield joining the New Orleans Jazz Babies, a group that sprouted from Tip’s Eighth Floor Facility, a music incubator of sorts headquartered at 4040 Tulane Ave.
Last but not least, the Napoleon Avenue club has Better than Ezra doing two consecutive nights Feb. 11–12. von Kurnatowski attributes the Uptown club’s rebound in the last year to the addition of talent buyers Adam Shipley and Lee Frank.
Von Kurnatowski says Tip’s will develop a third club in the area. He declined to provide details, other than to say it would be ready in a few months in time for Jazz Fest season.
A 1998 Loyola University survey commissioned by OffBeat magazine found that more and more local musicians are turning to technology as a marketing tool.
Fifty-four percent of respondents said they used the Internet to promote their band, compared with 36% in 1997. Forty-two percent said their band had a Web site, compared with just 26% in 1997. Fifty-two percent said they used the Internet to sell recordings, while just 24% of the ’97 respondents noted the Internet as a sales device.
Mike Pearson, professor of marketing, says the survey was conducted during mid-year. He believes that percentages of local bands and musicians using the Internet for marketing purposes has risen drastically even since then, and that another survey this spring will back up those projections. The 1998 survey found 290 participants while the ’97 sample was much lower at 77 respondents. Pearson is hoping the more detailed 1999 survey will garner some 300 to 400 responses, but adds half-jokingly that musicians don’t like to fill out surveys.
“Small businesses everywhere are turning to the Internet and setting up their own web sites, and musicians are certainly in the small business category,” says Pearson. “Musicians might even be a little ahead of the curve compared with most small businesses because that type of technology and communication really lends itself to their industry.”
Another interesting aspect of the survey, in the category on “attitudes dealt with how local musicians view the local and state governmental entities that are charged with helping to create a better business and political environment for them. Perhaps surprisingly, the Louisiana Music Commission and the New Orleans Music Commission (a division of the mayor’s office) were given respectable marks, a 2.9 on a scale of 1 to 5, a slight improvement compared with the 1997 responses, while club owners only pulled a 2.1 ranking.
Specifically, the survey asked musicians whether the commissions have been effective in improving the music business industry, and a response of 1 represented “strongly disagree” while a response of 5 meant “strongly agree.” The question with regard to club owners asked whether the proprietors understand the efforts musicians make in providing entertainment. Stronger feelings were voiced through answers to questions on whether the state needs more music education programs (4.21) and whether regional music conferences are an effective resource for the industry (3.42). Respondents also agreed (3.94) that the city’s amusement tax (2% on live music cover charges and related sales) is detrimental to the industry.
Tips and tidbits…
Virgin Megastore has lined up The Neville Brothers for a special in-store performance at 1 p.m. Feb. 13. The Nevilles will be touting their new CD, Valence Street, set for release Feb. 9. The store also has a Carnival kickoff party planned for Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. featuring a second-line parade with the Olympia Brass Band and the Storyville Stompers.
Also on the Virgin Megastore front, the retailer outbid Blockbuster Music for the exclusive (and very lucrative) contract to run the festival’s record tent. The New Orleans store’s general manager, Ray Genovese, wouldn’t estimate the tent’s revenue for the two Jazz Fest weekends other than to say it hits six figures.
Jackie Harris; executive director of the New Orleans Music Commission, is calling on unsigned artists and bands to submit demos for possible inclusion in an upcoming HBO production, Green Fire. The movie might be shot in the Crescent City, but the project is not definite, according to an aide in Harris’ office. No other details were available at press time.
