Embedded Files
Well the first thing that jumps out at you when you look at the numbers is that all last year, our attendance figures showed an average of 10 better than 2009. And now that situation has apparantly abruptly reversed. Well that's because the month of January, 2010, which was spectacular, has suddenly shifted from "the past 12 months" to "the previous 12 months". (Look at the figures for January 2010 to see what I mean). And January 2011 figures were pretty slim, as our best draw for the month, Mad Agnes, was cancelled due to weather. So that reversal is liable to continue until May, when we have a very strong schedule to bring the aggregate figures back up again. As of the date of this writing, there were no financial figures for January entered on Quickbooks, so I cannot report on any of the finances of the Minstrel, but I'm confident we took a loss on the month.
We cancelled the Mad Agnes concert on January 7 because of snow. The decision was made around midday, as Mad Agnes needed to know by then to decide whether they were going to brave the storm. As it turned out, the snow stopped shortly thereafter, and travel conditions in New Jersey would have permitted the concert to go on. (The situation in Connecticut where Mad Agnes was traveling from was considerably worse, and probably would have still meritted a cancellation. But the communications were not good because my e-mail glitched. So although the cancellation was posted on the website, many people assumed the show would go on due to local weather conditions, and were disappointed. I sent out an apology to the e-mail list, and Mad Agnes is rescheduled for February 18 with Kleiner & Kleiner and Barry & Tessa Mitterhoff also moved all over the calendar to make room.
I had asked in the January Newsletter for members to give me their preferences for the date of the Birthday Show between July 22 and July 29.
I got zero responses. That, plus the chronic decline in participation and attendance of the Birthday Show has prompted me to rethink the event. It will probably go on, but in some different format, and probably minus the "hat". I am open to suggestions.
Two Minstrel Fridays have been turned over to Special Concerts: ZaZuZaz on May 27 and Aztec Two Step on August 12.
Bookings made since last meeting:
* March 4: Jazz violinist/vocalist Diane Perry to open for Bucky
Pizzarelli
* April 22: Luke Liddy to open for Butch Ross
* May 13: Barry & Tessa Mitterhoff opening for David Mallett,
rescheduled from their snowed-out Jan 7 date
* May 20: Rich Deans to open for Susan Werner
* June 3: Reeds, Rhythm, and All That Brass, a 16-piece big band with
2 FP members
* June 17: Split Bill with Josh Joffen and the YaYas: two songwriters
* June 24: Dave Kleiner & Liz Pagan with David Kleiner opening shifted
from Feb 18 to make room for Mad Agnes, rescheduled from their snowed-out Jan 7 date. (Whew! Got that?) Upcoming highlights in February:
The aforementioned rescheduling of Mad Agnes to Feb. 18, and Joe Crookston on Feb 25.
Respectfully submitted:
Mike Agranoff
Program Chairman
The Minstrel
Morristown, NJ USA
POSTSCRIPT * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few more items have popped up since the cancelled meeting last Tuesday
I did get the financial figures, and they're not pretty. The Minstrel lost $525 in January. Revised chart attached. Of late I've been offering higher guarantees to get some acts than in the past, and consequently, we've had to make up extra money out of our own funds more often than in the past. Generally those make-up funds have been fairly low: usually less than $30.
One other thing that isn't particularly pretty is the chart on which all the attendance information is graphed. I've been using Microsoft Word's built-in graphing application, and I've found it wanting. If anyone knows of a better graph-making software, please talk to me.
I made two further bookings since last week: Cindy Mangsen & Steve Gillette for October 21 and Frank Vignola for October 28. We are also planning an "Old Tmers' Night" for August 26, featuring performers active in the Folk Project from the 70's and early 80's. Scooter will be producing that one. Revised upcoming schedule is attached. Please note that acts shown in parentheses are "pencilled-in", and not confirmed.
This is probably falls under the Website Committee's report, but it's Minstrel-related, and I'll add it here. Allan Kugel has been working with me to create and show me how to use a web-based form to enter the Minstrel Schedule on the Folk Project's soon-to-be-unveiled new website. I have posted all confirmed future bookings, along with the performer descriptions. I will continue to post them as new acts are booked, thereby making the new Minstrel calendar always up to date with the latest schedule. Alice Wiemer will be posting photos on the site. Thanks to Allan for the hard work in creating the uploading tool, and patience in showing me how to use them.
Mike Agranoff
Program Chairman
The Minstrel
Morristown, NJ USA
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