The fallen Snow and the New Music Alliance: In memory Michael, in memoriam Michael
January 6, 2023
Today I learned of Michael Snow’s passing yesterday and was reminded by facebook of the birthday of Michael Galbreth who passed away in 2019 but whose legacy with the New Music America festival I continue, and this is a transcript of the meeting which opens with him leading a group of composers and creators as chair to the first New Music Alliance Meeting in Philadelphia, 1987.
Forgive the draft and I’m throwing this out there as my first of many transcripts to appear in this space on the way to the archives in Houston, so for discretion there may be some further edits (since I’m kinda fond of that redaction tape to spruce up a text with mystery).
(for those who get a too big indication in their mailbox, I’d be glad to forward a word version on. dictac@gmail.com; I am wondering how it gets received…)
Recordings of the proceedings including construction sounds
19871005 new music alliance pre-meeting and beginning
First Philly meeting intros at 22 min 47:08 total
Some chatter and radio mix through
Philadelphia radio with iffy sound “Homegrown”
1:54
Pre-meeting banter among participants
======================
21:05
Michael Galbreth: I coordinated the New Music America 1986 last year in Houston along with Jerry McCathern here who was the General Manager, and ah, that’s me. Yale?
Yale Evelev: I’m Yale Evelev from New Music Distribution.
Jerry McCathern: I’m Jerry, I now live in New York. I work for a children’s museum.
Roger Page: Oh, I’m in Houston. I was in San Francisco now I’m from New York and I have an institution [...] installation going in at the Small Printer and the Arts network gallery.
David Moss: I’m David Moss, I’m a performer but I’m here this year to talk about my radio show US Ear which is a new music radio show which I’d like to have everyone know more about.
Stewart Boesalager: Stewart Boesalager, I’m a musician from the Chicago area.
Georges Dupuis: I’m Georges Dupuis, I was a fan in 1984, media in 1985 and I think I’m a mediocre composer this year.
(Chuckles)
Jerry McCathern: And you’re from Canada.
Georges Dupuis: Oh, yeah.
Jerry McCathern: That’s an important…
Georges Dupuis: I traveled farthest? No, Texas.
Michael Galbreth: It’s from North Texas.
Patrick, do you want to introduce yourself?
Patrick Darby: I’m Patrick Darby from Montreal.
Jerry McCathern: Hi, Patrick.
Brian Johnson: Brian Johnson, from Hartford from Real Art Ways in Hartford, Conneticut.
Steve Cellum: I’m Steve Cellum, an independent radio producer and I’m here doing production for this festival’s radio broadcasts.
Ray Gallon: I’m Ray Gallon, from WNYC FM in New York who is co-producing with Steve the broadcasts of this festival. And probably next year’s as well. And also a professional Canadian.
[...]
Georges Dupuis: Ex-patriot.
You play hockey?
(Chuckles)
Ray Gallon: No, that’s religion.
Michael Galbreth: I have to apologize for where we’re meeting, we were supposed – these meetings were scheduled to be upstairs, but um there was a mix up, they’re laying carpet and doing some carpentry work and everything so we may have to talk around some of the people hammering and stuff. So if I say anything or any of those, those big [...] just let us know.
Um, I sort of wanted to…
[...] Is there somewhere we can get a one table, instead of…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, that would be okay, that would be good.
[...]
Michael Galbreth: Hopefully, hopefully at the end of the week we won’t – we’ll be upstairs and we’ll be in better conditions.
[...] stuff not sure [...]
[...]
Jerry McCathern: That’s a good idea.
Michael Galbreth: Um, first, I guess I’d like to say welcome to Philadelphia. And welcome to you to the first Alliance meeting of this week. I’ve got – I – last night I stayed up and I wrote down an agenda, some things that I wanted to accomplish this week. Actually, in the next couple of days. Whether we will or not is another story, but I – I do have some goals that I’d like to accomplish.
2418
Before doing so, for those of you who are uninitiated to the Alliance, what it is, what we do, is why these meetings exist anyway. I’d like to ahead and read a little explanation that Carl Stone had given me. It’s pretty nice, it’s pretty good. It sort of explains what the alliance is, and also to read what our guidelines are and – and for you who have been to many festivals, this might be a way of your getting your mind in gear, to begin thinking about some of the things we need to do this week when we start thinking about these meetings.
2457
New Music Alliance is 501C3 not-for-profit corporation, incorporated in the state of Minnesota for the purpose of educational and cultural activities. The organization was formulated in 1980 by the meeting of presenters and composers of the American – of American music with the intent of presenting a yearly national festival of new music to the public and of providing greater visibility and understanding of contemporary American music.
2522
To this end, the New Music America festival has been created as one of the nation’s most extensive and active vehicles for presenting American composers to the public. The Board of Directors meet semi-annually to discuss all festival aspects of forthcoming festivals, including location, venue, producers, and guidelines for these producers. The Board designates each festival location, but is not responsible for the financial success of the festival, nor for the artistic choices made by the festival’s producers.
2551
The Board of Directors is a body of 18 to 22 individuals, usually but not exclusively composers, chosen at the festivals by members of the New Music Alliance at the festival. The directors represent a diverse field of contemporary music in addition to representing various regions in the country. Each director serves a renewable three year term, but cannot serve for more than six concurrent years. The officers of the corporation are elected by the membership at the annual meetings held during the festival.
2621
Usually, the directors of that year’s festival is elected to the presidency of the corporation. Past presidents have included Nigel Redden, Mary McArthur, Robin Kirk, Joseph Celli, Mary Luft, Michael Galbreth and Carl Stone. I am serving as president of the Alliance, thus chairing these meetings.
2640
That’s, that’s more or less about the Alliance board. The Alliance is us, really, it’s the people who come to the meetings during the festivals and associate themselves with New Music America. There is no, there is no type, um, definition as to what the Alliance is.
[...] : You have to pay, what is it ten dollars?
[...] : Five.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, there’s a…
Georges Dupuis: Ten Canadian.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, there’s a…
(Laughs)
Michael Galbreth: …there is a membership…
Jerry McCathern: You can’t vote unless you pay your ten dollars.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, that’s…
Jerry McCathern: …I’ve had to pay every year.
(Laughs)
Michael Galbreth: In Houston as well.
Jerry McCathern: Yes!
[...]
Michael Galbreth: Maybe we should start getting… but we’ve had discussions about that, we’ll, we’ll go – not to get off the track, but that’s been in discussion every single year about dues, what Alliance members get for those dues, rather than just say well I’m part of the New Music Alliance and coming to the festivals, there’s been talk about producing some sort of periodical about New Music business but that’s another thing come to fruition.
2741
I’d like to read the Alliance guidelines. I have some copies here, only about ten, and you’re welcome to them. If you’d like me to make more copies, I’d be glad to do so. Um, I think it’s important to read these things because every year, it seems we sort of have to – and Dave and I were talking about earlier this morning – of refocus and think about what the festival is, what it, what it says it is and then discuss what we – what role we play in deciding its future, future direction.
Because I think it’s always healthy to go through these guidelines which were set up initially in 1980 maybe to compare what the last few festivals – how closely they adhere to these guidelines.
[...] : These are the guidelines that the people that produce the festivals are supposed to do.
Michael Galbreth: These guidelines were set up, yeah by the Board of the – the Alliance Board in 1980 and to my knowledge, they’ve never really been changed.
Jerry McCathern: They were just updated a couple of years ago…
Michael Galbreth: In Los Angeles, but I don’t know at what point or anything. And it’s, and it’s our responsibility or freedom to amend these guidelines as we see fit as the Alliance. Let me just pass them around, I’ve actually got a couple, if you’d like to read this.
2900
Michael Galbreth: Okay, this is the Guidelines for New Music America Festival Sponsors.
Sponsors will continue the tradition of democratic composer and performer fees. That’s point number one. Point number two: Establish the budgetary goal to increase fees for composers and performers above the prior year fee schedule. Provide housing and per diem for NMA festival composers and performers for a minimum of two concert days. Provide transportation for each composer and performer participating in the festival. Provide reduced or minimal cost housing for New Music Alliance members for the duration of the festival. Provide free facilities during the NMA festival for New Music Alliance meetings.
2943
Michael Galbreth: In- (chuckles) including (chuckles)
[...] : We see where we get the luxury...
Georges Dupuis: Where’s the point about the croissants?
Michael Galbreth: (chuckles)
[...] : Right!
Michael Galbreth: We should have that, I do see that we should put that in the amendments hat.
[...] : It used to when we were at the Four Seasons.
[...] : Jill has tried three times.
2959
Michael Galbreth: Okay. Include the New Music Alliance in all printed materials related to and dealing with the NMA festival. Establish a national advisory committee, approved by the New Music Alliance board to be comprised primarily of composers and new music presenters for each NMA festival. To be expected to attend at least one NMA festival prior to their sponsorship of the New Music America festivals.
3024
To be expected to commit appropriate planning, finances and organizational time for the proper promotions of the NMA festivals. To be clear with their intent of fostering the spirit of the NMA festivals. Host a minimum of two New Music Alliance board meetings prior to the commencement of the NMA festival. Provide to the board interim progress and final reports during and at the conclusion of the festival.
3047
Transfer all documentation and financial information to the subsequent festival sponsor. Maintain the established New Music America trademark. Notify all New Music Alliance members about the forthcoming NMA festival with detailed programming and housing information no less than eight weeks prior to the commencement of the festival.
So those are the guidelines that festival presenters are to adhere to in presenting. Now, what we do um, besides discussing our own internal structure, that is how the board is set up and what we do, we also more or less give our blessing to those people who present a proposal to us for presenting a new music festival in the future.
This week, ah we’ll have three of those presentations. On Wednesday, let’s see, Joe Celli and Mary Luft will do a presentation update on New Music America 1988 in Miami which is the 10th New Music America festival and then on Thursday, Patrick Darby who is here to introduce himself, from Traquen’art – in Montreal will do a presentation about New Music America in Montreal in 1990, if we can think that far ahead. And then on Friday, Phil Bither of the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival will do a presentation about BAM presenting the festival in 1989.
So that’s how we stand for the meetings for the rest of the week. What I’d rather do – we have a small group here and we probably won’t go off on too many tangents but I know how these meetings usually go. What I’d like to do is – if you’re fairly strictly to those – to that agenda for the week, in other words to discuss New Music America 1988 on Wednesday, discuss New Music America 1990 on Thursday and discuss New Music 1989 on Friday, and leave all questions and discussions about those festivals on those days. Because otherwise, I don’t think we’ll accomplish some of the things that I really want to accomplish.
3258
And then we have today and tomorrow to do so. Let’s see. What I wanted to do today and tomorrow, was to discuss four things that I had written down last night, four things that were on my mind and some things that have popped up in some people’s heads over the last few months that I’ve written to and talked to in the last few days.
3325
One of the more nuts and bolts things that we have to do this week – we don’t have to do it today, and I’d rather not do it today, for some reason we can’t, is that the Alliance Board members and I have copies of who those people, just pass these around, I think there’s probably enough to go around today. Um, you’ll see next to the names of the Alliance Board members, there’s – I think there’s 19 – no, I’m sorry, there’s 17 people here.
Of those people, ah, six people terms, their terms are up at the end of this festival. There you’ll next to their names, at the top like Steve Cellum, 1984 to 1987, his term as board member of the Alliance would be up after this festival. Now what we need to do is to re-elect or to elect members to complete the board, to round out of the board. I think eighteen is the number we wanted to shoot for. At the moment, I think we have seventeen here.
But there’s a number of people, including myself, like my term as president is one year and one year only, can be re-elected or not. I mean there’s no guidelines and what have you. Or anyone else here can serve…
Jerry McCathern: It expires in January, right? Your – ‘cause you weren’t – you didn’t become president until…
Michael Galbreth: This January.
Jerry McCathern: January of eighty…
Michael Galbreth: …seven.
Jerry McCathern: …seven. So your term goes…
Michael Galbreth: Up in ’87. Now, also on the guidelines, I had written initially, it says that we have sort of a – a history of tradition of people who served on the board, and now it’s like their three year terms. Now I think we had written in a provision that usually there’s no more than two concurrent terms and that was six years in succession. After that they have to step off in being the board member, which is – we’ve only been around (chuckles) nine years, so that’s – I don’t think that’s any trouble right now.
3514
What I’d like to do is – is sort of plant this seed in your minds so you can begin thinking of that individual who you would like to see to be on the board of the Alliance. Who you feel should be on the board. And I - what we’ve done in LA, I don’t Jerry, ‘cause I didn’t go any Alliances meetings in Houston, I wasn’t able to but what we had done in Los Angeles is at the end of the week we’ve simply done a thing where people had written down names of the people – I think that there was like six vacancies.
And all the Alliance people at the meeting just –
3549 to 3555 blank
Jerry McCathern: Well, I didn’t go – I didn’t go to all the meetings myself.
Michael Galbreth: Did anyone go to the meetings in Houston?
[...] :
Michael Galbreth: Is that how it was done?
[...] : People nominated from a list.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, yeah, I think that (loud banging) maybe tomorrow we can talk about the nominations, in other words people can go and speak on behalf of another individual maybe and say why this person should be ah on the Alliance Board. (hammering continues)
3620
Future festival presenters for example I feel should be on the Alliance board, and Joe Celli and Mary Luft, well Mary Luft is on the board but her term is up this year, but I think perhaps Joe Celli be on the board, obviously as a festival presenter, and future festival presenters probably should be on the board of the Alliance for obvious reasons.
Jerry McCathern: And the other thing is the guidelines or the bylaws say that the president or the presenter should automatically or generally automatically becomes the president, so we should find out from Joe, Joe Franklin if he wants to be president number one, and number two…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
Jerry McCathern: …ah, if anybody wants to you know oppose that or [...] (very loud banging)
Michael Galbreth: He had indicated to me – and is [...] he indicated to me that he really wasn’t sure. And probably not.
Jerry McCathern: So that’s what happened, when Pauline declined, you know and I declined, and so (chuckles) took up the position, so it’s not an easy job.
Michael Galbreth: It’s not really, and actually I perhaps should sort of apologize to the Alliance, the Alliance board, after the New Music festival in Houston, I suffered burnout, I was really burned out doing the festival, and I didn’t really want to do it and I didn’t do it for nearly a year, I feel I’m over that.
(Laughs)
3739
[...] …eighteen months.
Michael Galbreth: I feel I survived. And that – it’s not, it’s not a big mental thing for me to be dealing with the Alliance, and I know that sounds crazy I think, but it was a real thing for me. So actually, I’ve gotten very good about communicating to the individuals in question…
Jerry McCathern: I’m not sure if it’s wise policy to have the director of the festival be president, because you are so sick of composers and festivals…
[...] (chuckles)
Jerry McCathern: …people and music, it’s not fair.
Michael Galbreth: I think, I think it’s unwise, I think about speaking about personal experience, I think it’s unwise.
Jerry McCathern: It would be nice to have somebody who…
Yale Evelev: I think they do that though because then that, supposedly that president can help the next people putting on the festival and go through all the stuff from the last festival, and it’s supposed to be regional…
[...] : [...]
[...] : You could do it as a consultant role, rather than having to be the person in charge, because, if that could happen in a consultant role…
Michael Galbreth: Yes…
[...] : …as opposed to having to be in charge…
Michael Galbreth: I agree.
[...] : …and you know, you could have a few phone call conversations here and there and not have to be the person…
Michael Galbreth: I agree, the rule – I agree – I just, I just, there’s really not that much responsibility, I mean you – well, there is in the way of organizing meetings, but at that time, it just really didn’t [...] I was just really…
[...] : [...]
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
Ray Gallon: Aren’t we really getting on to the whole question, the Alliance or the festival re-creates itself every year, kind of out of the ashes of the previous one…
Michael Galbreth: It does.
Ray Gallon: And, and that I’ve heard before the festival, from a variety, from a number of people, some desire to have some sense of continuity or more continuity between the festivals.
Michael Galbreth: Good, thanks, thanks for bringing up because that’s my next point that I really wanted to deal with and it’s, it’s for [...]. Every year we discuss, should the Alliance organize or should the Alliance not organize in the sense of establish a central point or headquarters, for information referral, and for archival purposes.
3935
And there’s been organizations and individuals that brought up suggestions about how that could be resolved. The American Music Center was one consideration, I believe the woman is coming down this weekend, I plan on speaking to her about that. It’s really important, as a past festival presenter, I’m all for that.
I – I just – I – I understand the arguments that have been brought up against that was that, was that the festival would lose its individual flavor, you see? I know that Mary MacArthur felt very strong about it not having some sort of central organization for fear that it would get so organized and that it – in its way of operating would – would get away from the philosophy of why this festival exists in the first place. And that was to have, this is a festival of somewhat free spirits, and that – that’s an organization goes against that grain.
4026
I don’t feel so. I don’t feel that way at all. There’s – I think there’s, there’s practical things that have to be done each festival. You have to pay the performers, you have to raise money to do that and you have to have ways of raising the money, things like National Endowment grants and all that stuff, if you don’t have a history of it – when I organized the festival, I had no idea. I mean I’m a newcomer to the festival, myself, I’ve not been around since its beginnings.
4054
And I had a heck of a time trying to get information about past festivals, how they were organized, and I needed that information to provide to the National Endowment of the Arts or state agency or what have you to demonstrate that this indeed does have a history, a very successful history.
4110
Um, my my feeling is very strongly towards a central organized headquarters so that future festival presenters can refer to that individual, ah to have a central mailing list so that they can be reported on to future festival presenters, so that stuff just doesn’t get lost. I have a bunch of stuff in my garage (chuckles) (pounding) of New Music America 86 in Houston and that’s where it sits, nobody knows that.
I mean, and I’m sure what I – when I was trying to find information about New Music America in San Francisco, Robin Kirk says I have everything here, I know, and I don’t think that’s the way it should be done. Obviously, that’s – that’s scatterbrained, that’s crazy and that stuff gets lost. I mean, where are all the – where are all the festival catalogues? Where’s the – all the recordings?
This is important things, at least for historical, for historical import, you know it should be stored in one location and I think all festival presenters should have access to that, sort of a library, and that’s a big responsibility and that’s – that’s probably a bigger responsibility than – than most individuals can handle.
4218
Patrick Darby: I’d like to add to this
Michael Galbreth: Okay
Patrick Darby: In the sense that we were preparing our proposal for 1990 the case was where do we get the information because we didn’t, we work with some people in Montreal who are experts in setting up organizational structures of this nature for a festival. And they needed certain givens about past festivals, and we just couldn’t get them before [...] phoning Michael about it…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
Patrick Darby: …we’d do phone calls with everybody…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
Patrick Darby: …a real politics and practice information, I mean for us it’s very important because the way it works in Canada is to get, to get funding you have to go – sort of prepare something as a paper and when you get this kind of base of information…
Jerry McCathern: [...]
Patrick Darby: …a number of people that had – how much money is spent, the budgets you have, all different kinds of things like that…
Michael Galbreth: That – that’s an…
Jerry McCathern: It just, it just occurred to me, the Interarts office at the National Endowment of the Arts probably has more archival information than anybody because that’s where the…
Michael Galbreth: It’s a good reason.
Jerry McCathern: …the preponderance of funding for this festival used to come from. I don’t know if it still does…
Michael Galbreth: No, I doubt it, but I know that…
Jerry McCathern: But they have good files…
Michael Galbreth: …they do have things like documentation of festivals, ah, press, catalogues and things like that, but it’s really hard to find things, it’s really hard to find a catalogue from New Music America 1980. Or 1981. I mean, they’re just almost non-existent and that’s a – that’s a real shame. Especially coming up on our, our tenth year, next year.
4351
Um, I – I have some ideas about that, but I’d like to open it to the floor for more discussion. Um, and there’s two other points I’d like to just mention, what I’d like to accomplish or at least discuss during the course of this week, especially the next two days and then we’ll just open it up to the floor.
Discuss changes in the guidelines, if necessary. Um, that’s what we’re here for, to study those, and consider them and see if they need to be amended or changed. Or done away with or whatever we feel like. And keep these guidelines in consideration as these organizations do their presentations for future festivals. New Music America 1988 has been approved formally, Joe and Mary will just simply do an update on that festival.
4439
New Music America 1989, 1990, those organizations have not been approved or been presented formally, it will be done so this week. So keep those guidelines in mind as these people present their ideas on how they want to do a festival.
And then the last and most important thing about these meetings is to discuss the artistic content and direction of the festival. I know these meetings usually comprise discussions mainly about that, and they should because that’s the most important thing, that’s the reason why we’re here.
We do have some things we have to accomplish, but I’d like to keep that forum open for those very important things, especially in light of the, the organizations who will be presenting the festivals in the future because I know there’s been a lot of discussion about where we’re going, where we should or should not go. It’s very important.
4535
And I’d like to go back to the point of all this, of the more pragmatic point of establishing a headquarters for the Alliance, an information center and archival headquarters. Does anyone have any ideas about that?
19871005 part 2 of 3 New Music Alliance Meeting Philadelphia
Day 1 – Quality Inn
Ray Gallon: …organizations are putting on a festival, it’s different for each organization.
Michael Galbreth: They – they do weigh both. They actually do weigh both.
Ray Gallon: Um-hum.
Michael Galbreth: My idea in the way of a central headquarters would be something that wouldn’t be as – as vast as what you’re suggesting. Mine would be very simple. I’m literally talking about a file cabinet with a file that has New Music America grants that date all the way back, that have press clippings, have catalogues. So those things can made readily available to future presenters, without – without question about artistic content or…
Ray Gallon: Right.
Michael Galbreth: …anything – or, or even fund raising capability. I really don’t think that it’s – it’s stated in the guidelines that the responsibility of raising funds up to those individual presenting organizations, because they do know, for example, they do their immediate community, what resources are available and which are not.
Now, if they do have access to a central file, then they can make applications to national organizations like the NEA or whoever else. But they have to have certain kinds of information in order to do that, and I’m just simply thinking of it more as just a resource center, and it really…
119
Ray Gallon: But a resource center has to be staffed by someone, there has to be somebody there, and if there’s gonna be somebody there, it seems to me it should be somebody who knows something about fund raising, who knows the people at the various funding agencies and who can assist the sponsors. The sponsor should still have the responsibility but it’s something that could be done as a cooperative venture in which the person in that center gains you know experience year by year from multiple experiences of funding this thing, so that – that the wealth of information, of – and of personal content which is so much of this thing, doesn’t get lost just because it’s a new sponsoring organization.
Because, you know some – some bodies change around somewhere. I think that – that you can’t, you can’t the value of the interpersonal context of somebody in – at the NEA or some state arts council getting to know one person who’s there year after year after year…
Michael Galbreth: Exactly.
Ray Gallon: …and represents some kind on continuity…
Michael Galbreth: Exactly.
Ray Gallon: …that – and as long we can protect the artistic end of it, from being centrally directed by one person or one group of people so that it represents streamier [...] that seems to me to be a good thing to do. At the same time keeping in mind that building up overhead and a bureaucracy at this particular point in time in the world of not for profits, probably the hardest thing in the world to do, and probably not very advisable because there’s so little money around, we don’t want to spend it on bureaucracy, we want to spend it on program. But there a minimum amount of bureaucracy that is probably necessary.
258
Michael Galbreth: My idea, the way I see it in my mind’s eye – I mean, I sort of see it was (buzz sawing begins) [...] and I – I mean it could very well be at my house, literally. I mean, I have space for files, it’d be like installing a phone, that would be dedicated only to New Music America.
[...] : A phone number that wouldn’t change from year to year.
Michael Galbreth: A phone number, that would be the phone number so whoever wanted to call, could call that New Music America business, and then perhaps a computer system that would have capability of updating things like the New Music Alliance members, other information and things as well. A lot of information.
Jerry McCathern: I have to say that Yale – Yale and I, I think are the only ones, speaking as a board member, but in the four years that I have been involved, the four festivals that I’ve been involved, in all the board meetings I’ve [...] this subject has been discussed.
David Moss: Beating around the bushes.
Jerry McCathern: And it comes to the board, in the form sometimes the Alliance meetings you know, a group like this they make a recommendation to board, it goes to the board and we all sit around and we talk about this and the problem has always arisen – when your suggestion of the kinds you just made – is who is responsible, how are we going to raise the money to hire this person, rent this space, and there is – there has not been in ten years, there has not been a solution to that issue.
428
Patrick Darby: I’m – I’m going to try and answer this in a way that I am trying to deal with our problem in 1990 – I think if we bring this festival to Montreal (loud banging) in Canada, we face a very definite problem, an across the border problem [...] substantially the major problem dealing with our ideas. We’ve been told the NEA does not consider taking money and placing it in Canada, [...] American investment.
So, obviously whatever is required to highlight the festival in terms of credibility, and (more banging) possibly [...] by the board [...] the Canada [...] look at the days of funding possibility. So what happens at the festival, we lose it one year as a possible development, sources of funding, possibly even its awareness in the larger community, the funding community that is. So I was thinking that perhaps the solution is [...] with the government just like I mentioned to Michael, and going in that direction with the [...] through a foundation and try and raise funding which would give a base to the festival for continuity [...] (pounding is consistent at this point) [...] hardball [...] come to base for getting funds for something more permanent be the [...] and files.
600
Even, even the fact of last year, when people had excellent contacts through Continental as a carrier, I think that other people, I don’t [...] they managed here in Philadelphia, the same carrier for the same results. But this I think is something that’s important, that’s been acquired by the festival and possibly could be worked out in terms of a long term agreement with this airline, where they would accept to become annually the carrier for the festival, as say over five years, you sign an agreement and they say, well we allocate so many seats to the festival over five years and [...] deal each time.
Michael Galbreth: I think…
[...] : [...] NEA will not fund something in Montreal, but the Cultural Exchange Program with the Department of State would sponsor sending Americans up to Canada. So forget NEA but contact Cultural Exchange through the Department of State.
Patrick Darby: Okay, that’s fine but perhaps using the fact that we have a festival in Canada, a dedication to possibly go to the NEA from the other angle, and say, you know we’re moving in this direction, we need some funding to set up and also, also the contacts that are being made in the private sector, in other foundations that support whatever cultural activities, may be able to channel it into an organizational foundation [...] which can be used to…
[...] : I know what you’re saying and I support that, but at the same time, that’s not going to be able to happen and fund Canada by 1990.
Patrick Darby: No, no…
[...] : So, you know, yeah, we’ve got to start now and hope for the best.
Michael Galbreth: David?
David Moss: Just my impression of how the Music Alliance works and has worked is that you can’t really go halfway in this matter and make it work. Either you have a file cabinet somewhere and you say that’s it or you hire someone and you say this is your job. I don’t see how this is going to be a profitable venture in any, other than those two functions. Because I don’t see how you could fund any other function. We have to either say to this or yes to this – anything in the middle is the mush that this place normally operates under.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
[...] : Yeah.
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David Moss: And that’s what we’re complaining about.
[...] : I’m sorry but I’d like to see lots of other options, and to me it’s not this or that. There’s another one in the middle and that is that there are lots of archival institutions in this country in which we could be come a part of and place our archives in.
Michael Galbreth: That’s been discussed. The problem I see with that is their business is other people’s business too.
[...] : Right.
Michael Galbreth: It’s not just…
[...] : And Americans never like to share their stuff…
Michael Galbreth: No, no, it’s things – I don’t trust not to be [...] – the problem I see with some of the questions that you brought up Patrick in a way of establishing things that say like – so the festival presenters in the future would know what airline carriers and maybe we could do a five year contract, that would be great to do, to organize something and have a five year contact with a carrier.
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But I think those sorts of negotiations should perhaps, maybe not – maybe they should be on behalf of the Board, the Alliance Board. My inclination is to leave all the administrative work to the individual presenters. Now, the individual presenters, they would come up with a jam like a five year contract with a carrier that would be adequate for future festivals, that would be terrific.
But I’m seeing something that’s much more striped down, very simple, just in the fact of just being able to pull that information, someone who can just get a copy of a contract, get a copy of this, or just have the information that you knew in 1986 Continental Airlines was the official carrier and they provided this many seats. And maybe you can go back to them and that Philadelphia’s done the same thing and that there’s been a tradition now established just from those two festivals.
Just having that knowledge itself right there enables you to go to Continental. And that’s just the information, just to have it. When I began, when Jerry and I began working with the festival, we didn’t have that simple basic information. We didn’t have it, we did some of that [...]
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Ray Gallon: But there’s absolutely no motivation for anybody to go after anything long term as long as that’s the arrangement. That the five year plan will never happen under that, that arrangement because every presenter is looking at their festival and their year and it’s tough enough to get that up.
[...] : That’s right.
Jerry McCathern: The other issue…
Michael Galbreth: Yes but you say that – then we get into that, that conflict of the individual flavor of a presenter.
Jerry McCathern: See, every festival takes…
Michael Galbreth: That’s a real issue.
[...] : That, that wouldn’t change, that wouldn’t change…
Jerry McCathern: No, but see…
Ray Gallon: If I hear airline deals are going to change the nature of the festival…
Jerry McCathern: Well, let’s just take Continental for an example. Why did Houston have Continental? Because the international base of Continental is Houston. It would be ridiculous for you to have Continental in Montreal, because I don’t even know – they may have a…
Patrick Darby: [...] to Montreal, but…
Jerry McCathern: …they may have a few flights but the point is it has to be…
Patrick Darby: In terms of airlines, we have Air Canada…
Jerry McCathern: …you should have…
[...] : Eastern and Continental are now together. Miami’s going to have a festival in 88. I would think that the logic is they’re going to contact Eastern and try and acquire the same thing, now that would be the third year in a row. By the time we get a…
[...] : [...]
[...] : …there’s no airline…
[...] : [...]
Michael Galbreth: …if things start happening at Continental…
Patrick Darby: That’s become almost a fact of the situation where Continental could possibly be after five years the official carrier and if it’s developed that way, presented to – they can in their own plan, say okay, you know in terms of what you give away, or we support, in the cultural domain or whatever, the social domain, we all get so many seats every year to, whatever causes. We’ll put so much aside for New Music America…
Jerry McCathern: Okay, but…
Patrick Darby: …if we know ahead of time, we can fly with that.
Ray Gallon: The only problem with that…
(several voices at the same)
[...] : The Continental boys are gonna ask you is, how many seats did you sell for us on your last two festivals we sponsored you? And then they’re gonna look and see, is it worth our time…
Patrick Darby: Not necessarily, not necessarily…
[...] : The seats are the prestige.
Patrick Darby: …and once we get in contact with…
[...] : They only care about what crosses their hands.
Patrick Darby: …by your idea.
Jerry McCathern: Well, I don’t think that Continental was overwhelmingly supportive. We managed to talk them into this and I don’t know – are they still doing this in Florida?
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, Continental-Eastern is sponsoring.
Jerry McCathern: That’s amazing because I didn’t think they were that happy.
Michael Galbreth: We don’t – we don’t want to get off the issue of what we started, and I know we’re using the airline for a metaphor for the larger issue. But I think it serves as a good example, because if there are different circumstances, that – those individual presenters really are responsible for – I mean, otherwise there’s no reason for having administrative staff for those individuals festivals, because that’s their job, that’s their job to establish things like that.
Jerry McCathern: And the ot-…
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Michael Galbreth: It’s their job to establish things like that. Now, we’re talking hypothetical terms about five year contracts or five year relationships with airlines. I mean, we don’t know. I mean, it’s sort of hypothetical. It’s something to consider that we would have that option if we did organize centrally. I think the concern is, it’s my concern as well, I see both ways. I, again, I see it more of a very nuts and bolts situation of simply having an information resource that can be readily made available to anybody, any member of the Alliance, any member of the Alliance Board and any member of the presenting festivals so that they can do the work that needs to be done. Do you see what I’m saying.
David Moss: Well, that’s a nice first step. Why don’t we just take that first step? I mean it’s only one step behind what we have.
Michael Galbreth: That’s what I’d like. I could – I could say – my suggestion, I have, I have my own ideas, because I’ve thought about it, obviously because I knew that this issue would come up. I brought it out, at these meetings.
Jerry McCathern: So what, so you’re saying…
Michael Galbreth: My idea was – I know that the Alliance has a certain amount of money, I think in a bank, in Los Angeles. Carl knows this, and it’s 900 bucks, 900 dollars. That is from dues. Now, perhaps we can establish this…
[...] : Hot dog sales.
Michael Galbreth: (chuckles) Yeah, that’s it. Hot dog sales.
[...] : New Music America [...]
Michael Galbreth: Now perhaps, perhaps that money could be devoted to setting up this headquarters, or to setting it up, give it to somebody, an individual organization, set up an individual phone line, maybe to begin setting up a computer system and a file cabinet. At least begin, and give that person a start in trying to hoard this information together to some local central location and to network that information at other people, other lines. Of course they know this year is the Alliance sort of center. At least as a beginning.
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[...] : I like the idea of the file cabinet, I like the idea of the central telephone number. I think we should carry it one step further and write a grant to one of the computer companies and get a computer with a modem, that has an online twenty four hour access, because one thing you’re not gonna, you’re gonna get real tired at doing is returning all the fucking phone calls…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, yeah.
[...] : …that are gonna come through.
Michael Galbreth: Um, and of our last teleconference call for the board, who was it that dropped about the computer, about they had some computer. Herb Levy? One of the board members.
Ray Gallon: Can I make a suggestion along those lines? We’ve got sitting upstairs already the beginning of a computer database. Pauline’s been putting it together and she’s very interested in taking it online. Let’s not re-invent the wheel six hundred times. One of the – one of the worst things that happens in the not for profit world and it’s largely because of the way money funding is structured, is that we all end up starting at not for profits with a lot of overhead when we could work together and save some of that money. If she’s got something going, why not talk to her about having a New Music America database in her system?
Michael Galbreth: That’s not…
Ray Gallon: [...] imagine getting any of that…
Michael Galbreth: …there’s many systems and I realize why that was brought up. The American Music Center, they have a system, there’s many organizations…
Ray Gallon: Well, the American Music Center, I’m on their board and I wouldn’t use anything at the American Music Center as an example of everything.
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Jerry McCathern: That’s what – that was what we heard at the…
(Laughs)
David Moss: That’s what the last board member said…
Jerry McCathern: …a proposal from the American Music Center, they actually wanted to do this for us…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah…
Jerry McCathern: …and we rejected it, the proposal, but I’ll tell you that’s asking a lot of Pauline. She’s stretched like this in her own…
Ray Gallon: Well, I think it’s going to need an input of money, it’s not something that’s going to be done…
Jerry McCathern: My [...] isn’t going to be like the beginning…
Ray Gallon: No, it’s not going to do it for us either…
[...] : Right, but there are two things in our favor with this judgement. One is, one, I’ve been an arts administrator for ten years now and I gave it up because I’m sick of doing it, but I learned a lot during those ten years. One of the things that grants organizations love is being able to fund one project that benefits more than one organization.
[...] : Yup.
[...] : So if New Music Alliance and the Pauline Oliveros Foundation and maybe even somebody else…
[...] : Good sound approach…
[...] : …IBM or whoever and apply for one of their free computer systems for this project, they like that idea because they can put in their brochure three arts organization they helped instead of one, and they’ll fund a multiple approach that they won’t fund for a single person.
Michael Galbreth: Um-hum.
[...] : Now, megabytes of memory are much easier to add than staff people so that’ll cheap, we can go, we get a two megabyte system, and we could have their database on line, we can have our database on line, we can have you know our bulletin board on line, electronic mail service on line and…
Michael Galbreth: And that’s [...], a computer system, a file cabinet and a telephone. That’s literally I’d seen it, not much more than that.
[...] : That I can support and help make happen.
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Michael Galbreth: And then, there’s the issue of well, you know, the telephone, it costs about 100 bucks to install a telephone, you know, that’s it. And then you’ve got a file cabinet, you know, whatever, you’ve got one…
Jerry McCathern: You’d have to pay charges, I mean, it is an ongoing budget…
[...] : You’ve got to buy a phone machine…
Michael Galbreth: There is an ongoing budget but perhaps, perhaps I mean, well, maybe we could work that out, Alliance dues, maybe that’s what the Alliance pays for, maybe it should be something else.
Jerry McCathern: The Alliance is, in the past have gone…
Michael Galbreth: …as a start…
Jerry McCathern: …to pay for telephone, for board meeting teleconferences, to pay some transportation to the board meetings…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
Jerry McCathern: …all the [...] forgot of me, and that’s you know, I don’t think it’s enough. I – I don’t think it’s enough money to fund, to fund this thing. And Pauline for example, she’s been moving around a lot. This is just an example, any of us would be in the same boat, say it was me or you, would we want to entrust this festival’s archive to somebody…
[...] : …is a nomad…
Jerry McCathern: …is moving so much and changing and you know (buzz saw starts)
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David Moss: I just wonder if we could make, if we could in a sense help ourselves by adding a requirement onto the sponsors and say, each sponsor must contribute in a certain way to the ongoing (buzzsaw continues, David raises voice) archiving or development of an archive to economically so they’re going something to an ongoing development of New Music America and not just doing a thing.
Michael Galbreth: I think it does say that. If you look at, number 14, (buzzsaw cutting something) …and transfer all documentation, financial information [...] .
David Moss: I don’t think that’s enough then, I think we could say more. Should have to guarantee the preservation of at least the present festival’s documentation including the press releases and the things that can be put in a box and put in a garage, at least whoever’s hosting the festival is responsible for what is there now. Now this year’s Philadephia festival should be put in a box, box on the side to be transferred some day where it’s going to wind up. I gather that’s not happening.
[...] : No, what everybody has said.
Michael Galbreth: It only happens when…
Ray Gallon: It may be in the guidelines but it isn’t happening.
Michael Galbreth: It’s specific, concrete.
[...] : Well, it’s clear that we need a database to go back to find out – I mean, obviously, if you have to write proposals three years in advance, you’ve got know these figures, not from five years ago, but from last year, you know, to be – come up with an accurate budget.
Patrick Darby: And it’s also – it’s also very good to know these things and see how the evolution of the festival, and how each city deals, each one has their own character of where it’s happened (loud voices in background). Some people at that function in Houston, it can be Los Angeles or [Shepard’s space horse?] Chicago, it’s always different, it’s always different.
But in other respects, it’s similar. There are certain things that are very useful and I think that with [...] it gives you a body or model which can be used, it can be used to even sell the festival, much more widely than it’s presently being done. At least that’s my view and I think we’re missing the mark in a way, because probably people aren’t thinking in that way, and I think there’s a way of creating a much broader interest and I think that’s what’s lacking right now. The festival’s not selling itself beyond the cities it’s presented in each year, and I think that’s a drawback.
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I mean what we talk about in Montreal and Canada in general – nobody knows about New Music America in regards to people. Some of the people, Canadians associated in some way, but that, I can understand the reason for it. But people, the action worth taking is helping to broaden this kind of contact message.
So I think on the level of – and corporations do give money to cultural and artistic activities. Why not New Music America? But there’s no way that this is being developed by us and presented that way. Obviously, they’re not going to come to us unless we do it. I mean, we have to go out and get it, but I think it’s confined to what he was saying, to have somebody who’s preoccupied with that thing. And maybe there’s a way of structuring that without it necessarily harming the individual organizers, but to help, that’s my opinion. But we are really started at scratch. I mean it’s from going to past festivals and taking notes and grabbing everything and bringing them back, analyzing them and…
Jerry McCathern: Every presenter…
Michael Galbreth: It’s statistics, it’s how it’s been happening, and that’s what – that’s what we’re trying to get away.
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Patrick Darby: That’s not necessarily – it’s not an easy of working. Okay, we start with the base, that I agree with, but I think there’s a way of going, you know, a little further and in advancing the situation and possibly, I feel it’s extremely important, the fact that you know, there seems to be a trend here and I’m going to come back to this example because even an important one to me in planning 1990.
And that there is a way of presenting to corporations or foundations even ways of getting help. Because, I mean you are part of the new culture being created. And new creations and events, it’s just a bad sales job that we’re doing.
Jerry McCathern: Well, let me just…
Patrick Darby: I mean, we go from our personal experiences as artists and presenters and say well, damn, you know we’re struggling all the time. Of course it’s always going to be like that…
Jerry McCathern: But I’ll tell you, Patrick,
Patrick Darby: [...]
Jerry McCathern: My experience in Houston was, we – I don’t think that we could have made more effort to reach the corporate community than we did in Houston. And the bottom line is they don’t, they don’t support – they do not support this kind of activity. They do to a certain extent.
The Continental thing was very – it was a coup and we got it not because of New Music America but because of the whole Houston Festival activity. New Music America itself, when, when you go to a corporation and you explain what you’re doing, you have to say “experimental”, you have to say “it’s new”, you have to say… Those words…
Ray Gallon: No, you don’t…
Jerry McCathern: …absolutely…
David Moss: If you use those words when you’re talking…
Ray Gallon: You don’t use the hot button words…
[...] : All right, all right…
Ray Gallon: You find other ways to persuade.
Georges Dupuis: New age?
Jerry McCathern: Of course you do.
David Moss: You can call it new wave, you can call it new ways…
Jerry McCathern: I understand.
[...] : No, Jerry…
Jerry McCathern: They still understand they don’t support.
[...] : They only understand what you tell them.
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Michael Galbreth: I always tell..
[...] : You only tell them what they want to hear.
Ray Gallon: Look, let me – let me say this too. It’s true with – the same thing is true with corporations that’s true with the grant givers. And that is, they’re not going to fund you the first time out, they want to know your track record, they want to know that you’re in for the duration.
They might look at you with interest, and maybe they’ll throw you a couple of hundred bucks if you’re lucky the first time out, but it’s a lot easier to get them to go from a couple of hundred bucks to several thousand, than to get that first couple of hundred bucks and – and that requires a persistence and some consistency and it requires you to reappear in their offices, year after year, time after time and make them understand that yes, this is something that’s ongoing, it’s successful and it’s something that you ought to be interested in having your name on.
It also depends on who you go to see in corporations. If you go to their public relations or advertising agencies, forget it. You’re never gonna get past first base with them, but if you go to their public affairs officers, sometimes to their corporate foundations, you know, you might be able to get something, but you’ve got to work at it and it takes somebody, getting to know the people, getting to know who sits behind the desk, [in ex] corporation getting really chummy with them, because that’s the way it works.
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The old boy’s system functions. And in order, in order for new music to get that kind of money, new music has to have an old boy.
Georges Dupuis: There’s also another point that ah – this may be one of the rare cases where the negative plusses – i.e. the things that we aren’t and haven’t been like we haven’t bankrupted anybody, we have great attendance and every year that the festival goes on, sixth annual is big, seventh annual is unheard of, eighth annual is something is something rare and once we get to these things, that we are the only people that have been doing this continually is a benefit to a corporation.
Jerry McCathern: The [...] matter is the festival has grown over the last three years.
Georges Dupuis: But that was by choice, wasn’t it?
Jerry McCathern: It’s not – no it’s not – you said it’s getting bigger and bigger but it’s not.
Georges Dupuis: No, older and older.
Jerry McCathern: Oh, okay. No, it’s not…
Michael Galbreth: If you’re a politician, put pressure on ourselves…
Jerry McCathern: And the reason that it has been successful to this point is the expensive support from the NEA and government funding. It’s not focused for – and I’ve told…
Patrick Darby: What percentage? (banging resumes)
Jerry McCathern: I do – I have to just take issue with what you’re saying. I mean some of the things you’ve said, I agree with about this longevity, but there – the corporate dollar is shrinking now, say mergers. There is – I mean, I’m a professional fund raiser, it’s what I do for a living for a children’s museum I can raise money. For that part of music, I can. Now, that’s all I’m saying.
Ray Gallon: I know what you’re saying, we’ll never get rich on corporate money. We’re never gonna get rich…
2728
Michael Galbreth: Well perhaps we should put pressure on ourselves, pressure on myself, the office of the Alliance, say, well this is your responsibility as an officer to have this specific thing in existence. Um, perhaps we should mandate that for the office. That was to say that individual, that president of the Alliance, to those officers are responsible for research into fund raising for a computer company that may be able to donate a computer system.
David Moss: I think that’s a joke, I mean – I don’t think people will be able to add that onto their ongoing lives and make that happen and they’ll just be in a more obvious, doing it. I mean think that the Alliance either has to amend what they think they’re supposed to do and change it and officially and make something else happen, or they have to say forget it.
I mean, we’re talking around the issue. I still feel you know, it’s either do this or don’t do this.
Jerry McCathern: We pass, every year, the history is we pass it to the next sponsor, okay, and you dump it in their lap and they have to do the whole festival (buzz saw starts).
[...] : Well, and that’s dumb and we have to start doing that, because that’s not a way to [...]
[...] : Wait ‘til you hear what Phil [Klinestone?] has to say about, you know, his trying to get money, they got very little money from [...] sector.
[...] : When I said, 95 thousand dollars in [...] right?
[...] : I think [...] a little bit more, I think Joe’s done better than a lot of past [...]
[...] : But he gets 95 thousand dollars in one grant.
[...] : Another question, another question is do we have the right to go [...]? Do we have the right demographics to approach the right organizations? Can we show them, how much, how much did we sell on their express cards during the festival this year? Can we show them how much we sold on the [...] this year? Do we have demographics to show what the average income of our audiences are? You know, that’s what corporations want to know, because if they’re going to advertise, if they’re going to sponsor you, they want to know that the people who are coming are going to spend money that eventually is going to get back to them.
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Jerry McCathern: Those figures aren’t impressive, you know. The facts that you just told them are not impressive. American Express doesn’t make any money off of this festival. Very, very few people of the actual attendance [...] is mostly the composers and performers. It’s mostly the [...]
David Moss: So I mean, [...] it’s going to be little…
Jerry McCathern: …it’s a coterie of the same people and after you, that the fact.
Ray Gallon: Well, the question is, is there…
Jerry McCathern: I mean we could…
Ray Gallon: …is there something we can do to change that?
Patrick Darby: Right.
Jerry McCathern: I hope, ah…
Ray Gallon: You know, part of, part of what I’m about and I think Yale also is getting the word out about music, about what’s happening, you know, that’s what our, that’s what our business is, of disseminating information and getting that word out in a way you know that people are going to be receptive to it is no easy task.
It requires a lot of delicacy and a lot of pussyfooting around and but not too much. And you’re always kind of walking the line about whether you’re going to lose people. It’s not, it’s not easy (buzzsaw starts), it requires a real solid PR effort. I’ve not seen a single festival put out PR that I thought would bring people into the festival. Somebody said something about the festival only taking place in the city where it, where it happen.
You know it should be an event that people fly into. I was involved some years ago in starting and running for many years the Festival of Festivals in Toronto, which is a film festival. It started from scratch out of nothing and in three years became the most heavily attended public film festival in the world.
That happened because every bloody newspaper in Canada and an awful lot of them in the United States had stories about the Festival of Festivals and people came in and there was stuff that were attractions there. And that’s – you know, I mean maybe that’s not what we want. Maybe what we want a conference of people who are performers. If that’s what we want, then that’s what we should do, but we should know what it is that we want…
Jerry McCathern: I think our festival’s…
Ray Gallon: …and go after the…
Michael Galbreth: [...] the national advertising, I mean every festival does it. I’ve seen Philadelphia do it, it depends on…
Ray Gallon: But…
Michael Galbreth: …it depends on how you market it.
Ray Gallon: But is it effective, that’s the question, or is it money that’s thrown away?
3154
[...] : No, it took me four phone calls to find out where to call to get the brochure from Philadelphia, thing. And I should have been on the mailing list ‘cause I’ve been at the last three…
Georges Dupuis: So have I, I’ve gone to the last four…
[...] : I didn’t get an application to perform in time, for me, you know to put a proposal in, you know? These are problems that relate back to the database problem that you’re talking about, okay?
[...] : See, I think…
[...] : One step further, if I can take it please, from where he is, alright, is to say we’ve also been dealing with the fact that we have a whole generation of music illiterates on our hands. You know, and we’ve got to face that problem, along with the present problem that we’re dealing with. If we’re going to sell this on a national level, we’ve also got to be about music education, and we’ve to be about approaching a market that doesn’t understand what the fuck we’re doing.
3245
David Moss: You’re all, you’re talking about this on a, on a major level of coordination and interaction okay? Do you want to mandate that in the New Music Alliance? Do you want that to be part of the New Music Alliance, or do you want maybe better coordination between New Music Alliance and WNYC and US Air for example, whatever, I mean we can do that as an informal body, we don’t have to mandate that but what we’re talking about, do we want to change what New Music Alliance is doing, is supposed to as its job, you know.
[...] : That’s the question.
David Moss: That’s the question, do we want to change it or do we want to just let it go on the way it is, you know, groovy meetings and whatever.
Jerry McCathern: But what I – it keeps coming back to is if we say today, okay, let’s change it and make, and give recommendations, ah my experience has been that – I mean, I hate to sound so negative but unless there is someone willing to come forward with an organization…
Ray Gallon: And take charge of it, yeah.
Jerry McCathern: …with some funding of their own.
[...] : We need a concrete propose – someone here said we would like Joe [Japip] to run the organization and someone propose that and everybody felt that Joe [Japip] could do it, then he would be okay.
[...] : You can’t just talk – in general to say we like an office or we wouldn’t an office, we do that every year. We are all – you know, what it comes down to is well, we don’t want the American Music Centre to have it and we don’t want the Library of Congress to have it. Okay, so nobody has it. Now if maybe somebody presented an alternative of some organization or some person who people felt comfortable with and holding the information and using it to the good of New Music America and New Music Alliance then people would okay on that. But someone then, people should come forward with a specific proposal.
3424
Maybe like David Moss, should you know, keep all the stuff because he’s got a farm house in Vermont, he doesn’t move, he’s there forever with a [...]
Ray Gallon: So David, you’re it!
[...] : You’re it.
(Chuckles)
[...] : You know he’s got – okay, you’ve got a garage?
David Moss: It’s moldy in my basement.
[...] : Oh, forget it.
[...] : Well, it’s our refrigeration equipment from Ben and Jerry.
(Chuckles)
Georges Dupuis: It also comes down to the [...] which we need ourselves. I mean I’m the first person who’s wanted transcripts of the tapes of the former sessions, and we finally have to, I take the cassettes, I bring my recorder, I bring my microphone and I do it. We have to do what we can…
[...] : Everything happens one step at a time by one person doing something. And I heard you say earlier, if I heard right, that you’ve got a garage and you’re willing to have a filing cabinet and a phone line installed in your garage. Now, are you going to move in the next five years?
(Laughs)
Michael Galbreth: If I could, once I move, you’ve got to take your stuff with you.
Ray Gallon: Okay, and you’re willing to be responsible for moving all that shit if you choose to move?
Michael Galbreth: Yes. I mean, I could do it.
[...] : All right.
Michael Galbreth: I mean it would be a very very low basis, I mean, I am not an organization, I’m an individual.
[...] : Right.
Michael Galbreth: I mean I can’t get – and it’s, if people call me and say, Mike can you send me something, I’d say yeah. Now could we get to the point if there’s no development, if there’s – if I’m not able to garner money from an organization in Houston or wherever to install a computer system that would have an adequate database, but not in half…
[...] : Well, let’s not – the computer is step two.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
[...] : Step one is about having a phone line.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah. And perhaps..
[...] : All right, do you have a file cabinet yet?
Michael Galbreth: Yes.
[...] : You have one, okay so we don’t have to buy one. Do you have a phone line, a second line phone line installed? So we have to have a second phone line installed into this area. Do you have a phone machine?
Michael Galbreth: No.
[...] : Okay, then we need to announce that we need someone to give us an old phone machine that’s still workable and serviceable. Or we need to find some company who will give us one for this person.
Ray Gallon: A phone machine’s a hundred bucks.
[...] : Yeah, well, you know but we’ve only got 900 in the bank, so 100 is a major expenditure, we’ve got to think about that.
3617
[...] : You know, there’s a monthly phone bill to pay now, gotta find a hundred bucks…
Michael Galbreth: And this is a business phone.
[...] : And a business phone costs a lot more than a residential phone.
David Moss: Hey, I have an economic question. Is it beyond the – is it beyond, is it totally wild and fancy to suppose that when we grant a city and its sponsor the right to do New Music America that we ask for $2000 seed money to keep the New Music Alliance functioning on the level of an ongoing New Music America?
Jerry McCathern: I wish Joe were here. Joe would answer that question.
Michael Galbreth: No, I think it’s…
[...] : I know it’s a question that someone should answer.
David Moss: ‘Cause we would have six thousand dollars in the bank of New Music Alliance if the next three organizations have to give this money in escrow to keep New Music America functioning on a forward going basis.
Jerry McCathern: You’d better get that money about a year before the festival!
(Chuckles)
David Moss: Okay, a year before the festival?
Georges Dupuis: Can we do this retroactively?
(Laughs)
Michael Galbreth: I think that’s appropriate.
David Moss: While we still have out of pocket change.
[...] : We have overhead! We don’t acknowledge it.
3711
Michael Galbreth: I’ll tell you what, it would have been worth for us in Houston to spend a thousand or two thousand dollars to have that information.
David Moss: And you’ll get something for it…
Michael Galbreth: [...]
David Moss: …you’ll know that you’ll get something for it, right?
Michael Galbreth: In di-, in phone bills…
Jerry McCathern: It’s not a bad idea, that’s like putting a deposit down to do the festival.
[...] : I like that idea.
Michael Galbreth: How much time have you spent? How much man hours are, you know, and you can equate into money that you’ve spent. It’s a far…
David Moss: Or if the money is impossible, this amount of computer time, or this, a thousand dollars, and this amount of you know we can give this in kind.
Patrick Darby: I think you should stick to the basic…
[...] : …can money! Fine!
(Laughs)
Jerry McCathern: That’s a very good proposal. Two thousand might be – I don’t know…
Ray Gallon: Two thousand towards [...] funding, I don’t think that’s very much.
[...] : Or a percentage of the budget.
[...] : What we are talking about is not that much, really.
Michael Galbreth: What two thousand goes to, a database, having for phone, for phone expenses for the year, paying for mailings, for sending out the mailing list for the year.
David Moss: Plus guaranteeing each upcoming festival copies of, accurate copies of documents, someone to talk to and information as they need it.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, I think that’s great.
Ray Gallon: It’s services received for value rendered.
Georges Dupuis: Okay now, at this point it might be good for me to mention that…
[...] : [...] ?
Michael Galbreth: No, Miami’s next. [...] is from Miami.
Georges Dupuis: Anybody who wants – I’m going to try and see because I type 95 words a minute, so I’m going to be able to try and do transcripts of these tapes so, during the week, if anybody wants transcripts of these hearings, I might do a short version, but I’ll be keeping the tapes and I’m going to try and record everything that’s said at these conferences, these sessions during the week. And again, like this will go to the archives eventually as a contribution…
Michael Galbreth: Right.
Georges Dupuis: …but I’m doing it so if anybody wants, you know, a formal record of what was said here, I’m going to try and put them together, and again, get my address at the end of the festival or before you leave, and I’ll make sure you get it sooner or later. At least before the next festival.
3903
David Moss: You know, it’s funny like, the New Music Alliance comes, comes at you as if it’s a beggar, right? Why do we – why does anyone want to do music with New Music America? Because it gives them something… Or else everyone is an altruist, right, I mean… Why do they want to it, because it’s something they get from it right? So okay, here it is, you want something, you get something, you give something, it’s not so hard. We’re not beggars, you know.
[...] : ...is not a big American capital – capitalistic system is what’s in it for me. That’s always the question you’ve got to answer to anybody you want something from.
Georges Dupuis: Sure, but you’ve got to look for things outside of money. Like, we’re still talking about Houston. I mean, we wouldn’t be talking about Houston had there not been a festival there, and it’s – there is a residual talking about the organizations, the people who organized the festival, the people we’ve seen that were Houston-based, the places we’ve been to. I, if I had not gone, part of my festival, the reason that I pay for these things is to discover the music of a new city. I wouldn’t go to Philadelphia, I wouldn’t go to Houston unless I knew somebody there or because from Canada I’d go straight to New York was there available.
This helps me discover the regional basis of new music, or how it’s spreading from one area of the country to another, and that does – that is something you get back. It is something that’s – it’s, what’s in it for me, well, I at least know you’re there.
Jerry McCathern: Yeah, I think that’s the point when we accepted to do the festival in Houston, I signed a letter from Joe who was president of the Alliance, Joe Celli and that there were provisions that we had to accept. We had to accept, we had to follow these guidelines. We had to commit a certain amount of money.
At that time, he could have said, ah, you have to put in a thousand dollars or two thousand dollars toward the maintenance of the…
Michael Galbreth: Alliance…
Jerry McCathern: Alliance records…
Michael Galbreth: …information…
Jerry McCathern: …information centre and then you…
[...] : Well, then you have to be…
Jerry McCathern: …this is what you get…
[...] : …wait, just in order to acquire the right part of the contract, we ask that you put in…
Jerry McCathern: …well, we had to list…
[...] : …two thousand dollars…
Jerry McCathern: …we have to list the things that they get for, because they will get, they should get…
Michael Galbreth: They should know why they’re contributing that amount of money.
Patrick Darby: And in return, you will receive from the Alliance the following information.
Michael Galbreth: Yes.
Patrick Darby: Background material on previous festival, that is to say statistics, it’s very important. One of the arguments we need to come out with…
Michael Galbreth: Attendance.
Patrick Darby: …in Canada is how many people have attended the festival?
4114
Michael Galbreth: Exactly.
Patrick Darby: You know, in different cities. Um, what kind of budgets and so on. Ah, how many, you know, how many concerts are put out, the number of composers that attend, so on and so forth, all of these things which are valuable, which can become also very valuable in terms of identify what’s the whole festival is about, even its history, its continuity.
Jerry McCathern: Um-hum.
Patrick Darby: And eventually, that, that just is accumulated, even in a database, it can you know put in from year to year and you’re getting a profile…
Michael Galbreth: Yes.
Patrick Darby: …and, and other things we don’t even know how many members we have in the Alliance. Why don’t we have a running list of members in the Alliance? And why don’t we get to renew each year?
Jerry McCathern: Because [...] – there’s no – there’s nobody doing it, that’s the issue.
Ray Gallon: That’s…
Jerry McCathern: Okay, I’d like to make a motion that…
Michael Galbreth: …database.
Jerry McCathern: …we do this. I would like to move that we require the next – from now on, starting with Miami, the next sponsors of the festival contributing – I don’t know the amount – maybe we should say two thousand.
4207
David Moss: I’ll say it until someone decides to change it.
Jerry McCathern: Say, or two thousand dollars and what – how much time before the festival is this money…
Georges Dupuis: Or how about a percentage of the total budget?
Jerry McCathern: No…
[...] : No…
Jerry McCathern: No, because the total budget can – that’s subject to…
Georges Dupuis: Or if we lose money, we have give it back. (Chuckles)
[...] : …is requiring out of Miami. Alright, because if they’re doing their job right, they’d better already be on, you know, well on their way, and adding a two thousand dollar line in the budget is going to put them off.
Michael Galbreth: I agree, I want to be a pos-…
[...] : Or maybe it’d be…
Michael Galbreth: …I think, I think New Music America 1988 Miami was approved formally by the Alliance in Houston and that was not one of the things that the Alliance wanted.
David Moss: Yeah, they have to go, they have to…
[...] : That’s alright…
[...] : I think we have to give them…
Patrick Darby: …over one thousand is a start up situation, if they can manage to find it and they’re willing to give it, don’t necessarily put a block in front of them beforehand, if it’s two thousand that can come it, it would be a good start.
[...] : Propose it to him…
Michael Galbreth: We can propose it and see how it goes. I think…
Patrick Darby: But then it could be amended…
[...] : [...]
[...] : [...]
Ray Gallon: I think you’ll find Joe fairly receptive to the idea.
Michael Galbreth: Very receptive to do it. You know if he’s able to do it, he’d be more than happy to do it.
David Moss: Or in kind services at that point if he can’t get the money.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah, he certainly has – he does have a wealth of information.
David Moss: Right.
Georges Dupuis: And it would be held in trust if we had problems about establishing where it would be and who would take care of it?
Jerry McCathern: Well, it goes into the – the Board has a bank account which I assume is still in Los Angeles.
Georges Dupuis: Okay.
Ray Gallon: Isn’t he really the only presenter that’s already done a festival?
(several) : Yeah.
[...] : That’s kind of a glitch.
David Moss: (chuckles) Yes.
[...] : Oversight.
David Moss: I agree with glitch.
Jerry McCathern: But, ah, but then we also have to determine who is going, is it the President of the Alliance that’s going to be the…
David Moss: Well, we have – what is this money for, that’s the – that’s what we’re dealing with so you know…
Jerry McCathern: It’s somebody also – I guess the board would, the board would determine how the money is spent.
[...] : Yeah, I mean the board…
Michael Galbreth: I think the board, I think the board itself rather than the Alliance as a whole.
[...] : Um-hum.
Michael Galbreth: I think the Alliance as a whole should, should add the guidelines but…
Jerry McCathern: Maybe, I know…
Michael Galbreth: …I think it should be up to the Board to decide those…
Jerry McCathern: …maybe it says…
David Moss: I can’t – I mean…
Jerry McCathern: (vacuum cleaner starts) It seems like a logical thing to me.
David Moss: And I think that people should, the person when the proposal is accepted…
Jerry McCathern: I have a motion on the [...]
David Moss: [...]
[...] : … the form, do you accept…
David Moss: The date the proposal is agreed, it’s accepted.
Michael Galbreth: Made a proposal by Jerry and seconded by Ray.
Georges Dupuis: Okay.
Michael Galbreth: Any discussion, further discussion?
[...] : Can – we have the – as it’s amended?
David Moss: Maybe we should always [...]
[...] : …a statement that [...] means proposal, if somebody comes up and asks the question, we can say this is the proposal. But I understand it’s very general. We require that in order to obtain the festival, a certain phraseology…
Jerry McCathern: Do you wanna, do you wanna, part up to…
[...] : I think it’s…
Jerry McCathern: I’d like to suggest somebody here…
Patrick Darby: We should have a secretary.
[...] : He’s – I think we have one here.
Georges Dupuis: I’m actually a secretary. I’ve worked at it.
(Chuckles)
David Moss: Well, write this down!
Georges Dupuis: Shoot!
David Moss: I don’t know. What did I say? (Chuckles)
[...] : Jerry, you’re the…
Jerry McCathern: Okay. The, New Music Alliance would like to add to the guidelines is it…
Michael Galbreth: It would be number 17.
Jerry McCathern: It would be number 17 that all sponsors are required to contribute $2000 to the New Music Alliance – is there a time – we need to specify a time before the – at least…
Patrick Darby: I mean the modalities could be worked out after – we just need to have a guideline and modalities, we could contribute like a thousand per year or something like that, two years prior to the…
[...] : What about upon acceptance of their proposal?
David Moss: I think so. Upon acceptance of their proposal.
Jerry McCathern: All right, that’s very good.
Georges Dupuis: Okay.
Jerry McCathern: Acceptance of the proposal.
David Moss: Or you know, we can give them ninety days…
Georges Dupuis: We’re getting to really bureaucratic.
[...] : Why should we – why you?
[...] : You’re the one that wants the central bureaucracy!
David Moss: You’re coming to the meeting knowing that you’re going to have to sign a cheque if you get the proposal.
[...] : Yeah.
David Moss: You’re not coming to the meeting, saying, well I’ve got to raise $2000 in the next ninety days.
[...] : Yeah, I agree that we should be more lenient with ’89 and ’90, if you guys have already started working…
[...] : That’s true.
David Moss: [...]
[...] : If you make a proposal to have New Music America it doesn’t mean that you’ve got the apparatus that you make that proposal.
David Moss: But it means that you are enough of a viable ongoing organization that you can find in your budget to give. If you’re not that much, when what are you?
[...] : And if you can’t raise two thousand you can’t run the festival.
Jerry McCathern: That’s absolutely…
Ray Gallon: That’s absolutely right.
Georges Dupuis: Do we have to stipulate that it’s two thousand American or do we get a discount when it comes to Canada?
[...] : Two thousand American, four thousand Canadian!
[...] : Six hundred!
Georges Dupuis: Okay, do you want me to read that back?
Jerry McCathern: Yes, please. Okay, Jerry’s proposal is that the New Music Alliance would like to add through sponsorship guideline number 17 that all sponsors are required to contribute two thousand dollar –
[end of tape]
19871005 part 3 of 3 New Music Alliance Meeting Philadelphia
Day 1 – Quality Inn
(lots of chatter)
Michael Galbreth: Everyone, everyone, please, please, please (whistles)
(vacuum cleaner continues)
[...] : Okay, [apple]
Georges Dupuis: I’m going to read again and see if there are any objections about the wording of this. Jerry’s proposal is that The New Music Alliance would like to add to the sponsorship guideline, number 17…
David Moss: There is no – to add “a number 17”.
Georges Dupuis: Oh, sorry. Okay, thank you.
Patrick Darby: It should just read guideline 17.
Georges Dupuis: Add, okay, no to. Take two. The New Music Alliance would like to add sponsorship guideline number 17, that all sponsors are required to contribute two thousand dollars to the New Music Alliance upon acceptance of the proposal, solely for administrative and development of the New Music Alliance.
Jerry McCathern: Okay, it’s not clear about acceptance, acceptance of the…
Ray Gallon: Of its proposal.
Jerry McCathern: Of it’s proposal to sponsor.
Michael Galbreth: That’s – it’s the sponsors.
Georges Dupuis: How about acceptance of sponsorship.
[...] : Yes.
Michael Galbreth: That’s redundant. It’s for the festival sponsors.
Ray Gallon: Its proposal.
Patrick Darby: Why do we call them sponsors?
Ray Gallon: Because they raise the bucks.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
Patrick Darby: Then they’re organizers, they’re not sponsors. Sponsors are people who help make...
[...] : Right.
Jerry McCathern: Well, why don’t we just – that’s just the terminology that’s been used over the years.
Michael Galbreth: Maybe change it.
Georges Dupuis: So take three? Do I need to read that again?
Jerry McCathern: Starting with the…
Georges Dupuis: Okay. Take three. The New Music Alliance would like to add sponsorship guideline number 17 that all sponsors are required to contribute 2000 dollars to the New Music Alliance upon acceptance of its proposal, solely for administrative and development of the New Music Alliance.
[...] : I thought that the entire motion was to work towards archival, to be able to disseminate information about past festivals.
Jerry McCathern: But that’s part.
203
Brian Johnson: It’s the way this is worded, it could be used for anything at all, and we still wouldn’t have any…
Michael Galbreth: That would be up to the Board to decide that, I think Brian. In other words, see I’m thinking that at the moment, what I see as the responsibility (banging starts) of the issue is to have this money devoted towards a central database and setting up an archival thing. Once that is set up then perhaps there won’t need costs, continuing costs for things like that because they’re already set up.
[...] : [...]
Brian Johnson: My point in saying Michael, I’m doing the thing, I want all the – all the information from the past years, you’re going to have to spend money to xerox and mail stuff and…
Michael Galbreth: That’s what this would be.
[...] : Brian’s point is good that, if that’s what our collective thought here, we’re sending this proposal to a board of directors that did not attend this meeting, do not know this, and now they can spend this money for anything that has to do with administrative or development costs and that is a broad category.
Jerry McCathern: Just add the word archival. Administrative development and archival.
Georges Dupuis: For administration and development of the New Music Alliance?
[...] : Actually, if we wanted to go for archival reasons, (buzzsaw starts) if that’s what our main concern is, then we should scratch archival and development and say archival.
Michael Galbreth: (yelling) I say information and archival.
[...] : Okay, I like that.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, [...] solely for the process of…
Jerry McCathern: Administration and archive. Maybe this will be…
[...] : Louder!
Jerry McCathern: Administration and maintainance of…
[...] : Administration and development of information and archival services for the New Music Alliance.
Michael Galbreth: That’s it.
[...] : Drop solely, drop solely.
Patrick Darby: Well, now, the only thing is if you drop solely…
Jerry McCathern: But he had it still s-o-u-l…
Georges Dupuis: No, I did not! (Laughs)
Patrick Darby: …use the money someplace else. There may be a reason for the Board to decide what’s valuable without necessarily taking away from the administrative or the archival…
[...] : Right, then my thought is let them come back to us and say we have a problem…
David Moss: And revise it.
[...] : You know, and let us decide to revise it.
Michael Galbreth: I think it’s clear enough, I don’t think we need solely. Can we read it, read it as it stands.
Georges Dupuis: As it stands. Okay, it stands as: Jerry’s proposal is that the New Music Alliance would like to add sponsorship guideline number 17, that all sponsors are required to contribute two thousand dollars to the New Music Alliance upon acceptance of its proposal for administration and development of information and archival services for the New Music Alliance. Want me to read that again?
Jerry McCathern: There’s a – I think it’s all right but the problem is – it’s proposal for administration, it sounds like the proposal…
Michael Galbreth: We’re talking gramatically.
Jerry McCathern: The proposal, comma, make sure there’s a comma after proposal.
David Moss: After Miami.
Georges Dupuis: Gotta come after proposal.
Jerry McCathern: Well, no, I think we should go to Joe…
David Moss: Okay, but I mean, in terms of – okay.
Jerry McCathern: Joe may very well ah, Joe and Mary may…
David Moss: Yeah, they might well do, but we’re not.
Georges Dupuis: Well, the sponsorship has been elected for the next festival, so this…
Patrick Darby: Look, we have one line, we have line in which it says this begins, this is required as of 1989 – have they accepted 1989 at all yet? Okay, so we say, actually it’s unfair to 1989 because they’re here and what we’re saying is they’ve got to give us 2000 dollars.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, isn’t, doesn’t ban that…
Patrick Darby: As an arts administrator, I would argue with you if you’ve struck my votes already.
Georges Dupuis: Alright, just reading this as a bureaucrat, though, given that we say, “on sponsorship”…
David Moss: That’s another thing…
Georges Dupuis: …give it to Miami. (Laughs)
Michael Galbreth: We’re not talking about that to everybody. That doesn’t come in discussion until Friday, please. We’ll never finish the week!
David Moss: Okay.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, do I need to read this again?
Michael Galbreth: No, I think it’s fine. We’ll work on the wording of it, but I think we get the general idea. I think we’ve had a second to the motion.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, second by Ray?
Michael Galbreth: Any further discussion? We’ll bring it to vote. All in favor of this guideline being added, say aye…
(Ayes)
Georges Dupuis: Unanimously here?
Michael Galbreth: Unanimous, passed unanimous!
Jerry McCathern: Even Yale is gonna support it!
[...] : Yeah.
Michael Galbreth: We’ve done something in the meeting.
Georges Dupuis: This is a first and we have it on tape.
Roger Page: I have a second proposal.
Georges Dupuis: Okay.
Roger Page: And that is that we accept Michael’s offer to set up an office.
Georges Dupuis: I have to ask you your name again, sorry.
Roger Page: Roger.
Georges Dupuis: Thanks
Roger Page: To set up an office in his garage for the beginning of an archives and that we authorize the installation of a telephone with…
Jerry McCathern: I think that’s getting into the business before – the most that we can do is recommend to the board that…
Michael Galbreth: The board will meet separately, and I think it really is, that specific stuff really should be left to the board.
Roger Page: Can I put a proposal that we send a recommendation to the board that we accept your offer to use your garage as an archive.
Michael Galbreth: It’s not really a garage…
Roger Page: Okay what it’s – you can word it, you can write the proposal, but you know the spirit of it.
Jerry McCathern: Let’s say Michael Galbreth’s office.
Roger Page: That it would be located, you know, essentially what you’re offering to is become the archivist of the New Music Alliance. So that we recommend to the board that Michael can be appointed…
Georges Dupuis: Temporary archivist until one is permanently…
Roger Page: Well, for now, he’s the archivist, we’ll worry about that tomorrow.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, so we have a proposal?
Roger Page: Yeah, my proposal is we recommend to the board of directors that Michael be appointed archivist of the New Music Alliance…
Georges Dupuis: Is that and administrator or…
Jerry McCathern: That would be a word of title…
Georges Dupuis: …archivist of the New Music America archives?
Jerry McCathern: New Music America shouldn’t have an archive…
Roger Page: I’m sorry, we’re [...]
Michael Galbreth: I would be an informationist.
Ray Gallon: Information specialist.
Roger Page: I don’t care, call yourself whatever you want, it doesn’t matter to me. But the point is you’re going to do this job.
Georges Dupuis: De Facto Information Specialist.
[...] : And, and, and…
Ray Gallon: Information scientist.
Roger Page: That we recommend the installation of a phone line – a permanent phone line…
Michael Galbreth: Do you like that?
Patrick Darby: Yeah that can be decided like…
[...] : This sounds like… avoid detail.
[...] : But, but wait a minute, what we need to do, what we want to do is tell the board what we talked about.
Michael Galbreth: I’d like a Princess Phone.
(Laughs)
Roger Page: Well, that’s, that’s board shit, okay? But what we need to do is tell the board what we as the members want them to do for us.
Georges Dupuis: So we keep this to the first recommendation, though.
Michael Galbreth: It’s fine, it’s fine.
Roger Page: And that we recommend that they establish a permanent telephone line for the Alliance with the eventual development of an online…
David Moss: Can it run without any bureaucracy?
[...] : In the system.
David Moss: Because, if you don’t want to deal with it, I’m…
Michael Galbreth: It’s a lot of things.
Jerry McCathern: I know…
Roger Page: Ok, add, take the period out. Add, as soon as is financially possible.
Jerry McCathern: Now I don’t have – I’m all in favor of Michael doing this but I do think in all fairness if there’s somebody else that would like to…
Michael Galbreth: Yeah. I mean, there’s arguments obviously against Houston, I’m just volunteering to do it because I see me.
David Moss: Let the volunteer go for now and if you can’t do it, then the board works out something in the future.
Jerry McCathern: Did you write – you weren’t…
David Moss: I was proposed by Yale. Okay? I wasn’t offering.
[...] : Buena, buena, okay. Let’s reword it and then it makes it possible for the board to make a change. What we just did was to recommend to make you archivist, then we establish the office of archives.
Michael Galbreth: Yeah.
Georges Dupuis: Does – are we starting from scratch?
[...] : No.
Michael Galbreth: Just…
Georges Dupuis: Instead of what?
Michael Galbreth: Myself added just – we recommend…
Roger Page: Read me back the first part, I’ll tell you where to stop.
Georges Dupuis: We recommend to the board of directors that Michael be appointed archivist…
Roger Page: We recommend to the board of directors that the position of archivist be established. Okay?
Georges Dupuis: Well, I can put it…
Roger Page: We can work it out, Michael can offer himself. And then we can say, you know, parenthesis, Michael has volunteered to accept this position at this time.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, that can be said to the board.
Roger Page: Yeah, that can be said to the board.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, so we recommend to the Board of Directors that the position of archivist be established…
Roger Page: Right.
Georges Dupuis: …and…
Roger Page: And that a permanent center, permanent location, don’t say center because they’re going to say huge building and free – that a permanent location for the archives…
Ray Gallon: A permanent tarpaper shack.
(Chuckles)
Georges Dupuis: They’re cheap in Vermont, eh?
Roger Page: Well, yeah, what we need is a center but that’s ten more years away. Um…
Georges Dupuis: Okay and I’ve got the rest of what you said.
Roger Page: Okay, okay but…
Georges Dupuis: We’ve got so far…
Roger Page: Read it back to me…
Georges Dupuis: We recommend to the Board of Directors that the position of archivist be established and that a permanent location for the archives and the recommendation of a permanent telephone line for the alliance with the development of an on line computer as soon as financially possible – I’m missing a verb.
Roger Page: Computer system as soon as possible, it should say, okay?
[...] : And they can deal with that information, that’s enough.
(Laughs)
Roger Page: Read it to me one more time.
Georges Dupuis: Well, I need a verb here, we recommend to the board of directors that the position of archivist be established…
David Moss: Lovingly established. (Chuckles)
Georges Dupuis: …and that a permanent location for the archives and the recommendation of a permanent telephone line for the Alliance for the development of a computer system be established as soon as financially possible.
Roger Page: Be installed.
Georges Dupuis: Be instigated.
Roger Page: Installed is the actual verb.
Georges Dupuis: (chuckles)
Roger Page: Well, there’s plenty of details being worked on it, but those are the three basic things that we said in this meeting that we wanted.
Georges Dupuis: Take three?
Roger Page: Permanent archives, permanent telephone line and online computer system.
[...] : …kind of immediately got lost…
Jerry McCathern: …you should probably go…
Roger Page: Because Michael said he wanted a second line, he didn’t want to handle the calls on his private line.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, the final reading?
Roger Page: I mean that’s what I heard Michael saying, yeah, you wanted a separate line, you did not…
[...] : …people realistically…
Michael Galbreth: Based on my own line…
[...] : Busy all year? You don’t think so?
Michael Galbreth: No.
Jerry McCathern: I don’t even think you need…
Patrick Darby: For me this year, how many phone calls do you get…
Ray Gallon: How much is an 800 number then?
Patrick Darby: We’ll help pay your phone bill.
Michael Galbreth: No, I understand. That’s – that’s – you’re right. You’re right. Maybe not.
Patrick Darby: You know there are certain basics, like okay, maybe it’s good to get computerized, are you going to have time for all in? You know all things are really…
[...] : I – I think that maybe the one step… these are the current things we need and then how we…
Michael Galbreth: Keep that as an obvious initial need, for example, for the purchase of a computer maybe and maybe as years go by and maybe there’s other archivists or what have you, then maybe it sort of have a small amount of photocopy fees for them spending that time until a [...] is taken.
Georges Dupuis: Okay, do you want, just the three things and I’ll read the proposal. The three things are the position of archivist, the recommendation of a phone line and the development of a computer system.
David Moss: Okay, groovy.
Georges Dupuis: Okay and we come down the final reading?
Roger Page: Does the board have to establish a position or can we establish a position.
Jerry McCathern: The board has to do everything.
Roger Page: Okay. Board.
Michael Galbreth: I think it’s getting on towards…
Patrick Darby: Can I suggest, can I put a proposal in just to amend the sponsors, the organizers to be more specific? I find that confusing?
Michael Galbreth: To do what?
Patrick Darby: On the guidelines, it says sponsors.
[...]: Can I make a point of order?
Roger Page: Yeah, we have a motion on the floor for – that doesn’t have a second yet, either.
Georges Dupuis: Well, the first one, I have final debate before I do a reading of it, as it says. No other words on it? Okay. Proposal number two is that we recommend to the board of directors that the position of archivist be established, comma, and the recommendation of a permanent telephone line for the Alliance with the development of a computer system, comma, be installed as soon as it’s financially possible.
Oh, sorry, and I – forgot any permanent location for the archives, or is this implied?
Roger Page: Yeah, put that in there somewhere.
Georges Dupuis: Okay so there are four…
Roger Page: Also, change “and the recommendation” to “and recommend” because it’s grammatically incorrect.
Georges Dupuis: Thank you.
Michael Galbreth: Do we have a second?
David Moss: Second.
Michael Galbreth: Bring it to vote.
Georges Dupuis: Seconded by…
Michael Galbreth: All in favor?
(Ayes)
Michael Galbreth: Opposed?
(silence)
Michael Galbreth: Okay, I think we’ve done a lot.
Georges Dupuis: More, more than usual too.
Michael Galbreth: I liked that.
Georges Dupuis: Two unanimous…
David Moss: A coup d’état!
Roger Page: This is incredible.
Michael Galbreth: Oh, we should do what Yale said, limit the meetings to ten people.
(Laughs)
David Moss: Oh, that’s in the board, a few seconds of it.
[...] : Make sure we have collections…
Michael Galbreth: Oh, oh…
(group chattering)
[...] : Everybody to come to ten bucks instead of five.
Roger Page: I’m sorry, number six…
Michael Galbreth: Reduce it to five.
Roger Page: Number six has to be amended to read provide free, adequate and acceptable facilities during the NMA festival for the New Music Alliance meetings…
[...] : Whoa…
Roger Page: This is totally unacceptable and intolerable and whoever is charge of this in Philadelphia needs to be informed, and we need to have a better meeting space tomorrow, I will not meet with this kind of crap tomorrow.
Georges Dupuis: Specifically no buzz saws for those who are…
Roger Page: I mean, I’m sorry, this is unacceptable and they have to solve this problem before…
David Moss: We have to have people to come up to my room, for God’s sake.
Roger Page: Right, I understand that today. You know, but it’s like tomorrow the problem has to be solved by the people in charge, because we should not have to deal with it.
Michael Galbreth: I’ve already spoken to Joe about it.
Roger Page: Good, thank you.
Georges Dupuis: Meeting adjourned?
Michael Galbreth: Seconded. We’ll see you tomorrow…