1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,800 The superpower that every citizen has is the ability to 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:06,100 control where they spend their time, money and attention by 3 00:00:06,100 --> 00:00:07,900 focusing. These on supporting local 4 00:00:07,900 --> 00:00:11,300 businesses who are having a profound impact on your friends, 5 00:00:11,300 --> 00:00:13,300 your family and your local community. 6 00:00:13,700 --> 00:00:17,000 So if you want to change the world, you can start with buying 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:22,700 local. Welcome everyone. 8 00:00:22,700 --> 00:00:24,100 Welcome. Sarah, Craig. 9 00:00:24,300 --> 00:00:25,400 Thank you. Thank you. 10 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:27,800 Thank you for joining us here, buying local, Saratoga. 11 00:00:28,100 --> 00:00:32,500 So, and your from Cafe Lena, which, you know, I, you know, it 12 00:00:32,508 --> 00:00:34,300 smells things, right? Like needs no introduction. 13 00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:38,300 I mean, I think everyone has at least heard of Cafe Lena, and 14 00:00:38,300 --> 00:00:41,500 some way, shape or form. But why don't real quick? 15 00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:43,900 Why don't you tell us a little bit about Cafe? 16 00:00:43,900 --> 00:00:49,100 Lean about what Cafe Lena is and does and and what your role is 17 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:54,100 there, sure our mission. Is to bring music connection and 18 00:00:54,100 --> 00:01:00,500 learning to Saratoga Springs. And we have nightly events. 19 00:01:01,100 --> 00:01:06,300 We have music poetry storytelling a stage for the 20 00:01:06,300 --> 00:01:09,400 community to participate in lots of open mics and things like 21 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,000 that midweek. And then come the weekend. 22 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,500 We have world famous Headliners rolling into play in what is in 23 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:21,900 very intimate. Exquisite sound really Is a 24 00:01:22,300 --> 00:01:25,400 venue with deep history. That's actually one of the 25 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,200 best-known small venues in anywhere. 26 00:01:30,300 --> 00:01:33,700 And certainly in the United States, it's been in longer 27 00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:37,800 operation than any other small venue in the country open in 28 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,000 1960 at the height of the folk, boom, and it's been going strong 29 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,200 ever since well, sometimes not so strong, the 80s weren't too 30 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,000 strong. The early 90s weren't too 31 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,900 strong, but since then, we've really been picking up steam. 32 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:53,400 So we do. Do between music lessons and 33 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,800 community events and concerts about 900 different events, a 34 00:01:56,808 --> 00:01:58,400 year? That's crazy. 35 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:00,900 It's totally crazy. I don't know how we do it. 36 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,600 It sees only what 900. Yeah, that's like. 37 00:02:05,900 --> 00:02:08,100 Yeah. I don't even understand how you 38 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:12,200 logistically make that happen. We touch a lot of people. 39 00:02:12,900 --> 00:02:17,500 We have things happening in person and our little space in 40 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:20,000 downtown Saratoga Springs on phyla Street. 41 00:02:20,300 --> 00:02:22,400 We also have a lot It happens online. 42 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:26,600 So we have group music lessons, for example, that meet online, 43 00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:31,000 we have things like this conversations that happen 44 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,800 online, that we stream through our various platforms but really 45 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,100 the heart and soul of what happens is those weekend 46 00:02:38,100 --> 00:02:41,600 concerts. So now you must have a huge 47 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:45,100 staff. Wow. 48 00:02:47,100 --> 00:02:49,600 So Michael, you know, I was running a little bit late today. 49 00:02:49,700 --> 00:02:52,000 Yeah. I thought you were right on 50 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,300 time. Actually, it does feel like a 51 00:02:55,300 --> 00:02:57,800 huge staff. I'll be honest with you because 52 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:05,400 up until 2016, we just had one, two or three people doing 53 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,900 everything. And now we have between 54 00:03:08,900 --> 00:03:11,600 part-time and full-time people about 10 on. 55 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:16,600 So it's great now. Yeah, like, based on just 900 56 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,900 events that even that doesn't sound like, you know, I can't 57 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:21,900 imagine what it must be like day to day for everybody. 58 00:03:21,900 --> 00:03:25,000 Trying to handle all the details that goes into everything that 59 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,500 you're doing. Yeah it is it takes a tremendous 60 00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:31,200 amount of coordination and it's really interesting because when 61 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:36,700 you're moving from being a small business, run by one, or two 62 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:41,100 people that are just kind of making it their lives 24/7 to 63 00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:47,300 being a responsible employer, And following conventional 64 00:03:47,300 --> 00:03:50,700 business practices and trying to coordinate a staff of 10. 65 00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:54,300 That's a whole different skill set, that has nothing to do with 66 00:03:54,300 --> 00:03:56,400 music, right? You know, has nothing to do with 67 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:01,500 art has to do with business skills, and that was something 68 00:04:01,500 --> 00:04:05,600 that I wasn't sure why things were so hard for a couple of 69 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,400 years there, until we got a new board president, Jim mastriani, 70 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:15,100 he's a great businessman in Saratoga and he bought me that 71 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,600 E-myth. Yeah, that's a great book. 72 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,600 I love that. But I think it's sold something 73 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,899 like five hundred quadrillion copies. 74 00:04:21,899 --> 00:04:24,100 Yeah. And basically anybody who wants 75 00:04:24,100 --> 00:04:27,700 to know anything about business has to start with the email? 76 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:31,400 Yeah, it's a great book and it basically says that, you know, 77 00:04:31,900 --> 00:04:36,100 you get into a business because you have a passion for whatever 78 00:04:36,100 --> 00:04:39,000 it is and he uses the example of baking pies. 79 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:45,100 So in our case it's, you know, putting on concerts And the 80 00:04:45,100 --> 00:04:48,100 point of running a business, though, is not to be the guy 81 00:04:48,100 --> 00:04:51,500 putting on the concerts or the guy baking, the pies, you know? 82 00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:55,200 The point is to create the the structure and the coordination 83 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,900 for that to be able to happen. And so I realize that even 84 00:04:59,900 --> 00:05:04,100 though I had been working at Cafe Lena for decades, at that 85 00:05:04,100 --> 00:05:07,800 point about 20-something years, I didn't know the first thing 86 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,700 about running a business with a staff. 87 00:05:11,700 --> 00:05:15,900 Sure. And so, He knew that I was an 88 00:05:15,900 --> 00:05:19,400 Avid Reader and I'm very eager to learn and he just kept 89 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,900 sending me books in the mail. I get a little unmarked envelope 90 00:05:21,900 --> 00:05:26,300 and I'd open it up and this is what I'm going to learn next and 91 00:05:26,300 --> 00:05:30,100 and I learned a lot. I mean, now I still am kind of a 92 00:05:30,100 --> 00:05:32,500 newbie in that area, but I've learned a lot more about 93 00:05:32,500 --> 00:05:35,100 management. What it takes to coordinate 94 00:05:35,100 --> 00:05:40,600 people, how to just keep the lines of communication open and 95 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,400 check all the boxes and be very Sized. 96 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:48,300 So now you said it things kind of change 2016. 97 00:05:48,300 --> 00:05:50,600 What was the Catalyst to that change? 98 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,600 Like? Yeah, The Catalyst actually had 99 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,200 come a year or two before that, when the city of Saratoga 100 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,100 Springs had gotten, increasingly concerned about the condition of 101 00:06:00,100 --> 00:06:04,700 our building. And finally said, if you don't 102 00:06:04,700 --> 00:06:07,900 make some very significant repairs to this building, we're 103 00:06:07,900 --> 00:06:14,700 going to have to condemn it. And so we had Dancing around 104 00:06:14,700 --> 00:06:17,400 doing a big renovation on the building for a long time, but 105 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,300 it's an overwhelmingly large project especially when you have 106 00:06:20,300 --> 00:06:21,800 a couple of Staff people. Yeah. 107 00:06:22,100 --> 00:06:28,200 And so, and up to that point, you know, for us a really good 108 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:30,700 successful. Fundraiser was wow, we've raised 109 00:06:30,700 --> 00:06:36,900 $1500 and we were looking at a price tag of we thought at the 110 00:06:36,900 --> 00:06:39,500 outset about 1.2 million. Oh wow! 111 00:06:40,900 --> 00:06:45,100 So how to get from where Are we were to an organization that 112 00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:47,600 could raise that kind of money. What we really needed to put the 113 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,100 rocket boosters on. And frankly, there's nothing 114 00:06:51,100 --> 00:06:55,700 like being told that you're gonna lose the home of the 115 00:06:55,700 --> 00:06:59,000 longest-running folk music, Coffeehouse in the country, a 116 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,500 legendary institution to like light fire under you. 117 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:05,900 So we we did what we needed to do. 118 00:07:05,900 --> 00:07:08,700 We did raise the money, but the renovation happened through the 119 00:07:08,700 --> 00:07:13,700 course of 2016. And we reopen in 2017, Is the 120 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,500 new facility that we have now which is the same four walls 121 00:07:19,300 --> 00:07:22,700 stage in the same Corner. Same bricks behind the stage. 122 00:07:22,700 --> 00:07:26,600 Like, we kind of hung onto as much of the historical look and 123 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,000 feel as we could. But in a sense it's almost a 124 00:07:30,008 --> 00:07:32,100 completely reconstructed building. 125 00:07:33,300 --> 00:07:37,100 And now, are you a not-for-profit or are you a 126 00:07:37,100 --> 00:07:40,000 for-profit business know? We're nonprofit. 127 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:44,100 And so, when Lena Spencer and her Husband Bill, open the venue 128 00:07:44,100 --> 00:07:46,800 back in 1960. They were opening it as a 129 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:53,200 conventional small business and she was, you know, operating in 130 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,400 the way that a lot of nonprofits operate. 131 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,000 She had a lot of people just kind of helping her out and she 132 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,700 really wasn't in it for the money, she was in it just to 133 00:08:01,900 --> 00:08:05,600 make the music. She was very resistant though, 134 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:09,100 to becoming a nonprofit organization. 135 00:08:09,100 --> 00:08:14,200 So she ran it as a for-profit until she passed away in 1989 136 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,100 and then the people who were kind of around her and helping 137 00:08:17,100 --> 00:08:19,400 her form, the not profit at that point. 138 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:24,200 I got choked on so and maybe give me, you know, or give us 139 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,200 really just a little. Give us a little bit more of the 140 00:08:27,207 --> 00:08:29,500 history on it, right? Because that's just what a great 141 00:08:29,500 --> 00:08:34,000 story that you have. So tell us tell us a little 142 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:35,400 expand on what you just said, right? 143 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,799 The origins. Sure, I'll tell you a little bit 144 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:42,299 about it and I will also just say that if anybody kind of 145 00:08:42,299 --> 00:08:46,800 takes an interest in the history of the place, WM h t, made a 146 00:08:46,808 --> 00:08:51,900 documentary about Lena Spencer, two years ago, three years ago, 147 00:08:51,900 --> 00:08:56,800 something like that and are now it's if you just go to WM h, t 148 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,800 dot org slash Lena you will find the documentary on their website 149 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:06,000 and it's a wonderful piece but she was she was from the Boston 150 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:06,600 area. Ria. 151 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,400 She grew up in a very traditional Italian family. 152 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:18,900 Her name is pasqualina Rosen RJ Spencer and she was the only 153 00:09:18,900 --> 00:09:22,700 female in her family her mother died when she was quite young 154 00:09:22,700 --> 00:09:25,000 her sister died. When she was young, her twin 155 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,000 sister died. It was just a really rough spot 156 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,500 of luck for the family, so she grew up is the only female in 157 00:09:32,500 --> 00:09:36,100 was expected to do a lot of only female traditional females. 158 00:09:36,300 --> 00:09:38,900 Of, you know, taking care of the household making sure people 159 00:09:38,900 --> 00:09:41,900 were fed and cleaned. And all of that. 160 00:09:42,100 --> 00:09:44,800 She took care of her father and brothers and uncle. 161 00:09:45,300 --> 00:09:52,800 And she just was one of those people who was born with art in 162 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,900 her soul, and she loved poetry and literature. 163 00:09:55,900 --> 00:09:58,500 And particularly, she loves theater and she wanted to be an 164 00:09:58,500 --> 00:10:01,000 actress. She ran away from home and her 165 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,500 early 20s, she went to New York, she tried to establish herself 166 00:10:04,500 --> 00:10:09,300 as an actress. She was discovered by uncle's 167 00:10:09,300 --> 00:10:11,800 was brought back to Massachusetts to get back to 168 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:16,000 work. Didn't last too long and she 169 00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:19,900 found somebody to marry and his name was Bill Spencer. 170 00:10:20,500 --> 00:10:26,600 So he was a sculptor at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston at 171 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,600 their Museum school. And they had this dream that 172 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,000 they cooked up, you know they known each other. 173 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:38,500 Just I think weeks. Get married came up to Saratoga 174 00:10:38,500 --> 00:10:40,500 Springs to visit a friend and bear in mind. 175 00:10:40,500 --> 00:10:44,200 This is 1959 and Saratoga was a very different place. 176 00:10:45,300 --> 00:10:49,300 It was kind of a Backwater, a little bit, you know, a little 177 00:10:49,300 --> 00:10:53,000 down at the heels at that point, a lot of boarded-up storefronts 178 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,100 and as a lot of people know, those are the kinds of places 179 00:10:57,100 --> 00:10:58,900 where real estate is inexpensive. 180 00:10:58,900 --> 00:11:02,000 And it's possible to start interesting quirky, little 181 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:07,400 Enterprises like a coffee house so They found this Loft space on 182 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:12,300 FiOS tree and decided to set up this coffee house, which is kind 183 00:11:12,300 --> 00:11:16,000 of all the rage at the time. It was the middle of something 184 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,800 called the folk Revival, which was really hot and New York 185 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,900 City, and Greenwich Village. And they're all these folk clubs 186 00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:26,700 and that was the scene that spawned people like Bob Dylan 187 00:11:26,700 --> 00:11:31,700 and Joni Mitchell and Tom Paxton and lots of people who became 188 00:11:31,700 --> 00:11:35,500 household names. So some of which that I have I 189 00:11:35,500 --> 00:11:38,600 have been to caffeine and perform their which writes 190 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,200 amazing to which will have to give us the rundown of the list. 191 00:11:43,100 --> 00:11:46,700 So they started this place and their plan had been that they 192 00:11:46,700 --> 00:11:49,700 would just run it for a couple of years and, you know, make a 193 00:11:49,700 --> 00:11:53,700 lot of money and then just go to Europe and live this Bohemian 194 00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:57,600 lifestyle in Europe and every entrepreneurs, rightly, the 195 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,600 optimism that you have about how quickly you're going to make 196 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,700 vast sums of money is, if we all have it, it's hilarious. 197 00:12:04,700 --> 00:12:07,000 It's is it. Enduring part of human nature. 198 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,300 It's a beautiful thing. It is, it really is. 199 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,300 So Bill, Bill didn't last too long. 200 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:16,700 He stuck around for a couple of years and he was teaching up at 201 00:12:16,700 --> 00:12:18,400 Skidmore. He fell in love with one of his 202 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,600 students and left and went back to Boston with one of his 203 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:27,300 students and left Lena would this venue at that point. 204 00:12:27,300 --> 00:12:30,800 She had just been doing the baking in the kitchen and he was 205 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,500 the one programming the music and kind of being on stage and 206 00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:35,800 introducing people. People. 207 00:12:36,700 --> 00:12:43,300 So, she had a big decision to make and She decided to go for 208 00:12:43,300 --> 00:12:48,000 it and, you know, as they say the rest is history. 209 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:53,300 She she did everything she could to help her musicians. 210 00:12:53,300 --> 00:12:57,200 She put them up sometimes for weeks and months at a time at 211 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,600 her apartment, she cooked for people. 212 00:12:59,900 --> 00:13:04,400 She she just welcomed them in like family. 213 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,700 And I think that that whole circle of musicians really 214 00:13:06,700 --> 00:13:13,500 became like her family and she Loved deeply loved by the people 215 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:18,100 who had been helped by her and the people in the audience to, 216 00:13:18,100 --> 00:13:20,800 they saw her devotion and really appreciated that. 217 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:25,800 And so in the 80s, even though business was terrible. 218 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:30,100 So bad, that she, she was living at the venue. 219 00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:32,100 She couldn't afford an apartment anymore. 220 00:13:32,900 --> 00:13:36,800 She got an honorary doctorate from Skidmore and Saratoga 221 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:41,200 declared Alina Spencer day. They renamed a street after her. 222 00:13:41,300 --> 00:13:43,700 Okay, Molina Lane next to the cafe. 223 00:13:44,700 --> 00:13:52,100 So it's it's a it's a story of a lot of Joy, a lot of fun. 224 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,000 A lot of struggle and just profound commitment to this 225 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,000 institution that she created. That sounds amazing. 226 00:13:59,700 --> 00:14:01,900 And there's documentaries said, which I did not know that. 227 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,900 Yeah. Wiht dot-org Lena. 228 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,900 It's, you know, it's a great piece. 229 00:14:07,900 --> 00:14:11,200 They came up with all kinds of information and stories and 230 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,800 Photographs, that none of us had seen before and we thought, we 231 00:14:14,808 --> 00:14:19,000 knew everything, we particularly thought we knew everything, 232 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:25,100 because when the venue turned 50 in 2010, the Library of Congress 233 00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:31,500 took an interest in the cafe, Lena archives, and actually, we 234 00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:35,000 were able to give them loads and loads of just stuff that had 235 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,300 been at the cafe. That would have been sitting 236 00:14:37,300 --> 00:14:41,000 over at the Saratoga History Museum since Lena died. 237 00:14:41,900 --> 00:14:46,700 They organized digitized it and made it available as an archive, 238 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:49,300 through the Library of Congress, through the American Folklife 239 00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:52,000 Center for researchers to be able to go through. 240 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,200 So that's online to that's history. 241 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,400 Doc Cafe, Lena dot-org, okay? Yeah, that's great. 242 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,000 So I so the list, right, give us, give us the rundown who had 243 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,600 some Dylan played there, right? Yep, Dylan did play, he played 244 00:15:06,700 --> 00:15:09,800 so it used to be back back in the old days. 245 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,500 People would Play not one show but they would play for a whole 246 00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:15,500 weekend. They do what we would think of 247 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:18,600 as kind of a mini residency. So Dylan did a couple of 248 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:25,600 weekends 1961 and 62. He played. 249 00:15:26,500 --> 00:15:30,200 There's some wonderful old black and white photos that are from 250 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:35,300 the second visit in 62. But, yeah, I mean, basically, 251 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,200 anybody who was part of the folks seeing through the 60s, 252 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:46,100 70s and 80s, has played a cat, if a Lena and me, you know, I 253 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:50,300 think I'm going to, I'm going to just be a little bit modest and 254 00:15:50,300 --> 00:15:55,600 a little bit realistic here to say that, any venue who that is 255 00:15:55,600 --> 00:16:01,200 geared toward emerging artists is going to have these stories. 256 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,100 If they stick around long enough, there's somebody who's 257 00:16:04,100 --> 00:16:06,700 going to break out and you never know who it's going to be. 258 00:16:06,700 --> 00:16:12,300 And so if, for example a 12 year old kid, It shows up at your 259 00:16:12,300 --> 00:16:16,400 open mic with long, blonde hair, and a little black hat, and he 260 00:16:16,700 --> 00:16:20,200 gets on stage, and he doesn't amazing original song, and then 261 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,800 a nice cover song, and you give him an opening slot. 262 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,700 And you think that, you know, you've done him a favor, you 263 00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:30,300 just might turn on the TV, a few months later and find him 264 00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:34,100 winning the voice, right? Are you talking about anybody 265 00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:36,300 specifically? Well for example, Sawyer 266 00:16:36,300 --> 00:16:38,200 Fredericks would fit into that category. 267 00:16:38,500 --> 00:16:44,900 So you know it's you You. I think that the important point 268 00:16:44,900 --> 00:16:49,800 is that small venues are the building block of the whole 269 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,100 Music World. They are the foundation of the 270 00:16:52,100 --> 00:16:55,900 music world. Nobody starts their career at 271 00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:58,300 SPAC. Nobody starts their career at 272 00:16:58,300 --> 00:17:01,500 Universal Preservation hall or Carnegie Hall or it. 273 00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:05,000 You know any of these other wonderful venues that everybody 274 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:09,300 has heard of, they start their careers at places like Cafe 275 00:17:09,300 --> 00:17:13,099 Lena. If they're lucky or Or any 276 00:17:13,099 --> 00:17:16,500 number of, you know, small stages out there that are run by 277 00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:18,599 people who are really devoted to music. 278 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:22,400 And so actually it was interesting because during the 279 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:29,600 pandemic, there were people who love music who have Deep Pockets 280 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:34,200 who stepped out of the woodwork and said we need to save small 281 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,100 venues. Yeah there was a lot of help out 282 00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:40,000 there for the large venues because they are anchors of 283 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,400 downtown. Economies they play it slightly. 284 00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:45,300 Different role. But as far as the art form of 285 00:17:45,300 --> 00:17:49,200 independent music goes, it was the small venues that some 286 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,400 people looked at. And so we've got some really 287 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,700 good assistance to get through the pandemic. 288 00:17:53,700 --> 00:17:56,400 Yeah. Bogey's Pub & Grill at Bay 289 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,900 Meadows, Golf Club not just for Hungry golfers. 290 00:17:58,900 --> 00:18:00,600 They have a little something for everyone. 291 00:18:00,900 --> 00:18:03,400 The pub side offers a nice friendly atmosphere. 292 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:05,800 Televisions to watch your favorite sporting events. 293 00:18:05,900 --> 00:18:09,000 Booths for a nice lunch, a pool table, PGA. 294 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,900 Golf simulators with over 80 courses, they also so have a 295 00:18:12,900 --> 00:18:15,600 formal dining room, if you're looking for a more traditional 296 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:21,100 dining space, now, I'm, you know, that just makes me think 297 00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:24,200 of two about all. I mean, we have a pretty vast, 298 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,200 our community here in Saratoga Springs, right? 299 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:28,900 I don't know that all of our listeners realize that or not, 300 00:18:28,900 --> 00:18:32,500 but I mean, when you look around, there are a lot of 301 00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:36,700 things happening all, you know, whether from Exit, 14 at yaddo 302 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:38,600 all the way across town into town. 303 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,100 I've so give us a little bit about you know what, it's like 304 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,000 for Cafe Lena to exist and I don't know if competes the right 305 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,500 word but I almost feel like maybe it is because There's only 306 00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:51,300 so much audience to go around, right? 307 00:18:51,300 --> 00:18:55,900 So how do you, how do you function in that kind of 308 00:18:55,908 --> 00:18:58,100 environment when our is everywhere? 309 00:18:59,500 --> 00:19:06,100 Well, you know, I think that we see it as as an asset and you 310 00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:08,700 know, you might say there's only a certain number of ticket 311 00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:13,200 buyers to go around and, you know, in a sense there is, there 312 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:16,500 is truth to that. But I think that if you talk to 313 00:19:16,500 --> 00:19:20,300 Elizabeth Sobel over its back, she would say Many potential 314 00:19:20,300 --> 00:19:23,300 ticket buyers are there. 7 billion? 315 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:24,700 You know? Sure. 316 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:31,100 And so I think that what we've seen is that we're really at the 317 00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:35,700 point in Saratoga now where we have a critical mass of artistic 318 00:19:35,700 --> 00:19:40,700 happenings to be able to become a destination for people who are 319 00:19:40,700 --> 00:19:45,500 interested in either that way of life who might want to actually 320 00:19:45,500 --> 00:19:48,900 move here or who are simply looking for a really special 321 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,800 Special weekend just reinvigorates their creativity. 322 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,900 And so they come and visit for a weekend and then, as far as you 323 00:19:57,900 --> 00:20:02,400 know, people who live here year-round, it's it's fun to 324 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:05,200 talk to people in the audience to just walk up to a table. 325 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:08,100 And, you know, they might be at the cafe Lena for the first time 326 00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:11,200 and I always one of my first questions is so where else do 327 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,100 you go for music? You know, where else do you 328 00:20:13,100 --> 00:20:15,100 like? And I love to hear about all the 329 00:20:15,100 --> 00:20:19,300 different places people go to. I think what's important is Far 330 00:20:19,300 --> 00:20:25,000 as, you know, creating a climate of cooperation rather than 331 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,800 competition is a couple of things. 332 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,900 One is, you need to know who you are. 333 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:36,700 You can't be everything for everyone and so you know, I 334 00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:40,400 think that these days we would say you have to be true to your 335 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:41,600 brand. Okay? 336 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,900 Well so that's one way of looking at it that you do Define 337 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:48,900 what your brand is and what you know who you want to be too. 338 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,400 Your customers but I think there's also just something in a 339 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,400 space that tells you if it's right or wrong for the space. 340 00:20:56,500 --> 00:21:01,600 So we are rootsy, that's what we are. 341 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,800 You know, we gear ourselves toward emerging artists or 342 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:11,300 people who are kind of Legends of singer-songwriter craft or 343 00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:16,500 folkcraft who, you know, honor the legacy of the space and want 344 00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:18,600 to come play there. That could be somebody like 345 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,000 Richard. Thompson who played with us last 346 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,300 summer, Judy Collins, who was there a couple of years ago? 347 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:29,400 You know, people who are known worldwide and never play small 348 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,400 clubs anymore, but because it's Cafe Lena, they want to come. 349 00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:36,000 And then on the other hand, you just get bands. 350 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,600 That are just absolutely tearing it up and like, burning up the 351 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,500 airwaves and getting headline slots at all, the major 352 00:21:42,500 --> 00:21:45,500 festivals and getting really well, reviewed in Rolling Stone 353 00:21:45,500 --> 00:21:48,900 and all of this kind of stuff. And, but they're brand new. 354 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,900 New to the market. You know, they never played 355 00:21:50,900 --> 00:21:53,900 around Upstate New York before. And so, we do a lot of that kind 356 00:21:53,900 --> 00:21:59,300 of music. We gear our stage toward 357 00:21:59,300 --> 00:22:03,100 primarily acoustic performances. So I don't mean on Amplified, 358 00:22:03,100 --> 00:22:08,400 but, I mean fit, l.joe guitar. Not to say that we don't do 359 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,700 plenty of shows with drums and big bass amps and stuff like 360 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:18,100 that but I think you know, so there's the instrumentation and 361 00:22:19,100 --> 00:22:21,700 Is one part of it but the other part of it is the way that 362 00:22:21,700 --> 00:22:23,600 people interact with the audience. 363 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:26,900 And that's one of the things that I really look for is a band 364 00:22:26,900 --> 00:22:31,500 that likes to tell stories likes to connect deeply with the 365 00:22:31,500 --> 00:22:36,700 audience, is feeding off of the audience's energy, as much as 366 00:22:36,700 --> 00:22:38,900 they are giving something to the audience. 367 00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:42,600 There are a lot of people who play in the larger Halls, who 368 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,500 have gotten very used to being behind a wall of lights and not 369 00:22:46,500 --> 00:22:49,300 really seeing who's out there and just kind of do Doing their 370 00:22:49,300 --> 00:22:53,600 thing. And then you know maybe there 371 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,600 are no real introduction just to the songs. 372 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,000 It could be just one song flowing into the next flowing to 373 00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,700 the next. There was silence in between. 374 00:23:00,100 --> 00:23:03,300 That's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that's 375 00:23:03,300 --> 00:23:05,900 much. More, has a kitchen table, kind 376 00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:08,100 of feel, you know, everybody's gathered around. 377 00:23:08,100 --> 00:23:09,500 We're going to do a show together. 378 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,600 Yeah, yeah. And how many people can you fit? 379 00:23:12,700 --> 00:23:15,600 110 110. So yeah, I mean that's, you 380 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,300 know, I've loved the word intimate as far as a because it 381 00:23:18,300 --> 00:23:20,900 really does describe it right? Like 100 times. 382 00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:24,900 A lot of people. Not like going to suspect show, 383 00:23:24,900 --> 00:23:26,600 right? But again, like you said, like 384 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,000 it gives the interaction between audience and performer, which is 385 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,100 just. Yeah, amazing. 386 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:37,000 It's, it's it is intimate and it's, it's a Listening Room, you 387 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,800 know, we struggle sometimes like are we a folk club? 388 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:44,500 Like there are people who come to Cafe Lena, who say, I love 389 00:23:44,500 --> 00:23:47,300 everything that you do but I don't think of myself as a folk 390 00:23:47,300 --> 00:23:49,100 music fan. That's interesting. 391 00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:52,800 You know and so there's there's a lot that we We do that, I 392 00:23:52,808 --> 00:23:56,300 think that people would never consider to be folk music. 393 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:03,100 They would consider it to be pop or rock or Global or jazz, or 394 00:24:03,100 --> 00:24:05,800 you know, whatever they would call it something else, they 395 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,100 wouldn't call it folk music singer-songwriter. 396 00:24:08,500 --> 00:24:14,900 So, but what's, what's always, there is that it's a Listening 397 00:24:14,900 --> 00:24:17,200 Room. So the audience is there to give 398 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,500 their undivided attention to the stage. 399 00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:21,300 They might be hootin and hollerin. 400 00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:26,100 They The singing along with us on if they're asked to do, they 401 00:24:26,100 --> 00:24:29,500 might be, you know, laughing really loud. 402 00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:33,500 So it's not like a library or anything like that, but all the 403 00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:36,900 energy goes to the stage is not people talking to each other 404 00:24:36,900 --> 00:24:40,200 watching across chatting. That's interesting. 405 00:24:42,300 --> 00:24:45,000 So just think about that word, root, see? 406 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:46,700 I think that's such a great word, right? 407 00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:49,700 And from a genre standpoint, right? 408 00:24:49,700 --> 00:24:51,100 So you threw out a lot of stuff there. 409 00:24:51,100 --> 00:24:56,000 But yours are you still mainly folk music or does it really 410 00:24:56,500 --> 00:24:59,700 just change from show to show to show from day to day to day? 411 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,900 I think that there's always a lineage to be traced and our 412 00:25:04,900 --> 00:25:09,700 music. So as I say, in one, I'm talking 413 00:25:09,700 --> 00:25:13,500 to new bands and, you know, people are trying to decide if 414 00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:15,500 the venues are a good fit for them. 415 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,000 I basically want to know if they're familiar with American 416 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,400 Roots Music. So Should old folk music or 417 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,700 traditional like Blues from the Mississippi, Delta. 418 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:30,600 You know, some of these musical styles that are inherently 419 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,200 American and the and have informed rock and roll and 420 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:40,400 everything that's come since. And so that, you know, American 421 00:25:40,500 --> 00:25:47,100 Music are unique musical style is an amalgam of the music that 422 00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:51,900 was brought by like scots-irish people and slaves. 423 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,200 ABS, you know, that's really what our music is. 424 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,600 It's an amalgam of those two. And how did that meet that 425 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:00,200 meant? Mostly in the South. 426 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:04,600 Those two, those two Traditions merged with each other and 427 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:10,600 created a unique sound and unique instrumentation that then 428 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:15,000 led to the blues that led to Bluegrass that led to rock and 429 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:19,600 roll that led to early jazz styles and New Orleans and and 430 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,800 then you know all of those Styles have become the pop music 431 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,900 that we have today, but it all traces. 432 00:26:26,900 --> 00:26:31,200 Its lineage back to these styles of music. 433 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:36,600 They were brought by the people who who came here as immigrants, 434 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:43,500 you know, starting in 1620. so, The weekends are let's say 435 00:26:43,500 --> 00:26:46,800 reserved for bigger acts, right more well-known stuff. 436 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,200 Is that fair or that? Yeah. 437 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,900 I mean we're those are, those are the nights when we're going 438 00:26:51,900 --> 00:26:56,000 to be charging a ticket price that generally ranges anywhere 439 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,100 from you know at the very lowest occasional and $18 up to you 440 00:27:01,100 --> 00:27:07,600 know it could be $75. It depends on who's playing and 441 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:11,200 all very reasonable by the way laughing you know like when you 442 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:12,700 look at it Ticket pricing right now. 443 00:27:12,700 --> 00:27:16,100 For a lot of shows out there it is unbelievably expensive so 444 00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:20,000 that is very reasonable for. Well that's you know that you 445 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,200 actually you bring up an interesting point. 446 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,500 I have tried really hard not to raise ticket prices but yet I 447 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:31,600 want to put more money into the pockets of our musicians because 448 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,600 they are facing increased travel costs entry, you know, morgue 449 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,300 cost more for gas. It costs more for hotels, it 450 00:27:38,300 --> 00:27:40,800 cost more for me. Existing, is more expensive now. 451 00:27:40,900 --> 00:27:45,100 Yeah. And And so to put that to put a 452 00:27:45,108 --> 00:27:47,900 little perspective on that, sometimes these tours were 453 00:27:47,900 --> 00:27:51,300 booked a year ago when the prices were a. 454 00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:56,500 And now the prices are be, but all the deals are locked in and 455 00:27:56,500 --> 00:27:58,800 they're not going to be walking out with any more money. 456 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:04,200 Just because the prices went up like there's a long lag time in, 457 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:08,900 you know, of trying to turn the ship and so you can't just Jack 458 00:28:08,900 --> 00:28:13,500 ticket prices up, you know, all of a And so, one thing we've 459 00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:16,800 tried to do is look for other ways to put revenue and their 460 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,500 pockets. And because bear in mind, we're 461 00:28:20,500 --> 00:28:24,800 a nonprofit organization. And so our motivation is to 462 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,600 serve the music, right? And to serve the people who make 463 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:29,600 the music and the people who love the music. 464 00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:38,000 So we have something called Cafe Lena dot TV which is our live 465 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,200 streaming platform, cool. And during the pandemic, Were 466 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,400 streaming nightly out on YouTube and Twitter and Facebook and it 467 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,100 was all free and there was a donation jar and, you know, 468 00:28:49,100 --> 00:28:52,700 people through in donations and it was unbelievable. 469 00:28:52,700 --> 00:28:55,800 And it kept a lot of people of float, was a beautiful thing. 470 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,700 After the pandemic we said this is an important. 471 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:07,600 It is important that we not be giving this away because it will 472 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,600 erode the value of people's music. 473 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:14,000 They people Need to pay for this and they need to understand that 474 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,900 artists are there as professionals to make a living 475 00:29:16,900 --> 00:29:19,800 and they deserve compensation just like the guy who fixes your 476 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:26,100 car right think they gotta eat. And so we started Cafe Lena dot 477 00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:29,800 TV which is a subscription-based platform where you can subscribe 478 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:34,900 for a nominal fee or you can buy a single show ticket and it's 479 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,600 again a nominal fee. It's like between five and ten 480 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:41,500 dollars generally to watch your show, but we give 100%. 481 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,700 Scent of that individual ticket money to the musicians and there 482 00:29:45,700 --> 00:29:48,500 are musicians that have walked out with an extra thousand 483 00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:52,200 dollars because of that. And that makes a huge difference 484 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:56,800 to them. We also do not take a cut of 485 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:00,700 their merchandise sales. Merchandise sales have become a 486 00:30:00,700 --> 00:30:06,000 really important survival tactic for bands because you can't make 487 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,800 money selling records. The way that you used to. 488 00:30:09,900 --> 00:30:14,000 So much music is out there on platforms like Spotify and 489 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:15,700 people don't buy records anymore. 490 00:30:15,700 --> 00:30:18,800 They just listen on Spotify and musicians get virtually. 491 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:20,900 No compensation. Yeah, those streams. 492 00:30:21,300 --> 00:30:26,600 So they have to sell stuff like, t-shirts and mugs and you know, 493 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:32,300 other chats Goods like that. So a lot of venues will take a 494 00:30:32,300 --> 00:30:36,000 cut of that sometimes as much as 20% and Cafe Lena does not do 495 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,400 that. So you know, anything, That we 496 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:44,300 can do to support the artists. We do do and we are trying 497 00:30:44,300 --> 00:30:48,500 really hard to keep ticket prices, you know, down 498 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,300 reasonable. We want people to be able to 499 00:30:51,300 --> 00:30:54,200 come to the venue and not be squeezed out. 500 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,100 Are they going to go up some? They'll have to, you know, 501 00:30:57,100 --> 00:30:59,700 there's kind of no way around it, but we'll keep it to a 502 00:30:59,700 --> 00:31:02,500 minimum or not going to look at it as a great opportunity to 503 00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:07,100 just like double, right? Which seems to be happening a 504 00:31:07,108 --> 00:31:12,800 lot these days. The math is so Easy, I gotta do. 505 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,300 So I know that we're kind of running short on time but there 506 00:31:17,300 --> 00:31:22,100 was One question that I had for you that before we get started, 507 00:31:22,100 --> 00:31:27,000 you mention that post and I say post pandemic, but I guess we're 508 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,900 still kind of in it, but it's, you know, 2020 was the big shut 509 00:31:29,900 --> 00:31:30,600 down here. Right? 510 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:34,800 And so for most people 2021 was kind of stepping back out 511 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,700 rebuilding 2022. I feel like it's still for a lot 512 00:31:37,700 --> 00:31:40,500 of companies, a lot of businesses out there especially 513 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:43,200 locally that you know 2022 is still kind of rebuilding your. 514 00:31:44,500 --> 00:31:49,000 But one thing you had said was that coming out of 20 Twenty 515 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,300 that things. Once you opened back up, that 516 00:31:51,300 --> 00:31:54,400 things really picked up for you if I heard you correctly. 517 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,300 Um, Let me, let me change what I said that. 518 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:01,100 You might have said it differently. 519 00:32:01,100 --> 00:32:03,800 I, that's what I heard. Well, let me correct. 520 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:07,000 Any Mission impression. I might have made. 521 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,000 So let me just back up just a minute. 522 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,900 So in 2020. Yes, we shut down like everybody 523 00:32:13,900 --> 00:32:21,900 else did in March. And we At that point, we were 524 00:32:21,900 --> 00:32:25,600 still allowed to have some bands in the space and we just live 525 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,700 stream them with no audience and the house. 526 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:32,100 We started calling it, The stay home sessions on March, 14 2020 527 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,800 and we had hundreds of people online watching these 528 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,300 livestreams. We had actually been live 529 00:32:38,300 --> 00:32:41,000 streaming our concerts since 2012. 530 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,900 Okay. So we had the personnel and the 531 00:32:42,900 --> 00:32:45,900 equipment and the experience to be able to do it at a very high 532 00:32:45,900 --> 00:32:50,700 level to be able to do it. Well, So then we got the word 533 00:32:50,700 --> 00:32:53,300 that workplaces, you know, we're only going to be allowed to have 534 00:32:53,308 --> 00:32:58,200 one person in the space. So at that point, we had this 535 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,200 day where we just brought in Band After Band After band and 536 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,000 we and we like filmed all of these streams that we could then 537 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:08,500 show later and during that period when we couldn't have 538 00:33:08,500 --> 00:33:11,900 anybody there and we just had these, you know, bunch of shows 539 00:33:11,900 --> 00:33:14,700 in the can that we were unrolling each night. 540 00:33:14,700 --> 00:33:19,300 We were applying to empire development to become An 541 00:33:19,300 --> 00:33:20,900 essential business. Gotcha. 542 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:26,300 And so, they actually, after application number four, please, 543 00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:29,300 please. We were saying, they actually 544 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:34,400 did allow us to be re-designated from being a live performance, 545 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,600 venue to being a broadcast studio. 546 00:33:36,700 --> 00:33:39,800 So they call this a broadcast studio for the duration of the 547 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:44,900 shutdown and we had live music in there every night. 548 00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:49,800 And our are people who are watching Then generated more 549 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:53,600 than 100,000 dollars in tip revenue for regional artists. 550 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:55,900 A lot of them from Saratoga, that's amazing from the 551 00:33:55,900 --> 00:34:00,200 surrounding area. And so it was it was incredibly 552 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,400 exciting to be able to be of use and that moment. 553 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:08,600 And then when we reopened in April of 2021, with very 25 554 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:11,199 percent capacity, I think we're allowed to reopen. 555 00:34:13,100 --> 00:34:18,500 We saw our our viewership on the livestream, just dropped 556 00:34:18,699 --> 00:34:21,699 Separatists lie because people felt like, you know okay the 557 00:34:21,699 --> 00:34:24,500 venues, okay, now they can reopen they can make some money 558 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:30,500 and so things got pretty Grim there for a little while and and 559 00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:36,300 so it's a matter of just slowly rebuilding rebuilding in 2022 560 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,900 when things were still just bouncing back very, very slowly 561 00:34:39,900 --> 00:34:42,100 for us. And in fact, that was the case 562 00:34:42,100 --> 00:34:46,400 for many Performing Arts. Venues we decided to do a little 563 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:48,500 bit of surveying to see what was going on. 564 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:53,400 On and I thought, you know, I can think of probably to 300 565 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:56,000 people who used to come regularly 2019. 566 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,500 You haven't come back and we actually found that it was more 567 00:34:58,500 --> 00:35:01,400 than two thousand people. Oh, wow, who had been regular 568 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:05,100 ticket buyers in 2019, who had not been back to the venue and 569 00:35:05,107 --> 00:35:10,100 this is deep into 2022 and so then we tried to find out why? 570 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:15,500 And we got some good information about that, but the, the the 571 00:35:15,700 --> 00:35:20,300 conclusion was that do Bother trying to win back. 572 00:35:20,300 --> 00:35:22,300 The people who aren't going to come back. 573 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:26,700 There are some people who have made changes in their life, who 574 00:35:26,900 --> 00:35:29,800 are no longer ever going to be comfortable with indoor 575 00:35:29,900 --> 00:35:32,700 Performing Arts, who are just doing other things. 576 00:35:32,700 --> 00:35:35,300 Now, forget about it, focus on new people. 577 00:35:35,300 --> 00:35:39,600 Well, and once we started doing that, we started having some 578 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:43,100 success rebuilding and we focus all our energy on just getting 579 00:35:43,100 --> 00:35:45,600 first time, people. So it's a beginning of this 580 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,500 conversation, you said Cafe, Lena needs no introduction. 581 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:49,900 Auction. Everybody's heard of it. 582 00:35:50,100 --> 00:35:53,700 It's true that a lot of people have heard of the place, not 583 00:35:53,700 --> 00:35:55,600 everybody, but a lot of people have. 584 00:35:55,900 --> 00:35:57,800 It's amazing. How many of those people have 585 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:01,000 never been there. Yeah, people who like, music who 586 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,900 have lived in Saratoga for decades and don't realize that 587 00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:10,100 one of the one of the most Exquisite irrevocable small 588 00:36:10,100 --> 00:36:13,900 venues in the world is right here in their town and they 589 00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:17,900 haven't shown up for a show. And so, we tried to change that. 590 00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:19,100 We've had a lot. A lock of. 591 00:36:19,100 --> 00:36:22,800 Now, not only do we have an unprecedented number of new 592 00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,300 people in the seats, but an unprecedented number of new 593 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,600 members. New volunteers do just New Life 594 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:32,500 blood coming into the venue. So it's a beautiful thing and 595 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:36,600 and just, I would say, starting around December of 2022. 596 00:36:37,500 --> 00:36:41,400 We finally started to feel like my gosh, it feels like 2019. 597 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:43,500 Again. Only nice and I chose are really 598 00:36:43,500 --> 00:36:46,100 filling up again. So I was completely off. 599 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,300 Sky Zone trampoline park. Queensbury Sky, Zone can set you 600 00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:54,500 up with a great birthday party for your kids and less hassle. 601 00:36:54,500 --> 00:36:57,000 For all you parents. They also offer general 602 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,600 admission tickets and memberships with exclusive 603 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,300 discounts and access to member only events. 604 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:05,600 Well, I'm glad that it's rebounding then. 605 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,100 And and but true to the fact that for just for so many 606 00:37:08,100 --> 00:37:12,600 businesses locally that 2022 is still a rebuilding year totally. 607 00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:16,400 Um and I know that it's interesting how everybody 608 00:37:16,700 --> 00:37:17,700 experiences. Perience. 609 00:37:17,700 --> 00:37:21,000 The last few years in different Realms like there's a people 610 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,200 that were shut down and then the people that have been spent the 611 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:26,400 last couple years rebuilding, and then there's other people 612 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,100 that they had so much success throughout the pandemic, that 613 00:37:29,100 --> 00:37:31,300 they were just one of those industries that like, like I 614 00:37:31,308 --> 00:37:33,500 have a couple friends own cleaning companies and they were 615 00:37:33,500 --> 00:37:36,300 just, you know, or construction or anything, you know where I 616 00:37:36,308 --> 00:37:38,600 was just like, oh yeah these guys, they just, there's so much 617 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:39,800 work, they didn't know what to do them. 618 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,700 So right. So it's it's interesting to hear 619 00:37:42,700 --> 00:37:47,000 how it impacted you and you know, climbing out of it and 620 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,800 move. Forward what? 621 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,100 So now, I know that you. So you talked about what goes on 622 00:37:52,100 --> 00:37:55,300 in the weekends. What's Monday through Sunday 623 00:37:55,300 --> 00:37:58,200 through Thursday look like? Well, someday is part of the 624 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:02,500 weekend for us and, and Thursdays actually part of our 625 00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:04,100 week. I love this Thursday through 626 00:38:04,100 --> 00:38:06,700 Sunday weekend. That's something any that come 627 00:38:06,700 --> 00:38:11,700 for no other reason. And so, Monday, Tuesday 628 00:38:11,700 --> 00:38:17,100 Wednesday is a lot of, a lot of what I would call Community. 629 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:19,400 Ramming, so it ranges from things. 630 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,300 Like tonight, we have a storytelling Open Mic. 631 00:38:22,300 --> 00:38:24,200 We have poetry Open, Mic every Monday. 632 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:29,800 We have just a regular Open Mic, but when I say regular, it's 633 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:32,300 actually the best open mic in the region. 634 00:38:32,300 --> 00:38:35,500 It's it's a Listening Room environment. 635 00:38:35,500 --> 00:38:39,900 It's a place, where original music is encouraged and it's all 636 00:38:39,900 --> 00:38:43,900 ages, and there's no alcohol and so it's a pretty different kind 637 00:38:43,900 --> 00:38:48,000 of atmosphere. And then we also have Like 638 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:53,100 tomorrow, the place is going to be filled morning and noon with 639 00:38:53,100 --> 00:38:55,100 groups of people doing music lessons. 640 00:38:55,100 --> 00:39:00,400 So we have music lessons for seniors and in the early daytime 641 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:04,900 hours where they can come in and learn to jam together and play 642 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:09,400 any kind of instrument, any kind of like string band instrument 643 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,700 that they want. But it's just really social and 644 00:39:11,700 --> 00:39:14,600 get your hands moving and get your brain doing something fresh 645 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:16,900 and new and people form friendships, it's really 646 00:39:16,900 --> 00:39:19,900 wonderful. Perfil and then after school, we 647 00:39:19,900 --> 00:39:24,600 have groups of children, coming in doing the same thing and and 648 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,900 so it's a way of just taking that folk music tradition and 649 00:39:27,900 --> 00:39:31,900 putting it into new hands and seeing what the Next Generation 650 00:39:31,900 --> 00:39:36,200 does with it. And so, and then another 651 00:39:36,500 --> 00:39:45,200 initiative, we have is basically serving as an amplifier of the 652 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:50,400 work that is being done by Organizations in Saratoga so we 653 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:54,300 have during the pandemic. One of the things that we did 654 00:39:54,300 --> 00:39:56,600 with our live stream was we've reached out to different 655 00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:00,600 nonprofits and said, you know, you guys have lost your annual 656 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,800 fundraiser. Your, you know, you've kind of 657 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:08,100 just like a lot of organizations just kind of like disappeared 658 00:40:08,100 --> 00:40:10,800 because they couldn't do their public facing work that and are 659 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,700 normally known for. So we brought them in to sit 660 00:40:14,700 --> 00:40:16,700 front of the mic, kind of like what you're doing right now. 661 00:40:16,700 --> 00:40:20,200 We did a lunch time series where we just put different nonprofit 662 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,800 leaders on stage. They got to share their message. 663 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,700 We also produced livestream, fundraisers for a whole bunch of 664 00:40:26,700 --> 00:40:29,700 different organizations, everything from the veterans and 665 00:40:29,700 --> 00:40:33,500 Community Housing Coalition, to Gateway House of Peace, which 666 00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:37,800 takes care of people when they're dying to bike a toga, 667 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:41,200 you know, which encourages bicycle riding. 668 00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:45,600 And we did all kinds of really interesting livestream 669 00:40:45,600 --> 00:40:47,800 fundraisers. And, you know, At all the 670 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,500 revenue from that. So, coming out of the pandemic 671 00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:53,500 we just we've been having so much fun with that. 672 00:40:53,500 --> 00:40:58,600 We didn't want to stop. And so I do something now called 673 00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:02,200 The Art of community, which is a monthly series that I produce in 674 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:04,900 cooperation with a chamber of commerce, where we just bring, 675 00:41:06,300 --> 00:41:10,900 usually the executive director of a local nonprofit on stage to 676 00:41:10,900 --> 00:41:12,400 talk. Not so much about what their 677 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:17,200 organization is doing, but about, but about things It's 678 00:41:17,207 --> 00:41:19,700 like, you know, you're doing really hard work. 679 00:41:19,700 --> 00:41:23,500 You're facing Sometimes some really dark stuff out there in 680 00:41:23,500 --> 00:41:25,200 the world. That could be homelessness. 681 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:28,400 It could be hunger. How do you stay inspired? 682 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:32,100 How do you learn what you need to learn to run your 683 00:41:32,100 --> 00:41:35,700 organization? How do you prevent burnout? 684 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,000 What are your hopes for the community? 685 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,300 What do you think the community should know about the 686 00:41:40,300 --> 00:41:42,600 population? You serve, you serve that, they 687 00:41:42,600 --> 00:41:46,900 just don't get about them. And we have these great half 688 00:41:46,900 --> 00:41:49,400 hour. Conversations and then we break 689 00:41:49,400 --> 00:41:54,200 it up and it's just an in-person gathering for people from the 690 00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:56,400 nonprofit sector. They could be board members, 691 00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:58,200 volunteers staff people, whatever. 692 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:02,200 And we just have like a half hour or so, she'll hang and we 693 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:06,400 have coffee and cookies and that's on the first. 694 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:10,100 She's be the last Tuesday afternoon of each month. 695 00:42:10,100 --> 00:42:14,500 So it's just, I guess the connection that I want to make, 696 00:42:14,500 --> 00:42:16,600 like, why would Cafe Lena do that? 697 00:42:17,100 --> 00:42:20,700 The reason the calf alien wants to do it is because the songs 698 00:42:20,700 --> 00:42:25,100 that are on the stage and the folk music tradition is all 699 00:42:25,100 --> 00:42:28,200 about people on the margins, right? 700 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:30,900 And it's about everyday life, it's about real life. 701 00:42:30,900 --> 00:42:34,900 It's not about Glamour and fame and and romance and stuff like 702 00:42:34,900 --> 00:42:38,600 that but it's about the stuff that we hope for and care about 703 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:40,500 and have been through and have to endure. 704 00:42:40,900 --> 00:42:47,000 And and so we sing about it all the time and I won't and I want 705 00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:50,000 Say like what's it really look like out there in the real 706 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:51,600 world? Like how does this live in our 707 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:53,700 communities today? And so that's kind of how we 708 00:42:53,700 --> 00:42:59,600 started this connection and this this telling of the story of the 709 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:03,600 community in a slightly different way and and the the 710 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:07,000 big cap on it every year that we've been doing for about 3 711 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:12,800 years now is called true songs and true songs features. 712 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:16,100 Six different nonprofits and we go out to a non-profit. 713 00:43:16,100 --> 00:43:18,800 We say is there somebody Buddy, who has really benefited from 714 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:20,700 your work. And the last year who would be 715 00:43:20,700 --> 00:43:23,900 willing to share their story publicly, we take that person, 716 00:43:23,900 --> 00:43:28,400 we pair them with a songwriter, they Co write a song and then 717 00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:31,800 the performance consists of all these different people getting 718 00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:34,700 up on stage and first person telling their story of what 719 00:43:34,700 --> 00:43:37,000 they've been through. And then the songwriter sharing 720 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:39,700 the original song, they've written for the person is true 721 00:43:39,700 --> 00:43:41,700 songs. It happens every November as a 722 00:43:41,700 --> 00:43:44,800 really beautiful show, and the past shows are up on our YouTube 723 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:46,400 channel if you want to check them out. 724 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:49,400 Yeah, it sounds like Raising and Weldon speak. 725 00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:52,300 Okay, so speaking of YouTube, so, where if people want to find 726 00:43:52,300 --> 00:43:54,400 you, or they want more information, where can they find 727 00:43:54,400 --> 00:43:57,000 that? So, I would start with Cafe Lena 728 00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:01,900 dot org and Cafe. Lena is spelled with a double F, 729 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:07,100 which is the Italian spelling of Cafe, and so is Cafe Lena dot 730 00:44:07,100 --> 00:44:09,100 org. And from there, you can jump off 731 00:44:09,100 --> 00:44:12,700 to all of our social media channels, our YouTube channel or 732 00:44:12,700 --> 00:44:15,800 Spotify playlist. You can see everything that's 733 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:20,700 coming up and In terms of shows and there are sample videos on 734 00:44:20,700 --> 00:44:23,200 most of the pages. Don't worry, if you haven't 735 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:27,200 heard of somebody, you know, read about it, maybe listen to 736 00:44:27,207 --> 00:44:29,500 the video. Maybe don't maybe just show up 737 00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:33,500 and you don't even know who's playing and and take a chance on 738 00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:36,500 it and you might discover something that's really special 739 00:44:36,500 --> 00:44:38,300 to you. It's amazing. 740 00:44:38,300 --> 00:44:41,200 Thank you so much for coming in and taking the time to chat with 741 00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:44,500 us and yeah. Appreciate appreciate it. 742 00:44:44,500 --> 00:44:46,900 Well, you're welcome. And thanks for doing the service 743 00:44:46,900 --> 00:44:49,500 and Just letting people share what's happening in their town? 744 00:44:49,500 --> 00:44:51,300 It's really cool. It's important. 745 00:44:51,700 --> 00:44:52,800 Thanks again. Thank you. 746 00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:56,500 The superpower that every citizen has is the ability to 747 00:44:56,500 --> 00:44:59,800 control where they spend their time, money and attention by 748 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:01,600 focusing. These on supporting local 749 00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:04,900 businesses who are having a profound impact on your friends, 750 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:07,000 your family and your local community. 751 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:10,700 So if you want to change the world, you can start with buying 752 00:45:10,700 --> 00:45:11,200 local.